Snake Village makes its living by brewing liquor with live snakes. A girl named Lin Nian is often beaten and scolded by her grandfather, but secretly treats a small, weak snake with kindness. Her grandfather cruelly tortures snakes, ignoring the warnings of a madwoman and an old monk. After the little snake escapes, strange incidents begin occurring throughout the village. The entire village is surrounded and attacked by a swarm of snakes, yet Lin Nian is the only one who remains unharmed. It is eventually discovered that someone from a neighboring village used snake-attracting powder to seek revenge. Lin Nian's grandfather is bitten by a five-step viper and dies. In the end, the villagers abandon their snake-trading business, and Lin Nian lives peacefully with her grandmother, learning that all living things have spirits and that nature deserves respect.