Chapter 133: Raising Snakes, Enlightenment
The three Xiang regions are connected, and Jingmen connects the nine streams.
In Xiangyang City during summer, southern merchants and northern traders, the night market illuminates the clouds with a thousand lamps, and guests in red sleeves frequent the tall buildings.
Inside the old brand pharmacy, the shopkeeper personally attended to Zhou Yan, speaking solicitously, “Young master, please take a look. Cinnabar, Ginseng, Deer Antler, Ganoderma, Fleeceflower Root, Chinese Goldthread, Tiger Bone Powder… they are all packed for you. Would you like to check them again?”
“No need. Get me a few sturdy bamboo baskets, large and small, capable of holding pythons, and a mortar and pestle.”
“Please wait a moment.”
Zhou Yan and Shagu traveled northward from Lin’an, which brought them some joy. Shagu suffered from trauma and had mental impairments, but she was carefree; a string of candied hawthorns could make her happy all day.
She was also able to endure the hardships of eating in the open and sleeping outdoors.
Shagu knew a few moves of Peach Blossom Island’s “Azure Wave Palm Technique.” To prevent unforeseen circumstances during their journey that might leave him unable to be in two places at once, Zhou Yan taught Shagu some seizing and capturing techniques from “Yue Family Scattered Hands” and imparted the “Five Tiger Severing Gate Saber” to her.
Initially, Zhou Yan was quite troubled by Shagu’s absentmindedness and slow progress. Later, he discovered a trick: using food as an incentive. Shagu then became focused and diligent.
By the time they reached Jingzhou, Shagu had already learned the saberplay and seizing techniques. Zhou Yan felt no need to teach her other skills; he thought that once they reached Snake Valley, giving her some snake gallbladder would be enough to build her foundation.
Huyan Lei and others had already headed north. Zhou Yan and Shagu arrived in Xiangyang, where he purchased rare medicinal herbs needed for raising snakes.
Even a single one of these medicinal herbs cost a considerable amount of silver, but Zhou Yan carried several ingots of gold gifted by Lu Chenfeng, so he was not short of money.
The shopkeeper handed four sturdy bamboo baskets and a mortar and pestle to Zhou Yan, saying, “Young master, it comes to two hundred and forty-six taels.”
The shopkeeper waived the odd change and additionally gave Zhou Yan the bamboo baskets and mortar and pestle.
He paid with gold, loaded the medicinal herbs into the bamboo baskets, hung them on his Yellow Spotted Horse, and led Shagu out of the city, heading straight for the Snake Valley in the suburbs of Xiangyang.
…
“Shagu, this is it.”
At sunrise in the southeast corner, a voice was suddenly heard.
The shed built by the runners in the forest outside Snake Valley was still there.
Zhou Yan took the bamboo baskets down from his Yellow Spotted Horse. Besides the medicinal herbs, the baskets also contained earthen jars purchased in Xiangyang to make snake soup and store snake gallbladder.
The “Night-Shining Jade Lion” knew the terrain. Without being told, it was unsaddled and went to graze in the forest on its own. The Yellow Spotted Horse followed it obediently.
Zhou Yan was not in a hurry to find the Great Eagle. He pointed out the water source, and Shagu took the water pouch to fetch water. He used his saber to chop branches and re-erected the shed’s roof.
When Shagu returned, the shed he had repaired was now capable of sheltering from wind and rain.
Only then did Zhou Yan take a bamboo basket and, with Shagu, went to the mountainside on one side of Snake Valley and called out.
“Brother Eagle, I’ve come to see you.”
Zhou Yan used his internal force to project his voice, which carried for several miles.
“Screech!”
A powerful echo came from the valley. After dozens of breaths, Zhou Yan saw the Great Eagle appear on the mountainside. The Great Eagle let out a long cry and swooped down from the mountain peak, running with the speed of a fine horse.
Shagu, having ridden the horse all the way, would often chatter to the Yellow Spotted Horse, treating it as a companion. Seeing the Great Eagle, she shouted excitedly and ran towards it.
The Divine Condor stopped abruptly, tilting its head to look at Shagu running towards it.
“Eagle, fun! Good eagle, let me ride you.”
Shagu, without further ado, leaped onto the Great Eagle’s back.
The eagle was angered and flapped its wings, knocking Shagu to the ground.
“Fun!” Shagu got up and persisted. The Great Eagle, quite helpless, jumped away, looking at Zhou Yan as if seeking help.
