“What did you say?” Liu Yong turned over to face Zhou RenShu again, his heart involuntarily quickened at the mention of that name. Tears welled up in Zhou RenShu’s eyes again as he remembered what happened in his dream though deep down he knew it wasn’t a dream, but in fact a memory. “I saw him at the orphanage, the woman and him did things to other snake demons at the orphanage. They were holding white jade stones too.”

 

Liu Yong thought over what he was told. 37 years ago Wu Yun had a meeting with the head of a demon orphanage to help set up safety seals to hide the land from dangerous cultivators. Could that be the same orphanage Zhou RenShu came from? “Did Wu Yun do anything to you?”

 

Zhou RenShu answered back in a whisper as he recalled the memory from all those years ago. “No, but he saw me. I was playing outside and was following a frog when I heard a child crying so I followed in case I could help. When I looked through the window their face was a mix of purple, blue and grey. Wu Yun saw me but the priest pulled me away. When we got back to his office he scolded me heavily then put the seal on me to hide people from knowing I was a snake. After that day I didn’t go out unless I was forced.”

 

The trembling returned as Zhou RenShu shrunk in on himself, his thick tears wetting the sheet underneath him. Liu Yong silently placed his palm over the nape of Zhou RenShu’s cold neck, after a few seconds the cold body began to warm up and Zhou RenShu slowly stopped crying, his breathing also regulated as he fell into a dreamless sleep. Liu Yong kept his hand on Zhou RenShu’s neck for the rest of the night. During that time he never fell back asleep, for hours he thought over the Wu Yun he thought he knew compared to the Wu Yun he came to hate. What’s so good about immortality? Haven’t we lived long enough already Wu Yun?

 

_ _ _ _ _ _

 

The next day Liu Yong got out of bed and packed their things, Zhou RenShu only had three changes of clothes, his pajamas and one pair of shoes. When Zhou RenShu woke up he seemed a little dazed and quiet but the events from last night seemed to be somewhat of a blur for him. Liu Yong packed the last of his things into his suitcase then turned towards Zhou RenShu.”Take your clothes off, you’ll be traveling in your snake form but you won’t be going inside the glass case again.”

 

Zhou RenShu did as he was told, still dazed then stood in front of Liu Yong butt naked. The clothes were placed inside the suitcase and Liu Yong turned back to see Zhou RenShu still standing in front of him naked. ”Change into your snake form then we can go.”

 

“I’m sleepy.” Zhou RenShu’s eyes closed slowly as if he would fall asleep right there, Liu Yong retrieved the small green vial again and placed a drop on his finger then pushed his finger past Zhou RenShu’s pink lips, catching the pale yellow snake with his other hand. The transformation seemed to be too much and Zhou RenShu was sleeping whilst laying in Liu Yong’s warm hand.

 

After hearing Zhou RenShu talk about what happened at the orphanage, Liu Yong decided to turn his attention to snake death files and see if there was a pattern with the cases and where Wu Yun had turned up. With his suitcase in hand and a sleeping snake in his summer coat pocket, Liu Yong left the hotel.

 

There was one last luxury hotel in the city and Liu Yong made his way there by taxi, by the time he was walking towards the elevator it seemed like Zhou RenShu had, had enough rest as he slithered out of the deep pocket and up Liu Yong’s sleeve before poking his head out next to Liu Yong’s collarbone. As the doors were closing a slender arm poked forward, causing the doors to open again. Liu Yong was in disguise again and he had also placed a seal on Zhou RenShu in the taxi to stop others from recognizing he was a snake demon in both his snake form and human form. The seal from before was strong but could still be detected however once Liu Yong gave him the object in his cultivation bag no one would be able to detect the seal on Zhou RenShu’s body.

 

“Hello handsome.” Liu Yong looked beside him to see the woman from the bar he had rejected. He gave a simple nod in her direction but made no effort to start a conversation. Zhou RenShu poked his head out and took a slow look at the woman before wrapping his slender body around Liu Yong’s neck loosely. “Oh! you ‘re quite brave to have a pet snake.”

 

Liu Yong didn’t comment as he pushed Zhou RenShu back into his coat, the woman pressed the button for her floor before looking back to Liu Yong curiously. “Handsome, do I know you? I feel like we’ve met before.”

