My Mother Has a System but Won't Use It

153  Luckyly in the Maw

Han Li stood in the middle of a clearing, hidden, his face filled with complex emotions, which he quickly cleared away.

Before him, settled inside a small cradle, was a baby; he was crying out loud while all around the baby boy, were foxes. White foxes and all of them seemed to shine in the twilight like the lustrous moon. They appeared strangely ethereal.

None of these foxes were Beasts. They were normal animals. But around the cradle of leaves where laid the baby, they walked around, as if they were protecting the baby. As if they were sentient beings filled with pity at the small lifeform.

Han Li looked at them as the foxes snorted and walked around; everything felt calm; there was no reason for him to waste any time here—only if there was not a Life Type Magical Resource in the baby's hand. Yes, there was a tangerine-like fruit tied to the baby's hand, and with one glance, he knew what it was.

Any other person might have jumped at the chance, saving the kid in the process from the bloodshed around. Han Li would have also done that; he would have returned to his mom's side already. He was feeling anxious now, even though he was pretty sure his mom was safe and that no one could find her in merely 40 minutes that remained till sunset. He didn't like putting it to an off-chance. But no, he didn't move to take the fruit. He stayed still. Just looking at the baby and the cradle, his sense of danger alarmed out crazily. There appeared to be no danger, nothing at all. Yet, his life vision told an entirely different story.

It was the first time he had used Life Vision on a beast like this, and he could feel the lack of a name the thing had. Instead, the feedback he received was the name of its species instead.

[Parasite Bait Snake] [Age: 39 years]

[Current Cultivation: Ordinary Beast—Blood Dao Beast Core.]

[End time cultivation in the first life Premonition: Ordinary Animal]

[End time cultivation in the last Premonition: Beast King, Life Great Dao Beast King Core.]

[Death: (in the last premonition) At age 56 in a battle against another Beast.]

'…A snake that releases parasitic venom. It can enslave other beasts for a short time till they die soon enough, and when they die, it uses them as food. It baits others with nasty tactics as if it is sentient, but it lacks any intelligence, yet it has very keen instincts…' he remembered. The snake was stuck to a tree, but it was hard to notice due to its almost bark-like skin. He was quite sure many had died here already; the snake was good at hiding such things, so it was quite strong. In fact, almost all of the Beasts in this world had bodies at the level of Sacred Talent Cultivators of the Transformation Type even without Transforming, so if they took you by surprise, you'd be done for most of the time. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

He also knew this thing was even more dangerous. Unlike Transformation-Type Cultivators, who had to transform, Beasts were strong in their original forms and were extremely strong. Just like him, who had Talents instead of Magic Powers, they also had inherent abilities like flight, venom sacs, flexible bodies, and similar. Even though they lacked the intelligence to use it well, their instincts were, in themselves, powerful.

Han Li took a deep breath. The Life Sword floated gently closer. If even one of the wolves were harmed, the snake would notice, Han Li knew the danger. He knew it didn't rely on something like Soul Sense either, so even the slightest sound would alert it.

'I have to deal with this before one of the Power Borns who are searching for the kids arrive here…" His gaze locked in on the snake's possible vulnerable areas. Han Li pondered the best route for a long second. What was the best choice here?

A passing breeze lifted his hair slightly, brushing by his cold and calculative gaze. The beast had a better body than him, but his sword could cut it. His proficiency that Evolution Stage couldn't even dream about was not something it could easily push aside. The stronger your proficiency, the sharper your weapons were. Even though he couldn't cut through metal like butter now, he could cut through normal-width trees like butter. His strength had risen, and his body could help him better use the sword now. Of course, using his strength alone, he could bend metal.

But even though the snake appeared so brittle, he knew it would have flesh tougher than normal trees. It would have a body powerful enough to crush him if it coiled around him.

Its skin would also be hard to pass through. Even the wolves could end up being a nuisance. Suddenly, Han Li sat down cross-legged and began to breathe evenly. He calmly waited with anticipation rising in his chest

It didn't take long before a long-haired young man entered the clearing. He had pitch-black hair, blue eyes, and black teeth. The young man first looked at the baby in the clearing and scanned the surroundings using his Soul Sense. Han Li took a step back from where he was. The soul sense reached the limit of 10 meters just a step before him.

While at the same time, he looked at the youth with curiosity. 'Mud Dao Soul, Ethereal Type…' he thought. On the other hand, the youth had his eyes shimmer as he walked confidently towards the baby. A magical resource!

Could it be a life type?

All of the wolves turned and looked at him, their eyes immediately bloodshot.

*Growl!*

They growled at him hatefully.

"What a pity," the youth said, his voice airy, "I would've loved to have you guys back home as my pets. What beautiful fur, what moon-like brilliance, but sadly, I have not the power to leave nor the ability to take you away with me. We could have some fun here if you wish, though."

He said with a weird grin and added with an emotional chuckle. "I really love these animals who care for human life, you know? Better than humans, at least."

The wolves looked at him coldly, slowly surrounding him. The youth sighed, "My family was like you, wolves. I used to think of them as mighty, you see. But in the end? When they surrounded me to kill me, I was far too strong for them. Just like now."

He walked forward and suddenly chanted something inaudible. The weight on the wolves seemed to have suddenly doubled, tripled. Magical Power: Weight of Mud!

The youth didn't immediately move to the baby, though, making the hidden Han Li frown in irritation. The youth instead walked towards one of the white wolves and ran his hand through its fur with a weird, blissful expression.

Han Li coldly snorted to himself. The fool!

The chance of them both dying to each other was now out of the list.

The snake slithered, gently and silently, moving towards the youth like a silent wind. Even the grass it slithered upon seemed not to have felt it as it suddenly appeared behind the youth and suddenly stood long. Han Li felt his heart thump at the sight. Seven meters, the whole thing was at least 7 meters!

It was like a sudden spring, as before the youth could even realize what was happening, a huge maw devoured him, and a great tail surrounded him with the fox he was caressing together.

The snake's hold tightened. A small geyser of blood exploded; the boy's body was then devoured whole, soon followed by the 2-meter big wolf.

The snake stood there, blood completely bathing it as it hissed coldly at the remaining foxes. With another hiss, it heavily rolled around in the blood-soaked mud, and the blood was slowly absorbed into its skin. About ten minutes later, the snake hissed and returned to where it had been hiding. But then it looked with its green eyes at the empty cradle-like structure where neither the baby nor the fruit was visible.

It was silent for a second before it opened its mouth wide in a hiss. Han Li smirked from some meters in front of it. His gaze focused, he spun the sword now firmly in his grip, adjusting his hold until the hilt felt just right. The world seemed to hold its breath as his leg was planted heavily onto the ground, and he hurled it. The sword spun through the air like a dark flash, a streak of deadly precision. It had crossed the distance in a second, and in another second, it pierced the soft tissues of the beast's inner mouth. It screeched and closed its mouth like a toothpick stuck inside the throat; the flying sword wreaked havoc inside. It didn't take long for the squirming beast to stop squirming; just 4 minutes after the heart was destroyed inside like tofu, its movements came to a halt. Like a balloon losing air, blood leaked through its pores.