Mountains and giant beasts, cabins in the woods

Liu Xingmo casually flipped through the pages and found the content he needed.

Although he hadn't reached that level of expertise, his intuition as a library employee remained. He knew what books were useful for and could figure it out after flipping through a couple of pages.

"Third Sister, take a look at this book. The author, like you, is a practitioner of the Snake Transformation technique."

By the light of the brazier, Liu Xingmo began to read the words from the book.

……

After a moment, he looked up and asked, "Did you understand?"

The giant snake nodded and then shook its head: "I understand, but it's still a little short."

"Isn't that enough?" Liu Xingmo put down the book and picked up another one. "Let me read this passage."

……

"Third Sister, have you learned it?"

"I'm sorry, young master. I still don't understand." The giant snake sat cross-legged, motionless.

Liu Xingmo frowned. "Is it that difficult? Although I'm not strong enough, I feel this explanation is quite clear." He put down his book. "Let's find an instructor to ask. The staff in the library are all responsible for answering questions."

"No need for that, the problem lies with me." The serpent's eyes reflected the leaping flames. "I can't quite remember what it feels like to be a human being."

"Huh? Mental illness?" Liu Xingmo scratched his head. "Now that you mention it, it seems that some people do indeed follow their nature after advancing to the third rank, returning to their natural state and completely treating themselves as wild beasts."

"Oh? Such extraordinary people and events exist?"

"Those guys are all cultivation fanatics, and one of them even has a Blood Path Innate Physique. Your situation seems a bit different from theirs..."

"Young master, do you think there's a cure for my problem?"

"A mental illness requires a mental cure, Third Sister. You've been under too much pressure lately. Transforming into a snake allows you to escape your troubles, so deep down you don't want to turn back into a human. Yes! You can even see the change in your tone of voice; this is a classic symptom of dissociative identity disorder."

Liu Xingmo stretched out his fingers and broke them off one by one.

"Look at this, the collusion with spies was exposed, we got into a big lawsuit, lost our ancestral property, and even let... cough cough! We transferred Fuhei to me, and also got the property rights of Needle, the three-headed strange beast Gray Wolf... So many big things happened in just half a year, it's really deadly."

"Young master, you forgot one thing: we encountered the Nian beast during the New Year."

"Yes, yes, yes! That thing was really scary. I haven't slept well for days." Liu Xingmo nodded in agreement. "Anyway, maybe you can find yourself again when you're back in familiar surroundings."

"As you say, then I'll take a stroll through Falling Flower Alley." The giant snake lowered its head, staring directly at the young man. "Thank you, Liu Xingmo."

"You're welcome."

The giant snake left.

Liu Xingmo stayed in the inner treasury for a while longer, casually flipping through a few books on bloodline secrets, none of which were as good as "Xuanwu's Hard and Soft Transformation".

The secret techniques of woodworking were indeed useful, so he memorized them on the spot.

Judging that it was about time, Liu Xingmo arrived at the newspaper office.

All five employees were present.

No more small talk, let's get to work.

The rain outside the window patters incessantly. Inside, the person writes with flowing strokes.

Liu Xingmo occasionally sensed strange gazes, which disappeared as soon as he looked up.

It's obvious who it is without even asking; that girl Liu Huimin has been slacking off again.

Speaking of which, she was in charge of editing the events in Midtown.

That huge mushroom-shaped fortress is built in the east of the city, and it spews black smoke out every day. This should be in the newspapers by now, but there's been no news for two months.

This girl knew that house was mine all along, didn't she? What is she thinking?

Is she blaming me for keeping this a secret? Does she think I'm stingy and not generous enough to my employees? Really? Is she trying to blackmail me into treating her to a lavish meal?

Surely he doesn't actually like me?

Liu Xingmo put down his pen and stared at the girl with her head down at the desk not far away.

Liu Huimin seemed to be working diligently, but when she occasionally looked up, her gaze involuntarily swept towards the young man by the window.

Their gazes met.

Suddenly, a bright white light flashed outside the window; it was thunder moving through the clouds.

Two pairs of eyes met, lost in the bright silver light.

After a fleeting moment of brilliance, the world fell into darkness.

Liu Huimin hurriedly lowered her head and wrote rapidly on the paper with a fountain pen.

Liu Xingmo shook his head and chuckled, then immersed himself in his own creative work.

"Boom—!" The thunderous roar finally swept across the land from the horizon.

……

This week's newspapers sold very well. Many people are staying home and need something to read to pass the time.

The newspaper delivery people work hard, braving wind and rain to deliver newspapers to every household.

After finishing their busy work, the six parted ways at the library. Everyone was soaked in sweat and just wanted to get home and take a shower as soon as possible, rather than go out to eat.

Due to some unforeseen troubles, Liu Xingmo was the last to leave.

He explained the story to his fan club, collected information for children looking for reference books, and read letters aloud to elderly people with failing eyesight...

By the time he said goodbye to the librarian and left the library, it was already completely dark outside.

I put on a raincoat and a bamboo hat and stepped into the early summer night rain.

"Young master, let me hold an umbrella for you." A clear and charming voice rang out from the deep alley.

A woman, dressed in a red silk dress and carrying an oil-paper umbrella, walked slowly towards them.

"Third Sister, you've changed back." Liu Xingmo adjusted his straw hat and smiled.

"That's right, I am Liu San Niang." The woman smiled faintly, answering a question that seemed irrelevant.

Two days of rain made the roads very muddy.

"Awooo—!" Another enormous figure appeared on the street.

A lithe gray wolf, covered with several large lotus leaves, crouched down in front of the library. "Crack!" The small, movable house with carved pine doors and windows fell to the ground.

Liu San Niang stepped forward, opened the door, and waved to the young man, "Young master, the wind is strong and the rain is cold. Let me take you home."

"Thank you for your trouble." Liu Xingmo walked into the small building.

"Splash, splash..." The gray wolf's footsteps splashed water onto the ravines and bark of the trees.

The streets were silent in the rainy night. Only the windows emitted a dim, warm orange light.

Leaving the bustling city center, we arrived at the foot of the mountain in the east of the city.

Sharp wolf claws scrambled across the earth and rocks, heading towards the rounded stone fortress.

In front of the city gate, a small building sits on the ground.

Liu Xingmo put on his straw hat, waved, and walked under the eaves.

"Young master, you should get some rest."

Liu San Niang bowed slightly and closed the wooden door. She went to the window and watched the young man's figure disappear behind the door.

The massive gray wolf straightened up and turned to walk back to its home.

The woman in the carved window had her face streaked with rain and wind, and her expression was one of utter desolation.

Her wet black hair clung to her fair skin, and water droplets slid down the soft curves of her face, flowing onto the red silk.

……

On the other side, Liu Xingmo walked a few steps in the hall, found the spirit stone lamp, pressed the button, and released a bright white light.

On the cement floor, there was a set of complex mechanical objects, and coils of wires wrapped around a thick roller.

The generator has arrived!