Chapter 133: Returning to the Snake-People Tribe

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Thank you all for your patience. The midterms are finally over. However, since the May Day holiday is approaching, classes will resume as normal tomorrow. Regardless, I can now return to my regular update schedule. I am truly sorry for making you wait so long, and I thank you all for your patience.

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After a day of traveling, Lu Zhe and Old Ye arrived at a sand dune near the Snake-Man tribe. Looking out from there, the Snake-Man city still appeared magnificent and imposing. The towering city walls stood tall and firm, with Snake-Man soldiers armed with weapons stationed atop them. Training units frequently patrolled the ramparts, and the security looked extremely tight.

"This is the Snake-Man tribe," Lu Zhe said, pointing toward the grand city before them.

Old Ye lay on the ground, observing the massive city. He frowned and asked, "How did you get in last time?"

Lu Zhe blinked and replied, "Last time, when I went in with Old Doctor, it was the middle of the night. We put on night-traveling gear, used climbing claws, and scaled the walls to get over."

Old Ye nodded and looked up at the sky. In this boundless desert, it was around summer, meaning the days were long and the nights short. The method Lu Zhe described was not feasible at the moment; it seemed they would have to put more thought into how to get inside.

Seeing Old Ye deep in thought, Lu Zhe poked him with his elbow and asked, "Didn't you say we were here to apologize? Why are you asking about this?"

Old Ye rolled his eyes at Lu Zhe and said, "Apologize? You think this is a case of 'two nations at war, don't kill the messenger'? I had originally intended to offer a sincere apology to see if we could settle these matters, but after thinking it over on the way here, I feel that an apology won't work."

"Why?" Lu Zhe asked, surprised.

Hearing this, Old Ye explained, "Do you remember what I told you when we were on our way here?"

"I remember," Lu Zhe nodded.

Old Ye continued, "Snake-Men are known for holding grudges." As he spoke, Old Ye lowered his head, reminiscing. "I once had a run-in with a Snake-Man. Because of a disagreement, we got into a fierce fight. At the time, our strengths were evenly matched, so we fought for a day and a night. Although I luckily defeated him in the end, the matter didn't end there—if anything, it was just the beginning. Some time later, while I was cultivating, I accidentally ran into him again. No need to guess, we fought again. But this time, he attacked me first, claiming he wanted to settle the old score. By then, my strength had already surpassed his, so it didn't take long for me to win again. However..." At this point, Old Ye sighed. Since his face was covered by a veil, Lu Zhe couldn't see his expression, but he could detect a hint of regret in his tone. Old Ye continued, "I didn't expect that he had come prepared this time. There was a female Snake-Man with him. The two of them, a man and a woman, fought me together. I underestimated the combined technique they had cultivated and was severely injured by it, forcing me to flee in disgrace." As he spoke, Old Ye's voice trembled slightly, as if he were still shaken by the memory.

Hearing this, Lu Zhe was shocked. He hadn't expected Old Ye to have gone through such experiences. No wonder he said the Snake-Men held grudges; it seemed they were indeed not very forgiving.

Just as Lu Zhe was lost in his own thoughts, Old Ye interrupted him. "Although I was defeated and fled in disgrace after being severely injured by the two of them, I met someone—an old acquaintance."

"Who was it?" Lu Zhe asked hurriedly.

Old Ye smiled faintly. "It was that fellow, Old Doctor, the one who taught you alchemy and medicine."

"Oh?" Lu Zhe exclaimed in surprise, then urged him impatiently, "And then? What happened next?"

Old Ye coughed and said, "He was an old friend of mine. When he saw I was severely wounded, he stepped in to save me. As luck would have it, over a decade after that incident, I encountered the two of them again. I had forgotten who they were, but to my surprise, they still remembered me. Upon recognizing me, they joined forces to attack, intending to kill me. However, in the decade since our last fight, my strength had advanced by leaps and bounds. Even working together, they were no match for me. Still, I didn't have the heart to kill them. In the end, they fled with minor injuries, and I haven't seen them since."

After listening to Old Ye’s long-winded recollection, Lu Zhe rolled his eyes, seemingly pondering something. A moment later, he asked, "Based on what you've said, what do we do now? Head back home?"

Old Ye pondered for a while, then shook his head. "No, since we’re already here, we can't just return empty-handed. Even if we aren't here to apologize, we should go in and take a look. By the way, what is it like inside?"

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Lu Zhe recalled, "It’s not bad inside. Especially one of the palaces—it was incredibly luxurious and extravagant." Lu Zhe used his hands to gesture as he described everything he had seen in that palace to Old Ye, omitting only the part about his encounter with the Snake-Man princess. He didn't know why he chose to keep that a secret.

After hearing Lu Zhe’s description, Old Ye’s eyes lit up, and he said impatiently, "So it’s that good inside? Very well, today, we master and apprentice shall go in once more." His voice dropped to a whisper, though it was still audible: "And while we're at it, if we see anything we like, it wouldn't hurt to pocket a few things."

Lu Zhe was speechless and rolled his eyes at Old Ye. He peered over the sand dune at the Snake-Man city for a while and said, "But with security this tight, I'm afraid getting in won't be easy. Besides, I came here once before with Old Doctor; they definitely must have increased their security at night."

Old Ye nodded thoughtfully, scratched his head, and said, "Climbing over probably won't work. How about this—what if we tunnel in?"

"Tunnel?" Lu Zhe asked, surprised. He looked Old Ye up and down and asked somewhat awkwardly, "Do you know how to perform a tunneling technique? Aren't you a Wood-element spirit user?"

