Chapter 41

Passing by a small flowering tree, the trunk no thicker than half the width of Wu Mu’s waist, Song Xu looked up and saw pink and white flowers blooming. Feeling an itch in her hands, she grabbed the trunk and shook it vigorously. The ground was already covered with a layer of petals, and with her shake, more petals fell like snow, drifting down.

Song Xu opened her mouth and leaned back to catch the falling petals. Although she looked a bit silly, there was no one else around except her and Wu Mu to see. As she leaned back, her body bent backward, and she was about to fall when she felt a force behind her. A big snake’s head supported her waist and back, preventing her from toppling over.

Song Xu leaned against the snake’s mouth, half of her body on its head. All the flowers had fallen. But only the spring flowers had ended; next would be the summer flowers. As long as she kept moving forward, she would always see flowers blooming.

Song Xu and Wu Mu climbed the mountain, reaching the summit.

The most rewarding part of climbing a mountain is reaching the top, where the path taken lies beneath your feet, and the road ahead is clear. This experience fills you with immense pride, and you feel like you could climb ten more mountains!

Looking ahead, the countless undulating mountains made everything else seem small. She remembered watching ants near a stone cave in winter. The tiny creatures crawled over large stones and small puddles, crossing mountains and rivers to return home. To Song Xu, it was a short distance, just a few dozen steps, but for the ants, it was a long journey. If a giant were watching from the side, she and Wu Mu would probably look like two ants.

On the mountain, clouds and mist were often seen swirling around the peaks. From a distance, the mountaintops seemed enveloped in mist, but upon approaching, the mist would dissipate, leaving only the dampness on the grass and trees as traces of the clouds. But these traces didn’t last long. As the weather warmed, the mist became less frequent, and the sky remained clear, unable to be covered by fog.

Walking in the mountains, one of Song Xu’s biggest annoyances was the frequent rain. It would suddenly start raining in a particular area, often catching her off guard. She would find a nearby dirt cave, stone cave, or tree hole to take shelter. These holes were usually small, just enough to fit a squirrel in its beast form, and barely accommodate a big snake’s head.

Wu Mu would only shelter his head from the rain, but with his scales, he could dry off quickly, unlike a furry squirrel, which would look like a bedraggled rat when wet and need a long time in the sun to dry.

As the weather got hotter, Song Xu didn’t mind the rain as much. She would treat it as a bath, even seeking mountain streams to cool off. The mountain streams were clear and teeming with small fish, shrimp, and insects, making it Song Xu’s paradise.

In Wu Mu’s forest, there were no such streams. She would drag Wu Mu through the streams. Sometimes, he would bury his head in the water to swim, and sometimes he would lift his head. Song Xu would laugh and call him a water snake. There were indeed water snakes in this place. This weather was the peak season for snakes, and this location was their favorite gathering spot.

Unlike in Wu Mu’s forest, where you couldn’t find two snakes within a dozen miles, here, you could see several snakes in just a few hundred meters of river area.

Song Xu only dared to observe these wild snakes from a distance, not daring to play with them. Wild snakes would bite without hesitation, and their venom had no cure.

“Look, Wu Mu, there’s a snake!” Song Xu exclaimed once again.

To Wu Mu, this behavior was like a person living in a monkey mountain, often being excitedly pulled and pointed at nearby monkeys, saying, “Look, there’s a monkey!”

Song Xu squatted on a large rock by the stream, watching a nearby colorful snake. Startled by the noise, the tiny snake quickly disappeared into the grass.

“Wu Mu, look, there’s a green snake on that branch!” Song Xu lifted Wu Mu’s head from the water and whispered in his ear.

Wu Mu: “…Hiss.”

Song Xu: “Hiss, look over there!”

If you asked Wu Mu when he least wanted to talk, it would be now.

Song Xu watched the small green snake coiled on the branch with great interest. Its round head was adorable, still bobbing slightly. She couldn’t tell what kind of snake it was, but she thought it was probably venomous.

There’s a saying that triangular-headed snakes are venomous and oval-headed ones are not, but this is actually incorrect. There are many types of snakes, and whether they are venomous or not has no absolute relation to the shape of their heads.

“Wu Mu, let’s get a closer look.” Song Xu pushed the big snake forward, using him as a barrier between her and the small green snake.

The small green snake seemed to sense the presence of the big snake, realizing the danger, and went into a defensive and attack mode, suddenly launching itself from the branch. The big snake raised his neck to block it. The small snake’s wide-open mouth was useless against the thick, round body covered in scales, which it couldn’t bite through. Dazed from the impact, the small snake fell into the water and angrily swam away, flicking its tail.

Watching the small snake escape, Song Xu continued to look for new snakes. Wading through the stream that submerged her calves, trees leaned towards the water on both sides, their canopies covering the stream. The banks were lush with vibrant green grass, and even the water and the stones at the bottom reflected green, creating a green tunnel like a dream in the afternoon.

“I suddenly felt that I was fearless back then,” Song Xu suddenly sighed. “The first time I saw you, I just reached out and touched you.”

She must have been scared silly by that annoying lion. When she first came to this world, she was still a bit confused, running for her life until her head was oxygen-deprived and muddled. Of course, Wu Mu’s tail was so stunningly beautiful that it shattered her perception of snakes, making her want to see if it was real. It turned out there really was such a big snake.

