Chapter 6: Attack

Looking at the blazing campfire, Xu Yuan sighed softly, then chuckled lightly.

No matter how intricate the original "Cangyuan" storyline became, it would always remain just a game—impossible to capture every facet of a complete world.

In this realm of extraordinary powers, many of the familiar rules from the past had become mere jokes for others.

Illness didn’t necessarily require medicine; hypothermia in the wild didn’t always demand a fire to warm oneself.

Xu Yuan considered himself a highly adaptable person, yet the fundamental shift in world logic still momentarily disrupted his accustomed thought patterns.

His mind drifting, he glanced at the massive python coiled at the cave entrance.

This great serpent had been watching him since he awoke—staring at him as if it recognized his face.

No deep contemplation was needed. Though the transition from 2.5D pixel art to first-person real-time perspective had dramatically altered its appearance, Xu Yuan still roughly guessed what kind of creature this massive python was.

Yanling Python.

A relatively rare elite fire-type monster with a degree of intelligence, capable of being tamed into a pet, and later nurtured into a Yanling Jiao.

Back in the game, taming such a giant serpent was simple—just defeat it. A grotesque, lustful, cowardly beast.

Xu Yuan didn’t find such a crude, lowly creature worthy of being a pet. But the Yanling Liquid it produced? That was something valuable. When used as an auxiliary ingredient in elixirs, even in the game’s later stages, it remained useful.

Currently, he couldn’t craft elixirs himself—but the Yanling Liquid was a direct, usable celestial treasure.

Recalling the description from the formula book, Xu Yuan’s eyes flickered slightly.

"Yi Jing to purge the marrow, dispel cold ailments, nourish yin and strengthen yang. Serpents are naturally lustful—slightly stimulating, with a mild aphrodisiac effect..."

At this thought, Xu Yuan suddenly remembered—this substance was also one of the key ingredients in the famed "Hehuansan," the ultimate aphrodisiac in the corrupted worldline.

He glanced down at the water pouch in his hand, instinctively turning his gaze toward the other person in the cave.

Ran Qingmo, having finished what she had done, simply sat silently on the opposite side of the cave, legs folded, eyes closed, radiating a cold, detached presence that could be felt from afar.

Xu Yuan withdrew his gaze, silently placing the water pouch back.

The Yanling Liquid was indeed a fine substance—but under current circumstances, he had to drink sparingly. Otherwise, if that massive ice block decided to chop him into pieces, he’d have no place to cry.

Thinking about all these chaotic things, Xu Yuan patted the damp silk robe clinging to his body and stood up, preparing to ask the giant python at the entrance to help dry it out.

Clothes soaked with moisture could dry quickly without needing fire—indeed, in a certain sense, it was far more convenient than any dryer from his previous life.

Xu Yuan’s slow footsteps failed to draw the attention of Ran Qingmo; she remained still, eyes closed, in quiet meditation.

As he approached, his gaze met the enormous vertical pupils of Yan Ling Python. He realized how remarkably adaptable he truly was.

At first, he had been startled—now, he could look into those eyes with calm assurance.

Between the man and the serpent, Xu Yuan raised a finger, pointing at his own robe.

The python merely remained still, staring at him without moving.

Xu Yuan took a deep breath and then pointed toward Ran Qingmo beside him.

A hint of human-like disdain flickered in the python’s vertical pupils. Then, with genuine intent, it opened its mouth and extended its tongue.

As the tongue emerged, a wave of dry, scorching warmth rushed over him, and the moisture on his robe evaporated at a visible, rapid pace.

The scorching wave carried by the cobra's fang warmed the skin, soothing and comforting.

For a moment, the cavern fell into absolute stillness.

And just as the embroidered robe upon Xu Yuan was about to be fully dried,

chaos erupted!

The great eyes of Yanling Python—normally docile and timid—suddenly flashed with a mad, murderous intent. The cobra's fang, expelled in a sudden burst, transformed into a fleeting shadow, lashing out with a wave of searing heat straight toward Xu Yuan's head!

Such a colossal assault, if it struck, would leave Xu Yuan's skull shattered—there was no possible chance to evade it.

This time, Xu Yuan saw it, yet the ordinary body of a mortal could not possibly dodge such a swift attack.

The scent of death surged like a tide, engulfing him. He could only watch as the cobra fang, like a hammer forged from iron, slammed into his head with a rush of wind.

At the very moment of life and death,

a sudden blade of blue light tore through the space, instantly devouring the spreading heat with an unceasing wave of icy cold.

And that black silhouette had already materialized before him, moving at a speed invisible to the naked eye.

"Crack—"

A sharp snap, and the long, thick fang of the serpent was severed, landing with a cold silence upon the ground. The remaining nerves caused the severed fang to writhe violently upon the stone.

A moment of stillness fell within the cave.

"Screech—!!!"

A piercing cry of agony erupted from the colossal body of the Yanling Python, which began writhing violently, shaking the very walls of the cavern.

Before Xu Yuan, Ran Qingmo's serene eyes stared calmly at the great serpent, her hand gently resting upon the hilt of her sword. With a casual flick of her blade, she struck.

In silence, a slicing gash spanned across the inner wall of the cave entrance. Through this incision, the gloomy rainy sky beyond became clearly visible.

And the Yanling Python, which had been writhing at the entrance, suddenly froze in place.

Ran Qingmo sheathed her sword, turned slowly toward Xu Yuan:

"What... are you doing?"

With the soft, delicate tone of the woman, the head of the Yanling Python behind her was severed at an angle, slipping silently downward...

"........"

Xu Yuan stared at the scene before him, silent. He bit down hard on his lower lip.

There was no relief at being saved. Instead, a deep, icy chill crept up his spine.

The Yanling Python was a beast of high intelligence, prone to lust and fear of death—any chance to survive would be fiercely clutched, and it would never risk dying to retaliate. Yet this particular Yanling Python had, in the very presence of Ran Qingmo, attempted to kill him despite all odds.

Xu Yuan clenched his fists tighter and tighter.

It could only mean one thing: something deep within, something born of genuine terror, had driven it to act in such a desperate way.

Gazing upon the massive corpse of the Yanling Python, Xu Yuan suddenly felt a pang of dread.

Had the young Lan Qingmo ventured out to gather firewood just now, and if she had rashly entered the range of this Yanling Snake's attack, perhaps by the time she returned, he would already be nothing but a corpse.

In the storyline of "Cangyuan," the third son of the Xu family died nine times—each in a different manner—on the road to being kidnapped by Lan Qingmo. Each death was distinct.

Due to Lan Qingmo's lack of common sense and oversight, hypothermia was merely one of them.

Drowning while drinking from a shallow stream less than half a meter deep, falling from a cliff, having his head struck by a wooden stick—these were the various misfortunes that befell the third son across different timelines.

These absurd fates were often mocked by players, yet now Xu Yuan could not smile.

Now, upon reflection, these abstract deaths bore no difference from the suicide by gunshot he had endured in his previous life.

It wasn't an accident.

Someone had intended for him to die within the vast Wanheng Mountains.

The rain outside continued to fall, the sky dark and oppressive.

Xu Yuan exhaled deeply, lifting his gaze to the black-clad woman before him, and took a long breath:

“Ran sir, we need to talk.”