Don't mess with that Miao boy, he's sickly and perverted.

"Everyone, follow me this way. This ancient tree, which is over 10,000 years old, is a sacred tree worshipped by the Miao people. Legend has it that it can predict the past and the future."

Chai Xiaomi trudged through the jungle, her steps uneven, trying her best to keep up with the guide who was holding a red flag.

Upon hearing this, she looked up at the towering ancient tree in front of her.

"Wow."

It's thick and big.

She couldn't resist touching it.

I thought that even ten people forming a circle might not be able to hug it.

Its lush foliage spreads out like a giant net overhead, obscuring the sun and giving people a strange sense of oppression.

The tour guide's explanation continued:

"If this were ancient times, we would never have had the chance to see this sacred tree. This is the seedling area, and outsiders are not allowed to enter at will."

"What is a seedling?" someone asked.

"The Miao region is vast, and the Miao people are divided into raw Miao and cooked Miao. The cooked Miao have been assimilated into Han culture, and apart from their clothing, they are basically no different from the Han people."

"But the seedlings are different; they are mysterious and unpredictable."

"They live in isolation from the world, and most of them do not speak Chinese. They communicate only in Miao language and do not intermarry with other ethnic groups. The Miao people are also divided into several branches, among which the most terrifying is the witchcraft tribe. If you encounter them, do not hesitate, run away! If they discover that you are an outsider, they will torture you with witchcraft until you are nothing but bones."

The tour guide started scaring people again.

It is said that witchcraft and sorcery were prevalent thousands of years ago, but have long since disappeared into the annals of history, and what remains today are only legends.

The mottled, hard bark felt a bit rough to the touch.

Just as Chai Xiaomi was about to withdraw her hand, she suddenly caught a glimpse of a scorpion scurrying around from behind the tree trunk.

As if it had smelled some delicious food, it moved so fast that it almost crawled and jumped.

Chai Xiaomi was caught off guard and suddenly felt a sharp pain on the back of her hand.

The scream sound was stuck in his throat, before he could even let out a howl.

He then fell straight down.

She would never have imagined this.

She will be stung to death by a scorpion.

That's outrageous!

"Host, are you alright? Wake up, it sounds like someone's coming."

Chai Xiaomi suddenly opened her eyes.

What comes into view is still that giant tree, comparable to Optimus Prime.

But something seems a little different?

The lush, green branches and leaves grew wildly, with no sunlight able to penetrate through the gaps in the leaves, showing no trace of human pruning.

It seems to have become more natural and untouched.

Voices and footsteps could be heard from not far away, slowly approaching.

It was a language that Chai Xiaomi couldn't understand at all.

"Oh no, they're from the witchcraft clan! Host, run! Run!"

The mechanical voice in my mind excited me to the point that the electrical hum trembled slightly.

Without time to investigate further, Chai Xiaomi scrambled to her feet and ran away.

She ran through a winding path and entered a cave, where she cursed and leaned against the wall, panting.

No, I'm just a ghost, what am I afraid of?

"You're still alive." The mechanical voice, now light and cheerful, replied after the ordeal.

"Let me introduce myself. I am your bound system, named Youtiao (Fried Dough Stick). Welcome to the main world of 'Alternate Continent'!"

"..."

Chai Xiaomi paused for a few seconds.

She suddenly remembered that she had read this novel on the plane before she embarked on her trip.

To learn about Miao witchcraft in advance.

I specifically sought out this novel, which is full of fantasy and mystery.

In this world.

Amidst the struggle for supremacy, evil spirits abound.

In a chaotic world, the protagonist, the son of a powerful warlord, inherits the demon-slaying sword and his father's will. He leads a group of like-minded allies to contend for the Central Plains and ultimately quell the chaos and bring peace to the world.

He grows up alongside the female lead and they pledge their lives to each other.

The second male lead in the book is vicious and born evil. As the main villain, he wants to kill every member of the main character group equally.

Seeing the devastated group of main characters filled him with immense satisfaction.

He is a complete psychopath.

Chai Xiaomi believes that the second male lead's hatred stemmed from love, because in the early stages of the story, he wanted to plant a love potion in the female lead and force her into a relationship.

Unfortunately, it didn't work.

When the villain planted the love curse, it was discovered and stopped by a righteous female supporting character in the main group. In the end, that cannon fodder female supporting character was completely devoured by the curse worms, leaving not even a single hair behind, her death was tragic and horrific.

"Host, your mission is to stop the villain from planting a love potion on the female lead."

The sound of fried dough sticks rang out at just the right moment.

Chai Xiaomi: Damn.

So she was that little Karami who didn't even have a single hair left.

"The system detected that once the villain plants a love potion on the female lead, he will use her to manipulate the male lead. The male lead has a great personality, but he is obsessed with love. For the sake of the female lead, he is willing to turn against the main characters, allowing war to rage and evil to spread everywhere. In the end, the male lead is despised by the world, attacked by the masses, and dies from being pierced by a thousand arrows. The character, plot, and world completely collapse."

"Host, you can only be resurrected by saving this world."

"Host, you are electricity, you are light! You are the hope of the whole village!"

"Stay..."

"Stop! Let me catch my breath."

Chai Xiaomi leaned against the wall and walked aimlessly inside.

She was considering how likely she was to win.

According to the plot I remember, near the end, the villain was already the youngest Gu King in Miao territory.

