Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 73: Chapter 71 The Python’s Gift

Luo Jinzhi, however, didn’t know that an instructor followed them closely. Startled by Huo Sining’s words, she looked around in surprise, and with a blend of nervousness and excitement, she turned to Huo Sining:

“Are you saying there’s an instructor nearby, tracking and protecting us?”

Huo Sining smiled and nodded, her eyes instinctively glancing towards a certain corner, her lips subtly curling up.

Instantly, Luo Jinzhi understood. She turned her head towards the direction Huo Sining had indicated and quickly covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes twinkling with a sly and delightful grin as if she had stumbled upon a great secret.

Instructor Wu, who was hiding in the bushes, not only had to endure the scorching sun and the bites of insects but also had to be careful to conceal his figure. Now that he had been spotted by the two girls, he could only swallow his pride and say nothing.

His mouth unconsciously twitched as he thought with a mix of suffocation and grievance: Captain, am I having it easy, being fed to mosquitoes and enduring the teasing of young girls?

...

After fetching the water, the two were about to return when Luo Jinzhi, with her sharp eyes, noticed a field a few meters away brimming with lush sweet potato vines.

Huo Sining and the others were worried about what they would eat for dinner, and were immediately overjoyed.

It wasn’t the best time for harvesting sweet potatoes, but Huo Sining and Luo Jinzhi didn’t care much about that; they found a sturdy and handy stick and began to dig for sweet potatoes.

To avoid damaging the sweet potato vines, Huo Sining and the others started to dig from the side, and after half an hour of hard work, they had only dug up a little more than ten small sweet potatoes that weren’t as big as the palm of their hands.

“They might not be big, but as long as they can fill our stomachs, that’s fine. There isn’t much to be picky about in times like these. Throwing these into the fire to bake will surely be delicious.”

Huo Sining smiled, gathered their spoils, and headed back.

Instructor Wu lay motionless in the bushes, but when he heard about baking sweet potatoes, he couldn’t help but sniff, his saliva almost drooling out.

Back at the campsite, Liu Yan and the others were already bustling about. When they saw Huo Sining and Luo Jinzhi approaching, they shouted:

“Captain, look what we found!”

With that, they proudly unfolded a jacket to reveal about a dozen eggs, each the size of a ping pong ball.

“Bird eggs? Where did you dig these up?” Huo Sining asked in surprise. “These are not easy to get, do you know how to climb trees?”

Liu Yan scratched the back of his head, sheepishly saying:

“No, we found them in the bushes. The trees here are too tall to climb, and besides, if we climbed up and brought down this many eggs, they’d have been broken by now.”

That’s indeed a stroke of luck.

Huo Sining muttered to herself, picking up an egg to shake it. She confirmed that it was solid, indicating that the eggs were edible, and nodded in agreement:

“Alright, it looks like our food issues are solved for now. Later, we’ll wrap these in leaves and bake the bird eggs too.”

“Too?” Liu Yan caught the hint in Huo Sining’s words, looked over at Luo Jinzhi behind her, and sure enough, saw Luo Jinzhi carrying a backpack filled with a dozen or so sweet potatoes of varying sizes, which made him laugh.

To thoroughly bake the sweet potatoes and bird eggs, Liu Yan and the others specially went to the mountains to collect some broken dead wood to bring back.

The fire had just been started when Huo Sining and Luo Jinzhi busily threw the ingredients into the fire.

It was at this moment when one of the team members, Zhang Wenxi, who had gone into the mountains to relieve himself, suddenly let out a dreadful scream. He tumbled out of the forest, scrambling and pale-faced as he pointed at the shadowy depths of the woodland: “There… There’s… a snake!”

Huo Sining’s heart skipped a beat, and several boys sprang to their feet.

Liu Yan was about to tease Zhang Wenxi about being such a scaredy-cat, that he got frightened by just a snake, but before he could utter a word, a massive python slithered out of the forest. It fixed its round eyes tightly on Zhang Wenxi.

Everyone was instantly petrified, and the smile on Liu Yan’s face froze in an instant. For a while, their minds went blank, and their legs started trembling uncontrollably.

Luo Jinzhi’s grip on the bird’s egg loosened, and it fell to the ground and smashed. She stared at the six to seven-meter-long giant python with eyes wide in horror. It took her several seconds to let out a shriek of terror and she turned to run into the woods.

Seeing the python, Huo Sining also got a fright, but she quickly realized something was amiss.

The snake looked completely at ease, leisurely even, and there was a cunning glint in its eyes – it was clearly toying with Zhang Wenxi.

She immediately understood and without hesitation, she approached it.

The snake seemed visibly pleased to see Huo Sining, flicking its forked tongue before it drew close to her.

Liu Yan and the others changed color, about to warn Huo Sining to be careful, when a bizarre scene unfolded.

The snake, as if it were a pet, coiled its tail around Huo Sining’s arm. Its huge tongue licked Huo Sining’s face, displaying an affectionate attitude akin to a pet snuggling up to its owner. This sight left everyone in utter shock, their mouths agape and eyes wide.

Knowing that the creature had come for her, Huo Sining felt a bit happy.

But the fact that this fellow had made such a blatant appearance in front of so many people, without a hint of danger, had not only scared everyone terribly but had also played a prank on Zhang Wenxi!

At that thought, Huo Sining was both annoyed and amused, barely able to keep from scolding the large creature: “Why on earth did you come out again? They are all my friends, don’t scare them anymore!”

The python seemed to understand the gist of Huo Sining’s words. It opened its mouth and flicked its tongue at Liu Yan and the others before rubbing its head against Huo Sining, playing and frolicking with her for a while before it turned and slithered back into the jungle like a streak of green lightning.

As the snake vanished from sight, Liu Yan and the others sighed in relief. Once they came back to their senses, they realized something and looked at Huo Sining in astonishment, asking:

“Captain, that snake seemed to have come for you. How come it recognizes you?”

Huo Sining smiled, “This morning, I bumped into it in the forest; it was injured, and I helped it out a bit.”

Her explanation was somewhat vague, and although the others were full of doubt, seeing that Huo Sining didn’t seem inclined to elaborate, they didn’t press further.

While they were talking, the Green Python returned, this time with a plump rabbit in its mouth, which it set down at Huo Sining’s feet as if to claim credit for its deed.

Huo Sining was stunned before she realized what the snake intended. She pointed at the rabbit at her feet and asked in surprise, “Is this… for me?”

The snake nodded its head, rubbing its snout on Huo Sining’s palm, its tongue flicking affectionately over her hand.

Huo Sining couldn’t help but laugh, feeling a very strange sensation in her heart.

She had grown up hearing from the people in her village that snakes were vengeful creatures, so her feelings toward them were more of disgust than of fondness. But at that moment, she realized she had been utterly wrong.

Who says snakes are cold-blooded animals without emotions? She had helped the snake, and here it was, bringing her a gift to express its gratitude.