Chapter 97 - 96: The Big Snake Is Angry
In front of the Cold-blooded Scorpion Beastman clan.
Three groups of people stood in a three-way standoff.
One was the sinister Cold-blooded Scorpion Beastman Clan.
Another was the Mermaid Clan, led by Nan Zishi and Lanxing.
The last was the Wandering Beastman Clan, led by Xuan Jin.
The situation between the three parties was delicate.
For some strange reason, when Scorpion saw his arch-nemesis, Xuan Jin, he greeted him like an old friend.
"Yo, so you found your way here. Are you looking for your female, or were you looking for me?"
Xuan Jin’s cold, vertical pupils swept past Scorpion without a glance, his gaze landing on Nan Zishi.
"So this is the stinking Fisherman you found with your poor taste?"
"Are you insane?!" Nan Zishi yelled angrily.
Lanxing stepped in front of Nan Zishi, protecting her.
"You damn snake! You were the one who kidnapped my female master and hurt the Male Beastmen in my family!"
Xuan Jin narrowed his eyes slightly. "Oh? Your female master?"
The Xuan Cold-blooded Snake Beastman never distinguished between friend and foe! Anyone who displeased him was an enemy!
His massive tail swept toward Lanxing!
Lanxing’s legs instantly transformed into a fishtail! He leaped up on a wave of water!
In an instant, the shore was covered in spray.
"Hah." The Beast Patterns on the Seven-striped Beast King’s face became prominent. Several razor-sharp Snake Scales appeared in his hand and shot toward Lanxing!
Lanxing swam rapidly along the pillar of water he had created. In a flash, he appeared before Xuan Jin, preparing to take him down in one fell swoop and avenge his female master!
But in the next moment, the Xuan Cold-blooded Snake Beastman’s hand shot straight into the pillar of water, viciously grabbing the Mermaid Prince by his slender neck.
"Lanxing!!!!"
The kind-hearted mermaid was still no match for the leader of the Wandering Beastmen. The blue-and-purple mermaid choked, struggling in agony.
"A fish like you dares to provoke me?" The Cold-blooded Snake Beastman’s eyes narrowed.
"Xuan Jin! Stop!!"
Nan Zishi suddenly lifted her Beast Skin Skirt, revealing the Xuan Cold-blooded Snake Beastman totem on the side of her calf.
"Xuan Jin, if you dare harm Lanxing, I will expel you from my family right now!"
Lanxing and Xuan Jin both froze abruptly.
It wasn’t just them; even Little Snake Yang, curled up inside Nan Zishi’s body, paused.
’What is Godmother saying? Expel Father?’
’His father’s female master... is his godmother??’
’What does that mean? What does it mean?’
On the sidelines, the Cold-blooded Scorpion Beastman, Scorpion, leisurely watched the chaotic scene unfold.
He couldn’t help but say, "Xuan Jin, you’ve already contracted a female? A Male Beastman like you would actually contract a female?"
"Hiss, we were all doing just fine being single. What’s the meaning of you contracting a female? You look down on us single Cold-blooded Beastmen??"
The other Beastmen on the scene: "..."
’This melodrama is so good to watch, so why did you have to run your mouth and interrupt?’
A surge of anger rose in Xuan Jin’s heart. He squeezed Lanxing’s neck tighter and tighter.
Nan Zishi took out a sharp Beast Tooth. She pointed its tip directly at the xuan-colored totem and abruptly stabbed downward!
THUMP.
Xuan Jin let go of Lanxing.
And Nan Zishi stopped just as she was about to pierce the totem.
The Cold-blooded Snake Beastman’s glacial eyes shot to Nan Zishi. It was a look of coldness she had never seen from him before.
"Little female, after everything that’s happened, you never once thought of destroying the totem. And today, for this stinking fish, you’re going to destroy the partner bond between us?!"
Lanxing coughed twice, then immediately shielded Nan Zishi.
But Xuan Jin didn’t even see the fish; his icy eyes were fixed squarely on Nan Zishi.
