NOVEL WEB Chapter 144 - Yan Ci
The cloaked woman, now aware of Xiao Yan’s identity, furrowed her brows slightly.
This time, she had secretly come to the remote Tager Desert from Jia Ma Sacred City to investigate those violators who were secretly engaging in slave trade, violating the royal decree of the Jia Ma Empire. The Jia Ma royal family had heard about it, but every attempt to investigate deeper had been blocked by an insurmountable force, causing repeated setbacks for the Jia Ma royal family.
And that immovable force was the Yun Lan Sect!
Although the cloaked woman currently didn’t have concrete evidence, all signs indicated that the Yun Lan Sect was the protector of these illegal slave businesses.
In the cloaked woman’s mind, Nalan Yanran, as the young mistress of the Yun Lan Sect, was not trustworthy, and neither was the Nalan family behind her. The engagement with the Xiao Clan, which had a marriage contract with the Nalan family, was also dubious.
Before coming here, the cloaked woman had initially not planned to go to the Desert Metal Mercenary Company. After all, it was a mercenary group established by the daughters of the Xiao Clan, and suspicions surrounded their connection with the illicit activities.
However, after arriving and gathering information, the cloaked woman learned that for the past half year, Xiao Li had been risking his life leading the Desert Metal Mercenary Company to strongly combat the slave trade. They successfully established a trade link with the snake-people, projecting an image of wanting peaceful coexistence between humans and the snake-people.
This left the cloaked woman somewhat uncertain.
If the Xiao Clan were truly colluding with the slave traders backed by the Yun Lan Sect, there was no need for Xiao Li and Xiao Ding to go to such lengths, even if it was just for show. The only explanation was that they genuinely wished for this outcome.
But in the cloaked woman’s mind, speculation was not equivalent to evidence.
Even if there was only this one explanation, the cloaked woman couldn’t completely trust the Desert Metal Mercenary Company.
In her state of hesitation, the cloaked woman ultimately decided to go to the mercenary group, hire them, and let them take her to the snake-people’s territory.
One reason was that the cloaked woman’s main goal this time was to talk to the snake-people through her own identity, attempting to resolve years of misunderstanding between the two sides. The second reason was to gain a deeper understanding of the people in the Desert Metal Mercenary Company through the hiring process, and to personally determine if Xiao Li and Xiao Ding were colluding with the Yun Lan Sect.
However, she didn’t expect that in the end, Xiao Li would have her brother, Xiao Yan, accompany her.
From what the cloaked woman had seen so far, Xiao Yan had no issues, including the young girl, Qing Lin, who accompanied him.
Especially just now, if Xiao Yan truly didn’t care about the relationship between the snake-people and humans, he could have easily justified killing them when facing that snake-people group. After all, the cloaked woman had observed their attitude towards him, and Xiao Yan could have explained it as self-defense.
Instead, he not only knocked them unconscious but also worried about them being attacked by magical beasts, dragging them along on the journey.
At least Xiao Yan’s actions demonstrated that he didn’t want to disrupt the already unstable relationship between humans and the snake-people with his actions.
This reduced the cloaked woman’s vigilance towards Xiao Yan.
To put it bluntly, with Xiao Yan’s strength being so mismatched with his level, if he really wanted to do something to her, her seven-star Dou Shi (Battle Master, 3rd Level) strength seemed insufficient to resist. He could have killed her on the spot, and nobody would have known.
Xiao Yan dragged the group of snake-people along with Qing Lin and the cloaked woman until dusk, following the map and gradually approaching the snake-people’s territory.
“Let’s rest here for today.”
Looking towards the horizon of the desert, Xiao Yan spoke, but before the cloaked woman and Qing Lin could respond, an indescribable pressure suddenly manifested from above the three.
Soon after, a majestic and deeply hostile voice rang out.
“Who dares to intrude into our snake-people’s sacred territory?!”
!!!
Xiao Yan and the others abruptly raised their heads, witnessing a male Snake Person hovering in mid-air. His fiery red body seemed wrapped in scorching flames, and the illusory wings of Dou Qi behind him silently indicated his level.
Dou Qi Wings! It’s Dou Wang (Battle King, 6th Level)!!!
Recognizing the figure from the information she had seen before, the cloaked woman immediately identified the male Snake Person in the sky.
One of the leaders of the eight snake-people tribes, the chief of the Yan Snake Tribe, Yan Ci!
Watching Yan Ci above, Xiao Yan furrowed his brows slightly. However, his eyes showed no fear. He released the rope he held, took a step forward, and clasped his hands in a gesture of respect towards Yan Ci.
“Senior, I am Xiao Yan from the Desert Metal Mercenary Company.”
“Xiao Yan?” Yan Ci, upon hearing Xiao Yan’s introduction, furrowed his brows slightly. “What is your relationship with Xiao Li?”
“Xiao Li is my elder sister. I came here this time to confirm my elder sister’s safety.”
Upon hearing Xiao Yan’s reply, Yan Ci lowered his head and glanced at the tied-up group of snake-people on the ground. He asked with a cold tone, “Did you do this to these snake-people?”
“Please rest assured, Senior. These snake-people have no threat to their lives. I just knocked them unconscious. I brought them along because I’m concerned they might be attacked by desert magical beasts. I have no other intentions.”
After hearing Xiao Yan’s response, Yan Ci remained silent for a moment. He then suddenly disappeared from the distance and reappeared in front of Xiao Yan. His tall figure emitted a scorching aura, and he looked down at Xiao Yan, who seemed relatively small in comparison.
“Xiao Yan, young master!”
Qing Lin, seeing this, immediately reacted and was about to rush forward. However, Xiao Yan raised a hand to stop her, keeping his eyes fixed on Yan Ci. Despite his stern expression, Xiao Yan’s gaze showed no fear.
But secretly, Xiao Yan’s entire body was quietly tensing up, ready to respond to any potential attacks from Yan Ci.
Observing Xiao Yan’s fearless eyes, Yan Ci furrowed his brows slightly. With a burning aura, he slowly spoke.
“Your eyes are similar to your sister’s.” Yan Ci stared at Xiao Yan, saying in a slow voice, “This kind of gaze is something only those with strong convictions possess.”
“Thank you for the compliment, Senior.”
Xiao Yan maintained his composed demeanor and responded calmly. His serene attitude made Yan Ci involuntarily chuckle.
“You and your sister are indeed similar. Despite the vast difference in strength between us, neither of you shows any fear or the hatred that other humans often display when facing tribe leaders. Perhaps it’s because of this that we are willing to try to believe in her.”
Yan Ci raised his hand, gesturing towards the ropes that Xiao Yan had just let go of, and he seized them in his own hands. He then took out a flaming red token from his waist and casually tossed it to Xiao Yan.
“Take this token. Continue forward. If you encounter snake-people blocking your way, show them this token. They will let you pass. Head to the end; that’s where the territory of our Queen is, and your sister, Xiao Li, is also there.”
Xiao Yan stared at the token in his hand for a while, then reacted. He held the token and expressed his gratitude with a clasped fist.
“Thank you for the gift, Senior.”
“If you want to thank someone, thank your sister instead.” Yan Ci lifted the group of snake-people, flapping the wings of Dou Qi on his back, and slowly ascended into the air. “Let me make it clear in advance, I don’t have a good impression of humans. But since there are people like your sister among them, I suppose the human race hasn’t deteriorated to the point of despair yet.”
“Genuinely sincere individuals are rare these days.”
Leaving these words behind, Yan Ci flew towards the distance with the snake-people, drawing a crimson streak in the night sky and leaving Xiao Yan and the others standing in astonishment.
______________ Translator Note ______________
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