Chapter 176: The King Cobra Peers Out, Slowly: ?

The four-kilometer racecourse, guided by the crackling of firecrackers, saw the procession escorting the Immortal Master racing at full speed along the closed road.

In An Sheng's team, the sedan bearers were all elderly, but they were farmers who ran up the tea hills daily; though past their prime, they ate from giant stainless steel bowls and possessed tremendous endurance.

As An Sheng's team turned a corner, they encountered another village's procession.

Seeing An Sheng's team approach, they instantly blocked the path without hesitation.

"Try bumping into us—I'll treat all of you to KFC after the parade ends!"

"Then you'll learn that in KFC's old man, there's no K, no F, just a muscular, beefy old man standing there!"

Seeing them crowd forward, An Sheng shouted a series of high-pitched screeches, raised his feather duster, and grinned wickedly.

But the opposing team didn't understand the fox's threat.

They slammed on their brakes, trying to halt An Sheng's team and slow them down.

An Sheng sneered, thrusting his feather duster straight into the armpits of the opposing bearers.

"It's sweltering summer, and you're only wearing vests? You've never felt a feather duster, have you?"

"Yahaha! Foul play! Changxizhen's team is fouling!"

The bearers struck by An Sheng's attack writhed with unbearable itching, curled up, laughed uncontrollably, and nearly dropped their master's sedan.

The rhythm of their run, disrupted by the Fuli Lao Ye's tickling, shattered completely, their breathing thrown into chaos.

"You're full of shit! Our Fuli Lao Ye waved his big tail to greet you! You're the ones going mad—what's that got to do with Fuli Lao Ye?"

Yu Zhenghong, running ahead, didn't fully see Fuli Lao Ye's defensive counterattack—he only caught a glimpse in his peripheral vision: Fuli Lao Ye seemed to extend something and wave it friendly-like.

Then the opposing bearers tumbled over.

"If you've got guts, make your own master speak and greet us! See if I don't kneel!"

Yu Zhenghong charged forward with his sedan, but still spat toward the opposing team as he ran.

Our Fuli Lao Ye has power.

If your master has power too, why doesn't he come out and trip us all to the ground?

"Damn, that actually makes sense."

Watching An Sheng's team vanish in a cloud of dust around the corner, the opposing village's bearers cursed and helped their master up, chasing after them.

In the time they'd wasted, two other teams had already overtaken them—each team carried their sedan on one shoulder, one hand gripping the bamboo pole, sprinting swiftly as their hundred-jin deity statue bounced rhythmically.

The villagers along the route had long grown accustomed to the intense physical rivalry during the parade.

They stood quietly on both sides of the road, filming videos on their phones, as if watching human F1 racing.

Even those lighting firecrackers to guide the way only hung them from bamboo poles far off the road and lit them from a distance.

A collision with the parade team carried force comparable to a low-speed impact from an A0-class car.

People wouldn't be launched into the sky in spirals.

But sliding three to five meters was normal.

"Hurry! Two teams ahead!"

Fellow villagers along the route, especially at turns, cheered for An Sheng and gave real-time updates on the race standings.

Originally four teams led, but two had gotten lost on Changxizhen's narrow lanes, and even after turning back, they'd taken a huge detour.

An Sheng's team now held third place, but the two ahead had started over a minute earlier.

An Sheng's team sprinting along the course still faced difficulty catching the first and second place teams.

"Looks like, as my first time serving as master, I'll have to settle for friendship first, competition second."

Seated in the sedan, An Sheng had left the village path and entered the main straight road; from his vantage point, he could see the small agricultural market, now brightly decorated and ready to welcome the champion.

An Sheng's team still lagged behind the leader by at least three hundred meters, and the second-place team was a hundred meters ahead.

After three kilometers of explosive sprinting, though exhausted, all teams still maintained college-level sprint speeds—hard to close the gap.

"Though I feel a bit bad for all you old men, don't worry—tonight, the entire East Sea Linglong banquet's on me!"

An Sheng thought again—he was representing Changxizhen for the first time; he didn't want his village to lose.

The little fox's face showed regret; it opened its mouth and let out a piercing, resonant ying-ying.

"Fur?"

A king cobra less than three meters long, hearing Fuli Lao Ye's call, poked its head from the grass, still gripping a bamboo pit viper clenched in its jaws.

A hundred meters away, a clutch of baby king cobras lifted their heads, staring toward the asphalt road leading to the market.

