Alice let go and took a few steps back.

"Big brother, your name is... Jiang Ran?"

"Um."

"Then, Brother Jiang Ran, can I come to see you in the future?"

"If you can come, you're welcome," Jiang Ran smiled. "But, will you be able to find me?"

"Yes, I will." Alice wiped away her tears, tilted her head and smiled. "One day, I will find you."

Aren't you afraid that I won't be alive by then?

“I’m not afraid!” Alice shook her head vigorously. “Didn’t you say that nothing can kill you as long as you don’t want to die? I believe that even time can! As a promise between us, you must keep it!”

"A promise?"

Seeing Alice extend her little finger, Jiang Ran smiled and hooked it with hers.

"Okay, I'll try my best to beat time in the limited time I have."

"I believe in you, and please make sure you do it!"

Jiang Ran looked up at the cobweb-covered ceiling, and at that moment, he once again recalled the words of the Pope.

Do you want to become a "god"?

"To become a god..."

Alice rushed into Jiang Ran's arms, but Gwen pulled her out again!

"No! I'm not jealous! It's just that Jiang Ran is injured! We need to figure out how to deal with this problem first!"

"Ah...right! Brother Jiang Ran! Can you tell me how you got injured like this?"

"Flowers, a kind of blue-purple flower, I woke up lying in such a flower field."

Alice ran out the door, and not far away was the vast flower field.

"This is...night glories?"

Gwen followed them out, asking, "Do you know him?"

"Hmm!" Alice nodded, knowing this wasn't the time to keep her in suspense. "There's a small night-blooming jasmine plant in the place where I often pick fruit. This flower only blooms at night, and once it blooms, it produces an irreversible poison with no antidote! Such a large patch of night-blooming jasmine... I can't even imagine!"

"There's no antidote?!" Gwen panicked. "Then, what should we do?"

"Drink my herbal medicine! I remember giving Brother Jiang Ran a bottle before! Night-scented poison can't be completely cured, it can only be suppressed temporarily!" Alice ran into the house again. "We can only suppress it for now! As for what to do next, we'll think about it later! If all else fails... I can brew herbal medicine for Brother Jiang Ran every day!"

Seeing Jiang Ran drink the herbal soup, Gwen finally breathed a sigh of relief. Jiang Ran was a ghost storyteller, and as long as he could leave the ghost story world, all his injuries and poisons would disappear, so he wouldn't need any antidote.

"Cough cough..."

Jiang Ran still remembers that at first he never expected that he would actually drink the herbal soup. Fate is really unpredictable.

"However, this herbal soup can both repel insects and suppress toxicity, it really has many uses."

"Yes, the black lotus is indeed a very good plant!"

The toxin problem has been temporarily resolved, but this dilapidated stone house is hardly a safe place.

"hiss--"

Jiang Ran looked towards the doorway, where the snake on the eaves had somehow appeared and was staring at the three of them.

"Hiss—hiss—"

More snakes darted out of the weeds and gathered at the doorway. Alice's gaze turned dangerous again, and threads began to form along the door frame. As soon as these snakes entered the room, they would be instantly shredded!

"Isn't there no food? I think snake meat would be just right!"

"Rude!" The leading serpent coiled its body, its vertical pupils emitting a faint red glow. "We are the guides of wisdom, pointing the way forward for those who have lost their way!"

"Alright! Stop playing the riddle snake!" Gwen crossed her arms. "Just say what you want to say!"

"This is your first time here, isn't it? How strange. No one has been here for a long time. We can take you to where we are. If you stay here, you will only die."

"Oh? Why are you here to help us?"

"It's simple. No one has come here for a long time. It would be very boring if people just left after the last one. If you trust us, come along."

"If you can't trust us, then there's nothing we can do."

The snakes moved forward. Jiang Ran stood up. This was their only clue, and he had to follow them regardless of the danger! Besides, it would be strange if there wasn't any danger!

"Walk!"

Following closely behind the swarm of snakes, Jiang Ran remained vigilant throughout. Soon, they arrived at a hidden cave. The snakes repeatedly darted out from unexpected places along the way. If it weren't for these creatures leading the way, Jiang Ran might not have been able to find the cave overnight.

"You guys did catch up after all; that was a wise choice."

Jiang Ran lowered his body and followed the giant snake into the cave. Unlike the narrow entrance, the interior of the cave was a different world, with fluorescent stones embedded in the rock walls on both sides, providing light for the cave.

"Oh? Do snakes need light too?"

"Darkness cannot give birth to civilization."

The one who spoke was a huge white snake lying on the top stone platform. It slowly slid down the platform and came to Jiang Ran's side.

"Adventurer, we need your help."

"Huh?" Gwen put her hands on her hips. "Why should we help you with this?"

“We provide you with a safe place, and you do us a favor. It’s a very worthwhile deal.”

“We can help you with that,” Jiang Ran replied. “But before that, I need to know what kind of help I can give you. And secondly, if you choose to force me, believe me, you will regret it.”

"Don't worry, we are not a barbaric civilization." The white snake swam backward, and Jiang Ran and the other two followed him through a long corridor and came to a stone wall.

"I need you to help me open this wall." The white snake coiled around Jiang Ran. "The gods have abandoned this place, but we must at least know what He left behind!"

The White Snake asked Jiang Ran for help to break through the wall, so it certainly wasn't through violence.

"As the snake, which represents wisdom, do you really need to rely on our strength in such matters?"

"Only humans can participate in this trial." The white snake shook its head. "We have been waiting, waiting for the true chosen one to appear, but unfortunately, the last time we saw a human was more than a hundred years ago."

"Adventurer, will you be the 'destined one'?"

"Even if I open the door, it's not because I'm some kind of 'destined person,' but simply because I have the ability." Jiang Ran waved his hand. "Fate is a mysterious thing, but compared to believing in fate, I believe more in myself."