Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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Content Warning; Beware anyone afraid of snakes
“…….Wh-what?!”
This sudden turn of events caught You Xu completely off guard. What happened to the blessed ancestral dagger? And the historical tradition of PUBG? It turns out he was going to kill himself?!
You Xu: Can’t you have a little survival instinct?
Shen Jue leaned against the tree trunk, the blood flowing down staining the roots red. His eyes were fixed on You Xu.
You Xu said with a straight face, “I don’t want to.”
Shen Jue: “Why not? You’ve got my heart, you’ll never be troubled by illness again. Even if those people cause you trouble, you’ll have the ability to kill them all. Consider it revenge for me.”
You Xu continued with a blank face: “Buddha said not to kill, forgive me, forgive me.”
Shen Jue laughed, unable to stop laughing at this crucial moment.
You Xu remained indifferent, not finding the humor in it. She only needed to ask him, “Hurry up and tell me where you’re going to escape to, and can you shrink a little? I can’t carry you like this.”
Shen Jue remained limp, showing no will to live: “I can’t escape.”
“If you can’t do it,” Shen Jue said, “I can rip my heart out and give it to you.”
Seeing him raise his hand as if to actually do it, You Xu panicked and quickly said, “Okay, okay, whatever you say, I’ll do whatever you want.”
Then Shen Jue lay back down, looking like he was willing to die at her hands.
You Xu said, “Don’t look at me like that, I can’t do it.”
Shen Jue obediently closed his eyes, his brows relaxed, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.
He could feel You Xu getting closer. Strangely, from childhood to adulthood, he had faced countless life-threatening crises, experiencing resentment, anger, and hatred. But this time, his heart was calm, only filled with a surge of emotion.
The sheer thrill of dying at her hands sent shivers of excitement through him, his blood seeming to boil.
The closer You Xu got, the more his body screamed, every muscle tensing, bracing for the excruciating pain.
When You Xu got too close, Shen Jue sensed something was wrong.
The next moment, soft, warm lips covered his.
Shen Jue’s breath caught in his throat, then became erratic, his heart pounding. The soft touch sent shivers down his spine, making it both numb and stiff.
He instinctively wanted to reach out and embrace You Xu, but a slight pain shot through his chest. He opened his eyes instantly, but You Xu had already pulled away.
She had long since tossed the dagger aside. You Xu, her eyes crinkling like a cunning little fox, smiled smugly: “It’s not just you who knows how to use acupuncture points, I do too. After all, I’m the sister of the Medicine King, so my immobilization and speech-altering acupuncture points are even with your sleep-inducing ones.”
“That’s quite the show-off,” 78 couldn’t help but complain, “and it cost 30 points to buy.”
You Xu retorted, “What’s wrong with points? You look down on them? Then if you use my points again, I’ll report you.”
“…” 78 automatically fell silent.
Shen Jue couldn’t speak, his dark eyes fixed on her intently.
“You can safely pass the hundred-year mark,” You Xu said slowly, “Big fox, do you believe me?”
After she finished speaking, she opened the containment bracelet on her wrist, hiding Shen Jue inside. Then she placed a secret incantation and a one-way magic array on the bracelet. No one outside could open the containment bracelet; only Shen Jue inside could. Once he passed his weakest period, he could come out.
78, who had been watching, asked in confusion, “Host, why didn’t you hide inside too?”
You Xu replied, “Only I can set up a one-way magic circle on the outside of this bracelet. If I’m inside, the bracelet can’t be sealed shut; anyone can open it. What’s the point of letting Shen Jue hide inside? Besides, I’m not their target; they won’t do anything to me.”
You Xu picked up her dagger, ran a short distance, found a secluded spot, dug a hole, and buried the bracelet inside.
78, seeing her cautious expression, was speechless: “…Are you burying him alive?”
“He’s unaffected inside the bracelet; he has water, sleep, and beef jerky.” You Xu stood up, tamped the soil down, covered it with some gravel and weeds, and made sure no one could see any signs of disturbance before starting to run away.
After running a few steps, You Xu couldn’t keep up. Her exercise level for the day had exceeded her limit, and her weak body couldn’t complete the escape. She found a large rock, sat down, and panted for a long time before catching her breath.
You Jingyan would definitely send people to find her once he discovered she had escaped. She should just hold on a little longer; once You Jingyan arrived, everything would be alright.
You Xu’s hands went weak, her legs trembled, and she collapsed onto the rock like a dead fish. Behind her was a small, turquoise lake, into which a babbling brook flowed.
Soon, a large, dark shadow entered the lake, steadily approaching You Xu.
You Xu suddenly opened her eyes, a chill running through her. She turned her head, only to be struck hard on the neck. Everything went black, and she lost consciousness completely.
….
When You Xu awoke again, the pain in the back of her neck was still vivid. She couldn’t help but hiss.
“Awake?” A cold voice echoed.
You Xu was startled, finding herself in a cold, damp cave. The ground was icy cold, and it was pitch black all around her; she couldn’t see anything clearly.
The person who spoke must have noticed this too. Seeing her squinting and looking around blankly, they snapped their fingers, and several torches in the cave lit up.
Once You Xu could see her surroundings, she gasped but couldn’t breathe. A chill ran down her spine, and her scalp tingled.
She was surrounded by snakes, densely packed, all kinds— black, white, green— many flicking their tongues at her.