 

“We haven’t.” No bad aura or blood came off of the woman beside him but Liu Yong still felt off about this woman and her comment just confirmed this. Seeing that Liu Yong wasn’t looking at her, she moved to stand in front of him. Showing her sweet smile again. “Well that only means we knew each other in a past life, tonight I plan on going to the bar for a drink, if we're really fated I’ll see you tonight.”

 

The elevator dinged brightly and the woman exited after smiling sweetly again at Liu Yong. Once the doors closed Zhou RenShu peeked out again and hissed quietly against Liu Yong’s throat.

 

Once in the room, Liu Yong got out a change of clothes for Zhou RenShu then got rid of his disguise. Usually he would tie his long hair back but he planned on relaxing for a while before leaving to his work building to bring back the snake demon death files. Zhou RenShu changed into his human form and dressed into his pajamas and woolen socks. Although Liu Yong had bought him other clothes, Zhou RenShu’s favourite outfit was this. “Are you hungry RenShu?”

 

“I want dessert.” It seemed as if Zhou RenShu was feeling all better now, Liu Yong was also relieved the boy’s appetite had come back since he was too skinny. On the small sofa Liu Yong lazed back and turned the TV on but only for background noise. Zhou RenShu walked around the room curiously then pulled a bottle of juice from the fridge and gulped it while gazing at Liu Yong’s long hair. So pretty.

 

He had only seen Liu Yong’s long hair when it was wetly hanging around his shoulders loosely or when it was in a bun. Walking over quietly he laid behind the sofa, the long wavy stands hanging above his face. Zhou RenShu twisted a few strands with his fingers before stroking them only to curl them again. Liu Yong ignored this while thinking of the woman in the elevator then he thought of the woman Zhou RenShu talked about. Although all he caught was a glimpse of her hand he knew the two women were different people. Then he thought back to the woman who took an interest in Zhou RenShu when they had first met.

 

“Fu~ This case is becoming more tangled the deeper I dig.” Zhou RenShu stopped playing with the hair above him and sat beside Liu Yong on the sofa, sipping at his juice slowly. Zhou RenShu looked rather peaceful with a bottle of juice in his hands while sitting in his thick pajamas and socks. Does he not remember last night?  “RenShu did you sleep well last night?”

 

“Hm? I think so but I woke up sleepy so maybe I didn't. Did you sleep well Liu Yong?” He doesn’t remember. Zhou RenShu looked over at Liu Yong waiting for a reply. “En i did.”

 

After that Liu Yong didn’t bring up the events from the night before. If he doesn’t remember then it doesn’t matter, I’ll work at my office then. I just have to make sure him and Wu Yun never meet as well as find the woman he was talking about from yesterday

 

_ _ _ _ _ _

 

Their meal and rest ended and Liu Yong wrote protective seals all over the doors and windows, he even placed a seal on the french doors leading to the balcony so that Zhou RenShu wouldn’t be able to open them. Just as Liu Yong was about to leave he remembered the item sitting in his bag. “RenShu, come here.”

 

A small chain was sitting in the middle of Liu Yong’s palm. Zhou RenShu stared at the chain not knowing what to do with it. Liu Yong picked the thin chain up. Before leaving the hotel earlier he had placed the chain inside a vial holding a shielding elixir, once he pulled the chain out he placed a seal over top of the chain to stop the elixir from evaporating. “This will work better than a seal. When you were sleeping I put a seal on you to hide your snake aura but this will make sure people don’t recognize you and will only see you as a small cultivator.”

 

Liu Yong put the small chain around Zhou RenShu’s slender neck, there no clasp as the chain would link back together seamlessly. “You won’t be able to take this off, no one will. It will also stretch and shrink with your body, even in your snake form it will stay on.”

 

Zhou RenShu ran to the bathroom to look in the mirror, the silver chain fitted perfectly around the base of his pale slender neck. The bruise that Liu Yong had caused when they first met had also completely faded. Liu Yong leaned against the door frame quietly. “Thank you Liu Yong. When the case is finished and I get another job I will definitely buy you a great gift to repay you.”

 

“There’s no need, I need to go somewhere for a little while. I don’t know how long I’ll be so eat dinner by yourself and don’t leave the room. Okay?” Zhou RenShu followed Liu Yong out of the bathroom quietly, he thought back to the woman in the elevator inviting Liu Yong for a drink. “Where are you going?”

