Chapter 46: Snake Spirit (1)

Chapter 46: Snake Spirit (1)

Su Rou, as if he had discovered a new continent, pointed at Old Wu and said, “Hey, don’t blame Xiao Ding. Even his master cannot make it sound.”

Old Man Jiang laughed even more recklessly. He took a couple of deep drags from the dry tobacco pipe that Old Wu had just handed him and said, “You two foolish kids.”

While Old Man Jiang was laughing at us, Xiao Ding would not stand for it. Earlier, when Su Rou and I were teasing him back and forth, he had only smiled shyly, but the moment his master was mentioned, he got anxious.

“N no… that is not it, it is not supposed to be blown to make a sound, it is… it is not for playing music,” Xiao Ding stammered in his hurry, his words completely jumbled. Neither Su Rou nor I could understand him at all.

“What he means is that the bamboo flute is not for playing tunes. It is used for controlling snakes. Do you think the snakes were not biting people earlier for no reason? It is because Xiao Ding was using the flute to control them. And also because his master gave us medicinal powder,” my master finally stepped in to explain for Xiao Ding.

“But that flute does not make any sound. How does it control snakes? That is too mysterious,” I asked, very curious. Su Rou, who had never heard of anything like this, widened his small eyes and stared at my master waiting for an answer.

“Watch for yourselves,” my master said calmly, tapping the bowl of the dry tobacco pipe and pointing under the platform.

An unusual change occurred. The snakes that had been gathered there began to move. They were no longer packed together in a dense mass giving off a feeling of restlessness and hesitation. Instead, they gradually began to slither slowly toward the other end of the curtain, as if preparing to leave.

“Master, hurry, explain what is going on,” I suddenly jumped onto Old Man Jiang’s back and grabbed his collar.

Old Man Jiang pulled me down and then said, “It is someone else’s special skill, I do not know exactly how it is done or how the flute is played. But I can explain the principle. Do you know how snakes perceive the world? Mostly through their tongues, sensing heat and vibration. In the wild, snakes survive by instinctively judging which temperatures and vibrations mean danger. In simple terms, that bamboo flute works by imitating a type of vibration that makes snakes feel danger. But there are many subtleties to it. These vibration techniques are the core skill of a snake handler. There are many other methods too. Experts who work with snakes can hardly be troubled by any snake. At a high enough level, they can even communicate with a snake spirit.”

I listened, completely stunned. So snakes… what, do not rely on eyes as much as tongues? And that tiny bamboo flute was producing vibrations?

“This… this bamboo flute is not an ordinary flute. It is very carefully made… very hard to make,” Xiao Ding stammered again, but after my master explained things, he seemed proud again.

“Wow, that is amazing,” Su Rou exclaimed. I also nodded repeatedly.

Then I turned to my master and asked, “Master, how do you know all this? And even know snakes use their tongues?”

Old Man Jiang glanced at me smugly and said, “What is so strange about that? This is why I tell you to study properly. You think becoming a Daoist means you do not need to study? Let me tell you, I went to university back in the day, and even studied abroad. I majored in biology. There has never been a real Daoist who is ignorant. If you do not study properly, you cannot understand metaphysical arts. People who do not understand science think everything is ghosts and superstition.”

In his excitement, he slapped my backside hard and said, “I am not going to waste words on you. Just remember this. If your grades keep being this bad, I will beat your butt until it breaks.”

Fine, I admit I almost cried from being scolded by my master, and that slap really hurt.

“I am telling you, do not think snake handlers are some mystical nonsense profession. They are more skilled than the best zoologists in the world…” my master continued lecturing me, but at that moment Old Wu interrupted.

“Old Jiang, the snakes have already been driven away. Should we deal with the snake spirit now?”

“Yes, we need to handle the snake spirit. If we do not, it will become troublesome. The snakes will keep gathering here. Yin accumulates in the land, yin gathers snakes, and snakes generate more yin. If we want to cleanse these wandering souls and completely break this yin accumulation site, we must deal with that snake spirit,” Old Man Jiang muttered, sounding troubled.

