Chapter 324: Beauty Snake

　　Rustle, rustle—

　　That strange, soft sound echoed through the mountains from time to time, now near, now far.

　　Like a leech on the bone.

　　Lu Fei turned around, and he could always catch a glimpse of that eerie long neck flashing through the slippery mountain wall.

　　No matter how fast or slow they moved, that thing followed them closely.

　　"What does that thing want? Lu Fei, let's just fight it!" Jing Jian couldn't take it anymore, stopped in his tracks, and danced his Seven-Star Magic Sword, creating a cascade of sword flowers.

　　"If the enemy doesn't move, I don't move. That thing is too bizarre; I can't figure out what it is." Lu Fei shook his head cautiously, "We haven't reached Dragonfall Cave yet, so we should conserve our strength as much as possible.",

　　"It's not right to let it follow us like this all the time. Who knows when it will strike?" Jing Jian frowned.

　　When the woman saw the four of them stop, her long neck extended from the mountain wall, her grayish-white eyes curiously gazing at them.

　　Her gaze was very strange.

　　There was no malice, instead, there was some excitement, as if she was looking at... playthings?

　　The four of them felt a chill down their spines.

　　"I recall a sort of malevolent being called the beautiful snake," He Yunsong seemed to be recalling something, "While I was reading some ancient texts in my spare time, I came across a description of a spirit that was half-human and half-snake, quite similar to what's following us."

　　"Old Master He, please tell us more," Lu Fei immediately inquired.

　　"In ancient times, unmarried women who passed away were not allowed to be buried in the family cemetery; they could only be hastily buried somewhere outside."

　　He Yunsong glanced back, his voice very low.

　　"If it happened to be winter when she was buried, and there were snakes in the tomb... the snakes would enter the woman's corpse for the winter, and the body would take on the aura of the snakes."

　　"After a winter, the corpse and the snakes would fuse together, turning into a monster that was part human, part snake."

　　"It would look like a dead person on the outside, but its body could stretch and crawl like a snake."

　　As soon as he finished speaking, Jing Jian's eyes widened: "Isn't that exactly what's following us? That neck, stretching so long! Old Master He, what can we do to deal with this thing?"

　　He Yunsong gave a wry smile: "The book didn't say. It only mentioned that women can see the beautiful snake without harm, but men should run if they see it and must not look at it more than three times."

　　Jing Jian froze, becoming tense.

　　It seems he has already met the beautiful snake's gaze twice?

　　"What happens if it's more than three times?"

　　"The book didn't mention it." He YunSong shook his head and sighed, "I never expected there to be such a strange evil spirit in these mountains, really causing trouble for everyone."

　　"Don't say that, Elder He. Rare evil creatures are hard to find, and Sinisterium Pawnshop is in this business. This little danger is nothing."

　　Lu Fei offered a few words of comfort.

　　"Evil spirits in the form of snakes are most afraid of roosters and cats. Unfortunately, we don't have either of those right now."

　　"Then what do we do?" Jing Jian had a grim expression, and the courage he had shown earlier when he was ready to fight the long-necked woman had completely vanished.

　　"Why panic? I'm still here, aren't I?" Lu Fei patted him on the shoulder, "You go ahead and lead the way, I'll watch from behind."

　　"Forget it, leading the way isn't my thing! If something else pops up in front, you think faster than I do!"

　　Jing Jian thought for a moment, controlling his inner agitation, and avoided looking at the long-necked woman in the distance.

　　"Alright then! Call me if you can't hold on anymore! As long as that malevolent spirit doesn't attack us, just ignore it! Uncle Qin said that once we reach the Fallen Dragon Cave, the evil spirits in the mountains won't dare to come near."

　　Lu Fei did not force the issue and waved to everyone.

　　"Let's hurry up and go!"

　　"Okay!"

　　Everyone quickened their pace.

