I stretched out my arm and immediately grabbed a tree to steady myself. At that moment, the blowgun behind me swayed slightly as I braked suddenly.

Oh, right!

In my nervousness, I completely forgot about the blowgun I was carrying. This thing is made of multiple layers of bamboo strips and resin, balancing strength with flexibility.

The key is that its length of 1.5 meters allows me to deal with this king cobra from a safe distance!

King cobras don't usually attack people unless provoked; I just accidentally offended it.

It was clearly angry. Seeing that I stopped moving, it quickly stepped forward, stood up, and bit my thigh.

My high boots can't protect me from that area on my thigh. If it bites me, there's only one outcome: I'm done for.

"Damn it! You forced me to do this!"

I roared and almost simultaneously swung the blowgun in my hand at the king cobra's raised upper body.

I once heard Bao Ge say from a snake blogger that when dealing with venomous snakes like cobras, if you're extremely nervous and trying to hit a snake on the ground, you might sometimes miss.

But he suggested a method: all cobras are the same; they like to stand upright when they are in danger.

The upper body of a snake contains its vital organs; the saying goes, "seven inches is the snake's heart," and "three inches is the snake's cervical vertebrae." These are the snake's most vulnerable areas.

At this point, regardless of your experience, as long as you sweep and hit it wildly with a stick, you're guaranteed to hit it. This method is especially suitable for outdoor environments without light, and you'll hit it every time.

The king cobra that stood upright at this moment exposed all its weaknesses to me.

Before it could bite, I swung the stick with all my might, hitting it squarely on its upright body. Perhaps due to nervousness, I used too much force, and I felt something fly past my left arm.

When I came to my senses, I saw, by the light of the moon, a severed snake head that had just brushed past my left arm and was firmly biting a small bush behind it.

I was just a hair's breadth away from death's scythe taking my life. That blow was incredibly fast, and the snake simultaneously swung its head at me.

With the combined acceleration of me and the king cobra, I actually managed to break its head off. Fortunately, the force caused the head to deflect slightly, otherwise, this still-erect head might have carried me away.

I patted my chest, still shaken. What a close call! I was so close to dying. I'll never risk walking alone at night again; it's just too dangerous.

Since the snake is dead, we can't waste this thing we got at the cost of our lives. I picked up the king cobra, which probably weighed over ten pounds, from the ground, wrapped it around my neck twice, and said to Top,

"Top, it's alright, let's go home and cook."

Top cautiously approached me. Monkeys have an innate fear of snakes, especially the king of snakes, so you can imagine how intimidating it is.

The king cobra incident delayed us, and it was getting late. We were still in a hurry on the way back, but we were much more cautious.

Ten minutes later, Top and I returned safely to our lodging. I was still covered in cold sweat, partly from being terrified by the king cobra and partly from hearing the howls of many wild animals.

Fortunately, this time we escaped danger without any major incidents. That large snake, weighing over ten kilograms, can at least provide us with fresh meat for a few days, which is especially important for Pat.

Once I got home, the first thing I did was start a fire. With the firelight shining on me, I felt much more comfortable.

By the light of the fire, I could see the snake clearly. Its extremely long body was covered with a black base, with faint, dark white rings evenly distributed across its surface.

Actually, it's not only the banded krait that has ring-shaped markings; all cobras have these markings, but theirs are not as obvious as those of the banded krait.

Furthermore, the banded krait is a type of venomous snake belonging to the genus *Cobra*. Therefore, to some extent, it is also a member of the cobra family.

However, its boldness is not as great as its venom, nor does it exhibit the signature head-raising posture of a cobra. It is a low-profile killer, capable of taking someone down silently with a single bite, leaving no trace.

This snake was big enough and of good length. I peeled off a bit of its skin, tied a rope to its spine, and then carefully peeled the tubular snake skin down its body.

The snake had only been dead for a short time, and its body was still warm. It wasn't difficult to peel off its skin while it was still warm, and I quickly peeled off a complete tubular skin.

After peeling off the snakeskin, I washed it with clean water and then soaked it in the lowest concentration of tannin solution along with the other leathers.

Snake skin is relatively thin, so it should not be soaked for too long; the first step should only involve soaking for one day.

By the light of the fire, I cut open the snake's belly. Surprisingly, it was a female snake, and inside its belly were at least thirty snake eggs, each the size of a small egg.

These snake eggs, like chicken eggs, are edible, and are much more nutritious than chicken eggs, and also have certain medicinal value.

After pulling out all the snake eggs, I obtained a total of thirty-eight white king cobra eggs. It was the first time I had ever seen king cobra eggs, and I never imagined they could be so big.

After extracting the snake eggs, I didn't waste the white layer of snake oil inside either. This stuff can also be used in medicine; cobra oil has various medicinal properties:

Moisturizes the skin: It has good moisturizing properties, preventing dry skin, making it supple, and improving chapped skin. Snake oil molecules are small, easily penetrating deep into the skin to moisturize and nourish.

- Relieving burns: In China, snake oil has been used to treat burns since ancient times. Applying cobra oil immediately after a burn may help relieve pain, promote wound healing, and reduce the likelihood of scarring.

- Prevention and treatment of frostbite: Can be used to treat frostbite.

- Antibacterial and anti-inflammatory: It has certain bactericidal and antipruritic effects and can be used to treat skin diseases such as chronic eczema.

- Regulates endocrine system: Helps regulate endocrine imbalance, promotes bowel movements, nourishes the skin, and prevents skin aging.

- Prevents arteriosclerosis: Cobra oil contains unsaturated fatty acids such as linoleic acid, which can play a role in preventing arteriosclerosis.

Finally, snake gallbladders are valuable. They have the effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, clearing the liver and improving eyesight. They can also be used to treat persistent high fever and have a heat-clearing and fire-reducing effect when combined with other traditional Chinese medicines.

I tied the cobra gallbladder with a thin rope and hung it on the rock face to air dry. This thing might be able to save a life in a pinch.

Of course, the remaining snake meat can also be used in medicine, since I was already feeling hungry. Stewing it would not only satisfy my cravings but also fill my and Top's stomachs and restore our strength.