Chapter 51 - Sacred Mountain in Myanmar (Part V)

Sandwiched between the other four, Chen Shaoxian, with a backpack slung over his shoulders and a shotgun in tow, walked through the jungle.

The shotgun was Chen Shaoxian’s personal choice, as it spreads a wide shot at close range, almost eliminating the need for aiming. Moreover, Chen Shaoxian was not very knowledgeable about firearms, and for him, going for a direct bayonet fight seemed more reliable than aiming and shooting.

For this mission, Chen Shaoxian had a belt of specially made throwing knives around his waist. These knives, when striking a target, function like a syringe, injecting a substance into the target’s body. With Chen Shaoxian’s arm strength, he could hit targets accurately up to thirty meters away. Mastering this skill had cost him a lot of hardship during his younger years.

Before setting off, Chen Shaoxian had asked Xiao Zhuang if crossing this territory would cause any issues. Xiao Zhuang reassured him that he had already communicated with the Myanmar authorities and had paid a certain price for permission to cross their territory for the rescue.

As the group made their way through the jungle, small animals like wild rabbits and pheasants occasionally sprang out.

Noticing it was already afternoon, they stopped to rest for a while. Xiao Zhuang unfolded a map to verify their location and said to the others, “If we head east for another five kilometers, we’ll reach the edge of our destination. The question now is whether we should camp at the edge or move inside the target area to camp.”

Song Yumu and the other special forces personnel usually followed Xiao Zhuang’s lead, who was in turn seeking Chen Shaoxian’s opinion.

Chen Shaoxian looked around at the group, scratched his chin, and said, “Let’s camp inside, closer to the destination the better. But let’s be cautious. As the old saying goes, ‘Where there are mountains, there are monsters; where there are precipices, there are spirits.’ In these deep woods, there might be things unknown to us.”

After a short break, they continued on their way. Despite the challenging terrain of the mountain woods, the five kilometers were not too demanding for their seasoned legs.

As they walked, Song Yumu remarked, “The bath we took yesterday was really good. After walking so long on the mountain path, I didn’t even break a sweat or get bitten by any bugs. We should definitely promote this method when we get back. I’m going to write a report about it.” The others nodded in agreement.

Having trained and completed missions in deep mountains before, they were no strangers to the annoyance of insects, often returning covered in bites and at risk of infections.

Chen Shaoxian chuckled, “There’s a patent fee involved, you know. It’s a family secret.” This comment drew hearty laughter from the group.

Xiao Zhuang, leading the group, stretched out his hand in a stopping gesture and then pointed silently ahead. The others fell quiet.

Everyone was stunned by the sight before them, marveling at nature’s miraculous craftsmanship. The grass under their feet and the trees on either side were a vibrant green, but surprisingly, the trees ahead in the forest were a deep green. These towering trees densely packed together blocked out most of the sunlight, casting a somewhat gloomy shadow inside, although still green, creating a stark divide as if the area ahead was off-limits.

Moreover, there were signs placed at intervals; even without looking, one could tell they read “No Entry Ahead.”

Xiao Zhuang looked excitedly at the forest ahead, while Chen Shaoxian walked over and patted his shoulder. They then boldly stepped into the forest.

It felt like stepping into another world, surrounded by towering, lush trees, which swayed in the wind, creating a sound like ocean waves. Occasional animal roars could be heard from deep within the forest. Vines hung down from above.

They walked through the thick layer of leaves on the ground, pushing aside vines and smelling the scent of rotting wood in the air.

As they ventured deeper, the trees grew taller, the sunlight coming through less frequently, and the stench of decay grew stronger. The ground was littered with large tree roots, some stretching across their path, others twisted together.

Chen Shaoxian pulled out a small green bottle from his pocket, dabbed a few drops on his fingers, and then wiped it under his nose before passing the bottle to the others.

Following Chen Shaoxian’s example, the rest applied it under their noses as well, detecting a strong scent of mint and acorus. After a few breaths, the foul smell of decay was almost completely masked.

Guarded in the middle of the group, Chen Shaoxian suddenly whispered, “Wang Quanpeng, stop.” Everyone halted immediately upon hearing Chen Shaoxian’s voice.

Wang Quanpeng, who had just pushed aside the vines in front of him and was about to step over a tree root, stopped at Chen Shaoxian’s call and looked towards him.

Chen Shaoxian pointed at the ground beneath Wang Quanpeng’s feet.

Wang Quanpeng was so focused on the vine in front of him that he didn’t watch his step. Following Chen Shaoxian’s gesture, he looked down and nearly jumped out of his skin-the thick thing under his feet wasn’t a tree root, but the tail of a massive python.

The body of the python had burrowed into the thick leaves, exposing only its tail, which blended seamlessly with the surrounding environment, making it hard to distinguish without close inspection.

Wang Quanpeng gasped, carefully stepping back to avoid the python’s tail. Disturbing this creature could mean serious injury if not death.

Chen Shaoxian suddenly felt something was off. Given the noise they were making, the python should have either fled or confronted them; it was odd there was no reaction. He motioned for everyone to retreat to a safe distance and picked up a few stones, hurling them at the python’s tail repeatedly, but the creature did not respond.

Chen Shaoxian instructed the others to cover him as he approached, shotgun in hand.

Xiao Zhuang aimed his gun at Chen Shaoxian, ready to provide support at the first sign of trouble.

The group watched as Chen Shaoxian crouched down, slung the shotgun over his shoulder, and grabbed the python’s tail with both hands. He pulled hard, retreating with large steps. Surprisingly, Chen Shaoxian managed to drag the seven-meter-long python out of the leaves.

After pulling the python out, Chen Shaoxian called Xiao Zhuang and the others over.

As they approached the python, they noticed that the section above its tail was rotting away, hollowed out in the middle-it looked like something had eaten it.

Chen Shaoxian threw his gloves to the ground, then pulled on a new pair. He looked at the group and said, “This python died under unusual circumstances. Firstly, the corpse is decomposing but there’s no foul odor; secondly, there are no maggots where the decay is, which leads me to believe the python’s corpse is highly toxic.”

The others agreed with Chen Shaoxian’s assessment and nodded in acknowledgment.

Chen Shaoxian continued, “We need to be even more cautious now. Whatever killed this python is not to be trifled with.”

Suddenly, a low howling sound echoed through the deep forest, and the python corpse on the ground twitched. Chen Shaoxian and the others hastily retreated as the python corpse slowly twisted and slid deeper into the forest. Except for Chen Shaoxian and Xiao Zhuang, the four others felt their scalps tingle, eyes glued to the slithering python corpse.