As the old woman spoke, she suddenly realized something. This enormous shell-like object...
Could it be that this Exotic Beast had only been born recently?
At the thought, she crouched down and lifted the shell-like object, which was enormous compared to her.
"Snake Granny, what are you doing?" The young man beside her panicked at the sight. An object this huge had to be heavy. What if the old woman hurt herself lifting it?
He hurriedly said:
"Why don't you let me help?"
To his surprise, the old woman refused outright. Shaking her head as if she were protecting a treasure, she said, "No, there's no need. This is an astonishing discovery.
She paused, seemingly gathering her thoughts, then continued, "Just look at how this cave is large enough for us to enter. That tells you how enormous this Exotic Beast must be. Such a huge beast, especially one that's snake-like, is a rare sight indeed. Most importantly, it may have only been born recently."
"Is, is that so?" The young man listened—or perhaps he didn't. He scratched his head and chuckled.
"It's a pity, though. We must have come and gone in vain. The beast has already left." The old woman sighed. "Go get the map..."
"Snake Granny! This is bad!"
Just then, a young man in light armor came running over from outside, his face full of panic.
The moment he reached them, he blurted out a string of news without even pausing to catch his breath:
"There's a large group of people four li outside the forest. From their clothes, they seem to be from the imperial court."
"What?" Snake Granny's eyes widened. Then, as if something had occurred to her, she said, "Could it be him?!"
"Where have I ended up?"
At a river fork,