Beauty Snake - Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The Intentional Seduction of a Mischievous Snake

After the chicken coop incident, Ji Yunfei realized profoundly how important it was to own a surveillance system.

No sooner said than done. She placed an order overnight and set to work. Within a few days, CCTV cameras were installed in all the key areas around her home. In the pitch-black night, the constantly blinking red lights were exceptionally conspicuous.

She thought that with the cameras in place—and given that the “bad guy” hadn’t visited in a long time—her livestock would finally be safe.

But the next day, after feeding the chickens and ducks with high spirits, she went to feed the rabbits. What she saw made her want to slap herself across the face.

Before she even stepped into the rabbit hutch, she froze. Her mouth hung open, and her eyes lost focus, as if her soul had been snatched away by a demon. All she saw was a floor covered in rabbit fur, lying there peacefully.

Ji Yunfei rushed forward, startling the surviving rabbits. The wind from her movement kicked up the fur, plastering it all over her face.

“Cough, cough, cough…”

She fanned her hands frantically, trying to clear the fur from her face. This movement scared the rabbits even more, causing them to bolt in every direction. In her bad luck, Ji Yunfei was tripped and landed hard on her backside.

If life were a manga, she was certain her head would be covered in black lines of despair right now.

“Oh? You want to play like this? Fine. I’ll play with you to the end!”

She let out a frustrated laugh, gritting her teeth. she vowed that she wouldn’t stop until she caught this wicked thing. Nearly fuming, she suddenly remembered the newly installed cameras.

“Aha! Time for you guys to do your job!”

Rubbing her hands with excitement, she ducked into her room to pull up the video recordings.

On the screen, everything was peaceful after nightfall. Then, around two or three in the morning, the rabbits suddenly began to panic. Shortly after, a slithering, rustling sound of something moving across the ground came from outside the hutch.

At this point, Ji Yunfei suppressed a strange thrill of excitement and stared intently at the doorway. Soon, she saw the scene she had been longing for in the depths of her heart.

A python, entirely black with yellow diamond patterns along its back, slithered slowly into the hutch. Its scales reflected a faint silver light under the moon, looking incredibly eye-catching.

Ji Yunfei became more entranced as she watched. She observed the snake take its time, leisurely slithering into the hutch. It meticulously picked out several plump, strong rabbits and devoured them in a few swift motions.

Once the snake had finished its meal, it slowly raised its head and looked directly at the camera.

Caught off guard, Ji Yunfei met its gaze through the screen. The look sent a jolt of shock through her. Although the footage wasn’t perfectly clear, she could swear those eyes were identical to the ones in her dream.

Before she could recover, the arrogant black snake blinked and—almost like a human—gave the camera a wink.

Then, it turned its head and slithered away as slowly as it had arrived, its silhouette gradually merging with the night.

Everything returned to silence as if nothing had happened.

This discovery made the hair on her arms stand up. It felt bizarre and absurd. She would rather believe her eyesight was failing than believe a snake had just winked at her.

“I really need some rest.”

Despite the disbelief, she had to admit this snake had ignited a competitive spirit that had been dormant for a long time. She made a bold decision: tonight, she would stake out the area and catch this troublemaker alive.

“Hehehe, you little monster, I’m definitely catching you tonight.”

In the darkness, Ji Yunfei wore a sinister, villainous grin. She had prepared a full set of snake-catching gear, and with her years of experience raising snakes, she felt this was a guaranteed success. She could already imagine the envious looks on her fellow snake-hobbyists’ faces when she brought this beauty home.

“Hehehe… wait? It’s here!”

Before she could finish her daydream, that familiar slithering sound reached her through the door. She quietly rolled out of bed, pressing her ear to the door to track the sound.

“Going to the chicken coop again…”

Confirming the direction, she grabbed her gear and crept out, following the sound toward the coop. She quickly set up an ambush outside, waiting for the black snake’s arrival.

