Chapter 13: I Am Taller!

Damn it!

Shang Lu was on the verge of cursing aloud; he swung the ox-tail knife sideways, striking the monstrous serpent with the flat of the blade.

Bang—

The strange snake, lunging to bite him, was knocked aside by the ox-tail knife, but Shang Lu did not seize the opportunity to pursue it. Instead, he twisted his body and fled.

Since the creature could not be killed, continuing the fight would only lead to an unfavorable outcome.

The serpent could ignore Shang Lu’s attacks, but Shang Lu could not ignore its assault. If bitten by its venomous fangs or stabbed by its bony legs, he could be poisoned, wounded, or even lose his life.

Even if his agility allowed him to dodge the snake’s attacks time and again, his stamina and blood would be drained in this endless struggle.

Once his strength was depleted, death would be inevitable.

So, while he still had energy, it was best to retreat quickly.

Afraid of being chased, Shang Lu employed the Bird Step from the Five Beasts Vitality Technique, dashing at full speed, pushing his pace to the limit.

At the same time, his eyes widened and ears perked, remaining vigilant for any signs of danger lurking within the strange mist.

Whether by luck or because there was only one serpent in the mist, Shang Lu encountered no further threats during his frantic flight.

But he still hadn’t escaped the uncanny fog.

“How vast is this damned mist?” Shang Lu couldn’t help but curse under his breath.

Suddenly, he halted, bringing his sprint to an abrupt stop.

For he saw, in the hazy fog ahead, a slender upright figure.

Another serpent?

Before Shang Lu could change direction, the slender figure burst forth from the fog.

Its crooked head, body covered in writhing flesh buds, and disorderly bony legs all over proved it was the same death-defying serpent from before.

Damn it, how did it circle back?

He had clearly run in a straight line behind him—how could it return?

Was he caught in some ghostly maze?

Previously, Shang Lu had found himself turning in circles; now it seemed this mist was the cause.

To escape the ghostly trap and leave the mist, perhaps he had to defeat the snake first?

Several thoughts raced through Shang Lu’s mind.

His reflexes were quick; with a flash, he dodged the serpent’s pounce, then swung the ox-tail knife, severing the monster into several pieces once again.

Afterward, he tried various methods—chopping the snake’s body to bits, splitting it from head to tail, even dousing it with a stream of child’s urine.

Yet none of these methods could truly kill the creature.

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It would always “revive” immediately, its shattered body rejoining.

With each rebirth, the serpent transformed, becoming unrecognizable—no longer resembling a snake, but a grotesque, elongated beast riddled with tumors, bone spikes, and upturned scales.

Yet its ferocity and combat prowess hadn’t diminished; in fact, with every “revival,” it grew fiercer and stronger.

“Could it be that only fire can kill this snake? But there’s nothing here to ignite, and the mist is so damp, starting a fire is impossible.”

Compared to the serpent, Shang Lu’s stamina and blood were severely depleted. He was panting, his body wounded in many places—fortunately, none were fatal.

Still, he was poisoned; the bite wounds were swollen, itchy, and painful.

He was lucky the serpent’s venom wasn’t particularly potent, nor did it attack the central nervous system—otherwise, he’d be doomed.

But if this kept up, doom was only a matter of time.

Not only was his strength waning, but his ox-tail knife was chipped and dulled, unable to last much longer.

“Is there truly no way to destroy this serpent?”

As he watched it revive yet again, Shang Lu gasped, unwillingly pondering.

The serpent stood upright once more, its bony legs, scales, tumors, and flesh buds grinding together, producing an almost demonic, piercing cry, repeatedly shrieking, “I’m taller! I’m taller!”

But this time, before the serpent could attack, the oil-paper umbrella Shang Lu had been protecting suddenly flew out and hovered above his head.

The abrupt scene stunned not only Shang Lu but the serpent as well, even halting its chant of “I’m taller!”

