Volume 3: Chapter 86 - The Great Snake
Seeking all kinds of support!
From Jiangzhou to Suzhou, heading east all the way, taking a horse-drawn carriage would take about five days, it can be said that it is a long journey, and the loneliness of the trip can only be alleviated by sitting in the carriage.
What can dispel worries? Only reading...
Chen Jianchen and Wang Fu were both from Wu, although Wang Fu was somewhat dissolute by nature, at this time, apart from reading him, it would be hard to find other pleasures.
The sky was getting cold, the wind was rustling, and the horse-drawn carriage was lined with thick quilts, which were very warm and soft. Chen Jianchen snuggled up in his quilt to read, feeling extremely comfortable; as for Wang Fu, who was sitting in another horse-drawn carriage, he should be sleeping soundly at this time.
Suddenly heard the car husband's loud shout, then the horse carriage stopped, and outside came the sound of noise.
Chen Jianchen furrowed his brow, lifted the curtain of the carriage, and poked his head out to take a look. He saw that their two horse-drawn carriages had arrived at the foot of a steep mountain, where several other vehicles were stopped in front of them, and many pedestrians were gathered together, discussing something in hushed tones, not moving forward, as if the road ahead was blocked by something.
On the other side, Wang Fu also got off his carriage and ordered a clever servant to go and gather information.
The servant soon returned and reported: "There is a snake ahead."
Are there snakes?
Both Wang Fu and Chen Jianchen were shocked, and they hastily asked for clarification. They then learned that the mountain in front of them was called Dongshan, with a majestic terrain that stretched far into the distance. From the valley at the foot of the mountain, after passing through the gorge, it would be more than 50 miles to Suzhou City, which was no more than half a day's journey.
But just at noon, a group of travelers passing through the valley suddenly saw a huge snake emerge from the mountain forest. Its thickness was like a bucket, three feet long, and its whole body was green with a triangular red mark on its forehead, like a third eye, looking extremely ferocious.
A giant snake appeared, and the travelers were suddenly frightened. They regretted that their parents had not given birth to two more legs, and they ran wildly in all directions, retreating quickly, only then did the green snake stop chasing them.
The news spread, and travelers going back and forth dared not go there. They had to block the outside of the canyon and discuss countermeasures.
Dongshan Gorge is a major shortcut to enter Suzhou City. If you want to go around it from another direction to Suzhou, you will have to walk three more days and waste too much time.
This road has existed for a long time, and it's always been calm and peaceful, not even a single bandit in sight. Why did this giant snake suddenly appear?
Many people were puzzled and discussed it among themselves. Someone vaguely knew some inside information, saying that the snake was likely to be released by a snake charmer a few years ago.
The so-called snake charmers are people who make a living by raising snakes and performing with them on the streets. They often go to deep mountains and forests to find agile and docile small snakes, bring them back to raise and train, and then take them out to perform. However, these snakes are generally standardized at two feet long, and exceeding this standard is not suitable for performance. Therefore, when raising the snake to that point, snake charmers often release it, allowing it to return to the mountains and forests.
Releasing animals in itself is no problem at all.
The problem is that it's unclear which snake was born with a special gift, or what kind of strange encounter it had, to be able to grow into such a majestic and large snake.
Once this snake grows up, problems will arise, and it will easily slip out and attack passersby, becoming a source of trouble.
Snake disaster!
Those travelers who were blocked looked at each other in dismay, anxious and helpless, no one dared to take risks and move forward again, but going back was not a solution either. In this predicament, they could only hope that the Suzhou government would receive the news and quickly dispatch constables to come and eliminate the harm for the people.
Upon hearing this fact, Wang Fu muttered to himself: "What kind of world is this, where even snakes can grow so big and come out to harm people? Has it become a monster?"
Thinking of this, he panicked and hurriedly went to discuss with Chen Jianchen.
Chen Jianchen also had some uncertainty, after all, snakes can become demons, and Bai Niangzi and Xiao Qing are typical representatives. However, it's not easy to determine without seeing the opponent. After all, if the species is special, the snake's body will also grow abnormally thick.
"Liu Xian, what do you think we should do?"
Wang Fu wanted Chen Jianchen to take charge, and in this regard, he had long recognized that Chen Jianchen was a master.
Chen Jianchen spread his hands, what could he do? He couldn't just rush in alone and fight the giant snake with brute force or "negotiate" with it, that would be suicidal.
"Brother Fu Tai, we can only wait like everyone else for now."
Wang Fu had no choice but to order someone to start a fire and cook rice, first solving the problem of his rumbling stomach.
After lunch, I took a nap and indeed there was news coming from the front.
Good news!
It turned out that the Suzhou Prefecture had received a report, and Governor Zhou immediately dispatched a general with 100 soldiers to come and kill it - they arrived quite quickly. However, after searching the woods on both sides of the valley, they didn't find any trace of the giant snake, only discovering a huge shed snakeskin.
With snake skin as evidence, it can directly prove the existence of a giant snake. Taking it back will also be considered a great achievement.
Taking advantage of the escort of officials and soldiers, a group of merchants rushed to get past, entering Suzhou first and then figuring out the return trip later. As for the return journey, under the circumstances that the snake disaster has not been eliminated, they can only choose another route.
As he passed through the canyon, Chen Jianchen stuck his head out of the carriage and looked back at the vast mountain range behind him, lost in thought. Suddenly, he saw that a large area of trees on the hillside seemed to have been cut down from below, one by one, breaking off and falling down. From the bottom, it was as if a wave had suddenly surged out of the forest.
The next moment, Chen Jianchen saw a gigantic cyan snake coiling around a tall tree, spiraling up, and finally, the huge snake head appeared at the top of the tree crown, staring down at him.
It's staring!
Chen Jianchen could clearly feel that the green snake was like a person, standing high and looking down at him from afar.
"Snake! Snake over there!"
On the other side, there was also someone who looked back in the same direction as Chen Jianchen and saw the big snake on the tree. He was suddenly frightened and shouted out loud. As he shouted, everyone looked up and saw that shocking scene, and some people's legs went soft and they sat down on the ground with a thud.
However, soon the big snake slid down from the tall tree and quickly disappeared into the vast forest.
The whole process was seen by General Zong and a hundred officers and soldiers, but no one suggested hitting the snake with a mountain.
Such a huge snake, it's terrifying to hear about, no one has ever heard of it before, it's obviously extraordinary, who dares to look for its trouble? A big man like him, if he is bitten by this snake, I'm afraid even his teeth won't be enough. He can only hurry back to the prefecture to report to the governor, ask for a decision, and invite some extraordinary people to come and tame it.
The horse carriage was rumbling along the road to Suzhou at a rapid pace, but Chen Jianchen inside had lost his enthusiasm. He thought back to the scene earlier and felt that something was off about it. That big snake, could it really have opened its spiritual aperture and cultivated a demonic body?
This world is getting stranger and more unpredictable by the day...
