17. Yearning for Offspring

Being human is difficult; being a snake is even more so.

Hua Mi felt she hadn’t done anything wrong, yet Sesshomaru’s final look, heavy with meaning, sent chills down her spine.

She nearly thought he knew what she was dreaming.

Life as a snake was harsh. Hua Mi sighed, finding Inuyasha’s thoughts inscrutable.

“...No wonder it’s the Warring States period—danger lurks everywhere,” she couldn’t help but murmur.

For several days, Hua Mi ate poorly and slept fitfully, her heart heavy with worry.

To be targeted by Sesshomaru was like being stalked by a massive carnivorous beast. And as for running away? She’d never seen Naraku flee with such determination, yet Sesshomaru’s pursuit was just as relentless and unwavering.

He even stopped taking his usual strolls, focusing entirely on chasing Naraku.

If Naraku were a different gender, they’d be the ultimate ship, a pairing adored by all.

Hua Mi didn’t think she had Naraku’s knack for hiding, nor did she want to star in a drama between the Warring States and the white dog: she escapes, he pursues—a domineering CEO trope with no way out.

Just thinking about it gave her a stomachache.

Fortunately, Sesshomaru still needed sleep to regulate his demon energy, so their face-to-face encounters were limited, allowing her a slight breath of relief.

She hoped that once he awoke, his memories would return.

Hua Mi believed that a godlike figure was meant to be admired from afar, never trifled with.

So the role of “wife” clearly didn’t suit her.

Lying atop the wooden roof, feeling the frost and snow blow against her face, Hua Mi sighed again, “Ah—”

Ever since the incident of Sesshomaru’s inappropriate advances, as a snake with a normal moral compass, she had been so embarrassed she wanted to bury her tail in the ground.

The strangest part was every night she curled up in the corner diagonally opposite from Sesshomaru, yet by morning, she found herself tangled in his plush tail. Even more shameful was the way their tails intertwined, making her mind wander to unsavory thoughts.

Weren’t their tails a bit too casual with each other?

She and Sesshomaru weren’t that close—what did it mean for them to get ahead like that?!

She feared one day she’d wake up and find her tail had somehow “conquered” Sesshomaru.

...Conquered.

Lowering her head, Hua Mi shivered at the thought, fearful because she knew it wasn’t entirely impossible.

What if she really ended up “sleeping” with Sesshomaru...

Hiss...

Just as Hua Mi was doubting her life as a snake and contemplating whether to find another house to simply “live apart” for safety, a familiar village woman appeared. With a good memory, Hua Mi immediately recalled she was the one who had asked her for a blessing to conceive a child—her name was Cai.

“Lady Hua Mi—”

“Is Lady Hua Mi home?”

With a bright smile and cheerful mood, Cai appeared beneath the eaves holding a bamboo basket.

Hua Mi stretched out her head from the beam, “Here.”

Looking up at the voice, Cai was startled by the sudden face but quickly recovered, smiling as she lifted the basket to reveal dried mushrooms inside.

---

“Lady Hua Mi, these are some mushrooms I dried myself. Please accept them,” she said shyly.

Hua Mi glanced at the precious dried goods, knowing how valuable they were in winter. Though she didn’t need them herself, she shook her head. “Take them back; I don’t need them.”

“Please accept them, Lady Hua Mi. It’s a small token from my husband and me,” another voice rang out. A young boy with white ears atop his head, dressed in a short linen shirt and carrying freshly chopped firewood, approached Cai, looking at Hua Mi expectantly.

Their scents were strikingly similar.

Well, similar but not quite the same.

Husband and wife? Hua Mi thought, glancing at the wolf boy, suddenly realizing that Cai’s husband was truly a wolf half-demon.

“And—if not for Lady Hua Mi’s blessing, I wouldn’t have been able to conceive this child,” Cai said, her face glowing with a motherly smile as she gently touched her belly.

Hmm?

Hmm, hmm?

Hua Mi immediately perked up, her voice trembling, “You’re pregnant?”

She cast a respectful glance at the wolf half-demon boy beside Cai.

Don’t judge a book by its cover—this applied to demons as much as humans.

