Chapter 173: The Cannon Fodder Who Can’t Survive Three Chapters (16)
The struggle between the two consciousnesses caused tremors within the mountain cave. Fortunately, this secluded area of Bei Mang Mountain was far from the city, otherwise, earthquake warnings would have been issued.
When Bei Xing arrived by taxi in the middle of the night, the driver, seeing her destination and the enormous bag she was carrying, looked concerned. “Young lady, the mountains are dangerous at night, are you sure about this?”
Bei Xing, distracted, simply hummed in agreement, glanced at the driver’s face, paid him through her phone, gave him a five-star rating, and headed towards the path Chu Yinxi had shown her. Thanks to the protective talismans she had applied, she didn’t encounter any insects or snakes.
After climbing a few steps, she felt the tremors and called out: “Susu?”
Only the wind answered.
Inside the cave…
The grey mist intensified, suppressing the snake demon’s aura, even Su Jin’s consciousness was being pushed back, and two horns were growing on the black snake’s head—
Its scales, tempered by the clashing energies, gleamed, and small bumps appeared on its underbelly, the beginnings of claws.
The pain intensified their struggle. Sensing Bei Xing’s presence, Su Jin, after a brief communication with the system in her mind, feigned weakness, letting her demonic energy surge, pulling Bei Xing into the cave.
As Bei Xing was engulfed by the black aura, the talismans on her body spontaneously ignited, the explosion deflecting the demonic energy, but the golden light protected her.
The Golden Light Mantra, truly a must-have.
Su Jin had intended to take her hostage, but Bei Xing’s talismans had disrupted her plan, her feigned weakness now genuine.
[System, what are you waiting for? Do you want a new host?]
The system: “…”
It had chosen Su Jin because it knew it couldn’t control Su Mingxiu, but it couldn’t let Su Mingxiu continue like this, so it had found a loophole—
If Su Jin merged with Su Mingxiu and fell in love with Chu Yinxi in this world, Su Mingxiu would fail.
It thought Su Jin was foolish, easily manipulated, if not for the information it had provided about the dragon god’s lost power, Su Jin would have been absorbed by Su Mingxiu long ago.
Now, so close to success, it sighed.
Just as Su Mingxiu’s consciousness was about to overwhelm Su Jin, it left Su Jin’s mind and bombarded Su Mingxiu with useless information, creating chaos!
This was why Su Jin had said that Su Mingxiu couldn’t win.
Su Mingxiu’s consciousness was like a hacker, initially targeting a single, vulnerable system,
But now finding it hidden within a vast network, a needle in a haystack,
And the needle, protected by the network, could strike back at any moment.
The light from the snake’s forehead dimmed. It opened its eyes, looking at Bei Xing, enveloped in a faint golden light.
“Don’t tell me, you’re here to save her?” Su Jin’s voice.
Bei Xing, taking off her backpack, looked at her impassively. Although Su Jin’s golden light wasn’t a threat to her, the talismans were.
But she didn’t show it.
“What have you done to her?” she asked, as if not hearing the mockery in Su Jin’s voice.
“Devoured her,” Su Jin, taking advantage of Su Mingxiu’s momentary confusion, now back in control, even starting to refine the stolen dragon tendon, replied casually, “she tasted quite good, very nourishing, too bad you’re too late.”
Bei Xing clenched her fists, not believing her. “Susu!” she called out.
The light in the snake’s forehead flickered.
Su Mingxiu, giving up on finding the needle, her consciousness returning, a grey mist emanating from the snake’s body, her voice appearing, “Why are you here?”
“I was worried about you.”
Su Jin scoffed, as if seeing a small, vulnerable cabbage trying to save the pig that had just eaten it, oblivious to the other predators lurking nearby.
But Su Mingxiu wasn’t annoyed, only relieved that Bei Xing had brought so many talismans.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine, go home,” she said.
Bei Xing, holding her talismans, had wanted to help, but seeing that Su Mingxiu and the snake were now sharing a body, she realized the situation was more complicated, attacking Su Jin would also hurt Su Mingxiu.
She took a few steps back, hesitant.
Su Mingxiu was about to say something else when the snake’s body started to tremble, the horns growing larger, as if sensing the approaching thunder tribulation, the sky above Bei Mang Mountain rumbling.
Su Jin, cunningly, retreated into the depths of their shared consciousness, relinquishing control to Su Mingxiu.
Su Mingxiu only had time to push Bei Xing into a corner before the snake vanished.
The cave was empty.
Bei Xing was stunned, she had known she might be a burden,
But the third divination had given her a sliver of hope. Now, seeing the snake disappear, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of despair.
Outside, the thunder roared. Bei Xing, unable to see what was happening, searched for an exit, not wanting to be trapped.
Thankfully, she had drawn a Guiding Talisman.
