My gaze slowly lifted, and I saw a man dressed in Hanfu, looking extremely refined and handsome.
This man had a pure white veil covering his face, his eyes cold as frost, and between two fingers, he held a charm, "Spiritual Girl Su Wan."
"Present, may I ask who you are? Do you have any guidance to offer?" I instinctively moved my body, shielding the weakened Yu Rongling.
The man who stood towering above on the windowsill, seemed like a towering iceberg, his face devoid of any expression, his voice cold with each word as though it carried frost, "I am Yun Hao, I have seen Miss Su, but I dare not instruct; I merely wish to have an audience with you to discuss a minor matter."
"If it's a matter to discuss with me, why did you drain Yu Rongling of his strength? If I'm not mistaken, you must be a Grandmaster of a Generation, and dealing with Yu Rongling for you is like an old man playing with a child; you are bullying a kid."
I said all this in one breath as swiftly as I could, then fixed my eyes on him straight, my strips for supplementing Spiritual Power had limited effect, unless the man before me was willing to spare Yu Rongling.
Otherwise, Yu Rongling was done for soon, he would be drained until only a snake skin remained.
"I cast a curse in advance to drain his Spiritual Power just because this child still has some abilities; I feared he would spoil things," Yun Hao leaped down from the windowsill, his toes lightly touching the ground, quite elegantly.
His gaze seemed flighty and empty, yet it exerted immense deterrence and pressure.
I braced myself, refusing to collapse, my eyes fixed on the charm he pinched between his fingers that absorbed Spiritual Power, "I can assure you, he will definitely not cause any trouble, I beg you, senior, to spare his little life."
"Fine, he is so weak now that he won't pose any threat to me."
With a flick of his hand, Yun Hao tossed the charm that was draining Yu Rongling into my palm.
I hurriedly tore the charm to shreds, "Thank you."
In an instant, Yu Rongling returned to his human form.
His complexion, however, was pale as if his face had been painted white with lime, his eye sockets sunken like those of a ghost from the smoke, coughing non-stop, but he still had that same stubborn defiance as he immediately started cursing, "Cough cough cough… you old beast, how the hell… how are you still alive… and dare use a Spirit Talisman, draining my Spiritual Power, my brother will kill you…"
"Oh, come on, besides mentioning your brother, what else can you do?"
My hair nearly stood on end from fright, and I covered Yu Rongling's mouth, timidly apologizing to the stern man, "I'm sorry, my little brother-in-law is short-circuited in the brain, he just likes to be confrontational, we have offended you, please don't take it to heart."
"I do not bother with fools."
Yun Hao, his face cold, showed a surprisingly accommodating nature, waving his long arm to indicate he would not hold a grudge, "But as for you, Miss Su, you are caring and loyal, quite protective of the Snake Lord, your brother."
"It's only right, we're all family after all, and thank you for your generosity," I politely nodded to Yun Hao, as before, I had never been presumptuous to the point of truly considering Yu Rongling my little brother-in-law, as Yu Longting and I had never married.
But right now, in order to show solidarity, of course, I needed a pretext; otherwise, could I truly let others bully Yu Rongling?
The moment Yu Rongling heard Yun Hao call him a fool, he became so angry that he was about to start cursing again, but I firmly covered his mouth, preventing anything but muffled noises of frustration from escaping.
Yun Hao bowed slightly, "May I ask for your help? You and the Snake Lord should not get involved in the matter of the Snake Servant summoning spirits."
"How could I not get involved when this has happened in Spring Wind Town and so many innocent children are entangled?" I asked Yun Hao back.
The depths of Yun Hao's eyes were infinitely cold, "If you wish to get involved, it would only cost you your life."
"May I ask you a question then?" I asked starkly, staring at Yun Hao.
Yun Hao raised his hand, smooth as the breeze after rain, "Speak."
"Why are you kidnapping these children? You possess such powerful mana, even if you cultivate evil arts, you shouldn't need to do this," I said.
A flicker of surprise crossed Yun Hao's eyes, followed by a slight smile on his cold face, "You actually... think I wouldn't... What makes you believe I wouldn't?"
"Would you?" I countered.
He shook his head, "Those on the righteous path see me, and their first reaction is to think I'm capturing these children to augment my power, treating me like a bloodthirsty demon, and they certainly wouldn't exculpate me. You're the only one who's considered that I might have good intentions. Truthfully, I only wish to prevent my descendant from dying..."
"Are you trying to save Immortal Liu and your blood relative?" I realized, then added, "They are performing the Reincarnation Array, and they can definitely bring your descendant back to life. You don't need to sacrifice so many lives... Eh... what are you..."
"Miss Su, I'll need to borrow your life for a moment."
Yun Hao suddenly teleported; I didn't even realize what had happened before his hand was gripping my throat, lifting me off the ground.
Suddenly, two tall and aloof figures appeared outside the window, standing there against the light, their faces indistinguishable.
One of them, with an unruly air, put his hand in his pants pocket and stepped forward. Despite the violent aura around him, he looked down and chuckled softly, "Yun Hao, remove your damn claws from my wife's neck. Leave her alone, and I'll allow you a whole corpse. Otherwise, I'm afraid you're about to repeat the fate of being torn into pieces like back then."
Yun Hao's grey eyes went cold, "Snake Lord is mistaken. I am a snake, not a dog."
"You're not a dog? Kidnapping my sister-in-law and my nephew to threaten my brother, I'd say you're the most despicable of us all. How do you even dare to claim the title of our snake?"
Yu Rongling was relentless with his sharp tongue, each word aimed straight for the heart.
"I should have drained that noisy brat of yours just now, and then I wouldn't have to listen to all this nonsense."
Yun Hao's grip on my throat tightened ominously, "Snake Lord, you and I bear no grudges. I merely seek a promise. Would you really disregard the lives of others for your own wife and child?"
The position of being held up in mid-air made it impossible for my body to find a foothold to struggle, and the feeling of oxygen deprivation made it seem as if my lungs were about to burst.
Unable to think clearly, my hand subconsciously moved to protect my stomach.
"Give it to me," Yu Longting's eyes suddenly turned blood-red as he extended his hand towards Beichen.
Beichen took a blue egg out of the cloth bag he carried, "Yes, Snake Lord."
"You... entered my lair!" The force Yun Hao applied on my throat increased, as if he was about to snap my neck the very next second.
Eighteen Thunder Charms flew out from Yu Longting's sleeves, along with twenty-six Fire Charms, all directed at the egg, "Release her, or the reincarnation body you've nourished for five hundred years will be reduced to ash."
Purple sparks interweaved with red flames like fireworks during a festival.
The magnificent spectacle illuminated the entire room, casting it in lavish splendor.
Two cracks appeared on the egg, looking as if it was on the verge of crumbling into pieces.
The pressure on my neck suddenly eased, and my limp body fell to the ground, while Yun Hao's pained voice rang out, "Snake Lord, you really have a way with strategies, even finding my reincarnation egg."