Chapter Five: Can Encountering a Talkative Animal Lead to Some Interesting Tricks?

The moment their eyes met, Feng Xue’s body froze. Those small, black-bean-like eyes seemed to reflect sunlight naturally, yet held an indescribable spark of liveliness.

Feng Xue didn’t know much about snakes, and since white snakes were rare mutants or albinos, he couldn’t immediately tell if this one was venomous. As for reaching for his phone—he had to consider whether that movement might be perceived as a threat by the snake.

In theory, a snake about a foot long wouldn’t normally attack a human, but this was a peculiar species with a lifespan of eight hundred years. Who knew if it had some man-eating cultivation abilities?

Lost in such thoughts, Feng Xue switched to an over-the-shoulder perspective to check the lifespan lock on himself, hoping it would give him some confidence.

The white snake, seeing Feng Xue remain still for a long time, surprisingly acted quite human-like: it raised the tip of its tail to scratch its head, then as if recalling something, transformed into a streak of white light and vanished from sight.

“???” Feng Xue was momentarily at a loss, unable to comprehend the snake’s behavior, but he couldn’t help but feel relieved that no danger had occurred.

“Look on the bright side—this at least proves that beings with lifespans beyond normal bounds do exist in this world.”

Comforting himself, Feng Xue recalled his drone and decisively gave up on continuing the search in the mountains.

He was just an ordinary person. Although he had superpowers, they offered little help in combat. Knowing that such long-lived, possibly supernatural creatures existed was enough for now. As for dealing with them—whether he could handle a creature with centuries of life or even capture or kill it by exploiting weaknesses—he had no means to do so.

With the drone and his special ability called “Lifespan Insight,” finding monsters wasn’t too difficult. But it was clear that first, he needed to enter human society to seek ways to utilize these creatures.

Usually, one might focus more on plants in such situations, hoping to find a millennium-old vermilion fruit or a ten-thousand-year ginseng. The problem was that his “Lifespan Insight” showed theoretical remaining lifespan, not actual age. Animals rarely live beyond a hundred years, so special cases stood out easily. But plants, with their lifespans often in six figures, made it much harder to spot the exceptional ones.

Even if he were lucky enough to find a rare treasure, his ignorance of herbal compatibility meant he wouldn’t dare eat such potent substances raw. Moreover, dangerous beasts might guard these treasures. Though locking lifespan meant he wouldn’t die, injuries or disabilities were still a risk.

With these tangled thoughts, Feng Xue maintained his “Lifespan Insight” and headed down the mountain.

Rustle rustle…

Suddenly, the sound of leaves brushing against each other broke the silence. At the same time, a six-digit lifespan appeared on his screen. Instinctively, Feng Xue turned around, and the white figure once again emerged from the grass.

This time, however, the little snake’s tail was entwined with many leaves and weeds—the strange noise had come from this “burden.”

Seeing Feng Xue stop, the small white snake quickly flicked its tail and began adorning itself. It crookedly placed a small flower atop its head, wrapped its body with grass and leaves stacked like a tower, resembling a straw raincoat. The tip of its tail curled around a branch topped with a thick leaf, held like an umbrella over its head, giving it an adorable, fairy-tale creature vibe.

“What’s going on here?” Feng Xue was bewildered by the snake’s inexplicable behavior. Perhaps it was his imagination, but he sensed a glimmer of expectation in the snake’s black-bean eyes.

As a professional writer, Feng Xue’s mind held a wealth of information. Having read many stories about monsters and spirit beasts, a possibility suddenly occurred to him.

Glancing again at the lifespan locked above his head, Feng Xue finally decided to take a gamble. He took a deep breath and, speaking rapidly as if reciting a script, said:

“You look like a 168 cm tall, slender-waisted, long-legged, raven-haired, egg-shaped-faced high school girl with a beauty spot under her eye, a hint of adolescent angst, piercing eyes, cool exterior but warm inside, occasionally sarcastic, who plays the cello and loves me with unwavering devotion!”

As soon as he finished, a white mist rose, and in the next moment, a figure leapt out from it. Feng Xue felt his collar tighten, then saw a face that perfectly matched his ideal type pressed almost cheek to cheek with his own. The young woman’s face flushed with anger, her eyes blazing with murderous intent—

“Are you crazy? Who taught you to describe me like that? Aren’t you afraid I might be male? Ugh! Even if I’m female, you can’t describe me like that!”

“Uh, can’t I describe personality and clothing?” Feng Xue looked at the plain robe the snake woman wore and sighed in disappointment. Upon hearing this, the snake demon’s eyes widened.

“Is that the important part?”

“Oh, so you want to kill me out of anger? Can you be quick and clean about it? By the way, do you want my heart’s blood for cultivation? Or do you want me whole?”

Seeing his plan to freeload from a demon immortal to aid his own cultivation fail, Feng Xue calmly coaxed her to finish him off without delay.

The snake demon was stunned, then angrily snapped:

“What do you take me for? I’m trying to achieve true enlightenment!”

“Ah, right, right. So, Lady Snake Demon aspiring to true enlightenment, could you please let me down? Or just get it over with quickly?”

Feng Xue’s expression begged only for a swift death, but he had already activated his over-the-shoulder perspective again.

Though he had checked countless times, he couldn’t help sneaking another glance.

But this glance revealed a change.

It wasn’t that the lifespan locked above his head had altered, but on the snake demon’s forehead, besides the six-digit lifespan, a line of small characters had appeared—

[Subject to Oral Description]

As his focus sharpened, the details unfolded:

[After a human provides a specific description, the subject’s form will change accordingly. If described as human, the subject gains “Bone Refinement,” “Speech Capability,” and “Aptitude Enhancement” effects based on their original cultivation, completing their transformation. If described maliciously with degrading traits, the subject loses cultivation.]

“Uh, what?” Feng Xue stared dumbfounded at the golden lock icon before the “Subject to Oral Description” tag. Thinking of his own “Lucky Break,” he suddenly realized that his special powers might be far more complex than he’d imagined.

“So, it really needs my personal experience—or witnessing some surreal event—to crystallize such a tag? But why didn’t I get a [Nine Lotus Treasure Lamp] tag after extending my life? Was it because it was bound to happen, so no lock was necessary? Or is the baseline for lifespan reduction not the person whose life is reduced? Or maybe because I cheated at cards?”

Feng Xue’s mind spun in confusion. Seeing the snake demon also caught in a dilemma, he decided to act decisively and focused on the lock icon before the “Subject to Oral Description” tag.

Click!

Though there was no sound, as if hearing an imaginary click, the lock immediately closed. Ignoring everything, Feng Xue shouted:

“You look like a tiny white snake just a few inches long!”

Bang!

White mist rose again, and a tiny white snake, its tail hooked on Feng Xue’s collar, dangled bewildered on his chest—barely a few inches long…