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墨書 Inktalez
My judgment is that the Thick Smoke has driven the Snake Swarm out of the dry land, forcing them to gather reluctantly outside the range of the smoke.
Of course, this is just my guess, but it should have a certain degree of accuracy since the Red Waterway is almost right at the boundary where the Thick Smoke disperses. I can conduct an experiment to verify my hypothesis; although it feels a bit like playing with fire, not knowing what these snakes truly fear is dangerous for us. If we want to leave this place, we must know how to deal with them.
When I returned to the campfire with Buasong, another Lao person had already removed the Wet Grass from the fire. Without the Wet Grass suppressing it, the Flame slowly began to rise, and the air around the fire became less suffocating. However, due to the lack of fuel, the fire was weak and seemed on the verge of dying out.
Despite Buasong's incessant nervous chatter, I urged him and the other Lao person to gather some Hay and Dry Branches to stoke the fire while I returned to the riverbank to observe changes in the Red Waterway. To avoid being overwhelmed by smoke during my observations, I soaked a towel and covered my mouth and nose. This place lacked wind, so even though no more Thick Smoke was billowing from the fire, any existing smoke lingered for a long time. I watched my watch for thirty minutes without noticing any changes in the distance of the Red Waterway; it remained at the boundary where the Thick Smoke dispersed.
This surprised me. Reluctantly, I found a reference point in front of the Red Waterway—a particularly tall aquatic plant—and continued timing my observations. This time, after only twenty minutes, I noticed a change; the Red Waterway had advanced by two or three meters and had already crossed that reference plant. At this moment, I also realized that the smoke in the air had significantly thinned out; standing upright allowed me to observe without much discomfort in my eyes.
Upon closer inspection of the distant Red Waterway, I discovered it had indeed moved forward considerably. The reason I hadn't noticed earlier was that my initial reference point was inaccurate. It turned out that not only was the Red Waterway advancing but so was the mist; they were moving forward in sync.
With no further support for the Thick Smoke, its dissipation accelerated, and likewise, the speed at which the Red Waterway approached me also increased. I no longer needed a high vantage point; under the light of One-Eyed Beast, I could see clearly what lay within the Red Waterway. Yes, I could confirm that it was a group of Crimson Snakes.
Having determined what these venomous snakes feared, I turned and ran toward the campfire. Along the way, I gathered a large pile of grass that I had cut down and dumped it onto the flames. The fire had already risen to over a person's height thanks to two Lao people tending it; my pile of Wet Grass couldn't completely smother it. So, I grabbed more Wet Grass from around the fire and threw it on top. Buasong and another Lao person looked confused and began shouting at me; they couldn't understand my erratic behavior.
I didn't have time to explain myself to them; even if we spoke different languages, there was no way to clarify things now. Instead, I gestured toward the water's edge for Buasong to keep watch and tossed him One-Eyed Beast. The two Lao people took off with One-Eyed Beast Flashlight toward the water's edge but quickly returned with panic on their faces, shouting loudly. This time they weren't shouting "Guman Tong" but another word: "poison mist." I assumed this referred to snakes.
Ignoring their frantic shouts and jumps beside me, I sprinkled Wet Grass onto where flames were rising in order to generate as much Thick Smoke as possible without completely extinguishing it; this required great care and patience. The two Lao people clearly misunderstood my intentions; seeing me suppressing flames with Wet Grass made one of them throw a pile onto the fire.
Seeing this made me nearly lose my temper; I blurted out an English curse word. But then I realized they wouldn't understand Chinese either—English would be even more incomprehensible—so cursing was pointless; it was just a way for me to vent my frustration. I quickly stopped them using body language to convey that those snakes feared smoke and that we needed this fire to produce a lot of Thick Smoke to drive away the venomous snakes.
I imagined my performance must have been quite vivid; if there were auditions for acting classes, I'd surely pass because after just one demonstration both Lao people understood my meaning without me uttering a single sound. Performance art can indeed be forced out!
Thick smoke soon billowed from the fire, choking us three and bringing tears to our eyes. As the smoke spread, it pressed us down to the ground, making it hard to lift our heads. I could see that the two Lao People understood my intent completely, so I entrusted them with tending to the fire and crouched down to observe the changes in the Red Waterway.
Fortunately, the thick smoke spread quickly, not only slowing the advance of the Red Waterway but also seeming to drive it back. Finally achieving a temporary safety, I let out a silent sigh of relief and began to think of ways to escape.
The thick smoke had a repelling effect on the snakes, but there was only so much combustible material on this dry land; we would need luck to last until dawn. Then what? How would we break through the Red Waterway and escape? I could already confirm that the leeches in this water had been devoured by the snake swarm. While this eliminated one problem, it brought about another, more deadly issue that left me at a loss. It seemed that flying away was our only option.
I watched as the Red Waterway grew more distant until it vanished from my sight. Meanwhile, the surrounding smoke thickened, causing me to cough even while crouching on the ground. When I felt that breathing was becoming somewhat easier and I could stand up straight again, I realized that the combustible materials here had burned out and that the real danger we faced was about to descend upon us.
At that moment, dawn began to break. The mist started to dissipate, and the smoke produced by the fire was also clearing. Although the sun had yet to rise and there were no signs of dawn yet, the darkest hour had passed. Without needing the One-Eyed Beast for illumination, I could already see the full extent of this dry land.
This dry land appeared to be formed from accumulated silt; its shape was not a regular square or circle but rather oval. This indicated that it was shaped by flowing water, leading me to deduce that this area had at least experienced some flow history and was not always stagnant water. In fact, since the water here did not appear murky or foul-smelling and there were aquatic creatures present, it suggested that this water likely had opportunities for flow.
The grass on the ground had been completely cut down by the two Lao People, and several tall shrubs had been reduced to mere stumps by their efforts. The fire had completely extinguished.
The two Lao People looked helplessly at me; after spending an entire night cutting grass and tending to the fire, they were covered in soot and grime, resembling two Africans at first glance. We three stood together, gazing at the indistinct horizon as if looking at our future. I glanced at their expressions; our future seemed as bleak as our faces.
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