NOVEL NEXT Chapter 202: We Leave Her To You
After returning to the Snake-People Tribe’s Sacred City with Xiao Yixian, Xiao Yan didn’t immediately meet with Xiao Li and Xiao Ding, instead retreating to his own room.
Considering his current terrifying appearance, he didn’t want Xiao Li and Xiao Ding to see him like this and worry unnecessarily. Since Senior Yao had assured him of recovery, there was no need to burden his two sisters with additional concerns.
After about half a day, with the help of Senior Yao medicine, Xiao Yan had mostly recovered, including his half-corroded face. Although the internal injuries caused by Xiao Yixian’s Dou Qi erosion hadn’t completely healed, there were no visible issues on the surface.
“Your internal injuries haven’t fully healed yet. Avoid using Dou Qi recently to prevent a relapse,” Yao Chen reminded Xiao Yan.
Xiao Yan immediately acknowledged, “I understand.”
However, Yao Chen didn’t believe Xiao Yan’s assurance one bit. This kid might remember, but whether he would follow through depended on circumstances. Yao Chen knew Xiao Yan’s character too well.
In fact, the incident where Xiao Yan had promised Xiao Li not to act recklessly, only to get seriously injured protecting Yun Yun shortly after, was a vivid example. Then there was the time he ventured alone into the Heavenly Flame to save Queen Medusa.
To most people, Xiao Yan’s actions might seem like reckless bravado, breaking his promises. However, Xiao Yan’s definition of recklessness was straightforward: as long as he didn’t die, it wasn’t reckless.
He was truly unique.
Knowing Xiao Yan’s rather ineffective promises, Yao Chen didn’t say anything further. Xiao Li, his eldest sister, had probably reminded him of this countless amount of times, yet he remained the same. What was the point of lecturing him?
As Yao Chen sighed, Xiao Yan approached the door and opened it wide, only to find Xiao Yixian anxiously waiting outside.
“Xiao Yan!”
Seeing Xiao Yan come out, Xiao Yixian’s face lit up with joy. Looking at Xiao Yan’s mostly recovered appearance, she also felt a deep sense of relief.
Though she no longer kept her distance from Xiao Yan to avoid causing trouble, Xiao Yixian still didn’t want Xiao Yan to suffer permanent harm because of her.
Initially, Xiao Yixian didn’t quite believe Xiao Yan’s claim that he could heal his injuries, even restoring his half-corroded face. But seeing Xiao Yan’s restored appearance, she finally felt reassured.
“I told you, everything’s fine~” Xiao Yan smiled and waved to Xiao Yixian.
“It’s getting late now. Let’s go back and rest. I’ll go tell my sisters, and we’ll set off tomorrow.”
“Okay.” Xiao Yixian nodded lightly as Xiao Yan walked away to find Xiao Li.
However, even though Xiao Yan said that, he didn’t know which room Xiao Li and Xiao Ding were in, nor did he seek Yao Chen’s help. Xiao Yan didn’t want to trouble his teacher with such trivial matters.
Just as Xiao Yan was pondering where to find Xiao Li, he turned a corner and bumped into Yao Ye. Upon seeing Xiao Yan, Yao Ye was momentarily surprised, then asked with concern, “Xiao Yan, have you found your friend?”
“Thank you for your concern; she’s safe,” Xiao Yan smiled and nodded, then asked, “Princess Yao Ye, do you know where my sister is? I don’t know which room she’s staying in.”
“Perfect timing. I’m also going to see Commander Xiao Li. I’ll take you there,” Yao Ye replied.
“In that case, I’ll trouble Princess Yao Ye,” Xiao Yan said softly.
Yao Ye shrugged helplessly at Xiao Yan’s politeness. What’s the big deal?
Yao Ye then led the way with Xiao Yan following slightly behind. Along the way, Yao Ye turned her face slightly towards Xiao Yan and said, “Xiao Yan, could you stop calling me ‘Princess’? You’re being too respectful.”
Constantly addressing her as “Princess” and using the formal “you” even with a peer like herself made Yao Ye uncomfortable.
To Yao Ye’s words, Xiao Yan responded earnestly, “You are a princess of the empire, while I am just a commoner. Naturally, I must show respect in addressing you according to your status.”
Upon hearing Xiao Yan’s reply, Yao Ye was even more speechless and raised her eyebrows with a hint of exasperation.