Zhou Yan smiled and stepped forward, “Shagu, don’t be naughty. I’ll roast snake for you later.”
Shagu was obedient and stopped trying to ride the eagle persistently, though she still curiously reached out and tugged at its feathers.
“Brother Eagle, I’m here to catch some snakes and stay with you for a few days.”
“Screech!” The Great Eagle’s cry sounded very pleased. It strode towards Snake Valley.
“Shagu, go pick some mushrooms and wait in the shed.”
As they walked, Zhou Yan had taught Shagu how to identify edible plants with his bow during their hunting. When it came to food, Shagu had an astonishing memory, so picking mushrooms, wild vegetables, and wild scallions was no problem.
“Yes, Big Brother, Shagu understands.”
Shagu happily walked away, singing a folk song.
Zhou Yan and the Great Eagle headed towards Snake Valley.
“Brother Eagle, has anyone bothered you recently?”
The Great Eagle chirped twice.
Zhou Yan felt at ease, realizing that the Old Valley Master of the Valley of Unfeeling, Gongsun Li, had kept his promise.
He had entered Snake Valley before during winter and early spring, and the scenery was similar. Now it was summer, but the trees on both sides of the valley were lush. Sunlight pierced through the verdant tree crowns and into the valley, leaving only fragmented pillars of light. Dust swirled in the light, and the dense forest floor, covered in thick decaying leaves, exuded a particularly strong fishy smell.
After walking less than half a mile, Pusi Snakes as thick as a baby’s wrist appeared.
Zhou Yan sighed. When he brought Huang Rong here, snakes of this size required entering the valley for several miles to find. Now, he saw them within a few hundred steps.
The large poisonous snake saw Zhou Yan and the Great Eagle, and its triangular head shot up.
If only he knew Huang Yaoshi’s “Finger Flicking Divine Skill,” catching snakes would be much easier, he thought as he charged forward.
In the dim light, the large poisonous snake shot towards Zhou Yan like an arrow.
“Crack!”
The sword sheath accurately struck the snake’s seven inches.
The snake writhed a few times on the ground and then lost its life. Zhou Yan used his dagger to extract the snake gallbladder and put it into a small earthen jar.
“Brother Eagle, here.”
He tossed it over. The Great Eagle pecked at the snake and swallowed it in two or three bites.
The man and eagle continued to move forward. Small snakes avoided them, and the sound of small snakes hastily slithering away could often be heard from the bushes and decaying leaves. After another two or three miles, the Great Eagle ran a few steps and stood before a dense thicket, crying out “Screech, screech, screech” three times.
Zhou Yan smiled. Luring snakes out of their holes, his ambush technique had been perfected by the Great Eagle.
Triangular snake heads with fierce eyes emerged from Zhou Yan’s line of sight, one, two, three…
A total of ten large snakes, as thick as a baby’s arm, emerged one after another.
The ten poisonous snakes shot towards the Great Eagle like arrows. Zhou Yan flashed out, spinning his body over ten feet. His sword remained in its sheath, performing “One Sword, Seven Stars.” A series of “crack, crack, crack” sounds were heard. Seven large poisonous snakes fell to the ground, four dead and three injured.
The Great Eagle, however, pecked the other three to death.
The eagle was intelligent and did not rush to eat, waiting for Zhou Yan to extract the snake gallbladders.
He extracted the snake gallbladders one by one with his dagger. He kept one large snake for himself, threw the rest to the Great Eagle, and placed the three live large snakes into the bamboo basket.
“Brother Eagle, that’s enough for today.”
“Screech.”
The man and eagle left Snake Valley. The Great Eagle returned to the valley, and Zhou Yan went to the forest.
Shagu had already picked mushrooms and wild orange leaves and had been waiting for a long time.
Zhou Yan shot a civet with his bow, stewed it into snake soup, and then began experimenting with the snake-raising method.
“One qian of cinnabar, two qian of ginseng, three qian of deer antler, one liang of Chinese goldthread, one liang of ganoderma, one liang of tiger bone powder…”
“Grind the nine ingredients into a fine powder, mix with ‘Flying Dragon’ blood to form pills…”
“Flying Dragon” was a hazel grouse.
Zhou Yan entered the mountains and fields with his bow. After the time it took to drink a teacup, he returned, carrying a hazel grouse. He meticulously prepared the medicine without revealing any details. After a busy period, he placed the pills into the bamboo basket with great hope.
