Although Ye Huohuo had prepared herself mentally, she was only braced for a frightening sight, not expecting something to suddenly dart out and rush towards her.
She was startled and forgot to dodge.
By the time the dark figure was close, she could see clearly that it was a snake, and a venomous one at that. Its fangs, dripping with venom, glinted under the moonlight, aiming directly for Ye Huohuo’s face.
Ye Huohuo realized it was too late to dodge. Resigned, she closed her eyes, gritted her teeth, and braced herself to be bitten, thinking her unlucky streak would follow her forever.
Out of so many people, why would this snake choose to bite her? Did it think she was an easy target?
Ye Huohuo kept her eyes closed for a long time, but instead of the expected pain, she heard a gasp by her ear, “Boss, you’ve been bitten by a snake!”
Only then did Ye Huohuo realize she hadn’t been bitten. She quickly opened her eyes and saw Li Mohan lowering the arm he had placed in front of her. Looking at him, his face seemed to be covered by a layer of ice for a moment, but it vanished just as quickly.
Ye Huohuo rubbed her eyes. Was she hallucinating?
“You…” Ye Huohuo was about to say something when her gaze fell upon the snake biting Li Mohan’s arm. It was better not to look, but she was already breaking out in a cold sweat after just one glance.
Although she had guessed it was a venomous snake, Ye Huohuo hadn’t expected it to be a Black Mao Snake, known for its potent venom. This snake differed from ordinary snakes; its outermost layer wasn’t scales, but rather a layer of black fur over the scales.
Black Mao Snakes weren’t large. Besides the messy black fur on the outside, their bodies were usually only about a finger thick and the length of two chopsticks.
If it lay motionless on the ground, it would be difficult to spot, easily mistaken for a clump of hair. Who would think that such a clump of hair could be a highly venomous snake?
These snakes typically lived in deep mountains and rarely ventured close to human living areas. What surprised Ye Huohuo even more was that it had lunged out of the bag containing the corpse and bitten Li Mohan.
While not as deadly as a five-pace snake, whose victim would die within five paces of being bitten,
victims of this snake suffered a more tragic fate. Necrosis would begin at the site of the bite, and within a day, the entire body would fester and ooze pus, leaving only the skeleton.
With this in mind, Ye Huohuo, fueled by an unknown courage, reached out and grabbed the Black Mao Snake by its seven-inch point as it tried to escape after biting. With a forceful swing, she dislocated its entire skeletal structure.
The Black Mao Snake, which had been as fast as lightning and sharp as an arrow, instantly turned into a limp strip of flesh, alive but unable to move. Dangling from Ye Huohuo’s grip by its tail, it was utterly subdued.
“Beast! I’ll skin you alive!” Ye Huohuo declared in fury.
Her gaze shifted to Li Mohan’s arm.
But when her eyes met the bite mark on his arm, she froze.
“You weren’t bitten?”
Not only was Ye Huohuo incredulous, but Fang Fang, who was usually unfazed by anything, was also taken aback. As she reached out to examine Li Mohan’s arm, she was deterred by his icy glare.
She clicked her tongue, “The forest is full of all sorts of creatures. I never expected someone to be so thick-skinned that even a snake couldn’t pierce through.”
Ye Huohuo quickly pulled Fang Fang away, afraid she would say something more reckless that might anger Li Mohan, leading to trouble for herself. Besides, the most pressing issue was that Li Mohan was poisoned, with a potent venom for which there was no known antidote.
However, Li Mohan’s face was also filled with surprise. He looked at the spot on his arm where he had been bitten, a million questions in his mind. Apart from two small white dots, his skin wasn’t even broken. “What… what is going on?”
Ye Huohuo seemed to have thought of something. She pried open the snake’s mouth and looked inside. Her eyebrows rose, and a hint of a smile flickered in her eyes.
“What’s going on?” Fang Fang had been watching Ye Huohuo’s expression and knew she had figured it out when she saw that look.
“Look!” Ye Huohuo didn’t answer directly but held the opened snake’s mouth out for everyone to see. Upon seeing inside, they all sighed deeply.
“That was close! Thank goodness the snake’s fangs were removed. Otherwise, that bite would have been fatal if the poison couldn’t be neutralized in time,” A Cheng said, still feeling the lingering fear of a narrow escape.
“What do you know? Being bitten by this snake, even with timely rescue, would have rendered an arm useless! I wonder where this snake came from. Was it in the corpse all along, or did it crawl into the bag later?” Fang Fang shot A Cheng a glare.
“No, you’re both wrong. This snake had fangs!” Ye Huohuo had excellent eyesight. Even in the dark night, by the faint moonlight, she quickly picked up two sharp, white snake fangs, the size of long-grain rice, from the ground. She placed them in her palm and showed them to the others.
“Look, these are the two venomous fangs of this snake!”
“These fangs?” Fang Fang carefully picked one up and examined it closely under the moonlight. “Could it be that these fangs broke off when it was biting?”
Her gaze towards Li Mohan now held a hint of admiration. “I never imagined you were not only thick-skinned but also tough enough to break a snake’s fangs?”
Ye Huohuo’s gaze, seemingly by chance, swept over Li Mohan. Unexpectedly, their eyes met, and she quickly looked away, her heart skipping a beat. She unconsciously clenched her fist.
“Boss, is your skin really that thick?” The straightforward A Cheng actually believed Fang Fang and kept glancing at Li Mohan’s arm.
Veins bulged on Li Mohan’s forehead. Even with his excellent self-control, he couldn’t help himself. “If you talk nonsense again, I’ll freeze you again!” he said, then suddenly realized something was wrong. He didn’t know how to freeze people, yet he had said it so naturally.
Fang Fang was genuinely startled by his words and pursed her lips, not daring to say anything further.
Ye Huohuo wanted to laugh at them, but the situation was far too serious. She had to suppress it, feeling almost internally injured by the effort. She cleared her throat. “Actually, it’s not that his skin is tough. If I’m not mistaken, it’s his own protective mechanism. When he’s in danger, he automatically activates a self-protection mode.”
“So, what was he in his past life?” Ye Huohuo said this while looking at Fang Fang. She was increasingly curious about Li Mohan’s past life. The extraordinary talents Li Mohan was now displaying all pointed to him being an exceptional figure in his previous existence.
And currently, only Fang Fang knew about Li Mohan’s past life.
Fang Fang, feeling Ye Huohuo’s persistent questioning, forced a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “As I said, it’s heavenly secret, not to be revealed. I haven’t lived long enough yet. If you really want to know, find a way to investigate yourself. However, I advise you not to. What if… it’s not something good for you.”
Ye Huohuo pondered for a moment and didn’t press further. “Fine, we can talk about it later. We have plenty of time.” She gave Fang Fang a sweet smile, but it sent shivers down Fang Fang’s spine, raising goosebumps.
Seeing Fang Fang’s disgusted expression, Ye Huohuo proudly raised an eyebrow. “We still have important matters to attend to. It seems this corpse and the heads have lost their significance now that they are out of the formation. To find out who is behind this formation, we still need to question the people in the house.
I want to see who set up this sinister formation!” A fierce glint flashed in Ye Huohuo’s eyes.
However, after she turned away, she didn’t notice Fang Fang’s slightly playful gaze. Fang Fang looked at Ye Huohuo, her eyes filled with complex emotions, and muttered to herself, “This little girl is interesting! I like it!”
Others didn’t hear it, but Li Mohan glanced at Fang Fang coldly.