“What!” Brother Hu couldn’t hold back and blurted out in shock.
Immediately after, they all heard the distinct rustling sound coming from the bushes. At first, they thought it was just the sound of them brushing past the grass as they walked. But now, they were all standing still. No one was moving. The thick banana trees around them blocked out the wind completely. So clearly, something was slithering.
Brother Hu started shaking uncontrollably. Little Gang and Wang Zi quickly switched off their flashlights. Little Gang, reacting quickly, grabbed Brother Hu’s flashlight, which was frozen in place, and turned it off as well.
The moment the lights went out, the rustling sounds around them decreased noticeably.
“Snakes sense heat. They don’t see well, but they’re highly sensitive to body heat,” Wang Yun said calmly, his voice steady. “Flashlights give off heat, which could attract them. Where we’re standing, near the water, these are likely water snakes.”
“Stay calm. If you panic, your body temperature will rise. Breathe slowly, Brother Hu.”
Wang Yun’s voice cut through the darkness, directed at the trembling Brother Hu. He could clearly hear Brother Hu’s breathing getting faster.
Trying to control himself, Brother Hu forced himself to take deep breaths, but at that moment, he looked like he was on the verge of tears.
Wang Yun’s voice remained calm and composed, but deep down, he was feeling a bit nervous too. Because, truthfully, he had lied.
These weren’t just water snakes. He had caught a glimpse of them out of the corner of his eye. The snakes varied in size and color—some were green, others were blue, and there were even white and patterned ones. But one thing was clear: they were all venomous.
There was one thing Wang Yun still couldn’t figure out. Even with the nearby water, there was no reason for this many snakes to gather in one place.
Was there something unusual here?
He didn’t have time to think about it further. They needed to get out of there. Fast. If one of them got bitten, finding the right antivenom in time would be a serious challenge.
All four of them pulled out the realgar powder they had been carrying and began sprinkling it behind them and around their surroundings. The effect was immediate. Once the powder hit the ground, the movements of the snakes slowed down significantly.
“Boss, slow down a bit, it’s too dark here,” Brother Hu said, his voice trembling.
It was so dark around them that you couldn’t even see your hand in front of your face. Wang Yun handed a stick to Brother Hu, and the moment Brother Hu grabbed it, he visibly shuddered.
“Hold onto the stick tight. Don’t worry, these snakes aren’t venomous. At most, a bite will just hurt for a bit,” Wang Yun said, pretending to sound relaxed.
His words worked. Brother Hu seemed to calm down a little. But Little Gang, who was at the back of the group, had a much more serious expression on his face.
There was already a patterned snake just two meters behind him.
Wang Yun kept walking ahead, sprinkling realgar behind him. But their arms could only reach so far, and the realgar supply was running low. Some of the larger, smarter snakes were starting to circle around them, while the slower ones trailed from a distance.
This wasn’t going to work. Soon, they’d run out of realgar, and they were surrounded by snakes as if trapped in a ring.
It was like the protective circle Sun Wukong drew for Tang Sanzang in the stories, only this one was made of snakes, each eager to strike.
Some had triangular heads, others round, and some even flat. Wang Yun recognized one of them. It was the infamous “five-step snake,” the leader of the group. It slithered casually to his left, watching him closely while flicking its tongue.
The sight made Wang Yun feel sick, like he was being stalked.
“Boss, I’m almost out of realgar,” Wang Zi said, his voice barely a whisper.
They had only walked about two kilometers, but they still had at least ten more to go. And the snakes were still trailing them, giving them no way out.
“Here, take this. Give me your lighters,” Wang Yun said, splitting the remaining realgar among the three of them and taking their lighters.
He quickly gathered some nearby branches and set them on fire with the lighter. Luckily, there were plenty of dry sticks around.
“Boss, why are you starting a fire? Don’t snakes like heat?” Brother Hu asked, panicking and trying to stop him.
“Heat and fire are different. They use heat to sense where living creatures are, but they’re still afraid of fire. In the jungle, almost all animals are scared of fire. Once I get this fire going, look around and grab anything that’ll burn. Little Gang, spread the rest of the realgar in a circle around us. I’ll handle the rest,” Wang Yun instructed.
Little Gang and the others immediately got to work.
As soon as the flames started rising, the snakes really did back off. With the light from the fire, Brother Hu and the others could finally see what was around them. And what they saw made their skin crawl.
At least twenty snakes were surrounding them.
In the distance, the tall grass continued to rustle. The snakes in the nearby brush were still moving. They were all raising the upper half of their bodies, standing tall and watching the group. The snakes were about as high as their knees, and their strange appearance made Brother Hu feel faint.
He instinctively grabbed Wang Yun.
“B-Boss, w-what do we do? Let’s ask the show for help,” Brother Hu stammered.
This was the first time he had suggested calling the production team. Normally, they avoided mentioning the show while on camera to keep the audience immersed in the experience. It was an unwritten rule.
But this time, Brother Hu was genuinely terrified.
Wang Yun looked at Brother Hu’s pale face and gave him a light punch on the arm.
“If we wait for the production team to get here, it’ll take days. By then, you’d already be snake food.”
Brother Hu wrapped his arms around himself, trembling even more violently after hearing that.
“I’m just messing with you. Don’t worry, nothing’s going to happen,” Wang Yun quickly reassured him.
Originally, Wang Yun had felt a bit nervous himself, but seeing Brother Hu—a grown man with a scruffy beard—shaking like a leaf because of some snakes made him want to laugh.
“What do we do, Boss? If it gets really bad, should we make the fire bigger?” Wang Zi suggested seriously.
Wang Yun shook his head. “No way. We can’t control the direction of the fire, and if the whole rainforest catches on fire, we won’t be able to escape either.”
He then looked at the three of them.
“Did any of you notice anything strange near the river earlier?” Wang Yun asked.
“Normally, it’s not unusual for a few snakes to , but there’s no reason for this many to be around. And these snakes seem unusually aggressive. Did any of you accidentally provoke them or attack one?” Wang Yun added.
This whole situation felt unnatural. Normally, snakes only react defensively if they feel threatened or if you make a sudden movement that startles them. If you just walk past, they usually stay away out of fear.