Scorpion, enjoying the drama from the side, chimed in mischievously, "Xuan Jin, your female master doesn’t want you anymore~ She’s leaving you for another male~ You’re a Seven-striped Snake King, the leader of the Wandering Beastmen, and she doesn’t want you~ It’s okay, though, you still have me~ We’re still arch-nemeses~"
SWISH! SWISH!
Two iron-like Snake Scales, carrying an unprecedentedly strong killing intent, shot toward his face. Scorpion tilted his head slightly to dodge them. When he looked back, he saw the Snake Scales embedded deep into the rock behind him.
He fell silent.
’Xuan Jin is not to be trifled with right now.’
Nan Zishi clenched her fists. Facing Xuan Jin, she refused to yield even a single step.
’If I give in, Xuan Jin will walk all over me and bully all my other males.’
’If I don’t, we can still fight it out on even ground.’
After all, in the Beast World, a Male Beastman could not harm his own female master. If the female master wanted to sever the partnership, only the male would be injured. Moreover, if the female master were severely injured or died, the male would also be severely injured or die.
Just as Xuan Jin pressed closer and Nan Zishi was about to break under the pressure,
the Cold-blooded Snake Beastman suddenly looked at Scorpion. "Where is the person she’s looking for? Tell her!"
Scorpion was in the middle of enjoying the show and didn’t expect this turn of events. "What?"
"Whatever she wants to know, tell her!"
Scorpion: "..."
Scorpion: "Xuan Jin, since when do I, your old man, listen to you? You dare order me around?!"
SWISH SWISH SWISH SWISH SWISH! Dozens of razor-sharp, xuan-colored Snake Scales shot over!
Scorpion immediately behaved himself again.
"Go, go, go. Bring those cub-sellers over here."
Four Cold-blooded Scorpion Beastmen stood before the two Beast Kings, looking somewhat intimidated.
"Clan Leader, why did you call for us?"
Scorpion sat lazily on a rock, his gaze shifting from Lanxing to Xuan Jin, then to Nan Zishi.
’The atmosphere seems so tense, but they’re basically a family.’
’Impressive!’
"They want to know who that... what’s-her-name... Little Mermaid was sold to. Just tell them," Scorpion said.
"The golden Little Mermaid that was sold yesterday?" one of the Scorpions asked.
"Yes!" Nan Zishi asked urgently. "Where is she? Who bought her?"
The four Cold-blooded Scorpion Beastmen looked at each other. Scorpion Yu said, "Not revealing buyer information is part of our professional ethics."
Scorpion Crystal added, "That’s right. We’ve been in this business for so long that even the mothers of the cubs we sell can’t find them. What makes you think we’ll tell you?"
Scorpion was growing impatient. "So my words mean nothing to you now?"
The four Cold-blooded Scorpion Beastmen flinched. Scorpion Ju said, "It was a Bird Beastman."
Scorpion Crystal added, "Right, right! It was a Birdman from the Eastern High Mountain who came by recently. I didn’t ask for a specific name. I only know that the one who traded with me was a Crane Beastman! They offered a high price—lots of beautiful feathers, Beast Skins, and beast eggs, which is why we agreed."
Nan Zishi and Lanxing looked at each other in dismay.
’Bird Beastmen from the Eastern High Mountain? A Crane Beastman?’
"Does anyone know them?" Nan Zishi asked.
Lanxing and the other male mermaids all shook their heads.
The Xuan Cold-blooded Snake Beastman’s whole body was tense, but his indifferent eyes remained fixed on Nan Zishi.
’He mated with her, he imprisoned her, she bore his cub.’
’He captured her, he confined her, he made her eat food she didn’t like.’
’He forced her to train, forced her to become stronger.’
’And on, and on.’
’So many things had happened to make her unhappy, yet she had never truly used their partner contract to threaten him.’
’But now, for the sake of a fish, she was actually going to sever their partner contract?!’
"Nan Zishi," the Xuan Cold-blooded Snake Beastman called her full name icily.