Advance bravely

The rekindled flare not only guided the Cao family, who were like headless flies, but also reminded the angered giant snake of the recent offense. Its massive body, resembling a derailed train, charged towards us with a destructive force, crushing everything in its path.

Only when facing such a monster in person can one comprehend its terror and oppression. As the giant snake approached, I and Big Head sprinted back. Big Head, looking exhausted, agilely evaded like a baboon. Even the scattered gravel did not slow him down; on the contrary, I almost got caught up.

The formidable movement of the giant snake allowed it to climb the steep slope with a few strokes. Just as Big Head and I hid in the prepared stone crevice, the enormous snake head silently ventured inside.

I couldn't see it, but I could feel the flow of air, rhythmic like the tides under the moonlight. My nerves were tense, and just when I struggled to suppress a cough, the giant snake head suddenly contracted. I thought, "This is an attacking posture," and then came a loud noise, shaking the entire stone cave.

Large rocks started to fall from above with a tremendous force. Terrified, I clung to the stone pillar in front of me, barely escaping being blown away by the airwave.

I saw it was Big Head. He raised his flashlight, moving through the scattered rocks like a gymnast, continuously luring the giant snake towards the stone wall.

Frustrated by a missed strike, the snake seemed enraged. Its entire body crawled into the recess, resembling a train passing by my side. The impact was beyond description.

Realizing the danger, with the giant snake's body blocking any escape route for Big Head, he gritted his teeth, squeezed out of the crevice, and raised his gun, firing several shots at its head. Although it didn't cause any harm, it successfully diverted its attention.

The snake turned around, searching for me, the provocateur. Without waiting, I exerted all my strength and ran towards the stone wall from the other side. Big Head seemed to understand my intention. He raised his arms like a gorilla, running and shouting, attempting to draw the snake's attention back. The snake, perhaps befuddled by waiting too long, seemed indecisive for a moment. Just as we were about to reach the stone wall, it finally understood our foolish actions, wriggled its body, and bit towards us.

Feeling the terror of its strike, I wished I could retreat to the womb. However, this time, it collided with the stone wall as I intended.

Amidst a thunderous roar, debris flew around. A piece of rubble hit my back, sending me flying. In the chaos, I could only protect my head, rolling on the ground before coming to a stop. As I got up, a sweet sensation in my throat led to a cough, probably from inhaling dust.

This blow made my head dizzy. Before standing up, a series of "whoosh" impact sounds echoed in my ears. Guided by the moonlight, I saw that the stone wall had a gap now, and a large amount of clear water flowed in. The water level rose rapidly, and some rubble near the gap was washed away. Cracks extended along the gap, and it seemed like it would burst open soon.

The giant snake seemed confused by its own collision. I couldn't care less about it now and hurriedly ran towards the agreed-upon location with Xiao He and others. Unexpectedly, Big Head had already arrived before me, but he hadn't escaped that blow unscathed, covered in scratches.

The water level rose quickly, especially with the giant snake occupying space inside the stone cave. In an instant, it reached a height of seven to eight meters. Due to the terrain, the water flow was unstable, and the snake's body movements generated huge water waves. Our inflatable tent, like a small boat, constantly bumped around in the water.

The few of us huddled in the middle of the tent, experiencing the ups and downs. Big Head, holding his head, shouted, "Damn, I'm dizzy. This is like a life-risking version of whitewater rafting." Xue Dongqing's face turned terrifyingly pale, shivering, he asked, "Won't it break?" "It's fine, the tent is sturdy," I said, but we heard a cracking sound, and water started to pour in where Big Head was. In panic, he frantically blocked the gap with his hands. Our waterproof raincoats were useless, so he took off his shirt to slow down the water flow.

At this moment, the tent shook abruptly, as if hitting something. I reached up, feeling a hard surface. We exchanged glances, took a deep breath, and opened the tent to swim out.

