Chapter 81: Outwitting and outmaneuvering the giant serpent!

Without any hesitation, Xiao Qidi used all his strength to stand up unsteadily.

Even though his body was extremely weak, his eyes still held an unparalleled domineering aura.

The giant serpent is the king of the food chain at the bottom of Eagle Falling Gorge. It was because of his aura that it hid nearby and secretly observed him for days, only launching an attack when it was sure that he was not in good condition.

Otherwise, the giant snake would have already appeared when it discovered Xiao Qidi and Ning Jinli on the day they fell.

Xiao Qidi straightened his back and walked out from behind the fire, approaching the giant snake step by step.

The giant snake raised its neck and head, three or four meters off the ground, and its even longer body was still outside the cave, showing just how big it was.

Seeing that Xiao Qidi had offered it to it, it did not immediately swallow it whole.

Instead, it cautiously twisted its body to observe further, then tucked its tail into the hole, gradually wrapping it around Xiao Qidi's body.

Xiao Qidi did not struggle at all.

He could only hope that the beast would leave quickly after eating him, so that Ning Jinli could at least escape this calamity.

Even if Ning Jinli didn't die in the snake's belly this time, she would never be a match for this beast in the future. But it's better to let her live a little longer than to die with him now.

In that instant, Xiao Qidi's mind was flooded with memories of all the times he had known Ning Jinli.

The days he spent falling into the deep abyss of the mountain ravine were, ironically, the most relaxed and happiest days of his life.

It's just a pity...

By the time he truly realized his feelings for her, it was too late to confess them.

"Farewell, Miss Ning..."

Xiao Qidi slowly closed his eyes.

The giant snake's tail tightened its grip, its terrifying force enveloping his entire body. He could no longer breathe and would soon suffocate, his bones crushed, before being swallowed whole by the giant snake.

Just then.

Footsteps sounded outside the cave.

Xiao Qidi, who was prepared to face death calmly, was shocked and suddenly opened his eyes.

It was obvious without even thinking that Ning Jinli had returned.

Why did you have to come back at this time of year?!

Xiao Qidi's forehead veins bulged, and his face turned a deep liver color.

He tried to shout a warning, but no sound came out.

The giant snake also sensed the commotion, so it wrapped its tail tightly around Xiao Qidi while shrinking its entire body into the cave, coiling up and arching its neck, ready to bite Ning Jinli as she entered the cave.

As the footsteps drew closer, Xiao Qidi grew increasingly desperate.

"Ning...Miss...Quick...Run..."

A few words were weakly squeezed out from between his teeth, barely audible even in the quiet cave.

Ning Jinli, who had just reached the vicinity of the cave, suddenly felt a jolt in her heart.

For some reason, I felt a chill run through my body, and a strong sense of unease welled up inside me for no apparent reason.

She stopped abruptly and stared wide-eyed at the cave.

Something's not right...

Something is very, very wrong.

The fire shining from the cave was very weak, as if it might go out at any moment.

And there was a peculiar fishy smell lingering in the vicinity.

At first, she thought it was because the wild boar's internal organs had not been properly cleaned, because she remembered vaguely smelling that strange smell during the day.

But now, the stench is very strong, and it even seems to be coming from the cave.

Apart from that, the surroundings were quieter than ever before.

Before this, whether it was day or night, you could hear the chirping of insects and the croaking of toads, and every now and then you could hear small animals darting around.

But at this moment, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to describe it as deathly silent.

It was as if all living things had vanished.

"Xiao..." Ning Jinli subconsciously wanted to call out, but immediately shut her mouth.

After a moment's thought, she gently put down the herbs she was holding.

Then, gripping the crude, handmade revolver he had found tightly in both hands, he crouched down and tiptoed toward the cave entrance, mimicking the way he had seen guns in movies before.

Inside the cave at this moment, the giant snake's head hovered above the entrance.

The moment Ning Jinli steps inside, the giant snake will bite down with lightning speed, swallowing her whole in a single gulp.

Ning Jinli's shoulder was pressed against the rock wall outside the cave entrance, only one or two meters away from the entrance. She was so nervous that her whole body was trembling.

That extremely dangerous feeling pressed down on her heart like a mountain.

Her instincts told her to run, to get as far away from here as possible.

But she was concerned about Xiao Qidi's safety, and she not only had to resist this strong instinct to avoid danger, but also had to withstand enormous pressure.

This feeling was even more terrifying than the time she moved a corpse alone in the middle of the night.

Ning Jinli took a deep breath, trying her best to control her trembling. She kept recalling gunfight scenes she had seen in TV dramas and movies, encouraging herself that at this moment, she was the protagonist in a gunfight movie.

"call……"

She let out a soft breath.

