The people of the Ghost Kingdom live in the vast swamp. They are naturally fond of dark and damp environments. Although they are afraid of the cold and prefer dampness, they do not like overly dry weather.
"When it rains water, it's cold, and the scales get wet. After polishing, the scales become slippery, which I don't like."
The person, coiled up in the tree, complained to Xu Milu that the human head was swaying back and forth, making her constantly worry that her neck might break:
"The sun is shining brightly and it's warm. It's very comfortable to bask in the sun on my scales. I always manage to snag the warmest stone—that's where I usually sunbathe."
She pointed with the tip of her tail at a large rock by the swamp, looking quite proud.
"You stay here, and I can help you polish your scales. Although you're ugly and have four strange tails, I'm powerful. I can feed you and prevent them from biting you."
Xu Milu's feelings were slightly complicated. After spending half a day together, she found that the people of the Ghost Kingdom had an almost straightforward honesty in their behavior. They had no concept of "lies" and would immediately express what they wanted and what they wanted to say.
Di's acceptance of her invitation is similar to the human's desire to hunt; in other words, Di wants to keep a cool "pet".
Xu Milu had no choice but to use gestures to explain to the other party:
“I’ve always lived far away from here. I came here from the direction of Zhaoyao Mountain, through that black wall. I’m a ‘businessman’, and I’m here to find someone.”
"'People'? We don't have any 'people' here."
Upon hearing that Xu Milu had climbed over the "black wall," the snake looked at her with more fear, and the scales on its tail seemed to burst open in fright.
The single eye on the ground's face closed and then quickly opened again, staring intently at her:
"You came from the 'Corpse of Erfu'? I have never been to its other side. It is too big. Even the strongest bird cannot fly over Erfu's neck, and the bravest deer cannot leap over Erfu's head—"
That black "city wall" was actually the corpse of Erfu?
Xu Milu's mind was once again filled with the image of that towering city wall that seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see, and the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.
Those towering city walls, reaching into the clouds, were nothing more than the corpse of a god.
Legend has it that there was Kuafu who wielded a snake to chase the sun, and Pangu who wielded a giant axe to split the heavens and the earth. If the body of a god who has lost consciousness is already so huge, how much more so must those great gods who lived in ancient times?
For no apparent reason, a sense of awe rose in her heart, like the sense of urgency an animal feels when it encounters its hunter.
In such a chaotic period, the phoenix and the dragon were able to dominate this land. In comparison, her current strength is still too weak.
Xu Milu snapped out of her reverie and continued to press for answers about the outsiders:
“I’m looking for a man from out of town. He’s very important to me. I can’t sell you the sun in the sky, but I have something better. If you can help me, I can pay you. It’s something good, something even better than the sun in the sky.”
Something better than the sun?
Her pupils suddenly contracted, and she seemed to think very seriously for a moment before slowly nodding:
"Okay, after sunset I'll take you to the cave, you can go see it yourself."
Xu Milu didn't understand what Di meant and was about to ask again when Di, who was coiled on the tree, swam down. Its entire body was submerged in the water, with only its head showing as it swam towards the center of the swamp.
In the center of the swamp, there was a huge stone platform, slightly tilted so that sunlight could filter through the gaps in the leaves. There, a dozen or so people from the Ghost Kingdom were already huddled together, drying their scales.
During this time, people from the Ghost Kingdom swam over along the lake. They all had human heads and snake bodies, with one eye on their face. They were both male and female. When they climbed ashore from the water with floating algae on their heads, the sight of a group of snakes swarming around them was quite impactful.
It's practically a live-action version of Anaconda.
...
...
"Sizzle—"
The people of the Ghost Kingdom used snake tails to probe into the swamp and hoisted up a strange frog with a swollen belly like a balloon. They rubbed the frog on a rock for a while, and red sparks fell into the dry firewood. The flames suddenly ignited and licked the firewood.
"Ugh..."
"Waaaaahh ...
"Waaaaahh ...
The people of the Ghost Kingdom became excited, draped in black animal skins, dancing around the bonfire and uttering low, guttural tunes. The eerie swamp, the dark forest, and the strange humming all wove together a scene that was both bizarre and strangely beautiful.
"Hey!"
"Hey ya hey ya hey ya!"
"Hey ya hey ya hey ya!"
As the Ghost Kingdom people cheered excitedly, prey was thrown into the swamp to drown. Female Ghost Kingdom people screamed and jumped into the water, tearing the throats of their prey with their sharp teeth. Blood splattered into the dark green lake water, creating an indescribably eerie scene.
The sounds of prey hissing, splashing water, and rubbing snake tails mingled with cheers. Under the flickering firelight, the blood of the beasts on the faces of the Ghost Kingdom people became even more vivid, exuding an indescribable primal wildness.
Xiao Qi noticed something was wrong with Xu Milu and suddenly asked:
[Host, your heart rate is increasing. Is it because you're scared?]
"No, this is very interesting."
Xu Milu shook her head:
"I'm just curious about the social system of the Ghost Kingdom. Have you noticed? All those involved in hunting are women, and those involved in distributing food are also women. Women can have their own independent nests, which means that most of the resources in the Ghost Kingdom are in the hands of women. It's a matriarchal society."
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