Qing Lin

Under Yan Lin's bloodline suppression, both the bald leader's squad and Medusa's royal guards knelt in submission. Yan Lin paid them no mind. After withdrawing his pressure, he slithered straight toward the green-clad girl who was trembling violently.

With a crack, the hand blade condensed from Yan Lin's Dou Qi sliced through the shackles on the girl's wrists and ankles, freeing her from the prisoners and leading her away alone.

The green-clad girl, held by Yan Lin's hand, was deathly pale, like a candle flame in the wind that could be snuffed out by fright at any moment.

Seeing how terrified she was, Yan Lin calmly addressed her in a gentle tone. "Little girl, don't be afraid. I won't hurt you. Can you tell me your name?"

Still trembling, the girl was hearing someone speak to her in such a gentle tone for the first time. Her frantic, uneasy heartbeat gradually began to calm.

She timidly glanced at Yan Lin. His expression was gentle, unlike the other vicious-looking snake people, and there was not a trace of disgust in his eyes.

She had never seen such a gaze in all her life. For a moment, she was lost in a daze.

She even forgot to be afraid.

When she came back to herself, the girl was still timid. She lowered her head, not daring to keep looking at Yan Lin. Yet after a moment of silence, she answered him.

"Qing... Qing Lin."

The green-clad girl's voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz, and the tremor in it made even Yan Lin feel a little pity for her.

So it really is her. With that thought, Yan Lin began considering taking Qing Lin under his wing.

His sights had never been limited to the tiny Jia Ma Empire, but rather the entire Dou Qi Continent.

To stand at the peak of this continent and shatter the void, he would inevitably have to contend with the Imperial Clans. Naturally, he needed to build his own force.

Qing Lin possessed the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils. Born into hardship, she would be easy to win over, and Yan Lin naturally would not let her slip away.

He would take advantage of Qing Lin's youth and fool her into becoming his...

Ahem, ahem. He definitely was not lusting after Qing Lin's body. He was not that low, nor would he do something so beastly.

He merely wanted to recruit a capable subordinate!

Yes, that was all.

"Qing Lin? That's a lovely name."

Yan Lin swiftly threw himself into the act. Still speaking gently, he said, "Come to think of it, we really are fated. Just like you, my name also has the character 'Lin' in it. My name is Yan Lin."

As the youth spoke, a warm, sunlike smile appeared on his handsome small face.

His speech was unhurried and his expression mild, like an older brother next door. Gradually, he soothed the green-clad girl's anxious heart, allowing her taut nerves to slowly relax until she was no longer so tense.

Only after seeing Qing Lin's emotions settle somewhat did Yan Lin organize his words and find an excuse. "Little girl, I happen to be lacking an obedient maid at my side. If you're willing to become my personal maid and help me handle miscellaneous matters, I can provide you with food and shelter, ensure you never lack for anything, and guarantee your safety. What do you say?"

Yan Lin knew Qing Lin was timid, and he understood that she was extremely nervous in her current circumstances. If he wanted her to leave with him, he needed an excuse to persuade her. Otherwise, this timid girl might overthink things and not dare follow him.

Yet upon hearing his words, Medusa's royal guards watched Yan Lin lie without even drafting an excuse, their eyes filled with confusion and strange looks.

At that moment, Yan Lin gave them the impression that he was trafficking an innocent young girl.

After all, as the Saint King, Yan Lin was never short of maids.

They truly could not understand why Yan Lin insisted on keeping such an ominous girl by his side, and why he was putting so much thought into it.

The bald snake man's squad felt the same way.

But none of them dared speak up and interfere. They could only quietly watch Yan Lin perform.

[What beautiful maids are unavailable in the Royal Palace? Why would the Saint King... Could it be that the Saint King likes this kind?]

The sudden thought made Yin Yue increasingly certain that Yan Lin was a Saint King with unusual tastes.

In the Royal Palace, Yan Lin could have as many maidservants and concubines as he wanted, yet he had devoted himself to cultivation and never favored a single one. Now, however, he displayed such a strong desire to take Qing Lin in. It was difficult for Yin Yue not to think too much.

Still, she did not dare ask. After all, the order she had received was to protect Yan Lin to the death and obey his commands unconditionally.

She would not say what she should not say, nor would she do what she should not do.

That was the code of Medusa's royal guards.

"Y-you... you really want to take me in?"

Qing Lin cautiously raised her head to look at Yan Lin. She could sense that he bore her no ill will. Recalling how he had even clashed with his own people for her sake, Qing Lin gathered a little courage, looked up at him, and timidly asked.

Although Qing Lin did not know why Yan Lin had chosen her, this was her chance to gain freedom and escape her misery.

Compared to snake people like the bald leader, whose faces were fierce and who loathed her, the scales in her heart already tipped more toward Yan Lin.

He was the first person who had not looked at her with disgust and hatred, and the first to smile at her instead of speaking harshly to her.

Though Yan Lin was also a snake person, Qing Lin did not know why, but she felt that following him was the right choice. At the very least, it would be better than following the bald leader and those snake people.

After all, Yan Lin's attitude toward her was completely different from that of the other snake people.

Even if Yan Lin was pretending, she was already a prisoner. Would it really make any difference whom she went with?

Of course, compared to those female mercenaries, Qing Lin might have been the luckiest.

She had another choice. Because she was regarded as ominous, even the snake people were unwilling to touch her.

The other female captives, however, faced only humiliation.

In a sense, Qing Lin, who was regarded as a curse, was fortunate.

After all, she was naturally beautiful. If she had not been the offspring of a human and a snake person, regarded as a cursed harbinger of disaster, she would have been violated countless times already.

"Of course."

Seeing the timid Qing Lin respond, Yan Lin revealed a gentle smile and quickly nodded.

Upon hearing his affirmative answer, Qing Lin secretly glanced at Yan Lin, then swiftly lowered her head again.

After a moment of silence, Qing Lin slowly spoke once more.

"You... you aren't afraid that I am..."

"I don't believe in that. You only need to answer whether you're willing."

Qing Lin wanted to ask whether he was not afraid that she was the descendant of a snake person and a human, a symbol of misfortune and a cursed disaster. But before she could finish, Yan Lin seemed to have guessed what she wanted to say and directly raised his hand to interrupt her.

Hearing his utterly unconcerned tone, seeing not the slightest impatience in him, and meeting that gentle gaze she had never seen before, Qing Lin unknowingly nodded.

"I... I'm willing."

Qing Lin's voice was still faint, but it was the loudest she could manage. After saying those words, her heart pounded like a drum and her breathing became uneven, as though she had exhausted all her strength.

It seemed that saying those words had taken all the courage she possessed.

Yan Lin knew Qing Lin's timidity, so he had listened patiently all along. Although her voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz, he could still hear her.

When he heard that Qing Lin was willing to leave with him, Yan Lin was overjoyed. But afraid of startling her, he suppressed his excitement and spoke to her as calmly as possible, telling her to come with him.

Still, he could not help smiling. Since Qing Lin was willing to go with him, winning her wholehearted loyalty would not be difficult.

He knew well what Qing Lin had endured since childhood. She was a girl starved of affection. Winning her heart would be simple: treat her sincerely, and she would repay him a hundredfold.

No one could predict what the years ahead would become, but he knew that his salvation today would remain etched in Qing Lin's memory for countless years.