Song of Adolescence

Chapter 200 Little Gold Line Snake

"It\'s a gold line snake." Tang Lian grew up in Tang Clan, so he was naturally very familiar with venomous creatures. He merely glanced at it and said, "It’s an extremely venomous snake, but if you could extract the snake’s venom, then it becomes an antidote for all other snake venoms in the world. So, its venom is very valuable in Beili. A small cup of it can sell for nearly a hundred taels of silver."

"As far as I know, this kind of snake is very rare." Xiao Se frowned slightly. "I can probably guess the ship\'s destination now."

"Three Snake Islands. There are a lot of gold line snakes there," Tang Lian said slowly.

While the two of them were talking, Zhenzhu suddenly cried out in shock. Everyone looked up and saw that the gold line snake had snatched its opportunity. It leapt onto the brawny man’s side, opened its mouth wide and bit down. The brawny man snatched back his hands but he was too slow, and was bitten firmly by the snake.

Almost at the same time, two men in black cloaks jumped into the wooden ring. With a light wave of their hands, the gold line snake escaped far away, curled into a ball, and lay there quietly, not daring to make any moves.

"He must be a snake breeder from Xiang’nan, also called a snake chief. Their cloaks are coated with a powder that repels snakes," Tang Lian explained.

Zhenzhu was taken aback when she heard him. She glanced at him, thinking to herself that these outsiders were really knowledgeable.

One of the snake chiefs helped the brawny man up. He took out a water bag and fed the brawny man a mouthful of water from it. The brawny man had already lost consciousness but after drinking the liquid in the water bag, his fingers twitched slightly, and finally he gradually regained consciousness.

"I’m guessing this gold line snake had been fed with some special medicinal ingredients so its toxicity was reduced. Otherwise, its venom is not that easily cured. It should have caused immediate throat hemorrhage," Tang Lian said.

"Trial result, fail. Here’s 30 coppers as compensation. Leave the ring." The two men in black cloaks turned and left. After hearing the results, everyone noticed that there was a square table next to the wooden ring, and on the table, there was a book. A middle-aged man with a goatee held a brush in his hand and drew a cross next to a name in the book. "Is there anyone else trying next?"

Some people in the crowd began to murmur, but finally nobody stepped out to register themselves. It was already past midday. At the start of the day, the people who signed up had been very enthusiastic, but the trial was way too dangerous and very few people actually passed.

"We’re good at fishing, but how can we be good at catching snakes?" A young fisherman scratched his head and said helplessly.

"I\'ll give it a try." Lei Wujie glanced at Xiao Se.

"Go. Don’t create too much of a commotion," Xiao Se said lazily.

"I\'m coming!" Lei Wujie raised his hand and shouted.

The middle-aged man who looked like an accountant raised his head when he heard the shout and looked at Lei Wujie. He immediately lost hope in his heart, and asked listlessly, "What\'s your name?"

"Lei Wujie," Lei Wujie replied.

"You’re crazy. You know how dangerous this is," Zhenzhu said anxiously.

"Don\'t be afraid. I\'m very tough." Lei Wujie smiled, and after speaking, he took a flying leap and landed steadily in the middle of the wooden ring.

Everyone was shocked by his martial skills and immediately applauded. "Great!"

Tang Lian smiled and said to Xiao Se, "When did this kid learn to be this pompous?"

Xiao Se pulled down his hood and said sarcastically, "He’s the great Young Hero Lei after all. He’ll be famous all over the martial world one day."

Zhenzhu said anxiously, "Aren\'t you all worried at all?"

"Worried about what?" Xiao Se said indifferently. "Worried about that snake?"

After Lei Wujie jumped into the ring, he looked at the snake and said with a smile, "Little goldie, come and play with this young hero."

"Get the snake catcher!" The middle-aged man who looked like an accountant was startled and he stood up to shout.

Lei Wujie, however, ignored him. He was whistling to the gold line snake, "Come on, come and bite me."

"Hiss!" The snake reared up all of a sudden, flicking its tongue out at Lei Wujie.

"Ooh, angry now?" Lei Wujie became excited. "It\'s okay to be angry. You’ve been bred until you’ve lost your domineering nature. Come on! Come take a bite!"

"Come on!" Lei Wujie suddenly shouted.

The gold line snake unexpectedly responded. It sprang forward, opened its mouth and bit at Lei Wujie. Lei Wujie struck with his palm and immediately pinched the snake in one hand.

"Wow!" The crowd exclaimed, applauding the thrilling moment.

"So scary! I heard you’re very venomous?" Lei Wujie laughed.

"Idiot." Tang Lian cursed in a low voice.

The gold line snake suddenly shrank back and broke free from Lei Wujie\'s hand. It circled itself around his arm a few times, then opened its mouth again and bit at his neck.

"Oh no!" Zhenzhu exclaimed.

Lei Wujie smiled slightly and his pupils flashed red. The gold line snake’s fangs barely touched Lei Wujie’s neck and were instantly scalded. It withdrew quickly and Lei Wujie pinched its head again with two fingers, lifting it off himself. “Aren’t you a tricky one?"

The middle-aged accountant waved his hand lightly, and a snake chief dressed in a black cloak appeared beside him like a ghost. He whispered, "Report this to the master."

The other snake chief appeared next to Lei Wujie, and he spoke softly, "This gold line snake was not easy to cultivate, so please show some mercy, young hero."

"What’s the point of cultivating these venomous creatures? It’ll only hurt others and hurt yourself." Lei Wujie gently squeezed the head of the gold line snake.

"It can harm people, but can also save people. That would depend on whose hands it’s in," the snake chief replied.

"That’s a good answer. Here, take it." Lei Wujie smiled and threw aside the gold line snake.

The snake chief bowed slightly, and kept the gold line snake into his sleeve.

"Did I pass?" Lei Wujie turned around and looked at the middle-aged man.

"Naturally. Young hero, please wait a moment," the middle-aged man said. After a while, the other snake chief returned and said a few words in his ear. The middle-aged man nodded and looked at Lei Wujie. "Our master would like to meet this young hero in person."

"Okay." Lei Wujie jumped and landed next to the middle-aged man. The snake chief turned and directed him to go ahead. "This way, please."

"Lady, keep that blue-spotted grouper and wait for us to come back." Tang Lian and Xiao Se immediately followed, but when they walked up to Lei Wujie, they were stopped by the snake chief who’d kept the gold line snake. "The master only invited that young hero."

Lei Wujie turned around when he heard that and said, "They’re my friends."

"Never mind." Tang Lian smiled and said to the snake chief, "You’ve hidden a few more gold line snakes in your sleeves. Is it three or four?"

The snake chief was stunned. "How do you know?"

Tang Lian reached out a hand, twisted it lightly and a medicinal powder floated out. The snake chief was startled, and four gold line snakes in his sleeves suddenly popped out. All they saw was a golden flash of light, and all four rushed towards Tang Lian to bite him. Tang Lian shook his right hand lightly, four silver needles flew through the air, pierced their heads, and nailed them to the ground all at the same time.

The snake chief immediately stepped aside, and Tang Lian and Xiao Se walked slowly to Lei Wujie\'s side. Lei Wujie scratched his head. "Didn\'t you say not to cause too much of a commotion?"

"Enough nonsense, let\'s go." Xiao Se yawned lazily.