Marrying Next Month? Queen Medusa's Proud Side

The many commanders around him, including Yin Lao and Yan Ci at their head, all forced friendly smiles. Unlike their usual distant politeness, there was a hint of warmth in them now, as though they considered him one of their own.

Mo Bass, whose skin was already black as ink, had veins bulging along his arms. He glared at Xiao Yan through gritted teeth, looking as though he wanted to swallow him whole.

They had never gotten along, but even after Queen Medusa had disciplined Mo Bass several times, he had never acted like this.

Could it be...

Xiao Yan glanced at Queen Medusa's pale, faintly reddened ears, then at the elderly Snake-Person seated in the place of honor, whom he was seeing for the first time. Surprise flashed through his eyes.

For now, he put off his plan to raise hell in the Snake-People Tribe.

"Master Xiao Yan, have you found your stay with the Snake-People Tribe comfortable these past few days?" the Grand Elder asked with a smile. She studied him as though he were one of her own descendants. (In the original story, she had been delighted to learn that Xiao Yan was a Sixth-Rank Alchemist who had reached Dou Emperor at around twenty-four or twenty-five, and had readily accepted the news of Queen Medusa's pregnancy. Now that he was a seventeen-year-old Sixth-Rank Alchemist, anyone with sense would invest in him. Before talent like that, talk of a divide between their peoples was nonsense.)

"The tribe has granted every request I've made over the past six months. I owe my advancement to Sixth-Rank Alchemist to the Snake-People Tribe, and I won't forget that kindness," Xiao Yan said with a cupped-fist salute.

The pleasantries sounded nice, of course. If their fundamental interests came into conflict, he could turn on them in an instant.

"Heh, then it has been the tribe's honor. Queen Medusa tells me you have no marriage engagement, is that right?" The Grand Elder coughed lightly twice and looked at Xiao Yan with growing eagerness. At last, she showed her hand.

The other three elders and the many commanders all looked his way. Even Queen Medusa's beautiful eyes turned toward him.

"Um..." Xiao Yan's expression grew strange. "I did have an engagement."

"..."

A sudden silence fell.

The Grand Elder's smile froze. The commanders' expressions stiffened too, while frost settled over the purple-dressed beauty's face. She looked at Xiao Yan with cold eyes.

"But... she broke it off," Xiao Yan added awkwardly.

"..."

Everyone: "..."

Couldn't you have said that all at once?!

The Grand Elder broke into a grin, then caught on to something. Surprise flashed through her eyes. "She broke it off? You didn't divorce her—your fiancée came to you to end the engagement?"

"That's right." Xiao Yan nodded slightly.

He did not criticize Nalan Yanran, merely let the matter pass.

Seeing that Xiao Yan did not want to say more, the Grand Elder's smile broadened. "In that case, would you consider a marriage alliance with the Snake-People Tribe, young friend?" She coughed lightly twice and glanced at Queen Medusa beside her.

Queen Medusa looked reluctant, but she still turned her beautiful eyes to Xiao Yan and spoke in a cool, slightly unnatural voice. "With me, not Yue Mei."

The beauty sat gracefully on the bench, her slender, pale fingers lightly supporting her neck. She spoke as though the matter were of no consequence. "If you agree, we can marry this month. You needn't worry that I'm deceiving you, either. I can swear an oath before the Snake-People Tribe: once I marry you, you will be the only one for me in this life. If I betray you, I will enter the Myriad Snake Cave..."

Xiao Yan glanced at Queen Medusa, then at the solemn faces of the commanders around her.

They're... serious?!

He probably would not have to swear an oath himself. Otherwise, forget after the wedding—he could head straight into the Myriad Snake Cave right now.

"What do you say, young friend Xiao Yan?" the Grand Elder asked gently, smiling.

"Of course. I've admired Queen Medusa for years..." Xiao Yan nodded without refusing.

He had planned to take everything he could from the Snake-People Tribe, make one last big move, and slip away. Who would have thought they were serious?

Until now, he had been doubtful. He could hardly believe they would offer Queen Medusa herself as his marriage partner. But this changed his view of them somewhat.

Of course, he would not reveal the cards he had kept in reserve. After all his years navigating the world, caution had kept him safe.

"Then you shall marry at the start of next month!"

The Grand Elder grinned and clapped her hands sharply.

Xiao Yan's eye twitched. He glanced at the alluring beauty beside him. She had turned her head away, her face cool and composed, but her pale earlobes had already flushed red. They were in that much of a hurry...?

Ignoring Mo Bass, who had flown into a rage and received a fierce scolding from the Grand Elder, Xiao Yan walked along a corridor in the Snake-People Tribe's grounds. Beside him was a captivating beauty in a purple dress, though beneath it she had no long legs—only a slender, supple snake tail.

"What are you looking at?"

Noticing Xiao Yan's gaze drift toward her tail, Queen Medusa furrowed her brows. But then she remembered she was to marry him next month. By then, looking at her tail would hardly be all he...

She gave a soft huff and said nothing more.

Even her tone had softened.

Seeing her expression, Xiao Yan looked uneasy.

They were getting married next month. Surely he could not... with a Snake-Person. Ahem. If she did not advance to Dou Zong and evolve her bloodline, was he really going to do that with the snake-tailed Queen Medusa...?

"What? Don't you like my tail?" Queen Medusa raised a brow and asked him evenly.

"It's not that. It just feels a little strange." Xiao Yan rubbed his nose.

He could not say he disliked it...

Snake-People had extraordinarily slender, flexible waists and a wild allure. But given a choice between a tail and legs, he still preferred legs...

"Breaking the shackles of my bloodline is probably still a long way off. I'll need you to refine the Transformation Pill before I have even a sliver of hope," Queen Medusa said calmly.

"If it only lets you take human form, that won't be enough to advance your bloodline, will it?" Xiao Yan asked softly.

"What do you mean?" Surprise flickered in Queen Medusa's eyes.

Ever since she had lost access to the Heavenly Flames, she had given up hope of advancing her bloodline. Reaching Dou Zong would be enough for her.

But...

Xiao Yan nodded slightly. The Snake-People Tribe's companion soul was the Sixth-Rank Magical Beast known as the Purple Nether Flame Snake. Within that beast ran a trace of the ancient Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python's bloodline. If awakened, it could break through the limits of the sixth rank and reach the seventh. Its eventual potential could even rival a Dou Sheng's.

"First, what you need isn't the Transformation Pill or the Emperor's Extreme Pill. It's a Realm-Breaking Pill refined with Heavenly Flames. If you tried to devour a fully formed Heavenly Flame, with your yin-aligned nature, your odds of surviving would be almost nonexistent..." Xiao Yan said thoughtfully.

"So perhaps there's a pill that could use Heavenly Flames to draw out that trace of bloodline in you to the greatest possible extent."

"What pill is that?" Queen Medusa asked, bewilderment in her beautiful eyes.

She had never heard of such a pill.

"It doesn't matter. The details aren't important. Just... leave it to me." Xiao Yan smiled. He would have to trouble the Old Lord for this.

As for what the pill would be called, he could let the Old Lord name it himself.