Chapter 5
“Congratulations, Your Excellency, for bringing the beautiful bride!”
“Hurry, hurry, escort Your Excellency to the bridal chamber. A moment of spring night is worth a thousand gold!”
Si Lan stood in front of the brightly lit palace door, momentarily dazed before being pushed into the room by the demon soldiers.
He lowered his head and saw himself wearing a bright red wedding gown. The doors and windows were covered with the character for “happiness,” and the table was adorned with red dates, peanuts, and longans.
Something flashed through his mind, but he couldn’t grasp it.
Why was he here?
And why was he getting married?
He had no memory at all.
He walked forward slowly, peering through the vermilion curtain, and saw the bride, dressed in phoenix coronet and rosy robes, sitting on the bed. The inner chamber was dimly lit, with the fragrance of spring lingering in the air, and an alluring charm in the atmosphere.
Hesitating for a moment, he lifted the beaded curtain and approached slowly. “Lan Lan?”
There was no response from the person on the bed. As he got closer, he realized that the bride’s figure was unusually tall, more like a man.
He tentatively lifted the bride’s veil, but her face was veiled in a mist, concealing her beauty. He only faintly sensed a trace of an unfamiliar scent emanating from her.
At this moment, the bride suddenly stood up and, with an unusual tone, as if intentionally strangling her voice, asked, “Husband, am I beautiful?”
“Yes, yes. You’re indeed beautiful…”
“Then, husband, won’t you give your wife a kiss?”
Si Lan looked at the bride who was taller and broader than him, staying silent.
Was this bride Lan Lan’s reincarnation or someone else?
He had found Lan Lan’s fourth reincarnation once, but the fourth reincarnation retained memories from the previous three lifetimes. As soon as she saw him, her attitude changed dramatically, and she wouldn’t allow him to get close.
Lan Lan said that she would never be enchanted by him again in this lifetime. She already had a loving husband, and he should let go of his hopes.
The husband mentioned by Lan Lan was her first-life husband who had passed away early.
He was an honest and loving man who cared deeply for Lan Lan.
Later, when the two of them got married, Si Lan had also sent gifts. So, the bride in front of him wasn’t Lan Lan. Who could she be?
Si Lan racked his brain but couldn’t figure out who he was marrying this time.
“Husband, do you despise me? Why won’t you kiss me?” The bride’s tone was full of bitterness.
Si Lan heard the forlorn voice and quickly smiled apologetically. Out of courtesy, he tiptoed and leaned in to kiss the bride. However, he had no idea where the bride’s mouth was.
Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his tiger’s mouth. He stopped the kiss and saw two small bloodstains in his hand.
Just as he was about to inspect it, the bride became impatient, reached out, and hugged his waist, lifting him onto her.
Si Lan: “…”
“Husband…”
The bride was impatient, bringing her veiled face close to Si Lan.
Si Lan frowned, looking conflicted, and instinctively leaned backward, feeling an inexplicable aversion to the kiss.
A bright red, agile tongue suddenly extended from the bride’s mouth, heading towards Si Lan’s cheek. But as it was about to touch him, a sharp pain surged from the flesh between his thumb and index finger.
In pain, he raised his hand and, “accidentally,” slapped the bride.
In an instant, the surroundings shattered, and the red bridal chamber turned into a room on Xuanling Mountain. The bride in front of him transformed into a gigantic mouth.
A massive black snake held him, its mouth gaping, fangs menacing, and the snake hissed loudly.
Si Lan’s face twisted in fear. It turned out that this beautiful lady was a giant snake!
As the gaping mouth lunged towards him, Si Lan quickly drew his Xuanxin whip and struck the snake’s fangs. The snake screamed in pain and tightened its body, attempting to strangle him.
He immediately recited an exorcism spell, and the whip handle emitted a blue light, piercing the snake’s neck.
The snake instantly loosened its grip, falling to the ground, writhing in pain. In a moment, the snake’s body rapidly shrank, becoming a tiny serpent about two inches long, lying motionless on the ground.
Si Lan thought it was dead and approached, but the tiny snake suddenly leaped towards his eyes.
He blocked it with his hand, and the snake bit his elbow, injecting venom into him.
He quickly used magic to stop the venom’s spread and then grabbed the snake’s neck, reaching into its mouth and pulled out its two long fangs.
Blood sprayed out instantly, accompanied by the snake’s cries of pain.
Watching this, the little white dragon, who had been observing, instinctively clenched its two fangs in its mouth.
“Who sent you?” Si Lan squeezed the snake’s throat.
This little snake could use its eyes to cast enchanting illusions, indicating it was from the snake-charming clan. It was quite skilled, having reached the level of speaking.
