Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Decisive Victory

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King Serpent Without Borders (A four-thousand-word chapter, asking for votes and collections)

“Le’er, why aren’t you listening to your sister?” Li Ying scolded Sha Le’er, “How could your little snake be a match for this king cobra? The king cobra is the fiercest of fighting snakes, and this one has been trained. You’re courting death!”

“Sis, there’s nothing to fear. My little Jin isn’t an ordinary snake. Even the snake king Xian Donghai couldn’t beat it.” Le’er lifted her chin proudly, gently stroking the little snake’s back. “No matter how big a pile of cow dung is, it can’t stink more than half a pile of dog dung. The king cobra’s just a bit bigger, but what’s the big deal? My Jin can catch birds perched at the very tip of the tree. Can this king cobra do that?”

Sha Le’er spoke with a thick rural accent. Among the crowd, the snake king Xian Donghai was present, though he kept himself tucked away in a corner. Hearing Sha Le’er’s words, several people who knew Xian Donghai glanced at him. He ignored their looks and lowered his head.

“Lingnan King Xian, sir…”

The man with sunglasses, Third Boss, called out, and Xian Donghai had no choice but to raise his head and force a bitter smile.

“Third Boss… I’m no longer the Lingnan King. I don’t catch snakes anymore.” Xian Donghai stood up, crestfallen. “That young man is right. I was defeated by that little snake… I no longer have the courage to pursue the snake-catching profession.”

“Is that little snake really so formidable?” The man in sunglasses looked at Xian Donghai, surprised.

“I don’t know… But I once caught taipans bare-handed for Boss Hong in Australia without much trouble, yet I failed against that little snake. Now, whenever I see any snake, my hands tremble. I can’t catch snakes anymore.”

Once the master snake catcher, the Lingnan King, now defeated by a little snake, had forever lost his nerve. The crowd no longer looked at the little snake with contempt.

“You can check the various newspapers in Guangzhou from some time ago; there were reports about this snake… I… I have nothing more to say.” Lingnan King Xian Donghai stood up. “Third Boss, Boss Hong, ladies and gentlemen, Xian Donghai takes his leave.”

With that, the snake-catching master walked out of the snake-fighting hall without looking back at anyone else, his back hunched, steps trembling, and visibly aged.

“Fight… let’s fight, why else are we here? If we don’t fight snakes, what else is there after eating?” someone shouted.

Immediately, the gamblers clamored for a snake match, the scene nearly out of control. The casino’s bodyguards clustered around Third Boss.

“Boss Hong… your thoughts?” The man in sunglasses looked troubled and called to Boss Hong, who feigned a bitter smile, glanced at the fighting ring, then at Le’er.

“Sha Le’er, come up.”

Sha Le’er strode up to the stage, looking every bit the naive country youth.

“If you want your snake to fight, do you have the money?” Boss Hong eyed him sternly. “Boss Zhe set the minimum bet at two million. Do you have the funds?”

“No… I only have one thousand one hundred yuan.”

This time, Sha Le’er was honest, lowering his head.

“You don’t have money, so why make a fuss?”

“I… I just felt no one dared to fight the king cobra, and I wasn’t convinced… So, forget it, no snake fight.”

“Well, you’re something. No money, yet you put me on the spot. What am I supposed to do now?” Boss Hong smiled bitterly. “Sorry, everyone. This is my own greed—I wanted to use Le’er’s snake to boost our company’s reputation. In that respect, I got some benefit. Please, don’t make trouble. Here’s what I’ll do: I’ll ask Boss Zhe if he’ll lower the minimum bet by half. If he agrees, I’ll put up one million myself, win or lose, just for everyone’s entertainment.”

Boss Hong’s gaze fell on Zhe Fuhai, and the crowd’s attention shifted to Boss Zhe.

“Boss Zhe… do you think you could adjust the minimum bet?”

“Boss Hong, you’re really amusing.” Zhe Fuhai didn’t move, his face breaking into a cold smile. “You, Boss Hong, care about that million? If there’s no match, so be it. This isn’t some children’s game.”

