Chapter 310 - 136: Snake Hidden in the Vine (Part 2)
Long-term mountain running training greatly increased his physical strength, and this time heading to the River Valley Plain felt like a well-trodden path; combined with his improved fitness, he was much faster than last time.
...
Before nightfall, Chen Zhou had already arrived at the River Valley Plain.
The scenery here was the same as last time, basically unchanged, as if time had stopped flowing here.
After choosing a campsite and clearing away the weeds to avoid hidden snakes and insects, Chen Zhou first lit a campfire.
He added enough wood to the fire to burn for an hour. Taking advantage of the remaining daylight, he took Lai Fu for a couple of laps around the campsite, hoping to discover something new.
Before setting out, he packed two lighting tools.
One was an oil lamp filled with lamp oil, used for regular lighting conditions.
The other was a high-powered flashlight.
This flashlight was a reward from a year-end gift package. It used a removable lithium battery. When he received it, Chen Zhou tried pressing the switch and found that the battery was still very full, so he removed the battery and stored it in a dry place for safekeeping.
At home, he had little need for a flashlight. Whether exploring the Pigeon Cave or gathering saltpeter, a lamp was usually sufficient for lighting, so the flashlight was seldom used.
This time, he thought there might be unexpected emergencies, so Chen Zhou decided to bring the flashlight.
At critical moments, this gadget was much more helpful than an oil lamp.
It had a wide illumination range, covered a great distance, the light was bright enough, and it could switch to strobe mode. If he encountered a wild animal or was attacked by natives at night, the flashlight alone could scare them away.
...
The sun was about to set, and the River Valley Plain was already shrouded in twilight.
The tips of the lush herbs were illuminated by the oil lamp, flickering with tiny granules like grains of sand.
Lai Fu stuck close to Chen Zhou’s calf. Right in front of them were a few half-dead trees, entwined with thick grapevines laden with grapes.
The grapes in the dry season lacked water, tasting slightly less juicy than those in the rainy season, but sweeter, which Chen Zhou loved.
However, as good as grapes were, they shouldn’t be eaten in large quantities, as they could cause stomach aches and diarrhea—this was something Chen Zhou had learned from personal experience.
Moreover, he knew that grapes shouldn’t be fed to dogs.
With more people raising pets nowadays, various strange and peculiar pet taboos were widely spread.
For instance, dogs shouldn’t eat chocolate, grapes, macadamia nuts, and such knowledge.
Chen Zhou wasn’t sure how much of this was accurate, and he dared not experiment with Lai Fu.
In fact, considering Lai Fu’s health, he had even stopped adding too much oil and salt to Lai Fu’s meals recently.
He was worried that too much oil and salt would overload Lai Fu’s kidneys, shortening his lifespan.
...
Holding the oil lamp in one hand, with a tin can tucked into his belt, thinking about getting himself a fresh nighttime dessert, Chen Zhou started picking grapes from the vines.
After picking just two or three, under the dim glow of the oil lamp, he suddenly noticed a peculiar vine reflecting an unusual light—a vibrant green mixed with black and white stripes like a woven band.
"What is that?"
Curiously bringing the oil lamp closer, Chen Zhou noticed that the peculiar vine slowly retracted, causing his scalp to tingle.
"Damn, it’s a snake!"
He quickly stepped back, simultaneously gripping Lai Fu’s mane to pull him away from the vine.
Far away, the oil lamp’s light couldn’t fully reveal the vines, only showing the tangled vines wrapping around the tree trunk, some thick and some thin, stretching densely upwards.
Relieved he hadn’t been bitten, Chen Zhou couldn’t hide his curiosity about the strange serpent-like creature; he was eager to know what it really was and whether it was the thing that had bitten his lamb.
Although reason told him it was best to leave to avoid danger, at this moment, his curiosity was stronger.
Setting the oil lamp down, he took out the high-powered flashlight, removed the long-handled axe from his belt, and tentatively aimed it at where he saw the snake, poking at the vine with the axe.
The flashlight’s beam illuminated the entire grapevine area as if it were daylight, even clearly revealing the small bugs resting on the vines.
The unexpected intrusion of the axe startled the bugs into chaos, sending those with wings flying into the air, while those without wings scurried away rapidly.
In this chaotic scene, Chen Zhou noticed one particularly slender vine quietly moving, crawling downward.
Confirming it was the snake he saw earlier, he extended the hand gripping the axe handle forward, the upward blade of the axe slipping under the moving vine and lifting it up.
At the same time, the flashlight’s beam shone on this "grapevine."
Finally, Chen Zhou saw its true form.
It was a snake with an exceptionally peculiar appearance.
Its body was very thin, slightly thicker than a middle finger, but extremely long, resembling a shoelace coiling around the grapevine.
Unlike normal snakes, this one’s body wasn’t just exceptionally thin and long but also flat, with its back almost level, and the edges had visible angles.
At the very front of this bizarre body was a spearhead-like long and sharp head, instantly revealing it wasn’t a benign creature.
Being slender and uniquely shaped was one thing.
The most striking feature of this snake was its eyes—
Its pupils weren’t vertically oriented like typical snakes but stretched horizontally across its eyes like a sheep’s, giving an impression of cold indifference and eerie charm.