Chapter 137 Searching for Snake Tracks "It seems to be about to give birth."
The Soul-Chasing Talisman can only guide you to a general location before dissipating into the void, which is why Li Liuyun needs the help of snake catchers who understand snake habits.
Once a location and general area are determined, and given the snake catcher's own set of snake-finding and catching skills, finding a pregnant snake won't be like searching for a needle in a haystack.
“Female snakes carrying eggs or pregnant snakes will stay in extremely secluded nests, such as rock crevices, tree holes, or thick piles of fallen leaves,” the snake catcher said as he led the way. “Under the roots of large, intertwined trees, natural gaps are formed, which are also places that female snakes choose to live.”
Yang Qi, along with his concubine and two servants who guarded the house, followed. They looked around and saw that the surrounding area was full of trees and knee-high weeds, creating a chaotic and haphazard landscape that seemed like a perfect hiding place for snakes.
Yang Qi said, "The places you're talking about are everywhere."
“That’s why you found me.” The snake catcher used his snake fork to part the grass and saw some curled shoots lying there. He squatted down to observe for a moment, and only continued forward after not smelling any suspicious scent. “But last night’s heavy rain will wash away the snake tracks, making it even more difficult to find them.”
"No," the concubine said urgently, "You must help me find that snake, or my son's life will be in danger."
The snake catchers couldn't guarantee anything, and besides, they didn't even know what kind of snake they were looking for: "I can only do my best."
"You must find it. Once you find it, I will pay you three times the reward."
The snake catcher wasn't trying to raise the price at this crucial juncture, but since they were willing to pay more, he wouldn't refuse. Besides, finding a pregnant snake wasn't difficult for him as long as he put in the effort.
Along the way, under the snake catcher's instructions, the four boys carefully and cautiously looked at every hidden place, not daring to be careless in the slightest, especially a rotten piece of wood with holes in it, which they examined inside and out.
The snake catcher casually picked a few small mushrooms growing on the rotten wood, skillfully stuffed them into his burlap sack, and instructed, "Everyone, try to keep your voices down when you talk and walk, it's easy to startle them."
Actually, having so many people would have easily alerted the enemy, but these people insisted on following along.
The snake catcher observed the terrain as he led the group deeper into the area, trying to keep them at a distance, preferably far away, and only following them after he was sure there were no snakes nearby.
Of course, the four Taihang Mountain youths had been practicing martial arts for many years and were all skilled in lightness skills. When they deliberately slowed down their movements, they wouldn't even disturb an ant, so they didn't need to keep their distance from the snake catcher.
"From what you're saying, his child's soul went into the snake's womb?"
Whatever the reason, he had informed the Yang family and the young men beforehand that there were major taboos and rules for catching snakes, one of which was that pregnant snakes should not be caught, as killing a pregnant snake was like cutting off one's offspring. He was only responsible for leading the way.
Furthermore, pregnant snakes, especially female snakes nearing their due date, are exceptionally fierce. When faced with danger, they will fight back desperately and are extremely aggressive.
Li Liuyun nodded: "Yes."
“Such a thing is actually happening,” the snake catcher said. “But there must be more than one or two pregnant snakes that reproduce. You don’t even know what kind of snake it is, so how can you tell if the child’s soul is inside the snake’s womb?”
Just as Lian Zhao was about to speak, the snake catcher suddenly made a shushing gesture.
The four boys immediately became alert.
The snake catcher leaned forward two steps, his sharp gaze sweeping across the messy patch of grass before him. He pointed to the marks in the grass, gesturing for the four boys to look.
Yu Heqi stared at the weeds for a while, but couldn't make heads or tails of them, not even a caterpillar. So she asked in a low voice, "Is there anything here?"
The snake catcher crouched down, drew a winding "S" above the weeds with his finger, and whispered, "Snake path."
"Huh?" Wen Yi blinked. Only after very, very careful observation did he see the winding "snake path" through the snake catcher's gestures. It was almost indistinguishable to the naked eye.
"These marks are only made when a snake moves, indicating that snakes used to frequent this area. They are hard to spot without careful observation." These snake catchers go from deep mountains to the edges of fields. They never rely on luck to catch snakes, but rather on careful observation and tracking.
Lian Zhao couldn't help but praise, "Big brother has a really good eye."
"Not at all, I've been doing this since I was a child, and I rely on my eyesight and experience." The snake catcher said modestly, and then continued along the winding "snake path".
The tracks on the ground were very shallow and sometimes disappeared. The snake catcher spent a lot of time searching around before finally finding the very shallow "snake trail" in another patch of wet mud covered by weeds.
Under his guidance and explanation, several teenagers gradually learned to identify the "snake path".
Li Liuyun observed that the grass path regularly lay down in one direction, leaving a winding, serpentine trail, before turning a few steps away and getting close to a large tree.
Just as Li Liuyun was focused on the "Snake Path", a wooden fork suddenly stabbed from his rear. He instinctively tried to block it, and the sword sheath abruptly deflected the wooden fork.
"Hey!" The snake catcher felt a jolt in his wrist, the wooden fork slipped from his hand, and his palm went numb.
Li Liuyun turned around abruptly and realized that the snake catcher had not attacked him.
The grassy path beneath Li Liuyun's feet trembled, and a deep, dark shadow flashed by.
Yu He blurted out: "Snake!"
The snake catcher hissed, but it was too late. Lian Zhao used his sword sheath to part the weeds, and the snake darted out with lightning speed, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
A golden opportunity was missed!