Rustle, rustle…

It was here!

She sharpened her focus, scanning the surroundings, but she couldn’t find a single trace of the snake. Suddenly, the sound of slithering turned into 360-degree surround sound, circling her ears.

Ji Yunfei was baffled. How was she supposed to pinpoint the direction now?

Fortunately, a section of the snake’s tail peeked out from the tall grass. She captured the movement instantly and lunged with her snake-catcher. She thought she had won, but she quickly realized something was wrong. She lifted the tool; there wasn’t a snake, or even a blade of grass, in the clamp.

Before she could process her confusion, the slithering sound started again. She looked up and saw the tail moving away. Not daring to hesitate, she hurried after it.

They played a game of “follow and stop.” The snake seemed to know she was after it; it would appear for a moment and then vanish, creating noise elsewhere. It was as if it was intentionally playing with her.

Ji Yunfei didn’t care about the games. She had followed it this far; there was no way she was giving up now. No matter what, she wasn’t going home empty-handed tonight.

“Wait… where did it go? The sound stopped.”

It wasn’t until a deathly silence fell around her that Ji Yunfei snapped back to her senses. She looked around; there was nothing but trees. The wind scratched against the leaves, making a shasha sound. Other than that, there was no noise.

A sudden cold wind made her shrink her neck. Looking at the familiar terrain, she realized she was on the back mountain. Fortunately, she knew this place fairly well; otherwise, she wouldn’t even know which way to go to cry.

The back mountain at night hid unknown dangers. To say she wasn’t scared would be a lie. She swallowed hard and scanned the area. Soon, she found a cave nearby. Just as she was hesitating whether to enter, she heard that familiar slithering again.

“The troublemaker is in the cave.”

Once the thought took hold, she couldn’t let it go. Gritting her teeth, she held her snake-catcher out in front of her like a shield, turned on her headlamp, and stepped inside.

“Ah!”

Flap, flap, flap!

She hadn’t gone more than a few steps before a swarm of bats rushed out. She nearly got hit in the face again.

Hoo… ha…

The deeper she went, the more animal bones littered the ground. She had to carefully kick aside the bleached white remains as she walked. Even for someone as bold as her, fear began to creep in. She took a deep breath and patted her chest, trying to calm her racing heart.

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” she comforted herself. “As long as they aren’t human bones, it’s not a big deal.”

Without further incident, she soon reached a large, open cavern. In the center was an icy platform emitting a chilly mist. Coiled upon it was the “troublemaker” she had been dreaming of.

This was the first time she saw it in its entirety. Even coiled up, she estimated its length to be about ten meters. Its body was jet black with a faint glow, and the yellow diamond patterns gave it an air of nobility and wealth.

Hearing the movement, the snake lazily lifted its eyelids. When it saw it was Ji Yunfei, its pale green pupils dilated sharply. It began to uncoil its body to slither toward her.

Seeing the snake rise toward her with such sudden excitement, alarm bells rang in her head. She instinctively backed away two steps. But something behind her tripped her; she fell onto her butt, and her snake-catcher flew out of her hand.

Hiss… hiss…

The sound of the flickering tongue drew closer, and the slithering surrounded her. Ji Yunfei froze, her body trembling uncontrollably.

Suddenly, the snake coiled around her left hand, then gradually moved to her neck, her right hand, and finally her entire body.

Resigning herself to her fate, she closed her eyes, feeling the snake wrap tighter and tighter around her. The scalding heat of her skin and the icy cold of the snake’s body intertwined perfectly; there was no discomfort, as if they were meant to be one.

If she weren’t about to die, Ji Yunfei might admit that “cuddling” with this snake actually felt quite nice.

But the expected sensation of suffocation never came. Confused, she opened her eyes—only to come face-to-face with those green pupils in a soulful gaze. Before she could react, a powerful impact hit the back of her head. She lost consciousness and blacked out.

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