For a moment, she couldn’t breathe.
“Where’s the Heart-Eating Fox?”
You Xu forced herself to suppress the nausea and then noticed a person sitting on a stone chair directly in front of her. He wore a black python robe, and had black, phosphorescent demonic markings under his eyes.
Demons with such markings were usually powerful; this must be Lan Kun, the Snake King of the Ten Thousand Snake Cave.
You Xu said expressionlessly, “I don’t know.”
Lan Kun narrowed his eyes, staring intently at her: “You don’t know? I saw him take you with him when he escaped.”
You Xu understood now. No wonder she hadn’t seen the Snake King, who dominated the south, among the demons fighting Shen Jue. A large portion of them were sitting on the sidelines watching the fight, waiting to pick up the pieces when both sides were exhausted. Lan Kun was undoubtedly trying to be the one to pick up the pieces.
You Xu continued, “His injuries were too severe. He realized he couldn’t escape with me as a burden, so he abandoned me and fled on his own.”
It made perfect sense. Demons were known for their cold-heartedness and ruthlessness, so this outcome was to be expected. But someone who could rule a region wasn’t so easily fooled. Besides, the Snake Clan was always sensitive and suspicious.
Lan Kun sneered, “I don’t think so. Everyone knows how much Shen Jue valued you at Black Rock Mountain.”
“So what if he valued me? Can I be more important than his life? There are probably very few people in the world as foolish as that.” Anyway, there was no lie detector here, so You Xu answered completely truthfully.
Her fluent, earnest, and reasonable answers left him momentarily at a loss, especially given her “I’ve said all I have to say, take it or leave it” attitude. Lan Kun’s expression became inscrutable.
“Since that’s the case, there’s no use keeping you alive.” Lan Kun rested his chin on one hand and gently raised the other.
The snakes in the cave, receiving the signal, surged forward like a tide, enveloping You Xu.
You Xu gritted her teeth, her whole body trembling uncontrollably. She closed her eyes tightly, curling herself into a ball. She heard the hissing of snakes approaching, followed by something cold and heavy crawling all over her.
The cold, slender snakeskin brushed against You Xu’s exposed skin, instantly raising goosebumps and making her body tense and stiff.
Lan Kun smiled coldly: “Afraid of snakes? Very well. Think carefully about what you should say, and you’ll be free.”
Time seemed to drag on endlessly, and cold sweat dripped continuously from You Xu’s body.
The taste of blood filled her mouth; You Xu had bitten her tongue and lower lip until they bled. As the snake’s tongue swept across her neck, her taut nerves were stretched to their limit.
“Warning, warning, host’s stress response has reached 100,” Seven Eight said. “The system will take sensory isolation measures.”
The next second, You Xu’s five senses failed, and she fainted again.
Stress response was an assessment of abnormal psychological and physiological conditions in the host. When the host’s psychological and physiological conditions reached the peak limit of 100, the system would take mandatory measures to isolate the host from the world. This was the bottom line for protecting the host, to prevent sudden death.
On the verge of sudden death, You Xu had managed to survive again.
When You Xu woke up again, she was still curled up on the ground, but the snakes around her were gone. Not far away, Lan Kun rested his chin on his hand, watching her with interest.
You Xu’s temples throbbed, and a sour, astringent feeling rose in her throat. She felt weak and limp, with no desire to move.
Lan Kun chuckled, “Do you remember anything?”
You Xu sighed and said, “I’ll tell you the truth. If you don’t believe me, there’s nothing I can do.”
She simply lay down, closed her eyes, and resignedly said, “Come on, give me a quick death.”
You Xu could feel his scrutinizing gaze, but she was too lazy to pay attention. She could sense that her body had reached its limit, and perhaps soon she would develop a serious illness, at which point she would die and no longer have to suffer.
Unexpectedly, she was suddenly grabbed by the collar and lifted up. You Xu kicked twice in mid-air, almost unable to catch her breath.
Clearly, Lan Kun had no intention of considering her feelings and simply carried her deeper into the cave.
From a distance, You Xu could hear the hissing of snakes, intense and aggressive, sending chills down her spine.
After passing through a narrow passage, they arrived at a relatively open area inside the cave. The heavy, bitter smell of blood was extremely strong, and there were ten large, interspersed pits on the ground.
With a wave of his hand, Lan Kun ignited fires on both sides of the wall, allowing You Xu to clearly see snakeskins, fangs, bloodstains, and snake bodies broken into several pieces scattered across the ground.
Lan Kun raised an eyebrow at her: “Want to see?”
You Xu decisively refused: “No.”
“Fine.” Then Lan Kun dragged the utterly dejected You Xu towards the large pit, pressing her head towards the edge to force her to look.
You Xu was forced to see a pit about five meters deep and ten meters wide filled with snakes, writhing and twisting like a tangled mess of pretzels, about a hundred of them, tearing and attacking each other. The snakes that were killed were placed at the bottom. Lan Kun admired her expression and explained, “We put in one hundred of the most venomous snakes; only the remaining ten can come out.”
In other words, there were ten pits, a total of one thousand snakes, and only one hundred would remain.
You Xu remained expressionless, not wanting to listen.
Lan Kun continued, “Do you want to know what will happen to these one hundred victorious snakes?”
You Xu no longer wanted to answer him.
Lan Kun didn’t need her response and continued carrying her deeper into the cave.
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