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墨書 Inktalez
It was a snake as thick as a finger and less than a foot long, almost entirely red, especially its back, which was a brilliant shade of crimson. I struck hard, and the red snake twisted in the air, its mouth open to reveal two long fangs glinting menacingly.
The snake arced through the air and splashed into the water. I leaped up and swiftly cut down a patch of grass by the shore, my eyes fixed on the bank. I wanted to strike it the moment it came ashore; once it burrowed into the underbrush, I would lose my chance.
I waited for over ten minutes by the shore, but I saw no sign of it. I pondered that this standoff was unfair; I relied on my sight while it could sense heat. Even though its color was vivid, if it stayed beyond one or two meters from me, I wouldn't be able to see it. Meanwhile, the snake could accurately lock onto me even if I was out of its line of sight. I worried it might circle around and attack the two Lao People.
I crouched low and hopped over to the campfire, pulling out the One-Eyed Beast from my backpack and cranking it to maximum brightness. Without fog to interfere, the One-Eyed Beast's light was as bright as a car headlight, illuminating the dry ground before me. The light even penetrated dense grass, casting illumination on the distant pavement.
First, I confirmed that the snake hadn’t hidden near the fire. Then I checked around the fire for any signs of it; there were none. Beyond that, in the thick grass, I couldn't be sure. I couldn't just wait by the fire for the snake to attack us; I believed its chances of returning to shore were slim—almost negligible. My greater concern was that it would strike at someone in the water, particularly Jack who might have been drawn by my noise.
I kicked at the two sleeping Lao People a few times, but they remained unresponsive like dead pigs, their snoring only growing louder. I was truly exasperated with them; in such a dangerous environment, they slept without a care in the world, not even stirred by smoke. There was nothing more I could do for them; even gunfire might not wake them now.
The fire was still smothered by wet grass, with little flame visible—only thick smoke billowing out. Worried that these two Lao People might suffocate from smoke inhalation, I pulled some of the heavy wet grass aside. However, this had little effect; it only reduced some smoke but didn’t ignite anything. The grass was too wet; it needed to dry out before it could burn. Right now, I couldn’t dry out the grass nor did I have time to tend to this fire. I needed to signal Jack quickly about the danger of snakes in the water.
Biting down on the One-Eyed Beast, I cleared a two-meter-wide path down to the water’s edge to prevent that damned venomous snake from ambushing us. The water was over a foot deep but posed no obstacle for the One-Eyed Beast; its light could reach directly to the bottom—only dense aquatic plants provided some obstruction.
There were no signs of that snake in the near shore waters, especially where I'd knocked it into the water; I'd observed that area closely. Its bright red color would stand out like a lighthouse—if it appeared under the One-Eyed Beast's light, it wouldn’t escape my notice. This gave me some reassurance; at least for now, I felt safe.
As I directed my light further away, however, visibility decreased due to water plants obstructing my view; illuminating the bottom became difficult and spotting pavement was nearly impossible. My effective search radius shrank to just over ten meters ahead of me—beyond that was futile. At this moment, I noticed that the water appeared remarkably clean—no snakes, no aquatic creatures—and most importantly, no leeches either. I didn’t know what this meant; leeches are known for their resilience and low water quality requirements. With such dense aquatic vegetation here, one would think that Ming Shui conditions would easily support their survival.
Despite my confusion over this information, there was no time for deep contemplation. After confirming my safety, I raised the One-Eyed Beast high and shone it toward the distant pavement. I still needed to stay crouched; thick smoke prevented me from standing upright completely. By lifting up the One-Eyed Beast, its light could reach far away. My goal now was to find Jack’s silhouette—not necessarily shining toward pavement since without fog interference, One-Eyed Beast's light could reach over seventy meters.
What I needed to do was send Jack two signals so he would know where I was and that danger lurked here.
Field archaeologists learn survival skills as part of their training; using light to convey simple messages is essential knowledge. I didn’t doubt Jack would understand my signals—they were universally recognized signals akin to SOS.
The One-Eyed Beast flashlight stood over a meter above the water plants, likely parallel to Jack's line of sight. I covered the lens of the flashlight with one hand and then rhythmically emitted beams of varying lengths. I didn’t direct the signal toward any specific direction since I couldn’t determine where Jack might come from. Instead, I sent signals in different directions, hoping Jack wouldn’t miss my call. Of course, there was no need to signal from other banks; the rippling water was happening here, and Jack would only appear in this general area. Signaling from another direction would be unnecessary.
I sent out signals densely, emitting one every five degrees along this stretch of pavement, making two rounds back and forth. I believed that if it was indeed Jack causing the water ripples, he would have received and understood my message.
After sending the signals, I raised the One-Eyed Beast above my head, trying to stand as tall as possible while moving the flashlight with my neck. My eyes were fixed on the edge of the light beam, hoping to spot him first because I was still worried that this person might not be Jack. If it turned out to be Ah Xiang or even Fatty, that would be my greatest concern.
Fatty could very well come down to this area. After my calls went unanswered, I realized that Fatty could show up at any moment, and I had mentally prepared for that possibility. More accurately, I was worried about Xiao Ting. It wasn’t about valuing one over the other; it was mainly because I always felt that Fatty was the type who could survive anything, a calamity that would last for ages. Xiao Ting was different. If something happened to Xiao Ting, even if Xiao Guolin became a ghost, he wouldn’t let me off easily. Just thinking about it gave me goosebumps.
As I continued scanning the pavement, I vaguely noticed something unusual in the distance. The One-Eyed Beast's illumination had reached its normal range, and I could almost see the limit where smoke from a fire dispersed the fog. There was something odd there; although it was blurry, I noticed it.
It seemed to be a line of red light stretching across. At the edge of the One-Eyed Beast's beam, hidden beneath dense water plants, this line was faintly visible yet striking!
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