Chapter 49: Kimchi and Beef Soup Rice

Rumble! Rumble!

The giant python was burrowing rapidly into the depths of the earth, its massive body slamming against the rock strata and dislodging countless fragments of stone.

It still had its own kind clenched firmly in its jaws. It could feel that the flesh and blood of this miniature creature contained extraordinarily potent energy, far surpassing the ants it had previously devoured!

During the descent, the black snake remained completely motionless, as though it had already been bitten and heavily wounded.

"Bang!"

The giant python's head finally hit the bottom, and its very first reaction was to swallow its peer whole into its belly.

However, the next second, blue flames licked directly inside its mouth. The snake's forked tongue, already a mangled mess of flesh and blood, was instantly scorched pitch-black the moment it touched the fire!

"Hiss!!!"

The giant python opened its mouth in agonizing roars, and the black snake it had been biting rolled onto the ground.

Seizing its moment at last, the towering blue flames enveloped the giant python's head. Under the scorching heat of the tier-four ability, the scales on the python's head shed in large quantities, and the faint smell of roasted meat even wafted through the air.

The black snake stared coldly at its peer, which was dozens of times larger than itself. Blood continued to stream endlessly from the wound where its body had been bitten through.

"Hiss!"

The blue flames expanded their range once more, spreading to the snake's body directly beneath its head.

The latter writhed in agony, its massive frame constantly battering the surrounding steep rock walls, while its thick tail lashed out at the black snake in a vengeful retaliation.

Such a massive, immensely thick section of snake tail! It practically filled the entire subterranean cavern!

As it swept across, it blocked off every possible direction of escape.

The black snake was sent flying with a resounding smack, and before it even hit the ground, it was coiled up by the snake tail once again.

With its head still engulfed in flames, the giant python opened its cavernous maw and, braving the danger of perishing together, swallowed both the blue flames and its own kind entirely into its stomach!

Gulp.

The miniature black snake vanished completely without a trace.

...

Back in university, Su Su had experienced cliffside abseiling at the instigation of her classmates. That overwhelming sensation of weightlessness had caused her heart rate to skyrocket, all her blood rushing to her head and making her body feel weightless... This was precisely the feeling she had now as she plummeted while clutching the snake's tail.

Had it not been for the layer of protective air surrounding her body, she likely would have crashed into the surrounding rock cliffs during the descent, resulting in instant death or severe injury at the very least.

Bang!

The giant python had finally hit the bottom. Seemingly realizing that an ant was clinging to its tail, it impatiently shook its tail before landing, violently flinging the ant away.

Splash!

Su Su crashed heavily into the subterranean pool, her cotton-padded jacket soaking through instantly and adding a heavy burden to her body.

Her warm clothing failed, and a piercing chill surged into her body through every single pore. Her limbs instantly stiffened from the frost, and she choked down several mouthfuls of water.

Had her abilities not enhanced her physical constitution, she might not even have had the strength to lift her arm.

After struggling for what felt like an eternity, Su Su finally managed to break the surface of the water, gasping for air as she slowly swam toward the shore.

Splash.

Shivering uncontrollably, she stripped off her sodden, heavy cotton jacket, leaving only a thermal top and a sweater, both of which were completely soaked through with freezing water.

If she didn't take it off, her body would suffer even greater heat loss.

If she took it off, the piercing cold of the cavern was even more intense, and she definitely wouldn't last long.

Su Su chose the former.

Cradling her arms, she shivered and took a few steps forward.

Pitch darkness surrounded her, so absolute she couldn't even see her own hand in front of her face. Groping blindly along the rock wall, she surmised that she was trapped inside a vast subterranean karst cave.

"Xiao Hei..."

Her voice echoed through the cavern, making Su Su's teeth chatter violently from the cold.

"Xiao Hei!"

"Are you there?!"

Her shouts rippled outward in waves, then reverberated back layer by layer, forming echoes of diminishing volume.

Su Su groped her way forward in the dark for a long time, seeing no light whatsoever and receiving no response, occasionally tripping and falling to the ground over loose stones.

The moment the skin on her palms grazed raw, tears she had held back for so long broke free, spilling uncontrollably into the darkness.

Cold. Piercing, bone-deep cold.

And fear—the terror of not being able to find Xiao Hei, the terror of likely dying right here in this place.

Su Su lay flat on the ground for a long time. Sensing her body growing progressively stiffer, she wiped away her tears, gritted her teeth, and forced herself to stand up and keep walking.

"Xiao Hei!!!"