"It got away." The snake catcher bent down to pick up the snake spear. He was almost able to subdue the snake, but this kid ruined it.
Wen Yi asked anxiously, "What should we do?"
"What else can we do?" the snake catcher said. "This isn't the snake you're looking for; it's not pregnant."
The snake catcher had sharp eyes; in just a fleeting moment, he could tell that the snake's body was smooth and its belly was not bulging.
Yu Heqi breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good."
The snake catcher glanced at Li Liuyun and said, "You have no experience in catching snakes, so don't act rashly next time."
Li Liuyun realized his mistake and nodded in response, "Understood."
The group began searching for snake tracks again. The boys became more cautious and no longer dared to overtake the snake catchers, as any mishap would alert the snake.
In most places, even human footprints are hard to find, so not all places will leave "snake trails." Therefore, snake catchers also look for snakes by their scent, a method called "snake breath," which is even more difficult. They can also identify snakes by their excrement or secretions; secretions usually stick to vegetation and can linger for several days. Different types of snakes have different scents, with venomous snakes often leaving a stronger, more pungent odor.
The snake catcher lay on the ground, his nostrils flaring, carefully sniffing the sticky scent clinging to the green leaves, and smelling a damp, rotten, cold, fishy odor.
“That’s right, over here.” It would be difficult for anyone other than a snake catcher who has seen countless snakes to detect it.
As he walked, he smelled the ground and found a suspicious stain on a patch of moss. The snake catcher rubbed it between his fingertips and felt a slippery sensation. He brought it to his nose and smelled it, finding a trace of "snake breath," which was probably secreted mucus or snake saliva.
Then, they discovered a transparent empty shell on a vine a few steps ahead.
Yu Heqi stepped forward: "This is..."
Li Liuyun said, "A snake's molt."
The snake's molt hung on the vine, complete in shape with a head and tail, and the surface imprints were very clear, as if it were covered with dense, three-dimensional scales, which was exactly the outline of a snake's body.
The snake's molt was as thin as a cicada's wing, and looked extremely fragile, as if it would shatter at the slightest touch. Therefore, the boys did not dare to touch it rashly.
However, after observing the snake molt for a long time, Lian Zhao pointed to the part of the molt that was slightly behind the break and said, "Why is the second half so big?"
The width of the latter half of the snake molt is nearly twice that of the head and tail. The scales are deformed and have fine cracks, indicating that it was stretched and torn. It is also thinner and more transparent.
The snake catcher said, "When a pregnant snake's abdomen swells, it stretches its skin. It's obvious that this is the skin shed by a pregnant snake."
Yu Heqi perked up: "Pregnant snake!"
“Hmm,” the snake catcher looked around, and based on his decades of experience, he could tell that “this snake’s nest should be nearby.”
As he spoke, he very gently picked up the snake skin and carefully put it into his bag.
Wen Yi asked, "Why did you pick this up?"
“Snake molts are used in medicine as ‘dragon clothes’ to ward off evil spirits. They are very precious in pharmacies.” He doesn’t just catch snakes when he goes into the mountains. He digs up any slightly valuable herbs he sees and occasionally catches a few pheasants or rabbits, which he can use for an extra meal at night.
Most women in and around the village are terrified of snakes, and since he deals with snakes all the time and even keeps snakes as livestock at home, he hasn't been able to find a wife. There are a few braver women who don't even want him, so he's stuck being a bachelor. Luckily, he took on an apprentice a few years ago, so he's not worried about having someone to take care of him in his old age.
However, at that moment, the snake catcher suddenly stopped, raised his arm and placed it in front of the boys, preventing them from taking another step forward.
The four of them dared not ask any questions and followed the snake catcher's gaze.
A green snake was coiled among the decaying leaves in the dense forest. Its abdomen, which was nearly twice the size of its forequarters, was swollen. It lay quietly on the spot, half of its body hidden in the shade of the trees, while the swollen rear half was exposed to the warm sun, using the external heat source to regulate its body temperature.
"Don't move," the snake catcher whispered.
The snake's scales gleamed coldly in the sunlight. Due to its astonishingly swollen abdomen, the snake's body was stretched to its limit, and its skin was almost translucent. The outline of the snake fetus wrapped in the abdominal cavity could be vaguely seen, and there were visible fetal movements, as if countless baby snakes were wriggling in its crowded abdominal cavity.
The teenagers, who had never seen anything like it before, were horrified and their scalps tingled.
“This is a viviparous snake,” the snake catcher said in a low voice, seemingly used to it, watching the snake’s body rise and fall. “It looks like it’s about to give birth.”
Lian Zhao was shocked: "What?!"
"Are you sure?" Wen Yi asked. "Is it about to give birth?"
The snake catcher watched as the snake's muscles contracted violently, its thick, heavy body arching slightly—a sign of impending labor. This time, the snake catcher confirmed, "I'm sure."
In her panic, Yu He blurted out without thinking, "We can't let it give birth! How can we stop it?!"
The snake catcher interjected, "Are you sure this is the mother snake that carried the child to its uterus?"
Li Liuyun made a quick decision: "Lian Zhao, quickly try using the Soul-Chasing Talisman."
Lian Zhao hurriedly took out a talisman he had prepared beforehand, dripping with fresh blood and wrapped around a tuft of the child's hair. They had just lit incense and were about to burn the talisman...
Suddenly, Yang Qi, who was following behind them, brandished a wood-chopping knife and charged at the green snake, roaring, "You beast, give me back my son's life!"
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The author says: I dream about catching snakes.
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