Invincible Snake Emperor

Li Qingzhao was, naturally, a little scared. It wasn’t snakes or anything like that—she was afraid of ghosts and ghouls. A common human failing.

But she was already in too deep. She couldn’t just tell the hundred thousand-plus viewers in her stream that she was scared and was calling it a day.

The higher the risk, the greater the reward. The number of viewers was climbing, skyrocketing at a visible rate.

The young woman was inwardly beaming with joy, and that trace of fear vanished into thin air.

”Goddess, the gate to this mansion is shut tight. How are you going to get in?”

Li Qingzhao gave a sly smile, her eyes twinkling. ”Climb in.”

”Climb?”

The phone screen was instantly flooded with a wave of ”6666.” Watching a delicate young lady scale a wall in the middle of the night was actually pretty exciting.

”Goddess, trespassing is illegal, you know.”

”6666, Goddess, you should change your stream title. Change it to ’Live-Streaming My Burglary Debut’!”

”Hehe, I’ve already called the cops. They’re on their way.”

All sorts of comments poured in. The bullet-screen comments cascaded down like a waterfall, so fast that Li Qingzhao couldn’t possibly read them all. She fluttered her long eyelashes. ”I’m not a thief. I’m here to catch a snake, got it?”

”Don’t you guys want to see what the legendary House Snake looks like, too?”

”If you want to see, then just watch quietly. Otherwise, I’ll just turn off the stream and go look for the House Snake by myself.”

The phone screen was instantly flooded: ”Goddess, we were wrong! Please be careful not to get caught. This is suddenly so exciting!”

Li Qingzhao might look like a delicate girl, but her nerve was anything but ordinary. She said, ”You guys wait. I’m going to climb in first, then we’ll talk.”

The phone screen went black. She put the phone in her pocket and glanced around, feeling a little guilty. The area was still deserted and deathly quiet.

She found a few bricks to stack up. The old mansion’s outer wall wasn’t excessively high, but it was still over two meters tall.

And just like that, a sweet and lovely young woman began to scale the wall. The sight was rather amusing.

In a dark corner, a pair of glowing Snake Gaze flickered, and a gold-and-silver Snake slithered out.

Tu Xiao’an had specifically come to Zhao Village at night.

This was because the House Snake murders all happened in the middle of the night. It wouldn’t come out to kill during the day, and besides, broad daylight was inconvenient for his own activities.

Just as Tu Xiao’an arrived at the old mansion belonging to Elder Zhao, he saw a young woman trying to scale the wall. Her clumsy fumbling, trying for ages without getting over, was hard not to laugh at.

’Did I just run into a thief the moment I got here?’ Tu Xiao’an was speechless. And a beautiful one, at that.

’What kind of weirdo is this?’

’I don’t know what you’re up to, but I might as well give you a hand.’

Tu Xiao’an’s Snake Gaze glinted with interest.

A full ten minutes passed, and Li Qingzhao still hadn’t made it over the wall. She was panting delicately, her body glistening with fragrant sweat.

Just then, a strong and powerful force against her rear pushed her straight up.

Oof—

Li Qingzhao fell with a THUD. When she got back to her feet, she found she was already inside the mansion grounds.

”Who—who’s there...?”

She had clearly felt someone push her butt to get her over the wall.

But she looked left and right and saw no one. There was only the vast mansion, suffused with a thick Death Qi that sent waves of chilling cold through the air.

’Was I just imagining things?’

The young woman rubbed her pert, pretty nose and decided not to dwell on it. Her eyes curving into crescents, the airheaded girl took out her phone and gave a sweet smile. ”Hehe... Everybody, I’m in! Pretty amazing, right?”

”6666! The Goddess has successfully taken the first step to becoming a thief!”

Seeing the comment, Li Qingzhao retorted playfully, ”Oh, get outta here!”

”You all just watch closely. Watch me find the legendary House Snake for you.”

