Pretending To Be A Boss

"Suddenly, the Heavens threw a tantrum, and in an instant, a torrential rain began to pour, leaving Bai Suzhen and Xiao Qing with nowhere to hide, drenched and full of worry. Then, unexpectedly, they felt an umbrella cover their heads from above. Turning around, they saw a gentle and graceful young scholar, fair and delicate, holding the umbrella over them."

Bai Suzhen's first encounter with Xu Xian was a scene Tang Xian was very fond of.

However, he was covered in blood, sporting a somewhat hysterical smile, which had nothing to do with being fair, delicate, and gentle.

Instead, he more closely resembled a maniac who had escaped from a chainsaw massacre movie.

But as one of the four great folk tales of Huaxia, and also one of his favorite stories, seeing a white snake capable of taking human form in the mining area made him want to imagine himself in the story.

Bai Mansheng was exquisitely beautiful, possessing a reserved temperament, a classical beauty not found within the Pyramid, much like Qing JiuYu.

But the differences were as vast as the heavens and the earth, with three parts less charm and three parts more unearthly grace.

This deviated from Tang Xian's impression of the gentle and lovely Lady Bai, typical of a fragile beauty.

The beauty of Bai Mansheng was more akin to a lotus blossoming in icy solitude.

"I haven't heard your name. You'd better explain clearly why you killed my kin."

Bai Mansheng's disposition was colder than Tang Xian had imagined, which probably stemmed from the intrinsic differences between snakes and foxes.

Snakes are cold-blooded animals by nature.

However, since they now possessed human form and intelligence, they could not be devoid of human feelings.

Concern for one's own kind is one such expression.

Tang Xian said:

"It was at a critical point of evolution. Two days ago, a wave of beasts migrated, causing a large number of creatures to leave. With no food available, I was passing by this place, and it probably mistook me for a human and tried to eat me."

"I appealed peacefully and held back at every turn, thinking that a snake is ultimately a cute little animal. But unfortunately, your kin was blinded by madness and repeatedly tried to kill me."

"Although my ancestors and yours have a deep connection, your kin relentlessly sought to put me to death. I had no choice but to fight back. During the confrontation, I reasoned with it, with affection and logic, hoping it would understand that I am not an enemy of the Nvwa Snake clan. But it seemed to have lost its serpentine nature, as if its brain had short-circuited due to its nearing evolution."

Recalling Qing JiuYu's deference toward him, Tang Xian felt even more confident.

The strongest being on the entire continent couldn't see through him; Bai Mansheng should be even less likely.

"As it turns out, I'm not tasty. But it has paid for its offense with its life. So, we're even now, and I believe you, Bai, must be a reasonable woman."

Having met the leaders of the group twice after finishing off the underlings, Tang Xian mused over his luck.

Analyzing the data before his eyes, he was neither servile nor overbearing.

Gender: Female.

Moral Alignment: 50.

Greed and Lust Index: 4.

Affection Level: -2 (Strangers).

Wealth assessment: 32 (Modest savings).

Liked Things: None.

Disliked Things: None.

Dreaded Things: None.

Current Candidness: 50 (Objective and practical).

Charm Value: 95 (Unparallelled beauty).

Current Luck: 50 (Smooth sailing).

Current Needs Analysis:

[Clarifying the cause of the Nvwa Snake's death (30%)]

[Probing the creature before me (30%)]

[Returning to Tianque Plains (25%)]

[Healing injuries (10%)]

[Other (5%)]

The difference from what Tang Xian thought was not big; just like the first time he met Qing JiuYu, the other party was also very curious about him.

Only the personality and way of expressing it differed.

The only thing that somewhat dissatisfied Tang Xian was that Bai Mansheng and Qing JiuYu's beauty should be on par, yet the data score was a few points lower, which he felt was an aesthetic issue.

It did not align with his subjective sense of beauty.

Additionally, having no liked things, and no dislikes or fears.

The attributes of a girl with no clear preferences left Tang Xian momentarily not knowing how to proceed. Stay connected through empire

Bai Mansheng observed Tang Xian for a long time, her cool eyes containing a hint of puzzlement.

Akasi was silent beside her, yet his heart was tossing with shock and awe.

Tang Xian appeared too composed, and even Akasi did not know where such composure came from.

