Explanation

rasually swung the ink-scaled sword in his hand, sending a burst of sword energy rapidly toward the carriage. With a loud bang, the cage that had trapped the snake-woman shattered instantly.

Although the snake-woman was quite beautiful, Xiao Yu wasn't the kind of person who would lose his composure just because of that. Without sparing her another glance, he walked toward the bodies of the mercenaries. Seeing the water flasks attached to their waists, a faint smile appeared on his face. After collecting the flasks, he turned to leave.

"Are you just going to leave like this?" A timid voice came from behind. It was the snake-woman.

Xiao Yu frowned as he looked at her pitiful appearance. "I'm human, and you're a snake-person. It's not convenient for me to take you with me. You should return to your tribe."

However, the snake-woman shook her head. "I don't remember anything. I really don't remember!"

Xiao Yu, a bit frustrated, asked, "You don't remember who you are or where your home is?"

The snake-woman shook her head again, mumbling, "I really don't remember a thing."

Seeing that she didn't seem to be lying only made Xiao Yu feel more troubled. This was like rescuing a ticking time bomb. If he took her with him, how would he explain it to his brothers when they reached the Mo-Tie Mercenary Group? As a slave? In the Tager Desert, taking a snake-woman as a slave was suicide! Even though she was hunted by her own people, they would never tolerate her being insulted by a human.

Besides, who knew what crime this snake-woman had committed that even the snake-people wanted her dead? No, Xiao Yu thought to himself. He made up his mind—there was no way he could take her with him.

Xiao Yu handed her one of the water flasks. "Take this water and don't get caught again. Next time, you might not be so lucky to meet someone like me."

The snake-woman didn't reach for the flask. Instead, she lifted her head, her big, watery eyes fixated on Xiao Yu. In a soft voice, she asked, "Can I come with you?"

Xiao Yu hesitated for a moment, seeing the hope and expectation in her eyes. But he finally said, "No."

The light in the snake-woman's eyes quickly dimmed, and her frail appearance was heart-wrenching. But there was nothing he could do. He wasn't strong enough to face an entire race of snake-people alone. Even if he were, there was no reason to provoke them for the sake of a snake-woman he didn't even know.

After placing the water next to her, Xiao Yu unfurled his wings, ready to take off. Just as he was about to fly away, he heard a faint sobbing from behind. Sighing, he cursed under his breath. Despite himself, he couldn't bear to leave her alone in the desert.

Turning back, Xiao Yu walked up to her. The snake-woman, sensing a shadow over her, lifted her tear-streaked face. With a sigh, Xiao Yu wiped away her tears, then retrieved the water flasks and stored them in his ring. Without waiting for her to react, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her into his arms. With a powerful flap of his wings, they soared into the sky, heading back the way he had come.

The snake-woman stared at Xiao Yu's side profile, her eyes wide with surprise and a hint of dazed admiration. Xiao Yu, on the other hand, was already thinking about how he would explain this to Little Fairy Doctor.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the desert, inside the grand hall of the Enchanting Snake Clan, the seductive Yue Mei sat on her throne, awaiting reports from her subordinates. Two snake-women stood by her side, attending to her.

A snake-man rushed in, bowing to Yue Mei. "Bad news, Chief! The snake-woman we were supposed to rescue has been taken by someone else!"

Yue Mei's expression changed instantly, her gaze cold as she asked, "Are you saying that when you arrived, both groups of people were dead in the desert? Was there a third party involved?"

The snake-man stammered, "Based on the scene, it seems that way."

"Useless! You couldn't even handle such a simple task. The snake-woman was rescued, and you didn't even pursue them? If you don't find her, you might as well prepare your graves!" Yue Mei's icy voice dripped with killing intent as she berated them.

"Yes, yes!" The snake-man hurriedly nodded and quickly left to continue the search.

Yue Mei rubbed her smooth forehead, feeling a headache coming on. Rescuing the snake-woman was a direct order from the queen herself. As a loyal supporter of the queen, she had no choice but to fulfill every command.

Now, Yue Mei understood the true identity of the person they were supposed to rescue—the queen's younger sister. The snake-people wouldn't allow two heirs to the throne, so one of them had to die. Although she didn't know how the queen's sister had escaped, since the queen had given the order, she had to obey, even if it meant going against the Elders.

Of course, Yue Mei wasn't foolish enough to openly defy the Elders. The rescue mission was being carried out in secret, and the subordinates she had sent were her most trusted followers.

After some thought, Yue Mei stood up, her snake tail swaying as she walked outside. "I'm heading to the Mo-Snake Clan. Report any developments to me when I return."

"Yes!" the two maidservants behind her replied in unison.

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By now, Xiao Yu had returned with the snake-woman to where Little Fairy Doctor was waiting. At that moment, Little Fairy Doctor and the snake-woman were looking at each other. Then, Little Fairy Doctor shifted her gaze to Xiao Yu, who stood awkwardly to the side. She asked calmly, "Weren't you supposed to be looking for water? How did you end up bringing back a snake-woman?"

Xiao Yu was momentarily stunned but quickly retrieved all the water flasks from his storage ring. He grinned sheepishly. "The water's right here!"

Little Fairy Doctor didn't take the water. Instead, she raised her eyebrows and smiled at the snake-woman. "Aren't you going to explain this?"

"Uh, well, I just saved her and thought she looked pitiful, so I brought her back." Xiao Yu recounted the events to Little Doctor Immortal.

After hearing Xiao Yu's explanation, Little Fairy Doctor's expression softened. She hadn't realized how tragic the snake-woman's situation was. Seeing the snake-woman's gentle and pitiful expression, a sense of compassion arose in her. She walked over and gently held the snake-woman's hand. "Stay with us. He will protect you."

The snake-woman looked at Little Fairy Doctor's kind face, smiled softly, and nodded slightly.

Little Fairy Doctor then turned to Xiao Yu. "It might be inconvenient for her to stay with us like this, don't you think?"

"Hmm, I plan to refine some Transformation Pills for her. That should allow her to live in human form for a while." Xiao Yu replied after thinking for a moment.

He had just checked the alchemy book and found that the Transformation Pill could allow a snake-person to temporarily shed their tail and take on a human form. However, one pill only lasted for a month, and he only had enough ingredients to make two. That would have to do for now—he could get more once they reached Stone Desert City.

Xiao Yu immediately sat down, crossed his legs, and began forming hand seals. A Bone Spirit Cold Fire appeared, condensing into a cauldron. One by one, he refined the herbs. The Transformation Pill was a second-tier pill, but in terms of difficulty, it was on the lower end of the second-tier.

Soon, two Transformation Pills were successfully refined. Xiao Yu placed the still-warm pills into a jade bottle and handed it to the snake-woman. "Take one each month."

The snake-woman accepted the bottle and immediately swallowed one pill. Her snake tail twitched, and with a flash of green light, two bare, slender legs appeared before Xiao Yu.

"Oh no!"

Xiao Yu quickly covered his eyes in shock.