Closer to Revealing My True Self
Chapter 625 - 409: The So-Called Envoy_1

Chapter 625: Chapter 409: The So-Called Envoy_1

The tone was forceful, the words sharp.

The anger was very direct!

The village leader’s demeanor had completely changed from just moments ago, with not even a hint of courtesy left.

The valiant ferocity inherent to the indigenous inhabitants of the tropical rainforest, as if one could smell the scent of blood, was unmistakably revealed!

Such a formidable presence for the leader of a village!

Unfortunately, there was a language barrier.

Added to that, the intensification of his accent amidst his emotional outburst meant that even Feng Shou, who knew a bit of the local language, couldn’t grasp the meaning immediately.

The intimidating effect was greatly diminished.

Apart from Cai Bing, the translator who was most emotionally affected, both Feng Yi and Feng Shou were equally baffled.

Then they looked towards Cai Bing.

What’s going on here?

Why does the village chief seem like someone just punctured his lung all of a sudden?

Even if sensitive topics were being discussed, it was out of concern for health conditions, so why such a strong reaction?

However, Cai Bing, familiar with the temperament of the indigenous residents, immediately elevated his guard, and his inner alarms went off.

It can’t be this serious, can it?!

He too thought the chief’s reaction was excessive, but the current situation suggested they had underestimated the impact of certain subjects on the locals.

To become the chief here, one needed to be not only tactful but also stubborn and defiant; a complete turnaround was something he did not anticipate.

The atmosphere in the room suddenly became very tense.

The previously orderly arrangements in the room now seemed disordered due to the chief’s slamming of the table.

Although the chief had an outburst just now, Feng Yi reacted faster—before the chief slammed the table, he had already picked up the bowl... ahem, the plate in front of him, along with the coconut shells holding the food; everything was lifted cleanly, not a drop of soup disturbed.

Feng Shou, sitting beside him, wasn’t as quick, silently wiping the few drops of soup that had splashed onto his face with a napkin, and then looking towards Feng Yi with a plea for help in his eyes.

There was nothing he could do; Feng Shou couldn’t handle the situation by himself.

Even without Feng Yi’s earlier remarks, his conversation with the chief had not been amicable.

At this moment, the chief’s piercing gaze swept over the three outsiders before settling on Feng Yi again.

Just moments before, the chief thought this one looked the most agreeable, but now he found him utterly repulsive!

In his ears, the words that Feng Yi had just spoken were an extreme insult!

If it had been one of the other two people at the table, by now the chief would have already furiously thrown the coconut shell full of food at them!

But recalling what he’d seen the night before, the chief still suppressed the surging discontent and raging anger, hiding all these sharp emotions within every crease upon his face.

He took a deep breath, and his tone became calmer.

The chief stared at Feng Yi and said, "Mr. Feng, you mentioned you came in friendship."

Feng Yi wasn’t intimidated by the chief’s terrifying expression just now, and as for the words he had spoken, he was merely stating a fact.

However, he had underestimated the local culture and should have been more tactful, respecting the indigenous cultural beliefs.

"Of course," Feng Yi put down the plate, took out a document from his pocket, "I am a snake expert."

Without pointing out that he specialized in catching snakes and without showing the ID that the locals greatly dreaded from the Union Protection Bureau, he pulled out a different document.

He had come prepared with several IDs to show, depending on the situation.

The chief glanced at the opened document. It seemed fairly authoritative, and it included English, which he could understand somewhat.

The chief’s expression softened slightly, "So you mean, you’re a doctor?"

Cai Bing initially wanted to translate it as "veterinarian," but considering the villagers’ beliefs and the chief’s previous overreaction, he decided it was safer to go with "doctor."

Feng Yi didn’t quibble over the term and, given the circumstances, he neither confirmed nor denied it, but instead he reiterated diplomatically, "From an expert’s perspective, objectively speaking, that one... that individual’s body mass index might be a bit high, requiring some control."

Having established his credentials, Feng Yi decided to still address the health status of the python.

When he had hoisted the snake up in the rainforest, the image that had come to mind was a chart he’d seen at a conference showing fat distribution on snakes with different body mass indexes.

Feng Yi knew these details mostly from hearing Steve constantly going on about this one being underweight, that one overweight. Recently at a seminar, a herpetologist also mentioned obesity in snakes, so Feng Yi felt it necessary to remind the chief, don’t feed the pig too often, wow, that python was clearly overweight!

Listening to lectures and reports had its benefits after all, as Feng Yi shared some key information with the chief.

The chief listened seriously, as it concerned the health of the python.

But the more he listened, the more furrowed his brow became.

The chief, dubiously: "Is that really true?"

Feng Yi: "From an expert’s perspective..."

The chief, showing displeasure: "Don’t mention experts!"

Feng Yi: "OK, let’s analyze this from a professional standpoint."

He continued to explain the critical issue.

You regard that python so highly, you must pay attention to its health. Don’t end up accidentally overfeeding it to death, it’s rare for it to grow so large.

It is well known that pythons are muscular creatures, but even overweight individuals will still accumulate a significant amount of fat.

