Realm of the Night God

In a certain community in Lecheng, a man was lying on his bed, sound asleep. His room was messy, with garbage scattered all over the floor. The most common items among the trash were empty bottles, takeout boxes, cigarette packs, and scattered cigarette butts.

The strong smell of alcohol mixed with various odors, creating an indescribable and peculiar scent that lingered in the room, making it nearly unbearable for a normal person to survive in such an environment.

The ringing of the telephone woke the man from his slumber. Subconsciously, he reached out towards the bedside table, knocking over a few beer bottles, producing a clattering sound as they hit the ground. Among them, one beer bottle was only half-empty, rolling on the floor with its contents spilling out.

The man had no reaction to this, as if he were already accustomed to it all. He didn't get up; instead, he continued lying in bed, groggily feeling around for his mobile phone on the bedside table.

After some fumbling, the man successfully grabbed the mobile phone. Without opening his eyes or answering the call, he pressed the power button to hang up and went back to sleep.

The caller didn't give up just because the man hung up; they called again.

As the phone rang, the man furrowed his brows, looking uncomfortable. He rolled over in bed and muttered something incoherent, but still answered the call.

"Who's this?" The man's tone was impatient, clearly indicating his discomfort.

"It's me, Brother Ye," came the voice of a man from the other end of the line.

Though the man didn't open his eyes to check the caller ID, he recognized the caller by his voice. However, he didn't change his attitude and remained impatient.

"What's up? I'm sleeping. If it's not urgent, I'll hang up. I haven't woken up yet."

The man said wearily, preparing to end the call.

"There's business at hand. Are you interested?"

Just as the man was about to hang up, he paused at the words, finally opening his eyes slowly.

His eyes were bloodshot with heavy dark circles under them, indicating a lack of proper rest.

"What business?" The man perked up a bit, asking.

"Brother Ye, do you know what happened in Shilin Town today?" the caller asked with a smile.

The man, irritated, responded, "I'm sleeping. Even if it were the end of the world, I wouldn't know. What's happening in Shilin Town?"

"Right, let me send you a video. Check it out yourself. And remember my favor if things go well. I'm cutting you some slack this time. If I were in Lecheng, you wouldn't have this opportunity."

With that, the caller hung up, leaving the man to receive a video shortly after.

Frowning, the man opened the video. As it played, he watched a scene from Shilin Town, where a serpent demon named Bai Xue was entangled with a host.

Watching the video, the serpent demon looked enticing, but the man showed no change in expression. He didn't even fully open his eyes. It seemed that if the video didn't pique his interest, he would likely go back to sleep.

As the video played on, his half-open eyes suddenly widened, his expression changing.

He sat up from the bed, setting the mobile phone aside, rubbing his face and eyes with his hands, then picking up the phone to replay the video.

After a moment, he paused the video, freezing the frame at the moment when the serpent demon spat venom at the host.

Lighting a cigarette, the burning smoke intensified the already pungent smell in the room. Yet, despite being in such an environment for so long, he showed no signs of discomfort.

His gaze, his attention, were all captivated by the frozen image from the video.

After watching for a while, with the cigarette burnt halfway, the man replayed the video several times.

To an ordinary person, the video might appear to be just a rogue host harassing a beauty, but to the man, it was different.

The video had been edited, making it short. After watching it several times, the man flicked the still-burning cigarette butt onto the floor and set down the mobile phone.

"Conversing effortlessly, with a natural smile, she didn't seem like someone merely toying around. Moreover, the lively spirit of this snake venom, it couldn't be replicated by a mere toy. This shouldn't be a toy; it's a genuine snake venom. This woman is a serpent demon!"

After repeatedly observing the video, the man concluded this in his mind.

With this thought, he took out his mobile phone and dialed the previous number.

The call was quickly answered, but before the other person could speak, the man spoke first, "When did this happen?"

"It just happened recently. If you head to Shilin Town now, you should make it in time."

"I see."

The man responded indifferently and hung up without waiting for the other person to finish speaking. Then, without any further action, the mobile phone in his hand disappeared.

Not only that, the cigarettes and lighter on the bedside table, including several unopened beer bottles on the floor, disappeared along with them.

A slight ripple passed through the space in front of the man, and then a crack opened. Without any intention of washing up or tidying his messy hair, he stepped into the crack in front of him.

As the space crack healed, the man disappeared from the room. At the same time, Yang Haoran in Lecheng walked out of the teahouse with the serpent demon.

Although the serpent demon had changed her appearance, she still attracted a lot of attention from the opposite sex along the way. Her seductive aura couldn't be erased even with a change in appearance.

Some more discreet men glanced at the serpent demon intentionally or unintentionally, seemingly looking around but mainly to steal a few more glances at the serpent demon.

Some men were more blatant, staring directly at the serpent demon with gleaming eyes, afraid that she wouldn't feel their fiery gazes.

However, compared to before, the current situation was much better. Though Yang Haoran wasn't satisfied with this outcome, he could still accept it.

There was still a distance from Shilin Town to the Shilin Forest Scenic Area. Many tourists came here for relaxation, so some chose to walk to the stone forest, while others, for various reasons, chose to take a car.

After some thought, Yang Haoran chose to take a car because he wanted to arrive at the stone forest earlier.

After calling a car, the two soon arrived at the stone forest. However, the fare was exorbitant, akin to robbery. Fortunately, Yang Haoran was no longer interested in money, so he didn't argue with the driver.

Yang Haoran had visited the stone forest in Shilin Town many times before, always for tourism or to accompany friends. Today was different; his purpose for coming to the stone forest had nothing to do with tourism.

Compared to Shilin Town, the Shilin Forest Scenic Area had more tourists, which was normal. After all, most tourists came here for the stone forest, not for Shilin Town, so it wasn't surprising that most tourists gathered here.

In the eyes of tourists from other places, the stone forest of Shilin Town was a marvel of nature, with bizarre and varied shapes. It not only provided visual enjoyment but also spiritual shock, making it very appealing.

However, to the locals, the stone forest was just a bunch of ordinary stones standing on the ground. After seeing it too many times, they naturally grew tired of it.

It was like many men; even if they married a woman as beautiful as a goddess, once they saw her too often, played with her too much, they would lose interest, and might even find their wives less attractive than the neighbor's wife.

Of course, not all men were like this, but there were definitely quite a few.

Yang Haoran didn't pay attention to other tourists. After bringing the serpent demon to the stone forest, the first thing he did was to close his eyes and seem to quietly sense something.

To some passing tourists, his action seemed profound. They thought Yang Haoran was one of them, believing that he was listening to the sound of the wind and feeling the care from Mother Nature, thinking that he had realized something.

To another group of passing tourists, Yang Haoran seemed to be completely showing off, being overly artistic, neglecting his work, and giving off a poor and pretentious vibe.

However, the truth was, Yang Haoran wasn't the same as either group. He didn't have the leisure to listen to the sounds of nature here, but he also wasn't neglecting his work to show off here. He was sensing the Yin Qi and power fluctuations of this place.