Jiang Lao Er immediately clutched his forehead and cried out dramatically, "Village Chief, it's not that I won't go, it's just that my body is too frail."
He had no intention of going up the mountain to hunt snakes; that was a dangerous and frightening task.
The village chief snorted, "Fine, then your family will be the last to fetch water."
Zhou Shi immediately protested, "Why? Is there an order to fetching water?"
The village chief's face turned cold, "Because your family contributes nothing! If you dare have any more complaints, I'll have you all kicked out!"
Zhou Shi stomped her feet in anger, then shoved Jiang Yu, "You lazy good-for-nothing, what are you doing just standing around at home? Go up the mountain and help your father!"
Jiang Yu stumbled and fell to the ground, then lay still.
Zhou Shi, thinking she was being lazy, nudged her with her toe a couple of times, "Get up quickly, stop pretending to be dead!"
To her surprise, Jiang Yu showed no sign of movement.
Zhou Shi grew annoyed and put more force into her kick, "Get up now, don't embarrass yourself here!"
Jiang Yu still did not react.
As Zhou Shi prepared to kick again, someone nearby couldn't stand it. The village chief's wife spoke up, "For someone who's a mother, your Jiang Yu's condition looks quite serious. Shouldn't you check on her quickly!"
Only then did Zhou Shi belatedly withdraw her foot and bend down to look. The sight shocked her.
Jiang Wan continued to follow Jiang Pan up the mountain. After last night's battle, none of the men in the small mountain village questioned her combat prowess anymore.
Good heavens, such a small child could knock out bad guys with a single punch. Even they, strong men of five feet tall, had to shake their heads in disbelief.
They had initially thought they were only inferior to Jiang Pan, but reality was even more brutal – they couldn't even compare to Jiang Pan's daughter.
How utterly humiliating!
Jiang Wan was unaware of the inner turmoil of these uncles. After following the adults up the mountain, she stood aside and watched them chop bamboo.
The men were strong and fast. In no time, each of them had cut a large bundle of bamboo poles.
Carrying the bamboo poles, they headed towards the water source. It was already afternoon, and everyone moved quickly, eager to collect water before nightfall.
Upon reaching a safe area near the water source, the men put down the bamboo poles and began digging holes in between the sections.
They dug a hole every two sections and filled them with dry leaves.
After filling them, they handed them to Jiang Pan, who then lit the leaves and hurled them with all his might towards the snake群.
The bamboo poles landed at the edge of the snake群, and soon, the dry bamboo began to emit "bang bang bang" explosive sounds as it burned.
The nearby snakes were startled and scattered in all directions.
Another bamboo pole was thrown.
"Bang bang bang—"
The snake群 became chaotic. The largest snake reacted fastest and began to slither towards the mountaintop.
Jiang Wan's gaze locked onto that snake. It was so fat and long, one of it was equivalent to dozens of other snakes!
If they could bring it down, it would be enough for their family to eat for a long time, right?
She unilaterally declared that the big snake was destined for her family's pot!
She didn't rush. She called to the birds, urging them to follow the large snake and find its den.
The bird was the same one that had helped find the water source yesterday and then helped find the group of bad guys.
It wanted to escape, but Jiang Wan painted a rosy picture for it, promising that as long as it followed her, it would never have to worry about finding food again from now until its death.
They say people die for wealth, and birds die for food. This not-so-clever little bird couldn't resist the temptation and chose to bow to life, becoming Jiang Wan's subordinate.
With a bird keeping watch, Jiang Wan herself picked up a stick, found a flat spot, and waited for the snakes.
The snakes, frightened, scattered in all directions, with many heading towards them.
The villagers were all excited, brandishing long sticks and charging towards the snakes.
For a time, excited shouts echoed from the mountain.
"I killed a big one!"
"Mine isn't small either!"
"Mine is even bigger!"
...
After toiling for a while, the snake群 had completely fled, and the bags brought by the villagers were already filled with dead snakes.
Jiang Wan used her stick to pick up the snakes she had killed one by one and put them into her bag. When she finished, she realized that her bag, which was taller than her, was filled to about seven or eight tenths capacity.
When Jiang Pan came to look, his expression was complex. He didn't know whether to praise his daughter for her capability or her ferocity.
Jiang Wan paid no mind to Jiang Pan's thoughts. She grabbed her small water pouch and rushed towards the water source.
She hadn't had water all day and was parched!
The smell in the forest was not pleasant. So many snakes had been there before, and then so many were killed, making Jiang Wan feel a bit nauseous.
She pulled her clothes up to cover her mouth and nose, so she wouldn't smell the strong odor.
This water source seemed to seep from somewhere. The flow was even larger than the spring on their small mountain village's back mountain, and the water was clean.
Jiang Wan didn't rush to drink immediately. Instead, she filled her water pouch and used her abilities to filter out the invisible microorganisms and insect eggs in the water before drinking from the pouch.
The others in the village were not as particular, nor did they have the same ability. They quickly rushed to the water's edge, cupped their hands, and drank the water.
Those behind kept urging, "Hurry up, take a few sips and let me drink too."
Jiang Wan stood aside, holding her water pouch. Her subordinate had returned and was perched on a tree nearby, chirping excitedly, informing her of the large snake's location.
Jiang Wan thought for a moment. Seeing Jiang Pan discussing with the villagers about sending some water back first, she said to him, "Dad, aren't there some unused bamboo poles over there? Fill them with water and take them back to quench everyone's thirst."
"Yes, yes, Wan Wan is so smart! Come on, let's go get the bamboo poles."
After the villagers went to get the bamboo poles, Jiang Wan finally told Jiang Pan about the large snake.
"Dad, that big snake is hiding not far ahead. Let's kill it and take it back to make dried snake meat!"
Jiang Pan seemed a bit hesitant, "Wan Wan, that snake is too big. I'm afraid it's beyond us, father and daughter."
Jiang Wan patted her chest, "What are you afraid of? The Old Immortal will help."
Jiang Pan was now a devoted fan of the 'Old Immortal'. Any difficult matter, as long as the 'Old Immortal' was brought up, became manageable.
"Alright, when we go down the mountain later, you pretend to have a stomachache."
Jiang Wan made an "ok" gesture to Jiang Pan. Realizing Jiang Pan couldn't understand, she quickly said, "No problem."
Jiang Pan found his little daughter incredibly adorable. The way she gestured with her little fingers was like a plump little phoenix.
When the villagers came over with the bamboo poles, everyone busied themselves with clearing the bamboo, filling it with water. It took another half hour.
By this time, the sky had completely darkened.
Everyone quickly hurried down the mountain with the water. Jiang Wan suddenly cried out, "Oh no, my stomach hurts so much! Dad, I need to poop!"
Jiang Pan quickly chimed in, "Then I'll take you over there first. Brothers, you go ahead. Wan Wan and I will catch up with you shortly."
"It's fine, Da Pan. Take Wan Wan to take care of her business first. We'll wait for you."
"No, no, you go ahead. The people at the foot of the mountain are waiting for water to save their lives. We can't delay because of such a small matter. There are no wild beasts on the mountain now, and it's very safe. You don't need to worry."
Hearing this, the crowd said no more and quickly took the water down the mountain.
The father and daughter exchanged a smile. They found a place to hide the bags of dead snakes and then rushed towards the cave in the mountain.