Queen Medusa patiently waited for him to digest the news. She sat lazily in her chair, enjoying the rare, peaceful atmosphere. Her posture could make any man go crazy. Medusa's charm would affect even men with a powerful will.
Yet, Xiao Ning, the only other person present in the garden, showed no interest in her.
After accepting that he had lost his memories, Xiao Ning rubbed his temples and exhaled a deep breath. So many questions popped up in his mind. 'She might have the answers I am looking for,' he thought.
"What should I call you?" Xiao Ning asked softly; still, his voice carried an icy tone.
Medusa raised her eyebrows and curiously looked at him. No one had ever asked her this before. Everyone called her by her title 'Queen Medusa.' She supported her chin with her hand and started thinking.
Xiao Ning curled his lips after seeing her actions and waited. The colorful scales on Medusa's tail attracted his attention. 'Cai Lin,' he muttered in his mind.
'Wait, did I know her from before?' Xiao Ning again looked towards Medusa with doubt. He tried very hard to remember but couldn't find any clue. Then, finally, a vein appeared on his forehead, and he stopped forcing himself.
"Cai Lin," He spoke in a cold voice.
His voice startled Medusa, trying to think of a name for herself, and she looked at him with doubt.
"Isn't your name Cai Lin?" Seeing the doubt on the latter's face, Xiao Ning asked back.
"It seems I was mistaken," He added.
Medusa did not respond; instead, she thought, 'Cai Lin sounds nice.' Then, after a few moments, she finally spoke, "You can call me Cai Lin."
"All right," Xiao Ning replied concisely.
Unknown to them, this minor incident brought them closer.
...
After struggling for a few seconds, Xiao Ning finally asked, "How did you find me?" His tone was comparatively softer compared to before.
Medusa noticed the minor change, and her attractive lips curled upwards. She leaned forward, raised her slender arm, and touched his forehead with her finger.
A faint unique fragrance different from the surrounding entered his nose; Xiao Ning was stunned for a moment. Then, a shade of red appeared on his expressionless face.
"Close your eyes," Queen Medusa's calm voice sounded near his ear, bringing him out of his stupor. Xiao Ning's eyes became clear again, and he frowned.
Still, he closed his eyes. Xiao Ning felt if Medusa wanted to harm him, she would have done it already.
A bright glow appeared on Medusa's finger, and she also closed her eyes.
The next moment, Xiao Ning felt a spiritual thought entering his mind. Without hesitation, he let it enter his mind. It was a dangerous thing to do. A minor mistake could injure his mind.
Xiao Ning's boldness shocked Medusa. She had already prepared herself for his resistance. She concentrated and transferred her memory.
...
Xiao Ning accepted Medusa's memories and the scene in front of him changed. He found himself in a dimly lit room. The only decorations on the walls were the murals depicting ancient snake-people.
In the center of the room, four elders sat on their respective thrones. Soon another figure appeared in the room. It was Queen Medusa.
Even though the elder's cultivation was lower than Medusa's, she still cupped her hands and politely greeted them.
"Why did you call us, your Majesty?" The oldest among them asked in a hoarse voice.
Medusa waved her hand, and a white egg sitting on a blue-green lotus platform appeared in the room.
In the same instant, the room brightened, and the surrounding temperature rose sharply.
This sudden change frightened the elders. In comparison, Medusa, who had experienced it before, looked calm.
No elder was not affected. Instead, they felt an unprecedented bloodline suppression just by being in its presence. Their face turned pale, and beads of sweat covered their forehead.
"Your Majesty quickly put it away," One of them babbled. She lost her demeanor as an elder. Although the others did not speak, their facial expressions betrayed them.
Medusa softly chuckled and placed it back in her ring. She had long been dissatisfied with them. Now, seeing them like this made her happy.
"I found it while looking for the clues of heavenly flame."
The elders absentmindedly nodded. The bloodline suppression brought a more significant impact than Medusa thought.
She shook her head. "The origin of this egg is much bigger than your imagination. It has enough power to subdue the heavenly flame."
The elders looked thoughtful after listening. It took a few moments for them to digest the information.
"A noble bloodline can suppress heavenly flame; what kind of creature is it?" The elder with the highest authority muttered to herself.
Queen Medusa stayed silent after explaining the situation to them. She hid everything about the dragon tattoo on her abdomen.
She didn't mean to deceive them. It's just Medusa's haughty character prevented her from speaking about it.
"Your highness, you did well. If we can extract the bloodline from the egg, it will raise the overall strength of our snake-people tribe." The remaining silent elder spoke her thoughts. She believed it was a god-given opportunity, and they should seize it.
As the elder finished her words, the surroundings became quiet. Next, the other elders' expressions became severe, and they started thinking about whether to follow their fellow's suggestion.
Queen Medusa's face turned cold, and a faint chill passed in her eyes. As a powerful Empress, how could she be a soft-hearted person?
Yet, there are some things that one shouldn't covet. She felt that the elder's greed might lead the entire tribe towards an unprecedented disaster.
As Medusa was thinking about rejecting their proposal, her face changed. The golden tattoo on her abdomen started burning. The next instant, the egg appeared out on its own.
A pressure greater than before pressed on their bodies. The elders gave Medusa a questioning look. But the latter ignored them.
Her attention was on the cracks on the surface of the egg.
'Crack!' The egg floated in the room, and one after another, cracks increased on the egg's surface. Then a devouring force with the egg as a center sucked the 'Green Core Lotus Flame,' burning on the lotus platform.
Medusa's pupils shrunk after seeing the heavenly flame disappear. "Quickly, escape," she shouted.
"Roar!" A majestic dragon roar sounded as a dragon claw tore out of the egg's shell. A dark golden dragon with phoenix wings appeared in front of their eyes in no time.
The bloodline aura radiating from the dragon's body suppressed most of their strength. Finally, the dragon looked at the elder, who wanted to strip his bloodline, and spoke hoarsely in a human voice, "Kill!"
As soon as his voice fell, two flames shot out of the dragon's eyes and fell on the elder's body.
The elder screamed in pain as her body burned. Not even her ashes remained.
Seeing this scene, the other elders turned pale with fright and regretted been thinking about her proposal.
As they thought of means to escape, the golden dragon transformed back into a white-haired youth and fell to the ground.