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Zhe Fuhai, young and brash, had no intention of showing Boss Hong any courtesy. The Zhe family from Zhejiang and the Hong family from Guangdong had been rivals for ages, with Zhe always holding the upper hand.

“Fine… Boss Zhe, young and accomplished, well said. I’ll take my bad luck—better to lose money than lose face. I’ll accept the match. What’s two million compared to being humiliated?”

Boss Hong’s face was grim. He had his men send the money to the betting table, sat down at his spot, and drank tea, ignoring everyone else. Zhe Fuhai looked triumphant, laughing with his entourage.

Li Ying shot Sha Le’er an annoyed glance, but Sha Le’er grinned foolishly, indifferent to Boss Hong and Li Ying’s anger.

“Sis… Boss Hong won’t lose, don’t worry. Watch how my Jin bites the king cobra to death—no boasting. I never even consider this king cobra a threat.”

“Maybe you should light a few extra incense sticks for the gods to protect your little snake from being eaten by the king cobra.”

Everyone laughed at Sha Le’er’s words. The betting odds were quickly set: 1:2. If you bet on the king cobra and it wins, you get fifty cents for every yuan. If you bet on the little snake and it wins, you get two yuan for every yuan.

The atmosphere in the hall instantly became lively.

“Let’s play a bit, nothing big.” A young man with two bodyguards smoked a thick cigar, showing gleaming white teeth as he smiled. “Xiao San, put up a million on the king cobra.”

His assistant immediately carried a suitcase to the stage and slammed down a million.

“Liu Bei Six, everyone’s showing us respect, so we shouldn’t skimp. Put down three million.”

Zhe Fuhai acted haughty, waving to his assistant, who placed three million on the stage.

The crowd was buzzing. Only Third Boss in sunglasses and Boss Hong had sour faces. Especially Boss Hong, who grew angrier seeing Zhe Fuhai so smug.

“Hua, since no one’s supporting our snake, let’s do it ourselves. Don’t let Third Boss lose too much; put up a million as well. Not like it matters now.”

“Boss Hong… do we really need to do this?”

“Less nonsense. Is it your money?”

Boss Hong snapped. Hua didn’t dare say another word and obediently sent the money to the stage. Within an hour, the bets on the king cobra surpassed thirteen million, while the bets on the little snake—besides Boss Hong’s one million—totaled only twenty thousand, placed by minor players hoping for a high return.

Some people stopped betting.

Finally, it was time for the snake fight. Sha Le’er, though still acting foolish, was secretly uneasy. He recognized the king cobra’s extraordinary ferocity. If Jin failed even once and fell into the king cobra’s jaws, it would surely be devoured.

With no way out, he placed Jin in the iron cage and pointed at the big king cobra.

“Bite it to death!”

As soon as Jin entered the cage, it became alert, coiling its body and raising its head high to stare at the king cobra in the small iron cage. The king cobra, upon seeing it, began to move, hissing as it slithered toward the little snake. Compared to the king cobra, Jin was like a fox against an elephant—an enormous disparity.

The cage holding the king cobra was opened. It slowly slithered out, not seeing Jin as an opponent but as prey.

Its manner was exactly how it looked when hunting. It especially liked preying on other snakes, and few snakes escaped its gaze. Curiously, Le’er’s little snake didn’t move, staring intently at the king cobra, its tongue flicking leisurely.

The king cobra’s coiled body suddenly stretched out. This was its hunting technique—its head lunged forward like lightning, jaws wide, fangs gleaming coldly.

Jin seemed stunned, still motionless. The hall was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. Some had their hands ready to applaud, waiting for the king cobra to bite Jin so they could cheer their victory. But soon, their hearts leapt into their throats. When the king cobra was just a foot away, Jin’s body shot up like a spring.

Boss Hong, the man in sunglasses, and Li Ying weren’t surprised—they’d seen Jin’s moves before. Jin’s leap made the king cobra’s strike miss, but its head kept charging forward from inertia, while Jin nimbly landed on its body and bit down with its tiny mouth. Instantly, a wound appeared on the king cobra’s body.

Those ready to cheer were dumbfounded. They never imagined the little snake had such a move. Zhe Fuhai’s face darkened, his seat raised a few inches.

