The moment her hand gripped the snake's neck, Song Xinya clearly felt the icy touch against her palm. As the cobra struggled, the hard scales on its body scraped roughly against her skin.
Enraged, the cobra instantly opened its jaws wide at her, revealing its sharp fangs.
One person and one snake locked eyes with each other.
Every hair on Song Xinya's body stood on end, her whole body tense.
She knew this was a venomous snake.
She knew they were deep in the mountains. Just going up and down the mountain took eight hours. If she were bitten, by the time she reached a hospital, her body would already be cold. It was certain death.
No one was unafraid of death, and Song Xinya was trembling all over with fear.
But her hands tightly gripped the cobra, refusing to let go!
Cobras did not just bite; they also spat venom.
Because Song Xinya had a death grip on its neck, it couldn't bite, so it spat venom right at her eyes.
A tall, swift figure flashed by. Qin Yuhe stepped in front of Song Xinya to shield her.
The venom splattered onto his neck.
Qin Yuhe pulled out his pocket knife and sliced off the cobra's head in one clean strike.
Blood sprayed onto the ground as the snake's head rolled away.
Song Xinya threw the snake's body to the ground and looked at Qin Yuhe nervously, "The venom got on your neck!"
Qin Yuhe remained calm and composed, comforting her in return, "Don't panic, I'm fine."
When skin comes into contact with snake venom, it needs to be immediately rinsed with a large amount of running water for at least 15 minutes.
Fortunately, there was a flowing stream not far away.
Song Xinya and Qin Yuhe went to the stream, where she continuously scooped up fresh water with her hands to wash his neck.
After washing for fifteen minutes, Song Xinya said anxiously, "We still need to observe if there's any irritation. There might be redness, swelling, itching, or a burning sensation."
Qin Yuhe looked down and saw her reddened eye sockets, her clear eyes shimmering with tears.
When the cobra had lunged to bite him and she had grabbed it with her bare hands, an indescribable shock had been etched into Qin Yuhe's mind.
His heart had also been tightly gripped at that moment. He was terrified—not for himself, but out of worry for her.
She had placed herself in front of death to protect him.
He stroked her cheek with his hand. "Were you scared just now?"
Song Xinya answered casually, "No."
Was she really not scared?
Qin Yuhe had clearly seen the way she trembled all over while still holding onto the snake for dear life.
He pulled her into a tight embrace. "Don't ever do something like that again."
Resting in his warm, broad embrace, the feeling of weak legs brought on by extreme fear finally surfaced in Song Xinya as an afterthought.
Hot tears streamed from her eyes, wetting her cheeks and soaking his shirt.
She was truly scared.
Just the sensation of grabbing a venomous snake with her bare hands was enough to terrify anyone.
Not to mention, the venomous snake had spat venom right at her eyes.
She had been teetering on the edge of death's cliff at that moment; how could she not be afraid?
She was extremely afraid.
But if time were to turn back and she had to do it all over again, she would still grab that snake.
Song Xinya buried her face in Qin Yuhe's chest, sobbing and whimpering as she choked out, "It's fine, I just need to cry for a bit. I'm just letting out the fear. I'll be fine once I'm done crying."
Qin Yuhe gently patted the back of her head, his voice full of guilt. "I was inconsiderate this time. I shouldn't have brought you into the mountains."
Song Xinya replied, "You had to bring me. Otherwise, no one would have caught the snake for you, and you... you would have died."
Employees were just employees after all. No matter how hard they worked normally or how much they wanted to impress their boss, when it truly came to life or death, they wouldn't sacrifice themselves so their boss could live.
It was just a job, a means to make a living. Why risk one's life?
There was nothing to blame for this. Everyone's life is precious, everyone fears death, and everyone wants to live. It is human nature.
After crying for a while, Song Xinya gradually calmed down.
Qin Yuhe put his arm around her and they walked down the mountain.
Since there was a cobra in this mountain, it wouldn't be the only one.
One had already shown up. If they went deeper into the mountains, it was highly likely that more venomous snakes would appear.
No one was bitten this time, but who could guarantee the next?
As the one leading the group up the mountain, Qin Yuhe had to be responsible for everyone's lives. He couldn't risk losing several lives before even finding his sister.
The group returned to the farmer's house.
Qin Yuhe began to formulate a new plan to find his sister.
To prevent anyone from getting bitten by venomous snakes, he needed to prepare some antivenom.
The antivenom needed to be kept in a constant refrigerated environment of 2-8 degrees Celsius, which meant he needed a temperature-controlled storage box.
If anyone was accidentally injured, they needed to be transported out of the mountains as quickly as possible.
This required a helicopter.
This small mountain village, and the small county it belonged to, were the most underdeveloped places in the country. There were no helicopters.
Qin Yuhe had set up a branch office in the prefecture-level city that governed this county. The branch cooperated with the local government on long-term poverty alleviation and agricultural assistance projects, so he maintained a good relationship with the local authorities.
Borrowing two helicopters from the city was not a difficult task for Qin Yuhe.
He could also borrow antivenom and temperature-controlled storage boxes.
However, it would take some time for the two helicopters carrying the antivenom and storage boxes to fly over from the city.
While waiting, Qin Yuhe did not sit idle. He arranged for The Greasy Guys to go to the town to buy realgar, sulfur, quicklime, vinegar, pipe oil, and other snake-repellent items.
Jin Ruizhi walked up to Qin Yuhe and said, "I don't want to just sit around. I want to help out too."
It just so happened there was a task perfectly suited for a school bully like him.
Qin Yuhe said, "Take a walk around the various casinos in the county. Not to gamble, but to gather information. Ask if anyone has seen or knows anything about Jian Shuibing."
Jin Ruizhi agreed, "Sure."
The handsome, tall, and thin young man immediately strode outside.
Qin Yuhe asked, "How do you plan to get there?"
Jin Ruizhi replied, "On foot."
Qin Yuhe asked, "Have you ever ridden a tractor?"
Jin Ruizhi answered, "No."
Qin Yuhe said, "Perfect time to try it out. I'll have my employee drive you on a tractor."
Jin Ruizhi thought to himself that although Boss Qin seemed aloof on the outside, he was actually very considerate of others.
Wearing his Air Jordans, he sat on the tractor.
Then, he experienced the sensation of his limbs being jolted numb, his butt nearly bouncing into four pieces.
He was jolted so hard he almost farted.
Even his balls were jolted numb.
If anyone had kidney stones, this ride would absolutely shake them right out.
The round trip was long, and there were many things to buy. That night, Jin Ruizhi and The Greasy Guys stayed in the county town and didn't come back.
After arranging everything and washing up, Qin Yuhe walked into the bedroom.
Song Xinya had been waiting for him. Seeing him come in, she got up from the bed and walked towards him anxiously.
Her supple hands pulled open his collar, peering inside his shirt.
"Is there any redness, swelling, itching, or burning sensation?"
Qin Yuhe replied, "No."
Song Xinya grabbed his hand, hurried him to the bed, pushed him down onto it, and reached out to take off his clothes.
"Take off all your clothes. I need to check you all over."
Qin Yuhe lay back with his clothes disheveled, a roguish smile playing on his thin red lips. "Mrs. Qin is quite passionate today."
Song Xinya yanked his pants off and tossed them aside. "You still have the mood to joke around."
Hooking her fingers onto his gray underwear, she pulled it down...
