Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Zhong Kui's Diary
In that moment, both Qingcheng and I were stunned; it took me several seconds to regain my senses.
I knew there would be something in the passage, but I never expected it to be a Python, and such a gigantic one at that.
Running was out of the question. Just as I was dazed, the Python had already lunged over twenty meters toward us. If we were in the wilderness and running in an S-shape, we might have been able to outrun it at this distance, but in this straight passage, trying to outrun it was undoubtedly a fool's dream.
Damn! Should I fight it...?
Looking at the Python's rapidly swaying body, my head spun. Damn, this snake must be over ten meters long. Even if I tried my hardest, could I really fight it? Suddenly, my determination to confront it plummeted.
Running away was impossible, fighting back was futile. Was there really no way out?
What if I played dead?
Thinking of playing dead, a memory flashed in my mind of an article I once read about how to save oneself when encountering a Python in the wild. There was no time to think too much; I shouted at Qingcheng, "You quickly go invisible!"
Startled by my shout, Qingcheng trembled slightly, turned to look at me, her face filled with horror.
"Damn it, you better go invisible! I have a way to deal with it!" Seeing Qingcheng not reacting, I couldn't help but curse loudly.
After a brief hesitation, Qingcheng placed her flashlight on the ground and cast a spell, instantly disappearing from sight.
With no worries behind me, I gripped my dagger tightly and lay flat on the ground, arms spread wide to cover my head, making my arms and head form a triangle.
Before long, the Python shot toward me. Seeing me lying there like that, its massive head paused slightly before lowering itself to try to slither underneath me. All snakes do this; when hunting prey, they must first crush their victim's bones before swallowing it.
I pressed my body tightly against the ground with all my strength. This had two advantages: first, it prevented the snake from getting underneath me and constricting my body; second, it created the illusion for the Python that I was already dead.
Sure enough, the Python tried to coil around me twice before giving up on that idea. It lifted its head and examined my head, as if preparing for a devouring. Pythons typically start consuming their prey from the head, which is why I held my head with both hands, forming a triangle shape to make it difficult for it to bite down.
After observing for a while, the Python moved down to my feet, let out a roar, and then opened its massive mouth to begin swallowing my foot. I relaxed slightly to make it easier for the giant snake to devour my foot. Damn it, I was taking a huge risk; if that article was nonsense, I would be done for.
Out of fear, my body began to tremble, but I desperately told myself not to move. If I moved even a little, all my efforts would be in vain; the Python would stop swallowing and instead wrap around me tightly until my bones shattered and I suffocated.
Watching the Python slowly swallow my foot—my instep, ankle, and leg disappearing bit by bit into its mouth—was indescribably horrifying. Strangely enough, I felt no pain; at first, I thought I had gone numb but soon realized I could feel that my foot had entered a slippery cavity. Since there was no pain, it seemed that it truly didn't hurt.
When the Python swallowed my knee and began on my thigh, according to that article, its jaw joint should have been dislocated by now and unable to bite down.
Now was the moment. I suddenly sat up, pulled out a dagger, and slashed along the edge of its mouth with force. There was a 'shh' sound as blood splattered; I had managed to cut a one-meter-long gash in the giant snake's mouth.
Quickly pulling my leg out, I turned and ran. But after just two steps, a sharp pain shot through my thigh, and with a 'thud,' I fell to the ground. Looking down, I cursed; in my earlier frenzy, the dagger had cut into my thigh, blood gushing out.
The giant Python behind me had started thrashing wildly; its massive body was writhing in the passageway, its tail crashing against the ice with a loud noise. Damn it, I hoped it wouldn't crush me in its death throes.
I felt a tug on my shoulders as Qingcheng appeared from thin air and pulled me up with all her might. She draped my arm over her shoulder and helped me as we both stumbled and crawled several meters before finally looking back.
The giant Python had stopped struggling; its ten-meter-long body lay motionless on the ground.
"Is it dead?" Qingcheng asked breathlessly.
"It should be dead; it looks like a dead snake!" I replied, panting heavily. My thoughts were definitely chaotic at this point; my words were jumbled as I compared the snake to a dead one.
Would my language teacher scold me for this?
Seeing that the snake was indeed unmoving made me feel a wave of fear wash over me. My legs went weak and I collapsed onto the ground. Fortunately, Qingcheng was there to support me. I shook my hand lightly and forced a smile: "Qingcheng, let me sit on the ground for a moment; standing like this makes me anxious."
