In the blink of an eye, Xu Xiyan pieced together the purpose behind the men's conversation.
They were spies—sent to investigate the battalion stationed deep in the mountain.
She was injured. Lost. Alone. And the last thing she wanted was to get entangled in something bigger than herself. So, she remained where she was, hiding silently in the underbrush.
But then—
The tall man unbuckled his belt and muttered, "I'm going to pee."
Xu Xiyan's grip tightened on her branch. He was heading straight toward her.
She scanned the area swiftly. She could no longer remain crouched in the open, not without being seen. Pressing herself against the tree, she pulled her arms in, shoulders tight, hoping the trunk would be enough to shield her from his view.
Water splashed onto the ground. Xu Xiyan held her breath, but she could still smell it.
She was extremely sensitive to scents. Even faint traces left behind days ago rarely escaped her notice.
Then she sensed something else.
A soft glide. A shadow in motion.
A jet-black snake slithered down from a branch above—its movement smooth, hypnotic. It slid toward the man's feet.
The tall man sighed in relief as he finished. But when he looked down and saw the snake writhing near his boots—
"AHHH! What the f*ck?!" he screamed and stumbled back, pants half-unfastened.
That was the moment Xu Xiyan knew hiding was no longer an option.
They would see her. And standing still would only make her more vulnerable.
So she stepped out from behind the tree, calm and poised. Her pale face expressionless as her dark eyes settled on the three stunned men.
"You disturbed the snake."
In one swift motion, she jabbed the branch beneath the serpent and flicked it upward. The black snake soared into the air, twisting in flight. As it came back down, she reached up and caught it—effortlessly.
"…Holy sh*t! Holy—what the hell?!" The tall man jumped back again.
His eyes went wide as he watched the girl—this ghost-like child—toss a venomous snake into the air and catch it like it was nothing. The creature writhed in her grip, nearly half a meter long, its scales glinting in the dappled light.
And then—calmly, expertly—she wrapped her fingers around its head.
The snake curled gently around her forearm like a living bracelet, its body tightening in reaction to her touch.
"Black Zaocys snake," Xu Xiyan said coldly. "Extremely venomous. Lucky for you it didn't bite."
She forced the snake's jaw open with a subtle twist of her fingers, exposing the sharp, glassy fangs nestled inside.
"Good fangs. Good venom," she murmured, inspecting it with practiced detachment.