Chapter 1182: White Qing and the Two Women

After Star Slave reported to Yu Yanluo for a while, he suggested providing another lizard carriage for her.

Yu Yanluo refused, explaining that many of her tribesmen had been injured fighting death worms in the mine earlier, and these injured individuals needed the carriages more. She said the few of them could simply squeeze into the current carriage.

Seeing her firm stance, Star Slave no longer insisted. He bowed to everyone and then excused himself.

Soon, the convoy started moving. Before long, streaks of light appeared outside the carriage window.

Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue each lifted the nearby curtains. They instinctively covered their eyes when they saw the brilliant sunlight.

Having spent a long time in the dark mine, they now felt as if they were seeing daylight again after a long absence.

Zu'an also leaned his head closer. Yan Xuehen's face flushed slightly, and she subtly recoiled, widening the distance between them.

Yun Jianyue, sitting opposite, taunted, "Just now you two were hugging and embracing; what's with the pretense now?"

Yet, she felt a bit strange. Given Yan Xuehen's usual temperament, she would certainly have been furious if a man got so close to her. Now, she merely shifted slightly without any further reaction.

"No one will think you're mute if you don't speak," Yan Xuehen retorted. Her cheeks slightly flushed, she glared fiercely at Yun Jianyue.

"Ice Woman, looking for a beating?" Yun Jianyue said, raising her hand again.

"You!" Yan Xuehen thought of the previous occasion when Yun Jianyue had held her over her knee and spanked her. She was utterly mortified and enraged.

This time, Zu'an wisely kept to himself, choosing not to get involved in the two women's dispute. Instead, he observed their surroundings.

After passing through a teleportation tunnel from the Cloud County mine, they seemed to still be inside a mine upon exiting. As the convoy moved outwards, he realized they had been inside the belly of a mountain.

Along the way, there were withered yellow trees everywhere. There was no snow. The temperature seemed to be slightly higher than in Cloud County.

Zu'an found it strange. Logically, the Snake Clan's territory was north of the Great Snow Mountain. If Cloud County often had snow, this area should be covered in it.

The world of cultivation indeed held too many unknown mysteries.

"Hiss, hiss, hiss~"

Eerie hissing sounds came from all around. Only then did Zu'an notice all sorts of snakes slithering among the withered leaves on the ground and on the tree branches.

Although his current cultivation level meant that no number of snakes could pose a threat to him, memories from his past life still made his scalp tingle instinctively.

However, he was surprised to find that these dense snakes showed no intention of attacking. Instead, they automatically retreated to clear the path as the carriage passed.

At this moment, Yu Yanluo's gentle voice spoke, "This is the forbidden territory of the Snake Clan. Outsiders are usually not allowed to approach. That's why so many snakes are kept here; they serve as guards. Our convoy has special tokens that these snakes can sense, so they naturally won't trouble us."

Zu'an nodded subtly. It seemed this place was designated as forbidden because of the teleportation array leading to Cloud County within the mountain.

Just then, the convoy suddenly stopped.

Zu'an looked out the window and saw a large group of people blocking the way in the distance. He wondered if they had encountered enemies.

Just then, Star Slave came to the carriage door. "Madam," he announced, "Elders Bai and Qing have sent people to welcome you."

Yu Yanluo's delicate brows furrowed slightly. "They didn't come themselves?" she asked.

After all, she was the recognized clan leader. For the two elders to send only subordinates clearly showed a lack of respect.

Star Slave's tone was somewhat disgruntled. "No, they only sent their respective granddaughters."

Even though they were direct granddaughters, they were still juniors. Their status was nowhere near equal to Yu Yanluo's.

Yu Yanluo fell into thought. Previously, she hadn't concerned herself with the Snake Clan's affairs, allowing Elders Bai and Qing free rein. But now that she was returning, she had to take things seriously.

Having held the position of Matriarch of the Yu Clan for so many years, she was naturally not as delicate as she appeared.

"Let's go," Yu Yanluo said, rising to her feet. "We'll meet the two elders' envoys."

