Chapter 10: The Giant Python, the Regional Warlord, and the Great Qin Military Household!
Xia He quietly tiptoed to the bedside, gazing softly at his wife still deep in slumber, and gently called her awake for breakfast.
At that moment, a mournful dirge mixed with heart-wrenching cries drifted in from outside the window.
A chill gripped Xia He’s heart, but he quickly composed himself.
The blood disease ravaging the city had worsened significantly. This dreadful illness could cause sudden death within just seven days, and no cure had yet been found.
All anyone could do was continuously purchase expensive medicine to slow its progression.
Yet despite this, more and more townsfolk succumbed to the disease, unable to afford the costly remedies.
Xia He pondered silently: if he couldn’t earn enough silver soon to renew the antidote, the merciless fate outside the window would inevitably befall him and his wife.
A cold shudder rose along his spine at the thought.
“Brother He, the price of the blood disease medicine rises every day. I’m worried...” his wife Li Huilan began, her voice tinged with concern.
Xia He clasped her hand tightly, offering soft words of comfort before frowning privately.
“This blood disease is relentless and baffling... something feels off about it.”
“If only I could further refine my skills, maybe then I’d have a chance to completely resist this affliction.”
Once this idea took hold, it spread like wildfire through his mind.
“I must gain more attribute points!”
With money, he could feed himself; with strength, he could protect himself.
He firmly shut the door, shutting out the cries from outside.
Only after the noise gradually subsided did he rise, sling his medicine basket on his back, grasp his spear, and head toward the mountains.
Without the usual troublesome ruffians causing trouble, the next few days passed much more peacefully.
Xia He lived an extremely regimented and monotonous life, traveling the same path daily—rising early, hastening into the deep mountains to gather herbs and hunt.
By evening, he would exchange the gathered medicine at the pharmacy for silver; the occasional game he hunted might be sold to the tavern or brought home.
If it weren’t for a string of bad luck with few big catches in a row, the neighbors might truly grow envious.
This day, as the sun dipped west and the pharmacy prepared to close, Xia He’s absence was still noted.
Usually, by this time, he would have returned with some haul, but today he was nowhere in sight, stirring the pharmacy owner Wang Xing’s curiosity and concern.
No one paid much heed to the disappearance of those few local troublemakers like Song Bao.
Recently, a massive python had been spotted prowling the mountains, its swollen belly visible from afar.
Several experienced and sturdy hunters had already fallen victim to it.
Few dared to enter the mountains now, except Xia He, who ventured there daily.
Chatting with others, Wang Xing frowned, thinking, “Could something have happened to that boy?”
Just then, a sudden commotion outside caught his attention.
A crowd surged like a tide toward a single direction. Wang Xing, puzzled, stepped outside slowly.
When he saw the scene, his eyes widened in shock.
Two men struggled to carry a colossal beast toward them. Leading the way was none other than Xia He himself.
They bore the corpse of the dreaded giant python that had terrorized everyone.
“Xiao He, what’s this...?”
Xia He dumped the python’s carcass at the pharmacy’s doorstep.
He had tracked the creature for days before finally finding it.
Having devoured countless medicinal herbs, the python’s body had grown a thick layer of keratin.
If not for Xia He’s skill breakthrough and the piercing force of his “Heavy Strike,” he might have only escaped.
Before bringing it back, he had gutted the monster and found undigested human bones inside—a horrifying sight.
Behind him, the burly man named Wu Dashi watched enviously under the crowd’s gaze.
Wu Dashi was a well-known local hunter who had been struggling lately, going days without a catch and nearly starving his family.
That very morning, he had ventured into the mountains hoping for luck, only to encounter the giant python and be terrified almost to death.
As the python was about to devour him, Xia He suddenly appeared from fifty steps away, hurling his spear with lightning speed and a piercing whistle—striking true like thunder.
The force was unheard of, and the python was impaled, blood spraying wildly.
Having slain the beast and saved Wu Dashi’s life, many were stunned at Xia He’s youth and prowess.
Wu Dashi eagerly volunteered to help carry the over ninety-kilogram python back.
“A giant python!”
“That’s the man-eater! My second aunt was taken by that snake up in the mountains!”
From the town entrance to the pharmacy was only a few hundred meters, but the news had already drawn a dense crowd of curious neighbors.
The python was as thick as a barrel, at least fifteen or sixteen meters long—no group of strong men could match it.
Wu Dashi, known for his big mouth, eagerly embellished the tale of his mountain ordeal to the assembled crowd.
Only then did everyone realize it was Xia He who had slain the beast!
Wasn’t he a gambler? How had he become so formidable?
From that day on, Xia He’s fame spread far and wide.
...
“Xiao He, I want to buy the python meat and gallbladder from you!” Wang Xing rubbed his hands excitedly amid the crowd.
This python was almost sentient, having devoured so many people—it was practically a demon.
Xia He had no intention of selling the meat, as it could be converted into attribute points.
But Wang Xing paid it no mind, knowing the most valuable parts were the gallbladder and the skin.
Just as he prepared to make an offer, someone cut in.
An energetic old man with graying hair strode forward, saying,
“Ten taels of silver—I want the gallbladder!”
Xia He turned to see the man clad in half-leather armor, gripping a long spear. He realized the man was a soldier from the outer city garrison.
He was stunned.
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