“Alright. Once I finish driving the snakes away completely, we will deal with the snake spirit,” Old Wu nodded, then put the green bamboo flute back into his mouth and puffed his cheeks as he blew again.

Su Rou was already completely stunned by everything happening here. He pinched his own cheek hard. Because he used too much force, he kept yelping, “Ow, ow.”

“San Wa Er, you must tell me I am definitely not dreaming,” Su Rou said very seriously after pinching himself.

“You are definitely not dreaming,” I could only answer that way, because I had only just been exposed to all this myself and could not explain it clearly.

“Kid, you are absolutely not dreaming. You are now coming into contact with state secrets. If you leak them, the consequences are very serious,” one of the soldiers suddenly said. I turned around and saw it was one of the military men from the courtyard that day.

“Wh… what consequences?” Su Rou was usually brave, but threats could only be countered with food. He had been influenced by me too much and was especially afraid of soldiers. Now he could barely speak.

“Execution. All of you executed. Your entire families executed,” the man said with a completely serious expression, not joking at all.

“Ah… then I will not look anymore,” Su Rou immediately covered his eyes. He just came to watch some excitement, how did it turn into execution for his whole family?

I got angry. I could not let them bully my friend like this. Just as I was about to say something, Old Man Jiang pulled me aside and whispered into my ear, “These things cannot be spoken about. Ordinary people do not understand and it will only cause panic. The state will not allow it to be discussed. Later you go and talk to Su Rou. He has already seen it, but it absolutely cannot be spread. When you grow up…”

He paused there.

“When we grow up, what?” I asked.

“When you grow up, you can tell him then. He will not be executed,” Old Man Jiang said with a sly smile and ignored me.

I was furious. My master was really devious.

Still, even though I was young, I knew this was serious. I went over, pulled Su Rou’s hands away, and said with guilt, “Su Rou, you really cannot tell anyone about this. It is a secret, like military secrets that spies are not allowed to know.”

“I definitely will not say anything. San Wa Er, you saw it too, what do we do?” Su Rou said, still thinking of me even at a time like this.

Feeling guilty, I could only say, “Even if my master is here, if I say it, I would still get executed.”

“Ah, really?”

“Really.”

We were silent for a moment.

Then I asked, “Do you still want to watch?”

“I want to. Why not? If I say it halfway I get executed, and if I say it after watching I also get executed. I… I might as well watch it. I am going all in,” Su Rou said heroically. This guy was just like me. Even knowing curiosity kills the cat, he still walked right into it.

I knew Su Rou would not tell anyone, so I said nothing more. What I still did not understand was why, if this was such a secret, my master had let Su Rou follow me at all. It was strange.

Only when I grew up did I understand that my master had already roughly calculated that Su Rou would become part of my life. These things were unavoidable anyway.

While we were talking, I looked up again and saw that there were no snakes left in the curtain. They had all gathered at the far end and were moving out in an orderly line.

Everyone waited patiently. After more than ten minutes, all the snakes had left. Only then did my master lead the way and say, “Let us go to where the snake spirit is.”

My master jumped down from the platform and held Su Rou’s and my hands as he walked in front. Old Wu followed closely behind, and the others quickly kept up as well.

Not long after walking over uneven ground, we reached a piece of cloth in front of us.

This cloth was part of the curtain. I had not noticed anything special before, but when my master pulled it aside, I realized it was movable, like a door curtain. Behind it was another layer of cloth forming an enclosed space of about twenty to thirty square meters. In the center was a large pit. From where I stood, I could not tell how deep it was.

My master led Su Rou and me straight toward that deep pit. I did not know why, but the closer I got, the more suffocating and cold I felt. My expression gradually turned unpleasant.

“You are sensitive to these things and easily affected,” my master said, stopping. He looked at me and asked, “Have you forgotten the Mind-Calming Mantra I taught you?”

I quickly began reciting it aloud. As I recited, I gradually felt better. My master had already expected this and continued leading me forward.