Snake scales were the mark of the Snake People Clan, a race in the Tagor Desert distinct from humans. The Snake People Clan was unique to the Tagor Desert, possessing human bodies, snake tails, and scales.
Not long after they were born, the Snake People used a secret technique to instill the soul of a serpentine magical beast into their bodies.
As they grew older and stronger, these serpentine magical beasts that served as companion souls would gradually fuse with them until they became inseparable, making them increasingly snake-like.
Yet she had snake scales but no snake tail. Clearly, she was not a Snake Person, but an even rarer existence in the Tagor Desert—a Mixed-blood Snake Person.
Mixed-blood Snake People were born amid the hostility and wars between the Snake People Clan and humans in the Tagor Desert. Human slave-catching parties would venture deep into the desert to capture Snake People women as female slaves, while Snake People warriors would also assault human women.
Whether it was Snake People women or human women, those who suffered either of these fates generally met with miserable experiences and endings.
Ordinarily, Snake People and humans would not conceive children together. However, nothing was absolute. There was always an exceedingly slim chance that offspring of mixed blood from the two races would be born.
Generally speaking, though, such children found it difficult to survive beyond the age of two. Those who did either came from fairly decent families, or... possessed unusual constitutions and exceptional talent.
Qing Lin, whom Xiao Yi Xian was holding by the hand, was tiny and thin, only slightly better off than skin and bones. There were faint scars on her arms as well. Clearly, her family circumstances had not been good. The fact that she had survived seemed to indicate