Chapter 13 The Word in the Scroll_1

The scorching sun was like fire, the day fiercely hot.

In a copse of trees, Yibai found refuge.

He had left the Land Temple, and without much thought, he plunged into the woods.

The discomfort of the sun's rays was something he preferred not to experience.

'What exactly is this thing that the Land Deity gave me?'

Yibai had already come to terms with the bizarre experience of the previous night, and he began to wonder what the object on his head could be.

With a light flick of his snake's head, the white paper scroll atop his head fell down.

Snap!

The scroll hit the ground, unfurling naturally, the scent of paper assaulting his senses.

Yibai gazed with wide eyes at the paper scroll on the ground.

The scroll was blank aside from a single character written at the center.

This character...

Yibai couldn't understand it.

Couldn't make heads or tails of it.

If he had hands, he would undoubtedly be scratching his head in confusion.

The character on the scroll had a "于" on the left and a letter "J" on the right.

Yibai didn't understand what it was.

Could it be that the Land Deity carelessly gave him trash that was actually useless?

While Yibai struggled to understand, he suddenly felt a warmth in his belly. Looking down, he saw that the tiger-shaped pattern on his abdomen scales, which he had acquired unexpectedly, was glowing.

As the tiger pattern glowed,

Yibai witnessed a miraculous scene.

The scroll before him seemed to etch itself into his mind; he could clearly perceive this character that appeared in his thoughts.

'于J'

That was the shape of the character.

In an instant, Yibai understood the meaning of the character, which had the pronunciation 'a'.

Pronounced like the letter 'a'.

Yibai felt muddled, but the scroll in front of him spontaneously combusted, quickly turning to ashes that danced away on the wind.

'What exactly is this thing? What did the Land Deity give me?'

Yibai couldn't figure it out.

But this was not the only thing he couldn't understand.

He had no idea what the tiger pattern on his abdomen was either.

Yibai felt a headache coming on.

But he thought he shouldn't dwell on these things too much; he should find a suitable place to live first.

Since coming down from Dayin Mountain, he had nowhere to go.

'The Land Deity told me to head east, where the Hu Family Lands lie, a place seldom visited by anyone.'

'Could this Hu family be demons too, Hu... perhaps a transformed fox spirit?'

Yibai pondered.

With nowhere else to go, he could only try heading there.

Perhaps he could find a small pond or something to reside in for the time being.

Yibai no longer had time to ponder the strange character in his mind.

After all, the character was in his head, and he could look at it anytime.

Once Yibai confirmed that the direction in which the sun was rising was east, he decisively twisted his serpentine body and swiftly set off in that direction.

...

Yibai didn't know how long he had been traveling.

Initially, he could see many humans carrying hoes walking along the dirt roads.

But gradually, he saw fewer and fewer humans until the dirt roads became impassable.

Beyond that point were dense trees, vines everywhere, and scattered rocks.

Such terrain was unnavigable for the average person.

But for Yibai, it was still like walking on flat ground.

Yibai weaved his way through.

Soon, he arrived in a forest of giant trees.

The environment of this forest of giant trees pleased him, as it was dark and eerie, with immense leaves interlocking above his head, preventing any sunlight from penetrating.

'The environment here is quite nice. I don't know where the Hu Family is, but this place is quite suitable for my residence.'

Yibai looked around and thought with satisfaction.

Every tree here is exceptionally large, with a girth that would take five or six people to embrace, yet I don't know the type of trees these are.

He was very pleased with this place.

Yibai was about to find a comfortable spot to make his home.

But suddenly, he sensed something and instantly went on the alert, his body tensing, ready to attack at any moment.

Many faint wisps of black mist appeared within his line of sight.

These black mists were swiftly converging towards him.

Monster Qi is black!

Many minions were closing in on him.

Roar...

Yibai opened his mouth and let out a fierce roar, his Monster Qi surged out, flickering intensely, warning the newcomers.

To say he wasn't nervous would be impossible.

It had been a while since he had crossed over, and he had not yet fought with any demons; he did not know how other demons fought.

Under his vigilant gaze,

a number of foxes ran over from all directions.

The fur of these foxes was a mix of colors—white, gray, black, and yellow, with some showing all four colors.

Yibai looked around and saw about a hundred foxes.

But only a few of them had Monster Qi emanating from them.

This meant that only a few foxes were spiritually enlightened.

Having Monster Qi is a sign of enlightenment!

Being newly enlightened, Yibai was not afraid of these few foxes.

It was a joke. He, a snake that was six to seven zhang long, afraid of a few foxes?

Yibai opened his huge mouth, revealing his sharp fangs, eager for a test.

But the next second,

Yibai instantly dropped all manner of attack posture and closed his gaping jaws.

He saw ahead of him a surge of Monster Qi that was extremely thick.

Compared with that Monster Qi, his own seemed as weak as a fart.

A Great Demon was coming!

Yibai outwardly dropped his combat stance, but inside, he was extremely nervous, ready to flee to the Red Moon World at any moment.

Before long, a fox with dull gray fur approached.

Why say approached by walking?

Because this fox walked over on its own!

This fox walked on two legs like a person, its front paws like human hands, crossed behind its back, looking old and feeble.

For a moment, Yibai had difficulty distinguishing whether it was a fox or a human.

"Dragon kind, why have you entered the Hu Family Lands?"

The old fox spoke in a human tone, articulating human speech.

"Immortal Hu, I had no intention of entering the Hu Family Lands. I was merely passing by and meant no harm. I beg Immortal Hu's forgiveness."

Yibai took quite a humble stance.

After all, a snake must bow its head under the eaves.

As for why he addressed the old fox as 'Immortal Hu' rather than something else,

there was naturally a reason for that.

When demons addressed each other, they tended to choose an auspicious greeting, honoring the other party.

There are many nicknames for foxes, with terms like Mountain Demons describing them; they are also called by names like Yegan and Azee, which are nicknames for foxes.

But to choose an auspicious greeting, it was inappropriate to use these terms.

An honorific is used to wish the other party well, and 'Immortal Hu' was the suitable form of address to offer congratulations.

"You dragon kind..."

The old fox sized up Yibai in a human-like manner.

Seeing this, Yibai couldn't help but feel wary; he couldn't be sure that the old fox would let him go.

After all, he had mistakenly entered someone else's territory.

If they expelled him by attacking, it wouldn't be too much to ask...