Chapter 60

Chapter 60

Qin Ran brought Li Shiyin down the mountain. Halfway down, he asked Li Shiyin, "Who is Zhao Yaqing?"

"She is the legitimate daughter of the Zhao family in Xuanqin," Li Shiyin replied.

"And what is the Zhao family in Xuanqin?"

"Zhao Yaqing's grandfather..." Li Shiyin thought carefully. She wasn't very sure about this. "I think her grandfather was the Prime Minister of Xuanqin... or was it the Imperial Tutor? I can't remember clearly."

"The Imperial Tutor..." Qin Ran understood. He fell silent in thought for a moment. Zhao Yaqing was the legitimate daughter of an official family, an inner disciple of the Cloud Heaven Sect, with a guardian by her side. On top of that, she was very scheming. No matter how you looked at it, she did not seem like the kind of person who would reminisce with the silly Li Shiyin for no reason.

Well, actually, if you look at Li Shiyin's background, she's not worse off than Zhao Yaqing.

The daughter of a prestigious family, personal disciple of the Dao Sword Sect, master an alchemist... Her resume wasn't any worse than Zhao Yaqing's.

Without saying anything more, Qin Ran felt wary and vigilant in his heart about Zhao Yaqing's ulterior motives.

Having finalized the sword forging arrangements, the main purpose of this trip was already half accomplished. As long as he could exchange the medicinal pills for the treasured sword in five days, the trip would be perfectly successful.

So Qin Ran relaxed a little and took Li Shiyin to appreciate some of the unique natural scenery around the volcano and experience the peculiar culture of the sword forging town for a bit.

The sky here was red, the land was black-brown lava, and the air was scorching hot currents.

Yet the flora here was as lush as a primeval forest, mostly shrubs, with the occasional coniferous or leafless tree...though none grew very tall. The fauna was mostly insects, with the occasional small mammals like foxes and rats.

Master and disciple walked slowly, chatting about random things. Li Shiyin picked flowers, chased snakes, and picked up one oddly shaped piece of lava rock after another.

After they returned to the sword forging town, they wandered around taking in the sights.

The unique natural landscape here existed because of the volcano, while the strange culture of the town relied on Xu Zhiye.

Seeing the casual look on Li Shiyin's face, her long, thin snake eyes immediately lit up. She knew this was a chance for revenge...for escape!

Well, it wasn't that she didn't want revenge, just that this silly girl...

She would probably never forget in her whole life the experience of being held by the tail and spun around wildly by Li Shiyin in a frenzy.

But why not try other methods, since she clearly couldn't win in a test of strength?

After all, raw power was never what her snake clan prided themselves on!

"People often talk about snakes and scorpions, speaking of their extreme venom..." she opened her mouth to speak. "But from my understanding, neither snakes nor scorpions are poisonous. Only the human heart is the true poison."

Li Shiyin was sitting on the bed fiddling with the clothes she had bought today when she heard Long Qiqi's words. She gave a mocking laugh. "You, a mere snake spirit, commenting on humans?"

"You humans, precisely because you are human, do not understand humans. That is called not seeing the forest for the trees. It is exactly because I am a snake that I understand humans more clearly," Long Qiqi retorted.

"Humans don't understand humans, but snakes understand humans?" Li Shiyin curled her lip disdainfully. "What kind of nonsense logic is that?"

"I am a snake, but now I am a demon—demons take human form. So although I was once a snake, now I am human. Having been both snake and human, I understand humans well enough," Long Qiqi explained smoothly.

"What? What are you talking about?" Long Qiqi's rhetorical twist left Li Shiyin confused. She suddenly felt Long Qiqi's words made some sense.

"Humans are the most poisonous creatures in the world!" Long Qiqi stated her thesis again. "Even more poisonous than I am!"

"Hmm..." Li Shiyin frowned in thought. She didn't know where she had lost the thread, but they had ended up here somehow.

She put the clothes down and stood up, wanting to refute Long Qiqi but not knowing how. She looked at Long Qiqi, then realized—this was just the defeated captive talking!

"So what if humans are the most poisonous?" she asked coldly with a mocking smile.

"Oh, nothing much..." Long Qiqi also smiled. "I just hope you bear in mind what your master said—to be careful and stay safe!"