Only a few days had passed…

Wait, only a few days?

“Wait—” Suddenly realizing something was amiss, Hua Mi sat up straight. The snow glistened on her scales in the sunlight as she looked at Cai, her gaze settling on the belly that showed no sign of swelling.

“It’s only been half a month, right? Are you sure you’re pregnant?” Even modern medical equipment couldn’t always detect pregnancy that soon. How did she know? Had she been deceived?

The wolf half-demon’s expression was proud. “Yes, I’m already expecting. In two months, Lady Hua Mi will get to see our baby.”

“...In two months?” The timing didn’t sound right. Hua Mi frowned. “Isn’t gestation ten months?”

“Well, I’m a half-demon,” the wolf scratched his cheek awkwardly. “The birth time for half-demon children depends on their demon energy. The stronger the demon, the longer the gestation. My child should be born in two months.”

So that’s how it was.

Hua Mi nodded, but a new question arose: would Cai’s child be human or wolf?

Come to think of it, Inuyasha was born a half-demon, but Nende looked more like a demon. And there was the ox-headed demon in the Inuyasha anime—human by day, demon by night.

In short—

What humans and demons could give birth to was like opening a blind box.

Hua Mi was extremely curious and wanted to ask, but seeing the young couple’s tender affection made her feel it would be impolite. She swallowed her curiosity, deciding to visit when Cai gave birth.

While she chatted with the wolf half-demon, Sesshomaru slowly opened his eyes inside the hut.

The demon energy within him surged at an odd frequency, unable to settle, stirring restlessly in his bloodline.

Normally, if the demon energy was sufficient, and the bloodline reached a certain concentration, growth would occur naturally; once the demon energy was fully assimilated, the transformation would end.

But Sesshomaru clearly felt his demon energy was ample, yet his transformation was far from complete.

Strange—

He also sensed his memories were odd, disorganized, with many gaps.

He frowned slightly, his expression tight with focus. He felt his memories were fading.

No, to be precise, disappearing.

The slanting sunlight couldn’t dispel the oppressive aura around him. His icy stare was bone-chilling. Raising his hand, he pressed his knobby fingers against his brow, rubbing to soothe the waves of pain.

A great demon’s sixth sense warned him that danger loomed, though he could not discern its source.

A rare irritability gnawed at him.

His plush tail swayed gently like a loose cotton ball in the sunlight.

At that moment, he overheard Hua Mi talking with another half-demon about offspring.

Offspring—?

Hearing Hua Mi’s voice, his inner turmoil eased somewhat. Then his gaze involuntarily flicked to the window, where he could see a small segment of a swaying snake tail.

Sesshomaru hadn’t yet become the strongest in the demon world; he had not defeated his father. Offspring was not something on his mind.

Suddenly, a memory flashed—a moment when she sat atop him.

“I’m not such a loose snake!” Hua Mi’s voice echoed in his mind.

Not loose? Sesshomaru snorted. He never considered whether she was “loose” when she stripped his clothes.

She seemed not to like his touch? He naturally noticed her distant posture whenever they were together.

Was she truly his wife? Doubt flickered in Sesshomaru’s eyes.

Another image flashed in his mind:

In a bottomless lake, just after her transformation, the white snake fiercely protected the unconscious white dog amidst countless demon attacks.

The image passed quickly, but Sesshomaru immediately recognized the white dog as himself, the white snake as her.

“She really does love him,” Sesshomaru suddenly understood. His cold, ice-like expression softened like a spring breeze.

At that moment, a human woman’s voice sounded outside the door.

“Lady Hua Mi, please accept these mushrooms.” Cai set down the basket and, holding the wolf’s hand, prepared to leave. This time Hua Mi did not stop them, only thinking to catch a chicken or two later to bring over.

Catch two? She wanted to enjoy chicken stewed with mushrooms herself.

Without delay, Hua Mi happily flicked her tail and slid down from the roof.

Sesshomaru’s expression remained indifferent, yet his gaze never left her swaying figure.

Her scales shimmered on that small tail—it was rather endearing.

“Could it be that she wants offspring too?” The thought flickered through Sesshomaru’s mind as he pondered quietly.