“Few people believe in me… Isn’t that strange?”

Hearing this voice, Su Zhou’s expression slowly became serious. He frowned, seemingly wanting to say something.

But at this moment, a Zheng Country team passing through the tourist town drew his attention.

It was a rather peculiar team. Some were fat, some were thin, some were tall, some were short, not at all conforming to the usual Zheng Country team’s uniform physique, faces hidden as if they were clones. Some were even wearing modified robes and had long hair, looking less like a rescue team and more like teachers from a academy.

Strangely, no one in the town seemed to notice this odd team, as if they didn't exist. Someone within the team also noticed Su Zhou's gaze and gave a soft “eh?”—but because they had a mission, they didn't stop and continued towards the forest in the mountains.

"What's wrong? Is there something unusual?"

"Nothing. I saw a rare seed… Those guys, putting aside everything else, are really good at judging people. Even if this kind of talent isn't used as an offering for those vicious rituals, they can be brainwashed and become the backbone of those organizations in the new era."

"Tempted? Why not ask? Seeing isn't necessarily believing; we need to carefully test to confirm potential."

"Forget it, there are still important matters to attend to, and there's no need to pay too much attention—the national college entrance exam, the 'Sacred Selection Exam,' will have a large-scale change next year, and all the academies will show their abilities to select the capable. This little guy has such outstanding talent that he will naturally stand out, so we don't need to favor him."

"And now, what we need to focus on is what exactly the Holy Serpent Litanies organization did here."

The team's conversation was very discreet, even using some special means to focus the sound waves, so the voices only existed between them. If it were ordinary people, they would definitely not hear it.

But Su Zhou was different.

A small, blood-colored snake slithered out from behind Su Zhou's left ear. It had been hiding in the gap between the young man's temple hair and ear, allowing him to clearly hear all the movements in the distance.

And Su Zhou inquired in his heart.

"Hey… do you think they will discover anything?"

"Like you… or the traces I left behind?"

The blood-colored snake lazily flicked its needle-thin tail: "Don't worry, they won't discover anything."

"My last bit of power destroyed all the traces and karma there. Even if angels descended or true immortals arrived, they wouldn't find anything—they can't figure out anything except knowing that a god-level void transaction once occurred there."

"Is that so…"

Regarding the little snake's confident, or even dismissive, words, Su Zhou was silent for a moment, then sighed. He recalled the many illusions he had seen during the contract and couldn't help but ask: "What should I call you?"

"Holy Serpent Spirit, or Zhulong, Xiangliu, Yamata no Orochi? Or Ananta Shesha, Ouroboros, the ancient serpent Satan?"

"What… exactly are you?"

Su Zhou's spirit was filled with deep doubt. This should have been a difficult question to answer, but the other party didn't have any intention of hiding anything.

"Yes, and no."

A light tone rang out. The little snake, with blood as its body, sounded cheerful, and you could even hear it faintly humming hymns, rapping: "Don't guess, don't probe~ I am Typhon, and Apophis, I am Vritra, and Kukulkan."

"They are not me, and I am all."

"Son of man, you are too far from the truth. Instead of worrying about my 'true nature,' you should be more concerned about your own future."

"However, you can call me 'Yalla' (yalla·יאללה)."

It seemed really happy. Even though it didn't have any power now, it freely twisted and turned on Su Zhou's ear, like an Indian snake dance, making him feel a little itchy.

"Alright, anyway, I don't really care who you are… So Yalla, the contract you signed with me, the conditions haven't been agreed upon yet. What exactly do you want me to do?"

Su Zhou raised his head and looked at the moon. The bright moonlight shone on him, giving him a feeling that he was faintly absorbing something: "I know, the Litanies failed to summon you. You should have been furious, but you… signed a contract with me, who stopped the Litanies, saving my life and giving me new life."

At this moment, the young man raised his hand, seemingly wanting to grasp the moonlight. He could feel the warmth of the moonlight, the smell of the air, the fragrance of the grass and trees, the speed and direction of the wind… Standing in place, Su Zhou was motionless, but he seemed to be able to feel everything around him. He could see the branches and green leaves trembling in the wind on the distant tree trunks, and he could see the ants and beetles crawling in the bushes.

Washing marrow and cleansing meridians? Rebirth? A complete upgrade of the senses brought a new feeling, and endless doubts.

"I find it hard to understand, why didn't you sign a contract with the leader of that Litanies?"

This was indeed a question that Su Zhou found difficult to understand. It felt like when armies were fighting, the enemy leader took the lead in defecting, a kind of unbelievable psychedelic feeling.

[Your ministers are ready to fight to the death, why is Your Majesty surrendering first?!]

[—By the Bedouin High Priest]

"Su Zhou. I'll call you by name. I am an existence you cannot imagine right now. I know very well what is exploitation, what is transaction, and what is faith."

The little snake, calling itself 'Yalla,' still had a cheerful tone. It seemed to enjoy the current environment and atmosphere, so even though Su Zhou's tone was very serious, it didn't care: "Of course, the most important reason is because you are young, handsome, and talented… Why would I sign a contract with an old geezer who doesn't believe in me, isn't handsome, and whose talent isn't even good? Do you think I'm that picky?"

"Don't worry, the contract I made with you doesn't even involve freedom, and the conditions are so broad that they're almost non-existent. In my name, this is really the most honest deal, without any additional conditions, even… more reliable than those ."

Saying this, it seemed a little fearful, not daring to say that name. The blood-colored serpent spirit whispered: "It would be best if you were willing to help me break the seal—but if you don't want to, it doesn't matter. As long as you want to become stronger, it's a good thing for me and can slowly unlock the seal's restriction on me."

Hearing this, Su Zhou couldn't help but fall silent, lost in thought… Of course, he didn't quite believe the serpent spirit's words. Would a liar say they are lying? But this serpent spirit, calling itself Yalla, was different. If it wanted to deceive him, it didn't need to say so much. It didn't even need to deceive him at all, after all, his life was saved by the other party.

Although it was a transaction and a contract, the timing of the 'contract' was the greatest value.

1 Above are the names of many snake gods from around the world.