Chapter 159: Tracking the Snake Cave

Chapter 159: Seeking the Snake Lair

"This Sharp-crested Snake is highly venomous! Once bitten, you're walking through the gates of hell—whether you live or die is entirely up to the whims of the King of Hell!"

In a dense forest of towering ancient trees, a group of people trudged through the muddy ground with difficulty. Sunlight filtered through the thick canopy, casting dappled, shifting light and shadow that lent the deep mountain an air of mystery and menace.

"Just a few days ago, that white-bearded elder bitten during the 'Divine Maiden Selection' ceremony—you all remember him, right?" The young man's voice was filled with regret: "The snake that bit him was a sharp-crested snake, and he's still being treated at the Xiaoxiang Medical Hall!"

Qin Jiao pushed aside the branches in his way and remarked, "You really know a lot."

Hearing this, Zhang Fei, who was walking at the front, turned back and grinned at Qin Jiao, his neat, white teeth gleaming in the sunlight: "If I didn't know my stuff, how could I be your guide?"

Qin Jiao nodded, panting slightly. "That makes sense."

Zhang Fei turned back around and continued leading the way. "Speaking of which, it's fate that we crossed paths. If your old guide, Brother Tian, hadn't taken a spill, I wouldn't have landed this gig with you folks!"

Right—Shen Fuqing had originally hired a guide named Tian, but he'd hurt his arm before they set out, so he recommended Zhang Fei to take his place.

At first, Qin Jiao was surprised to see Zhang Fei, thinking fate worked in strange ways—the guy He Zhao had casually grabbed that day had now become their guide.

But then Qin Jiao began to doubt: Zhang Fei looked scrawny and slight, not much taller than himself—could he really cut it as a guide?

Now, watching Zhang Fei stride ahead, clearing the path with a snake fork, Qin Jiao truly understood that you can't judge a book by its cover.

"We're almost there."

They'd been hiking through this mountain for two days, pushing deeper into the heart of the forest. The air here was several degrees colder than when they'd first entered.

Qin Jiao stopped to catch his breath, wiped the sweat off his forehead, and fixed his gaze on the steep peak in the distance.

"Drink some water, take a moment to rest."

Xie Nai handed Qin Jiao a water flask.

"Thanks, Sixth Brother."

Qin Jiao took the flask and drank a couple of sips. He had the worst stamina of the group. Xie Nai had spent years on military campaigns, and the conditions at Jing Pass were about the same as here. Xiao Baiyu and He Zhao—one was a wandering healer who'd roamed the world for years, the other was just naturally fast on his feet.

And forget Luo Bei and Luo Yue—with their solid martial arts skills, they could move fast even loaded down with gear. Glancing at Shen Fuqing, who was walking a bit ahead, Qin Jiao couldn't help but feel grateful that at least Lord Shen was keeping pace with him.

"Ninety-five percent of the sharp-crested snakes in Xiaoxiang Prefecture live in a stone cave on that mountain."

Zhang Fei pointed at the steep peak. "That cave used to be a snake farm. Then one day, out of nowhere, the snakes went berserk—like they'd mutated—and swarmed out in droves and bit the snake keeper to death.

When the authorities caught wind of it, they sent people to catch the snakes, but there were simply too many of them, and they were highly venomous, with each nest producing a dozen or more eggs—there was no wiping them out. So in the end, the authorities had no choice but to pen the snakes up on this mountain, spreading poison and medicine every year to keep the numbers down.

This mountain used to be quite lively too—people often came to enjoy the early spring scenery. But because of these snakes, it gradually became a ghost town."

Qin Jiao nodded. "I see."

After Zhang Fei wrapped up his long-winded "history lesson" about the sharp-crested snake, he suddenly thought of something and asked, "By the way, why are you all looking for sharp-crested snakes? And so many of them, at that?"

