Chapter 4: Nine Heads
If it wasn't inappropriate at the moment, Mu Fei really wanted to complain harshly , you are really being stubborn!
Mu Fei's eyes fell on the drum beside Tan Xiao, and she remembered that the witch figurines also beat drums: "Oh, right, this is also a kind of Chu witch's magic weapon, right?"
"Yes, the Chu witch played the drum and shot it. This phoenix hanging drum is a unique musical instrument of the Chu State. It is also one of the accompaniments when the witch performs the witch dance." Tan Xiao also looked at the drum with phoenix pattern. It has many similarities in appearance with the drum used by modern spiritualists. The origin of music and dance is inseparable from primitive witchcraft.
"Do you think this is what it's afraid of? This was used by the chief wizard of the Chu State." Tan Xiao even felt that it might have nothing to do with him. Could the giant snake be afraid of this drum?
Mu Fei didn't understand who he was talking about for a moment: "Who?"
The Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period were too far away from them, and it had been so long since they graduated. She would have done herself justice to her high school history teacher if she could recite the Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period.
"The owner of this tomb. The Chu land has a tradition of worshipping witches and believing in ghosts that spreads from the top to the bottom. The King of Chu is the greatest wizard in the Chu State." Tan Xiao thought for a moment and said, "The King of Chu and you are half in the same profession."
He even still says "you" instead of "we."
Mu Fei's mouth opened wide: "...Awesome."
In ancient times, it was normal for theocracy and kingship to be unified. The Shang king was also the leader of the witches. Witchcraft was not so popular after the Zhou Dynasty. However, the Chu State inherited the origin of the Shang Dynasty, and there are many records of the successive Chu kings practicing witchcraft in the handed-down documents.
These burial objects are all of human-sized, and clearly belong to the category of human tools, which were used by the tomb owner during his lifetime. They are different from the miniature-sized funerary objects used by human figurines.
Mu Fei looked at the uniquely shaped phoenix hanging drum and felt deeply shocked. It was unknown when the King of Chu died, his body had decayed, and his country had perished as early as BC.
But after more than two thousand years, can beating the drum he used during his lifetime still scare the giant snake in front of him?
"Then I'll try too?" Mu Fei wanted to drive the giant snake away. She slapped her palm on the drum, making another deep drum sound, and shouted, "Retreat quickly!"
The giant snake swayed its body gently on the spot without moving, and there was even a flash of contempt in its extremely human eyes.
Mu Fei took back her hand and said nonchalantly: "Forget it, it's a cultural relic. I can't afford to pay for it if it's damaged."
It seems that the Chu witch who has learned the snake dance is more professional and suitable for the job. Her knocking is of no use at all.
Tan Xiao saw that Mu Fei's use was ineffective, and he became even more worried: Why? Why? ?
At this moment, the human and snake sides were in a stalemate and neither of them took action rashly.
If it wasn't necessary, Tan Xiao and Mu Fei didn't want to fight the giant snake, because the tomb was full of artifacts, and the giant snake occupied such a large area that it would be a tragedy if it was crushed.
Not to mention that Tan Xiao already had doubts about himself.
"Bang!"
A gunshot broke the silence, sounding particularly harsh underground.
Mu Fei looked over suddenly, and her heart was also tightened by the gunshot. She knew who made the sound without thinking. Ji Lao and his group had brought guns, but they had a tacit understanding that they would not use their guns unless it was an emergency.
Now gunshots were heard in the tomb, and no one knew what they had encountered.
And judging from the sounds, they should be not far away...
After the gunshots, there was a long and rapid sound of something dragging on the ground.
Tan Xiao listened to the noise and couldn't help but ask , "Is there another snake?"
Mu Fei's throat tightened. The body of the giant snake was coiled in the darkness. In fact, with the current lighting, they couldn't see how long it was or where its body spread. They could only judge from its vague shape that it was very large. "It can't be that it really reproduces underground, one male and one female?"
At this time, there were messy footsteps outside, and Mr. Xu's voice sounded: "Go to the altar, there are magic tools used by the King of Chu, it may be safer."
Several people rushed in, and the professional high-wattage lights in their hands shone over, falling on the two people and the snake in a stalemate.
Everyone: “…”
Mr. Xu lost his voice and asked, "Why did you come down too?"
