Dressed in casual attire, Jiang Zhou stood with his mouth agape, staring blankly at his surroundings.
Ancient trees towered all around, with the smallest ones having a diameter of several meters and towering tens of meters high.
The twisted and entangled massive roots and vines were even thicker than he was.
Beneath his feet was a thick layer of fallen leaves, while above his head was a dense canopy of overlapping leaves, forming a green dome that blocked out the sky.
Sunlight could only filter through the gaps in the foliage, casting faint greenish light.
"Time travel?"
He couldn't think of any place on Earth with such exaggerated forests.
Moreover, he had just been in the library a moment ago, so how did the world change in the blink of an eye?
"Could it be you?"
Jiang Zhou closed his mouth and looked at the object in his hand.
It was an ancient, yellowed scroll.
He had been on a library date with his new girlfriend, searching for books, when he found this item.
Out of curiosity, he picked it up.
Upon opening it, he saw only a blank, ancient silk surface with nothing on it.
When he tried to put it back, he looked up and saw the current scene.
If someone said there was nothing fishy about this scroll, would you believe them?
Could time travel really be this casual?
Jiang Zhou was quite content with his life and had no desire to time travel.
He had no choice but to hold onto this scroll and examine it closely.
If this scroll was indeed the cause, it would also be his only hope of returning.
But other than four ghostly looking characters, he found nothing else.
He furrowed his brow and stared at the four characters, hoping to discern some clue.
"Ghost, God, Diagram, Record?"
Jiang Zhou sounded out each character and suddenly realized something.
How could he recognize these ghostly characters? It made no sense...
With a mix of surprise and doubt, Jiang Zhou suddenly saw new characters slowly emerging on the previously empty surface of the scroll.
Once again, he inexplicably recognized these characters he had never seen before.
"Command, Reward, Punish, Ghost, Seal, Spirit, Invite, God?"
What the hell is this?
Jiang Zhou was still reeling from confusion when the scroll in his hand suddenly transformed into a beam of light, shooting towards his eyes.
Caught off guard, he felt a chill on his forehead, followed by an itching sensation in both eyes.
What's going on?
Jiang Zhou was startled and quickly pulled out his phone.
As expected, there was no signal.
He opened the camera to take a selfie.
He saw a faint red mark on his forehead.
What the hell?
"Huh? What an interesting magical item."
Just then, Jiang Zhou suddenly heard a pleasant voice coming from his right.
He quickly looked up and saw a majestic white deer standing on the branches of a giant tree.
The enormous antlers were curiously shaped, and the muscular body glowed slightly, exuding a touch of mystery.
On the back of the white deer was a girl in a green dress.
She was very beautiful, with a purity and agility that Jiang Zhou had never seen before.
Jiang Zhou suspected that he was seeing a forest spirit.
"Can you see me?"
The girl, who looked like a spirit, seemed surprised.
She lightly squeezed her legs, and the majestic white deer leaped from the tree and landed in front of Jiang Zhou.
The green dress was short, revealing the girl's fair legs, which were a bit dazzling.
"Can you see me?"
Seeing Jiang Zhou's confusion, the girl lightly furrowed her brows and asked again.
Jiang Zhou opened his mouth and said, "Am I not supposed to see you?"
The girl's delicate brows furrowed, seemingly unconvinced.
She rode the white deer, circled Jiang Zhou a few times.
She found that Jiang Zhou's eyes were following her, never leaving her.
Only then did she stop.
She stared at Jiang Zhou for a long time before tilting her head and saying, "You're definitely a human."
"Weak blood, no magical power, wearing odd clothes, with a bit of the scholar's stink, but no majestic glow, how did you see me?"
What does it mean to be a human? Are you not human?
"That..."
Jiang Zhou was a bit confused: "Of course, I saw you with my eyes, but what exactly do you want to say?"
"Eyes?"
The girl seemed to have thought of something, her big eyes turning: "Could you be born with an enlightened eye?"
Before Jiang Zhou could answer, she clapped her hands: "Yes, with no cultivation, it must be a born enlightened eye, that's great!"
Jiang Zhou noticed that the girl seemed to suddenly become very happy.
Her eyes smiled like two crescent moons, looking at him: "I want you to do something for me."
Jiang Zhou felt like she was calling out to a kitten or a puppy, as if it were a given.
"You're okay, right?"
He didn't like people who were self-righteous.
"You really have some backbone."
The girl seemed to sense his displeasure and smiled coyly before he could speak.
At the same time, she extended a slender white finger into the dense forest.
Jiang Zhou watched in disbelief as a green vine sprouted from her fingertip and shot into the dense forest.
"Roar!"
A deafening roar echoed through the air.
The green vine dragged a colossal creature back, resembling a wild boar with a rhinoceros-like horn.
It was at least three or four meters long.
Yet it was tightly wrapped in a thin green vine, hanging in the air, unable to move.
The girl smiled sweetly at him.
Then the vine grew rows of sharp saw teeth, piercing into the monster's flesh.
"Roar——!"
The monster's agonizing scream pierced the air as Jiang Zhou watched in horror as its robust body quickly deflated like a punctured balloon.
In just a few seconds, the once powerful body turned into a skeleton covered with only a thin layer of wrinkled skin.
"..."
Jiang Zhou remained expressionless, terrified.
The girl didn't see any fear on his face and thought she hadn't scared him.
She furrowed her delicate brows, "Aren't you afraid?"
"..."
Could he not be afraid?
Jiang Zhou wanted to speak, but he found his body had stiffened.
This demoness was a moody lunatic.
He was afraid that if he said one word that didn't please her, she would suck him into a skeleton.
This demoness was definitely a demoness.
Jiang Zhou was about to break down.
Just minutes ago, he was in the library with his girlfriend, immersed in the world of books, feeling content.
How did he end up like this in the blink of an eye?
Suddenly, his forehead felt cool, and a beam of light shot out, transforming into the ancient scroll and slowly unfolding.
From the abandoned monster's skeleton, a faint light orb floated out and merged into the unfolding scroll.
Images appeared on the ancient scroll.
A strange beast was born in the mountains, grew up, and hunted in the deep mountains.
Until it was caught by a green vine, its life ended abruptly.
The image also stopped here, turning into a painting on the ancient scroll with accompanying characters.
[Tuan: An anomalous beast in the mountains, with infinite strength, capable of splitting the earth and collapsing mountains.]
Jiang Zhou also saw that after the image, another row of characters slowly appeared and then slowly disappeared.
[Not evil, not a demon, not for you to slay, no reward]
Jiang Zhou paused slightly.
Could it be...
The command to reward and punish ghosts, is this what it means?
Would he be rewarded by the Diagram of Ghosts and Gods for personally slaying the demons and evils?
"You're not even afraid of me."
The demoness's dissatisfied voice snapped him back to reality.
Jiang Zhou saw that her expression seemed to indicate she had not seen this scene at all.
His silence made the demoness think he was fearless and composed in the face of danger.
The demoness wrinkled her nose, as if she was contemplating something, before she suddenly wore a fierce expression: "Hmph, you do have some backbone, just like those pompous scholars!"
This expression was fierce, but it was more playful than menacing.
Jiang Zhou didn't think so at all. This unpredictable lunatic was truly terrifying, especially since she was a demoness.
Jiang Zhou still remained silent, and the demoness continued speaking, suddenly displaying a look of excitement: "But that's fine, it's more fun this way!"
"What do you think about me casting an heart-devouring curse on you?"