Chapter 7: Chapter 7 encountering on the road

The cursed villagers gradually regained consciousness.

The Snake Immortal approached and examined them, feeling reassured once she confirmed that despite their lingering weakness, their lives were no longer in danger.

“Snake Immortal, your immense kindness, we…”

The village chief stammered, seemingly wishing to express his gratitude, yet unable to suppress the fear that still gnawed at his heart.

“It was merely a trifle,” Yin Luan said, waving her hand dismissively.

“There’s no need to dwell on it. I have no intention of seeking any reward from you, nor do I plan to linger here.”

She had descended the mountain to ascertain the true state of this world and to uncover her own identity.

The name Yin Luan had been derived from the jade pendant found beside her when she awoke.

Clearly, someone had left the pendant for her; surely, a snake couldn’t simply conjure such an item into existence?

Then there was the small black box.

She had attempted to open it with fire, water, drops of blood, incense, brute force, and even by smashing it with rocks, yet none had succeeded.

This object was certainly no ordinary artifact.

Remaining in this isolated mountain village, where information was scarce, would not help her unravel these mysteries; she needed to journey to a place with more people.

“A place with more people, you say? The Royal Capital would take several months to reach from here. As for closer cities, merchants from the Eastern Commandery seem to pass through Jiuli City; it’s likely quite prosperous there.”

The villagers’ knowledge was not much greater than Yin Luan’s own blank slate, so they could only provide her with a few simple place names.

‘I’ll take it one step at a time. The world is vast enough for this little snake to explore…’

‘Speaking of which, demons should have quite long lifespans, shouldn’t they?’

“Snake Immortal!”

Seeing that she was about to depart, the young village girl instinctively called out.

“Won’t you… stay for a couple more days?”

“But none of you truly like me,” Yin Luan said, turning her head with a hint of self-mockery.

“After all, I am a demon~”

“A demon…”

The young girl lowered her head, and after a moment, she spoke softly.

“There are good demons and bad demons… You’ll need provisions for your journey. Why not stay two more days?”

Yin Luan looked at the villagers.

Their fear of ‘demons’ still lingered, yet their eyes also held a mixture of relief and gratitude for having survived their ordeal.

“Hmm, very well,” the Snake Immortal replied with a smile.

“I also need to try and see how I can become more like a ‘human’.”

****

The outside world housed the Demon Suppression Bureau (TL Note: A governmental organization tasked with hunting and suppressing demons), an organization so renowned that even the villagers in this remote mountain community had heard of it.

If she were to foolishly venture out, she likely wouldn’t travel ten li (TL Note: A traditional Chinese unit of distance, approximately 0.5 kilometers or 0.3 miles) before her head parted ways with her body.

During her two days of recuperation in the village, Yin Luan once again attempted to alter her appearance.

Everything else was manageable, but her snake-like vertical pupils were incredibly conspicuous; anyone who wasn’t blind could tell she wasn’t human.

Lacking the presence of other demons, Yin Luan had to grope her way through these attempts on her own.

“Transform!”

After much struggling for a long while, she finally managed to make her pupils identical to those of a normal human.

However, this transformation presented a new problem.

She could no longer perceive ‘evil aura’ (TL Note: A form of malevolent energy or spiritual corruption often associated with evil spirits or demons).

Apparently, only with her vertical pupils could she see the ‘black smoke’ and ‘dark aura’ invisible to ordinary people.

Now, even if a ghost stood directly before her, she might not detect it.

‘It’s not a major issue; I can always revert when needed.

And if that truly fails, don’t I still have my agile tongue?’

While her tongue couldn’t provide explicit directions, it could discern unusual ‘scents’ in the air.

With her appearance problem resolved, the villagers prepared a satchel filled with dried provisions and eggs for her.

For some unknown reason, everyone seemed convinced that the Snake Immortal had a particular fondness for eggs, so they provided her with an extra generous supply.

Upon her departure, all the villagers gathered at the crossroads to bid her farewell.

“The mountain is quite dangerous; do not venture too close without good reason,” Yin Luan advised, tying her satchel securely.

