Tracing the trail of emerald light, my eyes were suddenly dazzled. Because I discovered that the glowing green objects were actually spherical beads—undoubtedly the luminescence of luminous pearls.

And under the illumination of these night-shining pearls, we spotted numerous silver coins, necklaces, and thumb rings submerged in the water. Seeing the treasure, all three of us silently hastened our descent.

But just then, a sudden, pulling force seized my back, dragging all three of us upward with the river current. A wave of terror washed over me, realizing the sheer suction power of that wind-bag artifact.

Even with the river so deep and voluminous, it could still drag us up. Fortunately, the suction only lasted about three seconds before vanishing.

I figured the wind-bag must have finally gorged itself on water and could take in no more. Seizing the opportunity, we desperately dove downward again.

The river spanned perhaps ten or twenty meters across, with a depth of about seven or eight meters. In no time, we reached the riverbed.

Daxiong, who swam the fastest, was already scooping up the river treasures handful by handful and stuffing them into his pockets. Nie Chuan and I, however, approached the artifacts with more of an investigative stance, looking into their origins.

Ancient Japanese currency differed from Chinese coins; ours were round with a square hole in the center, called tongzi’er. Japanese money came in gold, silver, and bronze, including the familiar round, square-holed coins, as well as long, oval coins with square holes, and even hole-less oval gold and silver pieces.

Most of what we saw now were the oval coins with holes, predominantly silver, with only a small fraction being gold. Picking up one coin to examine it, I made out the inscription Meiji Tsuho; other treasures, like a porcelain plate, also bore the seal of the Meiji era.

Clearly, all these artifacts dated from the same period: the Meiji years. And although these treasures had lain dormant in the river for hundreds of years, many now covered in water weeds and rust, I noticed a distinct absence of marks from human handling.

This implied that when they fell into the river, these coins and treasures were brand new. This realization eliminated the possibility that this was plundered wealth, as looted money usually showed signs of prior use.

Therefore, the treasure here must have been either gifts presented to the shrine's master or rewards bestowed by the Imperial Court. As I pondered this, I suddenly felt a tightness in my chest; I couldn't hold my breath any longer.

At that moment, Nie Chuan pointed to his own chest and then upward toward the surface. Knowing he was also running out of air, I nodded, signaling we should surface together to breathe.

Although we could hold our breath for a maximum of two minutes underwater, that monstrous wind-bag serpent was likely still guarding the surface. However, failing to breathe would kill us faster, so we had no choice but to swim up.

Even though we needed air, we weren't fools; while ascending, we angled toward the opposite riverbank. Meaning, if the monstrous snake couldn't swim, we could refresh ourselves on the far bank with no risk from it.

As the two of us broke the surface and gulped air, we indeed saw the wind-bag serpent on the opposite bank, staring intently at the water, pacing restlessly. We were just about to chuckle inwardly, thinking of saying, "Come and get me, I'm right here." But at that very moment, Daxiong, who hadn't surfaced with us, suddenly poked his head out from the other side of the river.

Daxiong's swimming had always been better than mine; since he was busy scooping up treasure and swimming ahead on his own, we hadn't paid him much mind. Who knew he would be so foolish as to surface there?

Along with our regret, we both shouted simultaneously: "Be careful! The snake is still on the bank!" But by the time our warning left our lips, it was too late.

Daxiong wiped the water from his face, saw us on the opposite bank, and yelled loudly, "You two bastards, leaving me..." Before he could finish his sentence, an immense suction force surged from a spot not far above his head. Daxiong was yanked from the water like a giant radish by that powerful pull.

We were instantly filled with despair and swam frantically toward him, desperate to save him. But I knew that no matter how fast we swam, our chances were slim.

Yet, just then, while paddling, I noticed a bizarre phenomenon. After the monstrous snake pulled Daxiong clear of the water, he seemed to hover in the air, much like a maglev train—still subject to the suction, but moving incredibly slowly.

I instantly understood the reason: Daxiong was already much heavier than us, and he had specifically filled his clothes and backpack with gold from the riverbed, adding at least fifty or sixty pounds to his weight. Furthermore, the suction was pulling him vertically upward, so gravity was helping resist the pull, momentarily stalling the snake's effort.

Seeing this, a spark of joy ignited in me; the fatty's life was spared for the moment. Quickening my pace, I simultaneously began planning how to deal with the monstrous snake.

Swimming a few more meters, I had a flash of inspiration and urgently yelled to Daxiong, "Throw off all the gold you're carrying! Don't worry about losing it; there's plenty more on the riverbed." Daxiong heard me and, realizing the gravity of the situation, immediately complied.

From his clothes, trousers, shoes, inner linings, backpack, and even from under his tongue, he produced a hoard of gold coins. Every few handfuls of gold he tossed away, Daxiong’s body would rise a bit higher.

In total, he discarded over a hundred gold coins, not to mention several small gold statues, necklaces, and rings. The monstrous snake inhaled every item tossed its way.

However, as Daxiong's weight plummeted, he was rapidly approaching the snake's gaping mouth. Fortunately, by this time, we had reached him and were also being pulled clear of the water by the unnatural wind.

But we used this moment to grab hold of Daxiong's legs and pull downward. Lifting the weight of three people proved extremely taxing, and because the snake had ingested so much gold and water, its belly rapidly bulged again, causing the suction force to cease instantly.

With a great plop, the three of us dropped back into the water simultaneously. In the water, aided by my flashlight, I saw that Daxiong’s trousers had been sucked clean off, and his face was a mask of lingering terror.

Nie Chuan’s face was also ashen, unsure if it was from the water or the shock of facing imminent death. Only I looked relaxed, perhaps even sporting a slight smirk.

A few seconds later, Daxiong, holding his breath, tried to say something to me, but it only emerged as a string of bubbles. Though I couldn't make out his words, I guessed he was asking why I told him to discard the gold.

Before I could answer, a tremendous whoosh sounded above our heads, and a massive black snake plunged into the water. The black snake thrashed and struggled, as if enduring agonizing pain, sinking rapidly toward the river bottom.

Its body, stretching over ten meters long, nearly swept over us, but in the end, we managed to evade serious harm. Regaining our composure, we watched the black snake writhe a few times on the riverbed before falling still.

Finally exhaling together, we floated toward the surface. Wiping the water from his face, Daxiong asked me, "What happened?

Was it the gold?" I nodded and replied, "Have you ever heard of committing suicide by swallowing gold? It refers to the ancient practice where wealthy individuals would swallow gold ingots to end their lives—a method of self-destruction for the rich." Daxiong nodded slowly.

"I have, of course. Wasn't it the fate of You Erjie in Dream of the Red Chamber?

Does that mean gold is poisonous? No wonder people say money can kill." I shook my head.

"Gold itself is inert. But gold is different from stone; it has a very high specific gravity and low brittleness, making it difficult to shatter by external force.

So, no matter what, that snake couldn't digest the gold." Daxiong questioned, "If that’s the case, the snake would only suffer from indigestion. Why did it die so quickly?" I spread my hands.

"The fact that it vomited up what it consumed tells us this snake lacks an excretory system. Once the gold was swallowed, it couldn't be expelled, leading to excruciating cramps.

Then it lost its mind, fell into the water, and since it couldn't swim, it drowned." Daxiong considered my explanation for a long time, finally concluding, "Oh, so this snake died because it lacked an anus. It seems the saying, 'A woman without an anus is the most venomous curse,' is truly one of the worst."