His face was covered in blood, and if the voice hadn't been familiar, Mu Fei wouldn't have recognized him. The others were also injured to some extent, and the safety ropes tied to their bodies had long gone nowhere.
A big brother holding a gun said in frustration: "Another illusion!"
I don’t know what happened to them, and he aimed the gun in his hand at Mu Fei.
"No, no! I ordered K-bean for you guys this morning. You must not know that today is Crazy Thursday." Mu Fei raised her hands in fear. She couldn't help it. "The roof collapsed and we fell down. Didn't you hear it on the intercom?!"
After hearing what she said, the gun was moved away.
Ji Lao was carried on the back of another person, head down, looking very embarrassed. He looked upside down and asked the same question as Tan Xiao: "There is another snake?!"
Mu Fei saw his appearance clearly, got shocked, and shouted, "Mr. Ji, are you okay?"
Although Mr. Ji has previously stated that he has good physical strength, he is an old man after all.
"He's fine. He fell during the previous fight. He's not seriously hurt." The eldest brother who was carrying Old Ji said helplessly. Old Ji could really be described as fierce in the tomb. He rushed forward and fought the giant snake... although he lost.
Mu Fei: “…” As expected, he is Mr. Ji who can pull 250 kilograms.
At this moment, another snake shadow appeared behind them. Before it came in front of them, the shadow was already jumping on the wall.
Mr. Xu also felt it was difficult, with snakes in front and behind. He led everyone to hide in the room and took a look at the magic weapon on the altar. "Xiao Tan, do you know which magic weapon here is the most powerful?"
The magic tools he brought with him were all broken, but these were used by the Chu witches in the past, so they might be useful. With a try-it attitude, he first asked the theoretical knowledge expert.
Mr. Ji struggled to raise his head again: "If you must use it, let me remember how things are placed first!" The placement of each cultural relic needs to be recorded.
Mu Fei stopped him with a strange expression and said, "Mr. Xu, wait..."
Mr. Xu: “?”
Mu Fei said to Tan Xiao: "Xiao Tan, you should give it a try!"
Everyone looked at the two in surprise. What did this mean? Why did they call him Tan Xiaoshi? Since his mother, wasn't it considered a career change?
Tan Xiao panicked: "I can't do it." He himself didn't understand what just happened.
Mu Fei encouraged him: "There is no blood on your face."
They both fell a few times, but compared to Mr. Xu's bloody face, Tan Xiao looked much cleaner, and Tan Xiao was a descendant of Chu Wu, which made Mu Fei feel more suitable and had more chances. Their experience just now proved this point.
Mr. Xu: “…”
Tan Xiao hesitated for a moment. Could it be that he really had some strange abilities?
After thinking for a while, Tan Xiao looked around the altar, picked up the feather-patterned fan on the table, held the fan in one hand, and slapped the phoenix hanging drum with the other hand. At the same time, he stepped on the Yu step, circled the drum, and regarded the square inch of land as the ninth heaven, and stepped on it according to the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams.
His movements were agile and gentle, which was a characteristic of Chu dance, but compared to Chu dance, they were even more bizarre, with the waist as the center, and the clothes fluttering, giving a sense of flow, full of mysterious and romantic witchcraft.
The drum beats became more and more detailed. To wizards, drums were the accompaniment of wizard music and dance, and also a tool to communicate with gods.
After turning around, Tan Xiao struck the drum and performed the magic spell with his hands!
Everyone felt that the face looked familiar, and suddenly they remembered that the hand that Tan Xiao was holding was definitely not the "shackle" that the witch figurine had used, and the magic weapon he was holding was still the human version of the weapon used by the witch figurine - this was really a case of giving someone a taste of their own medicine.
Tan Xiao's movements were as smooth as flowing water. Although he still looked a little nervous, the coordination between his mouth and hands had already become muscle memory. His every move was very stylish. He chanted: "The five-colored divine light is harmonious, suppressing the evil of the night."
The boy's clear voice echoed in the dark tomb, matching the ancient rhythm.
The moment he blinked, a pair of upturned phoenix eyes seemed to suddenly appear in the darkness!
Tan Xiao was startled, but when he looked closely, he saw only a pair of vertical pupils of a giant snake...
Everything seemed to be just an illusion in the blink of an eye.
Before he could figure it out, the two giant snakes, which had been swaying restlessly, fell to the ground, in a somewhat stiff state, as if they were really shackled. After Tan Xiao began to chant the spell, they turned over again and swam towards Ji Lao.
