Initial Success, Thunder Tribulation Approaches

Amidst the vast, snowy landscape, a lone snake could be seen piously worshipping the moon; if anyone were to witness such a scene at this moment, they would surely be astonished.

It is a pity that, save for that crescent of silver moonlight, this scene remained unseen by any soul.

As he delved deeper into the state, Ye Qin felt the crescent moon above his head drawing closer, as if it were enveloping his entire serpentine body.

That icy sensation was as if his whole body were submerged in water, or as if an invisible hand were stroking his crown—it was comfortable to the extreme.

Every segment of Ye Qin's body, even his very bones, became stained with silver radiance, shimmering with an otherworldly glow.

He did not know how much time had passed, but when Ye Qin slowly opened his eyes, the silver moon had vanished, replaced by a gloomy, overcast sky.

"I didn't expect the entire night to pass just like that."

Ye Qin could not help but mutter to himself; the lingering icy sensation left him craving more, wishing the sky would darken once again immediately.

However, winter days were short and nights were long; he would likely have to wait until five or six o'clock for the moon to rise again.

He returned to his cave, intending to wait until nightfall to emerge and continue his contemplation, absorbing the essence of the moon.

This continued for several days—resting by day and cultivating by night, much like a bat that shunned the light. Ye Qin's Taiyin Contemplation had begun to show initial results, though it was merely a superficial resemblance, still lacking a certain spiritual essence.

Just as when he had contemplated the white bones in the past, Ye Qin was not anxious; he proceeded step by step, for one cannot become a fat man in a single mouthful.

He had expected life to remain peaceful, but this day, the silence was shattered by a muffled rumble of thunder.

"Rumble—"

Deep within his consciousness, Ye Qin felt as if he were hearing some sort of summons.

With a sense of foreboding, he crawled out of the cave. The wind and snow had ceased, but the sky was terrifyingly dark, and the thunder rolled so loudly that the entire earth trembled beneath it.

"How could there be thunder in this season?"

Looking up at the sky, Ye Qin could not help but mutter to himself.

Ye Qin did not like thunder, likely because his original self had once nearly been struck into a dried snake-husk by a bolt of lightning. While he wasn't quite at the point of turning pale at the sound of it, an innate aversion made him feel quite uncomfortable.

Purple light erupted across the sky, and in an instant, a bottomless fissure tore open, like an eye of judgment, surveying the land below.

"Boom!"

A thunderclap exploded right by Ye Qin's ears, as if it had grazed the top of his head. He could even sense the power of the lightning within it, and his snake body trembled instinctively.

A bolt of purple lightning struck a boulder the size of a man nearby, shattering it into pieces.

Ye Qin regained his senses and, looking at the lightning that had been so close, he could not help but narrow his eyes.

He had a nagging feeling that this thunder was aimed directly at him.

The scene that followed only confirmed Ye Qin's suspicions.

Another bolt of lightning struck nearby, deafening and thunderous, as if the Heavenly Dao were enraged.

A strange agitation stirred in Ye Qin's heart; this was the first time since his rebirth as a snake that he had experienced such a sense of panic.

One must know that even when facing his natural predator, the hawk, in life-or-death moments, he had never felt such fear.

Why were these bolts of lightning targeting him?

Ye Qin's bright red tongue flickered incessantly, as if sensing his master's current distress, and his heart hammered violently, as if it might slip out of his control at any moment.

His tail lashed against a nearby tree, causing countless snowflakes to shower down.

Ye Qin became even more restless and uneasy.

What could be the reason for this sudden lightning?

Could it be that his cultivation had triggered such a strange phenomenon?

After much thought, that seemed the most likely possibility.

As for why it hadn't struck him directly, Ye Qin guessed that he hadn't reached that level yet; after all, he had only just broken through the first realm and entered the second. If he were to trigger a heavenly tribulation now, that would be excessive.

Why use a butcher's knife to kill a chicken? Only when he reached true mastery would the lightning descend to strike his body and trigger the heavenly tribulation.

Even after realizing this, Ye Qin remained uneasy, watching the falling lightning in the sky and not daring to act rashly.

Meanwhile, seeing that the wind and snow had stopped and the weather was gradually improving, Sun Zhenbang and his team once again entered the mountains, hoping to find further clues regarding the murderer.

"For the past few days, we have kept men stationed at every mountain pass, and no suspicious individuals have been seen descending. This means the killer is still hiding up in the mountains."

"This time, we must bring the criminal to justice. Does everyone have confidence?"

"Yes!"

"Good, everyone pack up. We're heading into the mountains immediately!"

All the police officers moved out quickly, splitting into several groups to search. Although the temperature had risen slightly, it was still quite cold on the mountain.

There were few places to hide on the mountain, so the police focused their search on ravines and caves—anywhere a person could conceal themselves.

But after searching for half a day, there were no results. In the vast, boundless mountains, they couldn't even find a ghost, let alone a person.

Sun Zhenbang decided to let everyone rest for a moment, regroup, and then continue deeper into the mountains.

A few young officers took the opportunity during the break to chat.

One of them, Xie Yixuan, acted mysterious. "I don't know who killed those two poachers, but a friend of mine is a forensic pathologist, and he said their cause of death was bizarre."

Hearing this, his companion immediately became interested. "How bizarre?"

"I can't put it into words. In short, it didn't look like something a human would do; it was more like—" At this point, Xie Yixuan deliberately lowered his voice, whetting his companion's appetite.

"If it wasn't done by a human, then who could it be? Aren't we heading up the mountain to catch the killer?"

"Stop keeping us in suspense and just spit it out."

Faced with his companion's urging, he cleared his throat and said, "It was done by a snake!"

Hearing this, the others couldn't help but roll their eyes.

"Stop bragging. A snake? Why don't you just fly up to the sky while you're at it?"

"Exactly. Be careful or Captain Sun will hear you and tear you a new one. You never do any real work, just spouting all this superstitious nonsense all day—he'll probably confiscate all your novels, too!"

Seeing that the others didn't believe him, Xie Yixuan grew anxious. "Don't say that! What I'm saying is absolutely true; my forensic friend even showed me the report."

"They found snake scales on the bodies, along with DNA. At the crime scene, there was no murder weapon, no fingerprints, and no traces of a third party. If it wasn't a snake, then who did it!"

"If you ask me, we shouldn't even be going up the mountain to catch some criminal; the criminal is just a snake, so what's there to catch? It's just that Captain Sun doesn't believe it. I'd say his thinking is a bit too rigid—he needs to broaden his horizons!"

Xie Yixuan spoke with great enthusiasm, failing to notice his companions frantically signaling him.

"What's wrong with your eyes? Are they cramping? I'm telling the truth. If you don't believe me, I'll show you the report next time, and then you'll see just how bizarre it really is."

"Sure, bring it for me to see when you have the time."

A deep male voice came from behind him.

Xie Yixuan replied instinctively, "Sure, once we get back, I'll—"

After seeing clearly who was standing behind him, Xie Yixuan's voice came to an abrupt halt. His expression turned panicked, and he stammered, "C-Captain Sun, why are you here?"