Chapter 17 Chapter Sixteen "Sycamore Shackles"

"I don't think it may be the old dragon's nest, but the terrain happens to be similar." Yu Qiuzhen was very calm. "You say yes, you say yes, you say no, you don't, you take us for fools?" Ma Yifei said rudely. "This is indeed not the old dragon's nest. If you don't believe me, look there." Following the direction of Yu Qiuzhen's finger, we saw a thatched hut in the dense forest on the hillside, square and square, just like the one we saw in the bamboo forest before The bamboo house is different, this one is built with mud, but it is so old that half of the house has collapsed.

"Someone actually lived in this place? Could it be that the two giant pythons grew up in recent years?" Qin Hai asked in surprise. "Impossible. The lifespan of that white python is at least over a hundred years. I'm not talking nonsense. One of the most important trainings for yin-watching warlocks is to observe the growth and lifespan of local big snakes. Pythons have a strong sense of territory. Once they choose a habitat, They seldom leave. Adult boa constrictors have no natural enemies, and yin-watching warlocks want to set up a game in a certain place. If there are big snakes in the area, they must find them and drive them away if they can. Mountain spirits often refer to big snakes, which is the reason." Yu Qiu truth.

I suddenly thought of what my grandfather had said to me, and said: "My grandfather once told me that the guerrillas found a group of Japanese civilians in the mountains, and then some members shot and killed a few Japanese by mistake. I was attacked by a giant python, could it be here? I think the environment here is very similar to what my grandfather described." "So what? There are so many strange things here, even if it's the place your grandfather mentioned, I don't think it makes sense." Ma Yifei said angrily. "If this is really the place my grandfather mentioned, I can be sure that the Fountain of Youth is nearby."

This time no one spoke.After a while, Yu Qiuzhen asked, "So what if you found that place?" "Although the disappearance of my father and brother was not caused by this spring, it seems to have something to do with it. I hope to find my father and brother through it." "You're out of your mind," Ma Yifei said. "You have a fucking brain." I couldn't bear Ma Yifei. "Who are you scolding? I think you are looking for death." Ma Yifei came over, ready to beat me. Qin Hai stopped in front of him: "Don't make troubles. Finding spring water will benefit both you and me."

"What I need is money, a fucking treasure. At the beginning, I contacted you through someone else, and I made it very clear. This time I came to Wuliang Mountain, not to help others." Ma Yifei seemed to be going crazy. Qin Hai said calmly: "We are a whole, no one can complete his own task alone. If you are not willing to help others, how can you expect others to help you? If you are sure that you can dig the treasure by yourself Come out, there is no need to look for me, is this the reason?" Ma Yifei gave me a hard look, and finally did not speak, turned his head and walked to the side, full of anger, like a toad.

Lao Tofu hurried over to smooth things over: "Let's stop fighting among ourselves and go up the mountain first." This is easy to say, but the dark cave entrance is too close to the road up the mountain, which really makes us worry.If the boa constrictor inside launched a sudden attack on us, I'm afraid no one would be able to escape.Thinking of this, we all hesitated. "What should I do? If I knew it earlier, I should catch some wild animals and lure that snake." Lao Tofu said frowning. Qin Hai held back his laugh and said, "You are joking. With this method, the boa constrictor didn't intend to come out, but you have lured it out." Lao Tofu looked like he was too lazy to talk to him.As soon as the words were finished, a breathtaking roar suddenly sounded in the empty mountains and fields. We were caught off guard and almost jumped up in fright.This sound is not unfamiliar to us. We have heard similar roars before entering the mountain, but the distance was farther away, and it was far less terrifying than this place.

We looked at each other, and Ma Yifei said, "Damn it, I didn't expect it to be this boa constrictor." "Snakes don't have vocal cords, so it's impossible to make such a huge roar." Lao Tofu corrected his common sense mistakes. "Can an ordinary snake grow into this shape? This is not a snake, it's a dragon at all." Ma Yifei said. "Old Ma, I think you should calm down a bit, and don't be laughed at by people talking about feudal superstition," Qin Hai said. "Joke, I fucking want to laugh at myself. I don't know what I want to do when I come here for a while?" Ma Yifei seemed a little depressed.

This roar lasted for a long time, we didn't dare to delay any longer, but we didn't dare to approach the entrance of the cave rashly.After hesitating for a while, Jia Xiaobing came up with an idea: "Let's try firing a gun into the hole?" As soon as he finished speaking, Ma Yifei slapped him on the head: "Are you stupid? You can come up with such wicked ideas, even suicide." Qin Hai frowned and said: "Okay, let's talk about it later, let's take the opportunity to go up the mountain. If the roar is really from the white python, then, at least now, it is not near the entrance of the cave."

