Qing Lin

With both the Strange Fire map and the Purifying Lotus Demon Remnant Map in hand, it was time to search for the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame.

Huo Xuan spread out the map and discovered that it was an exceptionally detailed map of the Tagor Desert. Not only did it precisely mark the locations of water sources in the desert, but it also carefully indicated the Snake-People Tribes scattered throughout it.

Huo Xuan's gaze swept across the map. In the eastern, western, and northern parts of the map, three highly conspicuous flame symbols had been marked.

"These three places should be where the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame is most likely to be hidden."

Huo Xuan searched according to the map for a full five days, yet five days later, he still had nothing to show for it. During those five days, he had not sensed even the slightest aura of a Strange Fire. Although the map marked the Strange Fire's location, each marked location covered a vast area.

As Huo Xuan was feeling troubled, he suddenly recalled that, in the original story, the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame was near Shi Mo City. Wouldn't it be enough to simply go there and look?

With that thought, Huo Xuan immediately adjusted his direction and flew toward Shi Mo City.

Shi Mo City was a city in the desert. Compared with the cities within the empire, it had a little more simplicity and solidity. Perhaps because it lay close to the Tagor Desert, its defenses were much stricter than those in the empire's interior. Fully armed soldiers could be seen patrolling everywhere throughout the city.

"Snake-People are here! Snake-People are here!"

"Get lost, you Snake-Person! Don't stay here—you're only dirtying our eyes."

"This bastard actually survived until now? Aren't children born from humans and Snake-People generally unable to live past two years old?"

"The more I look at this filthy half-snake, the more disgusting she is!"

As Huo Xuan walked down the street, he saw a large crowd gathered ahead and approached out of curiosity. There, he saw a little girl dressed in pale green surrounded by a group of people who were loudly jeering and mocking her.

The little girl in pale green lowered her head timidly. Her slightly frail body trembled faintly, making one unable to help but feel pity for her.

The eyes of the surrounding people were filled with disdain and hatred. Insults and mocking words came one after another, accompanied by cold, disgusted, even hateful stares.

In the end, amid the crowd's curses, the little girl hugged her legs and crouched down, beginning to cry.

"Could she be Qing Lin?"

Near the Tagor Desert, human women were occasionally violated by Snake-People. Humans and Snake-People generally did not conceive children after mating, but nothing was absolute. There was always an extremely small chance that a woman who had been with a Snake-Person would become pregnant and give birth... However, although such children could be born, infants with both human and Snake-People bloodlines generally found it difficult to live beyond the age of two. Qing Lin was an exception.

Qing Lin possessed the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils. The Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils were a rather strange innate eye trait that only appeared in the descendants of humans and Snake-People. Once mastered, they could make others hallucinate. Moreover, these pupils could practically be called the nemesis of all snake-type Magical Beasts, because they had a certain chance of forming a one-sided forced connection with them.

If she were properly nurtured, reaching the Dou Sheng realm in the future would not be a problem. She was a future Dou Sheng! If he recruited her into the Flame Clan, she would become a great asset to the Flame Clan in the future!

At that moment, a burly man in the crowd threw a punch at the little girl. Her body instinctively shrank back, and she closed her eyes, waiting for the pain to come. Yet after waiting for a long time, nothing happened.

When she opened her eyes, she discovered that the burly man's fist had not struck her. It was frozen in midair, caught by a youth of about fifteen.

"You're a grown man, yet you're bullying a little girl. Don't you feel ashamed?" Huo Xuan said coldly as he stared at the burly man.

"I'm giving you one chance now. Get the hell out of here!" With that, Huo Xuan casually shoved him aside.

Clutching his wrist, the burly man cursed furiously, "Ha! I never thought someone would actually protect this Snake-Person! Kid, let me tell you, I'm from the Sand Mercenary Group. I'm in a good mood today, so hurry up and beg me for mercy. Maybe I'll consider sparing you."

The people around them looked at Huo Xuan with strange expressions, as though blaming him for stopping what had happened.

Seeing this, Huo Xuan said nothing more. He had already given the man a chance to live. His figure flashed, and he appeared directly before the burly man. Clenching his right hand into a fist, he viciously punched him.

Before the burly man could react, Huo Xuan's fist slammed heavily into his chest. The man immediately spewed a large mouthful of blood, and his body collapsed to the ground.

The surroundings instantly fell silent. No one even dared to breathe, and terror filled the hearts of the onlookers.

Huo Xuan swept his gaze over the crowd, pointed at the dead burly man on the ground, and said, "Get lost! Otherwise, he'll be your example!"

At Huo Xuan's words, the people around them hurriedly fled in all directions. Before long, they had vanished from Huo Xuan's sight.

Huo Xuan slowly crouched down, reached out to wipe the little girl's tears away, and gently asked, "What's your name?"

Looking at Huo Xuan's handsome face, the little girl timidly said, "Qing... Qing Lin."

"So I was right."

Huo Xuan extended his hand and softly said to Qing Lin, "Qing Lin, come with me. How about I take care of you from now on?"

The gentleness emanating from Huo Xuan made Qing Lin feel deeply attached to him. She unconsciously raised her hand, wanting to grasp his, but when she lifted her arm, the faint green scales on her wrist were exposed right before Huo Xuan's eyes.

The moment she saw this, Qing Lin's little face immediately turned pale. "I... I'm sorry... I... I didn't mean to deceive you."

Qing Lin's small body trembled continuously, and there was even a faintly anxious sobbing tone in her voice.

Huo Xuan smiled softly. He took Qing Lin's wrist and pulled back part of her sleeve. Looking at the faint green scales growing on her snow-white wrist, he said gently, "Why are you apologizing? This isn't your fault. I'll protect you. From now on, no one will ever bully you again."

At those words, Qing Lin looked at Huo Xuan with a strange expression in her eyes. A half-snake was the embodiment of an ancestral curse. This was the first time someone had not insulted her after learning her identity.

Staring into Qing Lin's jade-green eyes, Huo Xuan finally noticed that deep within her pupils were three extremely tiny jade-green dots.

Huo Xuan knew that they were likely the legendary Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils.

"Let's go. I promise that from now on, no one will be able to bully you." Smiling, Huo Xuan took Qing Lin's little hand and led her away.