The Dazed Ye Shu

The stars were dazzling, and a bright moon hung high in the sky.

The half-snake people rehearsing their dance in the courtyard had long been dismissed by Ye Shu. They were sent back to their rooms one by one; to ensure the quality of the performance, they had to be strictly guaranteed their rest.

Only he was left alone in the courtyard.

On this day, Ye Shu lay on a bamboo chair with a piece of foxtail grass dangling from his mouth, gazing up at the starry sky for a long time.

He couldn't really just let Bingxuanzi die, could he?

After all, he was the one who had invited him over. What kind of situation would it be if he just died like that?

After thinking it over and over, he finally spat on the ground.

"Fuck it, worst comes to worst, I'll just give up on this damn Heavenly Flame. I'll figure out another way to deal with the poison pill. Saving a life is more important!"

He stood up and hurriedly walked outside.

He would first go to the palace where Bai Ling was to gather some information.

Just as he reached the entrance and opened the door.

A black-robed figure happened to be walking right toward him. Caught off guard, the two of them almost collided into each other's arms.

Ye Shu was scared out of his wits, thinking it was a Snake-Person guard. He quickly took a few steps back, bowed with a terrified expression, and was just about to explain himself when the person in front of him suddenly spoke.

"Don't be afraid, it's me."

Why did this voice sound so familiar?

Ye Shu blinked, raised his head, and froze in place.

He saw the person slowly take off their hood, revealing that familiar face. It was none other than Bingxuanzi disguised as Da Li.

"Senior?!" Ye Shu's eyes widened, and he said in disbelief, "Weren't you taken away by Bai Ling? I was just about to go save you, how did you... come back?"

He looked Bingxuanzi up and down.

Seeing that he had no scars and wasn't under any restrictive seals, his inner confusion grew even heavier.

"What's there to make a fuss about?"

Bingxuanzi snorted coldly, "Look at your ignorant appearance. Can't I come out to get some fresh air?"

"Fresh... fresh air?"

Ye Shu dug at his ears in disbelief.

Did he hear that wrong?

Or had the world gone mad?

So the Snake-People tribe's prisons were this humane now? Prisoners even got time to come out for fresh air?

Seeing that he wanted to ask more, Bingxuanzi waved his hand to interrupt him.

"It's a long story."

"Then make it a short story," Ye Shu looked at him expectantly. This was too damn weird. His heart was scratching like a little kitten, unable to wait to figure things out.

However, Bingxuanzi couldn't be bothered to explain it to him.

"Stop asking. Anyway, as long as you know I'm fine, that's enough," he said while walking over to a chair and sitting down. Ye Shu also sat down next to him, and the two stared at each other.

After a while, Bingxuanzi finally made a move.

He rubbed his hands together somewhat awkwardly, as if what he was about to say was hard to articulate. Just as Ye Shu thought he was going to say something shocking, like selling his body to escape, Bingxuanzi coughed lightly and lowered his voice, "I mean... aren't we going to steal the Heavenly Flame..."

"Yeah," Ye Shu nodded.

"But this Heavenly Flame... uh... it's meant for Queen Medusa to use for her breakthrough, right?"

"That's right."

"Well, they legitimately need it to break through."

Bingxuanzi spread his hands, "If we just go up and steal the Heavenly Flame, aren't you just intentionally causing trouble?"

"Don't you think this is unfair to the Snake-People tribe?"

"What the fuck are you saying?!!"

Ye Shu abruptly widened his eyes, his voice changing pitch. It truly was a shocking statement, leaving him completely dumbfounded.

"Keep your voice down!"

Bingxuanzi quickly stopped him, glancing left and right. "Is this something to be proud of?"

"Is there something wrong with your brain?"

Ye Shu lowered his voice, looking at him as if he were an idiot. "We came here to steal in the first place, and now you're talking to me about fairness? That's pure bullshit!"

Bingxuanzi completely ignored this and insisted, "No matter what you say, stealing is wrong."

"Oh for fuck's sake, Hajibing, you guy."

Ye Shu was so angry he laughed, shaking his head repeatedly, "Alright, since you want to argue logic with me, then let's argue logic."

"What is the thing we are trying to steal?"

"The Heavenly Flame," Bingxuanzi replied.

"Then let me ask you, did the Snake-People tribe grow this Heavenly Flame? Or did they burn firewood to create it? Did they contribute even half an ounce of effort to the birth of this Heavenly Flame?" Ye Shu pressed his advantage and continued asking.

Bingxuanzi hesitated for a moment, then shook his head.

"No."

"Then there you have it!" Ye Shu clapped his hands. "The Heavenly Flame is born of heaven and nourished by the earth. The Snake-People tribe neither planted it nor cultivated it. Why should they be the only ones who can take it?"

"This is a natural wonder; anyone can claim it."

"What kind of twisted logic is that..." Bingxuanzi subconsciously wanted to refute, but after opening his mouth, he really didn't know what to say for a moment.

He thought about it for a long time but still couldn't figure it out.

Finally, he just gave up thinking about it.

Bingxuanzi spread his hands: "I don't care. Anyway, what you're doing is unfair to the Snake-People tribe, and it's an illegal act."

Unbelievable. He was utterly speechless.

Ye Shu was completely stunned.

In all his life, this was the first time he had seen someone even more unreasonable than Lin Qingxue.

He forced down the urge to curse and said:

"Senior, you didn't come here in the middle of the night just to discuss this with me, did you? Regardless of whether it's right or wrong, we've already broken in. There's no reason to give up halfway. Even if it's completely wrong, we can only see it through to the bitter end."

"Don't tell me you're going to wash your hands of this now."

"I know, I know."

Bingxuanzi waved his hand with a bitter face.

"I'm not... sigh... then promise me, after taking the Snake-People tribe's Heavenly Flame this time, you must bring out something of at least equal value to compensate them in the future."

Ye Shu froze.

Looking at Bingxuanzi's expression, it didn't seem like he was joking.

This guy really thought that way.

"You... you're not joking with me, are you? We came here to steal, not to trade with them. If we have to compensate them, wouldn't it be better to just trade for it directly?"

"I know," Bingxuanzi blushed and spread his hands somewhat helplessly. "The problem is we don't have anything to trade with them right now, do we? Anyway, if you take their Heavenly Flame, you have to compensate them later, otherwise don't blame me for not helping you."

Ye Shu was stunned for a long while before finally letting out a relieved laugh.

He gave Bingxuanzi a thumbs up.

"You're amazing, you're so noble."

"Now you're the good guy and I'm the bad guy, so you can stand on the moral high ground and point fingers at me?"

Even at Bingxuanzi's old age, he blushed a little at those words, but blushing aside, he still didn't back down.

Ye Shu fell silent for a moment before nodding.

"Alright, I promise you. If I get the Heavenly Flame, I will definitely compensate the Snake-People tribe in the future, okay?"

Hearing this, Bingxuanzi immediately beamed with joy.

"I knew you were a reasonable young friend."

He stood up and patted the dust off his clothes. "Then I won't bother you anymore. It's getting late, I'll be heading back now."

"Wait, where are you going?"

Ye Shu couldn't react in time.

"Back to Bai Ling's place, of course," Bingxuanzi said as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "My break time is over."

With that said, he didn't care what Ye Shu thought, pushing open the courtyard door on his own and walking into the depths of the night.

Staring at his swaggering back, Ye Shu was completely dumbfounded.

Was this his home or something?

How could this guy just wander around wherever he pleased?