Mysterious Country 1: Mist-Shrouded Champa, Volume 2: Chapter 8: The Long Snake Reveals Itself

Mysterious Country 1: Mist-Shrouded Champa, Volume 2: Chapter 8: The Long Snake Reveals Itself

Just when the expedition team was blocked by the cliff face and at a complete loss, they discovered a dark, winding “snake shape” on the mountain wall, no less than several dozen meters in length. The rock face was covered with moss and various plants, the entire wall lush with green, making that long snake appear even more dim and eerie, like a ghost. Because they were far away, they couldn’t tell whether it was a python or a snake.

The Burmese armed personnel accompanying the team were all so shocked that they fell to their knees, continuously chanting Buddhist prayers and kowtowing desperately toward the cliff.

Yu Feiyan was also quite startled. She grabbed her binoculars and held them up to her eyes, examining carefully for a while before suddenly understanding. She told everyone there was no need to panic. The snake-shaped shadow on the cliff was not a python at all, but rather “red ants” migrating in swarms. It turned out that Savage Mountain’s terrain was enclosed, with the surrounding continuous mountain ranges mostly being products of the “Himalayan orogeny” from ancient times. The weather remained constant throughout the year. Ordinary tropical storms could hardly affect this place. But this year, the strong tropical storm from the Indian Ocean was of a ferocity rarely seen in recent decades. Such severe meteorological changes, since being forecasted, had attracted widespread attention from around the world. According to meteorological analysis, the Savage Mountain region in northern Burma would also be subjected to violent storms and heavy rain. At this time, the heavy rain brought by the tropical storm was about to arrive. The sudden rainfall would turn calm, low-lying rivers into rapid, fierce torrents.

The abnormally hot and humid weather had already alerted the creatures in the deep mountains and old forests. Tens of millions of red ants were being forced to migrate to higher ground to avoid the catastrophe of their nests being completely destroyed. The number of red ants in the primeval jungle was astonishing. Although called red ants, their bodies were completely black, with only a touch of vermilion at the tail. The largest were close to human fingers in size, while the smallest were like grains of rice. They gathered densely into columns and climbed up the walls. Seen from a distance, people would naturally mistake them for a “long snake.” Perhaps as early as thousands of years ago, someone had witnessed this mysterious natural phenomenon, which was why these baffling and bizarre legends had been passed down.

Although Sheng Yu told everyone that the winding dark shadow on the cliff was not a python, including Karaweik, the Burmese people simply could not comprehend that “red ants” in the jungle would voluntarily migrate to higher ground to escape the rainstorm. They were all convinced that it was the long snake revealing itself through the ant swarm. Everyone fell silent, their faces ashen.

Yu Feiyan told everyone that the “red ants” surviving in the tropical jungle were also called “signal ants.” They could leave “pheromones” in areas where they foraged or marched. Each long-distance migration followed a fixed route. Once the weather improved, they would return along the same path to the bottom of the cliff and rebuild their nests destroyed by the rainstorm. Judging by the astonishing number of red ants gathered, one could conclude that within several dozen li around, there should be no other ant colony of such scale. Since someone had once witnessed this biological wonder of nature near the tunnel entrance of the “Ghost Road,” the mountain-piercing tunnel must not be far from here. Finally, she pulled out a gold bar from beside her and had the interpreter tell everyone: “Whoever can find the entrance into the mountain, this gold bar in my hand will be his.”

Sima Hui had thought that Yu Feiyan might have some special means of winning people’s hearts, but it turned out she was also like Cheng Yaojin, always the same three and a half axe moves, not a single new trick. However, as the saying goes, “under heavy rewards, there must be brave men.” Although these Burmese people had a fear of “Savage Mountain” deep in their bones, they were also desperadoes who would risk their lives for money. Under the lure of enormous profit, after panicking for a while, they were ordered by the leaders in the team to separately search for the tunnel entrance at the bottom of the cliff.

Under the expedition team’s “fence-building” style search, they finally discovered the tunnel entrance of the Ghost Road. But the top of the entrance had completely collapsed, with a large amount of fallen rocks sealing off the path. The signs suggested it was due to explosive blasting. Perhaps when the American military was evacuating the B-line road tunnel, in order to seal off the dangerous area, they had carried out multiple blasting operations, blowing up all the entrances, making it impossible to proceed further.

However, several experienced Burmese armed personnel still found a secret valley covered by dense plants on the cliff side where the “signal ants” were crawling. On the exposed rock layers at the valley entrance, there remained primitive rock paintings depicting scenes of large groups of wild elephants dying. The interior of the valley was deep and winding, the humidity even heavier. Ancient trees with intertwined roots stood on both sides. It was difficult to see the sky overhead, with only scattered fragments of light filtering through the dense canopy gaps.

