Chapter 2: Chapter 2 silver snake

Though the little village girl’s mind was brimming with questions, she dared not utter a phrase like, ‘Why are you even more scared than I am?’ when facing the formidable Snake Immortal Lord. Instead, she could only steel herself and continue her narration.

“Then, the village chief issued an order for everyone to pool their grain, to be distributed uniformly. This was to prevent anyone else from gorging themselves to death. Yet, even with these measures, the situation showed no signs of improvement…”

Devoid of food, they resorted to gnawing on tree bark and consuming dirt, sparing nothing. When hunger became truly unbearable, they would even pounce on those beside them, tearing at their flesh with desperate bites.

This was no longer a matter of isolated individuals succumbing to madness; if things continued in this vein, the very survival of the entire village would be jeopardized.

With no other recourse, the village chief was truly at his wit’s end. He could only bind the hands and feet of those who exhibited abnormal behavior, confine them to houses, and provide them with regular sustenance to prevent them from harming others.

“Yet, when the doors were opened a few days later, the scene within sent shivers down everyone’s spines. Those people, they… they actually…”

“Were gnawing on themselves!!”

“Ah!!!!”

The Snake Immortal Lord’s shriek echoed through the ancient temple.

Her scream, though incredibly sharp and high-pitched, was not jarring. Rather, it resembled a peculiar, almost alien song that inexplicably caused a subtle warmth to rise within anyone who heard it.

“It’s almost nightfall; don’t tell me ghost stories!”

“Snake Immortal Lord, this is no ghost story… After discovering their gruesome state, the village chief had no choice but to tie them to the house pillars. Unable to consume anything, their condition rapidly deteriorated, until they could only cry out, ‘I’m so hungry,’ shouting incessantly, never stopping.”

“Did they die then?”

“They did die, and in the exact same manner as before,” Xiao Cui explained. “Everyone was perplexed: how could these people, who hadn’t eaten anything, still manage to gorge themselves to death? After much discussion, we decided to examine one of the bodies, and what we found was…”

“Inside these people’s bellies were their own internal organs!”

“Ah!!!!!”

The Snake Immortal Lord’s body went limp, collapsing onto the ground like a deflated snake, on the verge of tears.

“Don’t tell me the plot of a horror movie…”

“Horror… movie?”

Xiao Cui paid no mind to the unfamiliar term and continued.

“The village chief said that an evil entity had infiltrated our village, and it wouldn’t depart until it had claimed every last life. Such matters ought to be reported to the authorities, but the journey there and back would consume an entire month, and there was no guarantee that the officials would even believe our story. By the time any rescue arrived, we would all likely be…”

“Thus, we had no choice but to venture up the mountain, risking everything. Legend has it that an immortal temple resides here, where the Snake Immortal Lord is worshipped. If she were willing to intervene, perhaps we could still be saved.”

Having finished her plea, Xiao Cui bowed deeply to her, her head striking the ground with a heavy thud.

“Snake Immortal Lord, please save the lives of our entire village!”

The kowtow was heavy, yet the girl dared not lift her head in the slightest.

Both the malevolent entity plaguing the village and the Snake Immortal Lord before her were formidable beings they dared not provoke.

“Alright,” the Snake Immortal Lord said, as a gentle force slowly lifted the girl. She then beckoned with a finger, guiding Xiao Cui closer, and softly murmured, “Since I’ve partaken of your offerings, I will go down and investigate.”

She glanced at the sky outside, which was steadily darkening, and then pondered the chilling tale she had just heard.

“Tomorrow, first thing tomorrow morning, we’ll go down!”

****

Yin Luan was not a native of this world; indeed, she wasn’t even a ‘native demon’ in this realm.

She hailed from another realm entirely—a world brimming with cola, the internet, and video games. She still vaguely recalled being a male, of average height and build, not particularly fond of socializing, just an ordinary person.

The precise details of her transmigration had already blurred into obscurity, though she suspected it had something to do with ‘physical strengthening,’ ‘passionate excitement,’ and ‘self-reward’…

Upon awakening from her daze, she found herself transformed into a snake—a silver serpent.

What was more, it was a female, a she-snake.

Transmigrating to an unfamiliar world and finding herself a small female serpent—could anything be more dreadful…?

The ancient temple was the very place she had awakened. After struggling for what felt like an eternity, Yin Luan finally mastered the transformation technique, enabling her to assume a human form.

Even more strangely, despite transforming into an alluringly beautiful young woman, she subconsciously retained many habits from her serpentine form. For instance, when eating eggs, she would swallow them whole without chewing—after all, snakes don’t chew their food to begin with!

Most likely, her transformation wasn’t entirely successful…

Upon awakening, she discovered three items beside her: a skeletal remains clad in robes, a jade pendant etched with the characters “Yin Luan,” and an unopenable black casket.

After seeking the original owner’s opinion (having asked three times with no response, she considered it tacit agreement), she donned the robes. The jade pendant and the black casket were also put away.

What was to be done next? Her understanding of this world was a complete blank slate.

Where was this place? Who was ‘Snake Snake’ me? Was the outside world fraught with danger? How could she possibly find her way home?

What was worth celebrating, however, was that the strength of this body seemed quite formidable; at the very least, the fierce beasts on the mountain had to kowtow several times before they could escape her presence alive.

Yet, from Xiao Cui’s description, the world below the mountain appeared to be steeped in eerie strangeness.

Scared…

Still, remaining perpetually on the mountain was not a viable option. Whether it was to uncover her true identity or to explore this unknown world, she first needed to venture outside.

Whoosh—

As night descended, an eerie wind swept across the mountain, and the temple door, more than half rotted away, offered no barrier against the biting cold.

Yin Luan glanced around, peering this way and that. She spotted a peeling wooden plank, lifted it with one hand, and approached the doorway. Stretching her neck out, she cautiously peeked outside.

It was the very image of a snake cautiously peering out.

Excellent; ordinary specters and ghouls would surely not dare to intrude upon this dilapidated temple!

She used the wooden plank to block the drafty gap, and only then did she return to the campfire, curling into a tight ball with a look of profound comfort on her face.

Xiao Cui, who had observed the entire process, was utterly at a loss, unable to decide where to even begin voicing her unspoken complaints…

“Do you find it strange?” Yin Luan chuckled. “I am somewhat different from you all; I require external heat to maintain my body temperature. In weather like this, if I don’t sleep beside a fire at night, I will awaken stiff as a board the next morning, and it will take me ages to regain my mobility.”

As a cold-blooded creature, a snake should logically burrow into a hole, but for the time being, she could only make do with her current arrangement.

“Ah, I, it’s fine, Snake Immortal Lord, please do as you wish…”

“You can just call me Yin Luan.”

On the small mountain, within the ancient temple, the firewood crackled merrily.

The burning bonfire, though insufficient to banish the biting cold of this world’s night, at least offered a small measure of warmth and light.

One, longing for sleep as the cold deepened, and the other, utterly depleted of stamina from the day’s events, both quickly drifted into a deep slumber.

The next morning.

“Oh dear, the fire’s out, and my body has stiffened… Xiao Cui, would you mind helping me extend my arms and legs? It’s quite alright, they won’t snap. Actually, forget it—just drag me directly outside to a sunny spot; I’ll thaw much faster that way!”