The cave was stirred up by the giant snake, and the water was murky. However, moonlight shone through underwater. I gestured to them, and we swam in that direction. Since the water had overflowed the crack, we easily floated up. As soon as we surfaced, Xiao He coughed violently. His body was already overloaded, and after pulling Big Head up, he collapsed directly on the ground, muttering, "Good people live a hundred years."

I took a moment to survey the surroundings. This was a valley area, currently in the dry season. However, judging by the erosion lines on the stones, the water flow must be substantial during the rainy season. The crack under us was gushing water, but I couldn't spare it any attention. I just wanted to leave this place quickly. We helped each other down the riverbank.

The night breeze in the mountains was cool. All of us were soaked and didn't want to continue walking for fear of catching a cold. We found a sheltered rock crevice, and Big Head and Xue Dongqing went out to gather some dry branches. I changed Xiao He's bandages and found he had a fever. We lit a fire to dry our clothes, and he fell into a deep sleep again.

Big Head and I sat outside, smoking with bare bottoms. He asked about my plans for the future. I remained silent for a while and said, "Certainly, we'll find a nearby place to stay first. Xiao He's injury can't be delayed. I need to settle him down first, and then... well, return to the Glass Factory. I don't know what to do next. There used to be Han Sheng handling these matters. Now, without him, I'm unsure."

Big Head, exhaling smoke, said, "Hey, I say life is predestined. Whether it's life or death, it's predetermined. Han Sheng has his own life. Without him, you're still Cao Nuan's sent man, aren't you? I don't know about your past, and I won't advise you, but let me tell you, life is a hundred years, and eighty is rare. Nights take up half of it, childhood ignorance takes up ten years, old age takes up ten years, family and chores take up another ten years. In this one-off life, you only get ten years of real joy. If you don't let yourself enjoy it, who else are you waiting for?"

I looked at Big Head in surprise. "Well, you're quite articulate."

"Everyone has some life experience,"

 he waved his hand, indifferent. Then he looked serious, saying, "But there's something I need to warn you about. Be careful with those Cao family people, especially the sick one. I don't know if they've come out yet, but I could see from his eyes that he truly harbored murderous intent towards you. I don't know your relationship with them, but even someone like me, who only has one foot in this world, has heard of the Cao family. If they target you, I'm afraid the Glass Factory will be in deep trouble."

I extinguished my cigarette and sighed, "I know."

Up to now, I still didn't understand what Han Sheng meant by "activation" before. According to him, a third-party force would hinder the Cao family, and with their heavy losses, they probably won't bother about the Glass Factory for a while.

Looking towards the direction of the valley, I wondered if Cao Zixiong was still alive. I always felt that guy was somewhat special. In this generation of the Cao family, there weren't many outstanding individuals, and he was undoubtedly a top talent. Unfortunately, he was born in a branch family. In families like the Cao's, bloodline and inheritance were crucial.

Thinking about him, I couldn't help but compare it to the Glass Factory. In terms of ability, Old He relied heavily on his age to manage the shop, and guys like Xiao He and Zhao Gu were the pillars. In terms of planning, the shop lacked a good strategist. I was just a half-baked one. If we could recruit some talents from the Qin Han Tang, that would be great. But thinking about it, the Qin Han Tang was not easy to approach. I wouldn't dare to dig into their background.

After chatting for a while, Big Head brought up the giant snake. I told him I suspected it survived from the Warring States period. Big Head was extremely surprised. I informed him that I had seen a stone tablet describing how the "engineer" caught snakes, refined snake oil, and transformed their offspring into "guardian beasts." However, Big Head still found it hard to believe that a creature could survive from the Warring States period.

We smoked half a pack of cigarettes, feeling tired, and returned to sleep. I said I could hold the watch, so he slept first. After lying down, he snored right away.

In the middle of the night, the fire was getting smaller. I picked up some dry firewood from outside, and suddenly, I noticed two reddish-brown lights in the distance, hidden in the grass. I wondered if we encountered wolves. I quickly grabbed a suitable tree branch, but then I felt something was off. The owner of these eyes seemed to have a smaller body. In the moonlight, I took a closer look and was surprised to find it was a fox.