Shameless Sha Bi

"Wahahaha... My brother truly has the bearing of an ancient ancestor!!"

After leaving the top floor, Yan Lin and Cauliflower Snake, who had arranged to head back together, walked out of the Transmission Pavilion. Along the way, his best buddy Cauliflower Snake showered him with praise, saying he had the bearing of an ancient ancestor and the majesty of a king.

He was just short of kneeling down and calling him godfather!

Faced with his friend's flattery, Yan Lin merely smiled and traded boasts with him. The two chatted merrily, laughing together.

Men's happiness was just that simple.

But happiness was always fleeting. Not long after they left the Transmission Pavilion, Sha Bi, who had been waiting outside for quite some time, suddenly sprang out.

"Yan Lin!"

Seeing Sha Bi block their path, Yan Lin frowned slightly.

Cauliflower Snake assumed he was looking for trouble and immediately rebuked him without courtesy. "Insolence, Sha Bi! Is the Saint King's name something you can casually call?"

When no one else was around, they were brothers and friends who could address each other however they pleased. But in public, Cauliflower Snake would firmly uphold Yan Lin's dignity.

This was the agreement he had made with Yan Lin when they reunited in the Transmission Pavilion.

Although Yan Lin had said there was no need for such formalities, Cauliflower Snake still firmly believed they were necessary. He did not want Yan Lin to break the clan's rules because of him.

The Snake People Clan was actually much like magical beasts, with a strict hierarchy.

Yan Lin's status was equal to the Queen's, making him supremely noble.

In public, Cauliflower Snake did not want to lose propriety and make Yan Lin lose face. His rebuke of Sha Bi was not entirely because he disliked the other party; it was more to protect Yan Lin's dignity.

Sha Bi's reaction, however, caught both Yan Lin and Cauliflower Snake by surprise. They had thought that even if Sha Bi feared Yan Lin's status, he would still refuse to submit and argue back as before.

Who would have thought that after glancing around and confirming that the awakened snake people had mostly left and no other clansmen were nearby, Sha Bi slid to his knees and kowtowed to Yan Lin. "Your Majesty Saint King, I was wrong."

Yan Lin and Cauliflower Snake both froze. They looked at each other, each seeing surprise in the other's eyes. They had thought Sha Bi had come to stir up trouble again, but who knew he would kneel so smoothly?

But on further thought, Sha Bi's behavior was perfectly normal.

Before, he could rely on his father. Now, even that was no longer an option. After all, no matter how formidable his father was, he could not compare to the Four Great Elders and Queen Medusa.

Sha Bi was not stupid either. Yan Lin now held a status equal to the Queen's, and the Four Great Elders had acknowledged his potential as the greatest in the clan. He understood that he would never be able to contend with Yan Lin again.

Though he had struggled to accept it at first, after his parents, who had come to watch his Awakening Ceremony, learned of the situation and persuaded him, Sha Bi came to terms with it.

For himself and for his family, he knew he could not be willful.

Besides, he thought his father was right. Losing to the Saint King was not shameful—it was an honor!

A Saint King appeared only once every ten million years in the clan. What did it matter if he could not measure up? At the very least, he had once dared to challenge the Saint King and compete for first place. That was a record he could boast about, wasn't it?

He would have something to brag about from now on.

"Damn, he really found himself a wide road."

After his initial shock, Cauliflower Snake could not help seeing Sha Bi in a new light, muttering under his breath.

As Yan Lin's childhood friend, Cauliflower Snake had been influenced by him for so long that he had become just as bad, full of cheeky remarks and no less sharp-tongued than an online troll.

"To be honest, I still prefer the way you used to be—wild and untamed."

With a shift in his gaze, Yan Lin looked down at Sha Bi, coughed twice, and spoke in a lightly teasing tone.

At those words, memories of the past flooded Sha Bi's mind. His face felt like it was being slapped again and again, flushing red with embarrassment. He had indeed been arrogant in the past, relying on his father's status. He had especially loved provoking Yan Lin, and now that he had been thoroughly slapped in the face, he could not help blushing.

