C13 In the Darkness He Glanced at the Two's Shadows

Upon setting out for Top Touching Mountain, Ma Tianming and Snake King Mah quickly encountered a dilemma: if they managed to capture a large Flat-head Wind over ten feet long, how would they get it to drink the wine?

"Could we force a large Flat-head Wind to drink like we do with this little one?" Ma Tianming probed Snake King Mah.

"You want the large Flat-head Wind to drink?" Snake King Mah, unaware of Ma Tianming's special wine, assumed he was suggesting using bait to draw out the creature or perhaps was joking. "That seems quite difficult! I've never heard of a Flat-head Wind that enjoys alcohol."

"What if I'm determined to make it drink?" Ma Tianming pressed.

Snake King Mah had repeatedly warned Ma Tianming against attempting to capture a Flat-head Wind at Top Touching Mountain, yet here Ma Tianming was, clearly serious. "Then you'd have to catch it and pour the wine down," he replied.

"But didn't you say it's very hard to catch a Flat-head Wind here?"

"Yes, indeed! I can't make it drink anything before it's caught."

Ma Tianming fell silent...

The pair soon made their way into Top Touching Mountain, only reaching its outskirts.

Ma Tianming gasped; Snake King Mah hadn't exaggerated the mountain's challenges. The dense vegetation gave the mountain a vibrant, lush appearance from a distance, a verdant expanse teeming with life, beckoning explorers like a hidden treasure.

But once inside, the reality was clear: a layer of thorns made it nearly impassable, save for the snakes that called it home. Nonetheless, Snake King Mah, with his extensive experience in wild snake catching, quickly found a barely navigable path. Yet, should they encounter snakes, capturing them would be no small feat.

Snake King Mah?

Ma Tianming had intended to take the lead, but Snake King Mah stepped forward first, his focus entirely on the surroundings, paying no mind to Ma Tianming who had proposed the venture.

Truly, he was the Snake King. Before their departure, his excessive caution had seemed cowardly, but upon arrival, he fully embraced his role as the Snake King.

Ma Tianming remained silent, his eyes scanning the surroundings with caution.

A cacophony of noises filled his ears.

Something wasn't right.

Ma Tianming's hearing had always been sharp, but now he noticed that the sounds, though chaotic, were incredibly faint... like the buzzing of a grasshopper's wings beneath his feet.

A mouse scurried away within ten meters.

The call of a bird echoed from fifty meters away.

...

"Got it!"

Snake King Mah exclaimed. Ma Tianming, on high alert, approached quietly and asked, "Got what? Is it a Flat-head Wind Snake?"

"It's a snake," Snake King Mah confirmed, pointing to the fresh tracks on the ground, obscured by the underbrush, making it difficult to gauge the snake's size.

"What kind of snake?"

Snake King Mah shook his head, "It could be a Flat-head Wind, or perhaps a python."

Ma Tianming, observing the marks on the ground, concluded that the snake was large—at least as thick as his arm.

If that snake was watching them... Ma Tianming inhaled sharply.

Indeed, a pair of eyes was fixated on Ma Tianming and Snake King Mah at that very moment.

"Two humans have come in! Fools... The venomous creatures here could kill them, not to mention the triangular-headed one could gulp them down in a single bite."

The small shadow lurking in the darkness mused, "I must find a way to frighten them off, or better yet, drive them away. If that fails... well, those who dare to enter are typically brash. To actually drive them out..."

Snake King Mah spoke again, "Brother Tianming, heed my advice. We haven't ventured too far in; it's not too late to turn back. If we go any deeper, we'll have nowhere to hide."

"Big Brother Snake King, you can go back on your own!" Ma Tianming appreciated Snake King Mah's concern, which spared him any resentment, but he wasn't fond of such excessive caution.

"You..." Snake King Mah could sense the disdain in Ma Tianming's words.

At that moment, Ma Tianming had already pulled out a bag. Snake King Mah recognized it as containing the Flat-head Wind he had sold to him.

"Why have you taken it out?"

Ma Tianming had previously explained to Snake King Mah, "Since the Flat-head Wind is known to prey on snakes, even cannibalizing its kind, I brought a snake to use as bait."

If there were indeed a Flat-head Wind present, using another might just lure it out. However, to capture the Big Flat-head Wind, Snake King Mah knew he could only attempt it.

As Snake King Mah watched with a mix of suspicion and alertness, Ma Tianming opened the bag and reached in to pull out the snake.

"Hey!" Snake King Mah's eyes bulged. "You're actually grabbing the Flat-head Wind with your hands?"

Even after drinking the potent wine, Ma Tianming shouldn't have been immune to the Flat-head Wind's bite. Yet, the snake showed no sign of attacking him.

"What kind of person is he?" Initially, Snake King Mah had pegged Young Master Ma as just a bold and brash youth, who had come to Top Touching Mountain after hearing rumors of numerous Flat-head Winds. But in just one day, how had he managed to become so intimate with this once-strange Flat-head Wind?

The shadow lurking in the darkness saw Ma Tianming set down the Flat-head Wind and was taken aback. Was he releasing the snake?

This person must be a snake catcher or breeder, here specifically to set snakes free.

That meant he was my adversary.

The shadow steeled itself with resolve: I have to kill him.

First, I'll kill the snake he released... It's a Flat-head Wind, seemingly young and small, not too challenging to handle.

The shadow slithered into the thorny underbrush, a path navigable only by small creatures like snakes and rats, and made its way toward Ma Tianming and Snake King Mah.

In a short while, the shadow had approached Ma Tianming's Flat-head Wind.

With a sudden "clank," the Flat-head Wind spun around and darted off.

The shadow mused, "The Flat-head Wind is known to be aggressive, but not this wary... Or perhaps it's skittish, fleeing from me at such a distance."

"Watch out!" Snake King Mah exclaimed as he saw the Flat-head Wind rushing toward them. He swiftly extended his snake hook and snagged the swiftly moving Flat-head Wind.

"Ah!" Ma Tianming gestured to Snake King Mah, indicating that he should not harm the snake.

With the snake secured on the hook, Snake King Mah was no longer concerned. However, the fact that the snake had just been released and was now turning to attack was not something he could overlook.

Ma Tianming, undeterred, reached out again and gently took the Flat-head Wind into his hands.

"Brother Tianming?" Snake King Mah wondered silently, "Is he truly fearless of snakes, and do they actually heed his commands?"

Ma Tianming reached out to cradle Flat-head Wind's head and inquired, "You've returned so soon. What have you discovered?"