Xiao Xue was on a hunger strike.
This move of hers truly caught Jing Gu off guard.
After learning the "truth" of the past, Jing Gu had now become Xiao Xue's personal physician.
She had nothing else to do now, just responsible for taking care of Xiao Xue's daily life and personal safety.
Shortly after Medusa left, Jing Gu brought food into the sleeping palace.
As for the food Jing Gu brought, Xiao Xue only drank some water and didn't touch anything else.
As for a hunger strike, it actually wasn't one.
The body is capital; no matter when, Xiao Xue would never use a method that tortured herself to solve a problem.
The accident a few days ago had exhausted her physical strength, and now her Dou Qi was sealed, making it impossible to absorb the energy of heaven and earth.
If she were to play a hunger strike, she herself wouldn't be able to take it.
However, since the Snake-People Clan could turn ordinary tonic into dark cuisine, it was reasonable to assume they weren't any better at cooking.
Sure enough, when it came to being disappointing, the Snake-People Clan really didn't let her down—
The so-called "meals" that Jing Gu brought were all common small beasts from the desert and some dry, withered plants.
These ingredients were simply processed, and that became a meal.
After all, once one had a certain level of cultivation, food was no longer a necessity.
And since Snake-People were a type of Demonic Beast, and they were in this godforsaken desert region, there wasn't much to eat.
Therefore, any Snake-People with some cultivation would choose to absorb the energy of heaven and earth.
Generally, only those Snake-People at the Dou Zhi Qi stage would rely on eating to replenish their physical strength.
Precisely because of this, the Snake-People Clan's handling of food was naturally rougher; it would be no exaggeration to say they drank blood and ate raw meat.
Even though the food Medusa prepared for Xiao Xue was carefully made by people she sent, for Xiao Xue, it was still at the level of dark cuisine.
—The meat of some unknown small beast, which had likely been skinned and bled before being boiled directly, had no flavor at all.
—The leaves of some unknown plant, which were cut into segments and served cold, were as dry as wood.
Hmm, and it was green, a bit like the color on the top of a certain woman with the surname Gu.
—A few white thorn fruits, which were not bad and considered one of the specialties of the Northwest Desert, but Xiao Xue didn't like them much.
Therefore, taking advantage of when Jing Gu wasn't paying attention, Xiao Xue exchanged a few Medicinal Pills from the System and swallowed them down with water.
While called Medicinal Pills, they didn't even count as First-Rank.
Because they had no other function, only pure energy.
However, for the current Xiao Xue, this was the most suitable thing for her.
Moreover, the price of this type of Medicinal Pill was quite cheap, so Xiao Xue bought it without a second thought.
The Medicinal Pill melted the moment it entered her mouth, and since it appeared directly in her mouth after purchase, it naturally went unnoticed by Jing Gu, who was monitoring Xiao Xue's diet.
In the end, Xiao Xue only drank some water to replenish some fluids, then lay down to rest.
Not even a dog would eat the Snake-People Clan's food.
Jing Gu really had no choice but to go find Medusa.
And Medusa had just discussed the upcoming arrangements with several Elders and was on her way back to the temple.
Inside the temple, before Medusa could even go to the sleeping palace, Jing Gu hurried over in a panic, "Queen!"
"The Alchemist is... she refuses to eat anything..."
Medusa frowned slightly, and after a long while, she said, "I understand. You may leave first."
"...Yes, Queen." Jing Gu bowed and retreated.
After Jing Gu retreated, Medusa raised her hand to her forehead, feeling a bit of a headache.
The situation she was most worried about had happened—
If Xiao Xue couldn't get over it and wanted to starve herself to death, that would be a really big problem.
After all, the current Xiao Xue, with her Dou Qi sealed, was just an ordinary person.
With someone watching, it was impossible for her to commit suicide using other means.
—It was hard even to die.
But only a hunger strike was a very difficult one to resolve among them.
If she really wanted to die, she could just vomit back up whatever she ate.
Even if she could block Xiao Xue's mouth and not let her vomit, Xiao Xue wouldn't be able to die.
If she really did that, the Snake-People Clan would probably be beyond saving.
After hesitating for a moment, Medusa flashed and appeared directly in the sleeping palace of the temple.
Xiao Xue was still maintaining the same posture as when she had left, lying on the bed with her back to Medusa, sleeping soundly.
Xiao Xue also knew that whether Medusa had ulterior motives and had planned this for a long time, or if it was truly just an accident in the beginning.
As long as she still had her so-called "background," Medusa would never let her leave easily for the sake of the Snake-People Clan's safety.
However, for the time being, she definitely wouldn't be in any danger to her life.
Therefore, after thinking these things through and discovering that there was no way to break the situation in the short term, Xiao Xue just lay flat.
Xiao Xue liked a quote from the Genius philosopher Bertrand Russell—
[Do not feel guilty for sleeping in, because even if you get up, you cannot create any value. If you can derive pleasure from wasting time, then it is not wasting time.]
Therefore, after drinking some water to replenish her fluids, Xiao Xue slept soundly in Medusa's sleeping palace without any psychological burden.
No choice, she had to drink water; she had lost too much fluid in the past few days.
Looking at Xiao Xue's quiet sleeping face, Medusa gave a helpless, bitter smile, then bit her fingertip and fed a drop of blood into Xiao Xue's mouth.
This was the best solution she could think of for now.
Even if it was just a drop of her blood, not Essence Blood, the blood of a Dou Zong still contained quite a lot of energy.
A person with high enough cultivation is a treasure from head to toe.
This drop of blood was enough for Xiao Xue's consumption for a few days.
Retracting her finger, Medusa took one more look at Xiao Xue and turned to leave.
If this dragged on, the longer it took, the more disadvantageous it would be for the Snake-People Clan.
She had to do something useful now.
Perhaps, as the Elders suggested, telling the "truth" wouldn't be bad.
After that, it would all depend on her improvisation.
— — —
For the next few consecutive days, Xiao Xue didn't touch the food Jing Gu brought, but she didn't feel hungry.
Xiao Xue couldn't help but sigh in her heart; the quality of the things sold by the System was truly impeccable.
However, she hadn't seen Medusa for the past few days, which made her feel slightly uneasy.
Who knew what bad things this old woman was preparing to do again.
Xiao Xue wasn't allowed to leave the temple, not even the sleeping palace, so she naturally knew nothing about what was happening in the outside world.
While she was eating and sleeping in the palace, enjoying peaceful days, the outside world was in an uproar.
—The Queen of the Snake-People Empire, Medusa, high-profilely announced that she had achieved a Breakthrough to Dou Zong and expressed intentions of an Alliance towards the Jia Ma Empire.
At the same time, Medusa also mentioned one person—
The newly promoted Sixth-Rank Alchemist, the Prince of the Snake-People Clan, Xiao Xue.
------------------------
I've posted 70+ chapters in advance on Patreon.
Webnovel updates will still be daily, as usual.
It might not seem tempting right now but who knows what the future holds?
[email protected]/DaoistRoeoNQ
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"