Chapter 33: Ate a Big, Sweet Plate of Roast Meat

Chapter 33 A Deliciously Hearty Feast of Roasted Meat

All the wounds abruptly ceased bleeding, and from these countless tiny lacerations, innumerable intertwined silver snakes emerged, their golden vertical pupils glinting with frosty light through the rain.

These small serpents slithered along Yi Fengchu's arms and neck, slithering downward.

With every inch they advanced, their bodies swelled, rapidly growing from the thickness of a thumb to the girth of ancient trees, their scales scraping deep gouges into the ground.

Yi Fengchu's eyes had already closed, but along his cheeks, several slits split open, revealing seven or eight radiant golden eyes on either side, their pupils undulating like black abysses.

At this moment, no one who saw Yi Fengchu in this state would consider him human anymore.

From his body, a veritable small mountain of serpents extended—he himself seemed to be the serpent nest.

"F-Fate—"

The Moth God in Li Yin's guise stiffened. Dimly, it could sense that its path to the Divine Throne had been severed.

The realm it had so desperately sought now slipped away like a kite with its string snapped, flying away uncontrollably before its eyes.

An unprecedented tide of despair flooded the Moth God's mind, forcing it—along with the writhing swarm of moths behind it—to unleash an ear-splitting shriek.

For this false god, who had been but one step away from mastering the Curse Domain, the tremendous power in this shriek instantly withered all flora across the mountain range, silenced every insect, and cracked the earth inch by inch, blanketing everything in deathly silence.

—And this was the final message the Moth God left upon this land.

The tangled serpents surged forth, their crimson forked tongues flickering, poison-dripping fangs bared, their pupils narrowing into excited slits as they slithered toward their chosen prey.

So many endlessly regenerating moths—enough for a grand feast, even more sumptuous than when they feasted on the Tidal Prince.

In the distant town, people raised their heads in unison, gasps rippling through the crowd.

Amidst the verdant mountains, pale gray "vortexes" coiled upward, rising like embers toward the sky, as if desperately fleeing something.

Yet close behind came the serpent horde, their slender, massive bodies stretching like grasping hands, seizing and enveloping the gray whirlwinds.

This grotesque spectacle, something that should never have descended upon the mortal world, resembled a titanic tree torn from the earth's depths, its towering form piercing the heavens.

Even from thousands of miles away, it seared itself into people's retinas, leaving behind a searing brand of awe and pain.

This "tree" had already reached the clouds, yet it continued to grow, its twisted branches formed of intertwined serpents, while the pursued and devoured moth swarm fluttered like storm-tossed leaves.

The Moth God's wings twisted space, allowing it to flee from the ground to light-years away in an instant—neither stellar infernos nor the pull of black holes could leave a single mark on its seemingly fragile wings.

Yet just as it believed—at least a part of itself—could escape, an enormous serpent's maw yawned open at the end of its path, as if the very stars were warping and falling into the serpent's gullet.

"Ahhh—!"

The Moth God emitted a shrill sonic wave before being inexorably swallowed.

......

Inside the car.

Wang Lin buried his head deep in his arms, daring not to look at the outside world.

Not that he wasn't curious—he was.

But after the intensive education from forum friends these past few days, Wang Lin knew all too well that even the slightest knowledge—anything related to the Moth God, or worse, the even more terrifying and exalted being behind Classmate Yi—could become a lethal toxin that could destroy his mind.

Wang Lin had no desire to end up in an asylum or a graveyard at such a young age, so he desperately suppressed his unwarranted curiosity, refusing to look or think further.

Forehead pressed against the seat in front of him, eyes tightly shut, Wang Lin suddenly felt his skin crawling with itchiness.

Not daring to lift his head, he blindly scratched at his arms, feeling something thin and crisp flaking off between his fingers.

Having once grown moth wings in his throat, Wang Lin froze for a moment before realizing—

Tainted by the power of a High Being, his skin... was growing something that shouldn't exist?

Fear and curiosity about the unknown repeatedly urged him to open his eyes, but he forced himself to resist.

All he could do was helplessly scratch, feeling layer after layer of thin, flaky things peeling away, fluttering down to his feet.

At the same time, he faintly heard a heavy, muffled sound outside the car, as if something massive was being dragged across the ground.

Then came crisp, crunching sounds.

*Crunch.*

*Crunch, crunch...*

Like something was biting, chewing, swallowing something brittle.

...Surely, it couldn't be the Moth God being chewed up by Classmate Yi—or the terrifying being behind him?

The thought surfaced like a joke, but as the crunching continued, Wang Lin gradually grew convinced.

Yet he still couldn't fathom what kind of powerful, dangerous entity could munch on those eerie moth-faced humans like snacks.

More importantly—would it eat humans too?

An electric jolt ran down his spine, his scalp prickling. The moth wings inside his throat, likely equally terrified, fluttered wildly, intensifying the itch deep in his throat.

Time dragged on in torturous fear. After what felt like an eternity, the faint chewing outside ceased.

Wang Lin waited a few more minutes in silence, confirming no further abnormal sounds, before shakily peeling his eyelids open to assess the situation.

The moment he did, his gaze dropped straight to his feet—just in time to see what those flakes he'd scratched off truly were—

Pale, paper-thin scales, thin yet slightly firm, like the soft scales of a hatchling, piled like powdery snow around his feet.

So many that they nearly covered the limited space before his seat. The merest shift of his foot produced a soft crunch.

T-This is terrifying... Is this the influence of Classmate Yi's lineage?

