Chapter 28: The Snowy Python

  It has been many days since I was drawn into this matter in the Temple of the Three-Eyed God. During this time, except for those few days when I lay in bed, I have not stopped running around. Now all clues point to Snow Mountain Lan Palace, and we followed the footsteps of "Black Button" to come here. Unexpectedly, we met Wei Jiujue who was cursed on the way. After listening to her tell some of the story, I realized that this adventure is a big deal, and before everything is settled, I must not act rashly.

  Actually, before coming here, we had made thorough preparations. Unexpectedly, from Wei Chi's mouth, I learned that the Lantian Palace on Snow Mountain was not so simple after all. According to her knowledge, no one has ever been able to enter deep into this underground palace for thousands of years, even my father, a thief with exceptional skills, only fainted at the entrance of the underground palace.

  I couldn't help but feel a little worried, it seems that this trip to the Snow Mountain is far from being as simple as I had imagined. The Lan Palace is the underground burial site of the Ya Shen ancient tribe, and the Queen of the Ya Shen will surely go all out to set up defenses, using every trick in the book. It's likely to be even more treacherous than the Wu Wang Tomb in the Tengchong Volcano region by tens of millions of times.

  Wei Chi Jiu seemed to have noticed my worried state, and suddenly said that there were two things he wanted to give me, which were left by my father and would be helpful to me.

  As soon as I heard this, my eyes lit up in front of me, and I hurriedly asked what it was. Wei Chi shook his head and didn't speak, but took down another brocade bag from his waist and let me open it myself. I saw that the brocade bag was shining with golden light, with a pattern of transparent lines embroidered on its surface with gold thread. Knowing that this object was not ordinary, I quickly accepted it with both hands and gently pulled open the red cord at the opening.

  What caught my eye was a curved hook-like object, with a glossy black body, its front end inlaid with gold thread, and the rear end was a sharp pointed hook. I looked closer and saw that this object had the words "Mogin" engraved on it in ancient seal script, with gold powder applied to the engraving. The style is very ancient, but it looks great.

  I had seen my father wear this thing when I was a child, so I recognized it. Many years and months have passed since then, and now that I see my father's old things again, I couldn't help but think of him and feel a pang of sadness in my heart. It also surprised me greatly, for I had never expected that the things my father left to me would be the Touching Gold Symbol he always carried with him!

  Since ancient times, the mountain gate school has had many branches, among which the most notable is the "Mo Jin Xiao Wei" organized by Cao Mengde in ancient times. It is said that these Mo Jin Xiao Wei have methods that are all-encompassing, and their Feng Shui skills are extremely powerful, with a thorough understanding of astronomy and geography. Often, one person can take care of a large tomb. Unfortunately, these people learned the secrets of heaven from ancient books and were eventually punished by heaven, unable to survive for long, leaving only a few people to carry on the tradition until today.

  "Mo Jin Fu" is the thing of Mo Jin School Lieutenant, which is a very powerful amulet. It is said to be made from the sharpest claws on the palm of Pangolin, first soaked in wax for 49 days, and then buried under the Dragon Tower for over 100 meters deep, taking the spiritual energy from the earth's veins. Generally, evil spirits cannot get close, it is Mo Jin School Lieutenant's protective treasure.

  Liu Shu had a younger brother, Liu Quan Sheng, who was a Golden Armor General. When I was young, my father would often be away from home and would take me to Liu Shu's house to stay with him. At that time, I saw Liu Quan Sheng once. He seemed to have fallen on hard times and had come to Liu Shu for help. I hid in the inner room and peeked into the living room, where I saw a Golden Armor emblem hanging from Liu Quan Sheng's neck. Later, I asked Liu Shu about it and found out that he was a famous Golden Armor General.

  But my father was not the Golden Armor General, and this Golden Armor symbol on his body was actually obtained unintentionally in an ancient tomb during a battle. He recognized that it was a peerless treasure, but the evil energy in the ancient tomb was extremely strong, so he always wore it with him and never dared to leave it behind. I thought that after my father's death, this Golden Armor symbol would also be buried with him, but unexpectedly, he had already anticipated what would happen afterwards and left the Golden Armor symbol with Yuchi Jiu beforehand, entrusting Yuchi Jiu to hand it over to me in the future.

  Wei Chi Jiu saw me staring at the golden token in a daze for a long time, knowing that I was filled with emotions at this moment. She quietly sat down beside me and remained silent. After a while, she softly asked: "Your father... ultimately couldn't escape the curse, he's already... is he?"

  I nodded slightly, and Wei Chi Jiu let out a sigh. Although she had long expected this outcome, her eyes still showed a hint of unbearable sadness. I knew that her feelings for my father were not ordinary, so I also spoke to comfort her.

  I held the Touching Gold Token and examined it for a while, then carefully put it away and turned to Wei Chi Jiu: "Aunt Wei Chi, thank you, I will treasure this Touching Gold Token well."