No one could get close to him, much less harm him; he died from the backlash of his own poison.

When Chai Xiaomi saw that chapter, she was dumbfounded.

The initially formidable villain is suddenly killed off.

It seems that the author forced him to leave the story in order to achieve a happy ending, and didn't even explain his background clearly.

So she quit the novel, gave it a one-star rating, cursed "bad ending!", and didn't read any further.

It turns out that you shouldn't just give a novel a one-star rating; you might face retaliation.

"Holy crap!"

Chai Xiaomi was so engrossed in thinking about the plot that she didn't notice a protruding rock under her feet and tripped and fell flat on her face.

At the same time, it sounded as if some animal had been disturbed inside the cave, making a series of hissing sounds.

"Oh."

A very soft, mocking laugh rang out.

"Just a foreigner, look how scared you are, food delivered to your door."

The voice sounded warm and clear, yet it was chilling to the bone.

The boy spoke a foreign language that Chai Xiaomi couldn't understand, but fortunately, You Tiao could provide simultaneous translation for her.

The surrounding air seemed to freeze, as if covered with frost.

Chai Xiaomi looked up.

In front of her was a large pool of water, and a person was soaking in the middle of the pool, with his back to her.

Judging from the voice, it was a young boy.

His dark hair was tied in several long braids interspersed with silver threads on both sides, and was bound high behind his head with a circle of exquisite silver ornaments, while the rest of his long hair was spread out like thick ink and floated on the water.

Apart from the back of his head, all that could be seen was his slender, square shoulders protruding above the water.

The cave was very dark, but we could see these things clearly because the water in the pool had a bluish glow and was swaying back and forth.

The boy slowly walked up from the pool, ripples spreading around him.

Only then did Chai Xiaomi realize that the blood flowing down his body was deep red, which stood out starkly against his fair skin.

The boy's back gradually emerged from the water.

The lines below the increasingly narrow waistline are about to burst forth.

In an instant, a dazzling display of colors filled her vision, accompanied by a dense, piercing cacophony as countless bats swarmed towards her from the cave walls.

Its eyes were bloodshot, and its fangs were bared, as if it had been infected with a zombie virus. Judging from its appearance, it was about to swallow her whole.

Chai Xiaomi felt a chill run down her spine and instinctively raised her hand to block.

The bats seemed to be intimidated, circling around her and no longer approaching.

"Why aren't you eating?" came the boy's puzzled voice.

The swarm of bats parted to make way.

He had dressed himself at some point, in a bright blue Miao costume adorned with intricate traditional patterns.

She wore a silver necklace with intricate patterns around her neck, layer upon layer.

Two strings of earrings swayed gently as he walked, making a tinkling sound.

The boy stopped in front of her.

With red lips, white teeth, and slightly upturned eyebrows, she had a face that was so beautiful it was almost bewitching.

Especially her heterochromatic eyes, one amber and the other a deep purple.

Like two dazzling gems set within, shimmering with light, seemingly capable of captivating the soul.

A terrifying chill crept up from the soles of Chai Xiaomi's feet, invading her limbs and bones, and she instantly felt her whole body stiffen.

In a novel, who else could have heterochromia besides the villain Wu Li?!

"Youtiao, I feel like I'm doomed..."

"Host, hang in there! I'm relying on your good looks, your good looks!"

"What good is good looks? He's even prettier than me! I want to kill the author! Why write a man so alluring?!"

Before she could finish venting her grievances, her wrist was suddenly grabbed.

The boy's hands were icy cold, devoid of any warmth, and his fingertips were damp.

"How...how is this possible?"

He incredulously pulled Chai Xiaomi's wrist close to his face, staring intently at the back of her hand, muttering incantations as if confirming something.

Following his gaze, Chai Xiaomi saw a black scorpion tattoo on the back of her hand!

This spot is exactly where the sacred tree scorpion just bit me; there's no wound, but instead, a tattoo has appeared.

In a moment of quick thinking, Chai Xiaomi disregarded everything else and took the initiative, grasping Wu Li's hands with both of hers.

She even rubbed his cold hand against her face, the touch like a chilled soda can. Chai Xiaomi hissed, put on an incredibly affectionate expression, and slowly said, "Is it you? Brother, you are the one who appeared in my dream."

"Even though this is the first time I've met you, I have a feeling of déjà vu. Is this what people call love at first sight?"

The greatest form of kidnapping in the world is emotional kidnapping. When someone loves you wholeheartedly but you can't reciprocate, you naturally feel guilty.

If Wu Li had felt even the slightest bit of guilt, he wouldn't have killed her so easily.

Xiaomi, you're a genius!

"Let go, who's your brother!" Wu Li suddenly switched to Mandarin.

The novel mentions that he speaks Chinese, and although his accent sounds a bit rusty, it doesn't detract from the fact that the boy's voice is as pleasant as ever.

He abruptly shook off her hand, staggered back two steps, the swaying tassels of her earrings brushing against his face and slapping his chin, his lips pressed into a straight line.

Amidst the clanging and clattering, the swarm of bats suddenly scattered and all hid inside the cave.

In the dim light, only countless pairs of red eyes flickered on and off, as if they were hiding in the shadows, watching the show.

"Fool!" Wu Li rebuked coldly, "Is 'brother' something you can just call anyone? Besides, you look older than me."