Chapter 142 Even if we meet again, we won't recognize each other. This cave should be empty now...

This cave must have been empty for some time. It was cold and damp inside, with moss and wild mushrooms covering every corner. There was a clear crushing mark in the middle, and a strong smell of blood lingered on it.

Old Hei acted recklessly, proceeding directly along the trail. Deep within the cave, a red-banded snake was coiled up, its head tucked under its body. The red rings on its body shimmered and dimmed. Old Hei simply called out, "Hey!"

The red-banded snake suddenly raised its head, opened its blood-red maw at Old Black, and hissed menacingly.

Old Hei laughed and imitated her by raising his body.

The red-banded snake was visibly startled upon hearing her voice. "What are you?"

Old Hei was about to say that she was no good, but she reacted quickly and changed her words in time, "I've come to talk to you about the descendants of Fang Haiyi and Nan Bei."

The red-chained snake became wary. "Are you from the Fang family or the Divine Palace?"

Old Hei thought for a moment, "Although I'm reluctant to admit it, I can barely be considered a 'person' of the Shrine."

A fierce glint flashed in the red-chained snake's eyes. "There's not a single good person in the Divine Palace." With that, it pounced on Old Black.

Old Hei hadn't expected her to attack so suddenly. However, firstly, the cave was too small to maneuver effectively, and secondly, none of the Red-Striped Serpent's techniques were working on her. Seeing this, the Red-Striped Serpent simply charged out of the cave. Old Hei chased after it.

As soon as the red-chained snake emerged from its cave, it saw the doll and lashed it away with its tail.

Old Black, relentlessly pursuing her, was furious. "That's mine!" he shouted, lunging at the doll. By the time she caught it, the Red-Chained Snake had already reached the shore. But Wu Chen, Lu Qing, and the Fathead Fish were already waiting there.

The red-banded snake sneered, rolled on the ground, and transformed into human form, standing up. When Old Black caught up, the first thing he saw was her back. She wore a black dress with red stripes, and her hair was simply tied up at the back of her head. If it weren't for her white hair, she would have looked almost exactly like someone in her memory.

"Afan?" Old Hei blurted out.

The red-chained snake was taken aback and turned to look at her.

Old Hei was shocked as if struck by lightning. The features of the Red Serpent were indeed extremely similar to those of her former maid, Afan. If it weren't for the rather severe scar on her forehead and her slightly aged features, they would be almost identical. "Afan! I am Qingrui."

The red-chained snake Avan stared at her in disbelief, thinking he had misheard. "Who are you? Who did you say you were?"

Old Hei rushed over and hugged her, "Afan, it's me, Qingrui, Arui, Ruiniang!"

Red-chained snake Afan stood there dumbfounded, letting Old Black shake her around.

This sudden turn of events relieved the fathead fish. Although he coveted Lu Qing's elixir, he was also conflicted about watching the aquatic creatures being surrounded and beaten by humans. "Haha, what a coincidence, it's an old acquaintance. You should have said so earlier, I was worried sick for so long."

This turning point was something no one could have predicted.

After being shaken for a while, the red-chained snake Afan finally came to his senses. "Rui Niang, weren't you dead?"

“Yes, he’s been dead for many years.” Old Hei happily took her hand. “They just dug him out not long ago.”

"This, this isn't a living person's body." Afan held Lao Hei's hand, and as he touched it, he realized something was wrong.

"It's a long story. Come, come, let's go aboard and talk." Old Hei was overjoyed and couldn't wait to pull Afan aboard. "Let me introduce you. This is Lu Qing, this is Wu Chen, these two are Qi Ying and Qi Fu, and the rest are disciples of the Divine Palace, whom I don't know yet."

"What?" Afan jumped up before his backside even touched the chair, shielding Lao Hei, his face full of murderous intent as he glared at Wu Chen. "What are you going to do?"

Wu Shen seemed to understand what was going on, and he felt a lingering fear. Luckily, Lao Hei hadn't died no matter what he did, otherwise Lu Qing would probably be regretting it to death now. He spoke up to comfort him, "There are many things that happened in between, and it's a long story. We have no ill intentions towards you."

He gave Lu Qing a look, then glanced at the fathead fish.

