I am just a mortal, why do you all worship me as a saint?

Chapter 29: This dense forest is unusual.

Upon seeing the giant python, Gu Heng was not actually flustered.

There's absolutely no need to panic.

It's just a snake!

This was just an ordinary python, only a little long and a little big. Its head looked almost half the size of his body. It might have been able to crush him with its body alone. But Gu Heng was a mortal doctor who had been to the mountains and hunted, and was experienced and skilled.

Even Xiaoxi on his lap remained calm, completely unconcerned, and continued to carelessly touch her cat paws, showing off her nails.

Even cats aren't afraid of snakes, so how could a grown man be afraid of one? Although this snake certainly looks like it could swallow him whole.

Gu Heng smiled as he watched the giant python slowly swim over. Its vertical pupils opened and closed slowly, flicking its tongue and hissing. Gu Heng then noticed that the snake's breath was rather strong, accompanied by a heavy, earthy smell.

"Brother Snake, I've been walking all day, can't you let me find some peace and quiet?"

Gu Heng's tone was calm, as if it were just a normal conversation, "You're putting me in a difficult position..."

"hiss--"

The giant python twisted and hissed, raising its huge, ferocious head and flicking its tongue at Gu Heng. It was intelligent and could understand human speech, which was within Gu Heng's expectations. Even the stray cat he picked up could understand human speech and read. It was not surprising that the poisonous insects and beasts in this desolate mountain wilderness had some intelligence.

Of course, if the snake insisted on eating him, Gu Heng wouldn't just sit and wait to die. Among the system's "gifts," the Swift Boots were the most useful, and the second most useful... well, they were specifically for dealing with wild beasts!

"One inch closer, and you're dead."

Su Jinxi lazily raised her eyes and stared at the giant python that was about to pounce. With just a whisper, the python abruptly stopped moving.

Along with Su Jinxi's telepathic message came a surge of power in her eyes, like a mountain collapsing and a tsunami crashing. That fierce, violent, and destructive aura caused the giant python's entire body to tremble, and it finally crouched down, cowering on the ground.

In that instant, the giant python even suspected that if it dared to move forward even a fraction of an inch, that power would be enough to tear it apart!

"Hiss."

The giant python shook its head uneasily and quickly retreated, its rustling sounds fading into the forest, leaving only Gu Heng and Su Jinxi sitting there. "Meow!"

Xiaoxi was very excited.

Hmm, that's good. It seems this snake brother doesn't eat mortals like him. It seems my words just now hit the snake's sweet spot.

Gu Heng felt the warmth of the fire and wondered if he should hunt some wild animals to eat and see how they tasted.

"Xiaoxi, wasn't that snake strange just now?"

Gu Heng stroked the silver kitten's head, talking to himself, but then he suddenly thought, it's strange that a snake can understand human speech, but isn't it strange that the little wild cat on his lap can understand human speech and words?

"The master has also noticed that something is wrong..."

Su Jinxi, meanwhile, stared into the direction the giant python had gone, lost in thought.

Yes, it is indeed very strange.

Because she recognized what the demonic beast was—a Black-Scaled Earth Python, a fourth-grade demonic beast, equivalent to a cultivator who has just entered the Nascent Soul stage. It wasn't a particularly powerful demonic beast, but in her perception, this Black-Scaled Earth Python was already close to the Spirit Transformation stage! It could even fight against a sixth-grade demonic beast!

This is extremely unusual, because a fourth-grade demon beast should not be this strong.

Unless... something strange is going on in this place!

This solitary mountain, including its surroundings, is covered by dense forests with sparse spiritual energy, making it a barren wasteland. Yet, the fourth-grade demonic beasts here are strong enough to fight against sixth-grade demonic beasts. There must be something wrong with that!

"Could it be that the master already discovered the problem here?"

Su Jinxi thought about it more and more and felt that this was the case. This person was a great power! There was something wrong with this lonely mountain. He must have seen it a long time ago. Otherwise, why would he deviate from the main road and not go into the city, but instead stay in this desolate wilderness for a night?

"You're interested too, aren't you?"

Gu Heng continued stroking Xiao Xi's head, muttering to himself. "Damn it," he thought, "I was so bored I was telling the cat all this nonsense. I should have just gone into town; I could have had some late-night tea at the market."

I just hope this little stray cat, who can understand human speech, won't think that its owner is mentally unstable.

"Hmm? So Master also noticed my interest in the strange phenomena here?"

Su Jinxi felt that nothing could be hidden from him.

However, since it's been brought up, why not... go and investigate? What if we actually find something?

Thinking this, Su Jinxi jumped off his lap. Seeing that Gu Heng didn't move, she tacitly allowed him to go and see what was unusual in this lonely mountain!

Then she took short strides and ran off quickly, leaving Gu Heng with a fluffy back view.

Gu Heng: "..."

Did this little one go to relieve herself? Oh well, this is a lonely mountain anyway, and she understands human speech, so she'll be back on her own soon. If she doesn't come back, Gu Heng has a way to find her.

He lay there peacefully, while new spies emerged from the dark gaps in the dense forest.

……

Why is there someone here?

In the dense forest, several figures huddled in the shadows, avoiding the moonlight and concealing their presence.

They can't afford to be careless, because they've learned their lesson here.

