Big Rat

Faced with the might of nature, even Bai Chuan was powerless.

He could only curl up in the tree hollow and watch in silence.

In the end, he still wasn't strong enough.

Heaven's will did not bend to human wishes. The rain continued for a full day and night, only easing around midnight.

But after resting for a day, Bai Chuan looked at the sky and saw that it was still gloomy, with thunder rumbling now and then.

And the moist air still clung to his tongue as he flicked it out.

Everything pointed to the rain continuing.

Knowing that this brief pause in the rain might be his only chance to go out, Bai Chuan left the tree hollow and headed down to the ground.

Of course, it could hardly be called the ground anymore. After a day and a night of rain, the water had already risen more than ten centimeters.

That was an astonishing amount of water. This wasn't a city where humans lived in his previous life, where most flooding was caused by drainage systems so outdated they could no longer cope.

Fortunately, it still wasn't having too great an impact on Bai Chuan.

In the darkness, Bai Chuan followed the flow of the water.

Perhaps because of the downpour, plenty of animals had the same idea as Bai Chuan tonight.

So the forest was unusually lively. A slow loris ambushed a sleeping lizard, a porcupine sneaked bites of jackfruit, a hornbill caught a snake to feed its chicks, and a mongoose hunted scorpions...

Along the way, at the edge of his territory, Bai Chuan saw a huge, burly python—one of his own kind—slithering past, as well as a sleek black panther.

But they merely exchanged glances before going their separate ways. The other animal had clearly yielded, and neither made a move to fight. They likely both knew how dangerous the other was.

Besides, this was his territory, and there were still plenty of other prey around. There was no point in fighting to the death.

Out in the wild, everyone avoided unnecessary fights whenever they could.

Bai Chuan had no idea what his fellow snakes were thinking, but for his part, he gave up hunting large prey. He ate only small snakes, frogs, and the like.

Why? Of course, it was because he took his safety seriously. Everyone knew snakes were at their most vulnerable while eating, and overeating could also make them less capable in a fight.

So along the way, he would climb into the treetops, then return to the ground, picking out snakes, frogs, birds, squirrels, and the like that were easy to swallow and went down quickly.

He wanted to keep himself in peak condition, eating only until he was sixty or seventy percent full so that he wouldn't become too bulky.

Before long, he felt he'd eaten enough.

Meanwhile, thunder rumbled more and more frequently overhead, and bolts of lightning lit up the whole sky, making the forest flicker between light and dark like a scene from a horror movie.

The rain was probably about to start again.

Bai Chuan set off for home once more.

The next morning.

The downpour arrived right on schedule, accompanied by strong winds.

Raindrops as big as beans pelted the leaves and tree trunks. Even curled up in the tree hollow, Bai Chuan felt the effects.

Fortunately, the tree was large, and the wary Bai Chuan had used his own body to block the entrance.

It was truly a blessing to have somewhere dry and comfortable to shelter during a downpour.

Outside, though, things were looking grim. Faintly, he could hear cries and wails rising and falling through the storm.

That afternoon.

"Chi... chi..."

Bai Chuan suddenly heard a faint squeaking sound. He could even make out an emotional quality in it: the sound of someone letting out a sigh of relief after escaping danger.

What was that?

Puzzled, he loosened his coil. The squeaking sounded so human that he couldn't help feeling curious, wanting to check if he'd imagined it.

He stuck his head out and looked outside, only to find that the water had already risen to more than halfway up the tree.

Below him, just above the water's surface, a big rat clung desperately to the trunk. Its fur was soaked through, and it trembled in the gale.

Now and then, raindrops as big as beans slammed into its body, yet it still didn't let out a single cry.

The sight left him startled, amused, and a little delighted.

He was startled that the water had risen so high—close to halfway up his tree hollow.

He was amused by the rat's pitiful expression and posture. He could barely hold back a laugh.

This was the first time he'd ever seen takeout deliver itself right to his door.

But as the saying went, when Heaven bestowed a gift, one ought not refuse it.

The old man upstairs had delivered food right to his doorstep. How could Bai Chuan waste Heaven's kindness and let this plump rat go?

He still felt he hadn't eaten enough.

So he stretched his head down toward it.

"Eek?! Eee—!"

His movement gave the rat below such a fright that its front paws nearly slipped loose, sending it tumbling down. It hurriedly clamped back on, letting out the most miserable wail of its life.

If its fur hadn't been soaked, Bai Chuan thought the rat might even have managed to make every hair on its body stand on end right there.

In an instant, the rat was caught between a rock and a hard place.

It looked down at the depths of the water beneath it. The current was rushing fiercely—the peril it had just escaped after overcoming countless hardships.

Then it looked up. A gigantic snake was closing in, and the sight of those terrifying jaws alone was enough to make its heart race.

For a moment, it was torn, with no idea what to do. In its panic, a huge teardrop welled in its eye.

Going down meant death; going up meant death. If the rat knew even a little, it would probably have sighed, "Extend my head and I die; pull it back and I die. Either way, I die. Heaven means to destroy me!"

Of course, it soon no longer had to choose.

To keep it from escaping, Bai Chuan first extended his head slowly, inching closer. That way, he gave the rat enough space to feel safe, without suddenly entering its alert zone and forcing it to jump into the water.

Once he'd crept close enough to be sure, he shot his head forward in a sudden lunge and bit down on it.

Inside the den, Bai Chuan first sealed off the hollow's only entrance before releasing the big rat from his mouth.

That's right—he hadn't bitten the rat to death.

As for injecting venom? That was even less likely. Under normal circumstances, the Eye King didn't inject venom when hunting harmless prey. Venom was precious, after all.

As for why he'd done that, Bai Chuan could only say he might have been too bored.

He had no idea when this weather would end. He was stuck in here alone, with nothing to entertain him. Now that he'd finally come across a living creature...

Why kill it immediately when he could make sure it couldn't escape?

It was barely any meat. Wouldn't it be better to keep it around for a bit of amusement?

There was no rush. He could eat it once he got bored or hungry.