Lu Qing immediately realized what was going on. "Lord, thank you for your help. Please accept these gifts as a token of our gratitude. Once we've finished with these matters, we'll treat you to a drink when we have time."

Although Fathead Fish was full of gossip and eager to find out the story, upon seeing the several bottles of elixirs in Lu Qing's hand, he immediately grinned from ear to ear, saying, "You guys are busy, you guys are busy. We'll get together again when we have time." With that, he led Little Flower away.

Wu Chen dismissed everyone, leaving only Qi Ying and Qi Fu to stand guard outside, before speaking, "The last priest of the Zou family has died at the hands of the Spirit Clan. Finding the bloodline of the Spirit Clan is my wife's wish and a promise I made to them. I have no intention of doing anything to them, but if they do not wish to stay here, I will send them back to their homeland."

Old Hei nodded. "Although he's not exactly a bad person, he's definitely not one of those people with the surname Zou from before. He played a part in finding this place."

Lu Qing picked up some dried fruit from the table and threw it on Lao Hei's forehead. "Speak properly."

Old Black: "Hmph, this is the real bad guy. He bullies me every day."

Real "bullying" isn't about throwing dried fruit at someone. Afan could see the familiarity between Lao Hei and Lu Qing, and Lu Qing gave her the feeling, "You... are you a Spirit Fruit?"

Lu Qing shrugged. "How did you figure that out?"

Afan pondered for a moment, then said, "I have made a contract with Nanbei."

Huh? Lu Qing felt a chill run down her spine. "You..."

The two locked eyes and understood each other's meaning.

Since Afan had already spoken, he had no intention of hiding it any longer. "Back then, when the accident happened, I was just an ordinary little snake. Because I had no spiritual power, I accidentally drifted into that secret place with the lake water. There, I met Nanbei, who was trapped. At that time, although she hadn't been handed over to the people of the Divine Palace, the Fang family also dreamed of obtaining the power of the Spirit Fruit and cut off her flesh and bled her. But she endured it all for the sake of her child. However, she knew that if things continued like this, neither she nor her child would survive. So, after she found me, she made a contract with me and fed me with her blood until the people of the Divine Palace arrived, making me develop consciousness. However, because that secret place couldn't absorb spiritual power at all, I couldn't cultivate. I only escaped the secret place when the people of the Divine Palace took her away. Nanbei knew that she would not have a good end if she fell into the hands of the Divine Palace, so she made a promise with me that I must find her child and take her child away. Because we have a contract, no matter how far apart we are, she can sense it."

Recalling that past event, Afan was overwhelmed with hatred and guilt once again. "Back then, I couldn't even transform into human form. I could only watch helplessly as the people from the Divine Palace captured Nanbei. I could only secretly follow Nanbei's daughter, cultivating while protecting her. The family she was fostered with treated her well. She grew up safely, married, and had children, but died in childbirth. Coincidentally, a family next door was also giving birth at that time, so I took advantage of the chaos to switch the two children. After Nanbei sensed this, she committed suicide at the Divine Palace, and I gained Nanbei's power, becoming powerful overnight."

Hearing this, Wu Chen felt a heavy weight in his heart. From the notes left by the Zou family, one could imagine the inhuman suffering Nan Bei had endured over the years, yet she had managed to persevere for so long for her child.

“After Nanbei died, the people from the Divine Palace did indeed come back. They took away the fake child who had been switched. I knew then that the people from the Divine Palace hadn’t given up. The peace that Nanbei’s daughter had enjoyed all these years was because Nanbei had endured the torment and held on, preventing the Divine Palace from harming her child. I was afraid that the people from the Divine Palace would discover something was amiss, so I secretly sponsored this family and helped them move away from this place. I also disguised myself as a maid and stayed by her side.” Afan looked at Lao Hei.

Old Black felt the puppet was so stiff it wouldn't obey his commands. "You mean me?"

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Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 16:09:17 on November 7, 2020 and 14:09:32 on November 9, 2020!

Thank you to the little angels who threw landmines: Repigon (2); Flowing Clouds (1);

Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Flowing Clouds 5 bottles; CPC and Someone Passing By 1 bottle each;

Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!