His hands gradually stopped trembling, and his gaze became sharp.

Finally regaining her composure, she slowly moved to the edge of the cave entrance.

Instead of rushing in, she carefully turned her head to the side, gradually expanding her field of vision.

The dimly lit cave was in complete disarray; the wild boar meat that had been drying was gone, and the frame made of tree branches was in disarray.

As the fire was about to go out, the light grew dimmer and dimmer, and the rest of the area could no longer be seen.

With limited visibility, it was impossible to see if Xiao Qidi was still lying in the haystack.

Ning Jinli gritted her teeth, preparing to lean in a little further.

Inside the cave, the giant snake's body was pressed against the cave wall, its tail coiled around Xiao Qidi, all hidden in the darkness. It had also silently opened its blood-red maw, revealing two pairs of sharp teeth, each half a meter long.

Xiao Qidi endured excruciating physical pain and extreme despair in his heart.

He could only watch helplessly as Ning Jinli was about to die in the snake's mouth, and there was nothing he could do. This was even more painful than killing him.

The sound of light footsteps rang out again.

Xiao Qidi had already seen Ning Jinli's toes, and then he saw her long, flowing head peek in.

In that very instant.

The giant snake, with its enormous triangular head, darted down from above the cave like lightning, its gaping maw snapping shut and swallowing the head that had just entered the cave.

Xiao Qidi's eyes were bloodshot, his mind went blank, and his heart felt as if it had been shattered into pieces by countless sharp knives in that instant.

He actually witnessed Ning Jinli's head being bitten off by a giant snake...

However, before Xiao Qidi could recover from his extreme grief and resentment, the giant snake suddenly shook its head violently, opened its mouth, and spat out the human head it had just bitten off.

The head rolled over to the fire.

Xiao Qidi was stunned for a moment.

What kind of head is this?

It was clearly a stone wrapped in grass and thorns!

Just as the giant snake was in pain and somewhat dazed...

Bang!

A loud bang.

A fire lit up beside the cave entrance.

The giant snake was startled by the commotion and quickly retracted its neck and lowered its head, looking at the cave entrance with suspicion.

Ning Jinli leaned against the outside of the cave entrance, her face deathly pale.

She had just had a sudden inspiration and tried to probe with a stone, only to see a huge, dark creature bite the stone away, almost biting her hand in the process.

She then pulled the trigger in the direction of the object.

Using the flash of light from the bullet as it was fired, she saw what the thing looked like.

What a huge snake head!

She had lived for over twenty years and had only ever seen a snake in person at the zoo.

However, the pythons in the zoo are only about four or five meters long. It is said that the largest snakes in the world can barely exceed ten meters, and the so-called fifteen meters or even longer are just rumors without any confirmation.

Judging from the size of its head alone, the snake she was seeing was probably much longer than fifteen meters!

Ning Jinli was so frightened she almost lost her soul.

She couldn't even imagine what would have happened if she hadn't probed yet and had just stuck her head in.

etc……

With such a colossal creature inside the cave, wouldn't Xiao Qidi already be...

Ning Jinli's forehead instantly exploded with anger!

The person she risked her life and poured so much effort and energy to protect was actually... eaten by this beast?!

"I'll fight you to the death!"

Ning Jinli roared and rushed in, gripping the gun in her hand.

She fired a shot in a moment of panic, which proves that the revolver, though not very good-looking, is still functional.

Regardless of whether she could hit the target or not, she had already gone all out.

Bang!

Another gunshot rang out.

The giant snake, which had intended to launch an attack, was frightened by the loud noise and flashes of fire and kept retreating.

Even this unparalleled beast of Falling Eagle Gorge had never seen such strange commotion before.

Ning Jinli missed with both shots.

After all, this was her first time using a handgun.

Moreover, this gun has extremely poor accuracy.

But she did not give up. As her anger reached its peak, she was already in front of the giant snake, less than three meters away from its enormous head.

"Die!"

Ning Jinli pointed her gun at the giant snake again.

In a fit of extreme rage, the third shot was fired.

Bang!

Flames shot out from the gap between the barrel and the cylinder.

The bullet flew out and struck the middle of the giant snake's head, instantly shattering its scales and causing blood to flow.

The giant snake shook its head violently in pain, and its huge body twisted in response.

Ning Jinli discovered that the bullet was stuck in the giant snake's head, which injured it but did not kill it.

This beast was enormous; its scales were as hard as iron, and its skull must have been far harder than that of ordinary animals.

If it were a revolver made with modern technology, it might be able to penetrate it.

But the one she has in her hand obviously can't do that.

boom!

As the giant snake rolled, it crashed into the rock wall inside the cave, causing an instantaneous collapse of the sky and the earth.

