The uneasiness he felt gradually dissipated as he watched the white fox scratch its own body adorably. It was a small five-tailed fox with snow-white fur and clear blue eyes. He moved forward a few steps to get a better look at it, but it was seemingly sharp enough to perceive his presence. Hence, it ran away.Completely disregarding his wounds, he chased the five-tailed fox deeper into the forest. Unfortunately, it was too fast for him, and it eluded him in the blink of an eye. He bent down with his hands on his knees as soon as he stopped running, looking around and breathing heavily, but the five-tailed fox was nowhere to be found."That was fast," he mumbled. After a minute of cooling down, he decided to return to the tree where he had been sitting earlier, but he could not seem to remember which direction he had run in. He kept looking around for a way back, but he got even more lost the further he wandered around the forest.The forest was dense, and there were barely any openings above for the sunlight to pass through. As he kept searching for his way back, he heard a rustle of leaves behind him. His pace gradually slowed, and he turned to look in its direction, but no one was there.Another rustle in the opposite direction made him turn once more, but there was no one there either. He took a few steps backward and gulped with a tense smile on his face. He could sense impending danger. "Hehe, it appears that I am unlucky today..."He began to tiptoe out of the area when a crimson serpent suddenly fell in front of him. His eyes dilated instantly, and he nearly screamed. Fortunately, he was able to restrain himself.He stared at the serpent, wide-eyed, for a few seconds before turning around slowly and carefully, this time to tiptoe in the opposite direction, but another terrifying sight made his blood run colder—a pack of crimson serpents was blocking the way."Seriously, is this place a den of serpents?" he thought as he watched them crawling and slithering on the ground. These deadly serpents were about six feet long. Their scaly skin shimmered like blood, and their tongues kept flicking out as if tasting the air.For someone like him who had resided in a modern city where such creatures were rarely seen, it was terrifying. Furthermore, he was in a world he was unfamiliar with, so he had no idea how dangerous these creatures were in comparison to the ones in his world. What if they possessed supernatural abilities? What if they had the ability to fly or speak? He had no idea, so he had to flee now.However, there was one thing he suddenly realized as he was about to take a step. He returned his gaze to the serpents and saw their menacing eyes locked on him."Wait, they can see me?" He groped for the concealing talisman on his shoulder, and he immediately broke out in a cold sweat upon realizing it was no longer there."Hehe..."He gaped at them for a moment with a tense face before rushing away like a scared rabbit. The serpents crawled fast after him as well. Some were in the tree, slithering effortlessly like flowing water, pouring themselves across the leaves and branches, and attempting to match the speed of their prey.Fen Lei's arms flailed as he ran awkwardly fast. His face was wrinkled with fear, both eyes and mouth wide open as he cried for help, "Ah! Help! Help me!"The serpents were about five meters away. He kept screaming and running in random directions, hoping to get away from them. Unfortunately, these creatures were far too fast for an ordinary snake to keep up with.As he ran, screaming his lungs out, another serpent appeared in his path, but a rush of adrenaline seemed to flow through his feet. Thus, the serpent was thrown flying by his kick a split second later.It was too late when he realized he had reached the cliff. His pace gradually slowed as he gaped miserably at the dead-end; he had nowhere to run. The serpents halted as well, seemingly pleased with their prey's helpless situation."Stop! Do not come close!" He flashed his palm at them, but they ignored him and kept crawling towards him."O-otherwise," he made a gesture showing a slit to his neck, "you will die!"However, the predators were not deterred and continued to close the gap between them. Fen Lei kept striding backward until he reached the end of the cliff."I know I have been wishing for someone to pursue me, but I am talking about a person! Not a snake!" he cried.If he died in such a ridiculous manner, he would certainly besmirch Li Yuan's image. That was not something he wanted to happen. But what could he do in this situation? Although the body he was using had spiritual energy, how could an ignorant person like him make use of it?He fell to his knees, helpless as he watched the serpents approach. But, just as these starving predators were about to attack, he saw a flying sword coming straight at them. It was too fast, piercing the heads of all the serpents at breakneck speed. It was as if lightning had struck them all at once, dispersing their bodies and instantly turning every piece to ash.Fen Lei was left totally flabbergasted. He was at a loss for words and could only gape at the sword as it flew back in the direction it had come from, disappearing completely into the woods as if nothing had happened.He grimaced in pain as his wounds began to throb again. His body was weakening and his vision was blurring. However, using