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Lan was slithering through the forest as fast as he could. Behind him, he could clearly make out the sound of running steps. Someone was chasing behind him !

No matter how fast he was, he wasn't used to a legless body. He was still a bit clumsy, and probably not going as fast as a snake could normally go. And the man behind him, even without looking, Lan could say it wasn't his first time chasing a beast. Maybe he was a hunter, or hunted as a hobby.

When Lan saw his shadow towering above him, he started to panic. He was getting too close ! What should he do ? What should he do ? How could he have a chance to survive ?

As he was thinking of that, he heard another pair of feet making their way toward him. The remaining bits of hope he had began to vanish. Two of them were coming for him, what chance did he have ? Survive ? As if !

Then he saw a hole in the ground. If he could reach it, then he would be able to get away for now. Hope filled him once again. And this hope was probably what caused him to make a mistake : he turned around to see how far or how close the men were.

Upon turning around, he had two surprises : the first was to find out how close they actually were ; the second was that there wasn't a second man at all, but Liu Liwei ! When Lan thought that he was in this situation because he helped her, but she still chased after him to have him killed, he really felt wronged. After all, the saying 'every man for himself' came to be for a reason, right ? People really should simply mind their business, and not meddle in others' troubles !

And because he had turned around, his speed was reduced. As he turned back, the two people had gotten even closer ! But the hole was right in front of him, he should reach it in time-

A ferocious hiss echoed, startling some nearby birds.

Lan felt an atrocious pain in his body. He wanted to scream, but all he could manage was continuous hisses. He looked back and saw a sword pierced through his body, and a red liquid dripping from the wound it created.

It should be known that Lan wasn't used to such pain, and had an awful tolerance for it. Things that wouldn't hurt someone that much could make him bend down in agony.

Blood flowed quickly. He didn't need a degree in medicine to know that he was losing too much, and would probably be drained soon. After all, who would help him ? They would just let him die here, wouldn't they ?

His eyes squinted, but he struggled to keep them open. Closing them —wouldn't that mean he was at death's door ? He wasn't ready to die yet ! Whether it was of any use to hold on, he wouldn't just give up so easily either !

But the mindset wasn't everything after all, and his non-existing eyelids seemed to become heavier and heavier by the seconds. Just as his bright red eyes closed, the sword was pulled out of his body. It was painful. He wanted to scream again. But everything seemed so distant, and he couldn't even let out a hiss.

Then someone picked him up. Whether it was carelessly or gently, he didn't know. It didn't brusque him, but it didn't comfort him either. But in one's last moment of life, did these details matter at all ?

He didn't know how much time the person had been walking with him in their arms. The only thing he could point out was water engulfing him. Ah yes, he had been thrown in the pond. He couldn't open his eyes, but he could easily picture the water around him being dyed crimson.

Then his eyes shot open. He was confused for a long time. Was that a dream ? He had already died, so perhaps it was the last moments of his life flashing before his eyes.

But then how was he still breathing ?

Before thinking more about the matter, he stretched, spreading his arms far, and arching his back slightly. Only then did it hit him. His body !

He abruptly stopped stretching and looked down at himself. He was covered with a blanket, but it wasn't an obstacle to see that his body was back to normal.

Then I really didn't die ! It's just like in the book, the snake came back as a human !, he internally rejoiced.

"You're not allowed inside." a feminine voice suddenly resounded in his ears, startling him.

It wasn't too loud, but he could still make out what was being said.

"I don't care, I don't trust you." the same person added.

Lan felt that this voice was very familiar, but he couldn't pinpoint who exactly did it belong to.

"Maybe when he'll wake up, I'll allow you to."

"You're being ridiculous !" someone else suddenly yelled —another woman.

Lan didn't hear anyone else before that, and in his confusion, he thought that the woman was speaking on the phone. He almost wanted to laugh at himself —would there be phones here ?

"I don't care."

And with that, he heard a door being closed —it wasn't slammed, but a bit brutal.

By the sound of the woman's steps, Lan could guess she was coming to his room. No, it wasn't his room —whose room was it ? Whose house was he in ?

The light wooden door slid open, and a young lady stepped in. She was wearing a black dress, and her long curly hair was let down. Since her head was lowered, it covered her face, making it impossible for Lan to see who it was. Though for some reason, she looked familiar.

She lifted her head, and her eyes widened. "You're awake !"

Lan didn't know what to answer. The situation he was in was very awkward, and he didn't know what would be the correct way to behave.

"Um... yeah I just... woke up." he answered, as he sat up.

"Are you all right ? Does your head hurt ?"

"I'm fine. Just..." he shook his head.

"Confused ?"

"Yes."

"Do you remember anything ?"

"I-" he cut himself.

He almost told her that he remembered being stabbed as a snake. Was it okay ? He really wasn't sure of what he could say or not say.

"I remember... a few things."

The lady smiled, "I know what happened, you don't need to hide it."

"You know ?"

She sighed, "I thought so too, that you wouldn't remember me. I am the girl you helped by biting the villager."

It all suddenly came back to him. He widened his eyes.

"Liu Liwei ?" he exclaimed.

She seemed surprised, "Oh, so you remember ?"

"I just hadn't recognized you. I guess I'm more confused than I thought I was."

"I understand. You've been sleeping for five months."

"Five months ?"

"Well yes. You were in a critical state."

"Can you tell me what happened ? And why am I here ?"

"You remember until you've been stabbed ?"

"Yes. I also remember being thrown in water." he slightly squinted his eyes, waiting to see what kind of reaction she'd have.

But besides nodding, there was nothing else. Did she not even regret it ?

