The Domineering Cultivator Farmer

Chapter 32: The Snake Valley Tragedy

With two large wild boars leading the way, Fang Yun carried Niu Niu—who was too tired to walk—as they strolled leisurely along the path the boars had trampled out. Behind them, Feng Xiu’er watched with envy as Niu Niu, clinging to Fang Yun’s neck, was beside herself with excitement. Given the physical conditioning Nuonuo had undergone under Fang Yun’s care over the past few days, she shouldn’t have gotten tired so easily. But with a group of little wild boars following her around and playing, she’d been bouncing and hopping the whole way—and let’s face it, even adults would have a hard time keeping up, let alone a child. “Giggle, giggle.” Seeing her mother’s worried expression, Niuniu kept pulling funny faces at Feng Xiu’er. Seeing Niuniu’s mischievous expression, Feng Xiuer was so annoyed she could have bitten her tongue. “Niuniu, your little bottom’s itching, isn’t it?” “Daddy, run! Mommy’s going to spank Niuniu’s bottom!” Seeing that Feng Xiu’er was so angry she was about to chase after her to spank her little bottom, Niuniu frantically wrapped her arms around Fang Yun’s neck and shook him as hard as she could. “Niuniu, stop being naughty—Mommy’s going to get angry.” Fang Yun hurriedly stopped the little girl’s antics; if she kept shaking like that, he felt like his neck was about to snap. “Xiu’er, let’s rest in the valley up ahead tonight. We’ll head home first thing tomorrow morning.” Seeing how exhausted Feng Xiu’er looked, Fang Yun felt a pang of guilt. He’d been so preoccupied with worrying about his daughter that he’d neglected Feng Xiu’er. Just then, she spotted a valley ahead through the edge of the forest, so Fang Yun decided to rest there for the night and set off for home first thing in the morning. Fang Yun had originally planned to explore the entire mountain range, but with Niuniu and her mother by his side, it was simply too inconvenient. He would have to find another opportunity to venture deeper into the mountains later. Besides, his trip into the mountains this time was just a cover—his real purpose was to retrieve the medicinal herbs from the ring so the traditional Chinese medicine practitioners could use them. Since he was traveling with the mother and daughter, Fang Yun hadn’t ventured deep into the mountains at all over the past two days, and he was quite disappointed not to have encountered any of the large, ferocious beasts the old man had mentioned. He resolved in his heart that he would definitely find an opportunity to thoroughly explore the deepest parts of these mountains, where no one had ever ventured before. As they emerged from the woods and reached the bend leading into the valley, Fang Yun instinctively scanned the area with his spiritual sense to ensure there were no venomous snakes or ferocious beasts that might startle the mother and daughter—only to be taken completely by surprise. “Xiu’er, let’s find another place to rest.” What Fang Yun had seen with his spiritual sense was that the outskirts of the valley were littered with dead snakes. Fearing they might frighten the two of them, he hurriedly urged Feng Xiu’er to find another spot to rest. “I’m exhausted. I’m not going any further—I’m resting right here.” Feng Xiu’er had been holding her breath and pushing herself all the way here because Fang Yun had mentioned resting in the valley; now that they’d arrived, she let out a sigh of relief and had no intention of walking any further. Now that she heard Fang Yun suggest they find another place to rest, Feng Xiu’er refused to comply and charged ahead, rounding the base of the mountain. Fang Yun was holding Niuniu in his arms and didn’t have time to grab Feng Xiu’er. As he watched her round the corner of the hillside, his expression froze. “Ah…” Hearing Feng Xiu’er’s frightened scream, Fang Yun gave a wry smile—he knew this would happen. “Ah! What’s wrong with Mommy? Daddy, let’s go see Mommy right away!” Hearing her mother’s scream, Niuniu panicked and hurriedly urged Fang Yun to go check on her. As for Niuniu, Fang Yun wasn’t particularly worried that she’d be scared. The little girl was incredibly bold—she’d done everything imaginable with the other village kids, from climbing trees and swimming to chasing chickens and dogs. Carrying Niuniu as he rounded the base of the hill, he saw Feng Xiu’er still shivering uncontrollably as she pointed at the dead snake on the ground and screamed. Fang Yun quickly wrapped an arm around Feng Xiu’er’s shoulders. “Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid. I’m here—you’ll be fine.” The family of wild boars trailing behind them saw the dead snakes scattered on the ground and began grunting excitedly as they charged forward to feast. For wild boars, snakes are considered a delicacy. The venom of poisonous