As the thunder subsided, she reached the cave entrance, looked at the dark sky and the flashing lightning, and, knowing that it was dangerous to be near water or trees during a thunderstorm, walked along the deserted road, then, as lightning struck—
She saw it, a massive black shadow against the night sky.
A dragon soaring through the air, no longer a mere snake.
As the lightning struck again and again, something fell from the dragon’s body, Bei Xing couldn’t see what it was, but she knew it wasn’t good.
Her heart pounded, her eyes fixed on the figure in the sky. She ran towards it, then stopped, the talismans in her pockets, now soaked, falling to the ground,
The red cinnabar and yellow paper now smudged and faded.
She stood there, her hand outstretched, as if afraid the figure would fall, ready to catch it.
The night of the tribulation was long.
Her eyes, tired from watching the lightning, she closed them for a moment.
Just then, a talisman in her bag glowed faintly, floating towards the dragon.
“Boom!”
A deafening thunderclap.
Bei Xing jumped, then opened her eyes and saw the dragon, struck by lightning, falling from the sky. The lightning subsided, the darkness seeming to lift slightly.
She ran towards the spot where the dragon had fallen and found a small… creature, neither snake nor dragon, lying in the grass.
Was the transformation successful?
And was Su Mingxiu still there?
She didn’t know, only wanting to protect it. She carefully held it in her arms, called her housekeeper, and, drenched and exhausted, returned home.
Thankfully, her family was asleep. She didn’t even have the energy to shower, but the housekeeper insisted, so she sent the servants away and climbed into the bathtub, falling asleep.
The sound of splashing water woke her.
She leaned against the edge of the tub, opening her eyes, feeling the warmth of the water, the sunlight streaming through the window, then she saw… and her eyes widened.
The black jiao, having successfully transformed, now in its smaller form, was coiled in the tub, enjoying the hot water, the excess spilling onto the floor, the surface covered in bubbles.
Bei Xing, looking at the jiao’s head, hesitated, then called out tentatively: “Susu?”
“Wrong guess.”
The jiao’s upper body transformed into a human form, its tail still swishing in the water, and Su Jin, leaning closer, grabbed Bei Xing’s face, a malicious smile.
She hadn’t mentioned that during the tribulation, she had planned to let Su Mingxiu endure the initial strikes, then, at the critical moment, seize control with the system’s help—
But strangely, during the final strike, both she and the system had been paralyzed, unable to move, forced to watch as the lightning struck Su Mingxiu’s body and consciousness.
The downside was that Su Mingxiu, upon recovering, would be even more difficult to merge with, even with the system’s help.
The upside was that Su Mingxiu, weakened by the tribulation, her consciousness enveloped in lightning, would need time to recover, giving Su Jin an opportunity to… torment the annoying mortal who had interfered last night.
A splash as Bei Xing, pushing her away, chanted the Golden Light Mantra and tried to escape, but the jiao’s tail wrapped around her waist, pulling her back.
A golden light shimmered around her,
But the jiao’s tail easily crushed it, Bei Xing’s mind momentarily blank.
Holding Bei Xing’s waist, seeing the white bubbles clinging to her skin, those hidden and not-so-hidden places, Su Jin thought, for a moment, that this mortal was more alluring than Chu Yinxi.
But only for a moment.
She tightened her grip, enjoying Bei Xing’s gasp, then released her, catching her as she coughed and sputtered, her face flushed, tears streaming down her cheeks.
“So pitiful,” Su Jin said, touching Bei Xing’s feverish skin, watching her cough. “Knowing the consequences, why did you provoke me?”
Bei Xing, coughing and gasping for air, ignoring the pain in her waist, her mind racing,
What to do? How to escape? What about Su Mingxiu?
A plan forming, her fingers, gripping Su Jin’s shoulder, trembling, she looked into Su Jin’s eyes, the red fading, and she whispered, her voice hoarse: “Susu?”
Su Mingxiu, having absorbed the final lightning strike, suppressing Su Jin’s consciousness, smiled, a familiar smile. “It’s me.”
She loosened her grip, gently kissing Bei Xing’s forehead. “Well done.”
Bei Xing blinked, confused,
Then smiled, her arms around Su Mingxiu’s neck. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
Now certain that Su Jin wouldn’t resurface, she looked at Su Mingxiu’s transformed body, the sharp black horns, the white bubbles clinging to her pale skin, her beautiful face, and she could barely look away.
She wanted to touch so many things.
Her cheeks, her lips, her eyelashes.
Her collarbone, her shoulders, her tail.
But she only asked about the horns.
Different from before, now fully formed, hard and gleaming, she wondered what they felt like.
Su Mingxiu’s gaze softened. “Must you touch them?”
“Can’t I?”
Su Mingxiu, her physical form restored, Su Jin’s consciousness suppressed, considered this, then smiled. “I suppose you can.”
She lowered her head, offering her horns.
The black jiao, its malevolence hidden, its noble head bowed, its sacred horns presented to the mortal’s gentle touch.
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