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The king cobra was enraged. It lashed its tail at Jin and fiercely turned its head to bite. Jin’s body sprang up again, soaring into the air. At this moment, Sha Le’er’s heart nearly leapt out of his chest—the king cobra’s strike was too swift, aiming precisely at the airborne Jin. If Jin hadn’t pulled a special move, its tail would have landed right in the king cobra’s jaws.

Jin’s tail suddenly flicked, narrowly escaping the king cobra’s jaws and hooking onto the iron mesh above, suspending itself in midair.

“Ugh…”

That was the collective sigh of those who had bet on the king cobra.

“Bravo…” That was the cheer from those who had bet on the little snake. “Go, little snake! Keep it up!”

“Ha ha…” Boss Hong laughed heartily, standing up and looking challengingly at Zhe Fuhai. “This little snake really does have some tricks—didn’t let me lose face.”

“Laugh… laugh while you can. Soon, you’ll be crying.” Zhe Fuhai grumbled angrily, his face ashen. “Let’s see how long that little worm can dodge!”

“Ha ha… it’s just a pile of big cow dung. What’s so impressive?” Sha Le’er shouted, completely unbothered by Zhe Fuhai’s dominance. “Jin, bite that big cow dung to death!”

Boss Hong was delighted to hear Sha Le’er’s words. Only Li Ying glared at him, silencing him.

The king cobra was furious. Among other snakes, it had never suffered such humiliation, bitten by a worm-like little snake. The wound was trivial, but its pride was wounded. To borrow a popular phrase: the king cobra was angry—consequences would be severe. It lunged at Jin again and again, leaping into the air, but could never reach the little snake. Each time it crashed down, the wooden floor thudded loudly.

Seizing the opportunity, Jin occasionally swooped down to gently bite the king cobra, then leapt back to hang from the mesh above. The bites didn’t cause much harm, but their effect was great—Jin seemed intent on enraging the king cobra.

“A demon snake! That little one must be a spirit.”

“If the king cobra isn’t bitten to death, it might die of its own injuries.”

Zhe Fuhai calmed himself, listening to the crowd, his mind clearing. Watching the king cobra crash onto the floor again and again, he took out a small green bamboo whistle and gently blew.

The sound was soft, melodious, and lingering.

The king cobra, hearing the whistle, quieted down. It stopped jumping, paused for a moment, and turned its head toward the source of the sound.

Boss Hong’s face changed at the sound of the whistle. The Zhe family’s snake-training skills were legendary, and now he finally witnessed it. Zhe Fuhai’s face brightened as his king cobra calmed, but immediately paled as he saw Jin seize the moment—the instant the king cobra was distracted, Jin shot down like a thin beam of light, wrapping itself tightly around the king cobra’s vital spot.

Like several golden bands, Jin coiled tightly around the king cobra’s neck. The king cobra tried to turn and bite Jin, but couldn’t reach. Furious, it thrashed, rolled, and twisted, trying to shake Jin off.

“My god, the king cobra is finished.”

“What kind of snake is this!”

“Jin, bite it!” Le’er shouted excitedly. “Bite its head! Bite its neck! Ha ha…”

Jin bit the king cobra again and again, until its head was drenched in blood. Zhe Fuhai watched his king cobra rolling and hissing on the floor, his eyes bloodshot, wishing he could rush in to help.

Those who bet on the king cobra were stunned. Those who bet on Jin were overjoyed. Boss Hong laughed, the man in sunglasses showed a hint of delight on his face, and Li Ying smiled gently while Sha Le’er roared with laughter.

The king cobra’s vitality was fierce—its head and jaw were mangled, its eyes destroyed, yet it kept thrashing, its tail beating the floor.

“Let’s go!”

Zhe Fuhai abandoned his snake and, eyes filled with hatred, led his men out of the hall. He’d lost both money and face—worse than being slapped by Boss Hong.

The king cobra finally lay still, stretched out on the ground. But Jin didn’t let go until it nearly bit through the cobra’s neck, then released its grip, raising its head high like a hero on the battlefield receiving the crowd’s cheers.

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