If this effect lasted long enough, would he—would all present—eventually turn into squirming white snakes?

Wait, so... is Classmate Yi's "true form" a snake too?

As questions swirled in Wang Lin's mind, the car abruptly dipped, its sturdy frame creaking under some immense weight.

What now?

Wang Lin stiffened, cold sweat sprouting on his brow and rolling down his temples.

He realized—

Something massive... Was now pressing down on the car's roof.

At this moment, just a door away from him, something outside the car seemed to slowly grind against the door and window.

From the sound of friction, Wang Lin deduced that the creature active outside must have a hardened exterior, capable of producing that harsh scraping sound against the steel and aluminum alloy of the car door.

Hard exterior, able to climb along surfaces, extending from the side of the car to the roof...

Putting these details together, Wang Lin couldn’t help but imagine—it seemed like a snake—

A massive, heavy serpent coiling around the vehicle.

Faced with what seemed like impending disaster, Wang Lin even forgot his fear for a moment, eerily feeling the urge to laugh.

This reality was just too wild, too absurd—having just survived the nightmare of the moth-faced villagers, now they were facing a supernatural version of serpent disaster...

"Ha, who knows if this one is Classmate Yi in his true form, or the origin of his lineage..."

Wang Lin didn’t dare look up. The silver-white scales glistened in his peripheral vision like the scythe of death finally swinging toward him.

At this moment, his heart pounded so hard it felt ready to explode, and his mouth, as if on autopilot, spilled out his frantic mental commentary:

"Once Classmate Yi reverts to human form, will he be shocked to find all his classmates gone, with only the car left?"

"No, wait—the car might not even survive. What if this serpent enjoys snacking on sheet metal..."

"It’s over, it’s really over now."

As he rambled, his thoughts grew so jumbled he could barely recognize his own words, hearing only the trembling, tearful tone lingering in his ears.

The serpent listened to every word without missing a beat, pressing its enormous golden eye against the window, observing the babbling Wang Lin inside with confusion.

Odd creature.

They didn’t even like eating metal...

Silently refuting the idea, the serpent relaxed its coils on the vehicle, gradually shrinking along with its kin and withdrawing into the wounds on Yi Fengchu’s body.

The silver snake burrowed into flesh, vanishing like liquid mercury, the tiny wounds healing without a trace left behind.

Meanwhile, Yi Fengchu’s body leaned against a tree by the roadside, still deep in slumber.

...

After a deep slumber, Yi Fengchu finally came to, finding himself seated in the warm, gently rocking interior of the moving car.

Having been caught in the rain, his clothes were still damp, clinging coldly to his skin. Fortunately, a kind classmate had draped a fleece blanket over him, keeping the worst of the chill at bay.

"What time is it? How long was I out?" Yi Fengchu’s voice still carried a hint of sleep-hoarse roughness as he spoke.

A classmate beside him handed him a bottle of water, their voice tinged with relief and joy after their brush with death: "It’s 4:30 in the evening. You’ve been asleep for about five hours."

"As soon as we woke up, those strange moths and the mountain fog were all gone, and our phone signals were back to normal. We’ve already called the police, but this area is remote—it’ll take them time to reach us. Since our cars are fine, we decided to drive down the mountain first... Look outside, you can already see the town in the distance!"

"Finally leaving that godforsaken place! Though I still don’t get how we all suddenly blacked out..."

Of course, it was because they had faced the Moth God. Had it not been wearing a human disguise at the time, the consequences would’ve been far worse than mere unconsciousness.

At best, they’d be cursed for life, driven to madness; at worst, casualties would’ve been severe...

Yi Fengchu answered silently in his mind, outwardly putting on an act of confusion of someone just waking up: "Where did your last memories stop?"

"I only remember you stepping out alone, standing between us and the moth swarm, protecting all of us. It was incredibly badass!"

The classmate’s eyes lit up slightly before lowering their voice: "Don’t worry, we all know someone like you—a master of the occult—probably just wants a quiet life, living under the radar. We won’t reveal your secrets."

"We’ll never forget how you saved us..."

Yi Fengchu could feel the grateful, awestruck looks from the classmates around him. Uncomfortable, he coughed lightly and changed the subject: "Is anyone hurt? How’s Li Yin doing?"

The classmate’s smile faded, replaced by concern and confusion: "Li Yin still hasn’t woken up. She seems to have a slight fever, rambling about ‘moth’ and ‘snake’ in her sleep—maybe she’s having nightmares?"

"But it’s strange. I remember her staying in the car the whole time, so why are her clothes wet too?"

The classmate pointed to where Li Yin was—she had been moved to another vehicle.

Squinting, Yi Fengchu glanced at her from afar, confirming that her thread of fate, like everyone else’s, had returned to its normal white color. Only then did he fully breathe easy.

"You seem to be in a pretty good mood too?" The classmate scrutinized Yi Fengchu’s face curiously. "Rare to see you looking so... relaxed? Satisfied?"

"Not bad."

Yi Fengchu reminisced contentedly, leaning back into his seat: "Had a big, delicious feast of grilled meat in my dream."

Even now, his stomach felt satisfied and toasty, as if a strange energy coursed through his veins, a steady current of warmth tingling through his entire being. It made him narrow his eyes lazily, sinking deeper into the seat.

"Oh, that does sound nice."

The classmates didn’t pry, casually agreeing—except for Wang Lin, who shuddered in the corner.

Wang Lin didn’t want to think too hard about what exactly those "roasted meat slices" might have been...