"Jia Yi, what are our superiors thinking? There are so many things going on in the city, why do they have to call us here and keep us in this empty house?"

Could it be that there's some treasure inside this house, and they're afraid it'll be stolen, so they sent us to guard it? They even said we must keep a close watch on it, and nothing can come out of there, not even a fly.

"Ugh, it's so hot! Ding and the others are doing well; even though they're wandering around delivering messages, it's better than us standing here in the blazing sun, our eyes practically popping out of our sockets."

A heard A3's complaint,

"There's a reason why the magistrate has asked us to keep an eye on things. Haven't you heard that the owner of this house has moved to the abandoned garden behind our prefectural government office?"

There's certainly no treasure in this garden. The fact that we're keeping an eye on it suggests there's something extraordinary about it.

Only an adult would care so much.

It turns out that people who love gossip all have the heart of a detective.

The two men responsible for guarding the south wall of the Zhao family were so focused on the gate that they completely ignored the wall.

The house had been built for a long time, and the walls looked grayish-black. Just then, a small snake slithered out from inside the walls.

It was flicking its tongue and turning its head as if surveying its territory.

It wandered around the wall for a while, then turned back and swam back inside the wall.

Unbeknownst to the few people guarding the wall outside, under the bed, in the cabinet, and under the large wooden planks that had been nailed on for waterproofing and to prevent the ground from cracking, in the Zhao family's courtyard...

There were snakes everywhere, big and small.

Moreover, the soil around the collapsed area centered on the main house is constantly loosening, and snakes are crawling out one after another.

They looked like they disliked being in the center and wanted to get away from it as soon as possible.

The area where Zhao Qingyan had previously applied the medicine was sinking further as the snake moved outwards.

The entire courtyard is so small that just one glance can trigger trypophobia.

Others climbed into the side rooms that hadn't collapsed.

The room was still quite cold, and these things, as if knowing how to seek advantage and avoid harm, found a comfortable corner and piled up together.

They were in clumps, and no one knew whether they were mating during their estrus period.

Snakes of varying sizes kept wriggling out of the ground, and soon the house was covered with them.

Jia Er and Jia Wu, who were guarding the back wall of the house, chatted and observed the wall of the house.

Jia Er said, "You said the master just told us to guard this house, but didn't say exactly what we're guarding. Could there be something fishy about this house?"

"Who can say for sure? Strange things are most likely to happen during famine years."

"No, Jia Er, do you smell something strange?" Jia Wu replied, wrinkling his nose.

Seeing that Jia Wu was constantly sniffing the air, searching for the source of the smell, Jia Er also followed suit and carefully sniffed the smell.

"Jiawu, why do I feel like that smell is coming from inside?"

As Jia Er spoke, he pointed to the Zhao family's house.

Jiawu moved around a few times, and it seemed that the smell was coming from the courtyard.

"What's in there? Shall we climb over the wall and take a look?" Jia Wu suggested.

Jia Er, being very curious, agreed with Jia Wu's suggestion.

The Zhao family's wall was high and not easy to climb, so the two of them piled on top of each other, with Jia Wu at the bottom, because Jia Er was thinner and weaker.

Jia Wu, carrying Jia Er, slowly got up.

When Jia Er climbed over the wall and looked closely into the house, his hair stood on end, and he even felt his hair standing on end.

He stammered, "Down, down, down."

Jiawu was still joking around.

"So, what did you see? Is there anything good inside, or are there any beautiful women?"

"Come on, brother, give me a hand. I want to see what's inside that's making our prefect so concerned."

They rolled up their sleeves and prepared for a long time, but Jia Er didn't react at all.

Jia Er's face was pale, and he was motionless as if under a spell, with a blank stare.

Jia Wu got anxious, nudged Jia Er, and waved his hand in front of Jia Er's eyes several times before Jia Er reacted.

"What's wrong with you?" Jia Wu asked with concern.

Jia Er swallowed hard.

"Quickly, quickly, go and inform the prefect that there are snakes here."

Jia Wuyi was amused.

“In our Lingnan Prefecture, it’s perfectly normal to have a few snakes. Why are you making such a big deal out of it?”

When I was seven or eight years old, I started going up the mountain with my dad to catch snakes. What was there to be afraid of?

After Jia Er tried to calm himself down and control his voice,

"It's not what you think. There are them everywhere in the yard, and many have already started to swim towards the wall."

My legs are weak and I can't run anymore. Go quickly and tell Jia Yi and the others that there are snakes, lots and lots of them, more than we can count.

When Jia Wu saw how serious Jia Er was, especially since his face was as white as a ghost, he also started to tremble.

"Are you telling the truth?"

Having received a definite answer, Jia Wu lost his curiosity and ran off to find Jia Yi and the others.

Jia Yi, who was the squad leader, was skeptical after hearing this.

When he saw what was happening in the courtyard while being carried by Jia San, he fell backward.

Fortunately, Jia Wu provided support from behind, but even so, the three of them still fell together.

A quickly adjusted his breathing.

"You guys split up and take action. You quickly notify the neighbors around here. If anyone has realgar or similar substances, borrow them and sprinkle them on the wall first."

You, you go and call the neighbors over, see if you can borrow some torches to surround the house, make sure no one gets out. They all look poisonous.

I'm going back to the government office now to report to the magistrate.

The constables, whose skin was already peeling from the sun, looked ashen-faced.

Fortunately, he is highly professional and the ability to execute tasks is ingrained in his bones.

After receiving the instructions, they quickly went to knock on each house's door.

Although there was an earthquake last night, most households are currently staying in their own yards, except for checking the damage to their houses and their own property.

At this time, calling someone will always bring a response.

When they heard that the officials needed realgar, almost every household had some. One family would contribute a little, and another family would chip in, and they actually managed to collect quite a bit.

But these officials are strange; why are they all being taken to the Zhao family's place?

The news spread like wildfire, and soon a large crowd gathered outside the Zhao family's residence.

Under the orders of the constables, a considerable amount of realgar powder was quickly sprinkled on the outside and surface of the Zhao family's walls.

"Sir, what's wrong with this house? Why is so much realgar being sprinkled? Are there snakes or insects inside?"

If it really existed, every household in Lingnan would know how to catch it; snake soup is incredibly delicious.

The man being questioned, Jia San, glanced up and down at the man who had asked the question, his eyes looking at him as if he were an idiot.