Yu Qiuzhen was really decisive this time, he shouted loudly: "Then why hesitate, run quickly." After saying that, he took the lead and ran forward.There is at least a hundred meters away from the slope next to the entrance of the cave. Although we were running all the way, we kept our eyes on the entrance of the cave, for fear that the giant python would suddenly appear and attack us.Fortunately, no trace of the white python was found all the way down the slope.Just when we thought we were out of danger, suddenly, the piebald python swam out from the entrance of the cave.We were suddenly petrified. Although the slope was right in front of us, the distance between the giant python and us was too close. If we attacked, we would definitely not be able to escape.Although it is not difficult to kill it, who knows if it will disturb the earth-shattering white python inside?

Things are getting troublesome now, even if we don't do anything, the white python might come out after a long time.I saw the piebald boa constrictor holding its huge head up and spitting out bright red letters, which made my scalp tingle.At this moment, an animal whimper suddenly came from behind.Looking back, four or five mountain wolves baring their white teeth were impressively behind us. It seemed that the piebald python was not planning to deal with us, but the eyes of those wolves stayed on us.Qin Hai lowered his voice and said, "Everyone, please don't move around. Any slight movement will lead to death. Neither of these two sides is something we can deal with."

The three parties stalemate for a while, and the mountain wolf was the first to be unable to bear it. One of the fat and strong wolves roared at us, and the other two wolves immediately stood up on their backs, and rushed towards us like lightning. come.We had been on guard for a long time, and at the moment, we didn't care to disturb the white python in the cave. Qin Hai and Ma Yifei both took out their pistols, and I also took out a dagger... The moment the two wolves stretched out their paws and jumped up, we suddenly smelled a strong stench.Looking at the piebald python again, it stretched out its snake head like lightning, bit the cheek of one of the wolves with one bite, and immediately wrapped up the wolf with its body.Immediately afterwards, the boa constrictor slammed another wolf on the head with its thick snake tail. With one blow, the wolf flew backwards, rolled on the ground seven or eight times, and collapsed. The power of this giant python can be seen from this.The wolf wrapped by it whimpered a few times at first, and then there was no sound at all, and the two exposed wolf legs kept shaking like cramps, and then, the sound of bones breaking was heard clearly. into everyone's ears.It's chilling to think about the pain the wolf has endured.At this time, the first wolf roared ferociously at the python again, looked at each other for more than ten seconds, then turned around and left with the pack of wolves. This was a good opportunity, the piebald python was devouring the strangled prey, we didn't dare to delay, we tiptoed and ran up the slope quickly and set foot on the mountain road.After walking a few steps, they came to the hut that was about to collapse.I was far away before, so I didn't see it, but when I got closer, I could see that the hut was full of strange symbols, none of which I recognized.Open the wooden door, and there are a few dusty daily necessities on the side of the house that has not collapsed. From the analysis of the shape, it is definitely not used by the Chinese. Old Tofu said: "This must be where the Japanese live." Ma Yifei thought for a while and said, "I'm not interested in which country people live in. I'm just wondering why there are so many big snakes in this mountain?" His words resonated with everyone. It is indeed against scientific common sense.Although I am not a biologist, I have long known about the habits of pythons from the Animal World column.It stands to reason that pythons have a strong sense of territory. Except for the mating period, under normal circumstances, pythons rarely cross the border.With the distance we have traveled so far, many giant pythons have been found, which is absolutely abnormal. Seeing that we were silent, Ma Yifei asked again: "Is what I said reasonable? Can any of you explain this clearly?" Yu Qiuzhen shook his head and said, "To be honest, I have encountered big pythons in many mountains, but at most one. Not to mention the huge white python, even the piebald python is too big. Imagine. From the point of view of the yin warlock, the snake is the small dragon, and the big snake is the predecessor of the dragon. There used to be many black wizards here, and the python may be related to them." "That's right, there is a sycamore tree at the entrance of Xiuxi Ridge. Its roots are tightly wrapped around the body of a boa constrictor. It's very weird. I think, if it weren't for the wizard, no one would be able to do this. Come on." I said. As soon as Yu Qiuzhen heard what I said, his expression changed immediately, and he asked anxiously: "What, there is a python under the plane tree at the entrance of the mountain? Are you sure this