　　Rustle rustle—

　　That beautiful snake kept following, occasionally making a soft rustling sound as its scales rubbed against the stones, causing anxiety in people's hearts.

　　Everyone was on tenterhooks, traveling at the fastest speed possible.

　　The terrain ahead became increasingly lower, and holes of various sizes gradually appeared on the walls on both sides of the mountain.

　　"What are these holes?"

　　The further they went, the denser the holes on the cliff face became, like a honeycomb.

　　"Could it be snakes?"

　　The strong stench of snakes filled their nostrils, and everyone's expressions changed once again.

　　Snake heads of various sizes poked out from the holes, their tongues flickering, and their cold eyes gazed down at them menacingly.

　　"Oh my God! We've walked right into a snake den!" Jing Jian rubbed the goosebumps on his arm.

　　At this moment, the light was getting dimmer and dimmer.

　　Night was falling.

　　"It's definitely not safe to spend the night here. Uncle He, Brother Wu, can you hold on?" Lu Fei became anxious.

　　"We can hold on!"

　　He Yunsong took out a pill, unknown in nature, and put it in his mouth; an air of vitality returned to his weary, aged face.

　　"I'm alright too!" The bodyguard also nodded. His surname was Wu, and his name was Tie.

　　The leg that had been sucked by leeches, although much thinner, was not seriously affected due to timely treatment. With a strong foundation, he could actually move much faster than the old man He Yun.

　　There were snake holes on both sides, and a peculiar beautiful snake was following behind.

　　Everyone unconsciously started running.

　　The sound of hurried footsteps echoed through the dim mountain walls.

　　Rustle, rustle, rustle!

　　A chaotic noise came from behind, and Jing Jian couldn't help but look back, his face immediately changing color.

　　"Oh no! They're chasing us!"

　　A dark swarm of snakes followed behind, crawling out of their holes and pursuing them.

　　The long-necked woman was among them.

　　The deathly gray face stood out, and those grayish-white eyes flickered with an eerie light.

　　Jing Jian hurriedly turned his head, not daring to look any longer.

　　But the next moment, he felt a heavy weight on his feet, unable to run.

　　"Lu Fei..."

　　In the blink of an eye, the long-necked woman had caught up to him, her snake tail coiling around his legs, causing him to lose balance and fall into the midst of the snake swarm.

　　As his skin touched the rough, cold scales of the snakes, his entire body's hair stood on end, and he struggled desperately.

　　The long-necked woman opened her mouth, extending a long, snake-like tongue, and let out a vicious hiss at the snake swarm.

　　To his surprise, the snakes all retreated, not daring to approach Jing Jian.

　　Jing Jian managed to free himself, but as soon as he got up, he was met with the woman's deathly gray face.

　　A similar eerie glow flashed in her grayish-white pupils.

　　Jing Jian's whole body trembled, his mind becoming muddled. He only felt that the woman's face in front of him was becoming increasingly rosy and beautiful.

　　"Jing Jian! Jing Jian!"

　　Lu Fei's shouts became indistinct in his ears. He felt a wave of heat surge through his body and involuntarily reached out to the woman with both hands...

　　"Jing Jian!"

　　Seeing that Jing Jian was entranced, Lu Fei grew frantic with worry. He grabbed the powder given by Old Man Qin and scattered it toward the snake swarm.

　　To his surprise, it worked, and the snakes scattered to avoid it.

　　He quickly ran over, infusing his power into his staff and hit Jing Jian on the back of the head with one strike.

　　Jing Jian jolted, regaining his senses.

　　He discovered the long-necked woman tightly wrapped around him, her expression strange, emitting indescribable moans from her mouth.

　　"Get off!"

　　Jing Jian's pupils trembled with shame and fury, grabbing his life-bound magic sword, channeling his magical power, he fiercely stabbed at the woman.

　　"Ugh!"

　　The woman cried out in pain, her boneless body went limp, and she released Jing Jian.

　　Jing Jian took off running.