Star Slave was surprised. "Madam, aren't you going to make them wait? Besides, if there's a meeting, they should be summoned to pay respects to you, not the other way around."

Yu Yanluo chuckled softly. "Making them wait would only satisfy a momentary urge and serve no real purpose. On the contrary, it would prematurely expose hostility. Furthermore, I haven't been in the Snake Clan for a long time, and very few of the tribesmen know me. So, I should naturally use this opportunity to build rapport with my people. Otherwise, if the two elders were to find someone to impersonate me one day, the Snake Clan's people wouldn't even know what was happening."

Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue exchanged glances. They thought, "This woman is not simple."

However, they were somewhat dismissive of her tactics. Both women were the type who believed in overwhelming force to defeat all strategies. They had no interest in studying such methods.

Yu Yanluo walked to the carriage door. She turned and waved at Zu'an. "A'Zu," she called, "come with me."

Zu'an was startled. "Won't this be inappropriate?" he asked. "After all, you are the clan leader, and I'm afraid it might affect your sacred image."

Although he didn't know much about the demon race, the attitude of the Snake Clan members towards her earlier had made it clear: they worshipped her like a spiritual totem.

If they knew Yu Yanluo had a man, it was possible they would be disappointed, causing her to lose popular support.

If her position was stable, it wouldn't matter. But from what Star Slave had said earlier, her position as clan leader was fraught with peril.

Yu Yanluo smiled charmingly. "It's fine," she said. "You're my man; there's nothing to hide about it."

Star Slave, standing nearby, was utterly dumbfounded. Although he knew Yu Yanluo had a good relationship with Zu'an before, and their relationship seemed to have grown much closer this time, he never imagined they were close to *that* extent.

Young Master Zu was indeed handsome and outstanding among his peers. However, countless men had pursued Madam over the years. There were even some more distinguished than him, yet Madam had never been moved until now. She had fallen.

If this news got out, it would likely cause a huge stir across the land.

Yan Xuehen, standing nearby, instinctively furrowed her delicate brows. For some reason, hearing Yu Yanluo address Zu'an that way made her feel uncomfortable, as if something precious had been snatched away from her.

After the others had left, only Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue remained in the carriage.

Yan Xuehen was initially sulking. Suddenly, sensing something, she looked up. Yun Jianyue was staring at her with an eerie expression. Her heart skipped a beat, and she asked, "What do you want?"

Yun Jianyue rubbed her palm and said indifferently, "I'm not in a very good mood right now. How about you cheer me up?"

Yan Xuehen's expression changed, and she quickly tried to run out. However, Yun Jianyue grabbed her, held her over her knee, and gave her another round of spanking.

The feeling of shame and humiliation drove Yan Xuehen mad with rage. "Demoness," she seethed, "once I recover, I will tear you to pieces!"

"You've just reminded me," Yun Jianyue said. "I should seize the opportunity to bully you properly while you're still weak."

Hearing the crisp sounds and protests coming from behind, Zu'an silently felt sympathy for Yan Xuehen. Of course, his sympathy was only in his heart; he had no desire to get involved in their conflict.

Soon, he followed Yu Yanluo to the front of the convoy. A group of serpent people knelt in unison, shouting, "Greetings, Clan Leader!"

Zu'an noticed that these serpent people looked significantly different from those Yu Yanluo had brought from Cloud County. Their eyes had vertical pupils, and their gazes were much fiercer.

The most striking feature, of course, was their extremely large mouths. When they spoke, their mouths opened so wide they seemed to split all the way to their ears.

Then he noticed two women, one in white and one in green, kneeling at the very front of the group of serpent people. Both women had graceful figures. The woman in white was taller, while the woman in green was petite and delicate.

The woman in white had long flowing hair. She appeared very ladylike, possessing a beauty with a classical aura.

The woman in green had charming braids. Zu'an felt a pang of distraction; seeing the braids, he couldn't help but think of Xue'er. He wondered if he would be able to see her on this trip to the demon realm.