Strange Tales from the Deep Mountains (Part 11)

“This is not the time to talk about these things,” Li Su interrupted her. “Go find Xia Liqiao quickly.”

Li Su took two deep breaths, her brows furrowing unconsciously. "Can you walk by yourself?"

Gu Qingyan's eyes reddened, and she nodded vigorously through gritted teeth.

Seeing Li Su continue forward, Li Xue had no choice but to suppress her unfinished words and quickly follow.

"What about Lin Ran...?"

Without turning her head, Li Su said, "I can't save him."

Regardless of Lin Ran's current situation, if they turn back, they might be the ones captured by the female ghost.

Moreover, it was Lin Ran who first pushed him into the abyss, and now Li Su belatedly felt a sense of betrayal welling up inside him.

He did nothing wrong, so why did Lin Ran push him out to die?

Sensing that Li Su's tone was somewhat cold, Li Xue stopped talking.

If it were her, let alone going back to save Lin Ran, she would rather kill him with her own hands again.

It was too dark outside, and even the kerosene lamp was of little use. Li Su was walking forward almost entirely by relying on his memories. Just when he was wondering if he had gone the wrong way, a familiar green pupil finally appeared in front of him.

A sudden force came from her neck and shoulders, and when Li Su looked down, she realized that Gu Qingyan had actually fainted.

"Snake...snake..." Li Xue's legs went weak, and she covered her mouth tightly with both hands, trying her best to control herself from screaming.

"hiss--"

The giant snake remained coiled on the tree trunk, its vertical pupils fixed on Li Su.

"You watch over her first, I'll go check on things." Li Su handed Gu Qingyan over to Li Xue.

The memory of being strangled by the giant python last night was still vivid in Li Su's mind. She mustered her courage and finally stopped a short distance away from the snake.

"Hiss—hiss—"

Li Su watched as the python's body, coiled around the tree trunk, slowly tightened. Its scales, illuminated by the kerosene lamp, faintly reflected a cold, dark light. The python made a soft, crackling sound as it rubbed against the tree trunk, and its bright red forked tongue flicked out of its mouth, producing a series of deep, dense sounds.

Li Su swallowed hard, her thick eyelashes trembling slightly. She raised her eyes, trying to communicate with the giant python, "You can understand me, right?"

"hiss--"

How annoying! Does his little prey hate him? Why isn't she coming near him?

It seems 'He' was right; it's all his fault for scaring the little prey last night.

But... but he couldn't control himself. It was the first time he had ever smelled such a wonderful fragrance, and he was so excited.

Li Su was a little annoyed, because he couldn't speak Parseltongue.

Her full lips were unconsciously bitten by her pearly teeth, the edges turning white.

"Where is the bride tonight? Is she here?"

"Hiss—hiss—" The snake flicked its tongue more frequently, as if answering his question.

Seeing this, Li Su perked up slightly, touched the pendant on her chest, and tentatively took a step forward, "Can you tell me how to see 'He'?"

The thick, long snake tail slapped gently.

Li Su felt that she could vaguely sense dissatisfaction in the giant python's movements.

Li Xue, supporting Gu Qingyan, watched in disbelief as the human and snake interacted.

The man and the snake faced off in silence.

After hesitating for a moment, Li Su decided to give up; cross-species communication was simply too difficult.

"Then I'll go find it myself..."

Before he could finish speaking, the thick, long snake tail wrapped around the tree trunk and coiled around the boy's slender waist. The kerosene lamp fell to the ground with a "clatter."

"Su..." Li Xue had only uttered one syllable when she was startled by the giant python's gaze and quickly lowered her head, trying to minimize her presence.

When Li Su subconsciously supported the giant python's body, he realized that the suffocating feeling he remembered had not appeared. The python's tail loosely wrapped around his waist, seemingly supporting him.

The python seems a little different tonight.

The python's sudden action made Li Su's heart pound. He tried to calm his breathing, attempting to communicate further with the terrifying python, "What are you going to do...?"

The giant python's triangular head tentatively moved towards him, seemingly afraid of frightening him, and cautiously moved forward.

The forked tongue of the snake eagerly extended, trembling silently in the air.

Her heart felt like it was leaping into her throat, and Li Su couldn't help but close her eyes.

The thin eyelids blocked the terrifying view, but the skin could feel the body slowly sliding around the waist.

The giant python bulged its powerful muscles as it moved forward, pulling the boy with his eyes closed closer to its embrace.

"Hiss—" It smells so good, so sweet...

But "He" was angry yesterday and warned him not to lay a hand on the small prey.

The bright red forked tongue trembled anxiously, stopping just a centimeter away from the boy's slightly pale lips.

The food here smells the best, but you can't eat it...

A cold touch came from her forehead, and Li Su subconsciously tilted her head back, but fell to the ground.

"It doesn't hurt..."