This stubborn guy…
Despite feeling frustrated by Xiao Yan’s inflexibility, Yao Ye recognized objectively that Xiao Yan was truly remarkable. He didn’t become arrogant due to his achievements, always maintaining his place and not letting success go to his head.
For a monarch, someone like Xiao Yan was truly rare.
Nevertheless, Yao Ye sighed lightly.
“Ah~ Someone who wants to change your mindset must have a few screws loose,” Yao Ye remarked, looking at Xiao Yan with a smile. “At least, when it’s just the two of us, don’t be so formal. You can call me by my name.”
“Well…” Xiao Yan looked a bit hesitant, but seeing Yao Ye’s determined expression, he nodded in agreement.
“I understand, Yao Ye… Miss.”
Xiao Yan’s face twisted for a moment, eventually adding a slightly less respectful honorific.
Yao Ye raised an eyebrow in slight displeasure but realized this was probably the extent of Xiao Yan’s current capability to change. She shrugged helplessly.
“Just get used to it gradually,” Yao Ye said, smiling at Xiao Yan. “I consider you a friend, and I’m sure you don’t want your friends to be overly respectful to you, right?”
“Haha…” Xiao Yan didn’t know how to respond to Yao Ye’s words, ultimately nodding silently.
Guided by Yao Ye, the two arrived at a room. Yao Ye knocked on the door, but there was no response even after a long wait, which puzzled her.
“Not in the room?” Yao Ye pondered for a moment, then turned to Xiao Yan. “They’re probably discussing matters in the main hall. Let’s go over there and find them.”
“Okay.”
Xiao Yan nodded and followed Yao Ye towards the main hall.
A few minutes later, they reached the main hall. The door was wide open, and as they looked inside, their eyes widened in shock.
The scene inside the hall was horrifying! The walls were all cracked and damaged, curtains torn to shreds, and even the magnificent throne reduced to rubble.
Numerous figures lay scattered on the floor, including the seven Tribe Leaders of the Snake-People Tribe and Xiao Yan’s two sisters, Xiao Li and Xiao Ding.
In the center, a colorful little snake appeared pitiful, crying loudly like a baby, tears gathering into a small pond beneath it.
Both Yao Ye and Xiao Yan twitched their eyebrows in disbelief.
What happened here? An attack?
Ignoring Xiao Li and Xiao Ding for now, the fact that all seven Tribe Leaders were down here was shocking! What kind of strength could defeat them all without causing much commotion?!
At that moment, the colorful little snake crying in the middle suddenly spotted Xiao Yan standing dumbfounded at the door. Its eyes lit up, and it rushed towards Xiao Yan at lightning speed. Even the tears on its face turned into straight lines as its small body collided into Xiao Yan’s chest. The impact momentarily stopped Xiao Yan’s heart, and he couldn’t help but cough up blood, his injuries from earlier not fully healed.
Although it looked petite, cute, and pitiful, this colorful little snake was a genuine Dou Zong (Battle Ancestor, 8th Level)! The head-on collision nearly took Xiao Yan’s life!
In that instant, Xiao Yan seemed to understand what had happened in the hall.
“Xiao Yan!”
Seeing Xiao Yan coughing up blood, Yao Ye immediately snapped out of her daze and exclaimed.
Then, they saw the culprit causing Xiao Yan’s condition snuggling against his chest. Its small head kept rubbing against him, its snake face filled with grievance, emitting sobbing sounds.
While Yao Ye was still in shock, Xiao Li in the hall slowly climbed to her feet. She looked towards Yao Ye standing at the door and spoke softly.
“Princess Yao Ye, you’re here…”
“Commander Xiao Li!”
Yao Ye suddenly came to her senses, rushed into the hall, and helped Xiao Li up, anxiously asking questions.
“What exactly happened?! An attack?”
“No— it wasn’t an attack.” Xiao Li adjusted her breathing, her voice trembling, a wry smile on her face. “It’s worse than an attack…”
To be honest, given what they had just experienced, Xiao Li would prefer to have faced an attack.
Upon hearing Xiao Li’s words, Yao Ye was suddenly dumbfounded.
Not an attack, but worse than an attack?
What does that mean?
At that moment, Xiao Ding and the seven Tribe Leaders also slowly got up. After everyone explained the situation, Yao Ye finally understood what had happened.
