4 Shadow Snake

"Since you aren't complaining, I'll call you Ai Xi then. I'll be in your care!" Li Changsheng reached out his right hand.

Ai Xi studied the hand before her and looked at Li Changsheng curiously. Unaccustomed with the ways of humankind, she stuck her tongue out and gave the hand a kitten-like lick.

Exasperatedly shaking his head, Li Changsheng took the tiger's paw in his right hand and shook it as Ai Xi watched on inquisitively.

Having had enough fun teasing Ai Xi, Li Changsheng stopped. After all, being on the outskirts of the forest did not mean they were safe from danger.

However, rather than recalling Ai Xi to the demonic pet dimension, he simply held her in his arms as he made the trek home.

Li Changsheng was not taking a leisure walk; he stayed alert the whole way home. The wilderness was filled with wild demons, after all. 

Even though Ai Xi had great potential, before it could develop that potential into genuine strength, it was unlikely it could defeat any stray wild demon.

After a considerable amount of walking, the exit to the forest finally appeared before them. However, Li Changsheng suddenly stopped in his tracks. His left ear twitched as he picked up something abnormal in the distance.

His senses had been heightened ever since he became a demon tamer, which allowed him to easily detect any potential danger.

Howl~

At the same time, Ai Xi seemed to realize something was up and howled softly at the bushes not too far away.

Chuff~

There was a sudden rustling of leaves from the bush and, with a whoosh sound not unlike that of a fired arrow, a long and slim black shadow shot out right at Li Changsheng's face.

Li Changsheng made a split-second decision to crouch down, evading the black shadow by a hair.

After dealing with the sneak attack, Li Changsheng quickly turned around to identify the assailant.

A three feet long ebony snake with a head like an inverted triangle slithered before him, its eyes icy and harsh, gleaming with murderous intent. 

Having failed its surprise attack, the snake curled up instead of making a quick escape. Its forked tongue was hissing between the faint corners of what must be its venomous fangs.

Quickly deploying his omniscience, Li Changsheng instantly retrieved the ebony snake's details.

[Demon Name]: Shadow Snake

[Demon Level]: Lower 2nd Order

[Demon Class]: Low-Class Servant 

[Demon Grade]: Inferior Grade

[Demon Bloodline]: None

[Demon Type]: Dark

[Demon Condition]: Healthy

[Demon Weakness]: Light

The Shadow Snake. Venomous, known to roam in dark places, strikes mainly with sneak attacks.

Howl~

Ai Xi howled faintly at the Shadow Snake again before tensing her limbs to pounce.

"It's ok, Ai Xi. Stay still, I'll deal with it!"

Li Changsheng shook his head, Ai Xi was still too young. It had yet to receive any training and was no match for the Shadow Snake. Not to mention how much trouble it would be if it accidentally got itself poisoned in the process.

Although it felt indignant, Ai Xi obeyed Li Changsheng's order and retreated a few paces away.

Zing~

Li Changsheng drew his dagger and circled the Shadow Snake with small steps, looking for an opening.

Though the demon tamers' main ability was to temper demons and make them pets, it did not mean demon tamers were helpless and vulnerable. Becoming a demon tamer rewards individuals with heightened senses and physical capabilities in addition to the development of their omniscience.

On top of that, Shadow Snakes mainly attacked with ambush strikes, which would have been a problem for Li Changsheng if it hid in the dark. However, the battle was in broad daylight and the snake had essentially thrown away its biggest advantage. That certainly made dealing with the Shadow Snake easier

Despite his superhuman abilities, Li Changsheng did not take his opponent lightly. He would still be in life-threatening danger if the Shadow Snake's struck him with a venomous bite.

The Shadow Snake started to get agitated after the extended period of confrontation and, by contracting and expanding its body, it once again shot itself into the air like a black arrow toward Li Changsheng.

The Shadow Snake unhinged its jaw as it shot itself forward, its four sharp venomous tips poking out of its mouth.

Li Changsheng squinted his eyes slightly as his body reacted instantly. He twisted himself sideways, easily evading the Shadow Shake's bite.

Li Changsheng turned his entire body with momentum as the snake shot past him. With his eagle-like eyes locked on his target, he flicked his wrist and threw his dagger.

The series of actions was one that required the flawless coordination of his eyes and his hands. Any mishap, however infinitesimal, could potentially cause the battle to end in instant defeat.

It was almost as if the Shadow Snake sensed that it was in danger, but it did not have any leverage midair. Inevitably, the dagger pierced precisely into the Shadow Snake's body, nearly cutting it in half.

Seeing his attack hitting its mark, Li Changsheng mindfully took a few steps backward, creating more space between himself and the snake to prevent it from getting a chance to counter-attack.

The Shadow Snake hit the ground and writhed in pain, its strong desire to cling to life was the only thing that kept him alive.

Yet before long, the snake stopped writhing and its tail slumped at a weird angle.

Even then, Li Changsheng still kept his guard up and tossed a rock at the Shadow Snake.

Bang!

On cue with the dull impact of the rock, the previously lifeless Shadow Snake began to shift around vigorously. As it bit down on the rock thrown at it, the fishy scent of splattered venom wafted through the air, accompanied by the sizzling sound of corroding rock.

Be it a snake or snake-like demon, they were prone to responding to stimuli post-mortem as long as their olfactory system atop their head was intact. If someone carelessly approached and touched it, well, the result would not be pretty.

Li Changsheng proceeded to throw a few more rocks at the Shadow Snake and only made his way across to pick up its body after confirming that it was truly dead. He positioned the snake into a straight line and retrieved a bamboo container from his backpack. With his right hand, he wrung the end of the snake's tail and caught every drop of dark red liquid that trickled from it in the container.

Most demon corpses had quite a bit of value, and the Shadow Snake in particular was a widely sought ingredient in the manufacturing of Yin supplements due to the high Yin concentration in its blood.

After collecting the last drop of blood, Li Changsheng flipped the dagger and cut the Shadow Snake's body apart to retrieve its demon core, which was roughly the size of a fingernail, and its gallbladder.

The gallbladder was also a useful ingredient in medicine, while the demonic core could be ingested by other demons of the same element to speed up their growth as it was a pure source of demonic energy.

However, due to the difference in their types, Ai Xi had no interest in the Shadow Snake's demon core.

Li Changsheng packed everything into his bag and collected Ai Xi in his arms again. A warm, gentle breeze caused Li Changsheng's clothes to flap as he took the small path shaded by foliage among more foliage.

After about half an hour, Li Changsheng finally made his way out of the woods. Accompanied by the sight of the setting sun above the horizon, he spotted a city ten or so miles away. 

Surrounded by 20 feet high walls and a moat, the quaint city was known as Nero City. Situated within Estuary County, where the hustle and bustle of major cities were non-existent, was the base camp of the Li Clan. 

Li Changsheng's clan was not a very powerful one, and if there was anything they had to brag about, it would be the land they had. Even if they expanded their county into a state, the Li Clan would still be third-rated in terms of power when compared to others. However, on this small acre of land that was Nero City, the Li Clan had a substantial amount of authority.

Due to the number of clan members and the fact that Li Clan's headquarters was set up in the city suburbs, as well as how the Li Clan had accumulated over hundreds of acres of land in the span of tens of generations, the place was also known as the Li Manor.

Li Changsheng took a deep breath and took the road he was nothing if not familiar with. Setting a brisk pace, he made his way toward Li Manor.