The veteran naturally thought of this problem too. Snakes are very spiritual creatures, and the fact that the snake had grown to such an unusual size made it even more extraordinary.

After being defeated in the fierce battle, the snake knew to flee to save its life, showing clear signs of intelligence. After suffering such a great loss in the village, it would definitely seek revenge.

However, with over a dozen families in the entire village, with so many people, leaving the village directly for the base was no easy task.

The 200-kilometer journey was fraught with danger, and with families in tow, getting there safely was no simple feat.

Seeing the veteran’s conflicted expression, Han Yingtang and Xiangxi immediately approached him.

When they heard that they could use the vehicle to take everyone to the military base, everyone sighed in relief.

The middle-aged woman who had been shrinking back in the house and speaking harshly to Nan Muran quickly came over to apologize with a forced smile.

Cheng Cheng, who was standing by, rolled her eyes at her without any courtesy, feeling disdainful. This woman really knew how to use people when it was beneficial to her, but not when it wasn’t.

The middle-aged woman knew she couldn’t afford to offend Cheng Cheng and could only smile awkwardly, cursing her quietly in her mind.

However, the eight of them had only brought two cars when they came, so they needed to leave in batches.

Since they would need to use Nan Muran’s car, Han Yingtang specifically came to ask them.

Jiawu directly threw the car keys to Han Yingtang and pointed to the group of people waiting for the car in the yard: “That woman and her companions, including their families, are not allowed to touch our vehicle.”

Han Yingtang was stunned upon hearing this.

Cheng Cheng whispered to him about what had happened earlier, and Han Yingtang’s expression also changed. Could they not have a little bit of conscience?

The middle-aged woman was about to speak up to defend herself but was silenced by a cold glare from a veteran standing to the side.

“Everything will follow Captain Han’s arrangements,” the veteran said firmly.

Han Yingtang turned his attention to the other villagers. Originally, they couldn’t take too many people in the first batch, but now, this arrangement actually saved a lot of trouble.

The middle-aged woman and her group were furious but didn’t dare to speak a word, afraid of being completely abandoned by these people.

The veteran’s family, as expected, chose to leave last.

Qijin, who had been uneasy at the beginning, was now calm.

It was already the evening when Nan Muran heard the news. The first group of villagers had already set out under the leadership of Fifteen and Xiangxi.

“They’ll take five days for a round trip. Are we just waiting here?” The Eagle couldn’t help but frown.

Nan Muran looked at the Eagle: “How can we just stay here? There’s still an enemy in the mountains who wants to drain us all dry.”

“The big snake?” The Eagle’s eyes lit up, as he had thought they wouldn’t have to deal with the snake anymore. After all, the villagers were planning to leave directly for the base.

“The snake must be dealt with. Otherwise, it will definitely cause future trouble,” Nan Muran said as she took out all the crystal cores and several fruits to distribute to the others to enhance their powers.

“Should we tell the veterans?” The Eagle asked.

If they were determined to deal with the big snake, there would be no need for them to go to the base.

“No need,” Jiawu shook his head lightly, his voice cold.

Nan Muran looked at Jiawu, understanding that he was deliberately doing this because of the way those people treated her yesterday.

The Eagle looked at the other three, who seemed unwilling to get involved, and understood the reason behind it.

“Eat these fruits, and absorb all the crystal cores,” Nan Muran said. She knew that, except for Siye, it would be difficult for the others to awaken any new abilities.

Suddenly, footsteps were heard outside.

“It sounds like Qijin.”

As soon as Jiawu finished speaking, a light knocking came from the door.

The Eagle immediately got up to open the door and brought the little one inside.

“Big sister, are you going to find the big snake?” Qijin asked Nan Muran with certainty.

Nan Muran smiled at the little one and asked, “Did we return safely?”

Qijin nodded but then pointed at the Eagle. “But this brother is injured.”

Nan Muran wasn’t naive enough to ask how serious the injury was. If the Eagle’s injury wasn’t bad enough for him to be unable to handle it, he wouldn’t have returned injured.

She slowly bent down, meeting the little one’s gaze. Her voice was calm: “We definitely have to go, but to avoid injuries, we need you to come with us. Do you dare?”

Qijin was silent for a while before slowly nodding, speaking seriously, “Okay.”

The veteran, hearing that Nan Muran and the others were going into the mountains, had already anticipated their goal. When he heard that they were bringing Qijin, he was silent for a long time before nodding in agreement.

While it was still dark and peaceful, the five of them—four adults and one child—left the village and headed up the mountain to find the big snake.

After walking for a short while, Jiawu suddenly stopped. “Is there a dilapidated temple ahead?”

“Yes, if we go forward about a hundred meters, we’ll see it,” the Eagle, the walking map, responded, somewhat surprised by Jiawu’s sudden question.

Jiawu nodded. “You all wait for me here. I’ll be right back.”

“Brother Wu,” Nan Muran could roughly guess what Jiawu was about to do, and her heart felt a little sour.

“Be good, wait for me here. I’ll be back in twenty minutes at most,” Jiawu said with a smile in his eyes, signaling Siye to take Nan Muran ahead to wait.

After entering the dilapidated temple, less than ten minutes later, a woman’s heart-wrenching scream echoed from the quiet village.

The remaining villagers lit candles and fell into another round of panic.

Startled, Qijin was about to return to the village to check the situation.

The Eagle quickly grabbed the little one. “This is adult business. Children shouldn’t interfere.”

Qijin was confused, but seeing the calm expressions on the others, he obediently stood still.

“Let’s go,” Jiawu called from outside the dilapidated temple, unchanged as usual.

The four of them set off, silently, heading toward the mountain top, following the directions they had learned from Xiaoliu and the other little ones.

Eventually, they arrived at the entrance of a natural cave.

“Big sister, it’s here,” Qijin said, staring at the cave in his mind. He then took a deep breath and said, “Big sister, this cave collapsed. Brother was crushed by it…”

In his mind, the Eagle had been crushed by the cave while trying to save Siye and Nan Muran, his body mangled and lifeless.

Nan Muran used almost all of the mountain’s life force to bring the Eagle back to life.

Hearing Qijin’s description, the others couldn’t help but feel a chill of fear.

“It seems we can’t go in directly,” Nan Muran quickly made a decision.

They could only try using their mental abilities to sense the situation inside the snake’s hole.

Standing at the cave entrance, Nan Muran focused her mental energy and began probing the situation inside.

The cave entrance was a natural tunnel, dry and comfortable, but following the tunnel deeper, they saw a damp narrow gap. About thirty meters ahead inside was the very snake that had fled.

At this moment, the big snake was coiled inside the cave, as if… healing?