Chapter 105 Poisonous snakes kill on sight

Since the hunting teams started going into the mountains every day, life in the valley has visibly improved, and the sallow complexion on the villagers' faces has gradually faded.

The most obvious example is the pair of twins in Lin Yongyuan's family. Just a few days ago, they were so thin that their cheeks were sunken and they needed their mother to carry them after taking only a few steps. Now, they can run around wildly in the open space.

That morning, the three teams gathered in the valley clearing as usual.

Fang Dayu, carrying a basket on his back and drawing a route on the ground with a twig in his hand, frowned slightly: "We used to go to the east slope often, but we've been going there too often these past few days. The prey has probably gone far away. Let's change direction today and go to the west gully. The forest there is dense, and there might be some rabbit burrows hiding there."

As soon as he finished speaking, Ma Liuzi's expression froze for a moment. Xigou was far from the cave that Kang had mentioned, but he did not rush to refute it and just silently followed the group.

The group walked westward into the gully for about half an hour. After entering the forest, it was indeed not as lively as the eastern hillside.

The team members split up to search, and after half a day they only caught two pheasants and a skinny rabbit.

Ma Liuzi, carrying the rabbit with hardly any meat, grew increasingly grim. Standing there, he began to make sarcastic remarks: "Is this all there is? There are more than ten people in our team, and each of us only gets two bites of meat, not even enough to fill a gap between our teeth! If you ask me, there are more prey on the east slope. You can easily raid the rabbit burrows there. Why bother wandering around here?"

His voice was quite loud, and several team members who already felt that Xigou had yielded little were nodding in agreement.

"Brother Liu is right, there really isn't much in Xigou."

"Why don't we go back to Dongpo? Maybe those rabbits will come back today, and we can raid another burrow, which will be enough for us to share."

Fang Dayu gave Ma Liuzi a meaningful look: "Alright, let's go back to the east slope and take another look, but we have to hurry and not delay our return trip."

The group returned to the east slope, and as soon as they entered the woods, a sharp-eyed team member spotted a new rabbit hole.

The group worked together to dig it open and, sure enough, pulled out three plump wild rabbits with glossy fur, which looked like they had a lot of meat.

The team members immediately beamed with joy and hurriedly put the rabbits into their baskets.

After Fang Dayu finished counting the prey, he said, "That's about enough. Let's pack up and head back to the valley. The mountain path will be difficult to walk if it gets too late."

But Ma Liuzi refused to move. He stared at a cave half-hidden by vines not far away, his eyes brightened, and he leaned close to Lin Cheng and said earnestly, "Brother Cheng, look at that cave. I noticed it was deep before. Maybe there are wild badgers or even hibernating wild boars hiding inside!"

He continued, "Our Lin family has a large population. If we can hunt more, we can get more meat when we get back. It's better than these few rabbits. Why don't you come in with me and take a look? Just one look. If there's nothing there, we'll leave. It won't take long."

Lin Cheng followed his gaze to the cave. The entrance was dark and entwined with vines, looking extremely dangerous.

He didn't directly refute Ma Liuzi's request, but instead frowned and said, "The situation in the cave is unknown. What if there's danger? Besides, Brother Dayu has already said he wants to return. Let's not take the risk."

Ma Liuzi patiently said, "What danger could there be? We'll just walk in about ten steps, and if there's nothing there, we'll come back out immediately."

As he spoke, he reached out to pull Lin Cheng's arm, about to forcefully drag him along, when Fang Dayu interrupted him: "Ma Liuzi, this cave looks quite old. The vines have almost sealed the entrance shut. Who knows what might be inside? If we accidentally get lost, we won't be able to get out before dark. We come out hunting so that our families can have meat to eat, not to gamble with our lives."

The team members echoed his sentiments. One of the younger members rubbed his hands, which were red from the cold, and said, "Brother Liu, let's forget about it. These rabbits are enough to share when we get back. It's not worth risking going into the cave. Last time, Uncle Zhang and the others encountered a hibernating bear and almost didn't make it back. We can't go into this mysterious cave."

Ma Liuzi's face was grim. He gruffly snorted, "If you guys don't dare go, I'll go myself! If I really find a badger, I won't share the meat with you!"

Fang Dayu wanted to speak up to stop him, but Ma Liuzi had already picked up his hunting knife and strode towards the cave.

He figured that Lin Cheng cared most about his men and would never stand by and watch him go into the dangerous cave alone. If he took a few more steps forward, Fang Dayu and Lin Cheng might agree to follow.

He roughly tore aside the vines at the entrance of the cave, and could only vaguely see a few meters ahead.

Ma Liuzi walked alone in the silent cave. After taking about seven or eight steps, guessing that the people outside could hear the noise, he suddenly let out a shrill scream: "Ah—!"

The people outside the cave did indeed hear it.

Lin Cheng's expression changed, and he ran towards the cave entrance first, shouting, "Ma Liuzi! What's wrong with you?"

Fang Dayu followed closely behind, and the other team members, disregarding their fear, also followed.

The group rushed into the cave and saw Ma Liuzi sitting on the ground, one hand tightly clutching his ankle, his face full of pain, and fine beads of cold sweat on his forehead.

"Brother Cheng, quick, quick, help me!" He saw Lin Cheng as if he had seen a savior. "I think I was bitten by a snake. My ankle is numb and painful, and I can't move it!"