…
“Hoo!” Zhou Yan exhaled heavily.
It was noon the next day. The three large poisonous snakes had eaten the pills, but they had all died.
Could it be the principle of “Oranges grown south of the Huai River are oranges, but north of the Huai River they are trifoliate oranges,” or was it because the large poisonous snakes were already injured? He would try again with a healthy, unharmed large poisonous snake.
…
“Hoo!”
“They died again.”
Two days later, Shagu looked at the stiff large poisonous snakes in the bamboo basket and said with a smile.
“What exactly went wrong?” Zhou Yan pondered deeply. Perhaps he needed to raise them from when they were young.
…
Heavy rain poured down. Shagu’s voice rang out, “They’re dead.”
Zhou Yan smiled, “Indeed, they are dead. We can roast them and eat them.”
He was not discouraged and wondered if he should find a viper to try after the rain cleared.
Heavy rain fell, and floods erupted in the mountains. The valley where the Great Eagle resided originally had a stream, but now a mountain torrent roared with deafening noise.
Although the several experiments in raising Pusi Snakes had failed, Zhou Yan’s internal force had increased by more than ten days of diligent practice after taking snake gallbladder and circulating his qi and blood, stimulating his internal force with pulse qi.
He practiced boxing in the river waves of Jingzhou. However, no matter how swift the river waves on the bank were, they could not compare to the torrent in the valley.
Zhou Yan did not go to Snake Valley for the time being. He let Shagu, whose strength had increased significantly after eating snake gallbladder, practice her palm technique and saberplay on her own, while he went to the valley with a rope.
He saw that the stream, which usually flowed gently, had become a thunderous, extremely rapid torrent.
Zhou Yan secured the rope to a tree trunk in the forest, tied the rope around his waist, and stepped into the torrent step by step. He found a large rock, channeled his strength into his legs for the Thousand Jin Drop, and stood his ground firmly.
Turbulent waves surged, carrying rocks that whistled as they came. Zhou Yan slightly bent his left leg, curved his right arm inward, and with a shout of “Hu,” pushed outward, his palm striking the rock.
With a “bang,” Zhou Yan’s arm went numb, and an arc of water curtain bloomed in his vision. The rock was sent flying over ten feet into the raging current.
As Zhou Yan breathed, he circulated his energy through the Hand Shaoyang Sanjiao Meridian, activating acupoints such as “Guanchong,” “Yemen,” “Zhongzhu,” and “Yangchi.” His internal energy influenced the external, and he then used “Seeing the Dragon in the Field.”
He had been diligently practicing the “Subduing Dragon Eighteen Palms” on his journey north, comprehending the fourteen palm energy circulation methods taught by Hong Qigong. Upon arriving at Snake Valley, he had consumed snake gallbladder for several days, which also boosted his internal force. Now, in the mountain torrent, he practiced the Subduing Dragon Palm Technique, move by move, against the raging current, as if fighting a formidable enemy. The subtle use of force within various palm techniques suddenly dawned on him like enlightenment.
…
The Great Eagle stood on the hillside, gazing intently at Zhou Yan practicing “Subduing Dragon Eighteen Palms” in the torrent. A human figure gradually appeared in its scarlet eyes.
Holding a heavy sword, cleaving through the waves.
Gradually, this human figure transformed into Zhou Yan, whose movements were as fluid as a soaring dragon.
Suddenly, Zhou Yan stopped on the giant rock. The torrent raged, yet the large raindrops still created dense ripples in the current. He pondered the method of using force for the “Dense Clouds Without Rain” technique, which he had been unable to truly grasp.
《The Book of Changes states: “Dense clouds without rain, sometimes there is wind.” Many rain clouds gather but do not rain, which is because they are waiting for the wind. The power of this move does not lie in “Dense Clouds Without Rain”; “Dense Clouds Without Rain” is merely the accumulation of strength, but the true killer lies in “sometimes there is wind.” Once the wind blows, the force can break the enemy. But how can this force be unleashed? The use of force in this move is entirely different from “Kanglong Regret” and “Flying Dragon in the Sky.”
Zhou Yan’s thoughts drifted for a moment, and a giant wave suddenly surged up and exploded against his chest.
As his body was thrown back by the wave, he thought of the Imperial City in Lin’an and the scene where Ouyang Feng waved his sleeves, causing everyone he touched to collapse.
“Enlightened!”
Zhou Yan, amidst the waves, let out a loud laugh.