Most importantly, Akasi noticed that within the eyes of the Bai Family member, there was a certain wariness toward Tang Xian.

Bai Mansheng approached the corpse of the Nvwa Snake, her eyes even colder.

The Nvwa Snake was certainly dead.

Tang Xian began,

"You are the leader of the Nvwa Snakes, but according to the way the snake clan selects its leader, he was also a potential threat to you. There are no other creatures left in the White Bone Mountain Range, and the swarming fish in the ponds have all been frozen solid. No one saw me kill him."

After pausing, Tang Xian looked into Bai Mansheng's eyes and slowly said,

"I think we are not enemies, perhaps we can even become friends. What do you think?"

Bai Mansheng's expression remained unchanged, but she was startled inside.

How could this person have discerned her slight wariness towards the Nvwa Snake?

Though it wasn't mentioned in the demand analysis, Tang Xian easily inferred that the relationship between the Bai Family and this Nvwa Snake was somewhat special.

If a Nvwa Snake truly submitted to the current leader, even during evolution, it would not deliberately stray too far.

Wouldn't it be safer to enjoy the protection of the snake clan?

This also indicated that this snake's motives were not pure, and with some understanding of snakes, Tang Xian could easily deduce this layer of relationship.

Bai Mansheng's expression softened slightly, and she asked,

"Why do you call me Bai?"

"I'd like to call you by your name too, but you've only revealed your surname."

"My name is Bai Mansheng. Who are you, exactly?"

Actually, the scene before Tang Xian was also quite shocking.

When cold snake skin turned into this fine-looking vessel, most men would be willing to disrobe and forget day and night, ultimately leading to their belts widening.

So Xu Xian can't be considered a hero, he simply followed human instinct.

"Who I really am is a secret. When we get to know each other better, I'll tell you."

"Do you live in the White Bone Mountain Range?"

"No."

"Then why are you here?"

"You ask too many questions."

Bai Mansheng stared at Tang Xian, unable to see through him, always feeling that he carried a distasteful human scent.

But she couldn't muster much of an aversion either.

The mine area was teeming with life, but there were very few "people."

Throughout Bai Mansheng's life, besides the three elders from her clan, she mostly dealt with that fox spirit who had been fiercely battling recently.

The number of people she had seen could be counted on one hand.

Seeing Tang Xian, even with her cool nature, couldn't help but arouse curiosity.

Tang Xian was constantly monitoring Bai Mansheng's favorability. It had finally changed from -2 to +2, although the evaluation was still unchanged.

Despite Bai Mansheng's unchanging expression, Tang Xian still confirmed his speculation from her subtle reactions and the change in favorability.

He struck while the iron was hot and said,

"I actually did you a favor."

???

Bai Mansheng looked at Tang Xian, puzzled.

"The snake clan and the fox clan are at war. Without you there to hold the fort, I fear your subjects won't be able to withstand Qing JiuYu's attacks, right? But think about it, you're injured right now. This Nvwa Snake was a mere step away from completing its evolution, and it's possible it would have completed it by the time you found it."

"If it had malicious intentions, even if you defeated it, your injuries would have worsened. As a result, the advantage you previously led your snake clan to create on the northern battlefield might cause a chain reaction from a single strand being pulled."

Bai Mansheng's eyes showed surprise again; she had certainly not expected this man to have such insight. But how did he know she was injured?

Akasi was even more confused.

He tried to sort out the logic.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Tang Xian had seen the nine-tailed fox spirit, and he had also mentioned that the fox clan and the snake clan were at war.

Also, from the attitude of Tang Xiaojiu and Tang Xian not wanting to eat the fox, their relationship with the nine-tailed fox spirit seemed good.

So it made no sense... to pose as someone who would help the snake clan against the fox clan.

Akasi had always been a gentle and sincere person, but he suddenly found... Tang Xian wasn't as straightforward as he had imagined.

Tang Xian hadn't thought so much.

His logic was simple.

Speak to people in human terms, and to ghosts in ghostly ways.

By analogy: speak to foxes in fox language, and to snakes in snake language.

Seeing that Bai Mansheng's favorability had increased by three points, he was sure he was generally on the right track.

He then showed an even friendlier smile.

(Don't ask why two chapters—this is normal behavior~a whim of inspiration)