The viper clans didnât care about those who werenât in their clans, so humans who were going to grave rob shouldnât even be mentioned. Mo Laoda and Mo Dayi opened their mouths without a trace of mercy.
Among the fifteen men, the middle-aged man was the most nimble. When Mo Laoda and Mo Dayiâs appeared, the middle-aged manâs pupils constricted. Wang Yanzhen, who had been closely following the middle-aged man, dodged the two vipersâ attacks, wishing that he could flee so he wouldnât be in danger, at least for a while.
Mo Dayi was indeed powerful: just one venomous bite was enough to fell a person. But the people who had come to rob the tomb werenât to be trifled with. Yes, while man themselves couldnât resist his venom, their clothes could! This specialized clothing was made to withstand bites, even repeated bites. There was metal built into almost all of it. Now the grave robbers <sup>1</sup> no longer complained that the clothes were too heavy or not breathable. They would even go and express their gratitude to Wang Yanzhen for making them wear their headgear. Naturally, the people who encountered Mo Laoda didnât have such good luck. Mo Laodaâs sharp fangs were able to penetrate these peopleâs clothes. But, after all, Mo Laoda and Mo Dayi were only two snakes, so some people were still able to escape. The middle-aged man and Wang Yanzhen were among these.
Mo Laoda âs face was stormy and he said, seriouslyâGive chase!â
Mo Dayi thought for a moment and suggested, âOr go back first. Itâs probably better to hurry back and inform the other clansmen.â
Mo Laoda slanted a glance at Mo Dayi. âDid you forget that I promised Xiaoxiao that Iâd bring one of them back for him?â
Mo Dayi: ââŠ.â
Mo Laoda spoke again, âChase each and every one and kill all of them. Iâm going to catch one for Xiaoxiao.â
After saying this, Mo Laoda took the lead to charge towards the direction of the group of fleeing humans. This direction, it was the same direction in which the middle-aged man and Wang Yanzhen had fled. Mo Dayi, on the other hand, sped off in the opposite direction.
âUncle Xu, the vipers in this tomb are really too dreadful! Weâd better leave!â No matter how composed Wang Yanzhen was, he was still no more than a youngster. Running into something like this, it was still difficult for him to hide his fear.
The middle-aged manâs legs didnât slow in the slightest and his breathing remained steady. Ultimately amongst tomb robbers, heâd been a tomb robber for quite some time so, when speaking of composure, he had more composure than Wang Yanzhen. The middle-aged man didnât speak and only briefly looked at Wang Yanzhen. In his heart, he laughed deprecatingly. Leave? It was very likely that they wouldnât even make it to the exit. As soon as that snake overtook them, theyâd be bitten to death! Human or snake, who was faster? The more he thought of this, the more the middle-aged man despaired.
The middle-aged manâs thoughts were correct: even if he and Wang Yanzhen had managed to run faster, they were unable to move faster than the Mo Laoda who was now Clan Head. After just a brief bit of effort, Mo Laoda had already closed the gap between himself and the two men. The sounds of a snake slithering behind them made the two men shiver in fear.
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The middle-aged man clenched his teeth then suddenly stopped and loudly yelled, âWe canât outrun it! We have to act together to kill it!â Wang Yanzhen hesitated but then forced himself to stop. In the event that he was the only one remaining, his chances of escaping were even slimmer. He might as well work with Uncle Xu and kill the snake so that their chances of escaping were greater.
However, no matter what the middle-aged man and Wang Yanzhen thought, the fact that Mo Laoda was nearby was undeniable. Mo Laoda saw that the two men had stopped and were no longer fleeing. Rather than immediately launch an attack, he conscientiously sized up the two humans in front of him.
Oh, which one should he bring back to the Little Idiot? Mo Laodaâs gaze jumped between the two men, looking them over. Still, it was really hard to decide, the two looked equally ugly! Mo Laoda hesitated but finally made up his mind. He would kill whoever attacked him first and then he would bring back the remaining one! The Little Idiot had once said that only an outstanding talent can recognize current trends <sup>2</sup> , so the first one to attack him would surely not be an very smart! This way, the one heâd bring back would be the âoutstanding talentâ and the Little Idiot would surely be pleased!
Mo Laodaâs gaze caused the middle-aged man and Wang Yanzhen to feel even more oppression and worry. Unexpectedly, Wang Yanzhen suddenly got the sense that this thick and solid black snake in front of them was intelligent!
âLittle boy, Iâll attack first. You sneak around the black snake and attack it from behind! Remember, donât panic.â The middle-aged man, in a low voice, briefed Wang Yanzhen while his eyes remained trained unwaveringly on Mo Laoda.
Mo Laoda swung his tail, puzzled. âYou really arenât concerned about discussing a sneak attack on me? I overheard it all, you know! Can this really be called a sneak attack anymore?â However, Mo Laoda now knew which one to kill and which one to bring back.
Seeing that the ugly human, the one he was going to bring back with him and who thought that he hadnât found out their plans, quietly retreated a few steps. Mo Laoda felt really baffled but, since the humans wanted to play, heâd go along with it <sup>3</sup> . Mo Laoda, going along with the middle-aged manâs plans, slowly slithered towards the middle-aged man.
The middle-aged manâs palms were sweating profusely. He composed himself, unholstered the pistol at his hip and aimed at Mo Laoda. Mo Laoda saw that there was something in the opposite partyâs hands and recalled that, when he and Mo Dayi were killing the humans, those humans had also taken this thing out. But the thing didnât seem to be useful. Whether they hit Mo Dayi or himself, it had only hurt for a moment. He really didnât understand why the human in front of him was taking this kind of thing out.
