Chapter 21: Young Master
Hao Xuan knew the attack was coming as soon as the snake moved the very first muscle, he jerked his body to the side and held the sword sideways intending to use the snakes own momentum to rip it in two.
But to his horror, the sword bounced off of the snake's skin like it was hitting a solid metal wall and instead his own purlicue (area b/w thumb and index finger) got ripped and the thumb almost fell off.
"ARGH!"
The impact sent him flying towards the left and he hit a tree with full force, breaking his left arm cleanly in half.
Not expecting Hao Xuan to dodge, the snake's head hit the ground and it got disoriented for a few seconds.
Hao Xuan got up and looked at the snake as it was shaking its head. He knew there was absolutely no way he'd be able to kill the snake when the sword couldn't even break through its skin. So after storing the sword, he started running at full speed back where he came from.
The snakes hissing was extremely loud and could be heard for miles. Hao Xuan ran as fast he possible could and realized that it was still way too slow. The snake would be able to catch up to him in a matter of seconds.
Also, running back to the village wasn't an option because it would be a massacre, the snake wouldn't leave anything alive.
Gritting his teeth, he chose a direction leading away from the village and channeled every single bit of Qi towards his feet and started running with all he had.
A few seconds later the snake got its bearings back and looked towards Hao Xuans direction. It could feel every single vibration from his feet. Uncoiling its body which was about 4 meters thick and more than 50 meters long, it started following Hao Xuan without making a single sound.
*Pant*Pant*
Hao Xuan couldn't keep running at such a speed for very long as he was already wheezing like an asthmatic, but what else could he do? So he ran without taking a breath for about 10 minutes, covering a distance of several dozen miles.
"I should have bought a movement technique with the points, at least then I might've had a chance to outrun that damned thing," he thought to himself.
There was a crackling noise and he turned around to see a massive tree fall down and the snakes head popping up from behind it. It seemed to be enjoying the chase, looking at Hao Xuan in amusement.
Hao Xuan knew that unless something happened, he was going to die very soon. So he started looking around for anything, a cliff to jump off of perhaps because it would still be better than getting swallowed whole.
But then he remembered that there was only the forest for hundreds of miles.
Finally giving in to despair, Hao Xuan started to slow down and finally came to a full stop. He turned around and looked at the snake whose eyes were sparkling.
"Ru....n....b...oy" an immature voice came from its hideous mouth. Surprisingly it was trying to talk.
But this new development spelled an even bigger disaster for Hao Xuan as only extremely rare Spiritual beasts or Demonic beasts were capable of using human speech, and he was not a match for either one.
Hao Xuan's legs buckled and he fell on the ground. It was over. There was no way he could escape from this damned monster at his level.
Making up his mind, he took out Zanbato once again and held it against his throat.
"I won't give you the thrill of the chase or struggle for your amusement anymore. I'd rather die of my own accord. You fucking monster, you'd better hope we don't meet again in another life, I'll be sure to make soup out of your worthless carcass," Hao Xuan said with a grin and pushed the blade deeper into his skin.
But just then he heard something behind him.
*Squeak*
Hao Xuan turned around and saw a pure white ball of fluff not five meters away from him.
Soon as the snake saw the new creature, its eyes constricted and it backed off several meters without any hesitation.
*Squeak*Squeak*
The fluff ball made noises again and slowly stumbled towards Hao Xuan.
When it was a meter away he finally got a clear look at the thing. It was a cub, a tinny little snow-white 'lion' cub with little protrusions coming out of its head and back. It had azure eyes and two tinny little fangs coming out of its mouth. freewebnovel.c(o)m
"Wh....at...." Hao Xuan was so surprised by the cub's appearance that he completely forgot about the massive snake right in front of him.
"No no, go away, shoo," Hao Xuan tried to chase away the little cub. It was the cutest thing he had ever seen, just it trying to walk with its stubby little legs was a sight to behold. It looked like it was barely able to hold its own head up, which was a bit bigger than the rest of its body.
"Shoo, go, please go away," Hao Xuan said again trying to push it away with his hand.
Instead of leaving, the cub came even closer and licked his fingers and made another "Squeaking" sound. It's entire body moved and it almost fell to the ground, seemed like just that one little squeak was the most it could do without falling over.
Looking at the little thing wobbling around, a smile crept across Hao Xuan's face without his knowledge. It was a natural reaction to something so cute.
The cub licked his hand again and tried to get into his palm. Its entire body was maybe a little bit bigger than Hao Xuan's hand.
*Hisssssssss*
The snake was looking at them casually. After it was sure there was no other beast around and the cub was alone, it moved closer to Hao Xuan once more.
Hao Xuan woke from his daze and looked at the massive snake blocking out the moonlight once more.
