Chapter 89

Chapter 89: The Feeling of Working Like a Horse and Getting Paid 3,000 a Month

Another fight was over.

Sang Nian sat down on the ground, her eyes blank:

“I’ve fought all the fights I’m going to fight in this lifetime.”

Shen Mingchao wasn’t much better. He lay on the ground like a dead dog, clutching his long sword and gasping for breath:

“And the next lifetime too.”

Chu Yao kicked him, and he weakly rolled over to make way.

Chu Yao walked over and started dividing the jade essence they had collected along the way.

The sky had already darkened.

Insects chirped all around.

This was the second night of the Heroes’ Gathering.

“It’s divided,” Chu Yao said. “Five middle-grade and two low-grade for each person.”

Sang Nian took hers, feeling a pang of sadness:

“I suddenly feel like I’m working myself to death like a horse and getting paid 3,000 a month.”

“We can’t cut down any more demon beasts,” Shen Mingchao said, his eyes unfocused. “We can’t cut anymore, really can’t.”

He said:

“We should just ambush like we did before. Wait for others to cut down the demon beasts, then we go and cut them down.”

Sang Nian: “You’re so despicable.”

Then, she turned to Chu Yao and said:

“I think we can do that.”

Chu Yao didn’t have any objections:

“Are you rested? If you are, let’s continue.”

Shen Mingchao tried to get up, but he was shaking and couldn’t manage it after several attempts.

Seeing this, Sang Nian said:

“Let’s rest a little longer.”

So, he lay back down with peace of mind.

The sky was low, and the stars were thick and numerous, countless.

Shen Mingchao looked at the stars, picked up a blade of grass, and hummed a tune while swinging his legs.

Sang Nian heard it and asked:

“What song is that? It’s pretty good.”

Shen Mingchao laughed:

“I don’t know. I only heard my mother sing it to my elder brother once when I was a kid. I just remembered the tune somehow.”

Sang Nian became interested:

“You have an older brother? A real brother?”

Shen Mingchao: “Twin brother.”

Sang Nian: “Wow, so your brother looks exactly like you?”

Shen Mingchao: “Yeah.”

Sang Nian: “Are your personalities the same?”

Shen Mingchao: “Of course not. My elder brother is the Crown Prince, kind and benevolent, talented and outstanding, quick-witted and eager to learn. He’s far better than I am.”

Sang Nian was surprised:

“It’s rare to hear you praise someone so eloquently.”

Shen Mingchao awkwardly laughed:

“That’s what others say. I just borrowed a couple of phrases.”

Sang Nian was speechless.

Shen Mingchao said:

“Anyway, my brother is great, really great. I… am not.”

Sang Nian: “But I think you’re pretty good.”

Shen Mingchao was startled:

“How is that possible…”

Sang Nian said:

“Although you were really annoying at first, you’ve corrected those bad habits. So, overall, there are still good things about you.”

Shen Mingchao asked nervously:

“For example?”

Sang Nian choked:

“Uh… well… you eat a lot, you have a loud voice, and you also…”

Shen Mingchao looked at her with resentment:

“Can’t you just make up something decent?”

Sang Nian: “Ugh, anyway, you get the idea.”

After saying that, she stretched her stiff neck and shoulders, getting up:

“We should go.”

Shen Mingchao reached out his hand pathetically:

“Help me up.”

Sang Nian grabbed his wrist and pulled hard.

He didn’t stop in time and bumped into the big tree behind her with a “thud”.

The trunk trembled, and a few leaves fluttered down.

Sang Nian: “…”

Sang Nian: “Are you okay?”

Shen Mingchao slowly turned around, two streams of blood running down his nose.

He tried to smile:

“I’m fine.”

Sang Nian: “… Maybe you should wipe the blood first.”

Chu Yao suddenly spoke:

“Did you guys hear something?”

Sound?

Sang Nian listened closely for a moment and replied:

“No, what did you hear?”

Shen Mingchao said: “I didn’t hear anything either.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Sang Nian’s expression changed dramatically.

“Shen Mingchao,” she swallowed, “don’t move.”

Shen Mingchao: “What?”