Qingcheng heard me and slowly placed me on the ground. She created a bubble around me, and inside the bubble, I trembled as I lit a cigarette. I took two deep puffs, inhaling the thick smoke, feeling the warm air swirl in my lungs before exhaling it, which triggered a fit of coughing.
Damn it, I'm still alive!
This is the second time I've said that today.
It's great to be alive.
After resting for about ten minutes, Qingcheng bandaged the knife wound on my thigh. Although it had grazed a major blood vessel, Qingcheng cast a spell that instantly stopped the bleeding. The remaining injury was just superficial; I could handle it.
I stood up and checked my phone; it was already eight in the evening.
I let out a bitter laugh and said to Xiao Qingcheng, "Let's go."
Qingcheng looked at my leg wound with concern. "Is it okay?"
"It's fine!" I replied with a smile.
We stepped over the corpse of the giant python and continued forward.
Soon, we reached the end of the passage, which opened into a large hall made of ice blocks. Outside the ice blocks was still the blue bottom of the lake.
The layout of the hall was similar to that of the hall in the circular passage of Black Mountain Ancient Prison, where I first encountered Liu An transformed into Xu Wuji after battling the giant rat. In the center stood a Copper Pillar, intricately carved with dragons and their nine sons. Aside from the Copper Pillar, the hall was empty, lacking any furniture like tables or chairs. In one corner, there was a pile of shed snake skins—red, green, yellow—colorful and scattered all over the ground.
"Are there other snakes in this passage?" My skin prickled at the thought; I barely managed to kill one. If there were more, would I even survive?
"Not necessarily!" Qingcheng carefully scanned with her flashlight and frowned.
"This is clearly not the skin of a snake! It's red and green, and it's huge!" I suddenly recalled the legend of the Nine Dragon Pool: "In the legend, others saw the shadows of nine dragons, which means there must be at least nine snakes swimming around in the passage to cast those nine shadows on Lake Center."
"Perhaps there were many snakes before, but they have all been eaten by this large Python," Qingcheng squatted down to examine the snake skin and confidently replied.
As for how Qingcheng reached this conclusion, I wasn't concerned at all; I was only worried about whether there were other snakes. Hearing Qingcheng's certainty lifted a heavy weight off my heart.
As long as no more Pythons come around, I won't be afraid.
"Did you kill the yellow skin?"
Suddenly, a thin voice came from somewhere, and it was emanating from the Copper Pillar in the middle of the hall.
Both of them turned sharply. I held my dagger in a fighting stance while Qingcheng's wooden sword glowed brightly with Starburst. The flashlight in her left hand swept across the Copper Pillar and stopped at its upper part, where a flap had been pushed open by something, and the voice was coming from there.
"Who? Come out!" I shouted.
"I can come out, but first I must declare that you cannot harm me because... I am innocent!" said the soft voice.
"You come out first!"
"You promise not to hurt me first!"
"…"
"…"
I glanced at Qingcheng and quietly asked, "Is this that clone?"
Qingcheng shook her head and added, "I don't know. You agree to it first, and if anything changes later, I'll handle it!"
This woman had a strange way of thinking; she was already calculating how to backtrack before anything had even started.
She then shouted, "I promise you, I won't harm you!"
The board was pushed open slightly, and a thumb-sized White Snake slithered out from inside, winding down the Copper Pillar and swimming in front of us, standing upright. Originally only about forty to fifty centimeters long, it now stood over a foot tall, with just a section of its tail supporting its entire body.
In that moment, I felt an impulse to grab it by the neck and question it: how did you manage that?
The White Snake stuck out its tongue at me and said, "You have to keep your word; no lying allowed!"
Where did it learn such strange phrases? My first thought was that this creature must be a clone of Liu An; only Liu An's clone could take on a form to meet the outside world. It couldn't have learned all these odd phrases by itself, could it?
I immediately nudged Qingcheng with my arm, signaling that she could make her move.
Qingcheng ignored my hint and asked in surprise, "Why can you talk? Also, how come you weren't eaten by the Python?"
"That's quite rude! You should ask for someone's name before greeting them. My name is White White; you can call me either my nickname, White, or White White. What are your names?"
Comment 0 Comment Count