In the records left by Karaweik’s grandfather, not only was the terrain inside the “Elephant Gate” completely described according to ancient maps, but there was also an account of a related matter. It was said that during the Anglo-Burmese War, a British colonel had commanded troops fighting near Savage Mountain. Because the British army’s weapons and equipment were superior, they easily routed the enemy. In the process of pursuing the remaining enemy forces, the colonel encountered an old wild elephant nearing death in the primeval jungle. The Indian soldiers under his command coveted the wild elephant’s tusks and wanted to shoot the old elephant on the spot. But the colonel, having long operated in India, Burma, and other places, was well aware of the habits of wild elephants in the mountains. He did not let the Indian soldiers recklessly fire their guns and startle the wild elephant, but instead led his men to quietly follow behind, wanting to see where its tracks ultimately led.

It turned out that Burmese wild elephants had a habit: whenever an elephant grew old and weak, it would often sense this itself. At that time, it would leave the herd alone and go deep into the mountains. It would walk all the way to the grotto where its ancestors’ bones were buried, then lie down on the piles of elephant bones, neither drinking nor eating, quietly waiting for death to arrive.

Legend had it that the burial grounds of Burmese wild elephants, the oldest dating back tens of thousands of years, had mountains of elephant bones and ivory piled up in the caves. The number of elephant remains was simply impossible to estimate. And because the ages were so ancient, some very old ivory had already turned to fossil at the bottom of the caves.

Beautiful crafts made from ivory were deeply favored by nobility throughout Europe and were of considerable value. This British colonel knew that if he followed the old elephant’s tracks, he might very well find the burial ground of the elephant herd’s ancestors. That would be equivalent to discovering an infinite treasure, the gains far exceeding just two high-quality tusks.

This British colonel was selfish and profit-driven at the time, but he overlooked one very important point. Burmese wild elephants had very strong group consciousness. They would spare no cost to guard the secret of their ancestors’ burial ground. And it seemed wild elephants also knew that since ancient times, elephant herds had been hunted by humans, the root cause being the preciousness of ivory. So the graves they chose were all in the most dangerous areas of the deep mountains and old forests, sufficient to ensure that any trackers would never return.

In the end, this colonel led over two hundred Indian soldiers to follow the old elephant’s tracks into a very concealed valley. They went through countless hardships and finally, deep in the valley, saw countless natural caves on both sides covered by banyan tree vines and kudzu. These were all natural caves carved out by rainwater seeping into limestone mountain bodies tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of years ago, dissolving the soft rock. Inside the caves, cold wind whistled. The deep, dark caves extended in all directions, interweaving into a dense network of karst terrain within the mountain belly. The various caves were not only extraordinarily spacious, but also had countless elephant skeletons and ivory piled up in layers upon layers.

The British colonel, in his astonishment, could only describe what he saw before his eyes as “Mammoth Caves.” Although there were absolutely no Ice Age mammoth beasts among the piles of wild elephant skeletons, only the mammoth’s massive size could describe the miraculously vast scale of these caves. Additionally, they discovered that at the end of the Mammoth Caves, there was a connection to an unfathomable giant rift valley. The mist gushing from underground was so thick it seemed impossible to dissolve. At that time, no one dared to enter and explore.

Although the colonel did not let his men enter the rift valley, the deep mountains were fraught with danger. Besides venomous snakes and fierce beasts, they were also filled with ancient curses. In the end, this force was almost completely annihilated, and the leading British colonel also perished among them. The few survivors could not even bring out half a tusk. Afterward, most explorers and speculators who went there also never returned. So this valley had always been regarded as a forbidden zone.

Master Jiang judged that this valley was very likely the “Elephant Gate” depicted in ancient maps. The trend of the Stilwell Road was basically similar to it. Because during the American military’s construction process in the tunnel, they accidentally connected to the edge of the Savage Mountain giant rift valley, allowing underground mist to invade, causing large numbers of people to disappear and die, forcing them to abandon the 206B line road. And the end point of the “Elephant Gate” should similarly penetrate directly into the interior of Savage Mountain. There was more than one road leading to the deep mountain rift valley, all could “reach the same destination by different routes,” but without exception, they were all very dangerous.

If they were to use blasting methods to blow open the 206 tunnel entrance now, it would absolutely not succeed in a short time. Master Jiang, knowing that the expedition team was fully armed and highly experienced, thought that rather than getting entangled with the relatively safe and secure Ghost Road, it would be better to冒险 enter the Mammoth Caves. He was also a cunning old schemer, first sending Sima Hui and Luo Dahai to lead the way, and arranging Drill Mountain Beetle to keep an eye on them. Yu Feiyan also agreed to this arrangement, so she beckoned the three of them over, and had her men distribute two hunting knives to Sima Hui for self-defense, plus two portable searchlights and signal candles.

“Drill Mountain Beetle” was a man in his forties from the Northeast, with a knife scar on his face, short arms and short legs, a stocky and solid build. He was taciturn, bad-tempered, and always had a gloomy expression. He knew that walking in front was very dangerous, but since the “leader” had spoken, he dared not disobey, so he urged Sima Hui and Luo Dahai impatiently: “You two brats listen well. Walk in front with your skin tightened, show some spirit for your grandpa.”