Chu Yao looked at his feet: “Don’t talk either.”

Shen Mingchao followed her gaze downwards.

A snake tail, as thick as a wrist, silently wrapped around his legs.

“Hiss”

He heard the breathing of some animal near his ear.

It was close, almost against his eardrum.

Shen Mingchao froze like a stone.

Sang Nian: “Don’t move.”

He spoke with difficulty:

“I’m not moving.”

Sang Nian stared at the snake, its head raised high behind him, her hand slowly resting on the hilt of her sword.

“Hiss”

As if sensing her intention, the snake tightened its tail in a flash.

Sang Nian’s vision blurred, and Shen Mingchao had vanished.

Deep drag marks were left on the ground.

Chu Yao said: “This way!”

The two of them flew on their swords, following the drag marks, until they reached the foot of a tall, steep stone mountain.

The peak soared into the clouds, and something seemed to be hidden in the clouds, making it difficult to see clearly.

“Wait!” Sang Nian stopped her sword, her heart pounding. “Isn’t this the south of the secret realm?”

Chu Yao instantly understood what she meant.

Naga.

The strongest of all the demon kings in the secret realm.

Even Xiao Zhuochen wasn’t her match.

Sang Nian gritted her teeth:

“It’s not Naga who grabbed Shen Mingchao. It’s probably one of her kin.”

Chu Yao: “Whether it is or not, we have to go save him.”

Sang Nian gazed at the peak, taking a deep breath:

“Okay.”

After all, she wouldn’t die.

At worst, she would be kicked out of the secret realm.

She was going all out.

On the stone mountain.

In a dark, damp cave.

The snake tail loosened, releasing Shen Mingchao, who had been dragged all the way.

He was disheveled, his clothes torn, and his body covered in scrapes from the bumpy journey, looking extremely miserable.

The snake demon slithered closer to him, and his face was completely drained of color as he shrank back.

It flicked its tongue and wrapped around him again, speaking in a human voice:

“Hiss the tune you played just now was so beautiful. Can you play it for me again?”

Now, it was even closer than before, and Shen Mingchao could clearly see every detail of the snake’s head.

Its bright red tongue almost brushed against his face.

He couldn’t even hear what it said, his eyes closed as he was about to faint.

The snake demon used its tail to force open one of his eyes:

“Are you afraid of me?”

Shen Mingchao said in a choked voice:

“Do you think I am?”

The snake demon pondered for a moment, then transformed into a little girl wearing a green dress.

“Are you still afraid now?” she asked.

Shen Mingchao choked:

“It’s not about appearance. It’s about the essence.”

The snake demon didn’t understand, but she still asked:

“Can you play that tune again? I was sleeping in the tree and woke up immediately when I heard it. It was really beautiful.”

Shen Mingchao trembled:

“Will you let me go after I play it?”

The snake demon honestly said:

“No.”

Shen Mingchao’s face was filled with despair. He wished he could beat up his past self.

The snake demon said:

“Isn’t it good to stay here? My sister is a very powerful demon king. As long as you stay with me, no one will dare bully you.”

Shen Mingchao thought of something, his face turning ashen:

“Your sister, wouldn’t it be Naga, and she’s poisonous, right?”

The snake demon: “Yes, you know her? That’s great!”

Shen Mingchao’s hanging heart finally sank completely.

Suddenly, the snake demon’s expression turned serious:

“Someone’s coming in.”

Shen Mingchao’s lifeless eyes suddenly lit up.

It must be Sang Nian and Chu Yao!

He turned to the entrance of the cave and shouted at the top of his lungs:

“I’m here!”

“Slap”

He had only shouted four words when a tail hit the back of his head, and he collapsed softly.

The snake demon hid the unconscious Shen Mingchao, flew out of the cave, and looked out from the high ground.

At the foot of the mountain.

A young man in black, with his long hair tied high, stood holding a sword, his entire being radiating coldness and killing intent.

As if sensing her gaze, he looked up, his eyes cold, devoid of any warmth.

She shivered involuntarily and took a step back.

At the same time, in the clouds.

The giant snake perched on the mountain peak suddenly opened its eyes, its pupils crimson red.