snakes has absolutely no effect on their stomachs, which are immune to all poisons. Perhaps it was Fang Yun’s embrace that gave Feng Xiu’er strength; after a while, she finally calmed down, though her face was still a bit pale. He hurriedly channeled his Yuan Qi into Feng Xiu’er’s body, and only when he saw her complexion return to normal did Fang Yun relax and look down at the dead snakes scattered all over the ground. The snakes varied in size; judging by their wounds, they had all been killed either by the sharp talons of birds of prey tearing open their bellies or by their beaks piercing their vital points. A few snakes that weren’t quite dead yet, despite their injuries, were desperately crawling deeper into the valley. “Let’s go,” Fang Yun said, cradling Niuniu in one arm and pulling Feng Xiu’er along with the other as he prepared to leave. “What’s going on in there? Should we go take a look?” Feng Xiu’er, having recovered and no longer feeling afraid, was now curious about what was happening in the valley. “Sure, let’s go take a look.” As long as he was capable of protecting the mother and daughter, Fang Yun wouldn’t refuse any of Feng Xiu’er’s requests for adventure. Besides, the little treasure in his arms had enough curiosity to kill a whole litter of kittens. Glancing down, sure enough, the little girl’s eyes were brimming with anticipation. The deeper they went, the more dead snakes they encountered; occasionally, they could even spot some bird feathers. At a depth of over twenty meters, the three of them discovered the first dead eagle. Several dead snakes were coiled around its body; it appeared the eagle had been strangled to death by them just before they died. Further in, the dead snakes were all larger in size. The number of dead eagles on the ground was also increasing, and they came in a wide variety of species—including the common goshawk, sparrowhawk, red-bellied hawk, and kestrel. “Wow, what huge snakes!” Niuniu exclaimed as she stood at the very back of the valley, gazing at several giant pythons tangled together before her. These giant pythons were as thick as Fang Yun’s thigh and seven or eight meters long. At that moment, they were tightly coiled around each other, with several massive golden eagles clearly trapped in the center. Fang Yun’s gaze swept past the entangled pythons and golden eagles to rest on the colossal python blocking the entrance to a cave. This python was as thick as a water bucket and was now tightly coiled around a massive white eagle. The eagle’s sharp talons had sunk deep into the python’s vital spot; it looked as if it were on the verge of death. Fang Yun knew there were giant pythons in the mountains; he had even seen them with his own eyes. Fourteen years ago, a couple went up the mountain to pick mushrooms and saw a section of tree trunk lying across the path. The husband walked over and kicked it, only to discover it was actually a giant python. Startled, the python turned its head and swallowed the husband whole. When the police arrived after receiving a report from the wife—who was so terrified she was barely coherent—they found the giant python still lying where it was, unable to move because it was so full. When the police used a tranquilizer gun to sedate the python and carry it back to the city, it caused quite a sensation. To this day, that python is still at the city zoo. But that python was more than half the size of this one. Fang Yun never imagined there would be so many such large pythons in these mountains. Fang Yun couldn’t understand it: this wasn’t exactly deep in the mountains, and it wasn’t very far from the village, so why hadn’t the old man ever mentioned seeing anything like this when he used to go hunting in the mountains? Could it be that there was something inside the cave behind them that was causing these snakes and eagles to fight to the death over it? “Dad, please save them!” Niuniu couldn’t help but feel a surge of compassion when she saw the blood-soaked pythons, and she pleaded with Fang Yun. Even without Niuniu’s plea, Fang Yun had already decided to save the pythons and giant eagles. It wasn’t easy for these animals to grow to such sizes; they were all treasures of nature, and he would do his best to spare them if possible. Although the pythons and eagles before him were massive, they were no match for Fang Yun. He used his Yuan Power to pin them down firmly, then separated them one by one. After working for quite a while, he finally tended to all their injuries and gave each of them some spring water to drink. Although the separated pythons and eagles were still on edge and glaring at each other, their fear of Fang Yun—combined with Niuniu’s soothing presence—prevented them from fighting again. However, the largest python remained blocking the cave entrance, refusing to leave.