  Wei Chi Jiu lightly shook his head and said, "Alright, now hand over the second thing."

  I couldn't help but be curious, thinking that this second thing must also be a rare treasure, so I hastily stretched out my hand to Wu Jiujue.

  Wei Chi Jiu didn't mind my rude behavior, but lightly laughed and said: "Your anxious appearance now is somewhat like your father's, however you should still withdraw your hand, I think you can't handle this kind of thing."

  "I'm puzzled," I said. "If I can't even hold onto it, how am I supposed to take it away?"

  Wei Jiujiu said to me: "Don't need you to lead it, it will go by itself. Just watch and be prepared mentally."

  After that, she ignored me again and turned her head to look out the window. She shook the bell on her hand and lightly clapped twice. I was puzzled, so I curiously followed her gaze to look outside the window as well.

  At this time, I suddenly heard a rustling sound from the big tree outside the window. Before I could react, I saw a huge white python with an enormous body poking its head out from the tree and in the blink of an eye it had slithered into the room through the window.

  I didn't expect that the thing you called in was like this, and after being shocked, I couldn't help but stand up from my chair, take a few steps back with some guard, and look at Yuchi Jiu: "Auntie Yuchi, what is this..."

  Wei Chi chuckled twice and clapped her hands at the python, calling out: "A Long, come to sister here."

  The white python seemed to understand human language, and it slowly raised its head, swam to Wei Chi's feet, and spiralled up his body, shaking its head and rubbing against Wei Chi's chest, affectionately flirting with him.

  Wei Chi Jiu suddenly burst out laughing and turned to me, saying: "The second thing your dad left you is this, it's called Ah Long, a snow python."

  I almost got swallowed by a black python in the tomb of the witch king, so I have some fear of pythons. When I heard that the second thing handed over to me was a giant python, my heart suddenly became uneasy. Pointing at the python, I asked Yu Ji: "Are you sure I should bring it with me? This... this thing won't eat people, will it?"

  Wei Chi shouted: "Don't be unreasonable, Ah Long is your father's sworn brother, you must call him uncle."

  "Uncle... Uncle?" I was at a loss for words and couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time.

  Wei Chi Jiu gently stroked the python's head and slowly said: "A Long is a spirit snake that your father subdued while recovering from his injuries here. Don't underestimate it, it has saved your father's life several times! This time you're going to Lan Tuo Palace, without it leading the way, it wouldn't be possible. A Long is a snow python, an ancient rare species, with immense strength and impervious to extreme cold and snow. Since ancient times, snakes and insects have been cold-blooded creatures, but A Long is different, it can emit warmth in cold places, even if someone is thinly dressed and wrapped around by it in the snowy ground, they won't feel the chill."

  It wasn't until I heard this that I suddenly realized, it seems that this giant python is indeed a necessary helper for the snowy mountain trip, but since I don't know it at all, how can it listen to my words?

  Wei Chi Jiu saw my worries, shook her head to let me not worry, then she patted the snow python's head and said: "A Long, go recognize your nephew."

  As soon as she finished speaking, the snow python turned around and slithered towards me. I was still a bit tense and stood frozen in place, not daring to move. Wei Chi Jiu said to relax, Ah Long is a spiritual python snake, it will definitely be able to recognize you as your father's son.

  The snow python raised its head, staring at me with piercing eyes. I stared back at its eyes without blinking, and in an instant, the python's gaze suddenly became very gentle. It slowly moved its head closer to me, stretching out its red tongue to touch my forehead.

  Wei Chi Jiu said that Ah Long recognized you, so hurry up and pat its head. Upon hearing this, I followed Wei Chi Jiu's words and gently patted the snow python's head. The snow python seemed extremely excited, shaking its head and circling around me twice, continuously sticking out its tongue to lightly touch my cheek.

  ……

  When I came out of the octagonal pavilion, everyone was startled by the snow python behind me. After explaining to everyone, they cautiously approached me, sizing up this newly recognized "uncle".

  Xue Python knew that the person in front of him was my companion, so he also showed a very gentle side. I originally thought that women would have an instinctive fear of snakes and other creatures, but unexpectedly Su Qin saw this giant python as very docile and actually hugged its head into her arms to caress it, calling out "Uncle Snake is really beautiful".

  This snow python is really good-looking, although its body is huge and intimidating, but it's pure white like snow, with two golden tear lines under its eyes, and the pupils are brown. I've never seen a python like this before, and I thought it was a mutant species. After listening to Liu Dapao's introduction, I finally understood the truth about this snow python.

  Originally, Liu Dapao's ancestors were not ordinary antique dealers. Their profession was similar to grave robbing and belonged to one of the 72 traditional industries in China, called "Dian Jin Tong". The ancestral master they worshipped was Shen Wansan, a wealthy man from the Ming Dynasty. Nowadays, many are active in Beijing and Tianjin areas.

