Pretending To Be A Boss

Bai Mansheng had also heard from the ancient apes in her childhood that humans were cunning and not to be trusted.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

But for creatures in the mining areas, the most significant trait of humans was probably their weakness.

Absolute martial power could crush all deceit and trickery.

Traps, schemes, setups, equipment. These were the things humans used to compensate for their gap with the creatures of the mining areas, and they were laughable in front of calamity-level beings.

The only thing they could do was to use manpower and time for a blood exchange.

But Xu Xian must not have been human.

Bai Mansheng was certain of this, so she nodded at Tang Xian and said,

"It's thoughtful of you, but you and I are neither kin nor kind, so why help me?"

Akasi was just short of a dumbfounded expression.

Wasn't this the person who had just killed their clansmen demanding justice, and now was offering help?

There were indeed many things about Tang Xian worth learning from.

Tang Xian said,

"I told you, I find snake species cute and kind-hearted."

"Is that really so?"

"Could there be any falsehood in that?" Without turning red or out of breath, Tang Xian's expression remained normal.

"But I don't even know who you are, so why are you connected to my snake lineage?"

"To answer that, we have to start from the encounter between my ancestor and yours."

"It's a tale from the Late Tang Dynasty, one year..."

Lacking a normal human childhood, both Akasi and Bai Mansheng listened as Tang Xian casually told The Legend of the White Snake.

Tang Xian had read The Legend in some folklore and liked it so much that, after reading it, he memorized it.

He really hadn't thought that one day he would use this story.

After all, the story was ultimately written by humans, and as the saying goes, "If you are not a snake, how can you know the joy of a snake?"

However, as Tang Xian improvised his narration, blurring some details and copying the literary style, without altering the original plot too much—

Akasi and Bai Mansheng actually listened with rapt attention.

After a few minutes, Tang Xian stopped.

"Why aren't you continuing?" Bai Mansheng demanded in a cold voice. She had a calm and aloof temperament and hated most those who tell stories but leave them unfinished.

Tang Xian asked,

"Are you hungry?"

Akasi nodded, adhering to the principle that more words lead to more mistakes, and silence is faultless. He had not spoken, striving to play the role of Tang Xian's attendant effectively.

Thinking Tang Xian was hungry, Bai Mansheng swept her white sleeve, and the layer of ice on the lake surface instantly shattered.

A dozen plump and tender redscale fish then landed in front of her.

Bai Mansheng's eyes showed hesitation, as she usually wouldn't eat in human form. A beautifully ethereal woman holding a fish and gnawing on it was not very elegant.

But she also didn't want to revert to her original form just then, so she picked up a fish, ready to eat it directly.

Tang Xian remembered the first time he met Tang Xiaojiu, it was the same situation.

He laughed and said, "Are you in a rush?"

"Although the battle is pressing, it won't hurt to wait a moment longer." Bai Mansheng, mainly wanting to hear the rest of The Legend of the White Snake, spoke.

"Alright, fish isn't eaten like this. I'll prepare it for you later. Don't eat it yet; I need to go to the lakeside to clean up."

Covered in snake blood, Tang Xian felt no appetite. Fortunately, the blood wasn't hard to clean off, and after a few rolls in the cold lake water, Tang Xian shivered from the cold.

It was clearly summer, yet he experienced the thrill of winter swimming.

Afterward, opening his tool bag, Tang Xian laid out the pot and an array of spices.

Akasi efficiently began to scale the fish.

Bai Mansheng, puzzled, asked, "Why do you use human tools?"

"Because they are useful. Oh, and don't start on the fish yet."

Bai Mansheng then put down the fish, and Tang Xian also casually tossed her a fish basket.

"You really carry a lot of stuff with you."

"Walking through the Jianghu, how can one not be well-equipped."

"..."

Since the fire-starting device was in Dong Ran's prop bag, Tang Xian let Akasi use the most ancient method to start a fire.

A person with exceptional speed, naturally, would be incredibly fast at drilling wood to make fire.

Tang Xian nodded, thinking that if Akasi couldn't make it one day, this high-speed vibration would be quite the spectacle at either the third or fourth level of the White Horse Club.

Making do with simplicity, Tang Xian didn't offer any special treatment to the White Phosphorus Serpent Demon, the leader of the great snake clan.

At the very least, the fish soup he prepared was no more exquisite than what he usually served to Tang Xiaojiu and Dong Ran.

But soon after, when Bai Mansheng sipped the delicious fish soup, even her usually cool and indifferent face showed a hint of emotion.

It was the same principle as a cat that has gotten used to eating dry fish food and no longer cares for fresh fish.

Tang Xian couldn't ask for too much detail; he only guessed that taking on a human form might involve compromises in taste and certain habits.

One minute later, Tang Xian served Bai Mansheng a bowl.

In less than a minute, he refilled it. Explore more stories at empire

About ten minutes later, the pot was empty, and both Akasi and Tang Xian, holding their bowls, exchanged glances. Despite her thin appearance, this woman could eat more than Dong Ran and Qiao Shanshan combined.

"Is there any more?" Bai Mansheng asked, slightly embarrassed.

"I'll make some more for you."

"Can you also finish the story from before?"

"Do I look like I'm here to serve you?"

"It's about the bearing of a storyteller."

Tang Xian pondered for a moment and realized the little white snake made a good point.

"Speaking of Fahai, he doesn't understand love, being originally a hellhound. Seeing the prosperous business of Baohe Hall run by Xu Xian of the Dragon Clan and Bai Suzhen of the Snake Clan, he couldn't sit idly by and wanted to interfere."

Bai Mansheng was confused. Aren't hellhounds lowly creatures?

How could they possess the ability to transform?

Yet, she was engrossed in the story and even found herself feeling resentment towards the dog clan.

In the summer lakes and wetlands, yet surrounded by a glacier, the steaming fish soup paired with an engaging and entertaining story made Bai Mansheng momentarily forget about time.

She was always aloof in her demeanor, never showing joy or anger. It was hard to discern her inner thoughts.

Akasi wasn't sure whether she had let go of her hostility towards him and Tang Xian.

But Tang Xian was very clear.

Because her favorability had reached 14. The current assessment was "familiar."

A little more effort, and perhaps it would reach "joyful meeting."

Tang Xian thought to himself that this little white snake was really reserved; her favorability was constantly rising without showing it, completely different from Qing JiuYu's temperament.

Here were two people locked in a life-and-death struggle that he had both encountered by chance, which was quite fateful.

From the beginning, he had never intended to side with the fox clan but had only agreed to teach Qing JiuYu some tactics.

He never said it was to help Qing JiuYu fight against the Snake Clan.

Now that the leader of the Snake Clan was here, he could teach her some tactics as well.

Tang Xian didn't care about the casualties between the fox clan and the snake clan.

This wasn't a sign of cold-bloodedness; even humans can kill each other, history's greatest killers being humans themselves, not wild beasts.

So if the creatures in the mining area were battling fiercely, he was even less inclined to get involved.

He befriended both Qing JiuYu and Bai Mansheng simply because of personal preference.

As long as he did not let Qing JiuYu find out that he was on good terms with Bai Mansheng, and vice versa, things would be fine.

Tang Xian believed that the heavens wouldn't play such a trick on him, allowing two dangerous women to appear by his side at the same time.

Thinking about such a scenario made him shiver involuntarily.

Well... It shouldn't happen, right? Better be careful.

(Okay, can't write anymore, time for a break)