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Translator: Tamon
Snakes had an average lifespan of ten years. The most an Awareness Stage demon snake could live was a little over twenty.
Being ten-odd years of age meant turning old and feeble. Xu Hei would’ve known if he was close to death.
His dexterity improved with time, proving old age was far away.
[Is this woman rambling? You’re the old one, hag!] Xu Hei cussed.
But then he widened in realization. [To be called the Old Snake King means I’d have to be alive for a long time.]
Xu Hei got so used to being called like that that he didn’t bother to ask himself why.
“Am I that old? Why even call me such?” Xu Hei frowned, feeling something was off.
He spread his Divine Sense. The Valley of Serpents had plenty of snakes similar to his appearance, even identical.
Like that white snake, being of the same kind yet differing only in color.
Xu Hei was a demon, a somewhat ignorant one, but not stupid by any means.
A little critical thinking helped Xu Hei find one likely possibility. His eyes went wide and his breath hiked up.
“No, it can’t be!”
Xu Hei slipped into the water and followed in silence as the humans got closer and closer to the Snake Fruit.
Their timing was perfect, coming on the same day that the Snake Fruit ripened.
The ground rumbled and the water in the puddles rippled.
Xu Hei halted and observed.
The humans stopped, with Zhao Wenzhuo looking tense as his hand held his storage bag tight.
Song Shiyu sneered. “Of course it’ll show up.”
She smiled coldly and jumped back.
The ground burst in her previous place, flinging dirt and mud everywhere as a huge shadow burst out.
It opened its huge mouth and bit at Song Shiyu, its poisonous fangs glinting eerily.
“Old Snake King is here!” Zhao Wenzhuo cried out in shock.
Song Shiyu was ready, her soft hand waved and a golden talisman activated, turning into a soft shield. The black fangs sank into it like it was mud.
“Wha…” Xu Hei focused all his attention on the fight.
The black shadow was a huge snake, with an oval head, light golden eyes, and triangular scales.
It was the spitting image of Xu Hei.
Eight meters long and thick as a trunk, it looked savage with those large fangs. He was like a jumbo-sized Xu Hei.
Xu Hei was shocked watching the snake and the humans.
“He’s the Old Snake King, not me!” It finally dawned on Xu Hei.
His mind had already processed the implications.
For the last decade, this Old Snake King had been running amok and devouring people without restraint, earning his name.
As it grew older, its regular trips to dine on humans subsided, until he hardly appeared at all in the last three years.
It just so happened that Xu Hei rose up in its place, carrying its legacy of eating humans.
Thus he came to be called Old Snake King by humans.
Ignoring size, everything else matched perfectly. One would hardly tell the difference when witnessing their fellow friends being eaten.
Xu Hei’s unique trait was the golden scales on his tail.
He suspected the old one might be his kin. But with snakes having no such concept, being cold-blooded and all, the closest thing to a family they formed was in mating season when they were drawn together.
Outside that, they’d hunt each other out and fight over turf, regardless of kinship.
Not even the Valley of Serpents was except of male snakes fighting for dominance.
“You’re the reason all those snake catchers were after me. I was your scapegoat.”
Xu Hei felt conflicted once it all became clear.
It was the first snake demon he met besides himself.
The Old Snake King lashed out with fury and savagery that not even its old age could diminish. With force and sharp fangs, it crushed Song Shiyu’s golden shield.
The lady took out a copper bell, throwing it as it expanded.
Dong!
It rammed into the Old Snake King and the visible sound waves dazed it.
Song Shiyu threw a dart, but it just clanked against its scales, falling harmlessly to the ground.
“What tough scales! They’ll make for great armor for sure!”
Song Shiyu’s eyes burned with greed. She jumped back while throwing darts.
They could barely sink in and only worked to enrage the Old Snake King.
“Run!” Song Shiyu shouted.
Zhao Wenzhuo was right behind her.
The Old Snake King’s eyes were blind with rage, chasing after them. Song Shiyu threw darts every chance she got, while Zhao Wenzhuo sent windblades with talismans to hinder it, despite leaving only scratches on its tough scales.
With all the stuff thrown as they retreated, it was no different than throwing money!
Every time the Old Snake King got a little too close, he’d be pushed back with the copper bell, ending up stunned for a few moments and buying the two humans precious time.
“Is that a human magic treasure?”
Xu Hei watched with rapt attention, seeing for the first time a battle between a demon and humans.
The style was nothing he’d seen before.
One side used magic treasures and talismans while keeping a safe distance to wear it out. As for the other, it kept chasing and trying to close the distance to use its melee superiority.
Demon bodies were tough, killing cultivators in an instance once too close. Ding Hai was the prime example, gravely injured from a single demon bear swipe.
Xu Hei only fought demons up close and personal, having yet to fight with human cultivators.
He mused. [How would I fare if I was stuck in its position, unable to get close?]
The humans had a Swift Talisman stuck to their feet to boost their speed and even earn a good deal of hang time. A rough estimate told Xu Hei they were running at half his full speed.
As only Song Shiyu used her magic treasure all this time, Zhao Wenzhuo had to be holding back.
The two were too coordinated, too smooth, making it obvious they had more aces up their sleeves.
“What to do? Do I help, or do I eat the Snake Fruit and flee?”
Xu Hei was at a crossroads. The Snake Fruit needed a bit more time to ripen. It offered little benefit eating it now when its energy was chaotic.
If pushed, he’d rather ruin it than let humans have it.
The two humans and snake reached the edge of the valley and were still fighting; the rumbling of their battle traveled all the way to him.
“Alright, guess I’ll help, since he’s a fellow demon snake.” Xu Hei followed in silence, swimming closer.
Just then, the Snake Fruit Tree had a reaction.
“Who did that?”
Xu Hei glared and darted around at once.
A youth in gray, carrying a basket on his back and a hoe in hand, was at the Snake Fruit Tree.
The youth’s basket was filled with plants, most likely a gatherer having gone into the mountain. He also had realgar smeared all over.
He struck the ground beneath the Snake Fruit Tree to dig it up. He worked fast and precise, like he’d planned this.
Xu Hei was too far to stop him.
With the Snake Fruit Tree the size of a human, the gatherer hoisted it on his shoulders and carried the heavy load away.
He caught his breath and ran to the other side of the valley, wanting to leave the same way he came.
“Mission accomplished. This should sell for a pretty coin.” The gatherer thought he’d picked up a random spiritual herb.
“Bastard!”
Xu Hei’s eyes were icy, shooting at full speed and swallowing the guy whole.
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Pretty funny so far, thank you