Ye Qin Makes His Move

The bottom of the pot was already visible, with only a few green leaves floating above the red oil. The meatball dishes were all gone, and several empty wine bottles were tipped over nearby.

The two men continued to drink, one cup after another.

The scarred man let out a burp and said with some confusion, "Speaking of which, Li Ge, why did you suddenly want to catch so many snakes this year? I remember the market for snakes isn't good this year."

It turned out that the two of them were no strangers to poaching.

Over the past few years, countless wild animals had met their end at their hands. Their skins had been peeled, their tendons removed, and they had been sent to restaurants. It could be said that their hands were stained with blood.

However, snakes weren't in high demand recently, and not many people were buying them, so they rarely focused their attention on them.

"I haven't heard of any buyer wanting such a large quantity of snakes. Isn't that a waste of effort? Li Ge, why are you suddenly interested in snakes?"

Li Han picked up a wine bottle and took a big gulp, shaking his head.

"It's nothing. I just encountered something before, so I wanted to catch a few more snakes. If we can't sell them, it'll be nice for us brothers to soak them in wine ourselves."

The scarred man licked his lips. "Soaking them in wine is indeed good. But speaking of which, Li Ge, what did you encounter?"

Li Han narrowed his eyes. "It's nothing, just a snake that killed a hawk."

The scarred man was uninterested. "What is it? Although hawks are natural enemies of snakes, it's not uncommon for them to be killed. If you encounter a highly venomous snake and get bitten, you can take down tigers and lions, let alone hawks."

"What if I told you it was a small, non-venomous snake?"

The scarred man looked at Li Han as if he were joking, thinking he had drunk too much.

"That's impossible, Li Ge. You're not kidding me, are you? How could such a small snake be capable of killing a hawk?"

An adult hawk's wings, beak, and talons were fully developed, and they could easily pose a fatal threat to snakes.

For small to medium-sized snakes, encountering such a natural predator left them with almost no chance of survival.

Li Han recounted the strange incident he had encountered that day in detail.

"I originally intended to shoot down that hawk, but when I went to check, it was already dead. Judging by the traces on the body, it was indeed caused by a snake, and we also found snake scales at the scene."

After speaking, Li Han took out a charred scale. He had actually kept it all this time.

The scarred man took it and examined it carefully. The scales were very small. Although they were black, they seemed to glow green underneath, giving a feeling of being half black and half green.

This should have been a small snake. Although it was a bit unusual, it wasn't so rare as to be extraordinary.

The scarred man's expression became even more astonished. "Li Ge, you're definitely joking. How could such a small snake kill a hawk? You've definitely had too much to drink."

The scarred man didn't take it to heart. After drinking a lot, he felt the urge to urinate and got up from his chair.

"Li Ge, I'm going to take care of some personal business. When I get back, we'll keep drinking until we drop."

At this moment, Li Han squinted his eyes and couldn't help but curse as he watched the scarred man's urgent need to urinate.

"Lazy people need to pee and poop a lot. Don't fall face-first into the snow and never come back."

What was meant as a joke turned out to be a prophecy.

The scarred man, a bit drunk, staggered to the door.

Inside the room, they had been gathered around the fire, eating hot pot, so the temperature was very high. Now, outside, he was thinly dressed, and it was on the mountain, with the temperature likely below minus ten degrees Celsius.

He unbuckled his belt, and a cold wind hit him, making him shiver. His muddled mind became a little clearer.

"Strange, why have those beasts gone quiet?"

The scarred man muttered to himself. They usually howled all day, like they were mourning, so it was really unsettling that they had suddenly become quiet.

He fastened his pants, and the urge to urinate instantly subsided. He spoke with a slight tension, "I hope nothing has happened."

The temperature at night was truly too low. The cold wind gusted into his throat, feeling like it was cutting him with knives.

After all, for them, those living creatures were golden nuggets, representing the God of Wealth.

If anything unexpected happened, it would mean several days of wasted effort, and the buyer was likely coming to collect the goods tomorrow. They absolutely couldn't afford any mistakes.

The room inside was dark and gloomy, like a monstrous beast with its maw wide open, waiting for him to fall into its trap.

The scarred man walked towards the wooden house, as if walking step by step into hell. For some reason, an inexplicable chill ran down his spine.

"If I had known it would be this cold, I would have brought a coat when I came out."

"Bang—"

The scarred man pushed open the door, and it quickly closed, startling him. He couldn't help but complain, "The wind is too strong tonight, it's quite scary."

Winter was like this, with the north wind howling. Especially on the mountain, its mournful sound was particularly eerie.

The scarred man attributed it to the strong wind outside, failing to notice a segment of snake tail hanging down from the beam, which quickly disappeared into the darkness.

Because the room was too dark, he could only grope his way forward. He tripped over something and stumbled, falling hard onto the ground, bruising his face.

"Damn it, who put a rope in the middle of the room?"

The scarred man wanted to throw the rope away. He felt around the surroundings, but it was all empty. There wasn't even a rope, let alone anything blocking his path. "This is really supernatural."

The so-called rope twitched, and a human-like mockery flashed in the snake's eyes as it quietly watched the scarred man's actions.

He got up, cursing, thinking he had just tripped over his own feet because he was drunk.

But just now, the scarred man clearly felt that he should have kicked something long and slender. He suppressed the unease in his heart.

"Forget it, I'll find the switch first."

Having learned his lesson, the scarred man was much more careful this time. He cautiously felt along the wall and finally touched the switch. However, when he pressed it, the room remained pitch black, with no reaction.

Not far away on the ground, a light bulb lay quietly, but the scarred man didn't see it.

"Damn it, it must have short-circuited again."

The scarred man cursed himself for coming out in such a hurry without his phone. Otherwise, he wouldn't be like this now, fumbling around blindly, finding everything inconvenient.

He went to the main door and tried to push it open, but only felt something cold, smooth, and hard, just like—snake scales!

The scarred man recoiled as if shocked, his face filled with horror. "What the hell is this!"

Humans are always filled with immense fear towards the unknown, especially in the darkness, which magnifies one's senses countless times.

The scarred man couldn't help but swallow, desperately wanting to leave the room. Under the immense panic, the urge to urinate that he had been holding back burst forth, leaving a puddle of unknown yellow liquid on the ground.

An indescribable stench filled the air.

At the same time, in the depths of the darkness, a pair of snake eyes slowly lit up, filled with coldness and bloodlust, like the arrival of a messenger from hell.