The adult king cobra was puzzled, but still followed Fuli Lao Ye's instruction and began playing a chase game.

If only it had hands, everyone could've seen the king cobra scratching its head.

The king cobra surged forward, activating its unique burst technique, racing at six meters per second.

With a sudden lunge, the king cobra landed behind An Sheng's team and let out a piercing hiss.

"Holy shit! King cobra!"

Yu Zhenghong caught a shadow in his peripheral vision, turned instinctively—and saw a snake with a square face and a neck like a soup spoon, hanging behind, flicking its tongue.

The other bearers froze, turned back, and met the king cobra's bewildered little eyes.

In silence, An Sheng's team felt as if nitrogen boosters had been installed under their sedan.

Behind them, the king cobra hissed "Fur!"—and the entire team's speed surged dramatically.

In an instant.

Shoe soles nearly sparked, legs blurred into afterimages—An Sheng's team shot past like lightning, leaving the former second-place team far behind.

"?"

The second-place parade team froze, bearers staring blankly at An Sheng's team.

Until they saw the swarm of king cobras closing in behind An Sheng's team—then they turned pale with terror.

"Holy shit! A whole nest of king cobras! Did they step on a mother protecting her young?"

Sensing danger, the second-place team leapt sideways, avoiding the charging snake swarm.

"Step on your mom! Call the fire department!"

An Sheng's team raced ahead; from afar, someone shouted at the second-place team.

The king cobra's burst speed was six meters per second.

Though only sustainable briefly, it was enough to trigger an adrenaline rush, forcing everyone to sprint with every last ounce of strength.

The sedan, once carried on shoulders, was now lifted high—the old men seemed to relive childhood, terrified into trembling grandchildren.

"Fuck!"

The team from neighboring Dougu Village, certain they'd win first place, stared in shock as a line of sprinting old men overtook them.

What kind of youthful, energetic old men are these? At their age, sprinting this fast—don't they fear breaking their bones?

The Dougu Village youths cursed inwardly—but soon they couldn't curse anymore.

Because the king cobra swarm had reached their backs.

Just a moment ago, they were mocking Changxizhen's elderly as "youthful, energetic old men."

The next, they themselves became energetic little old men.

Though king cobra venom isn't the strongest in Xia Country, their venom volume typically equals a glass of baijiu—locals all know: never touch any king cobra.

A bite carries an extremely high fatality rate, especially during breeding season—never wander near Sheshan or its surroundings unless you want to die.

And.

King cobras are protected animals.

In short, seeing one makes your scalp tingle—not everyone welcomes them like Yu Xueqing does.

"Ying-ying-ying!"

Seeing they'd reached first place and the temporary deity altar was right ahead, An Sheng ying-yinged to the king cobras, thanking them for their help.

Should they need anything in the future, they should just come find Fuli Lao Ye.

"Village chief! Help! Snakes are chasing us!"

Reaching the altar stage before the Changxizhen crowd, Yu Zhenghong finally broke down, shouting out his ordeal, nearly in tears.

"Forget the snakes! We'll hold them off—hurry, get Fuli Lao Ye to the altar and claim first position!"

Old Chen scanned the surroundings, saw no snakes or snake-like shapes, and urgently ordered Yu Zhenghong's team to keep running.

Forget the snakes—we'll hold them off. Now hurry to the altar and claim first position!

Urged by Old Chen, Yu Zhenghong's team sprinted faster, reaching the canopy, stopping before a red cloth hanging from ceiling to floor.

"Dong-dong-dong!"

A burst of gongs and drums erupted inside the canopy; the Changxizhen villagers cheered and rushed forward, taking turns to carry An Sheng's sedan—then, hearing the drums, people outside lit the pre-prepared firecrackers.

"Ying-ying-ying!"

Lifted high by the villagers, the little fox stood upright on its sedan, ying-yinging, raising both arms high—upon closer look, its fingers were uneven.

The little fox curled its fingers, mimicking the human "NO. " gesture.

"Ying-ying-ying!"

"Xiao An!"

Yu Xueqing, riding an electric scooter with Mo Yiqing, saw An Sheng lifted high and was startled.

"Whoa!"

Mo Yiqing, swept up by the atmosphere, felt as if transported back to dragon boat racing—holding up her phone, shouting along with the villagers before the altar.

(End of Chapter)