Chapter 143: Chapter 143: Preparations Before the Hunt

“...They’re all snakes—how different could they taste?” Elder Pukang retorted, his rough face dead serious.

Elder Pukang wasn’t picky—as long as it was edible, it was delicious to him.

Chang Xia couldn’t find a comeback.

A python was just a kind of snake, after all.

That logic seemed sound.

Chang Xia thought about it, and found herself swept along by Elder Pukang’s words.

Of course, it was also because she didn’t really like eating snake. If given the choice, she’d much rather have chicken, duck, or goose.

Trying new things was more about curiosity and pride.

But when it came to actually eating them, they weren’t necessarily that tasty.

“Fine!” Chang Xia said. “I was thinking, since the south side of Baihu isn’t far, I didn’t bring any seasonings—not even salt. How are we supposed to cook?”

Right now, it wasn’t about what to eat.

It was about what to cook with.

Even the best cook can’t make a meal without ingredients.

At this, Elder Pukang’s cheerful grin faded, and he wilted like a frostbitten eggplant, looking listless.

Seeing this, Elder Senda had to step in.

“Kongshan, Shankun, which of you wants to run an errand?” Senda asked.

Shankun glanced at Kongshan and said, “I’ll go back to Baihu! Chang Xia, what seasonings do you need?”

“Go to my kitchen and just bring all the jars you see in the cupboard,” Chang Xia said after thinking for a moment. Might as well have Shankun bring the whole lot, just in case she needed something and it turned out to be missing.

Besides, Chang Xia had a feeling—

By the time Yadong and Shankun returned from Baihu,

There’d probably be a lot more people here in the wilderness by the little river.

Never mind the grass roots for now—the bodies of all those snakes killed in the forest needed to be dealt with. In this hot weather, if they were left alone, they’d rot by tomorrow. The whole forest would reek.

Even though the beastfolk were strong and healthy, Chang Xia couldn’t guarantee they wouldn’t catch something.

It was important to deal with the snake corpses promptly, and not carelessly. But with the wisdom of the tribal elders, even if Chang Xia didn’t remind them, Elder Yami would take care of it. Having Shankun bring all the jars from her cupboard was just to be prepared.

"Alright."Shankun didn’t ask any more questions and headed straight back to Baihu.

The wilderness was right next to a small river, so getting water was easy.

However, considering the risk of anacondas and venomous snakes, Changxia was worried the river might be contaminated. She didn’t rush to boil water, choosing instead to wait for Chen Rong to return before starting.

Maple Leaf Nan Feng quickly built a stove.

The hungry Elder Pukang swallowed several snake galls before Changxia could stop him. In the end, it was Elder Senda who spoke up, telling Changxia that with Elder Pukang’s stomach, he wouldn’t get poisoned even if he ate venomous snakes raw.

Snake gall was nothing to him.

Elder Pukang had even chewed on ironwood before.

Besides his strong teeth, his stomach was famous for being like iron—there was almost nothing he couldn’t digest.

"Changxia, you really don’t need to worry about Elder Pukang,"Nan Feng whispered. "He can eat snake gall raw, even snake meat raw. There’s no need to worry about poisoning or parasites."Changxia was stunned.

She suddenly remembered that Elder Pukang’s bloodline ability was quite unique.

Could it be related to his stomach?

But if it was, then what about those powerful iron fists of his?!

Ah!

No matter how she tried, Changxia couldn’t figure it out, so she simply gave up thinking about it.

Meanwhile, Maple Leaf Nan Feng finished building the stove, and Kongshan continued to grind a stone pot. The rocks by the river weren’t great quality, so the pot wouldn’t be as good as the ones from the rocky shoal, but it would do for now.

One after another, the group cleared out another wave of snakes.

At that moment—

Chen Rong gradually came into view.

"Chen Rong—!"Changxia jumped up and ran to greet him.

Chen Rong waved his hand and said, "Don’t worry, I’m fine."Wolf boy, what’s the deal with that anaconda?"Pukang asked urgently. He couldn’t wait to eat anaconda meat; now that Chen Rong was back, he couldn’t hold himself back any longer, and he started drooling uncontrollably.

Chen Rong was speechless at Elder Pukang’s nickname for him.

Wolf boy—

What kind of nickname was that?

But he knew there was no point arguing, especially given Elder Pukang’s special circumstances. If he protested, he’d probably get beaten up.

"That anaconda was indeed injured—badly. Its tail was nearly chopped off by a sharp weapon, and its body is covered in wounds that haven’t healed,"Chen Rong explained. "The snake swarm in this wilderness isn’t just clearing out enemies for the anaconda—they’re also its food."The anaconda was too badly hurt to hunt.

By summoning the snake swarm, it could both fill its belly and drive away wild beasts from the wilderness. There were a lot of fierce beasts near Mount Wei.

However, those beasts knew not to approach the Heluo tribe.

And they rarely left Mount Wei.

"Damn! That’s so devious?"Changxia exclaimed, her face full of disbelief.

The others, though, accepted it quickly. This kind of behavior was normal for anacondas. In the wild, some animals eat their weaker offspring, leaving only the strong—nature’s survival of the fittest is far harsher than people imagine.

Nan Feng brushed the sand off her hands and said calmly, "Changxia, this is normal in nature. In fact, some beast tribes in the Twilight Forest abandon their elderly or newborn cubs."Not every beast tribe was as united and loving as the Heluo tribe.

In fact, long ago, there was even a beast tribe that hunted other beast tribes for food.

But once their actions were exposed, the other tribes in the Twilight Forest united to wipe them out.

Never underestimate human nature!

Changxia had lived through the apocalypse and heard of even crueler things. But after more than ten years of love and care from the Heluo tribe, her once-hardened heart had softened.

So, when she heard about the anaconda’s shocking hunting tactics, she couldn’t help but complain.

But after Nan Feng’s explanation, Changxia quickly came to her senses.

She hadn’t always had an easy life, so she understood the warning in Nan Feng’s words.

"The weaker you are, the more you scheme and plot. The strong never fear a challenge,"Maple Leaf said boldly.

She believed that as long as you were strong enough, no scheme could touch you.

That was also the principle the Heluo tribe had always followed:

Never bully the weak, never fear the strong.

Walk your chosen path with strength and loyalty.

"Mm, I understand,"Changxia nodded. "So, should we get started now?"Elder Pukang was already itching to act—he’d hunted normal anacondas before, so a wounded one was nothing to him.

"Pukang, go ahead! Just be careful not to smash the anaconda to bits. The meat, skin, and bones are all useful—just aim for its head,"Senda instructed. Before he even finished speaking, Elder Pukang was already charging into the wilderness.

Senda shook his head at the sight.

"Chen Rong, can you tell what attacked that anaconda?"It was probably a sharp weapon like an ironwood blade—almost cut off its tail. Some of the other wounds look like spear or arrow injuries, and the smaller ones might be from some kind of river beast."After hearing this, everyone fell silent.