She Yi was furious. In his view, true powerhouses disdained bullying juniors.
Song Wanníng, however, was not surprised.
Gong Ye had once been abandoned by the snake clan. He had clawed his way up, so he would never let the snake clan off. If given the chance, he might even retaliate against the entire clan and plunge them into ruin.
By now, she was one hundred percent certain that Gong Ye would return to the snake clan. After struggling so hard to achieve success, how could he not flaunt it before his enemies? He would not feel satisfied until he saw their regret with his own eyes.
Since that was the case, all she needed to do was wait.
"She Yi, do you have a recipe and herbs for refining beast pills?" Suddenly, Song Wanníng spoke.
The senior's descendant was likely injured. She needed to prepare beast pills so the person could recover once rescued. If a Yin Pill could be refined, then beast pills would be no problem.
"Ah? I will look." She Yi rummaged through his storage pouch. After a moment, he produced a booklet and several common herbs.
"I bought these right after I first took human form. Unfortunately, I have no talent for alchemy, so I set it aside." He handed everything to Song Wanníng, unsure of her intentions.
After all, he knew better than anyone that Song Wanníng was not truly of the beast race. So he never even considered that she might refine beast pills herself.
Among beasts, beast pills were precious. A beast cultivator first had to reach the point of taking human form, then endure a long period of trial and error and possess remarkable talent in alchemy before producing any beast pills.
As a result, beast pills were extremely rare. Many beast cultivators simply gnawed on raw herbs. The effect was far inferior to pills.
Song Wanníng flipped through the booklet, gauged the essentials, then put it away.
One day passed quickly. Over the next half month, She Yi had the worst of luck. Whenever he stepped outside, he was beaten and humiliated. Worse, Song Wanníng ordered him to go out every day to let Gong Ye vent his anger.
She Yi wanted to refuse, but Song Wanníng could refine beast pills. They not only sped his healing, they also accelerated his cultivation. In the end, for the sake of beast pills, he "yielded."
At last, when She Yi had been pummeled numb, Gong Ye agreed to visit the snake clan and meet those old men. But just as he was about to depart, he noticed that one of the snake clan attendants beside She Yi had changed.
The original snake attendant had been a woman. Now it was a man with higher cultivation and a distinctly unfriendly gaze.
Gong Ye recognized him at once.
"You are She Jiu?"
"She Jiu" was merely the rank of a genius within the clan.
Gong Ye remembered him clearly. Back then, She Jiu had been like a moon in the heavens, making the former Gong Ye seem like mud in a ditch by comparison.
And now?
He was under Gong Ye's heel.
A sneer tugged at the corner of Gong Ye's mouth. He felt wonderful. This male-protagonist power fantasy, this was the script he deserved. When he returned to the snake clan, the elders' expressions would be a sight to behold.
"Greetings, Beast King…" Song Wanníng's avatar bowed with open reluctance, resentment and jealousy nearly written on her face.
Gong Ye enjoyed this very much and grew even more pleased, noticing nothing amiss. "Here. You will steer the flying artifact later."
He tossed out a flying artifact, ordering She Jiu to do the work.
That casual arrogance made one grit their teeth. Humiliation flashed in the avatar's eyes. She swallowed it down, took the artifact, and became Gong Ye's "driver."
"By the way, where are those two women from before?"
Gong Ye suddenly asked about Song Wanníng and the fox beast.
She Yi kept a steady face and gave the prepared reply. "That clanswoman was meant as an offering to Beast King Dàrén, but you were not interested, so you let her go. Brother Jiu was away on assignment earlier, otherwise he would have come at the start. As for the fox beast, she was the clanswoman's friend. She came to Bai Yao Palace seeking a backer, but I drove her off."
Gong Ye already had many women around him and had long since lost interest in beauty. During the past half month, he had not paid attention to Song Wanníng or the fox beast at all.
Hearing this explanation, he believed most of it.
Plenty of women wanted to climb into his bed. Most likely those two had tried something and She Yi had driven them away.
He quickly lost interest and set off for the snake clan at a leisurely pace.
Meanwhile, Song Wanníng's true body hid far from Bai Yao Palace with Mei Huan at her side. Her original plan had been to let the avatar disguise itself as Gong Ye and enter the prison. But if several attendants suddenly vanished, leaving only She Yi, Gong Ye would notice immediately.
If She Jiu disappeared, the snake clan would also be suspicious, and that would alert Gong Ye as well.
So the avatar had to accompany Gong Ye back to the snake clan. Only then could she find a chance to rescue the captive.
While monitoring Gong Ye's situation through the avatar, she searched for herbs and began refining Illusion Beast Pills.
Mei Huan had illusions, but her cultivation was lacking. Song Wanníng would refine Illusion Beast Pills for her to take.
When the time came, as long as they bewildered the guards' senses, they could enter the prison.
Gong Ye's strength was formidable, and Bai Yao Palace might hide many mechanisms. Spiriting the captive away without a sound would be the best outcome.
…
In the snake clan, the Patriarch and elders awaited Gong Ye's arrival. Upon learning that he was willing to return for a talk, they were both delighted and uneasy.
Mostly, they were scheming.
"Patriarch, when Gong Ye comes back, we must give him a proper talking-to."
"We are all of the snake clan. Awakening one's bloodline and refusing to contribute to the clan, then going off to found a separate power, that is utterly shameful."
"That is right. And this time the tiger clan has gone too far, trying to seize our territory. He must help."
"Exactly."
They spoke as if Gong Ye were still a youth to be manipulated at will.
The Patriarch's brows drew together. He snapped coldly, "Fine. Then you tell him."
With Gong Ye's current strength, who would dare?
He certainly would not.
His dissatisfied gaze swept the elders. They immediately fell silent. None of them wanted to raise the matter.
The Patriarch grew colder the longer he looked. Selfish fools, all of them. They knew the danger, yet wanted him to order Gong Ye around. Did they wish him dead sooner?
"I am telling you now. When Gong Ye returns, you will keep your attitude in check. Whoever provokes him will bear the consequences alone."
He planned to play on emotions and invite Gong Ye back for good. He could not let these idiots ruin it.