Chapter 22: How can one allow others to snore soundly beside one's couch?

Money breeds evil; as the saying goes, no trade means no harm.

These were none of Ye Qin's concern, but he now lives on this mountain, and the poachers' arrival shattered the original peace.

One cannot guarantee they won't discover his existence.

Moreover, Ye Qin just saw that the bearded man had caught many snakes.

Why did he catch so many snakes?

Regardless of the man's reason, his very existence is a huge threat to Ye Qin.

He felt an inexplicable sense of danger.

Moreover, these people are not good sorts; their desires know no bounds, and likely many animals on the mountain will fall victim to their cruelty.

Ye Qin disliked this feeling; rather than wait to die, he would take the initiative.

Following their footprints, Ye Qin quickly pursued them.

The heavy snow wouldn't stop for a while; even if traces remained, they'd be covered again soon, and besides, no one would be on the mountain now, so they hadn't bothered to conceal anything.

Who would have thought a snake would be following them?

Following their traces, Ye Qin easily found their base.

Looking at the nearby cabin, it was likely built by former forest rangers, later abandoned and unused, now serving as the poachers' base.

Serpents have keen smell; their flickering red tongues probed the air, and from far away Ye Qin could smell the strong blood odor in the air.

"It seems many animals have already been killed."

With such a strong stench, there must be dozens of them.

Yet the reality was far more brutal than Ye Qin imagined.

He silently approached the cabin, climbed onto the window, and after clearly seeing the interior scene, his pupils flickered with shock.

Inside the room hung several bloody pelts, obviously freshly stripped and not yet processed.

Bloody, mangled animals were piled there like a mountain of blood, utterly nauseating.

Besides that, a few cages in the corner held many small wild animals, rare or near extinction.

The animals' pelts were bundled together, their bodies covered in wounds, fresh blood mixed with various filth, their eyes full of gloom as if they already saw their fate.

The room's gruesome state showed that this winter, the two poachers' haul was abundant.

Ye Qin's pupils contracted sharply, instantly becoming vertical, making him look especially bloodthirsty.

Beside those cages lay piles of snake corpses, each drenched in blood, thrown aside like trash, a horrifying sight.

It turned out that before this, the poacher had already slaughtered so many snakes; what he had seen in the man's hands earlier was merely the tip of the iceberg.

"Poachers, you deserve to die!"

For killing and capturing these wild animals, these two alone could be sentenced to twenty years to life.

He hesitated no longer; the poachers' greed knew no bounds, and unless they cleared the mountain of hunting, they would never stop.

How can one allow others to snore soundly beside one's couch?

Moreover, when the lips are gone, the teeth feel the cold!

This place already counts as his territory; with such people around, Ye Qin couldn't focus on cultivation even if he wanted to, and must stay alert lest they find him.

He wasn't a saint; he simply felt threatened, not wanting to speak up for the animals.

Rather than remain passive, it would be better to settle with the two once and for all—also a way to punish evil and promote good, avenging those needlessly slain beasts.

A flash of ruthlessness crossed Ye Qin's eyes.

At that moment, the scarred man and Li Han were in another room, utterly unaware that disaster loomed.

This room was fairly tidy, with a pot in the center; its red-hot base resembled fresh blood, continuously bubbling and steaming,

The scarred man deftly tossed meat slices and vegetables into the hot pot, then grabbed a few bottles of liquor and bit open the caps.

"Today seems to be the Great Cold solar term; in such freezing weather, a hot pot is just what hits the spot. Brother Li, we haven't drunk together in ages—tonight we won't stop until we're drunk!"

Outside the snow lay white and deep; inside the bonfire blazed fiercely. As the room warmed, the two shed their heavy fur coats and hung them aside.

"After this haul, we should make a tidy sum and can live it up for a few years—our brothers' hard work won't have been for nothing."

"Drink less today; I've set a time with the buyer to pick up the goods tomorrow—can't delay the big deal."

Although he said that, Li Han still took a bottle from the scarred man's hand, gulped it down, and felt warm all over, dispelling the days-long chill.

The scarred man chuckled, "Brother Li, you know I like this drink; don't worry, it won't delay anything—after all these busy days, we deserve to relax."

"Bang——"

Their liquor bottles collided in midair, emitting a clear sound.

"Cheers to our wonderful life!"

The poachers' so-called wonderful life comes at the cost of countless wild animals' lives.

Here the room filled with aroma; the spicy pot base floated with marbled beef slices, and a light chopstick lift made them seem to meld with the red oil, tender beyond belief.

They ate with grease dripping from their mouths, sweat pouring from their heads; the rising steam raised the ambient temperature considerably, so they took off their sweaters, leaving only thin robes underneath.

But in the other room, cold death lingered like a shadow, the stench of decay and rot permeating the air.

Corpses and several bloody pelts lay scattered on the floor; countless animals were caged, their throats emitting desperate wails and hisses.

Though only a wall apart, it was as if they were two different worlds.

The sky again dumped goose-feather snow, which settled on the cabin, instantly whitening the roof; from afar it looked like a massive white tomb.

Icy serpent eyes flashing with eerie light took it all in; Ye Qin silently arrived at the room where the animals were confined.

Upon seeing the unfamiliar visitor, several pairs of beastly eyes glowed in the darkness.

The animals were locked in iron cages, only as thick as two fingers, with a padlock outside—no obstacle for Ye Qin.

His tail coiled around one of the bars.

The creatures inside the cages watched Ye Qin's movements silently; at that moment they seemed to have gained human understanding, as if they knew he had come to rescue them, and none made a sound.

Crack—

Only a faint, barely perceptible sound was heard; the seemingly indestructible cage was actually pulled by the snake's tail into an unimaginable arc.

Ye Qin did the same, destroying another railing; the gap left in the middle was just enough for those animals to run out.

After the animals ran out, they glanced back at Ye Qin once, then dispersed into the vast snowy wilderness.

Li Han and the scarred man, who were feasting heartily in the next room, noticed none of this happening.

(End of chapter)