The serpent’s head, previously smashed by Shang Lu and regrown, now had two eyes unevenly placed—one midway down its body, the other near its tail.

Both eyes, in their strange positions, stared at Shang Lu, rolling as if measuring his height in comparison.

Suddenly, Shang Lu understood Third Lady’s intention. He shouted loudly, “I’m taller than you!”

Upon hearing this, the serpent’s eyes spun even faster.

It strained desperately to raise its tail, trying to surpass Shang Lu in height.

But no matter how it stretched, it could not reach above the oil-paper umbrella atop Shang Lu’s head.

Ah—

The grinding of its tumors, bony legs, and scales finally ceased chanting “I’m taller,” replaced by a shrill wail.

A foul, bloody mist erupted from its body, and the serpent deflated like a punctured balloon, dissolving into a pool of reeking blood.

This transformation left Shang Lu utterly dumbfounded.

The seemingly unkillable serpent—dead, just like that?

It turned out there was no need to battle it; simply surpassing its height could “enrage it to death.”

Though startled, Shang Lu remained cautious, wary that the snake’s death might yet be another trick, ready to revive in some bizarre manner.

He gripped his battered blade, waited for a long time, even after the oil-paper umbrella drifted down and returned to his embrace, never relaxing his guard.

Not until the mist dispersed and the surroundings reappeared, and the serpent lay motionless after dissolving into blood, did Shang Lu finally breathe a sigh of relief, certain the strange creature was truly dead.

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The serpent’s arrival was bizarre enough; its demise proved equally uncanny.

Recovering his composure, Shang Lu now had time to ponder other matters.

He lifted his head, gazing at Yunhua Mountain.

Under the night sky, Yunhua Mountain looked as usual, nothing out of the ordinary. But Shang Lu recalled information he’d heard in the market.

Back then, he’d sought Old Zhang the hunter to buy sacrificial beasts, but heard from colleagues that Old Zhang’s village had been shrouded in strange mist for some time, preventing anyone from descending the mountain.

Old Zhang’s village was atop Yunhua Mountain!

Was the mist enveloping Old Zhang’s village related to the one that had rolled down here and spawned the serpent?

If so, was Old Zhang and his villagers still alive?

After much deliberation, Shang Lu decided against venturing up Yunhua Mountain to investigate.

If the mountain was indeed plagued by such sinister mist, hidden evil spirits surely lurked within; rushing in would be courting death.

If the spirits in the mist were all as manageable as the serpent that obsessed over height, it might be doable. But if there were more powerful, more sinister beings, with his current strength, he would not survive.

It was safer to return and report to the magistrate, who could then escalate the matter to the Witch Institute for proper handling.

Of course, the report required tact—he mustn’t let the officials, especially Sun Ying and Chief Ma, realize his cultivation had recovered.

As Shang Lu pondered how best to relay the matter, he lowered his gaze to the oil-paper umbrella in his arms and asked, “Third Lady, you knew the method to destroy this serpent all along, didn’t you? You deliberately kept silent, wanting me to practice against it?”

The umbrella was still, and Third Lady made no sound.

But Shang Lu knew his guess was correct.

Otherwise, Third Lady would have intervened at the serpent’s first appearance, defending him immediately instead of waiting until the end.

“Aren’t you afraid I’d mess it up and get killed by this snake?”

After saying this, Shang Lu paused, then laughed.

Third Lady truly wasn’t afraid of his death; only then could they be husband and wife in the fullest sense.

Shang Lu shook his head, abandoning the self-deprecating topic.

He resisted scratching his itchy wounds and walked over to the pool of blood and remaining fragments of bone and scales, considering whether to gather some firewood and burn the remnants to eliminate any future threat.

But beneath the bizarre bone and scale fragments, amid the foul blood, he spotted something incongruous.

Curious, Shang Lu used his ox-tail knife to fish it out from the blood.

It proved to be a dark green serpent’s gall, translucent like jade, utterly at odds with the strange remains of the monster.