Chapter 55: Ji Yang, the Snake Catcher of Yongzhou (Sixth Update)
There are strange snakes in the wilds of Yongzhou: they are black with white markings, and they kill all the plants and trees they touch; when they bite people, no one can resist them. However, if you can get them and use them as bait, you can cure wind, cramps, fistulas, and leukorrhea, remove dead flesh, and kill three kinds of worms.
Chilian County, Yongzhou.
A small village below.
"Brother Ji, are you going up the mountain to catch snakes again?"
"Well, Brother Liu, my sister-in-law is about to give birth. When I come back, I will go to your house and give you a snake to nourish my sister-in-law so that she can give birth to a big fat boy."
"No way, I can't take the snake you worked so hard to catch."
"What's the big deal? If it wasn't for Big Brother Li, I would have died a long time ago. Besides, I may not be able to catch the snake. If I don't catch Big Brother Li, don't blame me."
"I believe that others can't catch it, but I don't believe that you can't catch it, brother Ji. The village chief has said that you are gifted in catching snakes and are a natural snake catcher."
"I can't say I'm gifted, I just want revenge. These five-step snakes almost killed me, and I won't be satisfied until I catch them all."
“Brother Ji…even though I can’t persuade you, you still have to be careful.”
Liu Yun's mouth twitched, and he felt a little impressed when he saw Ji Yang climbing up the mountain nimbly despite his limping leg.
One morning three months ago, he found a dark shadow lying on the ground in the field at the entrance of the village. When he went closer, he found it was a person. He was startled, fearing that the person had been bitten by a snake.
There are many poisonous snakes in their area, so every household will sprinkle some realgar powder at the door and plant some snake-repellent flowers.
Liu Yun went forward to check and found the teeth marks of a poisonous snake on the other person's ankle. He then quickly carried the other person on his back into the village to find a doctor.
The so-called doctor is actually just an old man in the village who has lived long enough and knows how to use some herbal medicines.
In the end, Brother Ji Yang's life was saved, but his leg was lame. The most important thing was that Brother Ji Yang could not remember anything except his own name.
The doctor said that this was probably caused by snake venom attacking the heart. Because he didn't know his own identity and origins, he arranged for Ji Yang and his brothers to temporarily live in his home.
But he didn't expect that Brother Ji Yang would actually have a fight with the snake.
As soon as he was able to walk a little, he ran to the fields at the entrance of the village to catch snakes. After he had caught all the snakes near the fields, he started to go up the mountain to catch more snakes. Although he had a limp, his movements were still very agile. Even the snake catchers in the village could not compare to Ji Yang's brothers.
Now Brother Ji Yang is the best snake catcher in the village.
However, the Ji Yang brothers were pretty nice people. If someone in a family had a wedding, they would bring snake wine to congratulate them, so everyone gradually accepted the Ji Yang brothers.
A few days ago, the village chief specially allocated three acres of land for Ji Yang, but Ji Yang didn't like farming very much. He used the captured snakes to exchange for food with everyone.
…
Ji Yang, oh to be more precise, Chu Ning, who was known as the best snake catcher, did not rush to look for snakes after entering the mountain. Instead, he walked towards an open space in the forest without any sign of limping.
He fled from Daning County to Chilian County, Yongzhou, covering thousands of miles. Along the way, he did not even enter a village once, and he had to walk through the deep mountains and forests.
Drink mountain water when you are thirsty and eat game when you are hungry.
Sometimes Chu Ning thought that compared to himself, the survival on a deserted island in his previous life was really weak.
The reason why he didn't continue was that the mountain road to Yanzhou where he wanted to go was no longer feasible.
The border between Yanzhou and Yongzhou is a plain area, making it impossible to sneak.
Before fleeing, his master's wife told him about the actual controllers of the major states in the Liang Dynasty.
The various states of the Liang Dynasty were ostensibly under the jurisdiction of the imperial court, but in reality they were in a state of separatism. The Eight Great Families each controlled a state, the four major martial arts sects each controlled two states, and the royal family could only truly control four states.
The two states controlled by Wushuangmen and the eight states controlled by the Eight Great Families are not allowed to be visited.
They can go to the six states controlled by the other three sects, but there are many conflicts among the four sects. If someone from Wushuang Sect dies, the other three sects will only applaud and it is impossible for them to help catch the murderer.
But in the end, Chu Ning chose Yanzhou, which was controlled by the royal family.
Because Yanzhou is located at the border.
There was what he wanted.
However, the people of Wushuangmen are not fools. They will definitely think that if they want to escape to a state where their influence is not widespread, the state will be tightly blocked.
If I want to go to Yanzhou, I must have an identity that can withstand verification.
The loss of amnesia caused by a poisonous snake bite was a play he directed and acted out himself.
He caught a poisonous snake and let it bite him, but the venom had already been forced out.
After half a year of escape, deliberately not editing his posts, swallowing hard fruits that made his cheeks slightly bigger, and a limp, his current appearance is completely different from the portrait on the bounty notice.
Even those people in Daning County who had seen me would not recognize me unless they looked carefully.
Under the weeds in an open space in the forest, Chu Ning pulled out his broadsword, and then went deep into the forest to practice martial arts.
During the three months of escape, he never gave up practicing martial arts, and now he is only one step away from becoming a true military general.
Once the twelve meridians are opened, it is not just as simple as entering the sixth-rank military level, but becoming invincible in the sixth-rank realm in an instant.
This is Chu Ning's confidence, because his current strength is far beyond that of the generals.
With a strength of nearly six thousand kilograms, the Mountain Splitting Slash can unleash twelve times the force. If the general does not use hidden energy to protect his body, he will not be able to withstand his sword.