The people living here surely know what a wild python in the rainforest should look like.

Feng Yi asked, "Haven’t you noticed that it’s a bit too... hefty?"

The village chief said with pride, "That is the blessing of the gods!"

Feng Yi: ...

Never mind.

The filter is too thick; it can’t be broken.

Changing the subject, Feng Yi said, "You still need to control the amount, don’t feed it too frequently."

The snake was rather gluttonous, probably having eaten its fair share of unfortunate animals that passed by, in addition to the pigs fed by the villagers.

But given the frequency the villagers fed it pork, the snake’s health might become more serious, so Feng Yi still insisted.

This time, the village chief didn’t take it as an "offense." Feng Yi’s words had been heard, even though it didn’t show on his face, and others couldn’t tell whether he believed them or not.

But judging from the emotional information, the village chief was inclined to believe.

Therefore, Feng Yi didn’t continue to persuade. As long as the village chief took his words to heart, he would definitely pay attention to the feeding frequency.

The village chief seemed more pleased as Feng Yi stopped at the right time.

Indeed, after all was said and done, Feng Yi was the most pleasing to the eye!

The atmosphere lightened up in the following time. Although the village chief still did not agree to let Feng Shou accompany them searching for the fruit trees, he promised to take a video on site when finding the fruit trees and to dig up some soil from the location.

After settling on a price, as long as sensitive topics were avoided, the village chief was quite easygoing.

Feng Shou had also realized that anything could be said, just don’t touch on their beliefs.

For that reason, Feng Yi, who was originally curious about why the villagers worshipped that python as a deity, didn’t ask too much now; even if he did, he couldn’t ask the village chief.

They left the village chief’s house and returned to their temporary lodgings.

Cai Bing whispered, "I didn’t see the village chief’s grandson—the kid we found last night in the rainforest."

Feng Yi said, "He’s in the next room."

Thinking that Feng Yi had seen him, Cai Bing didn’t ask further but murmured softly, "This place’s villagers aren’t so easy to get along with. The village chief can be quite frightening when he’s angry."

Passing by a statue of "The deity and snake" in the village, Feng Yi slowed his pace, observing the villagers nearby, his gaze landing on a young villager.

It was clear that this young villager had more frequent contact with the outside world, his style of clothing and accessories incorporating some external elements, suggesting he might not be one of those who are permitted to enter the forbidden areas of the village.

The young man’s target was also Feng Yi and his companions, holding some small trinkets with local features and inquiring if they were interested.

Being more in touch with the outside, he understood a bit of the common language, and though he spoke with an accent, he was able to get his message across, stumblingly but sufficiently for direct communication, which didn’t require Cai Bing to translate every word.

Feng Yi bought some small objects. They had brought cash on this trip, and these trinkets didn’t cost much money.

Feng Yi carried loose change discreetly, and the villagers looked upon him without greed.

While purchasing these items, Feng Yi casually brought up, looking at the statue not far away, "You worship snakes?"

The young villager corrected him, "We believe in the Snake God! Snakes are just messengers sent by the deity!"

In matters of faith, the villagers wouldn’t tell outsiders much, but that statement already gave Feng Yi a general understanding.

Snake Gods, messengers, and such—Feng Yi didn’t believe in any of it.

He wondered which of his clansmen had come here to play with snakes, only to be seen by villagers and taken for deities.

The so-called forbidden lands were probably the areas where his clansmen used to frequent.

The so-called messenger might be a lucky snake that had wandered in while foraging and been taken by the villagers as a divine emissary, fed pigs, and worshipped.

Of course, these were just Feng Yi’s guesses.

The village had been here too long, the stories happened too far back in time, leaving limited information, just some very crude statues and the stories passed down from generation to generation by the villagers living here.

However, the content of these stories might not necessarily be the truth.

For instance, the snake handled by that clansman, in the stories told by the villagers, held the status of a "messenger." But in reality, was it a pet? Or was it food that had been caught?

But it had to be said, the snake they caught last night indeed was quite plump with a sufficient amount of fat.

Feng Yi stared at the rainforest and then withdrew his gaze, heading back to the lodging with the others.

The python, swallowing a pig in the rainforest, was suddenly overwhelmed by a sense of crisis, making it want to regurgitate its food and flee.

But the sense of crisis appeared suddenly and disappeared just as quickly.

What to do?

The meat in its mouth was really delicious...

Its simple mind couldn’t ponder too much in such a short time.

After a brief pause.

Following its instincts, if there was no danger, it decided to continue eating!

Chomp, chomp, it continued to swallow the pig!

Delicious!

It normally had the habit of lying low during the day and going out at night, but after being scared the previous night, it had lost all appetite for hunting and had stayed in one place until daylight, intending to sleep through.

However, the tall and dense trees here blocked the sunlight above, creating a cool shade below, and the smell of food was tempting. Thus, the appetite came back, and out it went for the pig.

Though there was a slight hiccup during the eating process, it was still happy to feed, and after swallowing the pig, it found a spot to continue its lazy existence.