"Let it go. Its a newly born, a single fang of yours is bigger than its entire body. There's no point eating it. Just let it go and you can have me," Hao Xuan said looking straight into the snake's eyes.
The snake made a weird noise like it was laughing, looking at Hao Xuan as if looking at an idiot. Why would it need to negotiate with its food? There was nothing Hao Xuan could do against it either way so what was the point?
Hao Xuan understood what it meant. He turned around and looked at the little cub who was still trying to climb into his hand without a care in the world. It seemed like that was the only thing it wanted to do.
Hao Xuan's heart shook. This little cub seemed like it was born within a day or two and it would end up dying because he led the snake here.
"I'm sorry little one," Hao Xuan spoke gently and caressed the cub's head. It seemed to like it a lot and moved even closer to Hao Xuan's hand.
"Haha you're a good boy aren't you," he said instinctively with a laugh.
Hao Xuan put his sword away and slowly stood up.
*Squeak*
The cub made another noise and moved forward again.
Hao Xuan bent down and picked it up with his right hand. Soon as it got into his embrace, it tried to climb up his chest with its little paws.
Hao Xuan smiled once more looking at it. It felt like he was holding a cuddly little cloud. He then moved towards the right where the cub had come from.
The snake didn't try to stop him because there was no way he could escape from it.
Hao Xuan walked for about 30 seconds and found a little hole on the side of an old tree. It looked like a nest made by a rodent. He put the cub inside and made sure it wouldn't fall out, blocking the entrance with some branches and twigs.
*Squeak*Squeak*
The cub spoke again, looking at Hao Xuan through the leaves while trying to push them away with its tiny little paws.
"I'm sorry," Hao Xuan said with a smile, looking at the chubby little ball of fur.
He took out his Zanbato once again and looked up at the snake. The snake tilted its head sideways as if asking "How's that going to help?"
"Shut the fuck up," Hao Xuan roared as his expression suddenly turned livid. He was truly angry. Eating him would make sense, but what was the point of going after the little cub?
"Come at me you son of a bitch, It's not going to be an easy dinner," Hao Xuan said while grinding his teeth.
"Eh...?" he frowned, suddenly he got a weird feeling of deja vu.
*Hisssss*
The snake coiled its body and lunged at Hao Xuan while he was dazed, swallowing him whole.
The snake's maw coming at him full force was the last thing Hao Xuan remembered before he lost consciousness.
***
The snake swallowed the human whole without any issues. It's stomach juices would dissolve him in a matter of minutes.
It then turned to look towards the little cub in the tree.
The cub was squeaking non-stop, trying to push away the foliage and jump at the snake.
The snake slithered its massive body towards the tree and coiled around it.
It looked at the cub as it was still squeaking at the snake without an ounce of fear.
"Ignorance really is bliss. Little thing, you will soon know why you should be afraid of me," the snake spoke in the Beast language as it got ready to attack once again.
"It is not ignorance that makes him fearless, but absolute confidence little worm. For even the weakest God is still infinitely stronger than the strongest mortal," said a voice not far from the snake.
"WHO?!?!" The snake hissed as it turned around to look at the source of the voice. It was a white figure that had spoken, but it was so small that it looked like an ant in front of the snake.
"You do not have the qualifications to know," the figure replied, and then spoke a single syllable in an unknown language.
The snake's body jerked for a second and then fell limp. Its brain had incinerated.
The figure floated towards the tree, picked up the cub and turned around to leave when the cub squeaked once more, looking at the snake's body.
"Hmm?" the figure frowned and looked at the snake again. After hesitating for a second it moved its hand, splitting the snake's belly in half as Hao Xuan fell out.
"He should be okay now-," the figure spoke again but before it could even finish, the cub jumped down and landed right in front of Hao Xuan.
It wobbled its way towards Hao Xuan's face and started licking it.
"Young master! We have done enough. He is not worthy, we must find someone stronger," the figure spoke in an authoritative tone towards the cub.
But the cub paid no heed to the figure and continued licking Hao Xuan's face.
*Sigh*
The figure sighed after not getting a response from the cub.
"You're just as stubborn as the old king," the figure said and bent down to get a clear look at Hao Xuan's face.
"Fine, even though he's weak right now, at least he's got a bit of potential. But it's still far from enough to protect you," the figure then pointed its index finger at Hao Xuan's forehead and it lit up.
"Young master, my 'will' won't be able to stay here much longer. You mustn't tell anyone of your origins. You are the only legitimate Heir to the throne, please act like it," The figure shook its head looking at the cub licking away at Hao Xuan's face.
A few seconds later it slowly disappeared, as if erased out of existence.
*Squeak*Squeak*
In the dark of the night, only tinny little squeaks could be heard. If someone were to come upon them right now, they would see a cute little fluffy animal licking the face of an unconscious human beside the dead body of a baby Ice Flood Dragon.
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