Chapter 174: Breaking Free
Lin Yan was completely dazed by the Giant Snake’s sudden lick. It wasn’t here to try its taste, was it?
He was so spooked by this turn of events that he forgot to escape, standing there dumbfounded. But the Giant Snake didn’t let him go. Its tongue flicked out and in, licking him again.
Lin Yan’s hair stood on end all over his body, and only then did he remember to run. But the Giant Snake was already swimming down at an extremely fast speed. Its front half coiled around him, trapping him in the middle.
Damn it, where did Wu Xie run off to?! The thought flashed through Lin Yan’s mind, and he immediately gave up resisting, lying flat. Regardless of anything else, even if he had great strength, if that snake body, as thick as several buckets, really tightened, could he last for even a second? Even if he could, the Giant Snake’s mouth would likely be able to swallow him whole.
What a sad story. So where did Wu Xie run off to? If he wasn’t mistaken, Wu Xie grabbed a branch before sneaking away. Could he be planning to climb onto the Giant Snake and use some kind of “falling from the sky” sword technique?
At this moment, the Giant Snake had Lin Yan completely coiled in its center. Its head was directly above him, its tongue flicking in and out, occasionally licking his head. He strongly suspected the snake was licking him like a lollipop, acting as if he were its exclusive possession. So, in this situation, could Wu Xie save him? What if Wu Xie didn’t save him and got himself killed too?
Honestly, according to the Protagonist’s Law, the probability of this happening is probably around eighty percent. Lin Yan’s mind was blank. Not only did he not know the plot, but even if he did, he could hardly imagine how Wu Xie managed to survive this thing. Is it just protagonist’s luck?
Holding his flashlight, he peered intently through the gaps between the Giant Snake’s head and body, trying to spot Wu Xie’s figure. But whether Wu Xie was climbing too slowly or his field of vision was limited, he couldn’t find a trace of Wu Xie within his sight. He couldn’t help but curse inwardly: Did this guy desert?
On second thought, that didn’t make sense. If Wu Xie was that kind of person, could he be the protagonist? If Wu Xie wasn’t up there, where else could he be?
Just then, he heard a huge movement from above. In just a few seconds, a massive, broken Bronze Tree Branch smashed down, and the Giant Snake twisted its body to dodge it.
Attracted by the loud noise, both man and snake instinctively looked upwards. A thought struck Lin Yan. He glanced at the gaps between the snake’s coils. Regardless of whether Wu Xie caused the commotion, the Giant Snake’s attention had been effectively diverted. If he didn’t run now, what was he waiting for?
But the Giant Snake, whether it was stupid or truly unconcerned, looked upwards for a moment before lowering its head to look at him again. The slightly loosened coils tightened anew, wrapping Lin Yan so tightly that not even a sliver of space could be found.
Wu Xie, above them, saw that his attack had failed. He took a few deep breaths, and his still-trembling legs stepped forward. The loud noise he made was by snapping a main branch of the Bronze Tree that was only connected by a single strand. He had originally hoped that if he could hit the Giant Snake, it would move from its position, or at the very least, attract its attention, giving Lin Yan a chance to escape.
But who would have thought this snake wouldn’t fall for it! What, was his flesh no longer appealing, or was Lin Yan too much of a distraction? Why didn’t the snake budge an inch, and even coiled tighter? What, did it look down on him? Wu Xie tightened his grip on the sharp branch in his hand and tried to aim for the Giant Snake’s eyes, but its head was constantly moving slightly, making it impossible to get a precise aim.
What should he do? Wu Xie hesitated. What if his strike only enraged the Giant Snake? Lin Yan seemed safe for now, and the snake didn’t seem intent on eating him immediately. But what if he angered the snake, and it swallowed Lin Yan in one bite?
As he hesitated, a voice floated from behind him: “Don’t hit the snake, hit what’s below it!”
Wu Xie jolted and looked back, only to discover Lao Yang had arrived. Why didn’t this guy use his flashlight or make a sound, but instead walked up behind him to startle him?
He touched his chest and abdomen, which ached from his rapid heartbeat. He pulled Lao Yang closer and quietly asked, “When did you get here? Why didn’t you make a sound? Scaring people to death, you know!”
Seeing him like this, Lao Yang smiled and said nothing, only pointing downwards. Below, the light from Lin Yan’s flashlight was mostly blocked by the snake. Only a little light leaked through the gap near its head. Without their flashlights, they could see almost nothing below.
