Qin Yi was soaking in a tub, scrubbing the blood off his body. Next to him was a set of simple blue clothing and cloth shoes. His eyes were unfocused, and his mind was wandering somewhere far away.
The attitude of the White Country's monsters towards them was surprisingly good. Although it seemed to be because they valued Ye Ling, Qin Yi felt that Ye Ling didn’t have that much influence.
All signs pointed to Cheng Cheng possibly being the monster king, Cheng Huang…
Of course, it could also be that he was overthinking things. Once he started to think Cheng Cheng might be the monster king, everything started to look like evidence. As Liu Su said, many key doubts remained unresolved, so they couldn't jump to conclusions.
In fact, judging by the simple blue clothing and cloth shoes sent by the Eagle Commander’s servants, it was clear that they valued Ye Ling, not him, Qin Yi. It was very ordinary clothing, the kind you could buy from anywhere. It was surprising they didn’t just give him the clothes of a servant.
In a dangerous place, the right mindset was to treat the monster king as a stranger and question whether their attitude had hidden motives.
A monster king who leads millions of monsters couldn’t possibly be a nice guy.
Not to mention that the monster king might not even be Cheng Cheng. Even if it were, he couldn’t afford to let his guard down.
“Bang Bang, I’m going to have to trouble you to stay in the ring for a bit…”
Liu Su said, “It’s fine. The ring doesn’t cut off soul power, so being in the ring isn’t much different from being outside. What I really need to worry about is that this monster king is too strong and might discover my presence… So I need to hide well, and you’ll have to rely on yourself.”
“Okay, got it.”
“Actually, anyone who can become a monster king won’t be the kind of reckless and violent low-level monster. Just look at Eagle Li; he has a certain grace. Even if he has his eyes on you, it’s possible to negotiate. If he really wanted to kill you, no amount of preparation would help, since this is his territory.”
Qin Yi shrugged and climbed out of the tub.
Liu Su suddenly went silent.
“Hey, Bang Bang, I heard there are cleansing spells. Teach me sometime; they could be really useful.”
After a long pause, Liu Su finally spoke, “You’d be better off learning cleansing techniques yourself.”
“What did I do to offend you?”
“Hmph… Anyway, once your magical power reaches a certain level, or your body is refined to the point of transformation, you won’t need any techniques to be free of impurities. You think Ye Ling looks so pristine after all those battles because of luck? It’s because her cultivation is much higher than yours, and she’s already free from dust.”
“I see, I’ve found another goal for my training.”
“Tsk, what a small ambition.”
Qin Yi put on the blue clothing and cloth shoes and walked out of the room.
Ye Ling was already waiting outside the main hall. When she saw Qin Yi, her big eyes lit up, “Brother, you look so good in that!”
Qin Yi ruffled his hair, “Of course, it’s all about the temperament.”
Eagle Li glanced at Qin Yi meaningfully. In their training, they didn’t focus on appearances, and their tastes might not align. Whether someone looked good or not didn’t matter. He felt that even though Qin Yi was wearing such seemingly lowly clothing, he didn’t care at all… It was clear he genuinely didn’t care, not just putting on an act.
This state of mind was quite admirable.
He didn’t say anything, just made a gesture, “Let’s go, I’ll take you both to the palace.”
Qin Yi was a bit curious, “It’s already night. Is it appropriate to enter the palace now?”
Eagle Li chuckled, “With our king’s cultivation, there’s no difference between day and night, only whether he’s in seclusion or not.”
The palace wasn’t far from the Eagle Commander’s residence. Soon they arrived, and the palace guards didn’t stop them but said, “The Eagle Commander’s message has been received. The king is waiting in the Fragrant Hall for the Cheng Snake.”
The so-called Fragrant Hall wasn’t the grand and opulent place Qin Yi had imagined. Instead, it was quite simple, just a beautifully carved wooden palace with a pond outside, where some exotic flowers grew, giving off a pleasant fragrance.
Inside the hall, pearls shone brightly, and the sound of silk and bamboo music could be faintly heard.
Eagle Li stopped outside the hall, “Eagle Li brings the Cheng Snake to meet you.”
