A Strange Village

To encounter a large, coiled Black Scaled Great Serpent while alone in a deep mountain forest is a chilling image in itself.

Not to mention, the snake's eyes had a rather strange look about them.

Lu Bai stared at it thoughtfully; the inexplicable murmurs ringing in his ears seemed to be something no ordinary animal could make.

Could this be... Deathmatch Arena with a demonic background?

The Black Scaled Great Serpent's vertical pupils still held a scrutinizing quality.

The man and the snake stared at each other for a while before the Black Scaled Great Serpent finally broke the deadlock.

It started to move.

Click~ Click~

The scales rubbed against the bark, and the thick snake's body meandered along the trunk, gradually suspending the part of the large snake above its neck groove in the air.

The snake's snout slowly parted, revealing a long, thin, scarlet forked tongue, seemingly trying to ascertain Lu Bai's background.

After its suspended body extended for more than two meters, it began to slowly retract.

Seeing this, Lu Bai narrowed his eyes slightly.

He didn't relax; instead, he became more vigilant.

Because the upper half of the snake's body was coiled up, it was poised to attack like a spring.

"Wait a minute."

Lu Bai called out tentatively.

Unexpectedly, whether it was too lazy to communicate or simply lacked any understanding of human nature, the moment he spoke, the giant snake lunged at him with lightning speed.

Now that things have come to this, Lu Bai has no choice but to surrender.

Instantly shut off the surrounding lights, plunging the area into darkness, and at the same time, activated [Flash Time] to avoid the giant snake's attack.

Snakes primarily rely on their sense of smell and touch to detect prey; while they do have eyesight, it is generally not very good.

Lu Bai was certainly aware of this.

So his aim wasn't to completely block the snake's vision, but rather to confuse it.

Thanks to the existence of [Flash Time], it is not difficult to do this.

Hiss~

The giant snake missed its target and immediately retreated back into the tree trunk while maintaining its attack posture, constantly flicking its tongue to sense its surroundings.

Having located Lu Bai, they sped off once more.

However, the attempt failed.

The large Black Scaled Great Serpent finally froze.

It didn't quite understand the situation. It was certain that it had sensed the human's location, so why did it keep missing him?

The snake was quite surprised that there was no attempt to dodge.

Could it be some kind of nightmare magic?

So he's quite capable; no wonder he dared to enter the forest alone.

"How about we talk?"

Lu Bai was hidden in the darkness, his voice carrying a hint of laughter.

To the Black Scaled Great Serpent, this was clearly a sign of confidence and fearlessness.

Suddenly, it whipped its tail, sweeping towards the location from which Lu Bai's voice came.

All that came back was a whooshing sound; nothing actually was hit.

The final sneak attack failed, Black Scaled Great Serpent decisively spewed out a cloud of dark green poisonous mist, using it as cover to quickly retreat.

After all, Lu Bai's behavior was too strange, and it really couldn't figure out what his background was.

Watching the tail of the Black Scaled Great Serpent completely disappear into the vegetation, Lu Bai waved his hand to dispel the surrounding darkness.

He could clearly sense that the Black Scaled Great Serpent possessed intelligence, but unfortunately, it didn't want to communicate with him.

He let out a long sigh, "Serpent Demon?"

He felt dizzy as soon as he finished speaking.

Fortunately, this feeling came quickly and went even faster.

He wasn't even sure if it was just his imagination.

It was already evening when we emerged from the woods.

Lu Bai quickened his pace, gazing at the wisps of smoke rising into the distance.

He's still completely clueless about the world, so he should at least ask a local.

After running along the country road for four or five kilometers, I finally arrived at my destination... a small village.

It wasn't the idyllic pastoral scene of interconnected paths and the sounds of chickens and dogs that one might imagine.

It was rather desolate.

This village has about a hundred households and is not very large.

A waist-high wooden fence surrounds the dilapidated, low-lying mud-brick houses, with sparse haystacks dotting the area around them.

The gravel road connecting the villages is occasionally paved with puddles of water, making it damp and muddy.

The whole place exudes a strong sense of decay.

This is the kind of situation that cadres sent to the countryside must immediately address to alleviate poverty.

Perhaps because he rarely saw strangers, not long after Lu Bai stood at the village entrance, several households opened their doors and looked at him with curiosity mixed with wariness.

Before long, the men of the household pushed their women and children back into the house and closed the door behind them.

An elderly man, well past fifty, stepped forward surrounded by a crowd and called out with an air of righteousness, "May I ask what brings you here, young man?"

Neither the patched, coarse clothes worn by these villagers, nor their manner of speaking, revealed any trace of modernity.

Considering the local customs, Lu Bai hastily cupped his hands in greeting. "Passing through your esteemed place, and seeing that it is getting late, could I please have the honor of staying the night?"

Upon hearing this, the villagers began to whisper among themselves.

Some people were even pointing and whispering at Lu Bai.

The village elder, who was over fifty years old, coughed twice and then asked, "Young man, where do you come from?"

Lu Bai pointed to the mountains and forests behind them.

The atmosphere instantly cooled down.

"Qinggang Forest?"

"There might be a problem."

"Shh..."

Many villagers, looking terrified, retreated back into their houses and locked their doors.

The village elder's first reaction was also to try to get away, but since he had already stepped forward, he could only stand there awkwardly, forcing an unnatural Smiling Face.

Which place would you like to stay at?

Such a big change?

Lu Bai remained silent for a moment, then revealed a harmless smile.

"My choice?"

"Of course, of course."

The old villager shuddered at the sight of that smile; his wrinkled face twisted into a grimace.

Squeak~

The door of a dilapidated house at the edge of the village was pushed open, and a little girl with dark skin stepped out.

Her eyes were filled with respect and fear as she looked at Lu Bai, yet she took the initiative to invite him. "Please... please come and stay at my house."

Lu Bai glanced at her, then turned his gaze back to the village elder.

Is that alright?

"Of course, of course, then this old man will take his leave."

The village elder felt as if he had been granted a pardon and turned to leave.

The dark-skinned village girl opened the gate and called out tremblingly, "Come... come on."

Lu Bai then strode over.

He guessed that the villagers' attitudes had changed so drastically because they probably regarded him as some kind of inhuman being.

The room was very simple.

A wooden table for eating, a small wooden stool with a slightly reflective surface, and an extinguished hearth in the corner.

Further inside, there were no obstructions, and the layout was immediately visible: next to the wood-fired stove was a square wooden water tank, with a grayish towel hanging above it.

Its simplicity exudes a touch of antiquity.

But none of this really caught Lu Bai's attention; all his gaze was now focused on the base of the wall.

It was a miniature building, about the size of a shrine.

At first glance, it looks like a scaled-down version of the entire house.

It even has an internal structure, so detailed it's like a miniature figurine.

Furthermore, directly in front of the miniature building, there was a porcelain bowl serving as an incense burner, piled high with incense ash and burnt-out wooden sticks.