Wu Xie squinted and stared for a long time but couldn’t find where Lao Yang said “below” was. He could only poke him again: “Where exactly are you talking about?”
Lao Yang silently pointed to the spot directly below the Giant Snake, where Lin Yan was: “Didn’t you notice? There’s a big crack there.”
Indeed, a crack ran across the area where the Giant Snake was located. As the snake moved, the surrounding rocks and remains of the Bronze Tree made a horrible creaking sound, deforming under the pressure of the snake’s movement. Wu Xie hadn’t noticed this, but Lao Yang was inwardly alarmed. He thought that if Lin Yan hadn’t been brought by Wu Xie and seemed so important to him, he would have immediately abandoned Lin Yan and pulled Wu Xie away to escape.
He glanced at the branch in Wu Xie’s hand. Although he didn’t know if this kind of branch could effectively damage the Giant Snake, their only option now was to widen the crack below, ideally making the snake fall in. Only when the snake was startled by a sudden shock would Lin Yan have a chance to escape. And to achieve this
Lao Yang glanced at Wu Xie’s bag: “Do you have any dynamite in your bag?”
A few seconds later, Wu Xie finally understood what Lao Yang was planning. His hand, which had instinctively reached for his bag, stopped abruptly. He looked at Lao Yang warily and growled in a low voice, “Lao Yang, are you crazy? We know the power of this dynamite better than anyone! Are you trying to save him or kill him? If Lin Yan didn’t know you for sure, I would think you had a deep-seated grudge against him! With this dynamite, the snake will definitely fall, but how can you guarantee Lin Yan will be safe? What if it instinctively tightens its body? Who can withstand its constriction?”
Lao Yang looked at Wu Xie intently. Except for the time they argued, he had never seen Wu Xie so angry. For a moment, his heart was filled with mixed emotions, and he couldn’t quite describe the feeling.
After staring at Wu Xie for a while, he tugged at the corner of his mouth and said, “Don’t worry, it has completely trapped Lin Yan now. Our dynamite might not even be able to chip off a few of its scales.”
“.What do you mean?”
Wu Xie frowned, feeling a bit bewildered. Even though the snake was huge, it was still within the scope of biology, right? It shouldn’t be that a large dose of dynamite wouldn’t even break its skin.
Lao Yang pointed to the snake’s head, signaling Wu Xie to look closely. “Look at its head.”
“What’s wrong with its head?”
Wu Xie cautiously peeked out. However, the only light source here was the flashlight in Lin Yan’s hand. The light from below only illuminated most of the snake’s chin and part of its body. If its eyes weren’t reflective, he probably wouldn’t even be able to see where they were. He stared for a long time but still saw nothing. “What are you trying to say?”
Lao Yang said with a half-smile, “Didn’t you notice? There are two horns growing on the snake’s head?”
“Horns? What snake has horns?” Wu Xie was somewhat surprised. He thought about it carefully and couldn’t recall any snake that had horns. Could it be…
“This isn’t a snake?”
“When did I ever say it was a snake?” Lao Yang let out a soft breath and said word by word, “This is a python that is about to transform into a flood dragon.”
“Wait…” Wu Xie waved his hand in front of him, not immediately grasping Lao Yang’s meaning. “You mean, this is a python? And… what do you mean ‘about to transform into a flood dragon’? Does something like that really exist in this world—”
He stopped abruptly, silenced by his own words. Thinking of the supernatural nature of this place, he desperately tried to suppress the images that flashed in his mind. It was already bizarre enough to have such a thick python here, let alone a flood dragon. If that happened, the four of them might as well forget about leaving and consider building their own graves here, with personalized services to boot.
“If that’s the case, then perhaps it really is possible.”
After a moment of silence, finally accepting this fact, Wu Xie raised his arm and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. He forced himself to gather his courage and said to Lao Yang, “Then how much do you think we should use?”
“How much?” In the darkness, he thought he saw Lao Yang’s lips curl into a smile. “As much as we have! This isn’t like down below where it’s dirt. The surroundings are stone walls. Aren’t you afraid that if we use too little, we won’t be able to blast that python away, but instead startle it and make it run off? Then we’ll truly have no idea where to find it.”