“I have already suppressed the lingering resentment in this land, so no more evil spirits should emerge.”

“Snake Immortal,” Little Cui asked, standing at the very front and biting her lip, her voice hesitant.

“Will we… will we have a chance to meet again?”

“If fate wills it, we shall meet again,” Yin Luan replied with a smile.

“After all, my temple still stands here.”

****

After a rain shower in early spring, the ground along both sides of the road transformed day by day.

The small bamboo shoots that had only just sprouted days ago, in the blink of an eye, grew as thick as an arm, only to be ruthlessly plucked by passersby.

“Heave-ho, another one harvested!”

Logically, snakes are carnivorous animals and shouldn’t be gnawing on tree roots, but eating too much meat always left her feeling a bit of indigestion; she needed to supplement her diet with other nutrients.

Yin Luan did not walk quickly; had she traveled at full speed, she would likely have reached the first city long ago.

‘But I’ve already died once, so what’s the rush?

Isn’t it better to take things easy?’

‘One shouldn’t live too strenuously, especially when you’ve transformed into an animal that freezes stiff at night…’

Her luck held today, as Yin Luan discovered another dilapidated temple in the wilderness.

These abandoned small temples, whose deities or objects of worship were unknown, seemed particularly numerous throughout the Great Zhou Kingdom, seemingly connected to the ‘Demonic Calamity’ (TL Note: A historical event roughly thirty years prior, involving widespread chaos caused by demons) that occurred thirty years ago.

‘The outside world is indeed dangerous; I absolutely cannot be discovered by the Demon Suppression Bureau…’

Boom!

Not long after she sought refuge in the temple, the sky rapidly darkened, followed by a deafening clap of thunder, and then the torrential downpour began to spill forth.

‘Thankfully, there’s a roof to take shelter under; otherwise, spending the night outdoors would leave me soaked to the bone like a drowned rat, wouldn’t it?’

Yin Luan gathered a pile of dry firewood, skillfully kindled a fire, and then took out the large flatbreads given by the villagers to toast them.

The eggs couldn’t be stored for long, so she had eaten them first.

Now, only the flatbreads remained, along with the fresh bamboo shoots she had conveniently pulled up.

‘Come to think of it, a snake can go a long time after just one meal, can’t it?’

‘Is my daily eating habit a bit too luxurious?’

‘Who cares?

What’s the fun in life without food?’

The firelight illuminated the ancient temple in the wilderness as Yin Luan warmed herself by the flames.

Suddenly.

“What cursed weather! Such heavy rain without any warning, how unlucky!”

Accompanied by the curses, a neatly dressed stranger appeared at the entrance of the dilapidated temple.

He wore a white robe, cinched at the waist with a belt, his hair tied into a topknot that revealed his forehead, presenting the image of a frail scholar.

Behind him, however, was a sword.

To call him a scholar seemed contradictory, as he had just moved through the rain with remarkable speed, clearly an expert in physical training.

Yet, to call him a swordsman also felt off; he was shorter than Yin Luan, his face so delicate it seemed water could be squeezed from it, and his skin was as fair as that of a young lady from a noble household.

Had his chest not been as flat as a steel plate, he would almost certainly have been mistaken for a woman if encountered on the road.

“Ah, ahem, ahem,” the ‘scholar’ said, his cheeks flushing slightly upon noticing someone inside the temple, clearing his throat twice to mask his embarrassment.

“Young lady, the rain outside is heavy; might I share this temple with you for a brief respite?”

“No,” Yin Luan stated, her eyes scrutinizing the stranger from head to toe.

“I am a pure young girl, and without my parents’ permission, I cannot stay under the same roof as a strange… man.”

“Please do not be alarmed, young lady; I am no brigand.”

The scholar unfastened a token from his waist and presented it before her.

“I am a man of the imperial court.”

“This is…?”

Yin Luan leaned closer to examine it.

The front of the token was intricately carved with three weapons—a saber, a sword, and a bow—while the reverse bore the emblem of the Great Zhou Kingdom’s imperial family.

The stranger offered a slight smile and replied.

“The Demon Suppression Bureau!”