Sima Hui and Luo Dahai had originally intended to lag behind. Hearing Yu Feiyan’s arrangement, they thought: “Every member of your expedition team is armed to the teeth, with Grasshopper and Mountain Beetle and whatnot. How can you have the nerve to send us, this bunch of defeated soldiers, to walk in front and risk our lives scouting the path?”

But then they reconsidered: “When under someone’s roof, how can one not bow their head? Since we’re destined to be used as cannon fodder to clear mines, having reached this point, it’s impossible not to go. Better not say more, lest we be looked down upon even more.”

So they each grabbed their gear and moved forward listlessly.

Walking toward the depths of the valley for a while, the terrain gradually became more open. But towering trees stood straight into the clouds, their dense crowns closely embracing each other, forming a massive green curtain in midair that completely obscured the sky. The ground was overgrown with vines, intricately tangled together, making many places impossible to walk through. Because sunlight was rarely seen throughout the year, the stagnant water in low-lying areas emitted waves of putrid, pungent stench.

The bottom of the jungle was entirely shrouded in a layer of light mist and thin fog. Ordinary mist could be divided into several types: “advection fog, upslope fog, steam fog, radiation fog.” In mountainous jungles or areas with stagnant water deposits, it was even more possible to encounter poisonous fog-like miasma. However, to this day no one could explain how the mist in the Savage Mountain giant rift valley was produced. Moreover, after detection, these clouds and mist gushing from underground were not poisonous, nor did they cause hallucinations. Probably only those who died in the mist knew what was inside. Although it was difficult to distinguish whether the nearby thin mist was produced by mountain humidity or gushing from underground, the appearance of “fog” marked that from here on, they had truly stepped into a dangerous zone.

Sima Hui and Luo Dahai suppressed their anger, cutting through thorns and brambles in front, passing through the lush jungle in the valley, going deeper and deeper. Luo Dahai looked back and saw Drill Mountain Beetle following about a dozen meters behind, then said bitterly: “That thief girl Yu Feiyan has too black a heart. Now that we’ve fallen into her hands, we’re really like Wu Dalang meeting Pan Jinlian, doomed to a terrible fate.”

Sima Hui said gloomily: “At least Wu Dalang had his brother Wu Erlang to avenge his shame. I estimate that if we die here, there won’t even be anyone to collect our bodies or tend our graves. But since things have come to this point, just think more openly. Which temple doesn’t have wrongfully dead ghosts? Who told us to be so unlucky?”

Luo Big Tongue had long found every member of the expedition team disagreeable. He first cursed randomly for a while, then looked back at “Drill Mountain Beetle,” estimating that the other party was not too close and probably couldn’t hear him speaking. He then quietly asked Sima Hui: “Sima, look at that guy following behind us. Why do I find him so awkward? You and I have been in the Burmese Communist People’s Army all these years. How many killings and bombings have we done, we can’t even count them ourselves. What did we say? Didn’t we just endure it? But look at him, a grave robber, nothing more than secretly digging a few ownerless abandoned graves, and by the way bullying the dead in the coffins. What kind of skill is that? What right does he have to act so profound?”

Sima Hui also glanced back. He told Luo Dahai not to gossip recklessly. Looking at that “Drill Mountain Beetle,” he was absolutely a skilled practitioner. Look at his two arms, short and thick, definitely trained from “digging kilns, boring holes, and钻 chimneys.” And those two bow legs, shaped like springs, one push in the盗 tunnel and “whoosh,” he could shoot out over ten zhang. And look at all that meat on his body,估计 he could be闷 in an ancient tomb without eating or drinking for half a month and still not starve to death. This “Drill Master” was simply a peerless wonder born specifically for digging graves.

Luo Dahai was somewhat disbelieving: “Are you talking about a person or a ground rat?”

As he spoke, he couldn’t help but look back again. But this look startled him, nearly wrenching Luo Big Tongue’s neck. He quickly called Sima Hui to look back. When the two turned to look, they saw nothing behind them. Drill Mountain Beetle, who had been following behind them, was gone without a trace.

Sima Hui and Luo Dahai were shocked in their hearts. If Drill Mountain Beetle had accidentally fallen into a tree hollow or mud swamp just now, there should have been some sound. But in the blink of an eye, neither of them had noticed where Drill Mountain Beetle behind them had gone.

At this moment, the two heard something massive squirming in the trees above. They immediately raised their heads instinctively and shone the beams of their portable searchlights upward. Following the sound and sweeping around, they saw that Drill Mountain Beetle’s body was actually suspended alone in the dim midair. His complexion was extremely ugly, his facial features twisted, as if he could not speak. Only his short, thick limbs were still struggling desperately.

It turned out that about a dozen steps behind them at a high place, there was a black python as thick as a water bucket. The python’s body was coiled around a treetop of an ancient tree, wrapped several times around it. From above, it extended a python head larger than a dou, opening its bloody mouth and continuously inhaling. It actually sucked Drill Mountain Beetle, who was walking behind, from under the tree up into midair, and then swallowed him alive into its belly.

(End of Volume 2)