abcnovels
Chapter 119 - 116: The Horse-Taming Man
Chapter 119 - 116: The Horse-Taming Man
Chapter 119: Chapter 116: The Horse-Taming Man
Translator: 549690339
Underground Cave?
Where?
The sudden appearance of the mission confused Bi Fang, who stopped explaining the Sparganas, looked up, and scanned his surroundings.
Apart from the rock walls, it was pitch black.
Could it be…
Bi Fang’s gaze shifted to the nearby dark pond, forgetting to flip the snake meat in his hand.
Is the cave in the pond?
[This snake is so disgusting, you’re actually going to eat it?]
[Can’t accept it.]
[Once it’s cooked, it should be fine to eat, right? Parasites are just bugs after all; they must be high in protein!]
[The meat we usually eat basically has parasites too, it’s just that they’re all cooked well enough to prevent infection.]
“Yes, to kill the Sparganas, you need at least 100 degrees Celsius for 2 minutes.
Even though I’m grilling here, and the temperature’s higher, it still needs over a minute,” Bi Fang regained his focus and started to respond to the comments.
The viewers hadn’t noticed anything unusual either.
The current turn of events was somewhat unexpected for Bi Fang. If it was an ordinary hole, that would be one thing, but this one was in a pond.
It was too dangerous.
Unknown gases and environments, and there might even be unidentified
creatures.
What’s more, it was specifically highlighted by the System!
[Would you like to take on the side mission? Note: This mission entails a certain level of danger.]
Bi Fang had never encountered such a situation before!
So if there was a hole, it definitely wouldn’t just be any ordinary cave, but very likely an entire complex cave system!
As intricate and maze-like as a labyrinth!
The critical point now was how to explain to the viewers that he wanted to check out the pond…
It was true, the appearance of this mission had completely captivated Bi Fang.
“To better get rid of parasites, when we eat anything in the wild, it’s best to grill it until the surface is charred black. Although this might affect the taste somewhat, it guarantees enough safety,” Bi Fang said.
Bi Fang flipped the slightly charred snake meat, picked a piece off the stick carelessly, and stuffed it into his mouth without minding the heat.
“Phew!”
A puff of hot air burst from Bi Fang’s mouth.
Without any seasonings, a burnt bitterness spread on the surface of the meat. Bi Fang chewed twice, finding the meat tough and chewy, but for someone who hadn’t eaten all day, it was still a rare delicacy.
“Without oil, this piece of snake meat is too dry, a bit stuck in the teeth, but the inside is quite good, with a texture similar to that of an eel, fishy but very fresh and sweet.”
After chewing a few more times, Bi Fang swallowed it down.
“Many people say snake skin is also a delicious food, but it’s too much trouble to prepare. Not only do you have to boil it in hot water first, you also have to scrape off the scales. Such effort just to eat snake skin doesn’t seem worth it for someone who is struggling to survive,” he said.
Bi Fang pointed at the snake skin next to the pond, bunched up with blobs of blood still sticking to it.
“If I could, 1 would take it back…”
“Splash!”
A sound of water suddenly broke the silence of the night, startling everyone. Bi Fang quickly stood up, stepped back several paces, and stared intently at the pond.
“There’s something in the pond!”
There was no need for Bi Fang to say if, the viewers had also come to this realization, although it was incredibly unbelievable.
[Damn, there are fish in such a small pond?]
[From the sound of it, that fish doesn’t seem small.]
[Master Fang didn’t say that this place is connected to an underground river with flowing water, right? Otherwise it would have dried and stank long ago.] [Are there living creatures in the underground river?]
The sound of splashing water came again, as if a large fish had flipped and churned up the surface.
Bi Fang gripped the Hunting Knife, not daring to be careless.
Even though common sense told him that there were few large fish in the underground river, Bi Fang couldn’t afford to relax.
The System had already issued a warning, this creature was not to be underestimated!
The only source of light was the pile of firewood, but the range of the firelight was not extensive. The brightness on the lake surface was exceedingly dim, and on the quiet water’s surface, there was only a small ripple slowly spreading out.
Bi Fang’s nameless unease crept up on him; he stared intently at that unusually calm patch of water, but after more than ten minutes, nothing appeared.
He let out a low breath, sheathed the Hunting Knife between his thighs, and turned around to pick up the snake meat. However, that calm ripple had silently reappeared, silently, like a snake gliding beneath the water.
The thin line of water slowly traced a circle before disappearing again, with the water’s surface returning to calm.
This time, it truly disappeared.
“Phew, it looks like it’s left,” Bi Fang wiped the sweat from his forehead and casually bent down to pick up the snake meat from the ground.
In the silent night, nothing happened.
Indeed, aquatic animals living in desert conditions is a surprising notion. But on the flip side, such an environment imposes massive constraints on the evolution of creatures.
“Having survived in the wild often, I’ve become a bit too sensitive. Generally speaking, unless it’s a crocodile, there are few aquatic creatures that dare to come ashore, let alone attack someone of my size like a…”
Mid-sentence, Bi Fang felt an instant stab of pain between his brows.
The water suddenly burst into a splash!
In the same instant, Bi Fang leaped up, a sound like tearing silk filled the air, and the movement caused the flames to waver.
A massive black shadow leaped out from the burst of water, pouncing towards Bi Fang—missed him!
“Fish!”
Wu Gang couldn’t help but cry out in shock.
But he couldn’t be sure if that was indeed a fish.
Not just Wu Gang, even Bi Fang couldn’t recognize what exactly it was. He searched through his memory and found no trace of such a creature!
The large fish had fierce bone spikes on its head, sharp like teeth, piercing through the dark leather skin, reflecting a metallic sheen, the hard skeleton covered its entire head.
The monster seemed to lack eyes; its whole head was just a gaping maw, filled with venomous snake-like barbed teeth!
Its tongue was a dark brown color, adorned with what appeared to be poisonous blue nodules.
Half of the creature’s body was thrown onto the shore by the force of the current, its tail hard as wrought iron, desperately lashing against the rocks. It reared its head to bite at Bi Fang once more, its attention fixed on Bi Fang’s legs!
Bi Fang, looking at the eyeless monster, then noticing the bloodied snake skin beneath it, had an epiphany.
This thing had been drawn by the scent of blood.
The creature crouched, muscles tense and charged with energy.
Bi Fang leaped to dodge, but the monster’s massive body contained astonishing strength; it caught up to him in the blink of an eye!
With excellent dynamic vision, Bi Fang stared at the gaping maw, his pupils contracted sharply.
A fearsome stench emerged, and under the firelight, the dagger-like teeth dimmed and brightened.
In desperation, Bi Fang didn’t have time to back away. Knowing he couldn’t outmaneuver his opponent and that being pounced upon would be extremely dangerous, he steeled himself and, surprisingly, extended his hands in mid-air, moving to meet the creature head-on!
The firelight was dim, and no one could see clearly what he was doing with his hands, feeling only that Bi Fang was brazen to the point of near madness! Planning to lose your hands?
Just when everyone thought Bi Fang’s hands would be bitten off by the monster, in the next moment, Bi Fang landed abruptly, tugging at something as he hastily retreated.
The entire valley was filled with the creature’s cries, its efforts to roar and scream sounded like the cries of an infant.
Bi Fang had actually grabbed hold of the monster’s tongue!
The part of the creature’s body which couldn’t be attacked due to its external skeleton was, in fact, its patched and vulnerable tongue.
By grabbing the tongue, Bi Fang had effectively lassoed the monster like a wild horse!