But on the surface, he practiced the "Art of Hidden Strength" given by Huang Zhongtai. As long as he did not activate the hidden strength, the hidden strength in him could not be discovered unless a master-level strong man used his qi to guide it.
Three hours later, as the sky was getting dark, Chu Ning put the broad knife back into the hole of the dead tree. He found a few snake holes, caught a few snakes and threw them into a sack, then went down the mountain.
But when they arrived at the village, Chu Ning became alert because there were strangers in the village.
Especially at the door of the cabin where he lived, there were quite a few people standing there.
His identity was discovered? For a moment, Chu Ning thought about turning around and running, but finally stopped.
Judging from the aura of this group of people, the strongest one is only a martial artist.
If the people from Wushuang Sect really discovered me, they would not just send a martial artist to die.
“Brother Ji!”
"Ji Yang is back."
The people who called me were the village chief and Liu Yun. From their address, I could infer that my identity had not been exposed yet.
"Village Chief, Brother Liu, what's going on? Have you found my family? I will say that I am the young master of a wealthy family."
Chu Ning's face was filled with excitement, the village chief and Liu Yun looked a little embarrassed, and the martial artist snorted coldly.
"Ahem, Ji Yang, this is Captain Zhang from Hengshan Town. He's looking for someone who's good at catching snakes, so I recommended you to Captain Zhang."
"Captain Zhang...Captain Zhang, I...I said something wrong."
"Is that a snake in your bag?"
Captain Zhang looked directly at the sack in Chu Ning's hand and said, "Bring it here for me to see."
The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!
Chu Ning handed it over respectfully. In fact, he had already guessed that this person should be the head of the police.
This guy has a strong smell of a police chief.
Every profession has its own dressing style and temperament, just like in the past life, a white shirt with a gray leather jacket, which looked very formal at first glance.
Zhang Yinhu took the sack and immediately untied the hemp rope.
"Captain Zhang, be careful!"
Chu Ning gave a reminder, and the next moment, a triangular snake head suddenly jumped out. Zhang Yinhu's expression changed, and he reached out and easily pinched the snake's jaw.
"A mere poisonous snake can't do anything to this captain." Zhang Yinhu had an arrogant look on his face, but the look he gave Chu Ning was better than before, and his eyes were not as sharp.
"You can catch three five-step snakes at this time of year. It seems that you are really good at catching snakes. Come with me."
"Ah, I didn't commit any crime?"
Chu Ning pretended to be terrified. The village chief beside him saw that Chu Ning's face turned pale with fear. He patted Chu Ning on the shoulder and comforted him, "What are you afraid of? This is a good thing. Captain Zhang is going to promote you."
"It's not really a promotion, but if you do this job well, it will be enough for you to have no worries about food and clothing in your next life."
Zhang Yinhu left first. When Chu Ning walked out of the village, he found that he was not alone. Two other villagers who were good at catching snakes were also called up.
Are they asking them to catch snakes?
But that's not right.
Snakes have an advantage in speed over ordinary people, but for warriors, this speed is nothing.
If you really want to catch a snake, it would be more efficient to ask a warrior.
Following Zhang Yinhu into the city, the first thing Chu Ning saw was his wanted poster posted on the city gate wall.
Wow, Wushuangmen is really willing to spend a lot of money.
The reward for anyone who discovers my whereabouts has been upgraded to 10,000 taels of silver.
If he could catch me, not only would I get two advanced martial arts techniques, but I would also have a chance to join the Wushuang Sect.
Chu Ning himself was moved by what he saw.
Find someone to cooperate with, reveal your tracks and collect the reward.
Chu Ning withdrew his gaze after just a glance, and Captain Zhang led them into the police station.
There were already dozens of people standing in the yard of the police station, all of them were snake catchers like Chu Ning.
Zhang Yinhu took Chu Ning and others to the yard and left. After a while, another captain came in with a few snake catchers.
When there were about thirty people standing in the yard, an old man appeared in front of everyone.
"You are all the best snake catchers in Chilian County. I have a picture of a snake here. If you can identify the origin of this snake, I will reward you with 100 taels of silver."
As the old man finished speaking, the snake catchers at the scene became excited. With these one hundred taels of silver, they would no longer have to catch snakes.
Even though they sell the caught snakes for a high price, it is still dangerous. Once bitten by a poisonous snake, if you don't have the heart to cut off the bitten part, you may lose your life.
Most snake catchers become disabled in their later years, because those who are not disabled have already been bitten to death by poisonous snakes. Only those who are disabled and no longer catch snakes survive.
The old man unfolded the portrait in his hand.
A black snake appeared on the paper.
Black is not a rare color, but Chu Ning blinked his eyes. His facial expression remained unchanged, but his heart was filled with turmoil.
There is a yellow spot above the black snake's eyes, which is equivalent to the position of a human forehead.
He will never forget this feature of snakes in his life. The giant python that swallowed him at the foot of Sanqing Mountain had such yellow spots.
The snake in this portrait is a smaller version of the beast.
Could it be that the beast had also traveled to this world like himself?
Or is it just a coincidence, and they are just the same species of snake?
PS: Currently there are 2420 first orders, and there will definitely be 2500. Thank you all for your support. I will update now. There are still six hours left. With this growth rate, the 3,000 first orders are probably gone. Please vote for me next month. After the first order, I will add one more chapter for every 300 monthly votes.
Thanks to Cai Tang, Butong, Enemy Haohuai, That One Strike God, Bu Fan, and some numbered book friends for their tips after the book was released. Thanks also to the book friends who tipped before the book was released. (End of this chapter)