Chapter 21: The Appearance of Poachers

Ye Qin shook off the snowflakes on his body, his eyes full of excitement and agitation.

Although this tree is small, an adult could kick it apart, but one must also consider the body's condition; Ye Qin is now a snake, his body slender and light, yet he can burst forth with such power—clearly not ordinary.

Beside it stands a large tree, its trunk vigorous and strong; about an adult would need to open his arms to embrace it.

Ye Qin flicked his tail, striking the trunk; the tree trembled, and white snow fluttered down like rain.

This time Ye Qin was prepared, quickly dodging to the side.

Although he couldn't knock down such a big tree, seeing the mark left on the trunk gave him a rough idea of his strength.

Now he could contend even with his natural enemy, the Eagle Falcon, let alone a ferocious beast.

Moreover, on this mountain ridge, there is hardly any creature capable of threatening Ye Qin's existence.

He is no longer the frail, heavily injured little green snake he once was.

Because I cultivate the White Bone Contemplation, the feedback I receive is hardened bones and a transformed physique.

It's just a pity that the places struck by lightning still haven't healed; even if my body is harder, I still shed scorched black scales, and I don't know when they'll recover.

Ye Qin recalled seeing in the library that his species, the Green Brocade Snake, is small in size, a kind of minor serpent.

But his current size already exceeds the usual length, and further changes may still occur.

So this is the change brought by the first stage of cultivation; I don't know what will happen when I reach the second stage.

Also, I don't know whether my lifespan has changed.

Thinking of this, Ye Qin couldn't help but feel a sense of anticipation.

Since he can break the size limit of a small snake, it means he still has an upper limit in volume, and so does his strength.

With continual consolidation and training, even such a stout tree could perhaps be snapped—only a matter of time.

Perhaps one day he could even rise and transform into a dragon?

Bang!

As Ye Qin pondered, a muffled sound came from not far away, instantly drawing his attention.

He listened carefully and uncertainly said, "That sounds like gunfire?"

How could there be gunfire out of nowhere on this mountain ridge?

Ye Qin followed the sound to its source.

Meanwhile, elsewhere.

Two tall men walked side by side; one, his face full of beard, was precisely the man who had once picked up the Eagle Falcon's corpse, and now he held dozens of dead snakes in his hand!

The man beside him was slightly shorter, with a centipede-shaped scar on his forehead, looking quite ferocious.

His eyes narrowed slightly; the dark gun muzzle aimed at a vigorous figure not far off, and he suddenly pulled the trigger.

The running leopard crashed to the ground, a bullet hole in the center of its forehead, blood now seeping; it had not yet died completely, its body twitching continuously.

Seeing the two humans approaching, it let out an angry roar from its throat, as if wanting to bite their throats in one gulp.

Facing the leopard's threat, the scarred man showed utter contempt, kicking forward and saying, "Even at death's door you're still so arrogant—"

Before he could finish, in the blink of an eye the leopard sprang up, attempting a final struggle; its sharp fangs flashed cold light in the air, almost reaching the scarred man's throat.

The scarred man's expression turned panicked; facing the bloody maw lunging at him, a chill rushed to his face, and he couldn't dodge in time.

Bang!

Another gunshot rang out, bright red blood splattering onto the scarred man's face; he couldn't help but step back half a pace, his heart still pounding as he said:

This beast is truly fierce; luckily, Brother Li, you're quick-eyed and quick-handed, your aim true—otherwise we'd have been killed by it, and even tried to drag me down.

No matter how fast the leopard, it couldn't outrun a bullet; it weakly lowered its head, its pupils gradually turning dim and dull.

Li Han wore a blank expression, gazing at the distant boulder that the leopard had fixed its dying stare upon; he strode over.

A mother leopard protecting her cubs is naturally fierce.

Behind the boulder appeared three fluffy little lumps, tiny and adorable, looking up at the humans before them and letting out soft, babyish cries.

At this moment they still did not know their mother had died.

They stumbled over to the mother leopard, their wet noses continually nudging her body, sensing her slight coldness, and even trying to warm her with their own bodies.

Unfortunately, the mother leopard will never open her eyes again to lick their fur.

The scarred man also approached, gazing at the few leopard cubs, his expression full of delight and greed, his words sending a chill down the spine.

Great, this haul is plentiful—one big, three small; stripping their skins will yield plenty of goods.

The leopard cubs have only just entered the world, yet they must face the utmost malice—perhaps turned into a scarf, perhaps into gloves; this is their ultimate fate.

Of course, if luck were better, they could be made into specimens, preserving a whole corpse to be displayed on a rack for appreciation.

Li Han inspected the mother leopard's corpse, his expression somewhat disdainful.

It was supposed to be a perfect pelt, but because you were saved and got an extra bullet hole, now it's ruined—greatly discounted; why did you get so close for nothing?

The scarred man scratched his head, gave an embarrassed smile, "Brother Li, don't be angry; worst case, we'll hunt a few more leopards to make up the loss."

Li Han reluctantly answered, "Hurry up and take them all back."

The scarred man glanced at the snake corpses in his hand, somewhat puzzled, "By the way, Brother Li, why are you suddenly fond of hunting snakes? Snake skins aren't worth much, and their meat doesn't sell well either."

Li Han wore a face of profound mystery, "You wouldn't understand."

Originally he wanted to find the snake capable of killing the Eagle Falcon, but after digging out so many snake dens, the snakes he caught were all ordinary, with nothing special.

Moreover, they were all small snakes, none large.

This made Li Han unable to help doubting whether the serpent scales found that day were merely a fluke, perhaps just a passing snake shedding its skin.

Yet from the marks on the Eagle Falcon's corpse, it was undoubtedly caused by serpents.

Seeing the scarred man about to ask more, Li Han urged, "All right, hurry back and process these pelts, or they'll spoil if left too long."

The two figures gradually faded into the snowy wilderness; nobody noticed that an extra tail had appeared behind them.

All of this was witnessed by a pair of cold serpent eyes.

If he hasn't remembered wrong, regardless of whether it's Wu Du or Tian Fu Sheng, there are clear regulations prohibiting hunting; these people are surely taking advantage of winter, and with Heavy Snow pervasive, they sneak up the mountain.

"It's actually poachers."

Survival of the fittest, the strong survive; although the law of nature is cruel, it can never compare to the human heart.

Some people love ivory, so they break elephants' tusks; some people like animal fur, so they skin them alive; some people, to satisfy their appetite, turn all kinds of Wildlife into dishes on the plate.

These people, for their own selfish desires, have cast a bloody shadow over these animals that should be living freely in the wild.

Thus a gray industry chain has arisen.

Taking these poachers as an example, despite the government's repeated bans, they cannot be stopped.

(End of chapter)