Chapter Ten: The Snake Returns
1261 Words
We were barely dressed, and with loose earthen walls on either side, Xiaoxi struggled to climb, eventually reaching the end of the tunnel.
We were stuck together again, just like in the narrow crevice below the river.
I looked back at the black-browed viper, shook the dirt off its head, climbed a few steps, raised its triangular head, flicked its tongue, and prepared to attack. My heart leaped into my throat.
In this critical moment, although a layer of cold sweat broke out on my forehead, I remained calm.
I kept telling myself, "Don't panic, don't panic! Even venomous snakes are afraid of people, and besides, there's only one. It's not like there's no chance of survival."
Thinking this, I mustered my strength and pushed back, feeling the earth cave in, creating a small gap between Xiaoxi and me.
At that moment, the black-browed viper kept turning its head, looking at the two of us, seemingly choosing who to attack first.
Taking advantage of this moment, I used my shovel to push off the top, and together with Xiaoxi, we fell down the earthen wall.
This startled the black-browed viper. No longer needing to worry about its choice, it lunged straight at me.
This thing was aiming for my wrist. They say vipers can sever hands or feet if they bite—it's incredibly terrifying.
I tried to shake my hand off, but the shovel had gone in so deep that I couldn't pull it out immediately. I had no choice but to let go and dodge to the side.
Despite its small size, the black-browed viper had tremendous jumping and impact power. It almost passed between my hand and the shovel handle, its momentum undiminished, and it darted to where I had just been—right in front of Xiaoxi's mouth.
Xiaoxi let out a sharp scream and covered her face with her hands.
I was speechless. Why were you covering your face instead of trying to escape? It wasn't going to be a jerk.
Luckily, I reacted quickly. I grabbed its left leg and pulled it down, separating the two legs so it straddled my head, just out of the snake's attack range.
However, the black-browed viper was still above my head; the danger wasn't over.
The black-browed viper didn't attack immediately after landing. Instead, it coiled up and raised its head again.
This gave me a chance to catch my breath. I grabbed the shovel and pulled down, causing a large patch of earth to collapse. At the same time, the black-browed viper leaped up again to attack, only to be buried under the heavy shovel.
I used the cylindrical shovel head to forcefully poke at the buried area, feeling the powerful snake, and pressed it hard into the ground.
I pressed it down more than half a foot before stopping, panting, but I didn't dare loosen my grip, fearing it might suddenly emerge from the ground. After a while, seeing that the black-browed viper hadn't emerged, I breathed a sigh of relief.
I pulled the shovel out of the ground, bringing with it a large clump of dirt and blood; it looked like I'd injured it.
Snakes aren't good diggers, practically none at all.
The soil was loose, but it couldn't burrow out immediately, so I immediately slammed the shovel down on the ground dozens of times, compacting the soil.
With that much force, even if I didn't kill it, I could at least stun it, buying us some time to escape.
I turned back, pulled the shovel down, and, crouching at an angle, added more soil to seal the opening below, tamping it down from top to bottom.
Although there were many snakes outside, they wouldn't be able to breach this earthen wall anytime soon.
I picked up the flashlight, glancing at Xiaoxi above. Tears were welling up again, and her eyes were closed. Worried, I asked, "What's wrong?"
After a long pause, she finally spoke, "It hurts like hell!"
Her eyes remained closed, her face contorted in pain.
Her voice sounded relatively normal, so I relaxed and said, "Hang in there, as long as you don't die."
I picked up the shovel and began scooping soil from above her head, moving the fallen dirt back to the mound at her feet.
"I feel like I'm going to die," Xiaoxi said, her voice filled with despair. She then began to sob softly.
My heart clenched, as if gripped by something painful.
I kept repeating, "Life and death aren't things you can feel. It's like drinking; when you're drunk, you always feel perfectly sober."
"What kind of ridiculous analogy is that?"
Xiaoxi opened her eyes, seemingly recovering from the pain.
Seeing that I didn't speak, she tilted her head and quietly watched me dig and move the soil. Digging in this crouched position was strenuous and inefficient. After digging more than two feet deep, we still couldn't see any firm soil. We were starting to feel discouraged.
But it was the only way. If we couldn't reach the tomb, we'd either die or be torn apart by the Black-browed Viper.
So, gritting our teeth, we dug even harder.
"What's your name?"
Working in silence was incredibly tiring, but this girl, with her bright, watery eyes, remained completely silent.
I broke the silence and started chatting.
"You know me, right? Xiao Xi."
"I asked for my full name."
"Are you checking my background?
Just knowing I'm Xiao Xi is enough."
This girl wasn't willing to let me know too much.
"You won't tell, huh?
My uncle has a unique skill—bone fortune-telling. Once you've read all the bones, he can tell you a person's name, their past and future lives.
Want to try?"
The saying "a man and a woman working together makes the work easier" isn't just a myth. Talking with him like this makes the work seem less tiring.
"Pah! An old rogue has raised a little rogue."
Xiao Xi's face was full of anger and contempt. Clearly, Aunt Ting knew that the old blind man often "bone-f****d" her.
"Yes, I am a little rogue. You've known that for a long time. No need to keep bringing it up."
I was getting angry from being called a "little rogue" all the time, so I glared at him.
This girl knew how to read the room. The moment she saw my displeasure, her arrogance vanished, and she obediently said, "My surname is Lin, Lin Yuxi."
"Alright, I've given you my full name. You can get back to work now."
Actually, the part of the soil I was digging wasn't far from the exit above, only four or five meters. Considering the slope, the soil layer wasn't very thick.
Sure enough, after digging another foot, I finally hit some soil.
Xiaoxi said it was a layer of rammed earth. Some ancient tombs, to prevent theft, would build the ground like a diamond wall, mixing glutinous rice and urine into the soil, making it incredibly hard, no less so than cement.
I was stunned. What if the ground above was like a diamond wall? Even an iron hammer might not be able to break through, let alone a shovel.
Thankfully, my worries were unnecessary. Although the soil layer had been rammed, after some forceful tamping, plus the weight of the bluestone slab above, several cracks quickly appeared, and chunks of solidified soil crumbled down, emerging from the bluestone slab.
But then Xiaoxi suddenly exclaimed in surprise, pointing at my crotch and saying, "Snake...the snake has crawled in again!"
- Writer
