Chapter Twenty-Eight: Confronting the Giant Serpent

Not long after, Qin Feng sensed that the creature hadn’t left. He felt it crawling onto his face, damp and slick, and was instantly jolted awake. The instincts honed from his childhood spent in the jungle warned him not to move; doing so now would be extremely dangerous.

Holding his breath, Qin Feng focused all his senses. Soon, he realized it was a giant snake. When the creature finally left, Qin Feng slowly opened his eyes. In the dim moonlight, he saw a massive snake, as thick as an adult’s arm and about five or six meters long, coiled around a tree branch. Its upper body had looped around his neck and was now slithering down his back. If he had panicked and moved, the snake would’ve attacked him, and he would have been in grave danger.

Even now, Qin Feng felt the threat was not over; the snake was still draped around his neck.

He wondered what kind of snake it was and whether it was venomous. The snake's head was indistinct in the darkness, making it impossible for Qin Feng to identify the species or determine the danger. Its body was yellow with yellow and white patterns, moving slowly and ominously, glistening with moisture. The sight would chill anyone to the bone; a faint-hearted person would have already broken down completely.

In the silent midnight jungle, anyone stalked by a giant snake in the dense trees would be terrified. Even though Qin Feng had grown up in the wilderness and was exceptionally brave, he couldn’t help but feel his scalp tingle with fear. This was an unknown snake, potentially venomous, and the threat was immediate.

He dared not move, holding his breath, knowing he couldn't act rashly before confirming whether it was venomous. His only option was to play dead and hope the snake would lose interest and leave. However, the snake seemed unwilling to go, its cold gaze fixed on Qin Feng, as if curious about him. Its body slithered in eerie undulations; the head emerged above Qin Feng’s crown, flicking its tongue, while the coils around his neck tightened, threatening to strangle him. It seemed to have mistaken Qin Feng for prey.

A wave of dread swept through Qin Feng. He was worried the snake would attack. Strangled in the dead of night by a giant serpent—there was hardly anything more perilous. He didn’t even know if it was poisonous; if it was, then he was as good as dead. If not, he might stand a chance.

He held his breath as tightly as he could, his face flushed and pained from the lack of air. But he forced himself to remain calm. The greater the danger, the more composed he needed to be. He imagined himself as part of the jungle, blending into the branches, letting the snake crawl over him, hoping it would lose interest and move on.

Had it been anyone else, they would have cried out in terror, provoking a deadly attack from the snake.

Qin Feng’s heart pounded with anxiety and fear, but he kept his composure, knowing panic would only hasten his demise. His right hand gripped his combat knife tightly, searching for an opportunity to strike.

The giant snake remained coiled around Qin Feng for a long while, as if sizing him up. Perhaps it found him too large for a meal, too much trouble to swallow and digest, and eventually gave up, slowly slithering down the tree.

Qin Feng continued to hold his breath and lay still, waiting for the snake to leave completely before making any moves. The snake’s slow descent made every second feel like an eternity, the sheer terror almost unbearable. He felt as if he were enduring torture in hell, his lungs on the verge of bursting from holding his breath.

Suddenly, he mustered his strength and tore the snake’s body from around himself, gasping desperately for air, filling his chest with much-needed oxygen.

Startled, the snake instinctively tightened its coils around Qin Feng, constricting him even more. Just as he caught a breath, the snake’s head whipped around, its tongue flicking, and its triangular eyes coldly fixing on him.

“Damn it, what now? It really is a venomous snake,” he cursed internally, recognizing the triangular head—the mark of a viper—looking especially menacing in the night.

In the next instant, the snake lunged at him, fangs bared. If it bit him, even if the venom didn’t kill him immediately, he’d be done for.

Stay calm. Stay calm. Stay calm. Qin Feng felt the dire peril but forced himself to keep his cool. His knife was still in hand. Even if he was doomed, he’d take this snake down with him.

Though the snake had his neck in its coils, his arms were still free. He knew he had only one