Chapter 6

Unfortunately, Zhang Lisheng was not an adventurous and curious teenager in the past. Although he grew up in a mountain village, venturing deep into the dense forest alone was still a first for him.

However, being born in a mountain village, he still had some basic knowledge of the jungle. At the very least, he could see that the surrounding trees, though lush, were mostly common species like birch, locust, jujube, and mulberry. The ground was damp but firm, indicating that he was in an area that had been reforested from farmland. A few years ago, even a decade ago, the land under his feet was still a terraced field of a mountain farmer in Guawo Village.

Feeling a bit regretful, he suddenly heard a rustling sound above his head. Looking up, he saw a vague black shadow flash between the intertwined branches at the treetops.

He vaguely saw what seemed to be a tree snake gliding through the forest, and Zhang Lisheng immediately became excited. He hurriedly recited a witch spell and shouted the word "Capture" towards the place where the black shadow disappeared.

Influenced by his witchcraft, a nearly two-meter-long black-brown banded krait fell from the treetops but did not land on the ground. Instead, it was caught by a branch that extended out sideways.

However, since it was captured by Zhang Lisheng, this non-venomous common banded krait had no way to escape. Soon, it wriggled its body in response to Zhang Lisheng's incantation, "Sss, sss, sss, sss," and slithered down from the branch to the feet of the young man.

This was the first time he had used witchcraft on an insect or creature that had not been fed blood, and he was overjoyed to see it become as obedient as Qinghong.

Looking at the large, round-headed snake at his feet, he did not criticize it for being just a common banded krait, which is not known for its ferocity among non-venomous snakes and mainly survives by eating mice and bats. He generously spat out a mouthful of black blood to complete his unfinished witchcraft.

Under the influence of the witchcraft, the banded krait raised its body and danced gracefully in the blood mist. Its body rapidly grew larger, and its scales and flesh twisted and split. In a moment, it exploded with a "bang" and turned into a puddle of flesh.

The use of witchcraft made Zhang Lisheng's face pale, and the failure of the witch insect transformation made his expression even worse.

Seeing that his newly changed clean clothes were already covered in blood, he was stunned for a moment before realizing that witchcraft could also fail. The path of witchcraft was not as simple as he had imagined.

Fortunately, this was just the beginning. A small setback could not make Zhang Lisheng feel discouraged for long. After regaining his composure, he sighed, lamenting the loss of half his witch power and a mouthful of essence blood, and continued deeper into the forest.

The path became increasingly difficult to navigate.

After crossing the reforested area, tall trees with their bizarre roots and intertwined vines began to form natural barriers in the forest, blocking the sky and the sun.

Occasionally, strange and withered trees would appear in the forest. Although withered, these trees seemed to have not lost their life, as the plants growing on their trunks thrived, creating a variety of beautiful and intricate shapes.

The forest floor was covered with countless fungi and various strange flowers and plants, hindering the steps of visitors.

From the countless legends passed down in the mountain village, Zhang Lisheng, already exhausted, knew that this deep forest was fraught with danger. He released his witch insect, Qinghong.

He was well aware that even as a "beginner witch," he was not immune to insects and beasts without reciting witch spells.

Qinghong emerged from Zhang Lisheng's trouser leg and began to crawl around the forest and trees within a 10-meter radius, causing many venomous insects and small animals to flee.

Feeling a bit safer, Zhang Lisheng swallowed and, with his aching body, sat down to rest under a withered tree covered in slippery moss.

After catching his breath and feeling somewhat refreshed, his mouth became even thirstier. He realized that he had acted rashly by entering the forest without preparation.

However, since he had already come this far into the forest, leaving without any gains made him feel very reluctant. After resting for a while and feeling somewhat energized, he stood up from the dead tree and began to recite witch spells, causing countless insects and creatures to emerge from their hiding places. He planned to take a chance and see if he could capture his second witch insect.

The lesson from the previous ordinary non-venomous banded krait, which had burst and died after being transformed by witchcraft, made Zhang Lisheng avoid snakes this time. After much thought, he decided that it would be best to capture a highly venomous centipede. With the successful example of Qinghong, he felt more confident in transforming a centipede.

Short-tailed pit vipers, forest lizards, and tree pythons...

The forest was dimly lit, and although Zhang Lisheng's knowledge of insects and reptiles was extensive, thanks to his father's strict education and the detailed images and videos from computers, identifying the animals scurrying around in this environment was still very challenging.

