Siheyuan, integrating everything, cultivating the city

He then sprinkled a thin layer of lime around the vegetable garden. This action seemed to have worked. After a few days, he no longer saw snakes, and the vegetables in the garden gradually grew more luxuriantly.

A few months later, Li Xiangqian's courtyard gradually became lush and green. The vegetables in the vegetable garden were green and full of vitality, and the chickens and ducks were strolling leisurely in the yard. The atmosphere of the courtyard gradually took on a rural flavor. He would walk around the yard every morning after getting up, looking at the thriving plants, and a sense of solid satisfaction arose in his heart. This kind of peace and comfort was something he had never felt in the city.

However, this peace did not last long. One night, when he was about to close the doors and windows and go to sleep, he heard a rustling sound in the yard, as if something was crawling on the grass. Li Xiangqian immediately became alert, picked up the flashlight, quietly walked into the yard, and shone it in the direction of the sound. It was a huge snake, its black scales flickered under the flashlight beam, and its eyes were cold and majestic. Its body was coiled together, with its head raised high, as if it was staring at Li Xiangqian.

Li Xiangqian froze in place, staring at the black snake. It didn't seem to move, but the cold, seemingly intelligent gaze made him feel an inexplicable chill, running from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. Li Xiangqian took a deep breath, and kept weighing his response strategies in his mind. He knew that the snake in front of him was much larger than the ones he had seen before. Although he had never seen it with his own eyes, he had heard from the old people in the village that this kind of snake was extremely aggressive. Once it was annoyed, the consequences would be disastrous.

"What...exactly do you want to do?" He muttered to himself, his voice so low that he could hardly hear it. He knew that the snake in front of him would not respond to him, but this sentence seemed to relieve a little tension in his heart. Li Xiangqian clenched the flashlight in his hand and glanced at the tool rack next to him, on which hung the net bag he had just prepared. He prepared this net bag especially for the snake, thinking that if he met the silver ring snake again, he might be able to catch it and release it back to the mountains and forests to prevent future troubles. However, the size of the black snake in front of him was far beyond his expectations. Faced with such a huge creature, Li Xiangqian began to back down.

He took a few steps back carefully, trying to relax himself, but the snake still stared at him quietly, its eyes as sharp as a knife. As he stepped back, he looked around and thought about the escape route. However, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind: If he didn't drive the snake out tonight, there would always be a hidden danger in the courtyard, and he might never be able to rest in peace in the future.

Thinking of this, he became nervous again, facing a dilemma. He raised his head, his eyes passed over the snake and fell on the gate of the yard. He quickly conceived a bold plan in his mind - if he could lead the snake out of the yard, maybe he could successfully drive it back to the mountain. However, in this way, he would have to face the snake's anger, and the slightest carelessness would lead to a fatal blow. Thinking of this, his throat was dry and cold sweat soaked his back.

Suddenly, he heard a few cat calls from outside the yard, the sound was sharp and piercing. Li Xiangqian's heart moved, and a new idea quickly emerged in his mind. He turned his eyes back to the snake and found that the snake was still staring at him motionlessly, as if waiting for his move. Li Xiangqian held his breath, lowered the flashlight slightly, and slowly moved behind the snake. He silently muttered in his heart: "Don't provoke it, don't anger it..."

One step, two steps, three steps, his steps were slow and careful, trying not to make any noise. Just as he was about to approach the tool rack, the snake suddenly twisted slightly, as if it had sensed his intention. Li Xiangqian's heart tightened, he held his breath, cold sweat seeped out of his palms. The other party's gaze pierced him like a nail, he could almost feel the cold snake pupils staring at his every move.

"Calm down, calm down..." He kept comforting himself in his heart, resisting the urge to turn around and run away. His fingers gently touched the wooden pole of the tool rack, and the moment he touched the net bag, the fear in his heart was slightly relieved. He carefully picked up the net bag, his hands trembling slightly, imagining how to catch the snake's head the moment the net bag fell, and how to quickly avoid the opponent's possible counterattack.

"Please don't move..." He prayed silently in his heart, and his eyes turned from the snake's head to its sturdy body. The dense black scales looked like layers of armor, with a terrifying beauty. He moved his arm slightly and slowly raised the net bag, staring at the snake's movements, afraid of missing any changes. However, just as he was about to slowly drop the net bag, the snake suddenly moved!

The snake's body twisted rapidly, and it attacked Li Xiangqian at an incredible speed. Li Xiangqian's heartbeat accelerated suddenly, and the net bag in his hand almost fell instantly. He turned and ran, and heard the sound of grass leaves rubbing against each other. The snake's figure flashed through the night like lightning. As Li Xiangqian ran, he felt the cold gaze behind him. He didn't dare to look back, or even breathe, for fear that if he stopped, he would become its prey.

After running for a distance, he suddenly realized that he had led the snake out of the yard, and the snake did not seem to be chasing him. Li Xiangqian slowly stopped, panting, turned his head, and found that the snake's figure was vaguely stopped in the distance, and did not seem to be approaching. The snake raised its head slightly, with a cold light in its eyes, like the faint light from an ancient well.

"Huh...Is it safe now?" He wiped the sweat from his forehead, feeling relieved that he had finally led the snake out of the yard. But he knew that this did not mean that the danger had completely disappeared. The appearance of the snake had disrupted his originally peaceful life, hanging like a shadow in his heart. Li Xiangqian stood there, his fingers trembling slightly, and began to think about how to prevent it next. Although the old farmer's words reminded him that the snake might just come here to take shelter, his intuition told him that he must find a more reliable way to ensure safety.

He returned to the courtyard silently, his eyes fell on the net bag that had just fallen to the ground, and he vowed in his heart that he must create a safe space for himself. Perhaps he could build a bamboo fence around the yard, or spread more concentrated lime on the ground, and then use some snake-repellent herbs to arrange around it to form a natural line of defense.