Setting Out to Find Snake-Type Magical Beasts

"Mmm, so tasty..."

Qing Lin bit off the chicken held to her mouth and swallowed hard, speaking indistinctly.

Then her eyes lit up. She grabbed the other end of the drumstick and began gnawing on it with gusto.

Until now, she had always eaten other people's leftovers, and she had never once eaten her fill.

Now that she had the rare chance to enjoy such delicious food, she clutched her rumbling belly and flung herself happily across the dining table, gobbling it down without a care for appearances.

"Hey, I said you didn't have to stand on ceremony, but the way you eat is a bit too messy, isn't it? You're like a little dog."

Xiao Yan covered his forehead and remarked, somewhat helplessly.

Qing Lin turned a deaf ear, sprawled across the tabletop on all fours, chewing a large piece of fish with relish.

After gulping down a whole large fish, she patted her little chest, raised her head and grinned foolishly at Xiao Yan.

"Sorry, Young Master Xiao Yan, Qing Lin was just too hungry. But... Young Master, there's one thing you didn't get quite right..."

Xiao Yan raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What did I get wrong?"

The girl thrust her chin up and said proudly, "Qing Lin isn't a little dog... I'm a little greedy cat!"

Her words had barely fallen when Xiao Yan was amused by the unexpected contrast. Unable to hold back his laughter, he asked:

"So what's the difference between a little dog and a little cat?"

To his surprise, the girl immediately took offense. She pouted and argued indignantly:

"There's a difference! Little dogs can only wag their tails and beg for pity, but little cats are very independent!"

Hearing Qing Lin's explanation, Xiao Yan was rendered speechless.

Thinking back to how she had first approached him, it really did seem to be true!

Xiao Yan smoothed her soft, long hair and apologized with a smile.

"All right, my mistake. Qing Lin is a little greedy cat, the gluttonous and mischievous kind!"

Qing Lin tilted her head, still enjoying the atmosphere.

Even so, she obediently did as Xiao Yan said, climbing down from the table and sitting on a stool to continue eating.

Watching her, Xiao Yan found the scene soothing and simply gazed at Qing Lin in silence.

But halfway through the meal, she suddenly stopped, picked up a chicken drumstick of her own and held it to Xiao Yan's mouth, saying gently:

"Young Master Xiao Yan, you eat too... Qing Lin will feed you!"

Xiao Yan paused, suddenly recalling that he seemed to be only a Dou Zhe. He indeed had yet to leave the ranks of mortals and still needed food to replenish his energy and nutrition.

So he opened his mouth, accepted the food Qing Lin offered and began wolfing it down as well.

As the two enjoyed their meal together, Xiao Yan suddenly asked Qing Lin:

"Qing Lin, when you got excited just now, I noticed your eyes seemed to change color. What was that about?"

The girl shook her head. "Qing Lin doesn't know why either. It just happens sometimes, but normally it doesn't hurt anyone."

Xiao Yan nodded thoughtfully, then discreetly revealed some of what he knew.

"Actually, I once heard a legend that the descendants of humans and the Snake-People Tribe would have a pair of unusual eyes that could control many snake-type Magical Beasts. I wonder if you can do that?"

Qing Lin's eyes widened at his words. "There's such a thing? But Qing Lin has never tried!"

Xiao Yan smiled and continued to encourage her. "That's all right. Let's try it after we finish eating. Maybe the legend is true!"

At this point, he paused, recalling some inspirational words he had heard in his original world, then continued:

"I once heard a story."

"There was a man trapped in a dark little house. Someone called God closed the door on him, but opened a window for him instead. So he escaped through the window and saw the sunlight in the world outside."

As she listened to Xiao Yan, Qing Lin slowly stopped eating and thought quietly for a while.

Then she clenched her little fist, tugged at the hem of Xiao Yan's clothes with her other hand and said seriously:

"I understand, Young Master Xiao Yan. Since you believe that legend, let's go and try it right now!"

With that, Qing Lin cast a reluctant glance at the food on the table, then rushed over and took another bite of a pig's trotter before steeling herself and standing up.

Although her belly was already full, she still thought it a shame to leave the food remaining on the table.

Even so, after hearing Xiao Yan's request, she agreed without hesitation and quickly made her way to the door.

Watching Qing Lin's retreating figure, Xiao Yan breathed a sigh of relief and muttered under his breath:

"Finally, I managed to coax her into it."

Inside the Storage Ring, the corner of Yao Lao's mouth twitched as he remarked:

"That's right, you finally succeeded."

"It looks like the Flame Alliance will soon have another genius."

The weathered voice exploded in his mind, making Xiao Yan's heart tremble. He then agreed:

"Indeed. At first, I was the only one in the Flame Alliance. Then Xiao Yi Xian appeared, and now we have Qing Lin, as well as He Qian, Hai Bodong, and the three overlords of the Magical Beast Mountain Range. Our team really is growing bigger and bigger."

Xiao Yan thought this as he stood up, then followed in the girl's footsteps. Together, they opened the door and left.

After going down the stairs, the two passed through the crowd and were soon strolling along the street again.

But this time, Qing Lin had her arm linked with Xiao Yan's, showing none of her earlier reluctance or fear of the people around her.

Compared with her initial appearance as a little beggar,

Qing Lin was almost a completely different person after washing herself clean and changing into new clothes.

In particular, with her delicate little face and lively, sprite-like personality, she had no fear of being recognized.

On the contrary, many people cast doting looks her way and began praising Qing Lin.

"Wow, what a cute little girl."

"I don't know why, but I feel an instant fondness for her."

"Here, big brother has some bread. How about having a piece?"

"Thank you, big brother."

Qing Lin smiled sweetly but did not take the bread.

Unless driven by necessity, she did not want to accept other people's charity.

Besides, now that she had Xiao Yan, there was no room in her eyes for anyone else.

Qing Lin was a kind girl.

She did not bear a grudge against others simply because they had discriminated against her, unless they were people who took pleasure in abusing her.

The Snake-People had always had a poor reputation in human society, which was why she had been forced to live behind a mask all this time.

Clasping Xiao Yan's hand tightly, Qing Lin whispered in her heart:

Now that I have Young Master, Qing Lin wants to learn to take off her mask and live openly and honorably as a person.

The two walked on without a word, gradually making their way along the street and disappearing into the throng of people calling out and hawking their wares.

Soon, night fell, and Xiao Yan and Qing Lin finally reached the yellow sands outside Stone Desert City.

Xiao Yan surveyed the path ahead, holding the girl's hand and looking from side to side.

"Be careful. The Tagor Desert is extremely dangerous. There's no telling where a Magical Beast might come bursting out. You don't have much cultivation right now, so stay close to me."

The girl obediently replied, "Qing Lin understands!"