After becoming a beginner witch, reciting witch spells carried supernatural power, but using this power required a cost.

After a long time without finding a satisfactory rare and venomous centipede, Zhang Lisheng gradually felt his witch power weakening.

If he did not make a quick decision, he might soon lack the strength to even attempt to transform a witch insect. Reluctantly, he decided to aim for a highly venomous long-legged tree lizard.

He continuously recited witch spells, his eyes fixed on the long-legged tree lizard that was moving its slender legs over a mud puddle, just about to utter the word "Capture."

Suddenly, he heard a distant, desperate cry: "Please! Help! Help! Who rescues me..."

Learning a foreign language is all about context.

Although Zhang Lisheng grew up in a remote mountain village in western Sichuan, he had a genuine foreign teacher who never spoke a word of Chinese during English classes.

Additionally, he had a natural talent for languages, so he could easily understand that the cry for help was "Save me, who will save me, save me..."

In the deep mountains of western Sichuan, if he had heard a call for help in Chinese, Zhang Lisheng might have considered whether it was a mountain ghost puppet. However, the cry for help in English could only be from a foreign backpacker who liked to explore without a guide.

Every year, in famous natural scenic areas around the world, there are always some incidents of tourist injuries or deaths. Most of these incidents are due to the tourists themselves, not the negligence of the scenic area management.

After all, sometimes just not following the official designated routes can turn a well-known scenic area into a silent hell.

Zhang Lisheng did not have much affection for adventure travelers who, in pursuit of excitement and a sense of conquest, often cause trouble for themselves and others. However, he could not bear to leave them to die.

After some thought, he sighed, let go of the long-legged tree lizard that was already in his grasp, and ran in the direction of the cry for help, shouting in English, "What trouble are you in? Don't stop shouting, tell me immediately, I'm on my way."

"Ah, God, God! Someone is here, thank you, thank you, here, here, there is a very fierce animal, not very large, looks like a small black Labrador, but with a cat's face.

Oh God, it's very fast, its claws are very sharp, I can't see clearly!

I'm injured, my boyfriend is also injured, save us, save us!"

Zhang Lisheng's English was not advanced enough to understand the uncommon term "Labrador," but he understood that the animal was a leopard.

The ferocity of leopards is often exaggerated in films and imagination. In reality, if in an open plain with a wide field of view, a single leopard of any type is not particularly dangerous.

However, in dense mountain forests, the ferocity of these agile hunters is magnified tenfold or more. Encountering a leopard that can climb trees and move through the forest as easily as walking on flat ground is even more dangerous than encountering a tiger or a bear.

"Shit, that's a leopard, usually hard to see, you guys are really 'lucky.'

Remember to leave the trees, leopards are the best hunters in the jungle, especially when they pounce from the trees." If he had not become a witch, Zhang Lisheng would have already turned and run away upon hearing that it was a leopard. But now, he confidently shouted.

Unfortunately, his well-intentioned warning was met with a single cry of "Ah..."

The forest was rugged and difficult to navigate. Even at his fastest, Zhang Lisheng could not quickly reach the scene of the attack. Hearing the cry, he could only shout, "What happened?"

Silence. Perhaps the caller had already met with disaster. Zhang Lisheng slowed his pace. As a mountain villager from Sichuan, he knew that those who died in the mountains were often buried in the mountains, a beautiful end. He had no intention of collecting the remains of the dead.

"My shoulder is injured, I'm bleeding a lot, I might never be able to wear a bikini again.

Oh God, I don't want to die, I don't want to die..." However, the renewed cries of distress soon proved that Zhang Lisheng's guess was wrong, and he had to quicken his pace again in the dense forest.

The cries grew louder, and Zhang Lisheng knew he was not far from the travelers who had been attacked by the wild animal. He felt a sense of anticipation and relief.

But just as his mood was slightly fluctuating, a swift figure suddenly flashed from the right, from a towering tree.

A black-spotted leopard, just over a meter long, with a seventy to eighty-centimeter-long spotted tail controlling its balance, leaped down and silently pounced on Zhang Lisheng.

Such a swift attack left Zhang Lisheng, who was still just an ordinary human, with no way to avoid it. He was immediately knocked to the ground by the black-spotted leopard. He then felt a warm, foul breath on his neck.

The leopard was about to bite through the neck of its prey in one swift motion, delivering a fatal blow.