NOVEL NEXT Ch. 7
Chapter 7: From Snake to Python
After Mo Lin escaped deep into the rock crevice, Hong Tianfeng, outside the crevice, saw that the smoke had failed to drive Mo Lin out for a long time.
He helplessly shook his head:
“Looks like this crevice must lead to another exit. This snake probably won’t come out again.”
Although he did not manage to capture the snake with his own hands, Hong Wen’s excitement remained high.
He lifted up the small half of Mo Lin’s body, shaking it twice:
“Father, I’ve heard snake meat tastes delicious? Have you and Grandfather ever eaten it before?”
As he spoke, Hong Wen even swallowed a mouthful of saliva.
While tidying up his snake-catching tools, Hong Tianfeng smiled:
“Your grandfather and I could barely scrape together the court’s harsh taxes, let alone afford such luxuries.”
“Ah, so even Father has never eaten snake.”
Hong Wen wiped the corner of his mouth, then closed his eyes and handed the small half of the snake body to his father:
“In that case, Father should dry it out and exchange it for more money, so we can save some tuition fees for my younger brother.”
His words clearly carried the tone of someone who still had no desire to study.
Hong Tianfeng’s gaze sharpened, immediately recalling how he had almost lost his eldest son just moments earlier.
But looking at Hong Wen’s youthful face, Hong Tianfeng eventually sighed and chose to set aside the argument for now:
“This small half of a snake’s body, while still usable for medicine, isn’t the upper half. Even if given to the court, they would deliberately lower the price.”
“Since the number of snakes we’ve caught is already enough to cover this year’s taxes, why not bring this back and let your mother stew a pot of snake soup? It’ll help nourish you three siblings.”
Hearing his father’s words, Hong Wen was overjoyed:
“Really?”
“Would I lie about that?”
“That’s amazing!”
“Quiet! We’re still in the mountains.”
“Oh, oh.”
Chatting and laughing, the father and son snake-catchers carried the snake baskets on their backs and descended the mountain together.
......
Hong Tianfeng had guessed correctly.
The rock crevice Mo Lin hid in indeed led to another exit.
When Mo Lin dragged his body out from the other side of the crevice, he finally had time to examine his wounds under the light.
After devouring the King Rat Snake, Five-Pacer, and several other snakes, Mo Lin’s body had already reached nearly two meters in length.
But this time, in order to escape from the hands of the two snake-catchers, Mo Lin had been forced to sacrifice part of himself, trading one-third of his tail for survival.
Because of this, Mo Lin’s body length was once again barely a meter.
At the end of the tail, a small section of white spine was even visible.
What was worse, after losing the rear half of his tail, Mo Lin’s springing ability was greatly reduced, and the list of prey he could hunt shrank significantly.
His basic attributes also dropped sharply.
【Mo Lin】
【Strength: 30】
【Speed: 23】
【Agility: 26】
【Defense: 24】
【Demonic Power: 0】
【Abilities: Devour, Shedding, Poison Resistance】
The only consolation was that Mo Lin had a feeling his tail could regenerate through devouring other creatures.
Even so, Mo Lin had suffered a heavy setback.
He had not expected there would be professional snake-catchers on this mountain.
“From what those two snake-catchers just said, it seems they risked coming up here because venomous snakes can be used as part of the dynasty’s tax payments.”
“Looks like, since I’ve been hunting venomous snakes recently and taken on some of their appearance, they mistook me for one and hunted me.”
“Since the Banded Krait is already enough to pay the taxes, they likely won’t be coming up here again this year.”
Mo Lin’s snake eyes glimmered:
“I thought this was a deep, desolate mountain, but from the way those two spoke, there must be human settlements not far below.”
“Once my tail grows back and I regain some self-preservation ability, I can consider going down the mountain for a look.”
“After all, I need to find out about my ‘benefactor’s’ situation, so I can choose how to ‘repay the favor’.”
“But I must remember—I am no longer human. If I go down the mountain, I will surely be the target of all. I must be extremely cautious.”
Having summarized what he had learned about the snake-catchers, Mo Lin stopped dwelling on the matter.