Mo Laoda was a little impatient with this game. However, for the middle-aged man and Wang Yanzhen this was a life or death battle. Mo Laoda attacked first.
Mo Laoda braced his tail on the ground, then slapped it hard on the ground to launch himself into the air. In the blink of an eye, he was directly in front of the middle-aged man. He opened his mouth wide, exposing large and shining bright venomous fangs. The middle-aged man hurriedly airmed for Mo Laodaâs seven inches <sup>4</sup> and pulled the trigger, shooting a bullet at Mo Laoda. Mo Laodaâs pupils constricted and he moved a little sideways in midair, luckily causing the bullet to miss him. Now he was less than three meters away from the middle-aged man. The middle-aged man hurriedly retreated a few steps, attempting to put distance between himself and Mo Laoda. But donât forget, Mo Laoda was over ten meters long! Still in midair, Mo Laoda stretched out his body and, right as the middle-aged man was about to leave his attack range, ruthlessly bit into the middle-aged manâs neck. It was at this moment that Wang Yanzhen attacked him from behind. Mo Laoda slanted a look backwards and used his tail to slap Wang Yanzhen away, knocking Wang Yanzhen firmly into a large tree trunk.
Mo Laoda released the middle-aged man, but the middle-aged man now how no way to change his fate <sup>5</sup> . Mo Laodaâs venom had already permeated the middle-aged manâs blood.
Having been tossed into the trunk of a large tree, Wang Yanzhen was really, exceptionally frightened now and he no longer had the wherewithal to care if the middle-aged man was alive or dead. As he pulled himself to his legs to run, Mo Laoda shouted, âStand still!â
After thatâŠafter that, Wang Yanzhen was struck dumb.
Mo Laoda was quite annoyed. Looking at Wang Yanzhen standing there astonished, he thought to himself that this remaining human was an idiot, and he couldnât help but feel some regret over killing the other human just a moment ago. But now there were no other options, he had to bring this one back to the Little Idiot! Mo Laoda coiled two loops of his body around Wang Yanzhen, saw that Wang Yanzhen still hadnât returned to his senses, and impatiently used his tail to hit Wang Yanzhen a few times.
âCome back to your senses, come back to your senses! Come back to your senses and donât just stand there!â
The clear voice coming from around underfoot caused Wang Yanzhen to realize that all of this really wasnât a dream. Heâd wanted to go to the snake tomb but then, when he managed to enter the snake tomb, his team of fifteen very cautiously and quickly crossed the mountain in seven days. As for where the tomb was located, he hadnât the slightest clue. At first, everything had been fine. Who would have anticipated being met with a surprise snake attack? Their side had fifteen people, but the two snakes had caused them to either die or flee. Heâd brought with them his greatest weapon, Uncle Xu, but heâd gone and died! And now the snake that had attacked him was talking! Talking! It spoke human words! He could understand the human words it spoke!
âLaoda, how are you doing here?â Mo Dayi made his way out from the underbrush nearby.
âCaught one, but it seems a little stupid.â Mo Laoda gloomily eyed Wang Yanzhen. âHow many did you catch?â
Mo Dayi said, âJust got one. Wait for me to kill that human and Iâll go after the other humans. Actually, I canât smell the humansâ stink so I had to come and find you.â
Depressed, Wang Yanzhen listened to the two snakesâ conversation. The Wang family had a secret way to conceal the scent trail of the human body. Originally, both he and Uncle Xu also had some, but they lost it in the big fight just now.
âThe other humans have also escaped.â Mo Laodaâs voice was serious. âThose people absolutely cannot be allowed to enter the old tomb. First, weâll return to Xiaoxiao, then weâll consider it at length.â
Mo Dayi responded, âThen whatâs to be done with this human?â
Mo Laoda said, âMake him walk in front of us and tell him where to go.â
And so Wang Yanzhen, trembling with fear and trepidation, walked ahead. Mo Laoda and Mo Dayi walked behind Wang Yanzhen.
âItâs moving too slowly!â After having moved about for the better half of a day, Mo Dayi finally couldnât help but complain.
Mo Laoda sympathized. âIndeed, it is really too slow. How can humans be so small and weak like this? Itâs really strange!â
In the viper clansâ inherited memories there were descriptions of humankind. This old tomb had been created by humans and, in the inherited memories, humans were powerful characters while, simultaneously, the most important thing that the vipers were to defend was a human. However, for a very long time, for too long of a time, humans had never appeared, so the vipers, from the start, didnât know what humans looked like! So the next time a human appeared it made Mo Laoda feel very disappointed. Humankind was nothing special.
âCould I have something to drink?â Walking under the scorching sun for over half the day, Wang Yanzhen eventually couldnât help but ask for this. After going through a large fight, fleeing a large fight, and then walking for a long time, Wang Yanzhen was really thirsty and hungry. His lips were white and cracked. What he saw in front of him blurred into a haze to the point that he couldnât even clearly make out the road in front of him.
âGo on, go on!â Mo Laoda impatiently swung his tail. It really had too many needs!
At this moment, Wang Yanzhen didnât care whether or not Mo Laoda was happy or not, and quickly lay down on his stomach in front of a nearby brook. Heedless of whether the water was clean or not, he drank large mouthfuls of water â perhaps because of cruelly having to walk alongside a riverbank but be unable to drink any, Wang Yanzhen felt even more thirsty and couldnât keep himself from asking to drink water.
After walking for the rest of the day, as the sun was setting behind the mountain, Mo Laoda, Mo Dayi and Wang Yanzhen finally approached the place where Yin Xiaoxiao was staying.