Earlier in the morning, after the colorful little snake had eaten its fill of the Heavenly Flame from Xiao Yan, it had fallen asleep peacefully. Yu Mei carefully placed it on the throne of Queen Medusa, along with the other seven Tribe Leaders, keeping watch. Some of the Tribe Leaders were entrusted by Xiao Li to find Xiao Yixian and had left for a while, only to return shortly after because Xiao Yixian had already been found and brought back.
However, just ten minutes ago, Xiao Li and Xiao Ding had arrived in the main hall to discuss matters concerning the Snake-People Tribe and the Jia Ma Empire.
It was at this moment that the colorful little snake woke up.
It gently shook its small head, glanced around, and its eyes suddenly changed. Tears gushed out, and it began causing a ruckus in the hall, crying and throwing a tantrum.
The seven Tribe Leaders tried their best to console the colorful little snake upon seeing its distressed state.
However, none of their efforts were effective.
The colorful little snake, for some reason, went berserk and caused chaos. It attacked anyone who approached, ignoring all attempts to calm it down.
Not to mention that only the seven Tribe Leaders with Dou Wang (Battle King, 6th Level) level strength could possibly restrain a Dou Zong (Battle Ancestor, 8th Level) level colorful little snake. Besides, this colorful little snake was their Queen, and they didn’t dare to use excessive force to control it.
The result was that in their attempts to stop the colorful little snake’s tantrum, they ended up being heavily affected themselves, including Xiao Li and Xiao Ding, who had come there to discuss matters.
“Where’s Her Majesty the Queen?!”
Yu Mei, just waking up, was alarmed to find no trace of the colorful little snake in the hall, her expression filled with panic.
Meanwhile, Yao Ye, supporting Xiao Li, extended her hand and pointed to Xiao Yan, who was still lying outside the hall.
“He’s over there…”
“Yan-er?!”
“Xiao Yan!”
Xiao Li and Xiao Ding, seeing Xiao Yan lying motionless outside the hall, immediately panicked and hurried over.
What they saw next was the colorful little snake peacefully coiled on Xiao Yan’s chest, quietly asleep. Xiao Yan, who had been coughing up blood after the collision, finally regained his strength and slowly sat up, grimacing.
“It hurts…”
Xiao Yan couldn’t help but groan softly. That collision from the colorful little snake had almost made him black out, even momentarily losing consciousness.
After experiencing it firsthand, Xiao Yan had no more doubts about the colorful little snake’s Dou Zong (Battle Ancestor, 8th Level) level strength.
This little fellow was truly a formidable monster!
Seeing the colorful little snake sleeping peacefully on Xiao Yan’s chest, the seven Tribe Leaders all breathed a sigh of relief. Then, they raised a question.
Why did it suddenly stop causing trouble?
Earlier, all seven of them had tried their best to calm down this little troublemaker, to no avail. How come it was sleeping so soundly now?
Xiao Li looked at the colorful little snake curled up on Xiao Yan’s chest and, after a moment of contemplation, spoke softly.
“Perhaps… This Nine-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python has taken a liking to Xiao Yan.”
“Huh?!”
Xiao Li’s words stunned everyone, including Xiao Yan, who pointed at himself in surprise.
“Taken a liking to me? Why?”
“There are two reasons I can think of. One, it now feeds on the Heavenly Flame, and currently, among the people here, only you can provide the Heavenly Flame.”
Upon hearing Xiao Li’s words, Xiao Yan’s face suddenly turned dark.
Is it… treating me as a meal ticket?
Xiao Li continued.
“The second reason should be related to the day you rushed into the Heavenly Flame to save Queen Medusa,” Xiao Li looked at Xiao Yan calmly. “Although this Nine-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python’s current intelligence is that of a child, it ultimately evolved from Queen Medusa. Perhaps Queen Medusa’s gratitude towards you has imprinted into its soul, causing it to feel a strong affinity towards you.”
Xiao Li’s words suddenly made everyone realize. Yu Mei looked at Xiao Li with a serious expression.
“So, the reason Her Majesty the Queen was causing such a fuss earlier was because…”
“It was because it woke up and didn’t see Xiao Yan,” Xiao Li said helplessly with a wry smile. “In the Nine-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python’s consciousness, Xiao Yan is its closest person, just like its parents.”
Silence fell upon everyone.
Then, Yu Mei glanced at the other Tribe Leaders, and they all nodded in agreement.
Next, Yu Mei turned to Xiao Yan and spoke.
“Xiao Yan,we entrusted Queen Medusa to you!!”
“Huh???”
Xiao Yan was momentarily dumbfounded.