  The so-called "pointing stone into gold" is not actually referring to some kind of magical technique that can really turn stones into gold and jade, but rather a highly skilled appraisal technique. The "gold-pointing child" refers to a type of person who possesses this high-level appraisal technique, they are familiar with all the treasures in the world, good at finding jade in the rough and gold in the sand. Some things that may be worthless in the eyes of ordinary people, perhaps even less valuable than a smelly stone from a latrine, but if they fall into the eyes of a "gold-pointing child", they may become a rare treasure.

  And this profession is actually similar to the "treasure hunters" who travel all over the place, except that the "point gold boy" emphasizes the destiny of treasures and believes that all precious objects in the world are not obtainable if they are not predestined for you. Therefore, the "point gold boy" likes to open an antique shop, doing business with antiques to make a living while patiently waiting for the destined treasure to come to him instead of searching everywhere like the "treasure hunters".

  "Dingjin Tong" has an ancient book passed down from his ancestors - "Ba Bao Xiang Ming Shu". The so-called "Xiang Ming" here does not refer to fortune-telling or physiognomy, but rather refers to the use of organs such as eyes, ears, mouth, nose, and hands to identify objects in hand, in order to confirm their value. And this book "Ba Bao Xiang Ming Shu" contains a section on "Xiang She".

  It is said that snakes are objects that become dragons when they encounter the wind, and they all have a spiritual nature. In the study of "snake divination", there is mention of the "four spirits among snakes", which refers to four species of snakes with the most spiritual nature, namely the "Ba worm" that eats oxen and elephants, the "Brocade python" that distinguishes gold from silver, the "Thousand-year-old dragon" that has a strong spirit, and the "White python" that can transform cold and snow. These four giant snakes all have the ability to communicate with heaven, making them extremely rare.

  Among the four spirits, the "White Python" that melts snow and ice is the python in front of us, also known as the "Snow Python". It usually inhabits rock caves on top of glaciers or hibernates deep within icy lakes. The Snow Python does not emerge unless there are drastic changes in the weather. Legend has it that this snake has a gallbladder filled with fiery energy, making it impervious to extreme cold. Its body can also emit warmth, and its shed skin is called "fire clothes" by ancient people. If one wears it as an undergarment or attaches it to the soles of their shoes, they will not feel cold even when standing in an icy cellar, and their legs will not freeze after walking thousands of miles on snow, making it extremely valuable.

  Unfortunately, the world's snow pythons are extremely rare and hardly seen by humans. What's more, these giant pythons shed their skin only once every hundred years, and this shed skin needs to be spat with dragon spittle by the python itself in order to transform into a "fire coat", making such a treasure even harder to come by.

  It is said that the Empress Dowager, the old Buddha, had once received a "fire dress" on her birthday, which was a gift from Heshen, with thousands of agate beads embroidered on it, made of silk from the Western Regions, not only warm and cold-proof, but also knife-proof and fire-proof.

  This is still the only extant fire coat in history, and its rarity can be seen at a glance.

  I didn't expect the snow python in front of me to be such a spiritual beast, and I suddenly became respectful. Su Qin also secretly sighed in admiration and gently patted the snow python's head, saying: "Uncle Snow Python, I didn't think you were so powerful!"

  The snow python seemed to know that Su Qin was praising it, and it shook its head with a pleased expression, its tail also swishing back and forth.

  Yóu zǐ tàitóu kàn le kàn tiān sè, xīn zhī yǎn xià hái bù yí dàng jiǔ gàng, biàn cuì cù zhòng rén gǎn kuài qǐ xíng. Yú shì dà huǒ cǎo cǎo dǎ diǎn le yī xià suí shēn de zhuāng bèi, biàn shùn zhe lái shí de lù kāishǐ zhé fǎn. Wǒ dài zhe xuě máng gēn zài zhòng rén shēn hòu, hū jiàn Zhōu Xīng huí guò tóu lái, jìng jìng de cháo bā jiǎo gé lóu wàng le yī yǎn. Yě bù zhī dào shì fǒu wǒ de cuò yuàn, zài mǒu yī shùn jiān, tā de mù guāng zhōng jìng liú lòu chū le yǔ yǐ qián jié ruò bù tóng de yǎn jīng, sì shì dài zhe xiē xǔ bù shě, yòu sì shì dài zhe yī zhǒng jué jué.

  However, this meaningful glance only lasted for a few seconds, and soon he followed the crowd to leave the forest without looking back.

  But as the troops finally walked out of the mountain forest, I looked back at the road we came from, and saw that it was shrouded in white mist, with clouds and fog swirling about, making it impossible to discern what lay within. If one hadn't personally reached the depths of the forest, one would never have imagined that hermits still lived there. The events that had just occurred seemed like a dream of Nanke, as if they were just an illusory and ephemeral experience.