Nan Xian had a nightmare.
In her dream, she was trapped in a forest that stretched as far as the eye could see, with trees so tall they blocked out the sun.
She fled in panic, pursued by a large black snake as thick as an adult's arm, its belly scraping against the ground with a chilling sound.
She felt it getting closer and closer, so close that she could almost hear the hissing sound as it flicked its tongue.
The road ahead became increasingly blurry in her vision, her legs were so weak they were almost numb, she tasted blood in her mouth, and her vision blurred.
"Thump!"
She fell into the swamp, the sticky mud trapping her feet. She struggled to call for help, but could only manage a broken, mosquito-like sound.
The snake's tongue licked her neck, and a chill instantly spread throughout her body.
She turned her head stiffly, and the black snake's eerie green vertical pupils stared intently at her, slowly opening its blood-red maw.
"jingle--"
Nan Xian woke up with a start, panting heavily, and belatedly realized that she was covered in a cold sweat.
She got up with weak legs, gulped down a whole glass of water before she came to her senses from the shock and sat blankly on the edge of the bed.
"jingle--"
The bell rang again.
It was like a lure, or perhaps an urging.
After staring at the clock in the corner for a while, Nan Xian took a deep breath, quickly changed her clothes, put on sunglasses and a hat, and went out.
She went straight into the forbidden forest.
It was the same stream, and Gillian was still sitting in the same spot, surrounded by a group of snakes.
Even though she had prepared herself mentally, Nan Xian still couldn't help but get goosebumps when she saw this bizarre scene again.
"Sister, you're here!" Ah Jiao turned around and gave her a sweet smile. Seeing her standing still in the distance, she raised her hand and waved, and the snakes immediately swam away along the stream.
Nan Xian then approached the shore.
"That bell sound just now—did you deliberately let me hear it?"
Ah Jiao seemed oblivious to the pain, her bare feet stepping on the sharp pebbles. She circled around Nan Xian, giving irrelevant answers:
"Sister, so you really can hear my bell. It seems my little snake was right, you are different from them."
Nan Xian frowned. "What did you do to me?"
Gillian bent down, casually picked a wildflower, and slowly twirled it while holding the stem.
“I put a curse on you and that bald guy, but it didn’t work on you—my little snake said that the curse is afraid of you, but it also likes you. You have their favorite scent!”
As she spoke, she suddenly leaned closer to Nan Xian, sniffed the air carefully.
"Ah! It's true, sister, you smell so good!" She covered her mouth and giggled a few times, her dark eyes full of slyness.
Nan Xian's brow twitched, and she patiently asked, "Ajiao, what exactly is your identity? A Gu sorcerer, or—?"
"Of course I am—" Ah Jiao suddenly froze, her face turning deathly pale, her eyes staring blankly at Nan Xian, her head jerking sharply to the right.
Nan Xian was startled; her hair stood on end, and she instinctively backed away.
Gillian Chung's voice became eerily like a cassette tape, uttering each word one by one:
"You'd better watch out, they've got their eyes on you."
"What do you mean? Who are they?"
Before she could get a reply, she saw Ah Jiao fall straight backward and be caught by a group of snakes that had appeared out of nowhere.
They wrapped around her and slowly dragged her to the other side.
Nan Xian was so shocked by what had just happened that her mind went blank. It wasn't until a cool breeze blew that she snapped back to reality and hurriedly rushed back.
They hadn't gone far when they heard two voices talking.
"Is the location of the special mission really there?"
It is the ancient Changlin.
Her eyes flashed, and she ducked into the bushes nearby.
Gu Changlin's cameraman replied, "Absolutely right, the last clue is hidden in that room."
"Tsk—we've been put in such a lousy place."
The two figures headed towards the cottage. Nan Xian emerged from the bushes and, without lingering, quickly returned to the stilted house, locked the door, and finally felt a sense of security.
Gillian's eerie warning kept replaying in her mind, and she felt uneasy, unsure of who to confide in.
Her family had already worried too much about her divorce; her friends from school days had long since gone their separate ways; and most of the people she met after marriage wore hypocritical social masks...
My gaze finally settled on the little black cat icon.
【Xian Shi Kan Hua: Are you there?】
The other party replied almost instantly.
【.h: Yes, I'm here.】
For some reason, Nan Xian breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing his reply.
Do you believe in ghosts and spirits?
【.h：I believe it.】
[.h: What's wrong? Did you run into some trouble?]
I saw something... and I'm a little scared.
The other party displayed "typing," and Nan Xian quickly added:
Sorry, I don't really want to go into detail.
She didn't know if there would be any risks in casually telling others about her Gu technique, so she could only keep it a secret for the time being.
【.h: It's okay.】
[.h: I used to have nightmares a lot when I was little, so my elders got me a jade pendant. After I started wearing it, the nightmares stopped. When you come back to the capital, I'll give it to you for protection.]
Nan Xian opened her mouth in surprise and quickly refused:
No, no, no! Your family got it for you, how could I accept it! Just tell me where they got it!
[.h: More than twenty years have passed. That temple has long been demolished, and I haven't worn that jade pendant since I came of age. It's just been sitting there. You can accept it without worry.]
[.h: If you really feel bad about it, please send me a few more autographed photos of Nan Xian; I like them even more.]
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