"Teacher, didn't you say Brother Bai and Queen Medusa had that kind of relationship? Why does it feel like her glare could slice him to pieces?"
Xiao Yan shivered at the bone-chilling voice, a cold sweat breaking out.
"Heh, why worry about their drama?" Yao Lao's chuckle carried a hint of schadenfreude. "I told you that kid was bound to capsize. Now, grab some popcorn—this show's about to get good!"
… Xiao Yan.
That old coot usually played the wise, ethereal sage, but every now and then, his mischievous streak shone through. Xiao Yan had been on the receiving end of it more than once.
"Whoa, he can do that?!" Xiao Yan blurted, eyes wide.
In his line of sight, Xiao Bai tapped the spinning three-colored fire lotus in his palm. Instantly, it unraveled back into a raw flame, shrinking and vanishing as if it had never existed.
"Don't let Xiao Bai fool you," Yao Lao said coolly. "That three-colored fire lotus is trickier to pull off than your two-colored one, but its power? Roughly the same."
"Why's that?" Xiao Yan asked, puzzled.
"Have you forgotten where his cyan-white flames came from? They're recycled from your two-colored lotus after it dissipated."
"Then how'd Brother Bai dismantle the lotus so easily?" That was what floored Xiao Yan. He'd created the fire lotus, but unraveling it? Impossible for him.
"It's likely due to superior flame control and a stronger soul force. If you used two weaker beast flames to form a lotus, you could probably do it too."
"I see…" Xiao Yan stroked his chin, thoughtful.
"Enough of that for now. Focus—this is a rare chance to see that kid squirm!"
Xiao Yan snapped his attention forward.
"Cai Lin, it's been a while!"
After dissolving the fire lotus, Xiao Bai faced the stunning figure ahead, ignoring the icy glint in her narrowed, enchanting eyes. He smiled warmly.
Her gold-red robe clung to her voluptuous, alluring frame, shimmering under the sunlight like a divine goddess, breathtakingly radiant.
"When did you get back?"
Cai Lin's tone was flat, her demeanor still frosty, her hands clasped behind her back, fingers subtly tightening.
A flicker of amusement passed through Xiao Bai's eyes, a realization dawning. So that's why she's so cold.
"Not long ago," he replied, noting her noncommittal expression. He continued, "That Dou Wang over there—she's one of your commanders, right? She can vouch for me."
At this, Medusa didn't glance at Yue Mei, but the chill in her eyes softened slightly, her clenched hands loosening.
"Here to make me fulfill my promise?"
"No!" Xiao Bai shook his head quickly, his gaze odd.
He was indeed here for her help, but he swore—if he'd answered "yes," her barely thawed expression would've frozen over colder than before.
"Oh?" Cai Lin's lips curved faintly, a fleeting illusion of a smile, her voice both sultry and icy. "Then what brings you to the Tagore Desert?"
… Xiao Bai.
This woman's gotten sharper in two years!
She was steering the conversation, pulling him along step by step. Unacceptable!
"Passing through," he shot back, his tone edged with defiance.
"Hmph!" The anticipation in Cai Lin's eyes vanished, her brow darkening. With a cold snort, she turned her back to him, waving dismissively. "If you're just passing through, then leave."
Xiao Bai blinked, caught off guard by her eviction. It took a moment to process before he spun around, grabbed Zi Yan, and started walking.
"Xiao Bai, aren't we going to the Snake-People's royal city?" Zi Yan asked timidly, glancing at his stormy expression as he pulled her along.
"Not anymore!" Xiao Bai waved a hand.
That woman's too spoiled!
Kicking him out over a disagreement? Did she think he, Xiao, had no temper? If she'd just shown a bit of anger or tossed a few sharp words, he'd have chalked it up to her being moody and coaxed her. But this?
"Your Majesty… are you alright?"
Yue Mei approached Cai Lin, noticing her queen staring at the retreating human's back.
The emotions swirling in those narrowed, enchanting eyes sent a jolt through Yue Mei, disbelief washing over her.