Li Su frowned and opened her eyes, only to find that she was no longer in the giant python's embrace.

Suddenly seeing light in the darkness, Li Su's eyes squinted instinctively, and it took a while for them to adjust.

He was now in a cave, and although there were no lights, the cave was brightly lit.

"Is anyone there?" Li Su's hands clenched unconsciously, her knuckles turning white from the force. She lowered her voice and called out, "Li Xue? Gu Qingyan?"

The echoes reverberated through the empty cave, but no one responded.

The entire cave seemed to be covered by plants, with the view obscured by vines and branches of varying shades. Li Su tentatively took a step forward, her footsteps rustling as they passed over the vines.

Although the cave entrance was not far ahead, Li Su realized that it was not close at all when she started walking. When she finally reached the cave entrance, she found Xia Liqiao standing there.

He jogged over and squatted down next to Xia Liqiao, his fingers trembling as he placed them under her nose, only to find that her breathing was even.

His thin shoulders suddenly relaxed.

"Xia Liqiao?" Li Su called softly.

The person lying on the ground twitched their eyelids, then suddenly sat up.

"Li Su?!" Xia Liqiao's eyes widened. "Why are you here?"

Before Li Su could answer, Xia Liqiao quickly lowered her voice and asked while carefully observing the surroundings, "Did you run into those two villagers?"

Seeing Li Su shake her head, Xia Liqiao let out a deep breath, "When I heard your voice just now, I thought those two men had come back. It scared me to death."

There was a fairly large lake near the cave entrance, with clear water and the reflection of the vines on the shore.

[Task 1 progress 30%, please keep up the good work.]

Xia Liqiao leaned close to Li Su's ear and whispered, "Judging from the way those two villagers are talking, 'He' should be inside."

"Did they say anything else?"

Xia Liqiao shook her head and continued, "No, they just dropped me off and left."

"They haven't given us a single clue yet, how are we supposed to get out..." Xia Liqiao frowned.

The two could only continue forward along the lake.

The scenery before her was like entering a primeval forest. If she weren't in a horror game, she would have really wanted to stop and admire it.

"How did these vines grow so thick..." Xia Liqiao casually pushed aside a clump of overly dense vines on the bank, but the last syllable changed in tone due to the sight before her.

Xia Liqiao's face turned deathly pale in an instant, cold sweat instantly seeped from her skin, stray hairs clung to her cheeks, and she trembled uncontrollably, "Jiang... Jiang Yue..."

The moment Li Su saw Jiang Yue, she felt a chill run down her spine.

Yesterday she was a vibrant young girl, but now she lies on the vines, her exposed skin devoid of color, her belly bulging high, having already torn the fabric covering her abdomen, leaving her belly completely exposed.

His pale, paper-white belly was covered with winding, crack-like marks, giving the impression that it might burst open at any moment.

Xia Liqiao's eyes widened uncontrollably, her trembling finger pointing at Jiang Yue's stomach as she stammered, "Her...her stomach is moving...?"

The belly, stretched to its very thinness, bulged out in an arc before quickly disappearing.

The moment the system voice sounded in her mind, Xia Liqiao grabbed Li Su's arm and quickly pulled him under the cover of the huge vines next to them.

Almost the instant the two hid under the vines, Li Su saw ripples suddenly appear on the once calm lake surface.

Suddenly a figure emerged from the lake.

His jet-black hair, soaked by the lake water, hung down to his waist, still dripping water, and his pale, cold skin could be vaguely seen through the swaying strands.

What's even more surprising is that the person wasn't human; to be precise, it wasn't human at all.

His lower body is a thick, long snake tail.

Before Li Su could even see clearly, "He" had already turned his back to them and arrived at Jiang Yue's location.

His back completely blocked his view, and Li Su couldn't see what he was doing at all. Just as he was about to turn around and ask Xia Liqiao if he could see anything, he found Xia Liqiao looking at his back with a look of horror.

Her heart clenched suddenly. Just as Li Su mustered the courage to turn her head, a magnified face suddenly appeared in front of her.

His skin was pale, his deep green vertical pupils gleamed with a cold light, his eyes were long and narrow at the corners, his eyebrows slanted upwards into his temples, and his lips were extremely thin.

Her gaze unconsciously drifted downwards, and when it touched her clearly defined abdomen, Li Su quickly looked away.

"My God, is this what a human being can grow up to look like?"

"Upstairs, He is clearly not human."

"What beautiful older brother and sister... oops, what handsome older brother and sister..."

"This face looks so appetizing! I've decided to forgo my coupons and order takeout today just for this look!"

"Don't be impulsive, are you trying to ruin your life?"

The viscous gaze traveled from Li Su's pinkish ear tips downwards, scrutinizing the boy's entire body as if savoring a delicacy, before finally settling on his lower lip, marked with bite marks. His dark green vertical pupils rapidly contracted, revealing a predatory, wild nature.