The elder brother who was carrying Mr. Ji was so scared that he wanted to shoot again, but was held down.
The giant snake slowly crawled past them, and then swam out of the tomb with its huge body...
Everyone held their breath and stared, not until the snake's tail was out, did they breathe a sigh of relief. Is this what professional matching is? It was so arrogant before, and the snake in the Chu tomb still needed a Chu witch to treat it.
Mr. Ji asked someone to put him down, and he said to himself, "Where are they going?"
"I don't know." Tan Xiao was also at a loss. He just followed the procedure to carry out the so-called exorcism ceremony. "How about we go and take a look?"
Although he didn't know where they went, at that moment, he seemed to no longer feel any threat from them. He was even curious: Could it be that these snakes lived in the tombs and how they met their physiological needs?
The giant snakes were not moving as fast as before, so they followed them and saw two giant snakes swimming into the main tomb chamber. This place was completely different from the tomb chambers of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. It was as spacious as a place where people lived, and the coffins were parked in bright colors.
The outer coffin is divided into nine chambers, with a length and width of more than ten meters. The red-lacquered inner coffin is decorated with embossed phoenix patterns, and there are many diamond-shaped patterns on both sides, interspersed with some circular patterns.
The giant snake climbed onto the inner coffin with ease and wrapped itself around it in circles.
Two giant snakes were entangled on the coffin. The only sound in the room was the sticky, damp and cold feeling. Gradually, they became indistinguishable from each other, as if one snake had two heads.
The patterns on their bodies gradually changed color, almost blending into the coffin, and turned into diamond patterns. Their eyes, on the other hand, became circular patterns.
There are nine pairs of such patterns.
Like a snake with nine heads...
Mr. Xu slapped his head and said belatedly, "Could this be the legendary male viper?!"
Tan Xiao recited the Chu Ci in a low voice: "The viper has nine heads, it comes and goes suddenly, it swallows people to feed its heart."
It turns out that the nine-headed snake is actually nine snakes entangled together, indistinguishable from each other.
Mu Fei felt the muscles on her face twitch, "According to the records of our 404 Office, the world has not seen any traces of male vipers for at least a thousand years, and we once doubted whether there really were nine-headed snakes in the world.
"I didn't expect it to appear in the Chu Tomb. It's like a living tomb guardian beast. Moreover, its form seems to be able to switch between yin and yang and hide its body. It's so amazing. No wonder it's hard to see in the world!"
Their 404 Office has a detailed classification of monsters. What category does this male viper belong to? It looks like both a monster and a ghost. She thinks she may need to do more research.
Ji Lao suddenly remembered something and said in surprise, "Not only is there a tomb guardian beast, but there is also a coffin bundle!"
Everyone looked at him in confusion.
Ji Lao explained: "In ancient times, there were no nails, so the coffins were tied up with leather and hemp ropes. Last time, I was wondering why there was no coffin in the tomb of the King of Chu. Could it have rotted and fallen into the soil?"
Now it seems that it is not that there is no coffin, but that the coffin in the tomb of the King of Chu is actually bound with a male viper .
Looking at the huge body of the male viper, Mr. Ji even felt that the fact that this tomb could be built to such a level that surpassed the productivity of the time might be related to it.
From the current perspective, the witch character of the King of Chu shocked them even more than his royal identity!
A staff member also said with fear: "I remember that the wooden figurine was outside. When Mr. Mo first came down, he was fine. The accident happened after the coffin was opened."
——The witch figurine can only be regarded as an order. The real mechanism is still inside the coffin. Anyone who opens the coffin will die.
Mr. Xu looked at Tan Xiao: "Can they still move?"
"Theoretically, it can't hurt anyone. It's shackled." Tan Xiao's words were full of uncertainty. Seeing that everyone was looking at him, he said bitterly, "Look at me again. I can't guarantee the after-sales effect. This is the first time I do this kind of thing..."
Everyone: “…”
Someone said in disbelief: "But you move really well."
Previously, they were chased by Xiong Gui and almost thought they were going to be wiped out, but under Tan Xiao's control, Xiong Gui was honest, if not docile.
Tan Xiao thought, how could I not be at ease? "Because I have been practicing hard since I was young, but I swear, I have never had such an effect when doing these rituals before."
