Xiao Yan finally figured out how to win Qing Lin's heart.
It was actually very simple.
Everyone faced different predicaments, so the kindness that could move her would be different too.
Xiao Yi Xian's first predicament was the fear of being surrounded by wolves in Qingshan Town, her life as rootless as drifting duckweed.
The second was her self-reproach over the calamity represented by her Woeful Poison Body.
The third was her inferiority over her lowly origins.
So he would give her strength to resolve the threat to her safety, respect to resolve her wounded self-esteem, and a way to neutralize her poison to resolve the predicament of her Woeful Poison Body.
With all three predicaments resolved, Xiao Yi Xian would naturally give him her allegiance.
Although Qing Lin's predicament resembled Xiao Yi Xian's, it was also vastly different.
Qing Lin's greatest predicament actually lay in how she understood herself.
She had lived this long, yet she still did not know whether she counted as human.
The Snake-People Tribe did not consider themselves human. They called themselves the Medusa Snake Tribe.
Humans, too, regarded the Snake-People Tribe as nothing more than magical beasts with human forms.
This left Qing Lin, born of both the Snake-People Tribe and humanity, utterly unable to understand where she belonged!
Was she human, or one of the Snake-People?
If she was human, most people in Stone Desert City did not treat her as one.
If she was one of the Snake-People, having grown up in human society, she found it difficult to regard herself as purely one of them.
Especially after Xiao Ding and Xiao Li took her in and gave her a measure of respect and protection, her sense of herself as human grew considerably stronger.
But she was only a maid, after all. However upright Xiao Ding and Xiao Li were, protecting her from discrimination within the Desert Iron Mercenary Group was already the best they could do.
They could not stop the entire city from judging her.
Thus, Qing Lin's sense of herself kept swinging back and forth between human and Snake-People, endlessly wearing her down from within.
That inner turmoil had ultimately shaped a personality far more timid and self-deprecating than Xiao Yi Xian's.
To Xiao Yan, however, Qing Lin's identity dilemma was exceedingly easy to resolve.
It was much like the indecision people suffered when faced with a choice.
Both options were decent, and choosing either would lead to a reasonable outcome.
But first, you had to choose one and settle on it.
If you kept wavering, refused to choose either side, and lingered in the middle, the torment would become agonizing.
That was exactly how Qing Lin was now.
She could be human or one of the Snake-People. Whichever she chose, as long as she settled on it, her heart could find peace.
Yet she kept wavering between the two, and that was what made her suffer so much.
So what Xiao Yan needed to do now was very simple.
He had to help Qing Lin settle her understanding of herself.
Did she want to be human, or one of the Snake-People?
Having thought it through, Xiao Yan first stopped Qing Lin from continuing to undress, then spent a long time calming her down.
Only after a good while, when Qing Lin finally understood that Xiao Yan did not intend to have her attend him in bed and merely wanted a heart-to-heart, did she slowly begin to open up.
"Do you want to be human, or one of the Snake-People?"
It was the first time Qing Lin had ever been asked this. She murmured the question to herself, then fell silent.
After a long while, she finally said softly, "Young Master Xiao Yan, I want to be one of the Snake-People."
Xiao Yan could not help feeling a little surprised.
He had thought Qing Lin would choose to be human.
"Can you tell me why?" Xiao Yan asked.
After a brief silence, Qing Lin said, "Young Master Xiao Yan, my mother was a member of the Snake-People Tribe, and my father was human.
"Normally, even if a human and one of the Snake-People fell in love, they couldn't have children because they were different races.
"But my parents miraculously gave birth to me.
"After I was born, neither humanity nor the Snake-People Tribe would accept them, so they were forced to live in seclusion in the desert.
"Later, when I was five or six, they lost me while being pursued.
"Then Commander Xiao Ding, who had just arrived in Stone Desert City, found me, and I grew up in the Desert Iron Mercenary Group.
"Young Master Xiao Yan, that is the story of my birth and childhood.
"Over these dozen-odd years, I've had contact with both humans and the Snake-People Tribe.
"Although both sides hate me, I find humans too complicated and too changeable by comparison. I don't like it.
"I like the temperament of the Snake-People Tribe.
"They repay every kindness and avenge every grievance. Simple and straightforward.
"If I had a choice, I would want to be one of the Snake-People."
After a moment of silence, Xiao Yan let out a long sigh.
He could understand why Qing Lin did not want to be human.
Humans really were too complicated.
Wasn't he himself scheming to win Qing Lin over right now?
Being human really did not have much appeal.
Shaking his head and putting those stray thoughts aside, Xiao Yan smiled at Qing Lin.
"You can be whatever you want. That's your freedom.
"Well, since you want to be one of the Snake-People, that's what you are from today onward!"
Qing Lin gave a self-mocking smile.
"Young Master Xiao Yan, what I am isn't something I can decide. In other people's eyes, I'm just a monster, neither human nor snake."
Xiao Yan smiled. "You only need to be certain in your own heart. As for other people's acknowledgment, why not just persuade them?"
Qing Lin froze, then said dejectedly, "Young Master Xiao Yan, their mouths belong to them. We can't control what they say.
"Commander Xiao Ding tried to set things right for me before, but it was no use. People still said whatever they wanted."
Xiao Yan, however, thought nothing of it.
"Who said I was going to persuade them with words? Why use your mouth for something your fists can settle?"
Qing Lin was stunned.
She did not quite understand what Xiao Yan meant.
Xiao Yan smiled confidently.
This was his plan to win Qing Lin's heart!
To win her allegiance, he had to resolve her predicament.
Qing Lin's predicament was her inability to settle on an identity.
Through their heart-to-heart, he had established that Qing Lin wanted to be one of the straightforward Snake-People, not a complicated human.
Fine. No problem.
Xiao Yan could accept either choice.
As long as she settled on one, Qing Lin's heart could find peace.
But that alone was not enough.
Next, he had to get everyone to acknowledge the identity Qing Lin had chosen.
This step was crucial!
Only with everyone's acknowledgment could Qing Lin's sense of identity become something real.
Otherwise, it would merely be self-deception behind closed doors.
And gaining everyone's acknowledgment was very simple.
One word: fight!
On the Dou Qi Continent, strength reigned supreme.
Beat everyone into submission, and even if Qing Lin claimed to be a dragon, they would have no choice but to accept it!
For Qing Lin as she had been, beating everyone into submission would have been an impossible task.
But with his help, it was entirely achievable.
He had come to Stone Desert City in the first place to help his elder brothers, Xiao Ding and Xiao Li, rapidly grow stronger with medicinal pills.
Now he simply had to add Qing Lin to the list.
Xiao Yan was confident that, with her triple jade-green snake flower pupils bloodline, Qing Lin would improve far faster than Xiao Ding and Xiao Li!
As for how they would fight?
Xiao Yan already had a preliminary plan, but carrying it out would require his two elder brothers' cooperation.
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