Xu Chunliang noticed that Zhou Meng's palms were broad and solid, covered with calluses, and the joints of his knuckles were also thickly callused, feeling rough like old tree bark. One can tell at a glance that this person had a certain cultivation in external martial arts.
Lu Qi skipped the introductions. They were here for business, not to build friendships.
Zhou Meng knew their purpose and pointed up the mountain, telling them that the release area was just up there.
"Is it far?" Li Zhong asked.
"Not far, just a few steps away."
They soon learned the true meaning of "not far" from Zhou Meng's mouth. After trekking through the forest for nearly forty minutes, they finally approached the secluded release point deep in the dense woods.
Li Zhong was panting heavily, and Lu Qi was no better off. Zhou Meng, tall and long-legged, took large strides, and his usual work involved patrolling the forest, making this mountain path feel like flat ground to him. Today he intentionally slowed his pace to accommodate his police colleagues; normally, he would have walked it in twenty minutes.
Among the three, Xu Chunliang performed remarkably well. He never lagged behind Zhou Meng from start to finish.
Zhou Meng noticed this and silently praised him, impressed by the endurance of this light-skinned young man.
Li Zhong could hardly continue; he stopped in place, leaning against a crooked tree, panting: "Xiaozhou... rest a bit... then continue..."
Zhou Meng stopped, turned, and said, "Just a few more steps ahead."
Li Zhong thought to himself, "You're lying."
"Don't move!" Zhou Meng suddenly shouted.
Lu Qi and Li Zhong were startled and remained frozen in place.
Xu Chunliang had already spotted a red-and-black Red Chain Snake poised to strike among the branches above Li Zhong's head.
Zhou Meng took a red sandalwood slingshot from his waist. The Y-shaped frame was covered with a thick patina from long use, shining with an oily sheen.
He raised his hand and shot a stone. The rubber band was only half-pulled, with the right amount of force, as the stone shot out swiftly, hitting the Red Chain Snake's head to drive it away without injuring it.
Xu Chunliang watched beside him. Zhou Meng's accuracy with the slingshot was impressive, transitioning smoothly from drawing to firing. Unexpectedly, this large man had such good shooting skills, the key being his force control.
The startled Red Chain Snake quickly slithered away, disappearing into the depths of the trees, leaving behind a series of rustling sounds that soon vanished with the mountain breeze.
Lu Qi and Li Zhong simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief, with Li Zhong saying fearfully, "Almost didn't make it."
Xu Chunliang laughed, "This type of Red Chain Snake is weakly venomous and won't cause death."
Zhou Meng looked at Xu Chunliang with surprise: "Boss, you know these things?"
"I'm no boss."
Lu Qi came over and said, "I forgot to introduce; this is a snake expert we invited from Changxing Hospital."
Zhou Meng regarded him with respect; in his mind, an expert was clearly of higher status than a boss. His highest education was junior high, and he admired knowledgeable people the most.
They reached the release point, and Zhou Meng gestured at the grass below, indicating that he saw two snakes slither from here into the dense forest that day.
Lu Qi and Li Zhong inspected the release point, but found nothing. After all, the event had passed for so many days.
Zhou Meng curiously asked, "Are you looking for those two big snakes?"
Lu Qi asked, "Can they be found?"
Zhou Meng shook his head, "Cyan Dragon Mountain isn't tall, but it has a large forest area, and the Qinglong Twelve Peaks are interconnected. By now, who knows which summit they're on."
Lu Qi was at a loss, looking to Xu Chunliang for help, wondering if today's trip was futile.
Xu Chunliang said, "Nature has its paths; snakes have their trails. With two snakes this size, there must be traces where they've been." His eyes turned to the dense forest ahead, noting that snake musk inherently carried a scent different from fish but mixed with a soil odor.
Different snake species produce varied musk; despite so many days passing, some musk should remain on grass leaves from the King Ratsnake's passage, persisting for several days.
Ordinary people might not smell it even if they put their noses to the leaves, but Xu Chunliang's keen sense of smell allowed him to easily identify the scent. "The Heavenly Guide" first cultivates the enhancement of the senses.
Though Xu Chunliang's inner strength had weakened significantly, the scents of various snakes and insects were already ingrained in his memory. The King Ratsnake's scent was particularly strong, with a unique stench emanating from its anal glands.
The distinctive smell seemed to Xu Chunliang like a winding trail in front of him. Xu Chunliang strode forward, the other three following him, with Zhou Meng having no issues keeping up naturally.
Lu Qi and Li Zhong struggled to keep up physically. As police officers, they couldn't show weakness and had to grit their teeth and follow, even though pushing themselves to the limit left them trailing over ten meters behind.
After advancing through the dense forest for about ten minutes, Xu Chunliang stopped and sniffed the air: "It's nearby."
Copying him, Zhou Meng took a deep whiff, catching an odor so foul he almost gagged.
Xu Chunliang pointed ahead to the right, and Lu Qi used a bamboo stick to pull aside the grass, revealing a large snake with its skin removed coiled up; it seemed dead, its body decaying, and emanating that nauseating smell.
Zhou Meng pinched his nose and asked, "How did it die?" This was not uncommon; many animals released back into the wild couldn't adapt to nature and died.
All signs pointed to it being hunted.
The King Ratsnake's skin was stripped away, leaving only its bloody flesh. Lu Qi donned a mask and gloves, examining the snake's still-bleeding body and finding its abdomen slit nearly a foot long. Recalling the fifteen stolen phones, it seemed they were in the snake's belly.
After the Forestry Bureau released it, someone was waiting here beforehand.
Li Zhong asked, "Why use such cruel methods to kill it? Could've made it spit out." He had seen snakes regurgitate prey on TV.
Lu Qi explained, "The boxy phone packaging makes it impossible to regurgitate, so they had to retrieve them this way."
Xu Chunliang said, "Open its mouth and check."
Lu Qi pulled out a small knife and pried open the snake's mouth. Despite wearing a mask, the stench was so overpowering he nearly fainted. Among its fangs, blue clothing fibers were found. Lu Qi deduced that the snake had attacked someone, leading them to kill it, though whoever killed such a large King Ratsnake was not ordinary.
Xu Chunliang said, "This snake must have been summoned here."