The weather in the mountains was gradually growing colder, and winter would soon arrive.
He was not yet strong enough to resist low temperatures and remain active in winter.
To survive, he needed to eat more, regrow his missing tail, and accumulate energy for hibernation.
......
A month later.
“Gurrrr\~ Gurrrr\~”
A Toad sat under a tree, its belly inflating rhythmically, completely unaware that on a branch above, a snake was coiled, staring down coldly at it.
Strangely, compared to the snake’s large head and body, its tail dangling from the branch was still rather tiny.
“Swish!”
The leaves trembled slightly as the snake with a large head and small tail dropped down, opening its jaws over 135 degrees and biting into the unsuspecting Toad.
The Toad immediately began struggling frantically.
But Mo Lin held on tight, injecting threads of venom into the Toad’s body through his fangs.
After struggling for a while, the Toad’s body was overwhelmed by the venom.
With a final kick, it died.
Only then did Mo Lin release his bite and swallow the Toad whole.
“Mm, mm. If Cockroaches are like protein-rich crunchy snacks, then Toads are greasier but far more chewy.”
This was Mo Lin’s foodie insight after a month of practice.
Over the past month, Mo Lin had stayed hidden within his territory, never taking a single step beyond, hunting like an ordinary Grass Snake—lizards, Frogs, Toads, and other small creatures.
After half a month of recuperation, his tail had successfully regrown.
Although still much shorter than the rest of his body, at least it no longer hindered his movements.
During this time, Mo Lin never saw Hong Tianfeng and his son again, though he did glimpse another group of snake-catchers from afar.
Having learned his lesson, Mo Lin avoided them early on, watching as they carried off his “kin” down the mountain.
And just yesterday, he had successfully completed his second shedding.
【Mo Lin】
【Strength: 52】
【Speed: 53】
【Agility: 53】
【Defense: 51】
【Demonic Power: 0】
【Abilities: Devour, Shedding, Poison Resistance, Snake Venom (injects venom through fangs)】
If he hadn’t encountered Hong Tianfeng and Hong Wen, this second shedding should have been completed a month earlier.
With this shedding, Mo Lin now stood at the very peak of snakes.
Even if a King Cobra appeared before him, Mo Lin would dare to face it head-on.
Another piece of good news was that, as expected, venom glands had developed on both sides of his head after the shedding.
The scene just now had been Mo Lin testing his ability to release venom.
“But as I feared, even just releasing enough venom to kill a Toad left me feeling drained, craving more protein.”
“It seems this venom is best kept as a trump card, not used as a regular weapon. Otherwise, it may slow down my evolution.”
As he savored his chewy meal, a shadow passed over Mo Lin’s eyes:
“The weather is growing colder. If I’m not mistaken, snow will fall within half a month.”
As a cold-blooded animal, his body temperature changed with the environment.
Recently, he had clearly felt his metabolism slowing.
Ordinarily, he should already be looking for a suitable place to hibernate and conserve energy.
After all, with the falling temperatures, prey in the forest was also becoming scarce.
But Mo Lin was not yet satisfied with his current state.
He should have completed three sheddings before hibernating.
According to his calculations, the third shedding would bring changes far greater than the first two—fundamental, transformative changes.
For example, from snake to python.
But such a transformation would demand far more energy than the combined energy of the first two sheddings.
After all, in ancient lore, it was said: “A snake becomes a python after five hundred years, a python becomes a boa after five hundred years, and a boa becomes a flood dragon after five hundred years.”
Even if exaggerated, to leap across such a five-hundred-year chasm in mere months through devouring alone—transforming from snake to python—was no easy feat.
Yet, no matter how difficult, Mo Lin had to attempt it.
In the forest, as a venomous snake, he already possessed the ability to defend himself.
But only by becoming a python could he truly stand at the top of the food chain.
“The prey within my territory has already been accounted for. No matter how much I hunt here, it won’t be enough to support my third shedding before winter.”
“I should try venturing outside.”
With that thought, Mo Lin swallowed the Toad in one gulp and began slithering out of his territory.