Chapter 390: 390 Beginning

Okay.

After emerging from the reed thicket and seeing the expanse of white reeds before him, Li Ang nodded in satisfaction.

Although the view wasn't as good as flying, it was already decent—at least for observing the environment, there were no major issues.

Stand up straight!

Patting the Snow Maiden's head, Li Ang absentmindedly stroked her cool, slippery hair before saying:

Don't wobble! Hold steady! And… turn half a circle to your left—I want to see what's over there!

Damn humans!

Hearing the commands from above, the Snow Maiden, furious and face flushed red, gripped Li Ang's two muddy thighs and struggled to turn half a circle to the left.

Riding on my head… you sick pervert! May you die with a broken neck the moment you get off me!

Having discarded the unnecessary reed sandals and found a better mount, Li Ang rode on the Snow Maiden's shoulders, her teeth clenched, and began observing the wasteland with his naked eyes.

In this boundless, desolate marsh, apart from black mud and pale reeds, no third color could be found; the occasional small pools of water were stained only in pure black and white.

Still can't see anything…

After commanding the Snow Maiden beneath him to turn a full circle and finding no anomalies, Li Ang's brow furrowed again.

It seems this black-and-white marsh is much larger than I anticipated—finding the Scorpion Director is one thing, but even determining his location is extremely difficult… What should I do?

Just as Li Ang was at a loss, a damp, chilly wind from the wasteland, carrying the scent of mud and drifting reed fluff, swiftly brushed past him through the tops of the reeds.

Sensing something unusual, Li Ang's nose twitched slightly, then he took a deep breath.

This wind… there's something slightly off about its smell?

Relying on his heightened senses granted by 8 points of Taint, far sharper than an ordinary human's, Li Ang detected the anomaly in the wind and reached for his sleeve, calling out the puppy from the Mirror World.

You're a dog, aren't you?

Woof?

Use your dog nose to smell this wind—tell me what you detect.

Woof…

After nodding the puppy's tiny head, Li Ang lifted it up; the pup sniffed the wind with its pink little nose, then was choked by the drifting reed fluff, sneezing several high-pitched, babyish sneezes.

Woof! Woof woof!

Burnt smell? And a faint trace of blood?

Understanding the puppy's barks through the Cleaner Badge, Li Ang narrowed his eyes slightly, identified the wind's direction, and spoke to the Snow Maiden below:

Go right—there's something over there.

To the right…

Following Li Ang's order, the Snow Maiden, resentful and drenched in sweat from exhaustion, panted as she asked:

How far… how far do we have to go?

At this wind speed, the scent won't spread far… so… about two or three kilometers?

What? Two or three kilometers?!

Having been dragged from the snow mountain nightmare, then had its nightmare core shattered—losing both bonuses—the Snow Maiden's physique was even weaker than an ordinary human's; had Li Ang not been relatively frail, he might not even have been able to carry her.

Hearing she must be carried another two or three kilometers, the Snow Maiden—who had been expelled from the Dream Realm by the Nightmare King and demoted to a mount—felt her legs go weak, nearly collapsing to the ground.

Please, just kill me now! You damned pervert! If I live any longer, I don't know what else you'll do to me!

This really isn't working… she's moving too slowly!

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After sensing the Snow Maiden's timid stride and her unsteady, three-shakes-per-step gait, Li Ang paused briefly, then slid off her slender shoulders. In her stunned gaze, he reached for her skirt.

You! What are you doing?!

Nothing.

Despite the Snow Maiden's desperate resistance, Li Ang tore two strips from the hem of her white dress, wrapped them around his shoes, and stepped into the marsh.

Didn't sink.

As expected—the Snow Maiden in stories always wears white, so this dress must be part of the "Nightmare Emissary" attire, possessing the same resistance to the nightmare world's rules.

Confirming his hypothesis worked, Li Ang immediately turned, crouched slightly, and faced the Snow Maiden, who was retreating in panic, then ordered:

Get on!

Hurry up! Don't dawdle! I'm pressed for time!

Damn human!

First you ride my neck, then you tear my dress, and now you're giving me orders like this! You're beyond inhuman!

After mentally cursing him with every vile word she knew, the Snow Maiden exhaled faintly, her clean, pale face smudged with black mud, then climbed onto his back, wrapping her smooth legs tightly and fiercely around his waist.

I'll strangle you!

Crawl up higher!

He lifted the Snow Maiden on his back into a position that wouldn't hinder his running, bent his spine slightly, and sprinted toward the direction the puppy had scented.

What followed was far better than Li Ang had expected: barely eight hundred meters into their run, a vast, bottomless tunnel emerged from behind the towering reeds, slanting deep into the marsh.

This looks like… something gigantic burrowed out?

After examining the scale-like scratches on the tunnel's "ground," Li Ang narrowed his eyes—he knew this was the trail left by the Marsh King Snake as it dug through the mire.

Of course—if it's a giant snake, the marsh couldn't bear its weight, so the Marsh King Snake's primary activity must be underground. If the Scorpion Director clashed with it, the battle likely occurred beneath the surface.

Standing beside the tunnel, Li Ang inspected the partially vitrified, still-warm sections scorched by intense heat, then sniffed the still-fresh blood scent, and immediately concluded:

The Scorpion Director was here not long ago—fought a fierce battle with the Marsh King Snake underground.

But since there's now complete silence, and the Marsh King Snake, as the "landlord" of this wasteland, hasn't emerged since my intrusion, they've most likely left this place and moved to another dream layer.

I have a question.

Slapping the Snow Maiden's tense thigh, Li Ang asked:

How are these six dream layers arranged? Stacked vertically, one atop another, then looped end to end?

Hmph!

If I hear you hum again, you'll get off and I'll ride you instead!

Damn human!

Faced with the terrifying threat of becoming a human's mount again, the Snow Maiden clenched her teeth, then stiffened her refined face and answered coldly:

Yes! And the man you're looking for has probably killed the Marsh King Snake and descended to the layer below!

Already gone down?

After hearing the Snow Maiden's answer, Li Ang paused briefly, then ordered:

Then let's go up! Take me to the layer above!

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