Once upon a time there was a greedy snake.

Chapter 2: Palms Clasped Together Is Not an Apology
Time flies and years pass by.

Du Yi had no idea how long he had been living in the mountains. After all, he didn't have a calendar to keep track of time. Although he had tried to record the changing of day and night by drawing lines, this simple calendar method ultimately failed after he shed his skin several times and missed a few check-ins.

Each time Du Yi sheds his skin, he sleeps for a long time, and when he wakes up again, everything around him has changed—he can only tell from the tree rings and the soil that buried him that a long time has passed.

But Du Yi couldn't figure out exactly how much time had passed.

However, this didn't bother Du Yi. He was always the type to accept things as they are. Now that he had woken up, the first thing he did, besides getting rid of the old skin on his body, was to fill his stomach.

Fortunately, the mountain was surprisingly rich in resources. Even with Du Yi's appetite, he hadn't completely devoured the mountain after eating for so long. This surprised Du Yi, because he had prepared to go to a distant place to find food after this area was eaten up. But who would have thought that new prey would keep appearing in this mountain?

"It's like it refreshes automatically?"

While it's a good thing that prey comes to you automatically, this strange situation is indeed quite puzzling to Du Yi.

You have to understand, these prey aren't stupid. They have at least the most basic survival instincts. Just by smelling his scent or hearing his voice, they would scatter and flee. How could they possibly come to him willingly?
Fortunately, he soon found the answer.

He discovered it while he was sleeping. Although he was awake, he was still a little groggy, so he didn't immediately shake off the dirt that had buried him in the ground, as he usually did. It was at this moment that he saw several savages running towards him from a distance.

The savages were dressed in neatly sewn animal skins, exuding a fierce aura. In front of them, three mammoths were being chased in a panic, rushing into the mountains.

"how did you do that?"

Du Yi was stunned. No matter how you look at it, the situation should be reversed. Three mammoths were not big to him, but they were huge to these savages. Three mammoths in a relatively open area, let alone a few savages, even dozens of savages would probably be swept away and left with nothing.

Right now, it's the three mammoths that are being chased and running around in circles.

"To be able to do this much... it seems like we've already reached a certain level of civilization."

Du Yi couldn't help but nod in approval.

It was at this moment that the terrified mammoths prepared to fight to the death.

The mammoths suddenly turned their heads, their massive heads drooping, their sharp tusks like spears, pointing directly at the pursuing savages.

Given the mammoth's size, if it were to charge, those few savages would probably be crushed into mincemeat on the spot.

But at that very moment, the leader of the savages suddenly raised his palms and slapped them together!
"boom--"

With the clapping of his hands, a large burst of flames exploded out of thin air, the blazing flames coalescing into a fireball that slammed into the head of the leading mammoth!

"hold head high--"

The mammoth, which was charging forward, roared to the sky. Large swathes of its massive head were charred black from the explosion, and its momentum came to an abrupt halt, as it once again fled in a disheveled manner.

As for the other two mammoths, they were no different. Faced with the fireballs blasted by the savages, the massive mammoths had no ability to put up any resistance.

But the savages did not continue the pursuit; they merely drove the mammoths into a berry bush before leaping away and scattering in all directions.

Du Yi recognized the berries; these juicy rock berries were quite sweet even to him. Such a high sugar content would naturally be a feast for the three mammoths. Thus, tempted by the food, the three mammoths gradually calmed down and focused on munching on the berries.

Du Yi, who was observing all of this, roughly understood the intentions of these savages.

"It does look like they're going to raise these mammoths... But is it appropriate for you to keep elephants where I sleep?"

Faced with three mammoths offered to him, the starving Du Yi certainly wouldn't refuse, knowing that the three mammoths would surely be scared away when he got up anyway.

Since we're already here, there's no need to run around.

After a brief chase, the three mammoths were all knocked to the ground by the snake's tail, and then their internal organs were removed and they were roasted in the fire.

Du Yi, of course, did not forget to add spices; he always had high standards for the quality of food.

After devouring three mammoths, Du Yi, full and satisfied, gazed up at the starry sky. Although the amount of meat from the three mammoths was only enough to fill him up halfway with his current size, the large intake of nutrients still helped him recover from the grogginess of just waking up.

"I should have stopped those savages. At least I could have asked them where we were and what day it was."

Du Yi thought to himself.

Du Yi was also very interested in the ability to conjure fireballs with a clap of his hands.

Fortunately, it's not too late to think of this now. Those savages have no intention of concealing their tracks, so he can follow the trails they left behind to find their settlement.

"Hopefully, I won't scare them to death the moment I show my face."

Du Yi had a clear understanding of his current size and knew very well how terrifying it would be for him to appear around the settlement of the savages with his enormous body.

After all, he was once a human being.

"What's a good idea... how about we treat everyone to a meal first?"

As the saying goes, you can't hit a smiling face. If he brings food to their door, those savages will see that he already has food, and they probably won't think that he wants to eat them.

"At least I won't be scared to death...after all, you can't question a dead person."

So Du Yi began his preparations.

After a brief hunt, another burst of fire shot into the sky, and Du Yi began his work of roasting meat once again—in order to whet the appetites of these savages as soon as possible, rather than arouse their fear, Du Yi put in his best effort in cooking this time.

Burning in the fire was his carefully prepared fruitwood-smoked recipe. To make the meat taste sweeter, Du Yi also specially picked rock berry for seasoning. Du Yi could eat up to eight mammoths in one meal when roasted in this way.

"Once they're immediately drawn to the barbecue, the rest of the conversation will be much easier."

Perhaps because snakes are cold-blooded animals, Du Yi always felt that his thinking was becoming more and more calm and clear.

(End of this chapter)