Still a teenager, Sha Bi could not yet hide his emotions, and his expression gave everything away. Though he felt humiliated, he did not snap back as usual. Instead, he forced an awkward smile and sincerely apologized to Yan Lin once more.

"Your Majesty Saint King, please stop making fun of me. I truly know I was wrong. I was immature before. For the sake of our shared clan, I hope Your Majesty will not hold it against me."

Before coming to find Yan Lin, he had already prepared himself mentally. He had always targeted Yan Lin in the past, so it was only natural that the latter would mock him a little to vent his resentment.

Sha Bi believed his father was right: as long as it was not a matter of life and death, it was a small matter. A few words from the Saint King would not cost him flesh or kill him. If he could resolve their grudge with the Saint King and perhaps even seize the chance to cling to his coattails, then his future would be bright indeed.

Sha Bi's greatest virtue was that he listened to advice.

Especially when it came from his parents. Sha Bi listened to them because he knew they loved him most in this world and would never harm him.

"Forget it. We're of the same clan. I won't make things difficult for you."

Sha Bi had sincerely admitted his mistake, so Yan Lin could not bring himself to make things difficult for him.

There was no deep hatred between him and Sha Bi. They were clansmen who had grown up together, practically childhood friends. A little rivalry now and then was nothing.

If he nitpicked over everything, it would only make this Saint King seem petty and vengeful.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Seeing Yan Lin relent and cease making things difficult for him, Sha Bi raised his head in surprise and glanced at him. He had not expected Yan Lin to let him off so easily. Sha Bi, who had mentally rehearsed countless scenes of Yan Lin ridiculing and retaliating against him, was greatly taken aback. But after recovering, he hurriedly thanked him and began flattering him again.

"Your Majesty is magnanimous and truly a model for our generation. My admiration for you is like the surging river, endless and unceasing..."

Hearing those extremely familiar words, Yan Lin looked at Sha Bi strangely. Did this brat get possessed by Wei Xiaobao?

If he had not spent more than ten years around Sha Bi, Yan Lin might truly have thought the other man was a transmigrator as well.

Cauliflower Snake also looked at Sha Bi as if he were meeting him for the first time. He had never imagined that this fellow had such a side to him.

"Enough. Stop flattering me. Just don't provoke me in the future, and I won't go looking for trouble with you."

Yan Lin interrupted Sha Bi, and his expression had clearly softened considerably.

As the saying went, no armor could withstand flattery.

Everyone enjoyed being buttered up to some extent, and Yan Lin was no exception.

Seeing Yan Lin's expression soften, Sha Bi's eyes lit up. He immediately took advantage of the opening, wrapped himself around Yan Lin's snake tail, and pleaded.

"Your Majesty truly possesses the bearing of a Saint King. Please allow me to become your most loyal subordinate. Being able to follow at your side would be my supreme honor. I will serve you tirelessly and remain loyal until death..."

Yan Lin and Cauliflower Snake once again saw Sha Bi in a new light. This guy had completely let himself go and become utterly shameless.

His skin was probably so thick that even a 7.62 bullet could not penetrate it.

At that moment, though, Yan Lin felt that Sha Bi did not quite live up to his name.

It was already no easy thing for a proud young man to lower his head. For Sha Bi to so brazenly beg to cling to the thigh of his former "mortal enemy," he possessed something of the bearing of the Han Dynasty's founding emperor—a man capable of great things.

However, no matter how shamelessly Sha Bi flattered him, Yan Lin had no intention of taking him in.

He did not trust Sha Bi.

This fellow had been truly obnoxious in the past. Letting him off was already Yan Lin being generous, and that was only because they were of the same clan and held no deep grudge.

Taking him on as a lackey was impossible.

So, faced with the shameless Sha Bi, Yan Lin merely humored him with a few vague words. He neither agreed nor explicitly refused before sending him away.