“Luckily, I was foolish back then.” Song Xu squatted in the stream, hugging the big snake’s head, feeling grateful.

Wu Mu nudged his head forward, causing the squirrel to lose her balance and fall into the water. The squirrel drank a couple of mouthfuls: “Glug, glug…”

The big snake, just wanting to nuzzle, didn’t expect such a mishap. The size difference occasionally led to such disharmony. He quickly lifted her out of the water again, and the squirrel lay on the big snake’s head, like riding a train, passing through the green tunnel.

They had been trekking in the mountains for an entire season and came across a muddy pond where a group of frog beastmen were breeding, essentially looking for mates.

You can imagine the commotion when a snake beastman accidentally wanders into this place, comparable to Godzilla appearing in a human city.

At that time, Song Xu couldn’t even say, “Friends, don’t be afraid, we’re not here to eat you!” All she heard was a chorus of frog croaks, and in the dark, frog shadows jumped around, with the big-bellied beastmen in their beast forms scattering in all directions.

Soon, only the swaying grass, a big snake, a squirrel, and a few glowing insects, which the frog beastmen used as lamps, were left.

“That big-bellied beastmen just now… were they the standard body shape for frog beastmen or pregnant female frog beastmen?” the squirrel asked in the quiet.

They had been wandering in the mountains for so long that they lost their way. Hearing so many beastmen singing and shouting here, they just wanted to ask for directions.

Before coming, Song Xu optimistically said that with so many frog beastmen gathered together, they wouldn’t all run away at the sight of a snake. There was a good chance to talk and communicate. Little did she know the deterrent power of a natural enemy was so strong.

Coincidentally, the beastmen scents left nearby were mainly from those lower on the big snake’s food chain. They were either frog beastmen or rodent beastmen.

Song Xu stood at the entrance of a dirt hole dug by a rodent beastman, looked back at the big snake guarding the entrance, and instructed, “I’ll go in and talk to them, ask for directions, and come out. It’s more convenient for me alone. After all, squirrels are also rodents; we’re all relatives and easy to talk to.” Then she went into the dirt hole and didn’t come out for a long time.

Wu Mu lay at the hole entrance, wondering if she was chatting with someone inside and planning to have a meal before coming out or if she was in danger. Just as he couldn’t resist the urge to stick his head into the hole, the squirrel, with a head full of dirt, popped out from behind a tree not far away and shouted in frustration, “The route inside is very complicated. I’ve been walking for so long and haven’t seen a single shadow. They’ve already run away!”

A cunning rabbit has three burrows, and a cunning mouse has three holes.

The underground nest had more than three exits. Song Xu walked for a long time and found the place empty, almost getting lost inside. Failing to ask for directions, they had to continue walking. This area probably didn’t have any large wild animals, so it became a paradise for small animals. Many small beastmen lived here. Foxes, pangolins, hedgehogs, badgers, and cranes left traces, but they were often only heard or seen from afar. By the time Song Xu and Wumu arrived, they had already fled.

“It’s like a game of hide and seek. Whoever gets caught loses,” Song Xu said to Wu Mu.

Putting herself in their shoes, she wouldn’t feel too happy if everyone avoided her. Song Xu didn’t want Wu Mu to feel that way either, so she explained the popular game of hide and seek to him in detail.

Wu Mu maintained his snake form and didn’t react, so Song Xu couldn’t tell what he thought about it. Only when Song Xu found traces of a squirrel beastman did the big snake wrap his tail around the squirrel while resting.

Song Xu casually reassured him, “Don’t worry, I won’t run off with a squirrel beastman. Actually, in this world, I don’t have any real kin.”

It turned out that the silent snake was also worried that she would leave him to return to her kind.

“You should learn from my sense of responsibility. I’ve even thought about how to stay around if you ever go live with a group of snakes,” Song Xu said seriously.

The big snake shook his head.

Song Xu was surprised, “No? Why not? Are you afraid snakes will eat me?”

The big snake shook his head vigorously.

Song Xu frowned, “Absolutely not? I definitely can’t?”

Misunderstanding his meaning, the big snake got anxious, shaking his head and snapping a nearby small tree with its tail.

Song Xu gasped, “If I dared to follow you to live with a group of snakes, I’d end up like this tree, snap! Ah!”

The big snake stared at her and began to gather strength, trying to transform into his half-beastman form, frustrated by the inability to communicate.

Song Xu quickly held him down, “Okay, okay, I get it. You mean you won’t go live with a group of snakes.”

Finally understanding his meaning, Wu Mu realized the squirrel was pretending to be dumb again. He hissed twice in mild complaint, and Song Xu laughed, rolling on his tail to comfort him.

The squirrel beastman hiding in the tree saw his kin rolling on the big snake and was so frightened that he slipped away.

Unbeknownst to Song Xu and Wu Mu, they were quite famous in the small tribes of this mountainous area. Their reputation spread far and wide, and people spoke of them with lingering fear.

“The snake beastman who invaded the frog beastmen’s breeding area and ate frog beastmen,”

“the big snake who swept through the rodent beastmen’s underground settlement, leaving a family homeless,” and other titles made the small beastmen avoid them.

This large-scale, long-lasting game of hide and seek ended when they walked out of the continuous mountains. Ahead lay endless hills, suddenly opening up.