Chapter 204 Return Xie Yuexuan hastily put up an astral shield and unleashed several astral chains in an attempt to restrain the lizard. But the chains disappeared instantly when they reached the lizard’s scales. Next, the lizard spat out a poison puddle that easily burned through her shield. I’m done. Xie Yuexuan completely gave up hope. This is it... She didn’t feel the poison on her skin. Instead, she felt a great force knocking her aside, making her tumble several meters away. “What is—” She reopened her eyes and saw the majestic form of an Inferno Dragon looming above her. That’s one of the rarest Astral Pets in this world! But how... Roar! The dragon’s thunderous bellow pulled her out of her trance. She saw the lizard trembling at her original position, while all of its scales rattled as if they were about to come off. It seemed the lizard had completely lost the will to catch her. It bolted further into the forest while turning transparent like a chameleon. The Inferno Dragon stayed behind and gazed at her. Xie Yuexuan was petrified by the dragon’s cold leer. It appeared she’d die anyway. Heh. Can’t blame anyone. Weaklings become food of the strong... She wondered which was better to be eaten by the lizard or the dragon. Maybe the latter?... It’s a famous Astral Pet, which means I’ll die famous... Blegh, what am I thinking? She blamed herself for being a fool at the last moment of her life. She waited for the inevitable, which... didn’t come as fast as she expected. The Inferno Dragon stayed still and looked at her. It appeared confused rather than hungry for food. “How long are you going to sit there?” Xie Yuexuan jolted up due to the sudden voice that came from behind her. She quickly looked back and saw a large snake, as well as a man sitting on top of its head, who appeared too young to be real. It was true that many young members from famous clans and families would go to this sector to explore. But most of them at least looked experienced and well-trained on the outside. Still, the man in front of her looked like a student who had never spent much time outside his campus. “Are you... human??” She said that because her sanity was telling her that finding a common young man on top of a monster snake in these parts was definitely not a common occurrence. Su Ping looked down to examine his body, which looked completely normal. “Don’t I look like a human to you?” “Well, yes.” “Guess I’ll just forget that. So, what are you doing here? Looking for a faster way to die?” Xie Yuexuan didn’t mind those words because she just felt too glad to run into another human. Then she suddenly remembered that she wasn’t safe yet. “We—we should run! There’s an Inferno Dragon over there!” “You mean this guy?” Su Ping raised a hand and beckoned; the Inferno Dragon moved quickly and lowered its large head for Su Ping to pet. Su Ping opened the pet space and recalled the dragon. “What-why-how-” Xie Yuexuan’s eyes almost fell out of their sockets. “That was YOUR pet?” Su Ping left on his python without answering. Xie Yuexuan quickly caught up. “Was that Inferno Dragon your pet? For real?” Su Ping glanced at her impatiently. “Do you have to ask? Wasn’t that obvious enough?” Xie Yuexuan failed to think of anything else that could explain how Su Ping made the dragon magically disappear. “But-” She couldn’t help but inspect Su Ping from head to toe again and again. What kind of crazy clan would give one of their young members an Inferno Dragon? Also, did he come here alone?? His seniors aren’t worried that he’d die out here?? She wasn’t going to actually ask any of those questions, for she didn’t want to lose the only man that could save her. “I’m leaving, by the way,” Su Ping said without looking at her. “Nice, I need to get to the exit as well!” “Well, go ahead then. I’m not stopping you.” Xie Yuexuan frowned as she wondered how slow this man could be, to not understand what she was implying. “Ahem. Can I come with you? I-I promise I’ll be quiet.” Su Ping chose to agree since he had already saved her from that lizard. It would be strange if he left her there to die again. “Okay, come on up. Keep in mind that I’ll drop you if there’s something I can’t deal with. Don’t blame me for that.” Xie Yuexuan showed an embarrassing smile. That was the right thing to do, though she didn’t expect Su Ping to say it so bluntly. She quickly retrieved her tortoise and jumped onto the python. The Purple Python glanced at the uninvited passenger and hissed at her threateningly. But it soon looked away upon receiving Su Ping’s order. Xie Yuexuan found a spot beside Su Ping and sat down. “May I know your name, good sir?” “It’s Su Ping.” Xue Yuexuan searched her mind without remembering any noticeable family surnamed “Su.” She believed the young man was surely an explorer from another base city. “Sir, I must say you look brilliant. Just at the prime of your age.” “Of course I do. I also look handsome, no?” “...Yes.” End of the conversation. The Purple Python was traveling so fast that Xie Yuexuan had to use her astral power to steady herself and avoid being blown off by the strong wind. On their way, she spent a moment carefully checking Su Ping and noticed that he appeared much much different from all the prominent members of the big families and clans. But when she thought that Su Ping was friendly and tried to make some eye contact, she suddenly felt a sharp fear from the depths of her soul. This man’s eyes were tranquil, terrifyingly so. Looking into them felt like staring into a bottomless abyss. She quickly looked away so as to not appear offensive. While looking around for excuses to strike up conversations, she saw the Dark Dragon Hound walking in front of the python and thought it would be a perfect choice. “Sir, is that your pet too?” “Yup.” “That’s a... Dark Dragon Hound. Isn’t it?” “Yeah.” “Well um, it’s just a Dark Dragon Hound. That average demon-type pet. Right?” “Um-hmm.” “... Sir? I mean, shouldn’t we be a little more careful?” Seeing Su Ping unresponsive again, Xie Yuexuan decided to make it plain. “You have an Inferno Dragon. Why don’t you use that to protect us?” “The hound is enough for now.” “En-enough?” Xie Yuexuan felt like the slow one this time. What does he mean with ‘enough’?? She found more questions popping up in her mind but couldn’t ask them for fear of angering Su Ping. The trip went on in complete silence. Similar to before, Su Ping told the Dark Dragon Hound to evade the territories of ninth-rank monsters. They would occasionally come upon eighth-rank monsters, though they didn’t need to do anything in particular to get rid of them; the Dark Dragon Hound could keep them at bay by roaring. A Dark Dragon Hound can scare off eighth-rank monsters?? Xie Yuexuan would have never believed that if she had not seen it with her own eyes. Then she understood what Su Ping meant by “enough.” Of course the hound was enough to protect them. It must have gone through some serious training. In Xie Yuexuan’s view, Su Ping had to be a ninth-rank battle pet warrior already, since he possessed so many powerful pets. With this in mind, she decided to note down Su Ping’s name in case she’d encounter such a young genius again in the future. It took them two hours to reach the edge of the sector. Seeing the teleportation node just ahead, Xie Yuexuan released a long breath she had been holding. “I’m saved... Sir, may I have your phone number? So I can properly pay you back someday.” “Pay me back? You hate me or something?”. “No! I’m talking about compensating you, for your great kindness.” “How exactly?” “Well, I can do anything within my ability.” “How about giving me money then?” “Huh??”