Old Ye gave a mysterious, enigmatic smile. "This old man has his own clever methods."

Lu Zhe didn't know what to say, so he just asked, "When do we make our move?"

Old Ye looked up at the sky. "No rush. Let's wait until the middle of the night."

"Why is it always the middle of the night?" Lu Zhe muttered in frustration. He then turned over with a look of resignation and pulled a black cloth out of his storage ring to cover his face.

"What are you doing?" Old Ye poked him, watching his strange behavior.

"Saving up my energy for tonight's operation," came a grumpy voice from under the cloth.

"Oh," Old Ye nodded. He shifted his position, sat down cross-legged, and closed his eyes to rest.

Time ticked by. The sun, which had been high in the sky, slowly sank as time passed. The blinding, scorching sun turned a dark red, staining the hot yellow sand a deep crimson. A breeze swept through, causing the sand to roll and form wave after wave, which was quite a pleasant sight—certainly much better than a deadly sandstorm.

Finally, the remaining half of the sunset vanished completely, and the sky darkened. Before long, the bright moon rose from the east, yawning as it ascended into the sky to take over for the sun, which had worked all day, bringing a hint of light to the earth. The moonlight was much softer than the sunlight, much like a woman—no wonder so many people liked to use the moon to express their sentiments.

The firmament was like black ink, the bright moon like a jade plate. A gentle breeze brushed by, with stars hanging at the edge of the sky.

Lu Zhe pulled off the black cloth covering his face, looked at the pitch-black sky, sat up, and stretched. He turned his head to look at Old Ye.

Old Ye was still sitting cross-legged—this was his sleeping habit, which Lu Zhe was already accustomed to. Just as he was about to wake him, Lu Zhe had a sudden thought. He called out to Old Ye twice, and finding no reaction, he grinned and tiptoed over. He reached out toward the green veil on Old Ye’s face. As his hand drew closer, Lu Zhe could clearly feel his heart thumping, faster and faster, as if it were about to leap out of his chest.

His hand moved closer and closer to the veil... However, just as his fingers were inches away, Old Ye’s right hand struck out like lightning, hitting Lu Zhe in the abdomen and sending him flying several feet away, where he landed flat on his back on the sand.

Old Ye slowly opened his eyes and looked at Lu Zhe, who was clutching his stomach and rolling on the sand. Old Ye said coldly, "Kid, I'll let you off this time. Don't let it happen again."

Lu Zhe rolled back and forth on the sand, clutching his stomach and groaning in pain. It was clear that Old Ye’s punch had hurt quite a bit. After a while, Lu Zhe managed to stand up with his left hand still holding his stomach. He forced an awkward smile and said, "Heh... heh, Master, I just wanted to see what you looked like, that's all. I didn't have any other intentions."

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Old Ye stood up and looked at Lu Zhe. His voice remained cold: "I should hope you have no other intentions, otherwise you wouldn't just be rolling around in pain here, but would be meeting your maker."

Lu Zhe scratched his head and gave a bitter laugh, saying nothing.

Old Ye looked at Lu Zhe and suddenly took a deep breath, then sighed. The coldness in his voice vanished as he asked, "Why did you suddenly want to see my face?"

Lu Zhe straightened his back, still holding his stomach, and looked at Old Ye. He thought for a moment and said, "Ever since I became your apprentice, I've never seen you remove the green veil. You even wear it while eating and sleeping. I don't understand why you wear this mask. Master, is your face really that ugly?"

Old Ye pondered for a while, then shook his head. "No, while my appearance isn't exactly handsome, it’s not ugly enough to scare people. As for why I wear this mask... well." Old Ye hesitated, as if he had some unspeakable secret. A moment later, he said, "There is a reason for it. As for what that reason is, it isn't very convenient for me to tell you right now. But rest assured, when the time comes for you to see it, I will naturally let you see my face."

Lu Zhe nodded with a hint of regret and said nothing more.

Putting that topic aside, Old Ye looked up at the sky. "It’s time. We should go."

Lu Zhe was startled and looked at Old Ye.

After speaking, Old Ye plunged his bamboo staff into the sand, formed a seal with his hands, and then held his right hand in a sword-finger gesture before his chest, muttering something under his breath. After a while, the ground beneath Lu Zhe’s feet began to shake violently. Yellow sand poured downward, and Lu Zhe stumbled, unable to keep his footing, and began to roll down with it.

Lu Zhe hurriedly stood up and looked up at Old Ye. He saw Old Ye thrust his sword-fingered right hand forward, and a wooden pillar, taller than a man, with a spiral top and a round base, suddenly erupted from the ground in front of him.

"Uh..." Watching this unbelievable sight, Lu Zhe was stunned.

Old Ye looked at the round wooden pillar that had appeared, nodded, reached out to pull his bamboo staff from the ground, and turned to look at Lu Zhe. "Let's go."

Lu Zhe took a few steps forward, looked from Old Ye to the wooden pillar, and asked in confusion, "Go? How do we go? Where to?"

Old Ye smiled faintly, pulled Lu Zhe over to the wooden pillar—which was so wide two people couldn't even reach around it—and knocked on it. A section of the pillar suddenly opened in response.

Old Ye pulled Lu Zhe into the wooden pillar; the two of them didn't feel cramped inside at all. Old Ye tapped the pillar, and the opened section closed with a sound.

In the pitch-black space, Lu Zhe heard Old Ye say with a hint of a smile:

"Alright, we're going in."