 

“Nowhere special I just need to get some things.” Since Zhou RenShu couldn’t recall anything from last night, Liu Yong decided to keep the idea of Wu Yun targeting snakes to himself in case it triggered the traumatic memory and odd behaviour again. Zhou RenShu followed Liu Yong around closely, he watched him change into more formal clothes and tie his pretty hair back. Once he was about to leave he turned to push Zhou RenShu back into the center of the large room. “Stop following me, order dinner and watch TV then head to bed.”

 

Liu Yong left, as another precaution he also put a seal on the outside of the door, if someone knocked on the door the sound wouldn’t be able to be heard on the other side. With his disguise on he walked out of the hotel and caught a taxi to a street 2 km away from his work. Along the walk when he was covered by the many pedestrians, he removed his disguise and made his way to his work building.

 

“Heh, so you know how to return home.” The Supervisor was walking out as Liu Yong walked up the concrete steps, ignoring the balding man he used quick steps to head to past closed case files. The Supervisor cursed under his breath as he struggled to follow behind the tall man. It had only been recently that the Cultivator and Demon protection unit had started digitising their data. All cases older than 10 years were still paperfiles. 

 

“Xiao Yong, you’re really willing to do paperwork? Even volunteering to digitise these files!. Did that break do your stiff brain some good?” The Supervisor wiped his sweaty brow while Liu Yong ignored him. The large storage room was filled to the ceiling with files and he walked the isles with a sense of determination. The Supervisor tried to keep up but his short legs really couldn’t move like they used to, so he gave up and turned back to head home. Xiao Yong is a changed man all because of me. A man that eats field work and despises paperwork like it’s a disease is now willing to sit for hours to log paperwork onto our computers. My dear wife, do you see how strong and wise of a man I am?

 

“Fucking idiot.” In an empty box Liu Yong walked aisle after aisle taking the files of all the dead snake demons. Soon he had to turn back and find a trolley then it turned into two trolleys. After three hours he wasn’t even able to take a look at a single word since he hadn’t even collected all the files yet. 

 

FWEEEEET*. A worker in charge of sorting the paperwork in this large storage room came running down the many aisles until he arrived beside Liu Yong, gasping for breath. Liu Yong pointed to the two trolleys stacked with at least 300 files each. “Take these to my office, if anyone asks, tell them I’m digitising paperwork as a vacation.”

 

*Whistle sfx

 

The worker looked at the heavy trolleys then at Liu Yong’s cold face. Wa~ even when he is on break he can’t help but return and strive to better our precinct. Leader Liu Yong I hope to be half the man you are! The worker agreed seriously and began his long walk to Liu Yong’s office.

 

As the trolley passed by he took the top file and walked to the front of the storage room, sitting on a small chair. This file caught his attention since he believed this wasn’t caused by Wu Yun as the file was one of the oldest in his precinct, 450 years old. All files had protective seals to stop the paper from mildewing or aging, making it look like the file was written today. Liu Yong leaned back as he read over the name of the snake demon. 

 

Wang She, 16, born S city.

 

COD: unknown

 

Even 450 years ago there was discrimination against snakes. The folder was thin with very little information about the case. This snake wasn’t an orphan and was found 10km from his family home but why weren’t his parents interrogated? The pictures show what Zhou RenShu described but this was before Wu Yun was born, who else knows about the cultivation of immortality stones using the life essence of demons? And why snakes?

 

Liu Yong took pictures of the file then placed it back where he found it. By the time he was walking out of the building he had been gone for almost five hours. Once he returned back, the TV was still going and Zhou RenShu was fast asleep on the sofa. Liu Yong turned the TV off and carried the sleeping boy into bed. More questions came out of today instead of answers. 

 

Fu~ In bed Zhou RenShu shuffled over but was kept at a distance thanks to Liu Yong’s hand. With a thousand questions circling his mind Liu Yong fell asleep.

 

_ _ _ __ _

 

Zhou RenShu had gotten used to waking up with Liu Yong’s arm keeping him at a distance, on the days where he would wake up before the man beside him, he would lightly inch his way closer. There was still distance between them but Zhou RenShu could feel the difference in their body heat from where he was laying. To Zhou RenShu Liu Yong was the best looking person he had ever seen, even in his snake form on the night they met, he was aware of the connection he felt towards the stranger. 