news is not fake?" I said: "I can be sure it is true, because I saw it with my own eyes twice." Yu Qiuzhen said thoughtfully: "That's really no wonder. I didn't know there was such a thing before, if only you had said it earlier." Then, he tilted his head, as if thinking about the problem, and after After a long time, he continued, "The situation you mentioned is not unique to Wuliang Mountain. It has happened in many places. The common people don't know, and they think that evil spirits are causing trouble, and they usually deal with it quietly. But in fact, there are only two kinds of things like this. People can do it, one is the Yin-watching warlock, and the other is the black wizard. Although both belong to the evil-eyed Taoist, they have different skills, so they are divided into separate factions and do their own things. The killing Fengshui of the Yin-watching warlock, the black wizard It will definitely not be used; black wizards' evil magic sects, and yin-watching warlocks will never get involved. However, there is a doorway that can be used by both parties, and that is dragon sacrifice." Ma Yifei raised his ears and asked, "Chicken cage? Is it a cage for chickens?" Yu Qiuzhen said: "It's the sacrifice of the dragon, the god dragon. This was a very important sacrificial activity for Taoist Xiemu back then, and it was also the highest level of sacrifice in the cult. According to Taoist Zhongyuan, there will be a big snake that turns into a dragon every year in Wuliang Mountain. Ascension to heaven, so you must worship devoutly, otherwise the powerful snake will not allow humans to enter their territory. Indus is the sacred tree where the phoenix lives, and the snake is pressed down. Naturally, it is hoped that the divine bird Phoenix can distinguish whether the snake has a dragon If there is an elephant, the phoenix will offer its own flesh and blood to support the giant python. If there is no one, the phoenix will burn the big snake to death. At the moment of ascension, the evil-eyed Taoist will take the opportunity to sit on the body of the dragon and return to heaven by the dragon." Naturally I didn’t believe it, but it sounded quite interesting, so I asked whether it was true or not, and Yu Qiuzhen continued, “Actually, whether it’s a shaman or a black wizard, their purpose is still to hope that they will become immortals, but they just went astray. turned into a ghost. However, no real yin-watching warlock or black wizard will believe this kind of statement. My master once said that this kind of sacrifice is called "Sycamore Shackle". It's not to lure the phoenix, where is the phoenix in this world? I guess, there should be a huge cave under the plane tree, right?" I nodded immediately: "That's right, it's amazing, how do you know?" Yu Qiuzhen's face suddenly turned pale. He took a deep breath and said, "It turns out that there is really a Wall of Thousand Monsters here. Then, we may not be able to get out of this valley at all." "Don't bewitch the crowd there, why can't you get out? Even if there are difficulties, you can overcome them. Don't be too narrow-minded. You have to tell us to find that treasure before talking about it." Ma Yifei decided Yu Qiuzhen frightened us, so we were not moved. Yu Qiuzhen shook his head and said, "I never thought of escaping, let alone lying to you. This is the taboo my master told me after I became a yin-watching warlock. Things like Qianyaobi, including my master, can't do it." Determine whether it really exists in the world. It is said that in order to turn Wuliang Mountain into a ghost mountain, Taoist Zhongyuan deliberately stole a piece of jade full of evil spirits from the underworld, that is, Qianyaobi, and buried it in the One of the most secret places in Wuliang Mountain is guarded by ghost pythons of the 'Wutong Shackle'. And he has been using the ghosts and monsters in the Wall of Thousand Monsters to arrange a murderous feng shui bureau until he was killed by his apprentice." "What do you want to say? I'm not interested in your stories at all." Qin Hai said. "Okay, since you are so impatient, I will simplify this sentence. According to legend, Taoist Zhongyuan once learned a kind of feng shui killing game that is the most sinister and poisonous in the world on Qianyaobi, called 'Guiwangpo' ', just around the wall of thousands of demons, 'Ghosts look at the slope, ghosts look at the slope, there are fierce ghosts on the slope, and there are yin women on the slope, and the people in the past are desperate, and they can't live.' This jingle is equivalent to describing the ghosts. The characteristics of the Wangpo Murder Bureau. From this we can see that if we scurry around in the mountains like headless chickens, once we encounter the ghost Wangpo set up by Taoist Zhongyuan, we will really die without a place to die." After hearing these words, we all looked at each other in blank dismay. After a long time, Qin Hai said, "What the hell is the murderous Feng Shui bureau?" Yu Qiuzhen's expression became very serious, and he said: "Murder Feng Shui Bureau is a very terrible skill, which is to use the naturally formed dangerous places to arrange murder. 