Our queen… in love?
She's fallen for a human man? Is this still the ruthless, fearsome Queen of the Snake-People who strikes terror across the Tagore Desert?
On a nearby dune, Xiao Yan had been eagerly watching the drama unfold, expecting the tension to ease. Instead, the two had spiraled into a spat.
"Brother Bai… you're actually leaving?"
He scrambled after the figure striding farther away. With Brother Bai and Queen Medusa at odds, staying here felt like flirting with danger.
"Your Majesty… Your Majesty, what's wrong?"
Yue Mei's voice trembled with panic, her hands flailing as she watched her queen.
Medusa clutched her head, her eyes flashing with intense struggle. From her alluring lips came occasional pained groans.
"Your Majesty, don't scare me!"
Yue Mei's voice cracked, tears welling up. She had no idea what was happening, only that her queen seemed to be in agony, and she was helpless to act.
Since Medusa's breakthrough to Dou Zong, the Snake-People had breathed a sigh of relief, seeing hope to escape the Tagore Desert and fulfill their ancestors' centuries-old dream.
If anything happened to her, with human empires circling like vultures, the Snake-People faced annihilation, their tribe carved up like a feast.
Could it be because of that human?
Yue Mei's hatred for the man surged, itching to tear him apart. How unworthy! The queen's affection is priceless, and it's wasted on him!
___
Meanwhile, Xiao Yan, panting and flushed, finally caught up to Xiao Bai.
"Brother Bai… if you're leaving, take me with you!" he gasped, exhausted from burning through his Dou Qi to keep up. He was lucky Xiao Bai hadn't flown, or he, a grounded chicken, would've been left in the dust.
"Didn't you seem happy hanging out in the Tagore Desert? I thought you wanted to stay," Xiao Bai teased, glancing at the collapsed Xiao Yan.
"Happy? Hardly!" Xiao Yan waved a trembling hand, his voice bitter. "Yun Lan Sect's gone mad, issuing a nationwide manhunt in the Jia Ma Empire for anyone wielding a Heavenly Flame. I had no choice but to hide with the… uh, Snake-People!"
"A manhunt for Heavenly Flame users?" Xiao Bai looked at the fuming Xiao Yan, puzzled.
This wasn't in the original story. Xiao Yan had competed in the Alchemist Conference and even used his Heavenly Flame in front of Nalan Yanran. How had the plot veered so far off course?
"It's all Gu He's fault!"
Xiao Yan launched into a rant about encountering Gu He, being chased, and meeting a female Dou Huang in the Magical Beast Mountain Range.
"Yun Zhi, huh?" Xiao Bai's eyes flickered. Despite the plot's drastic changes, Xiao Yan's misadventures hadn't diminished.
"You said she gave you a token, and that's why you came to the Snake-People for refuge?" Xiao Bai asked after a moment's thought.
"Heh, this kid's shameless, calling her 'sister-in-law' to her face until she caved and gave it to him!" Yao Lao's translucent form floated out, chuckling. "He was too embarrassed to admit it earlier!"
"Yao Lao! Long time no see!"
Xiao Bai nodded at the spectral figure, smiling. "But you… why do you look so weak, like a breeze could scatter you?"
… Yao Lao felt drained.
This kid and his mouth! I'm a bit translucent, sure, but not that fragile!
"You saw that fire lotus earlier, didn't you? With your sharp mind, don't tell me you can't figure out what happened," Yao Lao retorted.
"You'd better take it easy," Xiao Bai said, his tone growing serious. "From what Little Yan Zi told me about your encounters, you must know the identity of that black mist in Yan City's Mo Clan. In your current state, you're in no shape to tangle with them."
"You know about them too?" Yao Lao stared at Xiao Bai, astonished. This kid knows more than he lets on!
"Brother Bai, you know?!" Xiao Yan leapt up, agitated. "Tell me! Teacher clams up whenever that guy comes up, not spilling a word!"
