[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-survival-guide-in-a-mysterious-world":3,"chapter-survival-guide-in-a-mysterious-world-survival-guide-in-a-mysterious-world-chapter-5":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Survival Guide in a Mysterious World",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2298974,4497,"Chapter 5: The Snake God Is Ill","survival-guide-in-a-mysterious-world-chapter-5",5,"\u003Cp>“The Snake God… is sick?” Feng Yu shu didn’t quite understand what Gu Yunqing meant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How can a god get sick?” “I don’t know,” Gu Yunqing pressed his fingertips to his brow. “But it’s said the Snake God fell ill eighteen years ago—with madness.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ye Miaozhu added: “We overheard this in a large house at the east end of the village. A few servants were whispering among themselves, saying… for a few days each month, the Snake God statue in the ancestral hall, once benevolent and serene, turns ferocious and unrecognizable. The He family strictly avoids this. When the Snake God falls ill, the entire village locks themselves indoors, as if fleeing something.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No wonder we saw not a single open door on our way to the ancestral hall, and no one came to consult the almanac,” Xie Sining realized. “They’re hiding from the mad Snake God.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But that doesn’t make sense,” Zhang Yangxu shook his head. “If the Snake God’s madness is truly that dangerous—so dangerous that every He family member dares not leave their home—then why did nothing happen while we entered the ancestral hall, flipped through the almanac, waited for someone to appear, and then left?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Yangxu’s doubt was everyone’s doubt, but no one could explain why.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The eerie village remained shrouded in unknown mist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the silence, Ning Zhe’s gaze flickered. He remembered the corpse he’d hidden beneath the altar table. He remembered Lin Zhiyuan, who had died mysteriously before the Snake God, without even a cry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps some things hadn’t failed to happen—they’d already happened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No matter the truth, we can’t return to the ancestral hall to confirm anything,” Ning Zhe shook his head, pulled out his phone, opened his gallery, and showed a photo to Gu Yunqing and Ye Miaozhu. “This is today’s taboo. If you can’t remember it, take a picture.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ye Miaozhu beamed. “Thank you so much—you’ve been a huge help.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Yangxu watched Ye Miaozhu and Gu Yunqing taking photos with their phones, then glanced at Ning Zhe, calm and flawless in expression, and smiled strangely: “Quite thorough.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps too thorough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Today’s Auspicious and Inauspicious:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Suitable:]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Taboo: Traveling, Burial, Mourning, Sacrifice]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Now everyone knows today’s taboos,” Ning Zhe put away his phone. “Burial, mourning, and sacrifice are all taboos that require deliberate violation. The taboo against ‘traveling’ has also been proven not to mean staying indoors—we may move freely within the village. But whether leaving the village counts as breaking the taboo, or whether it’s dangerous—we don’t know.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So as long as we don’t leave the village, today is effectively free of all taboos.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ning Zhe took a deep breath and looked steadily at the group. “We’ve shared information already. Everyone here entered through a ‘door.’ So I boldly guess the exit from this place is hidden somewhere in the village—a ‘door’ we must find to return to the real world.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A reasonable guess,” Zhang Yangxu nodded. “I understand what you mean.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If we’re to explore He Family Village, today—free of taboos—is our best chance. Even though today is when the Snake God goes mad, how do we know tomorrow’s taboo won’t be more dangerous than today’s mad god?” Ning Zhe continued. “No one can be sure tomorrow’s taboo won’t include something like ‘taboo: breathing.’ Better to seek an exit proactively than wait to die. The sooner, the better.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Agreed,” Zhang Yangxu nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I also think we shouldn’t wait to die,” Ye Miaozhu agreed. After a vote, all accepted Ning Zhe’s proposal—except Feng Yu shu, who looked reluctant, her face pale with fear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then let’s set a time.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Yunqing glanced at his luminous watch. “It’s 0:27 a.m. From this ancestral hall, we depart in three minutes, paired off to search He Family Village for clues.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“At 2:00 a.m., exactly one and a half hours from now, we regather at the ancestral hall entrance to exchange what we’ve found.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Fine,” Xie Sining agreed first. Zhang Yangxu and Ye Miaozhu had no objections. Gu Yunqing didn’t specify pairings—nor did he need to. In an unfamiliar place, pairing with someone familiar is human instinct.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“By the way, before we go, let’s exchange phone numbers.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ye Miaozhu suggested: “You’ve all tried calling out or texting, right? The environment here is unusual—signal seems blocked. Neither calls nor messages get through.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But although we can’t reach the outside world, we seem able to communicate with each other within the village.” She pulled out her phone and dialed a number.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A few seconds later, Gu Yunqing’s phone vibrated and rang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“See? Connected. People inside the village can call each other—probably text too,” Ye Miaozhu waved her phone. “So before splitting up, let’s exchange numbers. That way, we can warn each other if anything happens.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I see—thank you for telling me,” Ning Zhe said, exchanging numbers with her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’d already confirmed villagers could communicate using Lin Zhiyuan’s phone—but he feigned surprise at Ye Miaozhu’s reminder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because he’d come to He Family Village alone. He shouldn’t have known this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Three minutes later, everyone had exchanged numbers and tested calls. They prepared to depart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Yangxu and Xie Sining, Gu Yunqing and Ye Miaozhu—each pair silently left the ancestral hall entrance, heading down different alleyways.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s good to have someone familiar—even when trapped in a place like this,” Ning Zhe smiled bitterly, turned to Feng Yu shu still standing at the alley mouth. “Then we’re a pair, Auntie. Let’s go.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...Alright,” Feng Yu shu forced herself forward, walking with Ning Zhe into the deep alley.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It had rained tonight. The sky was heavy and dark. Without streetlights, the roads were dim; the side alleys were pitch-black.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Feng Yu shu pulled out her phone, intending to turn on the flashlight—but Ning Zhe stopped her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",957,"2026-06-20T06:29:21.893Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","157913660d388b13e386eb0d4282b2932d7d6f4ca11da82f0bb21c3746122586","survival-guide-in-a-mysterious-world-chapter-6","survival-guide-in-a-mysterious-world-chapter-4",353,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fsurvival-guide-in-a-mysterious-world-cover.jpg"]