She closed the door and walked over to his bed. Lan couldn't help but ask himself if she was about to kill him. Then he mentally slapped himself. If she wanted to do anything, she had five months to do so !

But she simply sat by his feet on the bed. She pushed her hair from her face, throwing them behind her back.

"I'm sorry I just threw you in, but I didn't have any other way to save you."

Wait, what ?

"Save me ?"

"Then what ? Did you think I was drowning you ?" she joked, but faced with the lack of answer from Lan, she pursed her lips.

"S- sorry, I guess I wasn't very conscious." he tried to justify himself.

Liwei nodded, "That's fair."

"Then can you tell me... how would it save me ?"

"Well, it's not just any pond. It's... magical. Only by throwing you inside, I could stop the bleeding and restore the qi energy [1] you lost."

Lan felt ashamed for thinking she was cruelly finishing off the one that helped her. He scratched the back of his head.

"So that's how it is... Sorry."

"Come on, it's nothing." she smiled.

He nodded. "Then what happened afterward ?"

"Then someone helped me and gave you your original form back. The process of changing form is already complicated, but it is even more so if you change from a small creature to a bigger one, and if you were in a certain shape for a long time. In your case, it's both. So yes, despite turning back into a human, your organs or physical body, or even energy weren't used to work anymore. If you were conscious, you would have suffered several internal injuries, so we had to put you in a coma. You would naturally wake up on your own once you had fully recovered."

Lan assimilated everything, as he nodded slowly. In the book, the Immortal took a year to make a comeback, but he took only five months. In other words, not even half of the time it should have taken !

Liwei said that the time spent being in the snake's form affected the healing process. However, Lan had just transmigrated and spent only two days in this form. The original Immortal spent a few years like that, and his magical skill were taken into account ; thus, even a year counted as a fast recovery for him, while five months would count as slow for Lan.

He thought he should have inherited these skills as well, if he transmigrated into this characters. But why did he not ? However, he didn't lose hope, thinking that he eventually would, with time.

"I see." he answered. "Thank you for saving me."

"You saved me first, didn't you ?"

Lan felt a bit embarrassed, and could only smile.

"Anyway," she stood up, "I'll bring you some food."

Now that she said that, Lan realized how hungry he was.

"All right."

She walked out, and quickly came back, holding a tray. There was a bowl from which steam erupted, along with a few plates. Lan could only see what it was once she put it on the small table by his bed. The bowl contained porridge, while the plates had vegetables, grilled beef, a few side dishes, and some dumplings. There was a spoon and a pair of chopsticks too.

"It's not much, but I didn't expect you'd wake up now." she awkwardly said.

"No it's very good !" Lan smiled at her.

Her expression froze almost unnoticeably before she nodded once.

"O- okay, then... I'll let you eat calmly. If you're done and need anything, just ask me."

"Thank you !"

"No problem."

She left the bedroom again. Lan's mind was completely empty, as he started eating. Everything was delicious ! Perhaps he was eating too fast, but he was so hungry that he couldn't slow down. Thankfully she served him a lot of each dish. As an Immortal, he didn't need food to survive. However, Lan couldn't be said to be a complete Immortal yet, so he still needed it. And Liwei, for whatever reason, she knew he needed it too, and probably guessed he'd be famished upon waking up.

As he was chewing on the meat, his mind refocused on what was happening around him, as he heard violent knocks on the front door. He was startled and chewed slower.

Liwei went to open the door.

"What do you want now ?" she asked coldly.

The woman at the door was glaring at her, her eyes filled with killing intents. She barged into the house, and slammed the door behind her. She had harshly bumped on Liwei when she walked in, which caused her to be ejected a few steps away.

"Oi, how can you just walk in however you please !"

"Are you done being ridiculous ?" that woman said.

"I'm not done. I told you I didn't want you here already."

"You don't really have a choice, do you ?"

Liwei scoffed, "I said I'll accept your help, but I don't remember saying I'll allow you in my house."

"I don't care about this slum of yours !"

"Then what do you care about ?"

There was a hint of something in her tone as if she was insinuating that she knew what the other party cared about.

"And you ? Between you and me, who is the being the weirdest by doing this ?"

"You. This is all your fault."

"Are you always so quick at pointing fingers ?"

"I'm not hearing that from you, am I ?"

"You are."

"But I'm not listening. Just tell me why you've been harassing me since this morning."

"Because you can't keep doing this ! It's been five months and you're not letting me know anything ! Do you think you own him ?"

"Didn't I tell you that I didn't trust you ?"

"Because you think you're more trustworthy than I am ?"

"Yes."

Lan could only faintly hear what Liwei was saying, and only caught a few words, as she spoke in a low voice. He couldn't even identify the tone she used. On the other hand, the unknown woman was talking loudly and yelling sometimes, so he could hear her clearly, and guess that they were arguing about him.

However, the voices faded. He waited for a while, but didn't hear anything more.

From his room, he couldn't know that Liwei purposely walked away as the woman was asking her question, so by the time she answered, they would be far enough for him to not hear anything more. She was worried about what the woman would say, since she didn't know that Lan might hear them.

Lan tried to associate what he heard with the few details he knew from the book. In this arc, it was said that he had been saved by some Immortals. Outside the bedroom were two ladies, and Liwei had told him that she managed to save him and give him his appearance back with the help of someone.

Could it be that the Immortals mentioned in the book were the two of them ?

~

[1] Qi energy : The "vital energy" that guides someone's physical and mental process, and maintains the body's ability to regulate its internal environment to create good health.

(Cr. : Dr. Jill Blakeway.)