"Little Yan Zi," Xiao Bai patted Xiao Yan's shoulder, shaking his head. "Your cultivation's too low. Wait until you're a Dou Wang—then it won't be too late to know."
"Damn it!" Xiao Yan muttered, exasperated. "Is it that serious? Needing a certain strength just to hear about it?"
"No choice. Even someone like your Brother Bai, at peak Dou Wang, wouldn't even qualify as cannon fodder against them," Xiao Bai said, spreading his hands helplessly.
The Hun Clan aside, the Soul Hall alone was a colossus. Without his foreknowledge of the story, anyone from the Jia Ma Empire learning of it would drown in despair.
In the original tale, Xiao Yan only uncovered the truth gradually as his cultivation rose, making it less jarring.
"Gah!" Xiao Yan's eyes bulged, nearly popping out. Brother Bai, a peak Dou Wang, is less than cannon fodder against them?
After a long pause, he slumped, muttering, "That is pretty damn serious…"
"Teacher! Why'd you come out? Get back in the ring!" Xiao Yan snapped to, frantically urging Yao Lao. "You said those guys are sensitive to soul bodies!"
"Haha, alright, alright, I'm going!"
Yao Lao's cloudy eyes misted, a warm smile spreading across his aged face as he laughed heartily.
This time, I didn't choose wrong.
"By the way, Xiao Bai, a word of advice—go check on Queen Medusa. Something's off with her. Don't let a moment's pique lead to lifelong regret."
Yao Lao's eyes flickered with a trace of reminiscence, a sigh escaping him before he dissolved into a streak of light, returning to Xiao Yan's black ring.
Xiao Bai froze. Something's off with Cai Lin? She was fine earlier, wasn't she?
He turned toward the direction they'd come from, his expression shifting to alarm as a surge of urgency gripped him. Without another thought, five-colored energy wings sprouted behind him, and he shot off in a radiant streak.
___
As Xiao Bai raced back, Yue Mei was about to send a tribal signal to summon the Snake-People commanders when a sinister chuckle, laced with menace, came from the queen before her.
"Heh…"
"What a weakling! Just a man, and he's got you this worked up?"
The venomous voice sent a chill through Yue Mei, who had been relieved to see her queen seemingly recover. Her heart pounded with dread.
"Y-Your Majesty… is that you?"
Yue Mei stared at the queen, who now stood tall, seemingly restored. Her voice trembled with fear.
"What, Yue Mei, don't recognize your queen anymore?"
Medusa shot her a cold glance, raising a hand to inspect it before clenching it tightly, savoring full control of her body. A smirk curled her lips.
"Haha… from now on, I am Queen Medusa. You can stay trapped in the sea of consciousness, savoring the sunless torment I've endured all this time!"
Her laughter cut off with a sudden groan, her eyes flashing with anger. "Pointless. Stop struggling. I should thank him, really. If he hadn't stirred your emotions so fiercely, who knows how long I'd have been stuck waiting to emerge!"
As her words fell, her eyes flickered with conflict, and a fractured, icy voice broke through, "You… must not… harm the Snake-People!"
"Haha, relax. You are me, and I am you. I'm the Snake-People's queen. They're my subjects—why would I harm them?"
Yue Mei clapped a hand over her mouth, horror dawning as she watched her queen argue with herself. What's happening? It's like… there are two queens?
Medusa ignored Yue Mei's expression, sensing the resistance within her weakening. A gleam of triumph lit her eyes. If Cai Lin fought back with full force, it would be troublesome—she might even be suppressed again.
"That's right! If you're tired, just stay put and stop resisting. Watch me lead the Snake-People to greatness!"
"I… will watch you. If you… fail to protect… the Snake-People, I'll shatter my soul… to make you pay!"
"Easy now. Don't you like that human? Once I've settled the Snake-People, I'll drag him back to fulfill your little crush."
Medusa stood with her hands behind her back, her gaze imperious.
"You mean to capture me?"
A thunderous roar rolled across the sands, shaking the air.
____
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