Unfortunately, it was uncooperative and refused to speak.
Si Lan slapped it again, sending it flying against the wall.
It spat out blood, trembled a few times, and lay motionless on the ground. This time, it had genuinely fainted.
Outside the room, there was a piercing, ear-splitting scream that echoed through the sky, like a magical curse, making one’s heart race.
Si Lan couldn’t care less about the enchanting snake. He immediately pushed open the door to check the situation.
Under the moonlight, Xuanling Mountain was enveloped in a nauseating scent of snake blood, with scattered fragments of the snake-charming clan members’ bodies, a horrifying scene.
The crimson snake blood gathered together, forming a river of blood that slowly flowed towards the peculiar plant.
The great battle had ended, and all the snake-charming clan members were annihilated.
On the mountaintop, the Purple Robed Immortal stood alone, with a sharp sword in hand, and in an instant, the snake-charming clan’s corpses dissipated into smoke.
Only the strong stench of blood in the air testified to the massacre that had just taken place.
Si Lan’s expression turned serious as he immediately cast a spell and flew towards the Purple Robed Immortal on the mountaintop.
In the shadows, Lou Yuqing’s face wasn’t very clear, but her eyes were unusually dark. When she saw Si Lan arrive, she seemed to deliberately keep her distance, turning slightly to the side.
“Lou Yuqing, why did these snake-charming clan members attack Xuanling Sect?” Si Lan asked.
“Snake-charming clan members harm the common people and have always been our mortal enemies at Xuanling Sect,” Lou Yuqing replied in a calm voice, devoid of any emotion.
Si Lan felt that something was amiss. From the battle just now, it was evident that the fighting capabilities of the snake-charming clan were like eggs hitting a rock when compared to Xuanling Sect. Even if they were enemies, the snake-charming clan wouldn’t willingly throw themselves into such a deadly situation. Furthermore, Xuanling Sect had killed all the snake-charming clan members, leaving no survivors, a behavior not typical of cultivators.
“Si Lan, get some rest. Don’t let these filthy creatures disturb your peace of mind,” Lou Yuqing said indifferently before turning and leaving.
Si Lan wanted to say more, but Lou Yuqing had already walked away, denying him the opportunity to speak.
He watched Lou Yuqing’s departing figure and sighed heavily.
Their relationship had really become distant.
Lou Yuqing’s attitude used to be far from this cold…
He floated in the air for a while, lost in thought. Suddenly, he remembered something and was frightened. He quickly used magic to return.
“Little one!”
He had forgotten about the little dragon’s existence!
He pushed open the door, frantically searching for the little dragon but couldn’t find it anywhere.
Could it have been eaten by the snake-charming clan members already?
He turned pale with worry and was about to interrogate the snake-charming clan members on the ground when something fell from the room’s ceiling, hitting him on the head.
He caught the object and saw that it was a partially bitten wild fruit. He looked up and found the little white dragon perched on the ceiling beams, gazing down at him with its golden eyes.
He breathed a sigh of relief, cast a spell, and brought the little white dragon into his embrace.
“Thank goodness you’re okay, little one.”
The little white dragon nonchalantly flicked its whiskers.
What an immature Demon Sovereign.
If it weren’t for its fear that directly killing the snake-charming clan members would prevent Si Lan from escaping the illusion, it would have already dealt with them.
At this moment, one of the snake-charming clan members in the corner woke from unconsciousness. After observing the situation, it attempted to crawl away quietly. However, as it reached the door, it was suddenly slammed shut with a loud bang.
A sinister voice came from behind, “If you try to leave through that door, Xuanling Sect will tear you apart.”
The snake-charming clan member turned, hissing with a menacing look, trying to intimidate Si Lan. But the words that came out of its mouth were incomprehensible.
It suddenly remembered that its two fangs had been pulled out by Si Lan and closed its mouth, embarrassed.
Si Lan held the little white dragon and used a spell to make the snake-charming clan member’s body levitate, bringing it in front of him.
He grabbed the snake’s neck and pressed for answers, “What’s the grudge between the snake-charming clan and Xuanling Sect?”
The snake remained silent, its eyes filled with hostility.
Si Lan didn’t expect this little snake to be so stubborn. He reached out and patted its belly. “I suddenly remembered, I haven’t had dinner yet tonight.”
He then cast a spell to create a small fire and used some bamboo leaves to wrap the snake tightly, leaving only its head exposed.
“Little one, have you ever eaten roasted snake with bamboo leaves?” Si Lan asked the little white dragon, which yawned and remained silent.
