Chapter 406
That person quickly came to the bank, then did something in a patch of tall grass . Then Shao Xuan heard clicking sounds like ‘kata, kata, kata’ .
Shao Xuan watched as that person tugged at some thick vines . With the clicking sound, the floating cage was now quickly pulled to the river bank .
As the trap approached the riverbank, the crocodile in the cage struggled more furiously . However, it seemed like this crocodile was much weaker than the ones he saw previously . Those crocodiles would not be trapped for such a long time .
One the trap was pulled up the bank, Shao Xuan could see the entire object .
It was a metal rectangular cage . On both sides were thick tree trunks tied to it so it would float in the river . There was a lot of seagrass on the trunk and the cage as camouflage . It was not clear if the camouflage was to trick humans or crocodiles . Some people were dumb enough to accidentally get caught in traps themselves . Perhaps it was because the crocodiles were not stupid . They might be very familiar with traps here so more disguises were needed .
Shao Xuan saw the person tug off all the grass tied to the cage then took a bundle of vines from a patch of grass . He tied the vines to a metal bar in the form of a loop at the end .
Then, the person opened the cage where the crocodile’s head was . There were three doors on the cage, he only opened the part nearest to the head . Then, he reached inside with the bar and the loop, pulling the loop through the crocodile’s jaws .
The crocodile opened its jaw wide, revealing more than a hundred teeth . It was protesting and couldn’t wait to bite this human to death .
The loop was a suitable size, plus the vine was strong and flexible enough for the job .
The person looped it on its mouth cleanly . Anyone less experienced might accidentally catch the loop on its teeth but this person did it in one go .
He opened the other two doors on the top of the trap . At the same time, the person released something on its four corners . The cage opened into a flat surface instead of a box .
Right now, the crocodile had lost its ability to bite . It did not have much energy to struggle anyway . So it pulled its last trick-- the death roll .
However, the rolling only made it worse . The vines became tighter with every roll . Without the cage, as it rolled more, the vines grew tighter .
To be safe, the person tied its jaws together with more vine .
Then, the person tied some large leaves on its eyes too .
The crocodile struggled much less once its eyes were covered . Many animals become less anxious in the dark, it was the same for this crocodile .
This person was very familiar with crocodiles .
The crocodile’s back limbs were tied up too .
Crocodiles crawled on land, most of their strength was in their hind limbs . The ones Shao Xuan previously met relied on their hind limbs to leap up at him . They had strong muscles throughout their body but they had even stronger hind limbs .
That was why tying up its hind limbs greatly limited its movement .
The crocodile no longer moved after this . The person looked at it for a moment then took out more vine to tie its jaws again . Most of its teeth were covered now . Shao Xuan knew that these teeth could easily hurt people even if they were just thrashing their head about .
That person was sweating now . After taking off his hat that resembled a crocodile’s head, a tanned, stubbly face appeared .
He kept the flattened cage in a spot then tugged at the vines tying the crocodile . Suddenly, he turned around towards Shao Xuan .
“You’ve watched for a while now . It should be time for you to come out, no?” said the man .
There was no anger, the tone was flat, maybe indifferent .
Shao Xuan didn’t realise he would be found . He leapt off the tree and walked over . His sword was hanging where the other person could see . Hiding a weapon would just threaten the other person . This person looked friendly enough . Shao Xuan did not want to offend him the first time they met .
This person’s eyes swept across his body, lingering on the sword . He did not try to hide the contempt he had for it .
“Which tribe are you from?” he asked .
“Flaming Horn tribe . ” Shao Xuan did not hide his own identity because he had his guesses about who this person was . He had many questions, plus this person did not look gullible .
“Flaming Horn?” the man thought for a moment . “I think I’ve heard of it . It’s not nearby, is it?”
“Yeah, it’s far from here . ”
“Your tribe’s far away, why did you come to such a dangerous place on your own? Are you training?”
“No . ”
“Looking for herbs?”
“No . ”
“Please don’t tell me you’re here to look for Gongjia Mountain too?”
Shao Xuan stared in surprise . He knew?!
“Really? And you came alone? To look for Gongjia Mountain?” That person looked at Shao Xuan as if he was biting off more than he could chew . There was just one message in his eyes--- you must have a death wish .
“Uh, are there many people looking for Gongjia Mountain too?” Shao Xuan asked curiously .
“Not many, but there are people . But they all died eventually,” the man said in a flat tone . There was no mockery or glee, just indifference .
“And you’re…”
“I’m Gongjia Heng . ” He did not have to say much . A name was enough to reveal important information .
When he told Shao Xuan his name, his tone was filled with pride . The Xia people never hid their surnames, always proud of their name--- Gongjia .
So he was a Xia!
Shao Xuan wanted to ask more but the man added, “I’m a Xia and I haven’t found Gongjia Mountain myself, what makes you outsiders think you can find it? All you find will be death!”
It was no wonder Gongjia Heng was indifferent towards outsiders too . He did not mock them because even he could not find it himself .
“Many people came here looking for Gongjia Mountain?”
“Not many but not too few . I’ve been here for twenty years and met seventeen of you . Ten were Xia people, seven from other tribes . Nine died, five returned because they were injured, another three continued looking . I don’t know where they died . ”
“Maybe they found Gongjia Mountain?” said Shao Xuan .
“Impossible! I can’t even find it, how could they?” said Gongjia Heng confidently .
This meant Shao Xuan was not the only one who deciphered the cloud patterns . There were not many of them though . However, finding the mountain was going to be more difficult than expected . If even the Xia people couldn’t find it, then it was an even smaller chance for an outsider to find it . These Xia people must be more familiar with the patterns and had more records with them .
Since everyone couldn’t find it, Gongjia Heng did not care if Shao Xuan came looking for it too . He gestured over at Shao Xuan . “Come help, I’ll share some of its meat with you later . ”
Usually, once he caught a crocodile, he would not kill it here . He still had stock so he did not plan to kill it today . He would kill it a few days later when he finished eating his current stock so the meat will be fresh . That was why he merely had to drag it back .
The Xia people were good at casting and forging so they were strong . A forger had to have strong arms . That was why they were considered physically strong compared to many people . In the past, Gongjia Heng would drag the crocodile back on his own, sometimes with transport devices with wheels attached . However, there was a lack of equipment now so he could only drag it himself .
It was too time-consuming to do it on his own so he asked for Shao Xuan’s help .
“Here, you drag the tail, I’ll pull the rope…”
Before he finished, Shao Xuan lifted its tail and dragged the ten-meter long crocodile, already walking ahead . It looked so effortless Gongjia Heng did not finish his sentence .
“Your strength is… not bad at all . ” Gongjia pulled on the rope too but realised he wasn’t helping so he let go, merely watching the crocodile . He watched for the crocodile in case it suddenly attacked . He was holding a huge bronze hammer in his hand so if it moved, he would just knock it out .
“Is this crocodile drugged?” asked Shao Xuan .
“Crocodile? Are you talking about this? Of course it’s drugged, or it wouldn’t be this quiet,” said Gongjia Heng . The bait in his trap had a sort of medicine that made the crocodile weak . It was very powerful too, enough to last at least half a day . After bringing it back, he would still feed it the medicine for a few days .
“Right,” said Shao Xuan, “How did you know I was there?” He was confident in his own skills and sure he had made no sound .
“I felt someone watching me . ”
Shao Xuan recalled the scene and realised he must’ve been staring very hard when he watched too intently . Gongjia Heng could live in this place, unscathed, for twenty years- this meant his senses must be very sharp .
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