'Guiwangpo' is the most evil among them. Once you enter it by mistake , there must be no place to bury. I have heard my master talk about this killing situation, but he is not a good yin-watcher, so I don't know how this situation is arranged. The landform of "Old Dragon's Nest" is actually It can be regarded as a kind of murderous feng shui bureau." "You mean we have to go?" Qin Hai asked with narrowed eyes. "That's not necessarily the case. Maybe we're lucky enough to avoid Guiwangpo." Yu Qiuzhen's words were clearly insincere. Seeing that no one spoke for a long time, Ma Yifei said anxiously: "Qin Hai, you can't believe this kid's nonsense. How can there be such a small thing, and we have met all kinds of bad luck." "I've heard of 'Ghost Watching Slope'. Indeed, there is no harm in being careful in everything, but we can't back down because of this. What should we do? We have to do this." Qin Hai stared at Yu Qiuzhen, word for word said with a mocking look on his face.Yu Qiuzhen pretended not to see it, and simply stopped talking.Qin Hai didn't hesitate, and carefully inspected the damaged house again.There are daily necessities inside, basically useless. We were about to leave, when there was a loud hissing sound, and then, the air was filled with a stench, Qin Hai's face changed drastically: "Hide quickly, the White Lady is coming out." I heard him call the white python as the White Lady, I thought it was very funny, but I didn't dare to delay, after all, this house is not far from the entrance of the cave.We couldn’t run, so we hurriedly got into the uncollapsed part of the house to hide, and we could still observe the big python through the cracks in the broken window lattice. The sky is still early at this moment, logically speaking, it is not the time for the giant python to move.This also shows that we didn't understand the life habits of the python at all, and we just concluded that it came out at night based on speculation.If we delay a little longer, the consequences are simply unpredictable.Thinking of this, I couldn't help but break out in cold sweat. Sure enough, ten minutes later, the head of the great white python came out of the cave.Because it is observed closely during the day, it can be seen very clearly.The scales on the head of this giant python are all the size of a shield, and the red eyeballs are comparable to Cherokee tires. The whole body is white, and the yellow letter is very harmonious in color matching.If it wasn't because it was too huge, it would be a beautiful snake, unlike the gray-brown long worm, which makes people's hairs stand on end and makes people feel disgusted. Ma Yifei said in a low voice: "This fucking is really going to become a snake spirit. Could it be that there is really a white lady in this world?" At this moment, there was a rustling sound behind us. Looking at the reputation, we saw On a mountain to the left of the house, a boa constrictor as thick as a human arm about four or five meters long slowly swam towards it, and the atmosphere in the house suddenly became tense. Compared with the two beside the cave, this python is much smaller, and its size is normal.We were very worried that it would attract giant pythons down the hillside, so Qin Hai took out two engineering shovels, handed one to Ma Yifei, and said in a low voice, "If the snake swims over, we'll kill it and cut off its head with the shovel." .But, be careful not to move too much and startle the 'next door neighbor', it's no joke." Fortunately, this boa constrictor just seemed to be passing by. It didn't even tilt its head at us. It swam straight past us, descended the slope, and came to the huge white boa constrictor. Then, it slowly moved its head Raise it as high as possible, and keep eye level with the white python, as if chatting.We were secretly amazed at such a weird scene.Just when I was guessing how the two snakes would interact next, suddenly, the piebald python sprang out of the hole like lightning, bit the little python's head, squirmed its body, and began to devour its own kind.This change was completely beyond our expectation, and Lin Li even exclaimed softly. Regardless of the little python's struggle, the piebald python quickly swallowed it whole.At this moment, the giant white python shook its huge head, and the dust from the ground was lifted up. Then, its huge head slowly retracted into the hole, and the big piebald snake that was full of food and drink The python also retreated very slowly. Although this kind of scene is not as thrilling as the cheetah preying on the antelope, it still left us dumbfounded, Qin Hai guessed: "I guess that white python is a female, it uses its scent to attract other male snakes in the mountain, and then feeds it to my husband. " Although the atmosphere was tense, we couldn't help laughing out loud.Old Tofu couldn't help laughing and said: "This speculation is very creative. Based on this analysis, the white snake should be an authentic white lady. Otherwise, how could he be so considerate of his husband-in-law." At this moment, Jia Xiaobing couldn't help but said: "The most poisonous thing is a woman's heart." When he said this, everyone stopped smiling and looked at him together.Jia Xiaobing glanced at Lin Li