Everyone was curious and skeptical, especially Mr. Xu. He also started learning at a young age, had the guidance of famous teachers and practiced hard. He didn't understand how Tan Xiao could be so ignorant of his own abilities.
Mr. Xu asked, "Who did you practice on before?"
Tan Xiao: “Tourists.”
Mr. Xu and the others were a little choked up, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
"It seems that you are different from your mother. You still have a lot of talent, but you just don't use it in the right environment." Mr. Xu sighed, "I have seen too many people who want to enter this door but fail, but there are also people like you who have the jade disk but don't know it."
Tan Xiao was not convinced: "That's not the case. How can you say it's useless? During the peak tourist season, our family has a monthly revenue of 100,000 yuan from performances and sales of peripherals. How much do you make per order?"
Everyone: “…”
Not to mention Mr. Xu, Mu Fei's face was also distorted, and she tried to smooth things over by saying, "Okay, okay, don't talk about these sad things!"
Mr. Xu wiped the blood off his face and said to himself, "I have a program, and it's stable."
Elder Ji shook his head slightly. "I see everyone is injured. We have got the things and locked up the male viper. We should find a way to go up and rest. Didn't Master Mu say that the roof stone has collapsed?"
Because the excavation had just begun, the lights we brought this time were all battery-powered and could not last too long at the highest power. Everyone agreed to go up first, and then they walked together in the direction they came from.
When we got to the corridor, we could already hear the sound of construction work. We found that the roof stone had indeed collapsed, and rescue work had been carried out. A hole had been dug, and we could see that it was already dawn outside!
Mr. Ji was shocked and said, "That's unscientific. How long have we been here?"
"I was wondering why the lights went out so quickly." Someone said fearfully. They brought a lot of lighting equipment, and they didn't keep them at maximum power all the time, but the lights were consumed very quickly.
Mr. Xu had already communicated loudly with the rescuers above. They stopped the machine and lowered the climbing rope. Two strong men helped everyone climb up, and Mr. Ji climbed up directly after they tied the rope and held it in his arms.
When it was Tan Xiao's turn, the eldest brother asked cautiously, "Can you fly up?"
He only saw Tan Xiao descending from the sky like a god, and Tan Xiao saw him as a macho man, and he thought Tan Xiao was like a god.
Tan Xiao: "..."
In the end, it was the strong man who helped Tan Xiao climb up.
Tan Xiao looked back at the dark corridor, which seemed like another world. When he looked up, the sun was rising. He stretched out his hand to block the sunlight slightly, and red light leaked between his fingers, which reminded people of the bright red hue that was everywhere in the Tomb of the King of Chu. Everything seemed different...
Mr. Ji, who was standing by, looked at the bottom of the tomb and also let out a long sigh.
"Mr. Ji, are you worried about Professor Mo?" Mu Fei consoled him. "Since Tan Xiao is a true spiritualist, he can help Mr. Mo with his magic after he has rested. At worst, we have already brought up the missing parts of the witch figurines. There is always a way."
"No, I know that Lao Mo will be safe." Mr. Ji said with a bitter face, "I was just wondering, if I wrote in my paper that the coffin of the King of Chu was made of snake skin, would it be considered academic fraud?"
"..."Everyone's face was covered with sweat.
Mr. Ji looked forward bitterly, then remembered something. He looked at Tan Xiao, waved for the boy to come over, and put his arm around his shoulder affectionately, "Little classmate, what grade are you in?"
Mr. Ji never said that he had a teaching position, but students can always keenly smell the scent of teachers. Tan Xiao stood up straight and said, "I am in the second year of high school."
"Haha, what's the matter? Have you decided what major you want to take? What courses have you chosen?" Mr. Ji said humorously, "Do you want to study tourism management?"
Ever since Tan Xiao talked about the Great Funeral Nuo, he had a good impression of him. He seemed to be a good candidate for historical archaeology, but it was a pity that he had a family business. Of course, this did not prevent Ji Lao from showing some concern.
"Of course not." When Tan Xiao mentioned this, he thought of Tan Chunying who was still in some unknown mountain. He couldn't help but look into the distance and sighed, "My mother asked me to study real kung fu, master various rituals, and promote Chu witchcraft..."
Mr. Ji: “Hmm?”
Tan Xiao said hesitantly: "So it's best to choose a major in physics or chemistry, and learn all the 'spells' of your peers."
