The final rays of sunlight vanished behind the mountain slope as LiangLin weaved his way out of the water and over to the dry land. He hastily pulled on his robes, checking that he could feel the cold jades within his pocket before he hurried along the shore towards the city.
As he reached the inn at the corner of the street, LiYue was standing under a blue lantern, whispering in a patron's ear. A sweet aroma wafted LiangLin's way and he instantly recognized the drowsy rose scent. LiYue was harvesting the man's life force. What looked like sweet whispers was her actually coaxing the life force to ooze out of the man's orifices in wispy wafts of what looked like vapour in the cool night air. The man was leaning towards her, his back slightly bowed. His eyelids were heavy, his lips carved in a perpetual smile. He looked drunken, not from liquor but from her enchantment.
LiYue inhaled deeply, then she turned her head and saw LiangLin. She motioned him to come over, and LiangLin looked around cautiously before making his way to her, tempted by the life-force that lingered in the air, waiting for a collector.
"You shouldn't be doing this out in the open, 2nd sister," LiangLin said quietly. His eyes fluttered close as the sweet, mouth-watering essence filled his lunges and fuelled his body, sharpening his senses.
"You took your sweet time, I was hungry," LiYue complained.
"Where did you find him?"
"He was following me around. I love it when the prey thinks they're the predator." As the last of the life-forces in the air where inhaled by them, LiYue snapped her fingers and the patron blinked slowly, his smile widening.
"So, I will see you at Xiangqi?" He drawled, leaning even closer to LiYue now.
LiYue smiled sheepishly, hiding away behind her fan and said something, but LiangLin didn't pay much attention. He was walking a little further away, his heart beating loudly in his chest. He usually ate in the morning, a kick of energy before going to work. He never fed during the night, it messed up his sleeping patterns and made him thirst for more.
His breathing was coming out in short sessions as if he had just run for his dear life. His skin was slightly flushed, his muscles taut and ready to jump. His eyes wandered around, gliding over the few mortals, chock full of delicious, sweet life-force.
A heavy, fiery scent of unknown flowers lingered in the air, something LiangLin had never smelled before in his life. He was rooted in place, confused about where the scent was coming from. It was addicting. He wanted to inhale it deeply, drown in it...
"AhLin, let's go. AhLin?" LiYue turned LiangLin around to face her after a moment of silence. A deep scowl glided over her delicate face and flower bud lips as she saw his state. "Shit! AhLin, this is why mother won't let you go out by yourself! You need to learn to control yourself, your eyes are blood red!"
LiangLin didn't answer, his mind was muddled with nothing else but the scent and the need to consume it. His head grew heavy and he let it lean to the side as he gasped for air. His skin was tingling and stretched tight over his body. It was becoming unbearable and LiangLin unconsciously reached up to undo his robes.
"We need to get you home, now!" LiYue snapped as she pulled his hand away and started pushing her baby brother towards the brothel. Even though she looked delicate enough that a gust of wind could fly her off her feet, she held immense strength as she pushed LiangLin uphill as if he weighed nothing at all.
"What is going on?" Madam She was looking at her son with what could only be described as anger and worry with a tinge of 'I knew it' mixed in it when LiYue pulled him inside the brothel. Madam She's usually tightened lips were now only a thin line as her brows bunched up and she took hold of LiangLin. He was burning to the touch and still trying to strip off his clothes. "AhYue, why is his pattern showing?"
"I don't know, ma! We just fed a moment ago and he just became like this!"
"What's wrong with number 51?"
"Lin'er?"
"What now? Liang'er?"
"Did something happen?"
The rest of the sisters had now poured out of their rooms, alerted by the movements down in the hall. At that moment, Master She came out from the back towards the main hall. As he spotted first the mass of people, then his son, his jovial smile crumbled and he hurried pass his daughters and took LiangLin out of madam She's arms. "What made him become like this? LinLin, son?"
LiangLin became lifeless as his body drooped over his father's shoulder. He groaned as if in pain, but stayed otherwise silent.
"Dad, we just fed," LiYue said, a slight panic overcoming her usually cool tone, making it high-pitched and grating to the ear.
"From who? Who did you feed from? Where did you find them?" Master She never yelled nor raised his tone towards anyone, yet now, he looked almost predatory, anger fumed from his every pore, darkening his aura. LiYue shrunk back in surprise as she struggled to answer.
"I-it was some random guy following me around. I was feeding from him when AhLin came over. He didn't even feed that much."
"Draw out a cold bath, add ice in it." Master She commanded as he tried LiangLin's temperature. LiangLin was now taking short abrupt breaths, his eyes closed tight. Droplets of sweat broke out all over his skin. "What are you standing around for? Do it, now!"
The girls were whipped into action by their father's sudden outburst and they ran to fetch ice and water. When the bath was drawn, they helped LiangLin undress and placed him in the water. LiangLin gave an approving moan as his body sunk under the freezing cold water, but he never opened his eyes.
"Dad, what is going on? Why is number 51 like this?" The 25th sister asked as she brushed LiangLin's hair to the side and tried his temperature once more. He was still burning, but much better than a moment ago.
"How can this be?" Master She said in a hushed tone as he paced around the already packed room. "Where did you go, AhYue? Who did you encounter?"
LiYue tensed as her father's question hit the air. She blinked guiltily. "I- we parted ways midway down the main street. I went to take a nap in the shadow. I think he went for a swim. He headed for the pier."
"I told you two to go together!" Madam She snarled and LiYue winced.
"He is already an adult. How would I know he would become like this so suddenly?"
"What's it? Why can't he go alone? You have always kept him under surveillance. What is wrong?" The 50th sister now said, and others were nodding in agreement. From all the 51 children, only LiangLin ever was constricted so meticulously by their parents. T
hey knew that he was a male and thus, quite frankly, useless in the snake god society, but even then the restrictions were too much. Their mother's dislike towards having boys explained her behaviour to some degree but this – this was something none of the sisters had expected.
"I never wanted boys." Madam She hissed as she came over to the tub and caressed her son's flushed face with her hand. "Nothing but trouble."
"There aren't many pure male snake gods, to begin with." Master She said as he stopped and took a seat on a chair in the further back. "We should have found him a girl and married him off as soon as he came off age."
"What do you mean 'pure'?" The eldest sister said.
"Born from two true snake gods. Male snakes from other clans have been doing the job of keeping up the snake gods population by marrying female snake gods and producing female offsprings. Most male snakes born under these marriages take on their father's side, becoming a lower rank snake-shifter. I was from a small clan of snake gods and married your mother, moving here. There haven't been many sole snake god couples in a few centuries."
"But why would that matter, being pure or not. You are perfectly normal. No offence, dad." The 25th sister pointed out.
"Male snake gods can ever only marry one person. They are tied to them to the very end while female snakes have no such problem. It's a curse disguised as a blessing."
Madam She threw her husband a disdained look and he cleared his throat. "I was lucky of course, marrying your mother, the love of my life, and so on."
"That is not the problem!" Madam She snapped, her hand still caressing her son's face with gentle strokes. She ran her fingers across the blue mosaic that was now clearly present over LiangLin's forehead. "Whoever possesses the male snake god will be sharing his immortality. If any of those sorcerers found out of Lin'er's existence, his life would be in danger!"
"That is why we live in Hei'ang, far away from everywhere, hidden within these mountains. After marriage, the male snake god will lose their mosaic pattern and they won't be able to be taken advantage of anymore." Master She said, sighing deeply. "Someone or something has triggered LinLin's true form to show true."
"You mean-" The girls looked at each other with alert, slow murmurs erupting among them.
"I'm afraid a sorcerer has entered Hei'ang."