The Mother Bird flew back to her nest and peered inside, only to find that the six eggs she had painstakingly incubated for days had vanished without a trace.
Her eyes instantly reddened, and every feather on her body bristled fiercely.
She twisted her head and spotted a small white Snake skulking suspiciously, desperately shrinking its body to hide among the leaves.
“Chirp chirp!” The Mother Bird roared in fury.
“It’s you again, you damn little worm!”
“Give me back the lives of my unborn children!”
Filled with rage, the Mother Bird flapped her wings violently and darted straight at Lin Xue, pecking at him with all her might.
Lin Xue was perched on the tree, with nowhere to hide, and got pecked solidly.
“Ouch! That hurts, that hurts!” Lin Xue hissed in pain.
His heart raced with urgency.
Right now, his small size put him at a severe disadvantage—he simply couldn’t fight off the Mother Bird.
The limited space on the tree meant he couldn’t dodge her pecks either.
To escape this furious attack, he had no choice but to rush down to the ground as fast as possible and dive into the Bamboo Forest below.
But down there, a group of Snake Catchers awaited. If he went down, it would be like a lamb walking into a tiger’s den.
Trapped between a wolf in front and a tiger behind, he was caught in a dilemma.
Meanwhile, the Snake Catchers below had heard the commotion above and looked up toward the tree.
“Snakes! Snakes!” one Villager suddenly jumped up, pointing at Lin Xue and shouting loudly.
The others quickly sprang to their feet, grabbing long poles nearby, eyes fixed on Lin Xue, ready to capture him.
One Villager rolled up his sleeves, hugged the tree trunk, and prepared to climb up.
Lin Xue endured the pain, dodging the Mother Bird’s attacks with all his might, rapidly making a decision in his mind.
If he stayed on the tree, even if the revenge-driven Mother Bird didn’t peck him to death, the Villager climbing up would surely catch him.
His only chance was to take a gamble—jump down from the tree and hope the Villagers couldn’t catch him, maybe even find a sliver of hope.
Gritting his teeth, he summoned all his strength, crouched, and sprang off the branch, leaping as far as possible away from the Villagers.
But the moment he jumped, the Mother Bird flapped its wings and pecked him again, throwing off his trajectory and causing him to fall right near the Villagers.
“Damn it!” Lin Xue cursed in his heart.
As soon as he landed, he bolted toward the nearby Bamboo Forest.
But before he could get far, the closest Villager caught up with him in a step, planting the forked end of his long pole firmly into the ground.
The forked tip accurately pinned Lin Xue to the earth.
Several other Villagers rushed over, their Snake Forks simultaneously stabbing toward him.
Lin Xue felt several heavy chains locking him down tightly.
He struggled desperately but was powerless to break free.
A large hand reached out and grabbed Lin Xue’s head.
The grip on him suddenly loosened, and his whole Snake body was lifted up.
Then he was tossed into a Bamboo Basket.
The mouth of the Bamboo Basket was covered, and the lingering stench of snakes that had been inside before filled the air.
This was it—he was done for.
Lin Xue was deeply frustrated.
He still hadn’t escaped.
Judging from the Villagers’ conversation, he was about to be handed over to those two “heretical Taoists.”
What did those two Taoists want the snakes for?
Could it be for eating?
Had he only been transmigrated for two days and was already about to be made into Snake Soup?
……
The sky was nearing dusk.
Apart from Lin Xue, the five Villagers had caught two more snakes.
The five of them carried three snakes on their backs as they arrived before a great mountain.
Lin Xue curled up into a ball inside the Bamboo Basket, his heart pounding nervously all the way, uncertain of the fate awaiting him.
Through the gaps in the Bamboo Basket, he saw more than twenty people gathered before the mountain, all dressed similarly, carrying Bamboo Baskets and wielding Snake Forks.
Some baskets held snakes; others were empty.
When they saw Chun Shu and his group of five, the twenty-odd people greeted them, exchanging pleasantries and asking how many snakes they had caught.
Chun Shu glanced at the crowd and asked, “It’s almost Evening Hour. Has Er Gou’s group not returned yet?”
No sooner had he spoken than someone pointed into the distance, “Look, isn’t that Er Gou’s group?”
Everyone turned to see several people hastily approaching, one of them carrying a person on his back.
“Chun Shu, bad news!” the group shouted as they walked. “Er Gou was bitten by a snake!”
Everyone was shocked, turning to look at the person being carried.
He was barely clinging to life, already unconscious.
Lin Xue noticed the man’s leg was blackened and swollen, a horrifying sight—clearly a venomous snakebite.
Though Lin Xue knew nothing of medicine, he understood that without immediate treatment, this man was doomed.