Si Lan was used to its indifference and continued talking to himself. “Roast the snake slowly until it’s about seventy percent cooked, then sprinkle some seasoning. At around ninety percent cooked, you open the bamboo leaves. By that time, the fragrance of the bamboo leaves will have been infused into the snake meat, making it fragrant and tender.”
The snake-charming clan member shivered upon hearing this. Its eyes were full of fear as it looked at the intense flames beneath it.
The bamboo leaves had turned black, and the rising heat was suffocating, making it hard to breathe. The snake-charming clan member couldn’t help but screech in terror.
“You hypocritical cultivators, just get on with killing me! I’m not afraid!”
“You’ve got it wrong; I’m not a cultivator.”
“If you’re not a cultivator, then why are you conspiring with them?”
Si Lan heard this accusation and furrowed his brows. He had never heard someone say that he was conspiring with the cultivators. In the past, they had always accused him of conspiring with the cultivators.
“Are you really not a cultivator?” The snake-charming clan member sniffed the air, failing to detect the aura of a cultivator around Si Lan. Even Si Lan’s spiritual energy seemed elusive to it.
This person’s magical power was far beyond its own.
“Okay, can you now tell me why you attacked Xuanling Sect?” Si Lan inquired.
“Why should I tell you?” The snake-charming clan member, despite revealing its intentions when it spoke, remained stubborn, raising its head.
Si Lan pointed at the area beneath the snake-charming clan member. “If you don’t tell me, you’ll get charred.”
“Ah…” It screamed in panic and struggled to escape. However, Si Lan pressed it back down.
It extended its snake tongue, and Si Lan’s expression shifted as he reached out to grab its tongue. It suddenly remembered something and was terrified. It shivered, trying to speak but slurring its words. “I… I’ll talk, just don’t pull out my tongue!”
Si Lan released its snake tongue and waved his hand, causing the fire beneath it to disappear instantly.
The snake-charming clan member
hastily tore the bamboo leaves apart. Its belly was already charred, and tears welled up in its eyes as it began to speak, “Half a month ago, our Snake Mother was captured by Lou Yuqing and imprisoned in Xuanling Mountain. We attacked Xuanling Mountain multiple times to rescue Snake Mother.”
“Snake Mother? Why did Lou Yuqing capture Snake Mother?” Si Lan’s expression grew serious as he listened to the snake-charming clan member’s words, trying to determine the truth behind its story.
“I don’t really know. All I know is that this Lou Yuqing is a hypocrite, with a heart as vicious as a beast’s. He’s been exterminating our snake-charming clan…” The snake-charming clan member choked back tears as it spoke.
The snake-charming clan had launched two rescue missions to save Snake Mother, but both had failed. They were planning a third attempt with the entire clan, and if that failed, they would face extermination.
Si Lan understood Lou Yuqing’s character. He knew that Lou Yuqing was not a hypocrite with a vicious heart.
On the contrary, Lou Yuqing was benevolent, wholeheartedly focused on cultivation, and one of the few Immortal Sovereigns who could distinguish right from wrong and had no prejudice against demons and monsters.
Si Lan felt that there must be a misunderstanding.
He thought for a moment and decided that he would talk to Lou Yuqing to get to the bottom of the snake-charming clan’s situation after daybreak.
“By the way, you bit me earlier. Is there any lingering effect?” Si Lan knew about the snake’s venom, that it wasn’t lethal, but he wasn’t sure if there were any side effects.
Upon hearing this, the snake-charming clan member’s eyes flickered. “Well, you already have a lingering effect…”
“…” Si Lan took out a bronze mirror and realized that his tongue had extended, and he was making a hissing sound from his mouth. No wonder he felt like something was off while speaking.
He asked with an expressionless face, “Are there any other symptoms?”
The snake-charming clan member lowered its head. “Our snake-charming clan’s venom, also known as snake venom, as the name suggests…”
“…” Si Lan felt something was amiss now. His body temperature was abnormally high, and he initially thought it was due to the fight, causing his nerves to overreact.
“So, how do I get rid of this snake venom?” Si Lan asked.
“Find a beautiful lady.” The snake-charming clan member replied nervously.
“…”
T/N: Hey there! There is plenty more where that came from, so stay tuned! And stay healthy! Straighten your posture, so some stretches and drink some water before continuing hehe~
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Also, check out the other series we have on HoH!
If you like cats, check out Revenge of the Garfield
If you like dragons, check out I’m Pregnant with the Hope of the Entire Planet and The Dragon and the ‘Princess’
How about some mystery or showbiz? Check out Morbid Addiction & Perfection
What about the perfect, most non-toxic male lead ever? Laws of Love
How about MC nursing ML back to health? Forced into the Deep
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