With the pursuing soldiers closing in, Jia Xitong swiftly throws out two freshly drawn Exploding Talismans.
Boom—
The new Exploding Talisman causes the entire ground to shake, sending soil and weeds flying everywhere.
The explosion kills the first wave of pursuers, while the remaining soldiers, gathered to uproot them, are barked at by the hunting dogs scattered in the reed lands.
Jia Xitong's previously hoarded Exploding Talismans are now all gone, leaving only 7 freshly drawn ones—now down to 5.
Only by personally experiencing the words from the book does one understand the bloodshed and cruelty within.
How did the protagonist in the original novel survive?
While she was racking her brains recalling the plot, the ground suddenly gave way beneath her feet, causing both herself and the grasped Shang Yanting to fall down.
The heavenly cave descends!
In the cave, it is pitch dark. The puppet manipulated by Jia Xitong crawls out from beneath Shang Yanting, touches his face, and places a paw against his neck to feel the evenly pulsing pulse.
After completing this, she lays beside the protagonist.
Above the cave constantly resounds voices and barking. Inside the cave, one person and one beast cling tightly to each other.
This is just the surface.
Shang Yanting's eyes open in the darkness, his arm resting on the neck of the adjacent Demon Beast. Despite being rendered powerless, he could easily snap the Demon Beast's slender neck with just a bit of force in his arm.
Everyone acts with hypocrisy; all worldly goodness has hidden motives.
His arm applies more and more force, with a madness to destroy everything in his eyes...
"The people above have left. Host, are you hurt?"
Jia Xitong suddenly speaks, halting the brewing destruction in the darkness.
"... I'm alright."
Really?
Jia Xitong ignites a talisman, using the firelight to see the protagonist.
His face and body are covered in injuries, worse on his arms and legs, leaving him barely alive—truly a pitiful sight.
She stuffs the talisman paper burnt to ashes from borrowing fire into the protagonist's mouth. Besides the Wooden Carved God Statue, she also developed another use for the Healing Talisman.
Shang Yanting is fed a handful of fuzzy talisman ash, which is dry and hard to swallow mixed with saliva. He then realizes the furry Demon Beast has left him.
In the darkness, the image of the Demon Beast pulling him away with its short limbs appears in his mind; Shang Yanting looks up at the sky from the cave entrance.
He has become like this now, and likely has nothing the "system" desires anymore.
Leave.
Out of gratitude for its help, he decides to spare it this time.
Hatred and malice pour in his jet-black eyes; from now on, he would rather betray everyone, rather kill everyone!
"Host, I found food!"
A voice cuts in, as Jia Xitong drags the corpse of a hunting dog and calls to him from not far away.
Earlier she saw the hunting dog's corpse fall down with them and noticed it was nearby. Upon careful searching, she indeed found its corpse. The hunting dog was well-fed and hefty; the feeling of it suggests it might nourish Shang Yanting somewhat.
The only downside is that it is too dark here; she forgot where Shang Yanting was sitting.
"Host, make a sound; I can't find you."
She waited a long time before hearing the reply, wondering if Shang Yanting was starving, "Behind you."
"Oh."
Jia Xitong drags the hunting dog, which is about the same size as the Little Raccoon, back to his side.
But how to eat it?
The chilly cave offers no firewood and lacks a small knife for preparation.
As she agonizes over this, she hears the sound of fur being torn and raw flesh being chewed—consuming it raw.
After all, sashimi is... eaten like this.
Jia Xitong mentally helps the protagonist explain.
Ignoring the sound, she sits by the protagonist's feet, planning for what lies ahead, "Those who hunt you won't give up easily since they can't find you. We'll take a short rest, then search the cave for any other exits."
The search is not only for exits but also for opportunities, the protagonist's opportunities!
Jia Xitong carefully plans for Shang Yanting, incidentally giving him her last five Exploding Talismans, before collapsing beside his legs—the puppet's time is up.
Upon returning to the Sea of Consciousness, her first task is talisman painting.
The unknown lies ahead, along with uncertain dangers. Now that Shang Yanting's entire cultivation is nullified, he needs Exploding Talismans more than ever for protection.
Fortunately, she stocked ample talisman painting materials before.
She sincerely bows to the Wooden Carved God Statue nearby, then paints in the Sea of Consciousness until dawn.
##
Extreme darkness pervades the cave.
Every step forward demands careful exploration.
This tunnel is filled with uneven sharp rocks and animal bones, and the crippled Shang Yanting must crawl!
Every movement inflicts intense pain; his elbows and knees are already rubbed raw and bloodied.
The Puppet that Jia Xitong exchanged is equally miserable.
Without Soul Power, the puppet cannot be more than ten meters from Shang Yanting, but as Shang Yanting drags it along by not carrying it, one side of its fur is worn bald from being dragged.
If the daily use time of the puppet weren't limited to two hours needing to be reserved for more critical uses, she would have flipped her puppet over—even if bald, at least make the little raccoon evenly bald.
But now the priority is contemplating where the protagonist's first opportunity lies.
The author of "Proud Heavenly Demon" is a conniving snake, glossing over the critical leveling up and battles, leaving large sections on romancing and other saucy details, never explaining how the protagonist acquires those magical abilities.
As she curses the original author in her heart, Shang Yanting suddenly halts.
Faint sounds emanate from deep within the cave; a scratching sound of scales against pebbles.
Cold and dense, inexplicably tense.
The sound draws near; two lantern-sized red eyes appear and move swiftly. With his limbs crippled, Shang Yanting has no way to dodge, suddenly being lifted into the air by the immense snake's belly.
A giant python!
"Host!"
Jia Xitong emerges from the Sea of Consciousness, manipulating the raccoon to grope the ground. In the darkness, she can only see two fiery red eyes darting about; the massive tail of the serpent sweeps the ground, launching her through the air.
"Shang Yanting!"
She anxiously calls out his name abruptly.
He heard it.
Shang Yanting is ensnared in mid-air by the serpent, tightening with each breath. His disabled limbs render him powerless to escape, and his internal organs are being compressed together.
Could he truly die here?
Thinking of those enemies triggers redness in his eyes.
The serpent's enormous fangs are already bared; in that moment, he suddenly recalls the Exploding Talismans on him. Quickly reaching into his robe, he shoves all the talismans into the serpent's mouth.
With a boom,
Jia Xitong hears the explosion, instantly the serpent's head is blasted to pieces. The firelight reveals Shang Yanting's position; she hurriedly scrambles to the snake's underside and raises her hands high.
Shang Yanting falls heavily from above, landing right behind the puppet Little Raccoon.