"You definitely didn't die, right?!"

"Hurry up and come out!!"

Amidst her echoing shouts, a faint, rustling sound suddenly mixed in.

Su Su didn't notice it at first, until the rustling grew closer and louder, sounding as though some crawling creature was slowly dragging itself toward her.

"Xiao... Hei?"

Was it Xiao Hei? But such a massive commotion didn't sound like something Xiao Hei could make!

That could only mean it was the giant python... The young girl's heart leaped into her throat, and her face turned an ash-white color.

Su Su dared not move forward, nor did she wish to retreat.

She had to see what manner of beast was approaching. Even if it was that giant python... Xiao Hei might just be there too!

The rustling grew louder and closer.

Even in the pitch darkness, Su Su could sense a living entity approaching. A damp wave of air washed over her, and the hissing of a snake halted just a few meters away from her.

A pair of vertical pupils, as large as copper bells, suddenly snapped open, suspended mid-air as the sole source of light in the darkness.

It was that very giant python!!!

Tears silently flooded Su Su's entire face. Clinging to a final shred of hope, she whispered softly, "Xiao Hei."

Where are you?

Were you eaten by the giant python?

The familiar hissing sound of a snake never rang out; only that pair of vertical pupils drew closer and closer.

Su Su frantically mustered every ounce of her abilities, yet it did nothing to slow the creature's crawling speed.

Run! Hurry and run!

Instinct screamed frantically for her to flee. Su Su forced her stiffened legs to move, spinning around to run a few paces when a rush of wind stirred behind her.

The massive snake tail swept toward her.

Su Su awaited death in utter despair.

One second, two seconds, three seconds... The thick snake tail did not crush her to pieces; instead, it gently coiled around her.

Su Su froze in place.

What was the meaning of this? Was she being treated as a reserved meal, saved to be eaten later?

The giant python turned and glided off in an unknown direction.

Su Su's heart hammered in her chest for a long time, and she didn't even notice that the snake tail currently coiled around her was a whole circle smaller than the section of tail she had clung to earlier.

The giant python moved at great speed, bringing her to a flat rocky ledge before long.

There, wedged between the hard rock walls, was a fist-sized crack through which a faint sliver of light filtered.

The pitch-black subterranean cave finally possessed a source of light.

Su Su had remained in the darkness for too long; the sudden exposure to light caused her to instinctively shut her eyes.

When she opened them again, the snake tail had already deposited her gently onto the flat ledge.

Rip.

Su Su's limbs were stiff with cold, and before she could even react, the clothing remaining on her body was cleanly torn into rags by the tip of the tail.

"What are you doing?!"

Her cry of resistance was exceptionally sharp. Su Su curled her body inward in sheer terror, utterly failing to understand why this giant python was tearing her clothes to shreds! Did it need to "skin" a human before eating them?

The snake tail did not halt its movements in response to her resistance. Once it had completely stripped away the human's "skin," it coiled her back within the folds of its body once more.

Was this it? Was it finally going to devour her?

Su Su's mind went entirely blank.

Until the snake's body began to warm up, transmitting wave after wave of continuous heat into every inch of her skin, restoring sensation to her frozen limbs.

The snake's coils wound around her circle by circle, completely enclosing the human in the center like a giant heated blanket, wrapping her securely within its embrace.

Su Su widened her eyes in disbelief.

Why?

The massive snake head curved from behind her around to her front. Refracted through the dim light, the copper-bell-sized vertical pupils took on a familiar ink-green hue, appearing far clearer and more distinct than they had in the darkness.

"Hiss~"

A crimson forked tongue cautiously licked the human's ice-cold cheek.

Su Su's heart instantly shifted from terror to sheer disbelief.

Trembling, she extended her smooth arms, mustering the courage to wrap them around that massive head and pull it close to inspect it carefully.

The familiar ink-green vertical pupils, the familiar smooth skull base... This was not that giant python at all!

Su Su's voice trembled uncontrollably: "Xiao Hei? Is that you?"

"Hiss!"

"It really is you!"

Su Su abruptly pulled the large head tightly against her chest, pressing it firmly to her body as tears streamed endlessly down onto the smooth snake scales.

"Xiao Hei, I thought—I thought you were dead!"

"Hiss~"

The former black snake—now transformed into a new giant python—silently comforted the human nestled within its coils.

It had not died.

Yet she hadn't even recognized it at first glance.

When Su Su had cried her fill, she lifted her head and gazed tearfully through her blurred vision at the large head before her: "Xiao Hei, how... how did you get to be this big?"