As the snake, thicker than two adults, was about to crush Ning Jinli, she stood motionless, holding her breath, displaying extraordinary composure in the blink of an eye.

Bang! Bang!

This time, she quickly fired two shots.

My hands don't shake, and my heart doesn't panic.

Both bullets hit the giant snake's eye precisely, one after the other.

This is its most vulnerable part.

Pfft!

With a sound like a glass bottle shattering, the giant snake's head trembled, froze for two seconds, and then slammed heavily onto the ground with a thud.

The speed at which the snake twisted its body also suddenly slowed down at this moment.

Ning Jinli then rolled away to avoid it.

After a while, the giant snake stopped moving completely.

Ning Jinli collapsed to the ground like a deflated balloon.

The fire was about to go out, and the flames were now almost like candlelight, flickering on and off, illuminating Ning Jinli's pale face covered in cold sweat.

Everything fell silent.

Ning Jinli stared blankly at the giant snake corpse twisted into a pretzel shape in front of her.

"It's over...it's all over...Xiao Qidi is gone just like that..."

Two lines of tears welled up in her eyes.

Tears blurred her vision. She stood there blankly for a few seconds, then suddenly stood up, grabbed some branches and stones from the ground, and started smashing them at the giant snake's corpse.

"Give it back to me! Give Xiao Qidi back to me!"

Ning Jinli's eyes were bloodshot, and she frantically smashed the snake's belly.

"Xiao Qidi! You can't die! Hold on!"

Even if you're inside a snake's belly, I'll dig you out!

An angry and desperate roar echoed throughout the cave.

In a dark corner of the cave, the giant snake's tail suddenly twitched, and Xiao Qidi struggled to extend a hand from under the snake's tail.

Ning Jinli had already gone mad without realizing it.

Looking at her, Xiao Qidi wanted to shout, but because he had just been nearly strangled to death by the giant snake, he hadn't recovered and couldn't utter a sound.

Ning Jinli's hands were bleeding from being rubbed by branches and stones, but not a single scale had fallen off the snake's belly.

She had no strength left.

He knelt helplessly before the giant snake's corpse, lay on its belly, and wept uncontrollably.

Xiao Qidi gritted his teeth until they bled, and with sheer willpower, he crawled to Ning Jinli's side, his voice hoarse as he uttered, "Miss Ning... I..."

Ning Jinli thought she was hallucinating from excessive grief, and cried even harder, "Waaah... Xiao Qidi, I'm sorry... I couldn't save you..."

Xiao Qidi used the last of his strength to struggle to sit up, grabbed Ning Jinli's shoulders, and pulled her into his arms. "I'm not dead...you...you saved me..."

Ning Jinli trembled and froze.

She looked up in shock, and only when she saw Xiao Qidi's face did she realize what was happening, and she burst into tears instantly.

Xiao Qidi was also moved to tears at this moment.

The two survivors embraced and wept, unable to utter a single word.

After a while, Ning Jinli finally calmed down, cupped Xiao Qidi's stubble-covered face in her hands, kissed him hard, and said with teary eyes, "You should rest well. I've found the herbs, and I'll brew the medicine for you now!"

Before Xiao Qidi could speak, she ran out of the cave while wiping away her tears.

A sliver of color returned to Xiao Qidi's pale face. He raised his hand and gently touched the spot on his face where he had just been kissed, murmuring softly, "This seems... to be more effective than medicine..."

That night, Ning Jinli boiled herbs in a bamboo tube and gave them to Xiao Qidi to drink. The two were so tired and sleepy that they had no energy or mind to clean up the cave. So they lay down on the pile of grass among the giant snake's corpse and fell asleep in each other's arms.

One night passed.

When Ning Jinli opened her eyes, it was already dawn.

She quickly got up and looked around.

The giant snake's corpse was gone, and Xiao Qidi was no longer nearby.

"Xiao Qidi... Xiao Qidi!" Ning Jinli endured the piercing pain all over her body, got up and shouted anxiously.

"I'm here!" Xiao Qidi rushed in from outside the cave.

Ning Jinli, still shaken by the danger of last night, threw herself into Xiao Qidi's arms and hugged him tightly. "It's good that you're here... I... I've realized that I'm really afraid of losing you."

Xiao Qidi lowered his head, his lips brushing against her cheek, "Me too..."

Before he could hold her for long, Ning Jinli suddenly let go, grabbed his shoulders, and looked him up and down: "How are you feeling now? Do you still have a fever?"

Xiao Qidi said with a smile, "Thanks to the medicine you brewed, my fever has gone down and I feel much better."

Ning Jinli raised her hand and touched his forehead, then asked anxiously, "Where's the snake? Could it be... not quite dead and escaped?!"