Chapter 45: A Deep Bond with Snakes

Chapter 45: A Deep Bond with Snakes

In this vicinity, Xu Yi did not see any sign of cassava.

The reason was that sunlight rarely reached the jungle floor, making it rather dark and gloomy.

In such an environment, only shade-loving plants could thrive.

The opposite riverbank was different; bathed in abundant sunlight, it supported a wide variety of plants.

However, it was too densely overgrown to easily search for specific plants.

"Viewers, my bond with snakes is truly profound. I've found another one."

Through his X-ray vision, Xu Yi spotted a snake lurking beneath the foliage ahead.

Not far away was the entrance to a burrow.

Inside the den was a nest of mountain rats—six of them in total, four of which were pups.

[The Nemesis of Snake Girls is truly legendary, running into snakes again.]

[Number 1, what kind of eyesight do you have? Where is the snake? Why can't I see it?]

[Some people couldn't find a snake even if it were right in front of them. Others can spot them from afar. This comes down to sheer luck.]

[I think Number 1 has some sort of buff. As long as there's a snake near him, it's impossible for it to escape his eyes. Even if it did, it would probably get killed by accident.]

[Snake: Thank you so much, my goodness! I hid myself so well, and yet you still managed to find me?]

[Number 1, don't roast it this time. Try a different cooking method. Stewing it into soup is the proper way!]

Xu Yi searched around the area, then slid down the slope and cut down a small sapling halfway up.

Pinning a snake down with a fork-ended branch was the safest method.

This approach might not work reliably for others, but with his X-ray vision, Xu Yi hit his mark every single time.

"This snake fork is quite nice; I can carry it with me whenever I go out from now on."

The angle of the branch fork was very narrow, which made Xu Yi exceptionally pleased.

He left both prongs fairly long and sharpened their tips.

Being professional meant it would be easy to drive the fork deep into the soil.

Once he finished preparing it, the cooldown time for his X-ray vision had also expired.

Upon returning, Xu Yi immediately activated his X-ray vision.

The snake had already crept closer to the entrance of the burrow.

At this point, the viewers had also noticed.

[Is that a snake's den? Surely there isn't a whole nest of snakes inside, right?]

[Why do I feel like this is a burrow dug by mountain rats? That snake is clearly hunting, little does it know the nemesis is right behind it!]

[It looks like Number 1 has found a geomantic treasure trove. Not only is there a snake, but he gets a complimentary nest of mountain rats.]

Just as the audience was chatting merrily, Xu Yi made his move.

He drove the snake fork in his hand straight down toward the snake's head.

The fork plunged directly into the earth, and its bones were snapped instantly by Xu Yi's thrust.

His strength was far from negligible now, especially since he had put his full force into the strike.

Following that, he immediately stepped forward, grabbed the snake by its tail, drew his stone machete from his waist, and hacked down right alongside the fork.

After delivering a single chopping blow, Xu Yi whipped the snake through the air a few times.

He wanted to dislocate the snake's spine so it would lose its ability to twist around and constrict people.

However, this required both technique and immense strength.

Despite doing this for the very first time, Xu Yi succeeded.

His actions completely stunned the viewers.

After a brief moment, the comment section exploded.

The mountain rats in the burrow were still inside and hadn't moved much; they were probably asleep.

Therefore, Xu Yi decided to hold off on taking action against them for the moment.

This snake was likely venomous.

Even though its head was pinned in the soil by the fork, he figured it would be much safer to wait half an hour before coming back for the mountain rats.

Dragging the still-twitching snake body, Xu Yi returned to Su Keke's side.

"Daddy, you caught a snake again! We get to eat snake meat again!"

Seeing this, Su Keke instantly brightened up with joy.

Snake meat tasted wonderful, and she loved eating it.

"Mhm, tonight we'll try making snake soup."

Xu Yi smiled happily; every time he saw Su Keke's smile, a large portion of his fatigue melted away.

"How are we going to cook it? We don't have a pot!"

"We can use our wooden bucket to cook. Also, you can watch cartoons tonight; the tablet battery is almost dead anyway, so Daddy is planning to use its back panel to make a real pot."

Hearing Xu Yi's words, Su Keke couldn't help but look curious.

"Daddy, can a wooden bucket be placed over a fire to cook?"

Xu Yi picked up a small stone and said, "We aren't putting it directly in the fire to cook. Instead, we'll heat stones in the fire."

"When they reach a certain temperature, we'll pick them up with tongs and drop them into the bucket. That will bring the water to a boil and cook the snake meat."

Listening to his explanation, Su Keke blinked her large, sparkling eyes several times.

She never imagined that food could be cooked this way.

"Then can we also use stones to brew tea?"

Su Keke knew that Xu Yi was very fond of drinking tea.

"Yes, we can. Although a little bit of wood ash will get mixed in, once the water boils, we just let it settle."

Most of their future water supply would rely on the river, so it definitely had to be boiled thoroughly before drinking.

"Daddy is going to gather some firewood."

With those words, Xu Yi stood up, getting ready to collect firewood.

Su Keke immediately stood up as well and said, "Daddy, I'll go with you."

She felt that Xu Yi had it very tough, having to carry such heavy loads every day and clear the path ahead of her. It was exhausting work.

Therefore, she believed she should do her part to help him and lighten his burden.

Knowing what was on her mind, Xu Yi did not refuse.

Letting her do a little bit of work would actually make her feel happier.

Besides, Xu Yi would never let her carry anything too heavy.

There were still plenty of dead branches nearby, and they collected a generous amount in a single trip.

The snake wasn't very large, but it was just enough for a single meal.

After putting down the firewood, Xu Yi told Su Keke to take the snake and follow him.

Armed with his machete and carrying the wooden bucket, Xu Yi walked toward the riverbank.

Using the machete, Xu Yi spent a little time clearing out a small path.

Here, the ground was still more than two meters above the water surface.

Fetching water was quite easy; they just needed to tie a vine to the wooden bucket and lower it down.

However, Xu Yi needed to go down to the riverbed to pick up some stones.

The river water was crystal clear, with smooth pebbles lining the bottom.

Those stones were much more suitable for boiling the snake meat.

There was no shortage of vines nearby, so Xu Yi had Su Keke stay put while he went and pulled down a couple of vines.

After tying the vines securely to a tree, he prepared to slide down to the river using them.

First, he hauled up a bucket of water to clean the snake thoroughly.

Once the snake meat was cleaned, Xu Yi took off his shirt and washed it.

After all, he was going to get into the river anyway.

Only then did he descend into the river using the vine rope.

The river temperature was quite low, feeling rather chilly.

When he first entered the water, Xu Yi took a moment to adjust.

The water was about a meter and a half deep. Xu Yi tied the wooden bucket to the vine.

His shirt had already been removed and left in Su Keke's care.

"Fish! Daddy, there are fish in the water!"

Su Keke cried out excitedly from the riverbank.