“Come in,” a woman’s voice called from within. Just those three words made Qin Yi’s heart race.
The voice was so enchanting, it felt like it could seep into one’s bones, almost stealing away the soul. Strangely, it also carried a sense of authority, forcing any wild thoughts to retreat, creating a feeling of unease.
This blend of charm and authority was something Qin Yi had never experienced before in his life. Perhaps in movies, someone had tried to portray it, but nothing compared to this voice that truly held monster power.
As he stepped into the hall, he saw a beautiful woman dancing, surrounded by various instruments, the music flowing gently. In the main seat, a graceful figure lay on a soft cushion, one delicate hand propping up her forehead, watching the three of them enter.
The long white dress concealed her body but perfectly highlighted her reclining figure, enough to make anyone’s heart flutter—if only you didn’t see her face.
That wasn’t a human face; it was a fox.
A very beautiful fox that wouldn’t make you feel disgusted by monsters. Instead, it felt natural for that fox face to belong to a human body. With just one glance from those enchanting eyes, it was like being struck by the charm of a stunning human beauty, a natural allure that stirred the blood.
But this wasn’t just a fox; it was Cheng Huang.
The white people’s Cheng Huang looked like a fox.
Ye Ling stared in awe, “Sister, you’re so beautiful.”
“Oh? Is that so?” Cheng Huang smiled slightly, “But I heard from the birds outside the city that you think I look ugly.”
Ye Ling hurriedly said, “Sister, you’re different from them. I’ve never seen such a beautiful sister before.”
Cheng Huang looked at Eagle Li, “This Cheng Snake is quite impressive. She has no monster cultivation techniques but has managed to reach the eighth level of transformation on her own… It seems she has mixed the blood of various monster pythons and dragons within her, with limitless potential.”
Eagle Li bowed, “She is indeed a talent. Given time, she will be a general of our White Country.”
Cheng Huang’s smile grew even more charming.
Qin Yi stood by, dazed. He had been trying to find traces of Cheng Cheng in Cheng Huang, but he couldn’t find any. The charm and authority mixed together, along with the invisible pressure from her monster power, made Cheng Huang feel like a completely different creature from Cheng Cheng.
The most crucial part was that he genuinely thought a fox face looked bright and beautiful. This was just bizarre.
But it seemed Cheng Huang didn’t care about him at all. Her beautiful eyes didn’t glance at him for even a moment. After saying a few words to Eagle Li, she kindly asked, “Little Cheng Snake, what’s your name?”
“My name is Ye Ling.”
“Ye Ling… What a lovely name. Do you have any family?”
“No, I don’t.” Ye Ling shook her head blankly, “I haven’t had any family since I can remember. The only family I have is my brother.”
“Brother?”
Ye Ling tugged at Qin Yi’s sleeve, “This is my brother. His name is Qin Yi.”
“A human?” Cheng Huang smiled playfully, “There’s no way a human would genuinely treat a monster as a sister. You’re young and naive; you’ve been deceived.”
Ye Ling shouted, “That’s not true!”
“Is that so?” Cheng Huang lazily took off a bracelet from her wrist and tossed it.
The bracelet fell to the ground, automatically growing larger and turning into a round mirror. The mirror faced Qin Yi, reflecting his image.
Qin Yi frowned.
He noticed the reflection in the mirror didn’t follow his movements. For example, when he frowned, the mirror still showed no expression.
“This is a heart-reflecting mirror, just a little trick,” Cheng Huang explained lazily, then directly asked the mirror, “Hey, what’s your Ye Ling like in your heart? What do you think of her?”
The Qin Yi in the mirror spoke, “That’s my sister, a silly and timid little snake who always gets bullied. I feel sorry for her. I don’t know if it’s right to leave her in the White Country this time. I’ll have to come back to see her. If she gets bullied again, I’ll take care of that Cheng Huang.”
Cheng Huang’s expression froze, then turned very strange.
Eagle Li looked up at the ceiling, not daring to glance sideways.
Ye Ling covered her mouth, trying not to laugh.
Qin Yi’s cheeks twitched.
The music in the hall stopped, and it was dead silent.
(End of Chapter)