I have to get lucky right away.

Chapter 587 The Corpse Demon's Three Tricks for Chen Sanzang

The headless corpse lay on the ground. Chen Xuan, who had been vomiting incessantly, finally mustered some strength and, suppressing the discomfort in his stomach, grabbed a handful of snow and vigorously rubbed his hands together to wipe away the fluid mixed with brain matter, corpse oil, and other unidentifiable substances.

Although he wanted to leave as soon as possible, the bile he vomited and the hunger in his stomach reminded him that he should do something right now.

Holding his breath, Chen Xuan carefully approached the corpse. After struggling for a long time, he finally managed to tear off the package. When he opened it, he found a piece of black bread that had been sitting for who knows how long and was covered in mold. As someone who had been living in hell and had to scavenge for food, Chen Xuan knew exactly how long this kind of black bread had a shelf life.

If it can get moldy in such a cold environment, this piece of bread might be older than him!
"I definitely can't eat it!" Chen Xuan's rationality clearly told him this, forcing him to give up the only "food" he could get at the moment, and dragging his tired body, he continued to search for any possible hope.

After several frantic runs, his physical strength, inner strength, and willpower were severely depleted. Supported by his tenacious will to survive, he moved at a snail's pace for a while before finally stopping, panting heavily.

Leaning against a cold pine tree, Chen Xuan felt his legs go weak, like noodles. The sky had already darkened, and the rapidly dropping temperature meant that even the uncomfortable thermal blanket couldn't retain much warmth.

"I should have been more rational! I shouldn't have abandoned the Great Sage! This isn't Chang'an City; I can't just run around recklessly..."

As he was reflecting on his actions, Chen Xuan's body was almost sliding down the tree trunk. Fortunately, there was always a way out. Just when he thought he might freeze to death in this desolate wilderness tonight, he suddenly saw a faint light in the leeward side of a distant mountain valley!

Is there a house there?!

Hope rekindled, and the instinct for survival sustained him as he dragged his exhausted body to squeeze out a sliver of potential. Although he had worried that it might be a monster's trap, Chen Xuan's current state did not allow him to think about it any further. He took heavy steps toward the point of light.

Finally, the flames themselves came into view—

It was a low but sturdy little wooden house, with a thick layer of snow on the roof, warm light shining through the windows, and wisps of smoke rising from the chimney.

Everything seemed so normal, so warm, so inviting.

Chen Xuan almost burst into tears. He rushed to the door of the wooden house and pounded on the door panel.

"Is anyone there? Help! Open the door!"

As he wailed, the wooden door creaked open a crack. Through the crack appeared the face of an old woman, her skin wrinkled and her appearance extremely aged. She had the high, straight nose characteristic of people from the Western Regions, wore a headscarf, a thick, coarse cloth skirt, and carried the faint smell of cooking oil.

She saw Chen Xuan shivering and looking disheveled outside the door, and a hint of surprise appeared in her cloudy eyes. Then she mumbled a few words in a strange language that Chen Xuan couldn't understand at all, which made Chen Xuan's hair stand on end instantly.

However, after a moment's thought, he calmed down. The ghoul had obviously been disguised as a human, and the language it used in that situation was most likely the local dialect. So it was quite normal for an old lady to use the local dialect.

After carefully observing the old man's appearance, paying particular attention to his breathing, skin, and fingers, and confirming that he did not have the black fingernails and bluish-purple skin of a ghoul, and that his joints were not stiff, he breathed a sigh of relief and quickly transformed into a Syracusan, gesturing wildly as he tried to express his hunger and cold.

The old woman looked him up and down a few times, her wrinkles rubbing together. She seemed to hesitate for a moment, but finally slowly opened the door and stepped aside to let Chen Xuan in.

It was much warmer inside than outside, and the air was filled with a rich, somewhat peculiar aroma of meat broth. The furnishings inside were simple, even somewhat rudimentary. In the center was a stone-built hearth with firewood burning inside, and a black iron pot was simmering on the fire.

"Thank you! Thank you, Grandma!" Chen Xuan was moved to tears. Although the other person couldn't understand him, he thanked her repeatedly. He rubbed his almost frozen hands and moved closer to the fire pit, greedily absorbing its warmth.

The old woman closed the door, bolted it, and then walked to the pot. She mumbled something incomprehensible as she stirred the broth with a ladle. She ladled a steaming bowl of soup and handed it to Chen Xuan, a seemingly kind smile on her face that deeply moved him.

Chen Xuan was starving. He took the bowl and was about to drink when the rim of the bowl touched his lips, but he stopped abruptly.

His unlucky intuition was screaming warnings!
"A misjudgment?" Chen Xuan looked again at the old woman who still maintained a kind smile. Apart from her slightly large nose, she didn't look much different from the other kind old people in Chang'an...

and many more!

elder!

But it seems the other person lives alone?
Alone in the freezing cold, with only a wooden hut nearby, where did she get her food?

If it were just rice porridge or vegetable paste, that would be fine; she could just say she grew it herself. But this meat…

After experiencing the "pseudo-human," "corpse demon," and "pseudo-human corpse demon" in succession, Chen Xuan's vigilance has been constantly rising. He slowly put down the bowl and his eyes swept warily across the furnishings in the room, as if trying to find a reason that could convince himself.

The old woman had clearly lost her patience. Seeing that he didn't move, the "kind" smile on her face faded slightly, and she urged him a few more times in that strange language. At the same time, she reached out her hand, seemingly wanting to personally hand the bowl to Chen Xuan's lips. That hand was horribly dry, with long, yellow nails.

Chen Xuan jerked back, avoiding her hand.

The atmosphere instantly became tense.

The old woman's eyes turned completely cold, the feigned kindness vanished without a trace, replaced by greed and ferocity. She let out a few hoarse, inhuman laughs, and her body began to make slight cracking sounds, her previously hunched back seemingly straightening a little.

Chen Xuan could see clearly that, illuminated by the firelight, the old woman's shadow on the wall began to twist and swell, no longer in human form, but transformed into a terrifying figure with bird claws and hair that danced like a venomous snake!
Although Chen Xuan couldn't discern the other party's true form or destiny, the eerie shadow made him instantly realize—this damn thing wasn't human either!
"Waaah! I knew it! I knew it!" Chen Xuan broke down in tears, his survival instinct overpowering everything once again! He slammed the bowl of hot soup in his hand at the old woman, then turned and lunged at the door, frantically trying to pull off the latch!

The old woman let out a sharp shriek, easily knocking away the flying bowl. The soup spilled onto the ground, making a sizzling, corrosive sound. With an agility completely contrary to her appearance, she pounced on Chen Xuan, her withered hand becoming as sharp as a bird's claw, aiming straight for Chen Xuan's back!

Chen Xuan could even feel the ominous wind behind him! He closed his eyes in despair, only one thought in his mind: "It's over! I'm doomed this time! Feng Xue, you've screwed me over..."

"boom!"

As if a spell had been triggered, the thick, long staff, like a giant axe, cleaved the roof in two, slamming the old woman-like monster to the ground with pinpoint accuracy.

"What did you just say?"

Chen Xuan glanced at the large stick, then at Feng Xue who had jumped in through the hole in the roof. His expression paused slightly, before finally breaking into a long, choked cry—

"This place isn't Lanzhou at all!"

(End of this chapter)