Immediately, a Villager shouted, “Quick! Take Er Gou over to Wu Jia Gou on the other side of the mountain to find Old Physician Wu! He can treat Snake Poison!”
Another Villager retorted, “Are you crazy? That Old Witch… The Daoist Immortal Lady said everyone in the Snake Catching team must return before Evening Hour. If even one person is missing, the entire village will perish!”
A Villager mumbled, “But we can’t just watch Er Gou die from poison.”
Another spoke to Chun Shu, “Chun Shu, that Immortal Lady is a cultivator. Maybe she has a way. Er Gou was bitten because he caught snakes for her. You should plead with her to save him.”
Everyone looked to Chun Shu.
He seemed to have the highest standing in the village.
He nodded and said, “I’ll try.”
He approached the mountain and shouted at a huge rock, “Immortal Lady, we have returned with the snakes. Please open the Array.”
Lin Xue’s vision blurred, and the mountain suddenly vanished, replaced by a village.
At the village entrance stood a woman in a Taoist robe, coldly glaring at the gathered Villagers.
Lin Xue was stunned.
No way—this could be the legendary Magic Formation?
So amazing—it could disguise an entire village as a mountain!
For anyone unfamiliar with the place, this village would be impossible to find!
This was ridiculously powerful!
The woman at the gate must be the “Old Witch” the Villagers spoke of who practiced heretical magic.
Lin Xue saw a spell user for the first time and couldn’t help but stare wide-eyed.
The Daoist Immortal Lady was about forty or fifty, with sharp eyebrows, triangular eyes, prominent cheekbones, and sunken cheeks—looking sour and nasty.
Lin Xue’s first impression was clear: this woman didn’t look like a good person.
The Daoist Immortal Lady swept a disapproving gaze over the crowd and scolded, “You’ve been out so long and only caught this few snakes? What have you been doing?”
Chun Shu complained, “Immortal Lady, we have done our best these past ten days. The snakes near the village are all caught. These few were from deep within the Forest. You ordered us to return by Evening Hour every day. We dared not go too far. Catching these few was our utmost effort.”
The Immortal Lady waved dismissively, impatiently saying, “Enough. I don’t want to hear your whining. Take the snakes to the Ancestral Hall.”
The Villagers all looked at Chun Shu.
He cleared his throat and respectfully said, pointing at the dying Er Gou, “Immortal Lady, one of us was bitten by a poisonous snake. You are a cultivator, powerful and miraculous. Please have mercy and grant your Elixir to save him.”
The Immortal Lady didn’t even look at Er Gou.
With a disdainful sneer, she said, “Begging me for medicine? My Dan Medicine is for cultivators. You lowly commoners don’t deserve to take it. What a fool’s dream!”
The Villagers’ eyes blazed with anger.
Chun Shu sighed, “That was rude of me.”
He continued, “Immortal Lady, listen—there is no one in our village who can treat Snake Poison. The only choice is to take him to Old Physician Wu in Wu Jia Gou. Can we send two people to carry him there for treatment?”
The Immortal Lady shot him a cold glance and said, “No. Everyone must return to the village now. I’m closing the Magic Formation.”
The Villagers’ anger grew stronger.
After all, Er Gou had been bitten trying to catch snakes for her. To watch him die and refuse to let them seek treatment was utterly heartless.
Chun Shu pleaded, “Immortal Lady, this is a human life. If not treated tonight, he will die tomorrow. Please show some leniency.”
The Immortal Lady snorted coldly, waved her hand, and a Red Short Blade flew out from her sleeve.
With a “whoosh,” it stabbed into Er Gou.
The unconscious man let out a pitiful howl as his entire body immediately shriveled.
He quickly turned into a desiccated corpse.
The Red Short Blade absorbed all the blood and flesh from Er Gou’s body.
The Immortal Lady stretched out her hand, the Red Short Blade flew from the dry corpse back into her sleeve.
The Villager carrying Er Gou screamed and dropped the shriveled body.
All the anger on the Villagers’ faces vanished without a trace, replaced by terror.
They trembled so badly that some even wet themselves.
The Immortal Lady sneered, “Enough. He’s dead now. No need to save him. Anyone else got anything to say?”
Chun Shu turned pale and trembled, “No, nothing.”
The Immortal Lady turned sideways and nodded toward the village.
Chun Shu bowed his head and, with the Villagers, cautiously carried the snakes into the village.
Lin Xue watched all this from inside the Bamboo Basket, too shocked to speak.
It was his first time seeing someone killed so brutally right before his eyes.
This woman was definitely no good.
She was a demon!
If he ended up in her hands, he was surely doomed!
Lin Xue’s future looked pitch black, and his heart filled with dread.
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