The purple satin was like a cannonball, excitedly bouncing through the red-painted door all the way into the hall, but was stopped by the eldest brother Bai Lian.

Bai Lian, who usually had a gentle expression, was now serious. He rarely scolded his younger brother: "What are you doing? You're so reckless!"

Ziduan excitedly waved the jade slip in her hand, her voice changing with excitement: "Brother, news! News! The young master..."

Bai Lian wanted to cover his mouth.

"Shut up!" He first shouted at his impetuous younger brother, then pulled him aside by his sleeve and whispered to him, "Are you saying there's news about the young master? Take that jade slip back and pretend nothing happened... Let's not cause any more trouble for the master."

Ziduan was puzzled and asked in surprise, "Brother, isn't it good news to have news about the young master?"

Bai Lian gave a wry smile and snatched the slip, stained with sweat, from his younger brother's grasp. All nine of them were cold-blooded snakes, and the dampness still lingered on the surface of the slip, clearly indicating Ziduan's extreme excitement.

But there was no point getting excited about it, the master was furious inside.

Early this morning, an express letter arrived from the Qinglong Realm. The writer of the letter was the person Bai Lian had kept silent about. As for the content of the letter, it happened to be related to the young master.

Bai Lian was serving closely at the time. He glanced at the paper twice and saw words like "Oh, Jiujiang is so good", "Well, Jiujiang is so filial", "Oh, Jiujiang is so smart", "Oh, thank you for giving me a good disciple for free". He immediately knew that something was wrong.

Zhen Shuangliu was so angry that he couldn't stop sneering: "A wolf travels a thousand miles to eat meat, a dog travels a thousand miles to eat shit. Thief Bones has lived for hundreds of years and turned into an old thief. He's very good, really very good."

But even with all the scolding, at least there was news of the young master's whereabouts. After Zhen Shuangliu recovered his breath, he ordered his men to pack their luggage and assemble the ceremonial procession, preparing to visit the Azure Dragon Realm.

Less than an hour after the letter was sent, news came from the Seven Islands Small World.

The young master has sent a letter.

Comparing the dates of the two letters, the Young Master's letter was sent over twenty days earlier than the one about the corpse being completely destroyed, yet it ended up being only an hour late. Even Bai Lian felt a blackout upon hearing the news, wondering what the hell was going on, not to mention Zhen Shuangliu, who was in a state of icy rage.

This was the most vicious mockery in the world. When Zhen Shuangliu first read the letter, he'd only wanted to skin the Prison Ox, but now he wanted to roast it and feed it to Luo Jiujiang. Coincidence or not, this move was like they'd planned it all together, and it seemed like they had some kind of uncanny tacit understanding!

Zhen Shuangliu had a gloomy face and was unhappy.

If he is not happy, then neither of these two people will be able to escape.

The team's preparation speed suddenly doubled.

Ziduan still ignorantly asked Bailian what happened, which made Bailian have no choice but to smile bitterly.

The reports from their rival and apprentice arrived at the same time, but they still hadn't gathered any intelligence on the Nine Snakes. This was a dereliction of duty that would have made them feel guilty to the point of burrowing into the ground. But what if the information finally arrived an hour after the reports from their rival and apprentice arrived?

Bai Lian felt that this might turn into a tragedy that would shock the world of spirit snakes.

He tucked his hands into his sleeves, clasped them together, and rubbed them vigorously, turning the jade tablet carrying the great news into a handful of powder. Later, when the master came back to investigate and scolded them for their incompetence, he could do so. He couldn't just pass this news up now and lay it out on the table with the other two pieces of information. That would really make the master die of anger.

In the past, there was no news even after digging deep into the ground, but today there were three pieces of news at once - the key point is that the one about the rival was the first to come.

They're all just trash. What's the point of raising snakes? Are they just for tying knots and hanging ornaments? What's the point of having apprentices? Are they just disappearing to annoy their master? Why are these two people just so annoying?

—And the love rival isn't just trying to steal the man, but why is he stealing the child too? Doesn't he have any professional ethics?!

Seeing Zhen Shuangliu waving, Bai Lian walked to his side with lowered eyebrows and said: "Master."

"How are the preparations?"

"Everyone has packed up and is ready to leave at any time with your order," Bai Lian said respectfully. He paused, then added in a low voice, "You've also brought the gifts you picked out for the young master. The young master has been away from home for so long, he must be worried about you..."

"What's the point of taking it?" Zhen Shuangliu said coldly, "Feed it to the dog."

Bai Lian smiled wryly but remained silent. Ever since Han Qianling had learned that the young master was still alive, his master had often sorted through the gifts he had given him, clearly feeling that he hadn't treated him well enough during his time on the Seven Islands. Among these gifts was the thousand-year-old ninth-grade spiritual ginseng king, which was considered a good start. If he had actually fed it to a dog, even a celestial dog would have been fed to death.

Suddenly, Zhen Shuangliu asked again, "Do you have both snakeskin and refined steel?"

"Yes, if you'd like, please add it to the list."

"Well, you don't need to bring any gifts. Just bring some sturdy snakeskin and fine steel to pass the time on the road." Zhen Shuangliu's lips twisted slightly, revealing a smile that could hardly be described as kind. "Grind a few more whips and nail a few nail boards. Young people like new things. They like new clothes, new skills, and the master likes new things too. My gifts are too old and outdated."

"Master," Bai Lian said thoughtfully, "This young master may not like it..."

"No." Zhen Shuangliu said firmly: "He likes it."

From a distance, Bai Lian broke out in a cold sweat for his young master.

The author has something to say: The little angels who read my Weibo should know what happened to me yesterday...

Anyway, I was so busy that I almost didn't sleep all night. Today's schedule is full, and I'm really sleep-deprived. I made a lot of typos while typing just now, and my brain is spinning. Please bear with me if the update is a little short_(:3∠)_

Can I thank you for the overlord ticket tomorrow? I'm too sleepy today...