They looked at one of the few clearings in the deep forest, where a young man had lit a campfire, sat beside a blue stone, and was looking at a map.

Ok?

What's going on? There's a very strange black-scaled earth python roaming around here! Two hours ago, they were chased by that earth python and almost lost their lives. They were forced to descend the mountain in a sorry state and only dared to go back up after sunset, hoping to see if they could avoid that earth python monster.

"That damned snake is close to the Nascent Soul stage, how can this guy, a mere mortal, stay so peacefully on 'Burial Mountain'?"

Someone in the group muttered to themselves.

They were originally rogue cultivators, but they were considered to have some cultivation. All five of them were at the Nascent Soul stage, but with this lineup, it was really overestimating their abilities to try to find the "Emperor's Tomb" on the Burial Mountain, whose authenticity was unknown.

The leader actually learned from a certain master of divination that there were treasures in this mountain, and there might even be the tomb of a supreme expert!

And that's what they want!

But let alone treasures, they couldn't even handle the black-scaled earth python roaming the outskirts. They'd have to wait until nightfall to see if they could sneak past.

But now, what's lurking in this open space isn't that serpentine monster anymore, but a mortal who's lit a campfire.

"Why don't we just kill him! Otherwise, if word gets out that there's treasure here, the five of us won't even have a bowl of soup left, let alone meat!"

"No way! Are you out of your mind! None of us can detect any true energy fluctuations from him. He's either a mortal or stronger than us. But what are the chances of a mortal coming to this burial mountain in the dead of night?"

After the leader said that, everyone fell silent.

Indeed, rumors circulated in the villages, towns, and cities surrounding this burial mountain, saying that some people came here to chop wood and gather herbs, only to be haunted by vengeful ghosts or eaten by giant beasts. In short, once the rumors spread, mortals certainly wouldn't dare to come here again.

It cannot be ruled out that some reckless young people who are looking for thrills and don't believe in superstitions might come here.

If this young man is not an ordinary person, then he is a cultivator stronger than the five of them. But how much stronger?

"Damn, someone else must have found out about the treasure in the burial mound!"

"Someone said viciously."

"He's all alone now. I suggest we use strategy to take him down first."

"What do you think?"

They exchanged glances in the darkness and all agreed on this method: that young mortal, or cultivator, had to be eliminated!

For no other reason than that he was in this burial mountain, and now, any outsiders who had nothing to do with them were to be killed on sight.

If we don't kill them, won't the treasure be shared with others once we find it? However, if we want to kill them, we have to use strategy.

……

Gu Heng was looking at the other end of the map with great interest when, at that moment, the rustling sound came from the forest again.

He rolled his eyes.

Could that snake have come back again?

So Gu Heng put down the map, took out a golden disc from his system inventory, put it in his pocket, and then indifferently shouted into the dark forest: "Don't hide, I know you're there!"

His loud voice startled the silent woods awake.

However, the response came not from the giant python, but from a middle-aged man staggering out, his clothes dirty and old. His eyes were bloodshot, and he had a sword hanging at his waist. His face was full of vigilance and fear, clearly indicating that he had suffered some kind of injury.

"Young man, young man! Don't worry, I didn't mean to hide."

When the middle-aged man saw Gu Heng raise his hands, a look of joy finally appeared on his face, and he quickly explained to Gu Heng.

"who are you?"

Gu Heng frowned.

Are there other people in this desolate wilderness?

“My name is Wang Qi. I’m a hunter from the nearby Jingtou Village. I went into the mountains to hunt something to eat, but I never expected to run into a giant python. Several hunters who were with me died. I was so scared that I didn’t dare to go down the mountain.”

Wang Qi said in a panic, looking at Gu Heng's unfamiliar handsome face, and recalling the terrifying strength of the black-scaled earth python, his face showed even more tension and fear.

"Oh? You encountered that python too?" Gu Heng asked in surprise.

“Yes.” Wang Qi smiled wryly. Gu Heng was taken aback, then immediately understood.

Oh, so the giant python didn't eat him because it was already full!

Seeing Wang Qi's appearance, he couldn't help but feel sympathy. Hunters like Wang Qi had no choice but to go up the mountain to make a living. Just now, Wang Qi mentioned that a hunter from his village had been eaten by a snake. He was very scared, but he didn't react much because he was used to it.

In this world, how easy is it for ordinary people to live a peaceful life?

Even he had to move to another place to live because of the impending bloodshed in Qingmu City.

Alas, we share the same fate, we share the same fate.

"Sigh, life is really tough these days. Come on, Brother Wang, it's warmer here. Are you feeling unwell anywhere?"

Gu Heng nudged the pile of firewood, gesturing for Wang Qi to sit down and warm himself by the fire. "Oh, thank you so much, young man! You're so kind! But speaking of which, that snake lashed me with its tail, and my chest and abdomen still hurt."

Wang Qi hurriedly waved his hand to decline, but then plopped down on the floor. Gu Heng wanted to laugh at that action; he said no, but his body was still very obedient.

"If that's the case, then eat this."

He suffered internal injuries from being attacked by a python? No problem, he's a top-tier mortal healer!

Even without the clinic, he was prepared to avoid the predicament of having no medicine to use when he needed to treat people on the road.

He took a pill out of his system inventory and handed it to Wang Qi.

But when Wang Qi saw the pill, he was completely stunned.