"The snake has something to do with black opal?" asked Li Du.
"Yes," said one of the miners. "I have found black opal many times around snakes, not only me but the rest of the crew, too, right?"
"Right my *ss," someone instantly retorted. "I've dug up a dozen black opals, but none of them had anything to do with snakes. You're crazy."
"I've never seen a snake associated with black opal, either. It's just ridiculous."
The miners started arguing about it. Some felt that snakes and black opal were connected, and others felt they were not.
Li Du pondered this theory. If a snake could look for gems, he could find a way for the little bug to tame a snake for his use and then follow it to find gems.
He had never heard of snakes in relation to black opal. There were gems under the 114 mine next door, but he had not seen any snakes around them.
There was also no information about snakes and gemstones, nor about the history of gem discovery.