Wu Xie pondered for a moment, grudgingly accepting this explanation. He glanced at the python, which was still coiling around Lin Yan and licking him as if entranced, and quickly squatted down to take out all the dynamite from his bag. They hadn’t used any dynamite on their journey so far, and the anticipated scene of blasting through mountains never materialized. After they descended the waterfall, they had even thought this stuff would be useless, never expecting to use it here.
The dynamite he and Lao Yang had combined amounted to about three bundles. In Lao Yang’s words, it was “enough to blast a hole over ten meters wide,” but Wu Xie still had some reservations. One reason was that even with a waterproof layer, the dynamite had been soaked, so he wasn’t sure how effective it would still be. The other was that he was always skeptical of Lao Yang’s descriptions.
According to Lao Yang’s account, although he couldn’t see it, the two horns on the python’s head had already emerged for over half a foot—about ten centimeters, indicating it was just beginning its transformation into a flood dragon. Yet, even so, with these bundles of dynamite, it might not even be able to scrape off its scales. But Wu Xie felt that no matter how much this giant python… well, evolved? It shouldn’t reach the mythical level of ancient legends.
Besides, ancient myths inherently contained exaggerations and shouldn’t be equated with modern realities. However, seeing the giant python coiling around Lin Yan, loop after loop, Wu Xie gritted his teeth and agreed to the plan, knowing that even if it was blasted, the giant python would be the immediate casualty.
But when it came time to act, Lao Yang handed the explosive packs from his hand to Wu Xie as well, reasoning that Wu Xie was more accurate at throwing.
Who told Wu Xie to say he had practiced? Wu Xie was speechless. How could shuttle darts, those small hidden weapons, compare to these heavy explosive packs? Not to mention, it was pitch black here, and he couldn’t see anything. How could he throw them?
For a moment, Wu Xie stood frozen, holding the explosive packs, unsure whether to advance or retreat. But Lao Yang smiled slightly and actually turned on his flashlight, pointing it directly at where the giant python was. “Now it’s clear, isn’t it?”
“Lao Yang, you son of a—” Wu Xie was caught off guard by the sudden light and closed his eyes. Seeing the giant python’s attention drawn to the light source, he knew the opportunity was fleeting. He gritted his teeth, lit a few explosive packs, and threw them downwards.
The giant python, with its lantern-sized eyes, had pupils that constricted into slits where the light hit, then instantly returned to round pupils. It seemed confused: What is this thing? Why are the two small food sources above throwing down small objects? Hmm, it doesn’t hurt?
Although he instinctively twisted his body to dodge the impact point of the explosive pack, one explosive pack still directly hit its body, and was then bounced off by its scales, falling to the ground.
Seeing that the giant python showed no reaction to the landing spots of the explosive packs, Wu Xie hurriedly shouted, “Lin Yan! Get down! The explosive packs are going to explode!”
Lin Yan was initially confused why the pressure from the giant python’s head suddenly disappeared. As soon as he looked up, he saw the light source above. Although he couldn’t see the figure clearly, by intuition he knew it was Wu Xie, who had just crawled away, and wondered what method he had used to save him.
After all, if the giant python’s attention was drawn without any follow-up action, its attention would eventually return to him. He had been spat on by the giant python all over his face just now. Although he was very scared, he also had a trace of a strange hope that this giant python didn’t want to kill him, but rather wanted to… suck it?
The Xiao Bai Jiang in his arms showed no reaction. It was unclear whether the giant python was too strong or if it judged that the giant python posed no threat to him. It actually lay in his arms without moving! How absurd!
For a moment, the giant python looked at the few small things that were not much larger than its scales with great confusion, and even tried to move its body to test if there was any reaction. The moment Lin Yan heard Wu Xie speak, his pupils contracted sharply, and he involuntarily swallowed. Just as he was about to cover his head and squat down, he realized he was still encircled by the giant python as he retreated. The range of movement was limited, so he hurriedly held Xiao Bai Jiang with one hand and covered his head with the other, squatting down.
As expected, after a few seconds, with several deafening roars in the confined space, he heard a faint hiss in his ear. He felt the pressure beneath him loosen, and the coiling snake body beside him writhed violently, widening the gap that enclosed him significantly. Then, he and the python fell heavily into the pit below.
It seems like the work is done. I just returned to China and was still in quarantine. After sleeping for two days, I finally came back to life. It’s too difficult. Thinking that I have to go back again… Damn it, really.
