Chapter 45: An Unexpected Delight
Ying ying~
Seeing the enemies taken care of, Ling'er darted out of Yao Yan's arms, leapt onto his shoulder, and proudly lifted her little head, looking arrogantly at the surrounding mercenaries and snake-people who now bowed their heads in awe. Her fluffy tail swayed back and forth.
Fox basking in a tiger's glory… Yao Yan glanced at the smug little creature on his shoulder, then looked coldly at the surrounding mercenaries and ordered, "Drop all the food and water you have. Oh, and the map too."
The mercenaries exchanged uneasy glances before one of them nervously pointed at the corpse of their leader and stammered, "S-Sir… all of it is in the boss's storage ring…"
Yao Yan's eyes shifted to the leader he'd crushed with a single punch. Soul force surged from his brow, enveloping the corpse. Moments later, a storage ring detached from the dead man's finger and flew into his palm. The contents quickly appeared in his mind.
It was a low-grade ring—not much space.
"Found it."
A faint smile curled Yao Yan's lips as he pulled out a detailed map of the Tagor Desert. It even marked several snake-people tribal settlements. But what caught his attention was something near the edge of the map—three words: Jia Ma Empire!
Seeing "Jia Ma Empire" written there, his grin deepened.
Truly, what comes by chance can be the best gift.
After surviving a spatial storm, it seemed his luck had finally turned.
The mercenary who'd spoken looked at Yao Yan in awe and asked cautiously, "Sir, may we… leave?"
"Go ahead."
Yao Yan waved his hand, his mood greatly improved. No need to kill them just to silence them. Honestly, he wasn't worried. Compared to the Realm of Pills or the Shennong Mountain Range, the Jia Ma Empire was practically the novice village of the Dou Qi Continent. Even its strongest experts were just peak Dou Huangs—not a single Dou Zong in sight.
As long as he didn't do anything reckless to provoke all the peak Dou Huangs at once, there was really nothing here to fear.
"Thank you, sir!"
The mercenaries bowed gratefully before fleeing into the sunset, their figures stretching long behind them.
Yao Yan turned toward the remaining snake-people—men and women alike, still shackled. They hadn't moved, unsure of his intentions. They lowered their eyes to show submission, though fury still burned beneath their lashes.
The war between humans and snake-people had raged for over a thousand years.
Against humanity's overwhelming numbers and stronger fighters, the snake-people had suffered endlessly. Forced to retreat deep into the Tagor Desert, they still couldn't escape enslavement and slaughter.
The hatred ran deep in every one of them.
But today, they had met an anomaly. A stunning and powerful human youth who casually unlocked their chains. His eyes were calm and clear as he said gently, "Go. Stay safe. If you get the chance to meet Queen Medusa, pass along my greetings. I'll visit your tribe one day."
With that, he turned his attention back to the map in his hand.
He wasn't really interested in seeing how beautiful and seductive Medusa was. What he cared about was where Wutan City was on this map. He planned to swap out the Xiao Clan's Tuoshe Ancient Emperor Jade—until he reached nine-star Dou Sheng, that piece would vanish from existence.
He understood perfectly—
When the final battle for the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor's inheritance came, only those at the peak of nine-star Dou Sheng would be eligible to participate. Without that strength, you were just background noise, destined to become nourishment for Soul Heaven Emperor's rise.
As for whether the Xiao Clan was being monitored by any members of the Gu Clan, Yao Yan doubted it. If they were, then they wouldn't have been nearly destroyed by the Yunlan Sect and Soul Hall.
Clearly, the Gu Clan didn't take the Xiao Clan's jade seriously.
Even in the original story, they'd only sent Gu Xun'er, a little girl, to retrieve it. Ridiculous.
But it was understandable.
Only when all eight pieces of the jade were gathered did they become useful. One piece alone was meaningless.
Who would've expected the Soul Clan to grow strong enough to wipe out the Stone, Spirit, and Yao Clans—silently stealing their jades without fear of the other ancient clans.
Aside from the jade, Yao Lao's ring was also a priority. Whether it was Bone Spirit Cold Flame or Flame Mantra, he wanted them all.
"I'd better hurry. Any delay could cause changes… I wonder if Gu Xun'er has already visited the Xiao Clan…"
Yao Yan's eyes flickered. The most important thing now was the timeline. If Gu Xun'er had gone to the Xiao Clan already, things would get complicated. Her identity guaranteed that powerful eyes were watching her—maybe even Gu Yuan himself, the peak nine-star Dou Sheng.
If he could get everything done before her arrival, that would be ideal.
He was even toying with a "mask" plan…
"Let's hope everything goes smoothly."
A flicker of golden flame danced in Yao Yan's eyes—burning with ambition. But his expression froze the next moment.
Before him was a pair of pale, soft curves. Heavy and round, barely wrapped in cloth—utterly unable to contain their proud fullness.
He felt like he might suffocate just looking at them.
He looked up slightly, meeting a flawless, makeup-free face.
The girl was beautiful. Her shiny black hair was tied into two simple ponytails that fell down in front of her. Her skin was smooth and radiant. Her slender brows and seductive peach blossom eyes blinked nervously, clearly uneasy. She raised her delicate arms to cover herself modestly.
Below her slender waist trailed a deep blue snake tail, shifting uneasily. In the sunset, the scales shimmered with dazzling brilliance—inviting touch.
"…What do you want?"
Yao Yan asked after a pause, expression unreadable.
This was the same snake-woman he'd noticed earlier—the one whose sealed power had intrigued him. But now that he knew the Jia Ma Empire was nearby, his interest had mostly faded.
She blinked those big watery eyes and said timidly, "Um… I don't know where to go. I've forgotten my name… Can I travel with you for now?"
"What about the other snake-people? They're your kin. Why not ask them for help instead of a human like me?"
Yao Yan was surprised by her choice.
"I don't know why… I just feel like I don't want to go with them. But I don't have anywhere else to go."
She bit her lip, speaking softly. Perhaps it was Yao Yan's earlier actions—or maybe it was just his face—but after a moment's hesitation, she mustered her courage and looked him in the eyes.
"I can cook, clean, wash clothes… I could be your servant!"
She did her best to show her value. Nervous, she clenched her fists, her shimmering eyes full of hope. She swayed her tail to lower her height to eye level with Yao Yan—trying to look obedient, like she was harmless. She was just as good at acting cute as Ling'er.
And just as gullible-looking.
Yao Yan looked into those innocent, childlike blue eyes and fell into thought.
After a while—
He said softly, "If you've got nowhere else to go… then come along for now."
With that, he turned and walked off.
"Okay~"
Her eyes lit up and a sweet smile bloomed on her face. She wiggled her slim waist and swayed her long, graceful tail as she followed.
From one human and one fox…
It became one human, one snake, and one fox.
(END CHAPTER)
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