Chapter 406 (1/2)

Gongjia Heng

That person quickly came to the bank, then did something in a patch of tall grass. Then Shao Xuan heard clicking sounds like ‘kata, kata, kata’.

Shao Xuan watched as that person tugged at some thick vines. With the clicking sound, the floating cage was now quickly pulled to the river bank.

As the trap approached the riverbank, the crocodile in the cage struggled more furiously. However, it seemed like this crocodile was much weaker than the ones he saw previously. Those crocodiles would not be trapped for such a long time.

One the trap was pulled up the bank, Shao Xuan could see the entire object.

It was a metal rectangular cage. On both sides were thick tree trunks tied to it so it would float in the river. There was a lot of seagrass on the trunk and the cage as camouflage. It was not clear if the camouflage was to trick humans or crocodiles. Some people were dumb enough to accidentally get caught in traps themselves. Perhaps it was because the crocodiles were not stupid. They might be very familiar with traps here so more disguises were needed.

Shao Xuan saw the person tug off all the grass tied to the cage then took a bundle of vines from a patch of grass. He tied the vines to a metal bar in the form of a loop at the end.

Then, the person opened the cage where the crocodile’s head was. There were three doors on the cage, he only opened the part nearest to the head. Then, he reached inside with the bar and the loop, pulling the loop through the crocodile’s jaws.

The crocodile opened its jaw wide, revealing more than a hundred teeth. It was protesting and couldn’t wait to bite this human to death.

The loop was a suitable size, plus the vine was strong and flexible enough for the job.

The person looped it on its mouth cleanly. Anyone less experienced might accidentally catch the loop on its teeth but this person did it in one go.

He opened the other two doors on the top of the trap. At the same time, the person released something on its four corners. The cage opened into a flat surface instead of a box.

Right now, the crocodile had lost its ability to bite. It did not have much energy to struggle anyway. So it pulled its last trick-- the death roll.

However, the rolling only made it worse. The vines became tighter with every roll. Without the cage, as it rolled more, the vines grew tighter.

To be safe, the person tied its jaws together with more vine.

Then, the person tied some large leaves on its eyes too.

The crocodile struggled much less once its eyes were covered. Many animals become less anxious in the dark, it was the same for this crocodile.

This person was very familiar with crocodiles.

The crocodile’s back limbs were tied up too.

That was why tying up its hind limbs greatly limited its movement.

The crocodile no longer moved after this. The person looked at it for a moment then took out more vine to tie its jaws again. Most of its teeth were covered now. Shao Xuan knew that these teeth could easily hurt people even if they were just thrashing their head about.

That person was sweating now. After taking off his hat that resembled a crocodile’s head, a tanned, stubbly face appeared.

He kept the flattened cage in a spot then tugged at the vines tying the crocodile. Suddenly, he turned around towards Shao Xuan.

“You’ve watched for a while now. It should be time for you to come out, no?” said the man.

There was no anger, the tone was flat, maybe indifferent.

Shao Xuan didn’t realise he would be found. He leapt off the tree and walked over. His sword was hanging where the other person could see. Hiding a weapon would just threaten the other person. This person looked friendly enough. Shao Xuan did not want to offend him the first time they met.

This person’s eyes swept across his body, lingering on the sword. He did not try to hide the contempt he had for it.

“Which tribe are you from?” he asked.

“Flaming Horn tribe.” Shao Xuan did not hide his own identity because he had his guesses about who this person was. He had many questions, plus this person did not look gullible.

“Flaming Horn?” the man thought for a moment. “I think I’ve heard of it. It’s not nearby, is it?”

“Yeah, it’s far from here.”