Chapter 21: Fuming with Rage

Xiao Jinghuai nodded. After such a long selection, very few could truly satisfy him, so he didn’t want to waste any more time. “Let’s go.”

Su Yun Yue spoke up, “Your Highness, how about we find a few more? That way, we’d be safer.”

“Xiao Yue, quality matters more than quantity. Besides, with so many people, the points will have to be split evenly. And having more people just breeds conflict,” Su Yun Qi said disapprovingly, casting a look of dissatisfaction at her sister.

She noticed that her younger sister had been opposing her more often lately. If they weren’t at the academy, she would have already taught her a lesson.

“Sister, I’m just concerned for Your Highness’s safety. Even if you don’t care about mine, surely you care about His Highness’s?” Su Yun Yue did not meekly agree as she usually did; instead, she retorted.

Since she had set her sights on becoming Xiao Jinghuai’s secondary consort, her elder sister had never supported her, fearing she would steal the prince’s favor. This had caused some resentment.

Xiao Jinghuai furrowed his brows, then looked at Su Yun Yue displeased. “Enough, Sister Yun Yue, your sister is right. It’s better to be few and elite than many. Let’s stick to just us. This matter is settled; if you wish to continue debating, you can choose to join another team.”

Since Su Yun Yue’s last offense against the Red Elder, he had grown somewhat impatient with her. Were it not for Su Yun Qi’s sake, he wouldn’t even bother with her, especially since she coveted the position of his secondary consort. That only made him want to avoid entanglement with her even more.

Compared to Su Yun Qi, Su Yun Yue was far inferior in both appearance and talent. How could she be worthy of him? Besides, his primary consort was already from the Su family. The secondary consort should be chosen from another noble house to strengthen his foundation and bring him closer to the throne.

Su Yun Yue naturally heard his warning and her expression changed immediately. She no longer mentioned the matter but looked at Su Yun Qi with a mixture of jealousy and resentment.

In her eyes, it must have been her good sister speaking ill of her before His Highness; otherwise, he wouldn’t have treated her that way.

She never imagined her own sister to be so selfish, afraid she would marry the prince and steal his favor, fabricating schemes against her.

At this moment, Su Yun Qi was unaware of this entire scene; had she known, she would have been delighted.

Now, she continued forward, carrying a burden on her back, her eyes lowering to the small cloud cradled in her arms. It clung to a beast’s core as it slept. After some thought, she placed it into her contract space to protect it from any dangers during the upcoming battle.

Xiao Wu naturally saw this and her eyes sparkled with joy. She flapped her wings excitedly.

“Xiao Wu, fold your wings; you’re hindering my walking,” Su Yun Qi said, glancing at the fleshy wings right in front of her, a wry smile tugging at her lips.

How much did it love its wings? It had been showing them off every moment today.

Suddenly, a rustling came from the bushes. She immediately grew alert.

Xiao Wu quieted and followed her gaze, spotting a pitch-black snake flicking its tongue as it slithered toward them through the shadows. It perked up and flapped its wings, ready to fly forward, but Su Yun Qi caught it. “Xiao Wu, wait, don’t go yet!”

She grabbed Xiao Wu and jumped onto the nearest tree, peering down.

Below, countless snakes crawled out from the grass, so dense it made her scalp tingle.

Especially for her—reborn with greater courage, but still, some situations demanded caution.

One snake might be manageable, but this was a whole swarm. Just looking at them was enough to induce physical discomfort. Yet she knew she had to overcome this; if she couldn’t face these snakes, how could she exact her revenge?

She concentrated her spiritual energy, eyeing the writhing mass below, ready for battle.

At the front, the largest black snake, roughly two meters long, was climbing the tree trunk. The other snakes followed it in the same direction, clearly identifying it as their leader.

A ruthless gleam flashed in her eyes. Ignoring her discomfort, she launched a burst of fiery spiritual energy from her palm toward the snake.

Unexpectedly, it was quite alert, turning its head aside and quickly shrinking its body to dodge the attack. The fire energy struck the snakes behind, knocking several down.

The leader snake took advantage of the moment, climbing a few more centimeters up the trunk, flicking its tongue and staring at her with eyes narrowed in determination.

Xiao Wu flapped one wing at its face, then pointed at herself and the climbing leader snake with the other, looking triumphant.

The gesture was clear, and Su Yun Qi understood immediately. “You want to help me deal with it?”

Xiao Wu nodded and proudly lifted its head, making her smile. “Alright.”

With that, Xiao Wu leapt from her shoulder, diving straight at the leader snake. Although the snake tried to dodge, Xiao Wu’s speed was too fast for it to evade. She caught a small piece of flesh in its mouth but couldn’t hold the whole snake, and it dragged her along as it tried to escape.

Watching this from the tree, Su Yun Qi was momentarily speechless. Was this really its idea of helping? If so, maybe it was better not to help at all.

“Xiao Wu, let go. I’ll take over,” she said, not wanting to ignore Xiao Wu but preparing to unleash her spiritual power to assist.

Xiao Wu, angered by the snake’s dragging, released it and grabbed the outer layer of its skin with small paws, angrily flapping its wings and chattering nonstop. Though unintelligible, the furious noise sounded like a string of curses.

Though not flapping forcefully, its relentless yelling annoyed the leader snake, which twisted its body agilely, snapping at Xiao Wu on its back.

Su Yun Qi’s expression changed instantly. Without hesitation, she released her spiritual energy and descended.

The next moment, she halted mid-step, looking down as a flame appeared, followed by a wave of heat. She swiftly moved aside to avoid the blast.

The leader snake faced the assault head-on, engulfed in flames. It writhed wildly, using its tail to slap its burning head, but the fire only grew fiercer, even setting its tail ablaze.

The intense heat made it impossible for the snake to cling to the tree trunk. It released its grip and began to fall rapidly, dragging nearby snakes into the chaos.

At the moment it let go, Xiao Wu flapped its wings and struggled toward Su Yun Qi.

She was stunned. So this was what it meant to be so angry it breathed fire? No, it was actually spitting fire!