"For making medicine." Xiao Baiyu showed Zhang Fei the tiger-shaped bell with feathered wings hanging at his waist: "I'm a wandering physician. I wanted to collect more sharp-crested snake venom to see if I can develop more antidotes for it."

Xiao Baiyu didn't finish his thought. Their group had come into these mountains for two reasons: one was to investigate the poisoning case of the Late Crown Prince, and the other was to see if they could destroy the snake lair altogether. Even Xie Shu had died from this venom—clearly, leaving it around was just asking for trouble.

"If we can catch a few live snakes, even better," Xiao Baiyu added.

Although they'd confirmed that Xie Shu's poison was sharp-crested snake venom, they still needed to investigate what symptoms the poisoned actually showed—whether they became depressed or mentally unstable, for instance—and Xiao Baiyu would even need to "test the poison on himself" to find out.

"You sound pretty impressive! I hope you really can develop more antidotes!" Zhang Fei then couldn't help complaining, "The Xiaoxiang Medical Hall is way too slow at saving people!"

After Zhang Fei spoke, Shen Fuqing's eyes darkened. "Has the Xiaoxiang Medical Hall always prohibited visitors?" Shen Fuqing suddenly asked Zhang Fei.

The reason Shen Fuqing asked was that yesterday, he and Xiao Baiyu had tried to visit the Xiaoxiang Medical Hall to check on the poisoned victims, only to find heavily armed guards at the entrance—no family members or anyone else were allowed in.

"Yeah, they're being all secretive about it." Zhang Fei said, looking at Xiao Baiyu. "I don't think much of the Xiaoxiang Medical Hall anyway. You, a wandering physician, might be more reliable."

Xiao Baiyu smiled gently. "I'll do my best."

After chatting for a while and resting enough, He Zhao couldn't help urging them on: "Stop wasting time—let's keep moving! We need to catch the snakes, extract the venom, and get back. I don't want to sleep on the ground again tonight!"

"Alright, then put these on, and take out the realgar and lime powder. We're almost at the snake lair—be very careful!"

Zhang Fei carefully watched as Qin Jiao and the others put on the special purple-brown robes, and handed each of them a snake clamp. Once everyone was properly equipped, Zhang Fei led them onward toward the snake lair.

The path ahead grew increasingly rugged. A narrow trail was faintly visible through waist-high black wind grass. Zhang Fei hacked through the ramie and brambles blocking their way with a machete. "It's just ahead!"

Just as Zhang Fei turned back to speak with Qin Jiao and the others, Luo Bei suddenly shouted, "Watch out! Snake!"

In the next instant, a long brown-purple snake slithered out from the grass on their left!

Before Qin Jiao could even feel afraid, Xie Nai had already pulled him protectively to his side. When he looked up again, he saw Zhang Fei had already pinned the snake with his fork, and Luo Bei immediately moved in to help. In no time, the long snake stopped writhing, its purple-brown body curling up like a water-soaked twisted doughnut.

He Zhao was somewhat afraid of snakes and stood fully armed to the side. Qin Jiao was scared too, but he still stepped forward.

On the day of the Divine Maiden Selection, they'd been too far away, and Qin Jiao hadn't gotten a clear look at the sharp-crested snake. Now, suppressing his discomfort, he examined it closely and realized why it was called "sharp-crested"—the snake had several uneven bumps on its head that, from a distance, looked like tumors or a rooster's comb.

"Ugly thing."

Shen Fuqing summed it up succinctly.

"Ugly snakes always cause trouble!"

He Zhao complained while scattering lime powder around him. Seeing Xiao Baiyu prying open the snake's fangs to extract venom, his face turned grim as he silently decided that for at least half a month afterward, he wouldn't let Xiao Baiyu anywhere near him.

Xiao Baiyu had no idea what He Zhao was thinking. After extracting the venom, he called for everyone to continue forward.

Within just a few hundred meters, they encountered two more sharp-crested snakes, so Luo Bei and Luo Yue lit torches at Zhang Fei's signal.

Finally, they reached the snake lair.

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