Venomous snake season arrived very suddenly.
After the Fritillaria digger found a venomous snake beside Li Long's cabin, Li Long discovered several more nearby in quick succession over the next two days.
He even began wondering whether all the snakes had left their dens at once. How else could there be so many?
To keep snakes from slipping into the cabin at night, Li Long inspected it again. Only after finding no gaps did he feel somewhat reassured.
But he couldn't stay indoors all the time. Suddenly, he remembered something he had once read: sulfur powder apparently repelled snakes.
Would there be natural sulfur at the hot spring?
Li Long decided to go and look.
With this on his mind, Li Long left at first light. He locked the door, took his gun and a bag, and headed toward the hot spring.
The weather was warming, and the morning dew on the grass was no longer so heavy. Li Long strode into the mountains. This time, he paid little attention to anything else. His main purpose was to investigate the far end of the hot spring.
While crossing a ravine, he came across a Fritillaria digger cooking porridge on a stove built from a few stones. The man startled at the sight of him.
"Keep eating. I'm just passing through." Li Long waved, crossed the ravine twenty or thirty meters from the man, and continued southeast.
The man had been about to bolt into the woods. Hearing Li Long's words, he froze, then watched warily as Li Long entered the forest.
"Watch out for snakes," Li Long called back. "Don't get bitten."
The man paused, then instinctively nodded to show he understood.
Only after Li Long had disappeared into the trees did the man come to his senses. What was