Chapter 89: The Five-Colored Thread (Please add to your favorites, please continue reading)

The monstrous creature gnawing at the iron groin guard was easily severed with a single stroke, leaving Shanglu somewhat astonished: such a fiendish beast, yet so fragile? He turned to look and indeed saw half of the serpent’s body lying on the ground.

The snake’s body was as thick as a finger, remarkably smooth, lacking even a single scale, and only covered by a layer of mucus. No wonder it had so little defense.

Yet this strange serpent, like the tall snake and the tumor snake before it, did not die even when its body was cut in half. The severed part on the ground writhed constantly, while the other half clung stubbornly to the iron guard, biting away with a metallic clatter.

Shanglu cursed inwardly; the evil spirits in this strange mist grew ever more bizarre and uncanny. He reacted swiftly, changing tactics and striking the remaining piece of serpent attached to his iron guard with the blade. With a sharp crack, the serpent fragment was smashed and knocked loose by the hunting knife.

When the mangled serpent hit the ground, Shanglu finally saw it clearly. It was as thick as a finger and as long as a chopstick, resembling more a worm than a snake. Even its mouth was unlike that of any ordinary serpent, shaped like a chrysanthemum, small but packed densely with tiny, sharp teeth.

Its slick body and the mucus covering it made it easy for the creature to burrow from the rear into the abdomen, gnawing open the intestines and devouring the organs. The ease with which it could do so startled Shanglu, who instinctively clenched his buttocks.

Meanwhile, the two halves of the serpent’s body began wriggling rapidly toward each other, attempting to fuse and heal back together. Shanglu quickly stepped forward, unleashing the Three-Mountain Tiger Stomp from his martial arts, crushing the two remnants into pulp with a forceful kick.

Yet even as they became a mass of flesh, they continued to writhe and entangle, striving to merge back and regain their former shape. Before Shanglu could act further, a faint crawling sound arose behind him—another serpent had set its sights on his rear.

Without hesitation, Shanglu dodged to the side, just in time to see a serpent shadow dart toward the spot where he’d been standing. Had he not noticed, it would have latched onto his iron guard and started gnawing away.

This serpent, frustrated by its failed ambush, did not immediately strike again but instead slithered swiftly across the ground, attempting to circle behind Shanglu and attack his backside once more.

These strange serpents seemed obsessed with human buttocks, rivaling even the hyena chief in the proctology department! As the serpent moved, Shanglu moved too, man and serpent locked in a game of cat and mouse.

During this, several more serpents targeted Shanglu’s rear, joining the frenzied chase.

“We must find a way to infuriate these serpents!” As Shanglu pondered his strategy, the constables, prompted by his warning, also began thinking of ways to protect themselves.

Some simply sat down hard on the ground. Yet the serpents, thin and slippery, either squeezed through the gap between buttocks and earth to burrow underneath, or used their specialized mouths to dig tunnels, launching sneak attacks from below.

Those who had just sat down leapt up with shrieks, clawing desperately at their backsides, faces contorted with pain. Others who sought refuge by leaning against trees experienced much the same.

A few desperate souls tried stuffing bits of silver into their backsides to block the serpents’ passage. But this self-sacrificing method proved futile; the serpents’ sharp mouths easily bit out the silver and swallowed it, then burrowed directly into their intestines.

In mere moments, several constables fell victim, clutching their behinds and howling in misery.

Constables Liu and Huang, seeing the peril, quickly rallied the survivors, forming a circle back-to-back to resist the serpents and prevent them from burrowing in.

Yet the serpents were impossible to kill. Even if chopped into pieces, they would regenerate and rejoin, burrowing underground. Even with the constables back-to-back, danger still lingered.

For a while, fear and despair gripped the constables.

Shanglu took all this in. He knew he had to act fast, or soon all the constables would be hollowed out by the serpents.

“If I can restrain them so they can’t attack our backsides, they’ll eventually suffocate in their rage!”

With this in mind, Shanglu quickly pulled a bundle of five-colored threads from his pack—a piece of equipment he’d received from the armory. According to the armory attendant, these were called Five-Colored Threads, each dyed with minerals of different attributes: blue, red, yellow, white, and black.

They were then woven together, placed in a temple for worship, and blessed by shamans or priests, granting them the power to ward off evil spirits.

The attendant claimed the Five-Colored Threads could also bind ghosts and monsters. They were easy to use, requiring no incantations—only a blood sacrifice to activate them.

Of course, this was all hearsay; the attendant had never seen anyone use them for binding spirits. Since incidents of supernatural strangeness were rare in Luoshui County, most locals sought shamans or priests for exorcisms rather than reporting to the authorities. Thus, although the county office was equipped with Five-Colored Threads, they were seldom used.

Shanglu was unsure if they worked—or if they had expired—but given the present circumstances, they were his best option.

Instead of offering his own blood, Shanglu produced a leather pouch and poured rooster blood onto the threads.

A miraculous sight unfolded: the threads did not turn red, but instead absorbed the blood and glowed faintly with five colors.

There was hope!

Delighted, Shanglu deliberately left an opening, allowing a serpent to sneak behind him. The serpent, unsuspecting and excited, finally thought it could sink its teeth into Shanglu’s rear. It coiled behind him and sprang forward like a spring, aiming straight for him.

But Shanglu, employing the Monkey Step technique, moved with uncanny agility. Without even turning, he sidestepped and, with a swift motion, seized the serpent.

The serpent, slick and covered in burning mucus, stung Shanglu’s hand as if he’d grabbed a lump of hot coal. Thankfully, Shanglu had anticipated the serpent’s strange mucus, wrapping his hand in vital energy to protect himself.

Under the influence of his vital energy, the serpent was held fast in Shanglu’s grasp, unable to break free.

With his other hand, Shanglu slipped the Five-Colored Thread beneath the serpent’s mouth, at a spot the creature couldn’t bite, and pulled tight.