Escape

"Human! Where do you think you're running off to? How dare you peep on Her Majesty while she bathed!"

"Hey, hey, hey, you may be pretty, but you can't just slander people! We got to that oasis first!"

Yue Mei discovered that, even with the speed of a Dou Wang, she could not catch up to this human brat who was fleeing with nothing but movement techniques.

"Damn it!"

"Stealth Snake Shadow!" Yue Mei shouted as countless dark green snake phantoms condensed from Dou Qi shot from her hand toward Xiao Fan.

"Hey, hey, hey, are you going to be unreasonable about this?!"

There was no way Xiao Fan would take a Dou Wang's Dou Skill head-on. He likewise gathered Dou Qi in his hand. "Heaven-Burning Flame!"

A wave of flames containing immense fire energy surged toward the incoming snake phantoms.

Boom!

The explosion from the clash caused the surrounding area to tremble.

"What?!" Yue Mei could not believe that her Dou Skill had been blocked. Judging from the Dou Qi he had mobilized during that exchange, this human was at most a Dou Master, while she was a Dou Wang.

"It seems I really must keep you here!"

Yue Mei could not allow such a bizarre human to escape.

Xiao Fan was not having an easy time either. Forcibly using a high-tier Dou Skill still placed quite a burden on him.

Moreover, Xiao Fan was only a Dou Master at present. Releasing an attack comparable to a Dou Wang had consumed a considerable portion of his Dou Qi reserves.

"Xiao Yan'er, if you don't make a move soon, we're done for once Medusa catches up to us!"

Xiao Fan spoke to Zi Yan, who was still sulking on his back.

"Hmph! Bad Xiao Fan, you were so absorbed in watching just now, and now you come looking for me!"

Zi Yan remained unmoved, still lying on Xiao Fan's back without any intention of acting.

Xiao Fan could only watch helplessly as the distance between Yue Mei and himself continued to shrink. He realized the situation was dire; even using Soul Skills would only slow her advance.

"Ten bottles of Sugar Pills!"

"Deal!"

Zi Yan immediately perked up and threw a punch at the approaching Yue Mei.

Yue Mei clearly had not expected that this seemingly harmless little girl was also a Dou Wang. Zi Yan caught her completely off guard.

Zi Yan's seemingly casual punch landed heavily on Yue Mei, as though she were using Yue Mei as a punching bag to vent her anger.

Seeing Zi Yan still relying on hand-to-hand combat, Xiao Fan could not help feeling alarmed. If that punch landed on me, I'd die, wouldn't I...?

Yue Mei was immediately sent flying backward. Even though she braced her snake tail against her chest at the last moment, it only dispersed a small portion of the force.

Yue Mei clutched her slightly sunken chest and demanded, "Are you a magical beast?"

"That's enough, Xiao Yan'er. Medusa is coming!"

Zi Yan did not answer Yue Mei's question. She and Xiao Fan simply vanished into the desert.

Medusa only arrived belatedly. Looking at Yue Mei, who was clutching her chest and gasping for breath, she asked, "How did it go, Yue Mei?"

"Those two aren't quite right. That little girl seems to be a magical beast."

Yue Mei could not believe anyone possessed such terrifying physical strength, along with that faint pressure from a superior being. It was a pressure she had only ever felt from Medusa, one unique to magical beasts.

"Yue Mei, don't pursue them for now. Let's head back first. Sister will decide what to do."

"Yes, Queen Medusa."

"Oh, Yue Mei, stop calling me Medusa." Medusa clearly disliked that form of address.

"No. The dignity of Medusa of the Snake-People Tribe must not be insulted." Yue Mei was exceedingly stubborn.

"I know, I know. Just don't mention those old rules in front of Sister, or you definitely won't get off easy."

"..."

Only after Xiao Fan, who had escaped, could no longer sense the two women's auras with his soul power did he find a hidden cave and slip inside.

Xiao Fan pinched Zi Yan's little face. "Xiao Yan'er! No matter how strong your body is, you can't always fight enemies with your bare body!"

Still, Xiao Fan felt somewhat distressed as he lifted Zi Yan's small hand. Seeing that it was still smooth and uninjured, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Even so, he rubbed Zi Yan's head. "Remember to use Dou Skills next time. No matter how strong your body is, if you don't know your opponent's abilities, you could suffer a huge loss!"

Naturally, Xiao Fan had not forgotten the Sugar Pills he promised Zi Yan. "Here, these are the Sugar Pills I promised you."

"Mhm, mhm." Zi Yan nodded her little head, but her gaze was fixed entirely on the Sugar Pills. She had barely eaten any proper food these days.

As for what Xiao Fan had just said, all she heard was, "$&~*% Sugar Pills."

Zi Yan leaped up and snatched them away in one grab, leaving Xiao Fan to rub his forehead.

"Forget it. Once Zi Yan returns to the Ancient Void Dragon Clan in the future, I'll let those old fogeys worry about her."

Inside the Snake-People Tribe's palace.

"Sister~"

"If you have something to say, say it."

"Hehe, Sister, I met a human tonight."

Medusa's expression did not change at all. There were always humans who did not know their own limits trying to enter the Tagor Desert and abduct Snake-People.

"Just kill them."

"No, Sister, that human was a little brat."

Upon hearing the words "human brat," Medusa raised her breathtaking face, her eyes filled with deep emotion.

"Hehe, I knew Sister would be interested."

"Get to the point!"

"Sister, you're still so fierce with me..." The snake tail behind her lifted slightly as she looked at her sister with a wronged expression.

Medusa was somewhat helpless when it came to her twin sister.

"I won't tease you anymore, Sister. That little brat looked very similar to the portrait in your room."

Medusa frowned. Rather than asking for more details, she demanded, "You went into my room?"

The playful, smiling face from moments earlier instantly turned panicked. "Sister, Yue Mei has something to discuss with me. Goodbye!"

As happy as she had been while teasing her sister, she now ran just as fast.

Queen Medusa sat quietly upon her throne. Though she appeared calm, her thoughts had become complicated. Xiao Fan... you've finally come...

Xiao Fan, meanwhile, clearly had yet to realize that Medusa had set her sights on him. After a day of traveling, he finally arrived at Stone Desert City.

Stone Desert City was one of the Jia Ma Empire's cities, located in the eastern region of the Tager Desert. It was one of the border points between the Snake-People Tribe and the Jia Ma Empire.

Compared to cities within the empire, this desert city possessed a little more simplicity and solidity. Perhaps because it was close to the Tager Desert, its defenses were also much tighter than those of cities in the empire's interior. Fully armed soldiers could be seen patrolling everywhere throughout the city.

Most of the residents here belonged to mercenary groups, making money by hunting magical beasts, accepting missions, and the like.

Of course, more often than not, they made money by trafficking Snake-People slaves...

"Xiao Fan, I don't like this place."

Zi Yan frowned. The scent in the air here made her feel somewhat disgusted.

"We won't be staying long. We just need to replenish some supplies in the city, find the Heavenly Flame, and then we can leave."

"Alright." Zi Yan hugged Xiao Fan a little tighter, as though his scent made her feel better.

The sounds of fighting and shouting not far away suddenly caught Xiao Fan's attention.

"Freak!"

"So ugly!"

"Snake-People bastard!"

"And a blind one!"

"..."