klisemfg Chapter 288 Snake Flood
Chapter 288 Snake Flood
As the morning mist gradually dissipated, the sea surface in front of us emitted a strange purple-gold light under the sun.
After the tide receded, the exposed rocks were covered in slime.
It looks rather disgusting.
Xu Yiyi squatted at the bow of the boat, her fingertips sliding across the damp, cold rocks, picking up a strand of transparent glue.
This is the amniotic sac shed by a young snake.
"The baby snakes fell into the sea early this year; in previous years, there were hardly any snakes to be seen at this time..."
Ah Da used his oar to push aside the floating seaweed, and a few silvery shadows flashed across the murky water before disappearing in an instant.
"They must have left before the cold wave hit. It looks like it'll get cold earlier this year," Ah Da spat.
A group of people continued their journey, rowing a small boat.
At first, there were only scattered thin black lines, like strands of hair blown by the wind, meandering and moving beneath the surface of the water.
Gradually, these thin threads converged into strands, intertwining and tumbling.
Looking out, hundreds and thousands of sea snakes were writhing on the surface of the sea, so densely packed that it made one's scalp tingle.
The snake's body gleamed with a cold, bluish-black light, and transparent mucus seeped from between its scales. It made a strange "crunching" sound as it rose and fell with the waves, like countless wet branches rubbing against each other.
A strong, nauseating stench hit me, not the smell of fish, but more like the deathly stench of an old coffin suddenly pried open, mixed with rotting seaweed, assaulting my nose and mouth.
Xu Yiyi felt a wave of nausea wash over her. Her fingers, gripping the gunwale, dug so hard into the slippery wood that her nails almost broke.
Her small boat was to the left of Uncle, and she could hear him muttering old sayings as he threw handfuls of rice into the sea.
The grain of rice fell into the snake swarm and was instantly swallowed up by the surging snake bodies.
Then Uncle's boat spun around, and three long, copper-plated poles at the bow dipped into the water.
The boats of the other uncles and elders in the clan slowly surrounded each other, the iron hooks clanging against the hulls.
Xu Yiyi followed their movements and rowed her small boat to the outer edge of the snake swarm.
He then extended a long pole over the side of the boat, with fresh octopus tentacles tied to the end.
Sea snakes love to eat octopus and will actively coil around it when they smell it.
After they gather together, they will cast their fishing nets one after another.
"Something's not right! What are those things stuck to these snakes?" Xu Yiyi's uncle on the boat next to her exclaimed in surprise.
She looked past the swirling currents of the snakes and saw a sea snake with a severed tail floating belly-up, its wound covered in grayish-white, fluffy material.
The person next to him comforted him, "What could it be? Don't overthink it. You should use this time to cast a few more nets to catch sea snakes and make some money."
The uncle stopped thinking and focused on the movements of his hands.
Xu Yiyi cast a fine-mesh rattan net. This net was different from the usual coarse fishing net. The warp and weft threads were soaked in neem juice, which would make the snake's body stiff and numb upon contact.
Furthermore, the gloves and foot covers were soaked in neem juice to prevent bites.
As soon as the fishing net hit the water, the surface churned like boiling water. Startled, the sea snake instinctively tried to burrow deeper, but it just happened to get caught in the mesh of the net, its thin body twisting into a knot.
Xu Yiyi hung the fishing net on the slide rail and pulled it up one step at a time.
When the net was brought out of the water, it was full of sea snakes that shimmered with a purple-silver light, their bellies gleaming with a pearly white hue.
It gave her goosebumps.
"Something really seems wrong. In previous years, a single net would catch at most a hundred or so fish, but this is my fourth net and the number isn't decreasing..."
The cabin was about to fill up.
Ah Da then realized that something was wrong.
The others started talking all at once.
Xu Yiyi frowned and looked into the sea.
A strange gray fog floated on the horizon, from which swarms of snakes poured out, resulting in each of their nets being completely full.
Moreover, in previous years when young sea snakes entered the sea, it was rare to see adult sea snakes.
However, at least half of the sea snakes caught this year were adults.
"Is it because the tide is going out and the snake is protecting its young?"
As Xu Yiyi spoke, the uncle on the boat next to her suddenly changed his expression and hurriedly rowed the small boat away.
The behavior of sea snakes protecting their young is extremely rare, and if it happens, the entire sea area will become a dead zone.
"Damn, there are a lot of strange things happening this year, and there are even more typhoon days than last year..."
A group of people were cursing and swearing.
"We just worshipped the Sea Goddess during the Mid-Autumn Festival, this shouldn't be happening!"
Uncle spat, completely baffled by the situation.
They had no choice but to shout and hurry back.
Without hesitation, Xu Yiyi gripped the oar and retreated.
As soon as the oars glided across the surface of the sea, a golden-ringed sea serpent as thick as an arm leaped out from the seabed.
With a flick of its tail, the snake directly entangled the uncle on the boat next to it.
"what--"
Seeing that he was about to fall into the water, Ah Da quickly warned him, "Don't jump into the sea..."
Xu Yiyi stood up and swung the oar down.
One blow after another, and with a crack, the snake bone broke.
The uncle, terrified, kicked the dead sea snake into the cabin.
"Keep an eye on things."
The others dared not delay and continued rowing the small boat.
Xu Yiyi's attention suddenly shifted to the sea snake on the surface of the sea, which was swimming steadily in the southeast direction.
With her sharp ears, she heard a series of muffled thunder-like sounds.
I thought it was a rainstorm.
You can look up.
It was a fine, sunny day, and staring directly at the rising sun made her eyes ache.
Just as she was wondering, something suddenly occurred to her.
Could it be...?
Xu Yiyi was startled; sulfurous bubbles were rising from the seabed.
At this point, not only sea snakes, but even schools of fish collectively surfaced.
Xu Yiyi shouted loudly, "It's a volcanic eruption..."
"What are you talking about? The Dragon King is angry."
Uncle's face turned ashen. It turned out that it wasn't a sea snake protecting its young, but rather it was trying to escape for its life.
Now, no one dared to delay and they all rowed their boats away.
The small boat sped along in silence, leaving a large number of dead fish floating on the sea behind it.
Back in the waters near Wanghai Island, the pungent smell became increasingly undetectable.
Why are you back so early today?
Aunt Li and her friends were washing things on the river when they saw their small boat docking and felt something was wrong.
"Wow, you've had quite a haul this year."
The next moment, Aunt Li beamed with joy as she looked at the sea snakes on their boat.
I didn't even have a chance to speak.
Ships sailed in one after another behind us.
"What's going on? Why did they all come back?"
Uncle was sitting on the boat, panting heavily.
"The Dragon King is enraged..."
Upon hearing this, everyone's expression changed.