 

Last night when Zhou RenShu saw Liu Yong leave, thinking he had gone to meet with that woman that had openly said they were fated to be together, filled him with a sense of sadness but not the typical sadness he was used to, instead it was almost like a betrayal of the heart. Did you spend a long time cultivating? Or did you only go have a drink like she had suggested?

 

Once Zhou RenShu had his fill of beauty he got out of bed and showered then watched TV with the sound off, choosing to read the subtitles instead but by the end of the show he had no idea what the story was. Slowly morning was turning into noon and Zhou RenShu’s stomach grumbled angrily. Liu Yong is still asleep, I wonder if he’s dreaming.

 

Walking to the bedside Zhou RenShu picked the hotel menu up and lowered his head to gaze at Liu Yong again, the tanned skin paired with the long black hair gave Liu Yong a strong warrior aura. Slowly Zhou RenShu’s face lowered, closing the space between them. He could feel their breath mix with one another causing his cheeks to warm. Only a finger's width separated their lips when Liu Yong opened his eyes. “What are you doing RenShu?”

 

“AHHHH~” Liu Yong hadn’t raised his voice but the sudden change from looking at the sleeping Liu Yong to seeing cold eyes reflecting his face was too scary, Zhou RenShu jumped back, tripping over his own feet and landed heavily on his bottom. Liu Yong sat up and rubbed his face before looking down at Zhou RenShu asking his question again in a husky voice. “What were you doing?”

 

Zhou RenShu sheepishly looked down and saw the menu still in his hands and he quickly looked back at Liu Yong. “You were sleeping for a long time, so I wanted to check if you were okay then I was going to order breakfast.”

 

The menu was held up to showcase it as evidence then Zhou RenShu got off the floor going over to pick the hotel phone up but Liu Yong caught his hand and slipped the menu out of his loose grasp. “I’ll do it, you should practice your reading first before ordering food.”

 

A couple times Liu Yong had let Zhou RenShu order in hopes that his reading would become better and then the small boy could eat whatever he wanted instead of Liu Yong choosing every time. However the last time Zhou RenShu ordered the person clearly hadn’t understood what was being read from the menu since the food that was brought up was the whole starter menu along with one small plate of fruit. After that Liu Yong made sure to order, lest they were given something that wasn’t on the menu.

 

Zhou RenShu agreed but still pointed out he wanted pancakes and fruit for breakfast then walked over to continue watching TV. Since Liu Yong had told him he needed to work on his reading, he decided to keep the sound off and focus extra hard on the subtitles.

 

_ _ _ _ _ _

 

During breakfast Zhou RenShu was struggling to use his knife and fork when Liu Yong cleared his throat, grabbing Zhou RenShu’s attention. “Today the two of us will go somewhere for my work then I want you to take me to your home.”

 

“My home?” Liu Yong grunted in agreement as he started eating his savoury meat porridge. The thought of Liu Yong seeing the state of his living was too much for Zhou RenShu. “W-Why do we need to go there?”

 

“I want to see it and you can pack whatever you want for when you move into your new apartment, once the case is done.” There was truth to what Liu Yong was saying but even more than seeing the living condition of Zhou RenShu he wanted to see if there were other snake demons living there, if there were then he could ask around about the numerous occurrences of snake deaths. Zhou RenShu turned quiet as he finished his pancakes messily. 

 

After Liu Yong changed into a more business appearance he looked at Zhou RenShu expectantly, Zhou RenShu quickly got undressed and stood in front of Liu yong handing over his clothes and waited patiently for the green liquid to help transform him but Liu Yong only gave him a questioning look. “What are you doing standing there naked? Get dressed into day clothes then we can go.”

 

“I’m not travelling in my snake form?” This was the first time Zhou RenShu would be leaving the hotel in his human form and it scared him a little, although he used to only use his snake form when wanting to cultivate he now felt awkward leaving the room on two legs. Liu Yong waited patiently while Zhou Renshu struggled to dress himself. He chose the black denim shorts and a graphic shirt. With both men ready Liu Yong wore his disguise of a handsome CEO then opened the door but Zhou RenShu didn’t follow behind, Liu Yong looked back at him with his different face impatiently. “Come on.”

 

“I don’t get a disguise?” Liu Yong sighed heavily before explaining Zhou RenShu had never stepped out of the hotel as a human before and with the help of the seal and necklace no one would know he was a demon. With everything finally settled they set off together.