Our Binding Love: My Gentle Tyrant
chapter-354

Python

Lin Zhizhao didn’t have a choice, he only scrambled up. Luckily, they brought emergency food and water when they came down. Otherwise, they might really not be able to move.

Whether it was the will of Heaven or something else, they didn’t look for the exit, but kept going deeper. This time, they didn’t encounter any obstacles. They unexpectedly arrived at the end of the map smoothly.

But what they saw first wasn’t the treasure or imperial tomb, but a deep pit. On both sides of the path, there were two deep pits. Inside were people buried alive.

Seeing Ye Mu looking at it, Lin Zhizhao said, “This is called Living Sacrificial Pit. The majority of these people were coolies for excavating caves. To prevent them from leaking the secret, after the construction, they were killed with poison and were used as burial goods.”

Ye Mu looked at those skeletal remains that were half buried in the ground and had nothing good to say.

“So ruthless. The country deserves to perish.”

After she finished speaking, she went into that path. This feeling was similar to walking on the Naihe Bridge*, and both sides were the Wangchuan River**. Inside were the wronged spirits who were unable to reincarnate.

*also called Hopeless Bridge

**the river under Naihe Bridge in Chinese mythology about the underworld. After going across the bridge, there will be a lady called Meng Po who will give a soup to forget the past life and to be ready for reincarnation.

More info:

https://chinesemythologypodcast.com/2018/08/27/episode-77-%EF%BC%9Asoup-of-forgetfulness/

Lin Zhizhao hastily caught up. His poison had not disappeared, so his pace was slow. Fortunately, Ye Mu was reasonable to wait for him, otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to keep up.

“You should be a little more careful. The area at the back is unfamiliar to me. If we encounter any danger, our life will be forfeited here.”

Ye Mu nodded. Of course, she didn’t take her own life as a joke, it’s just that the path was blocked, so she naturally would change route. Sitting still while waiting for death was not her style.

After both of them walked for quite a while, Ye Mu looked back at the field littered with corpses behind her, and felt regretful. “Adding up all the coolies on both sides, there should be a thousand of them. The person who ordered to kill them was really nuts.”

Lin Zhizhao couldn’t disagree. “The successive generations and dynasties of the empire have been as such. Let’s keep going.”

“En.” Ye Mu nodded, one person walking in front. “Although the two maze-like tunnels in front wasted a lot of our time, seeing the area, for the sake of building this imperial tomb they hollowed up half of this mountain. It’s truly a massive project.”

Lin Zhizhao said, “Then you haven’t seen Emperor Yuan Zhao’s tomb. I heard my ancestors say before, he started building the imperial tomb from the beginning of his reign. After thirty whole years, he hollowed out two mountains, and he presumed, this emperor’s tomb was still considered plain.”

Ye Mu sighed. “Each is truly more deranged than the next.”

After walking for a while, Lin Zhizhao couldn’t help but ask, “Have you noticed this last section of the path seems a little too quiet.”

Ye Mu nodded. “Maybe their mechanism hasn’t reached the back yet?”

“Impossible.” Lin Zhizhao said with certainty, “Mechanisms are installed inside out, my mother said. We’ve walked for so long and there hasn’t been a mechanism, the only possibility is that we haven’t triggered it.”

But his voice fell behind and he suddenly stopped.

“What’s the matter?” Ye Mu asked.

With his complexion turning pale, Lin Zhizhao pointed to the front. “Just now, it looks like there’s something flashing past from there.”

Ye Mu looked over, and said with a smile, “Don’t be overly suspicious. There’s nothing to eat in this underground palace, how can there be a living thing?”

“I really saw it!”

Ye Mu nodded. “Alright then, we’ll go take a look.”

“You don’t even have internal energy right now, you still dare to go?”

“Don’t worry.” Ye Mu said with a smile, “Even if I don’t have my internal energy, I’m not a person who lacks the strength to truss a chicken*.”

*lacks the strength to truss a chicken – means physically weak

Both of them went to the front, but they didn’t see anything that could move. The path before their eyes only seemed to have the natural form of a limestone cave tunnel. After they went in, besides feeling rather cold, there wasn’t anything else.

“See? As I said, how can there be a living thing here?”

Lin Zhizhao walked behind Ye Mu, his complexion still very ugly. “But I really saw it, and it was something bigger, like—”

“Like what?” Ye Mu asked without looking back.

“Like a snake!” Lin Zhizhao suddenly cried out in alarm. When Ye Mu looked back, she saw a gigantic snake biting onto Lin Zhizhao!

Ye Mu swore, she had never seen such a big snake, it’s like the Titan python recorded in paleontology!

Although she didn’t know whether it really was that kind of snake, seeing Lin Zhizhao still struggling, Ye Mu gave chase while shouting.

“Lin Zhizhao, do you have a sharp object on you?! Cut the film connecting its upper and lower jaws! Quick!”

When a snake bites on an object, its upper and lower jaws are wide open. This allows it to swallow prey that are larger than its head. And this snake kept going forward while Ye Mu was behind it, which completely obstructed her view of the situation in front.

But finally, Lin Zhizhao used a dagger to separate the python’s mouth. He fell from its mouth and dropped to the ground. The injured snake closed its gigantic mouth and stopped. With displease, it stared at its disobedient prey Lin Zhizhao, its thick and sturdy tail rising. In a second, it dropped heavily toward Lin Zhizhao!

“Watch out!”

Ye Mu rushed over and rolled on the ground carrying Lin Zhizhao, narrowly avoiding it. She saw Lin Zhizhao’s collarbone had marks from the long, sharp fangs. She took out a wound medicine and stuffed it onto Lin Zhizhao’s chest, and then said, “Apply the medicine yourself, I’ll go meet this beast!”

Just as she finished speaking, the python went to attack Ye Mu. Lin Zhizhao was tense from head to toe. At this moment, his face was covered with the repugnant smell of a snake. But he didn’t dare wipe it because he didn’t know if the snake was poisonous. He hastily spread the medicine over his wound, and then tightly held his mother’s remains tied to his body.

Ye Mu’s movements were extremely agile, but the snake’s scales were rough and its flesh thick. She noticed, her dagger slashed seven cun* across the body of the snake, but it didn’t cut the scale open!

*a traditional unit of length, equivalent to 3.333in or 1.312in

Ye Mu couldn’t do anything about this big fellow. She shouted loudly, “Lin Zhizhao, can you still run?”

Lin Zhizhao nodded with effort. Although his feet now felt weak, he still said, “I can!”

Ye Mu listened, and said word by word, “See that path on the left? When I say run, you run without looking back, I’ll be behind you!”

In this kind of underground palace, even if they parted only for a moment, they might never meet again. But at this moment, Lin Zhizhao only said one sentence, “Alright, I trust you.”

Ye Mu was very gratified. After Ye Mu tussled back and forth several times with the snake, she suddenly roared a sharp shout!

“Run!”

Lin Zhizhao instantly ran without looking back! One of his hands held the luminous pearl, while the other held his mother’s remains. The road in front was black and dark, his whole body was exhausted, and his lungs hurt as he ran. But surprisingly, he didn’t feel scared.

Is it because of her?

Is it because of Ye Mu, who could calm people’s minds?

Ye Mu in response looked for the right opportunity and jumped up, brutally kicking the python on the head.