Chapter 033: Betrothal Gift

When Taiyin Zhenren first heard of this matter, he was greatly surprised and began to take notice of the mysterious monk.

But unfortunately, after that incident, the mysterious monk had vanished.

The two had never had the chance to meet.

Now, suddenly, a master capable of rescuing someone right before his eyes had appeared in the world, but Taiyin Zhenren had gone through all the experts he knew and found none that matched.

Thus, Taiyin Zhenren thought of this mysterious monk.

Could it really be him?

But the problem was, the two were neither related nor had any enmity—why would the other party suddenly target him?

If it wasn't him, then who?

Could it be that one of his old friends had practiced a new spell specifically to test him? But as far as Taiyin Zhenren knew, none of his old friends were proficient in the Taiyin True Art.

He couldn't figure it out.

Forget it, the most important thing now was to heal his injuries. This time, he had been wounded, and then forcibly suppressed the injury to fight the enemy, ultimately worsening the condition.

If he didn't treat the injury soon, his cultivation might regress.

So Taiyin Zhenren immediately set off to find a safe place to quietly heal.

…

Meanwhile, Wang Bo and Xiao Bai had already set out on the return journey. Originally, Wang Bo planned to go back with Xiao Bai to meet her master; he was very curious about the master who had sent Xiao Bai to her death.

He wondered, just who was Xiao Bai's master?

Why did she want Xiao Bai to assassinate Taiyin Zhenren?

But Xiao Bai was reluctant to go back with Wang Bo. She told him, “My master is full of prejudice against humans. If she sees you, she will surely fly into a rage. I don't want to see you and my master come to blows.”

Wang Bo asked, “So you plan to go back alone?”

Xiao Bai nodded and said, “Yes, I intend to go back alone to explain the truth to my master and also teach her the Taiyin True Art. I believe that if my master masters the Taiyin True Art, she will surely be able to defeat Taiyin Zhenren and rid our snake clan of this great scourge. I just don't know… if you are willing to let me tell my master about the Taiyin True Art.”

Wang Bo shrugged and said, “You decide for yourself.”

Another person might have been unwilling, but Wang Bo took such matters lightly.

After all, in his view, although the Taiyin True Art was remarkable, it was of no use to him; he didn't need to cultivate such a technique. Xiao Bai passing it on to her master—

Wang Bo didn't mind.

Hearing Wang Bo's agreement, a faint smile appeared on Xiao Bai's face; she was very happy.

Moreover, Xiao Bai had her own plans. She wanted to use the Taiyin True Art to persuade her master. If her master knew that the Taiyin True Art had been given to her by a human, perhaps in the future she wouldn't oppose her being with this person.

The two spent a night together, and the next day, Xiao Bai set off again, parting ways with Wang Bo. She traveled over mountains and across rivers, finally returning to her hometown on the third day.

A cold, dark snake cave.

Xiao Bai returned safely to the snake cave and instantly changed her form; her two long, slender legs turned into a white snake tail. She slithered forward, feeling countless eyes fixed on her.

In the snake cave, a gathering of snake demons stared at this fellow creature who had just returned from outside.

Xiao Bai slithered for a while, then stopped before a large platform inside the cave. She bowed slightly and clasped her hands in salute.

“Master above, please accept Xiao Bai's bow.”

“You're back, Xiao Bai.”

A cold, slender woman slowly emerged from the depths of the snake cave, standing on the high platform and looking down at Xiao Bai. She was Xiao Bai's master, the Snake Mother.

“Tell your master, how did your mission go?”

Xiao Bai said bitterly, “Master, Xiao Bai failed.”

Hmph!

Suddenly, a cold snort sounded. A demon with the upper body of a human and the lower body of a snake slithered out, looking contemptuously at Xiao Bai. It clasped its hands and said to the cold, slender woman, “Master, Xiao Bai is incompetent and spoils things, ruining your great plan. Please punish Xiao Bai.”

But at that moment, another woman in green armor with a ponytail jumped out and rebuked the snake demon, “Chang Pan, the master hasn't spoken yet. How dare you act presumptuously before the master!”

The snake demon called Chang Pan grinned at the ponytailed girl and said, “Green Snake, everyone in the snake cave knows how close you and Xiao Bai are, like sisters. But your elder sister has committed a grave error by failing to complete the master's orders, and she deserves punishment.”

“You…” Green Snake was furious, her eyes blazing with anger.

“Xiao Qing.” Seeing that Xiao Qing seemed about to make a move, Xiao Bai called out and shook her head slightly at her.

Xiao Qing stepped back reluctantly.

On the high platform, the Snake Mother looked down from above, her gaze cold and merciless.

“Xiao Bai, do you have anything else to say?”

Xiao Bai nodded and said, “Master, Taiyin Zhenren's skills are profound. Although Xiao Bai wounded him, she was ultimately no match for him and could only flee back in disgrace. She indeed deserves punishment. However…”

“However what?” the Snake Mother asked, but inwardly she was curious. How had Xiao Bai managed to wound Taiyin Zhenren?

As far as she knew, even with the magic treasure she had given Xiao Bai, Xiao Bai could not kill Taiyin Zhenren.

Even wounding him should have been extremely difficult.

What exactly had happened during Xiao Bai's trip outside?

Xiao Bai said, “This time, Xiao Bai obtained the cultivation method of Taiyin Zhenren, the Taiyin True Art, from a human. She wishes to present it to her master to atone for her fault.”

“What? You obtained the Taiyin True Art?” The Snake Mother was startled.

“Yes.” Xiao Bai nodded.

“You said just now that you obtained the Taiyin True Art from a human?”

“Yes.”

The Snake Mother narrowed her eyes and asked slowly, “What is your relationship with that human? Why would he give you the Taiyin True Art?”

“This…” Xiao Bai hesitated, then decided to tell the truth. “I dare not deceive my master. He and I are in love and wish to spend our lives together. This Taiyin True Art is his… his… betrothal gift to me.”

To make her master agree to her being with Wang Bo, Xiao Bai mixed a lie into the truth.

Instantly, the entire snake cave erupted.

“Absurd, absurd! You are actually in love with a human! You are a traitor to the snake clan!” the snake demon named Chang Pan shouted loudly at Xiao Bai.

“Have you forgotten why we snake demons are trapped in this cave? Isn't it because humans are hunting us in large numbers? And you actually fell in love with a human!”

“Xiao Bai, you are unworthy of the snake clan!”

“You, you are unforgivable!”

The other snake demons also joined in the chorus of condemnation.