subconsciously, and explained in a vague way, "I'm talking about that snake, not about you." Lin Li couldn't help it, she smiled and said to Lao Doufu, "Hit him up for me." Lao Doufu pretended to punch Jia Xiaobing's stomach twice. While talking and joking, I suddenly thought of something, and quickly asked: "If brother Qin's conjecture is true, then what should the white snake eat? In just a short while, the flower snake has already swallowed a wolf and a snake. Let's analyze it based on the size of the white snake. , its appetite must be bigger than that of the flower snake." "You don't need to worry about it. Maybe the white snake has already eaten it. Snakes, especially big snakes, can last at least seven days with one meal. They don't need to eat every day. This is different from our warm-blooded animals. .” Qin Hai said. "Okay, now is not the time to talk nonsense, we have to move on to the next step." Ma Yifei said with a gloomy face. We were about to leave when Lin Li suddenly said: "Look here." The girl was timid, and when the flower python was eating, she kept her head down.Thanks to this, she noticed some figures vaguely drawn on the walls made of mud.Because of the age, the color has basically been eroded and disappeared.A few of us squatted in front of the drawing, carefully distinguishing it for a long time, but we didn’t see what happened. We only roughly noticed that there was a big snake drawn with a red pen in the painting, which seemed to be devouring another snake. It’s just that the brushwork is childish, so it’s probably not good at it. what people of Tao do.It is preliminarily estimated that the person living in this room may be a child who drew the picture of the python eating on the wall with a pen.However, I felt something was wrong, so I said: "I don't think the thing that was swallowed is like a snake. The body of the snake should be very smooth, but you see, although the thing in the snake's mouth is also very long, it is very smooth. Obviously not like a snake." "This painting has long been invisible. Even if it is a snake, as the color falls off, it is not easy to distinguish it. Besides, who knows who painted this? Maybe it was some ignorant child who scribbled on it back then. It’s all right.” Yu Qiuzhen said. I thought for a while and replied: "Maybe. But one thing is certain, that is, the group of Japanese expatriates my grandfather mentioned should live in this room. It should come from these two snakes." "You're right, but now, those Japanese expatriates are gone, and the house has collapsed. Even if you think about it, what does it mean?" Qin Hai asked me. "The problem I want to explain is very simple. Although the Japanese expats are gone, we know one of them. Don't forget him." Qin Hai Rumeng woke up and said, "You mean the village chief?" "That's right, the village head is a descendant of those Japanese expatriates. Although judging from his age, the village head should not have been born at that time, but there should be an old man in his family." Maybe it felt like a big step away from the truth, My heart is beating wildly at this moment. "So what? I came here to find the treasure, you came here to find my family, and Jia Xiaobing came here to save his mother. None of these things have anything to do with those Japanese. If you figure it out, what can you do?" ?” Ma Yifei became more and more impatient. After thinking about this matter, I suddenly felt a sense of comprehension, and I immediately said: "Of course there is something to do with it. We seem to be independent individuals, and we all have our own purposes when we come here, but when we think about it carefully, in fact, everyone It is impossible to complete any task by yourself, and you must rely on the help of others. This journey is enough to prove this point. If everyone does not help each other, I am afraid that I will be scared to death. Of course, this is not the most important thing The most important point is that whether it is Zhang Hongke's military salary, my missing father and brother, or the Ganoderma lucidum jelly that Jia Xiaobing needs, these are all hidden secrets in Wuliang Mountain. Any secret that is solved may lead to For example, Zhang Hongke's military salary may be hidden in the cave where my father went down, and the ageless spring, from its name, should know the magic of this spring, maybe there will be strange people around What about plant growth?" After listening to my analysis, everyone's mouth grew wide, and Lao Tofu slapped me on the shoulder: "Okay, buddy, the analysis makes sense. Just now, after your reminder, I thought of it again." One point, if the name Fountain of Youth is really based on its function, then the woman in the forest should know where the spring is. She should be in her eighties or nineties now, but she looks like someone in her 20s or 30s. Almost, isn't it just not old?" One sentence awakened the dreamer, and now, even Ma Yifei couldn't help but slap his hands: "It's such a rationale, I should have thought of this a long time ago. Don't delay, let's go back and find that woman. "But when Ma Yifei made this suggestion, everyone realized a very serious problem - we can't go back at all.