Lin Cheng immediately stepped forward, squatted down, and was about to check his ankle: "Don't rush, let me see where the wound is, and squeeze out the poisonous blood first."

But just as he squatted down, a dark shadow suddenly darted out from a crevice in the rocks beside him.

It was a black snake, about two fingers thick!

It was the dead of winter, a time when snakes should be hibernating, but this snake was unusually active, its body taut, its forked tongue flicking, its eyes fixed on Lin Cheng, completely ignoring everyone else around it.

Just as the snake slithered away and was about to bite Lin Cheng, Fang Dayu reacted swiftly, immediately drawing the sickle tucked behind his back and slashing fiercely at the snake's body.

The sickle fell to the ground, cleaving the snake in two. It lay writhing on the ground.

Lin Cheng broke out in a cold sweat and instinctively took a step back.

The other team members were even more shaken. "My goodness, how could there be snakes in the dead of winter? Luckily, Brother Yu reacted quickly, otherwise Brother Cheng would have been in danger!"

Fang Dayu gripped his sickle, his face grim, and his tone unfriendly: "Yes, how can there be snakes in the dead of winter?"

Ma Liuzi's eyes darted away when he heard Fang Dayu's words.

In the open space of the valley, villagers were already waiting. When they saw the hunting party in the distance, they immediately became excited.

Lin Yongyuan's wife stood at the front holding the twins. When the two children saw the line, they broke free from their mother's hands and ran forward.

Lin Cheng walked in the middle of the group. Although he looked tired, he was unharmed and was carrying a fat wild rabbit in his hand.

He had just stepped into the open space when he saw Lin Yao hurrying towards him, her eyes full of concern: "How are you? You weren't in any danger, were you?"

"It's alright, thanks to Brother Dayu," Lin Cheng smiled and handed the rabbit to his companion. "We encountered a snake, but Brother Dayu chopped it down, so I wasn't hurt."

Lin Yao breathed a sigh of relief and walked with him back to their residence: "It's good that you're alright. Go back and rest. Su Niang has already cooked the porridge."

Not far away, Kang was standing by the makeshift stove, pretending to tidy up the firewood, but his eyes were fixed on the returning team.

Seeing Lin Cheng talking to Lin Yao unharmed, and then seeing Ma Liuzi limping behind them, being supported by two team members, she couldn't suppress her contempt.

What a useless piece of trash! He can't even handle this little thing and ended up hurting himself.

Ma Liuzi was helped to sit down on a rock to the side, with strips of cloth wrapped around his ankles.

When villagers approached to ask him questions, he only vaguely said that he was startled by a snake in the cave and accidentally twisted his ankle.

Looking at his disheveled appearance, Madam Kang felt fortunate that she hadn't actually told him the truth back then.

Such a brainless idiot can't accomplish anything great. Expecting him to take revenge is simply wishful thinking.

The valley was quiet at midnight, with only the sound of the wind blowing through the branches.

In the darkness, several white-browed vipers seemed to be drawn by something, moving at great speed through the valley.

They squeezed through the crack in Lin Cheng's door. But just as their heads peeked through the crack, an oil lamp suddenly lit up inside. Immediately afterward, several dark figures quickly got up, their movements swift and decisive.

"They're here!" Lin Cheng shouted. He and Fang Dayu both held sickles coated with bone-corroding powder. Azhu and Afu beside them also picked up wooden sticks placed by the bed, their eyes fixed on the doorway.

It turned out that after returning from the cave during the day, Fang Dayu felt that the appearance of the snake was too strange. In the dead of winter, snakes should not be out, let alone targeting Lin Cheng.

After discussing it with Lin Cheng, he felt that this matter was probably not so simple, so he told everyone in the house to be careful. Before going to bed, they deliberately did not lock the door, and even sprinkled some wood ash at the door so that they could immediately detect if anything crawled in.

As soon as the first white-browed viper slithered into the house, Ah Zhu suddenly swung his wooden stick and struck the snake precisely on its vital spot, causing the snake to instantly go limp.

The second snake tried to turn and run away, but Fang Dayu's sickle had already fallen. With a swift stroke, the snake's body was cleaved in two.

The remaining snakes, seeing the situation was not good, tried to dart out of the house, but Lin Cheng dealt with them cleanly and efficiently. In just a moment, the snakes twitched and became still.

The whole process took no more than the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, and the room was quiet again.

Afu took a torch and walked to the door, shining it on the snake carcass on the ground. He frowned and said, "How come there are so many white-browed vipers in the middle of the night?"

Lin Cheng squatted down, looking at the few remaining powders on the snake's body, his eyes darkening: "The snakes in the cave during the day, and these tonight, are probably all after me. To be able to find so many snakes in the mountains and make them focus on only one target, this person is very familiar with the valley environment and the nature of snakes."

Fang Dayu nodded, his tone grave: "I'm afraid we'll have to ask Ma Liuzi to find out."

After saying that, the three of them turned around and looked at Ma Liuzi, who was gagged, tied up, and thrown aside.

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Author's Note: [Crying emoji] I'm so sorry everyone, it's my first day of teaching tomorrow, and my supervisor is coming to sit in, so I can only squeeze out one chapter. Please forgive me. [Please]