The gloomy surroundings couldn’t deter the young woman’s determination to see the House Snake with her own eyes. Meanwhile, her stream’s popularity was skyrocketing again.

Li Qingzhao held up her phone on its selfie stick, scanning the area. The mansion grounds were dark and dusky. She couldn’t see any figures, only gusts of sinister wind that seemed to come from nowhere, making her shiver.

She took a deep breath and crept furtively toward the front courtyard.

At that moment, a meter-long, gold-and-silver Snake floated in the air behind her, coldly observing her every move.

Tu Xiao’an understood. So the girl was a streamer. ’When did the standards for streaming get so out of hand?’

’Climbing a wall in the middle of the night to stream... What does she plan on streaming? The dead people in this house?’

’She’s certainly taking an unconventional approach.’

But upon hearing the words ”House Snake,” Tu Xiao’an truly understood. The young woman’s goal was the same as his: they were both here for the House Snake.

’If a killer House Snake really exists, then her actions are a textbook case of a moth flying into a flame. She’s courting death.’

’Oh well. Since we both snuck in here for the House Snake, I guess you could say it’s fate. We might as well stick together.’

The meter-long gold-and-silver Snake’s body rapidly shrank again, becoming as small as a little earthworm.

Now the size of an earthworm, Tu Xiao’an floated down onto the girl’s shoulder, as light as a feather. She didn’t notice a thing.

This Transformation Technique was just too useful. It was as if it had been tailor-made for him, allowing him, a Snake, to come and go without a trace, no longer needing to worry about being discovered.

The moment he landed on the girl’s shoulder, Tu Xiao’an immediately smelled the faint, refreshing scent of a virgin.

He had to admit, the girl was exceptionally beautiful, and her strange behavior had successfully piqued his interest.

Li Qingzhao advanced, selfie stick in hand, her breathing a little hurried. It was obvious this was her first time climbing into someone’s property.

It was secretly so thrilling, so exciting. While worrying about being discovered, she didn’t forget to interact with her viewers.

Tu Xiao’an wasn’t idle either. He quietly spread his dominance ability, scanning the mansion for any venomous snakes with distinctive auras.

After a full scan yielded nothing, he frowned.

’Two possibilities,’ he thought. ’Either the so-called House Snake’s Level is higher than mine, or the so-called House Snake is just an ordinary snake, or it doesn’t exist at all.’

Suddenly, he felt the girl’s body give a violent shudder. Her beautiful eyes widened slowly, as if she had seen something bizarre.

Tu Xiao’an followed her gaze. Inside the mansion’s front hall, five coffins were lined up in a neat row. Behind the five coffins was an altar table. Laid out on it, from back to front, were memorial portraits, offerings, an incense burner, and candlesticks. Kneeling cushions, or futons, were placed on the floor for kowtowing—everything was there. In an iron basin, joss paper was burning, sending wisps of white smoke curling through the lifeless mourning hall.

Five coffins for a single funeral—a rare sight indeed in these peaceful times.

This was why Li Qingzhao was so frightened.

The sight of five coffins arranged in the room sent an inexplicable chill deep into one’s heart.

”Holy crap! Goddess, are you here to catch a snake or a ghost?”

Given the atmosphere, it wouldn’t have been surprising if a Fierce Ghost had suddenly drifted out. In fact, it would have seemed to complement the scene perfectly.

The viewers watching the stream were all startled by the scene. The shocking impact of the five coffins made them feel as if a cold wind were blowing past their ears, making the hair on their arms stand on end.

Staring blankly at the five coffins, Li Qingzhao recalled the post she had read online.

The House Snake murders. One person a day, for a total of five people in five days.

The truth was, she had come because she didn’t believe a House Snake was capable of murder. When she was little, the elders in her family always said that House Snakes were benevolent creatures. If you encountered one, you shouldn’t be afraid, because it wouldn’t harm you.

Li Qingzhao preferred to believe that the people in those five coffins had been murdered, and the killer had framed a House Snake.

’That has to be the real story here.’