his remaining strength, he rose to his feet and headed in the direction where the sword had vanished, believing someone was in control of it and hoping to meet them, but after a few steps, he collapsed.As his eyes were closing, he descried a cloaked figure in the distance. He tried to part his eyelids, wanting to recognize the person, but he had no strength left. His vision continued to blear as the cloaked figure approached, until he completely lost awareness of his surroundings.It was already dark when they returned home. Fen Lei still had not regained consciousness since collapsing. Fortunately, He Jin had been able to find him and brought him back to the village to be treated for his injuries. It was also fortunate that the poison had not spread too far throughout his body.He Jin had rescued the victims and destroyed the human spider, but he did not seem convinced, as he had noticed a few oddities he could not untangle.The night was completely hushed. He stood up just as he finished giving Fen Lei the last spoonful of the antidote. Although Fen Lei was unconscious, he managed to get him to drink the entire bottle.He was about to leave the room when he heard him groan softly. He remained standing at the door, looking thoughtfully at him. This was the first time he had looked after someone other than Li Yuan. Or it was more precise to say that he had always refused to care for anyone other than his master.Li Yuan had been prone to injuries and illness due to his frail body. Not to mention, he had always been a selfless person who put others ahead of himself and never knew how to care for his own health. He Jin remembered the times when he used to take care of him. Li Yuan had never returned home unscathed after battling monsters or exorcising ghosts. Or oftentimes, after staying in other towns for a few days to complete his commissions, he would always return home with a fever, scratches, or body aches.He Jin felt the stream of wistful yearning he had been trying to drain from his chest flow again. And the longer his gaze lingered on this unconscious person on the bed, the more helpless he felt, as if he were a dried leaf swiftly drifting away in the flowing water.Unable to endure the gnawing pang in his chest, he turned and left the room silently.The body he had been taking care of remained. Yet the person he had sworn to protect with all his life was no longer by his side.The night had already reached its darkest hour when Fen Lei regained consciousness. He remained on his bed, watching the flame of the oil lamp flicker as he recalled everything that had happened earlier. A new wave of thoughts began to curl and break in his head, and he could not help but sigh, finding this too exhausting to ruminate on.He closed his eyes, intending to resume his sleep to dismiss these thoughts, but he could not seem to fall asleep. He stood up and left his room after a while, thinking about getting some fresh air outside.He went to his usual spot on the riverbank and gazed up at the round, silvery moon hung alone in the sky. It was reflected in the river, making the water sparkle as if it was strewn with glitter.Insect murmurs and river burbles added to the tranquillity of the surroundings. Fen Lei sat cross-legged on the boulder and closed his eyes to begin meditating, but he was not able to concentrate for long as the echoing sound of a flute nearby distracted him a moment later.He opened his eyes and looked northwest, where the sound was coming from. A flame of burning desire to find the one playing the flute ignited within him inch by inch the longer he listened to it, as if he were being summoned, and before he knew it, he was already on his way, running in its direction.The sound of the flute grew closer as he went deeper into the woods. His heart pounded with excitement, and his eyes evinced fervor. In his previous life, he had always loved flute music and admired people who could play the flute.Heedless of the possible dangers in his surroundings, he ran and ran until he made it out of the woods, and he was astounded to discover a vast land carpeted in white flowers.The flowers swayed in the gentle night breeze, as if dancing to the melody of the flute. He was captivated by the flautist, who stood from afar amid the white flowers, playing a spellbinding piece of music on the flute that echoed throughout the glade.The flautist was dressed entirely in a white flowing robe and had long silver hair that fluttered softly in the wind. Unfortunately, Fen Lei was too far away to see this person's face.He stood unmoving as he stared at the silver-haired flautist bathed in moonlight. The sound of the flute was soothing yet distressing. It was sweet yet melancholic. It sang of warmth, while it screamed of regretful longing. And the longer he listened to it, the heavier his chest became, like the gray clouds slowly filling with large droplets of rain.The song ended later, and the flautist's head lowered slightly, as if looking at something among the flowers. Fen Lei narrowed his eyes as he noticed this and stood there watching until a portal opened in front of the flautist.The flautist took one last look at the flowers before entering the portal and disappearing.Fen Lei was intrigued, and thus, he approached the spot where the flautist had previously stood, only to discover a nameless tombstone.