In Hu Tian Village, there was a family surnamed Hu. Two brothers from this family went into a deep mountain valley to cut wood. There, they encountered a massive python. The elder brother, walking in front, was seized and swallowed by the snake. The younger brother, initially terrified and intent on fleeing, saw his elder brother being devoured. Overcome with rage, he drew his wood-cutting axe and struck at the python's head.
Although the python’s head was injured, it continued swallowing the elder brother. Soon, the elder brother’s head was inside the snake’s mouth, but fortunately, his shoulders got stuck at the python’s jaws, preventing it from swallowing further. The younger brother, desperate and without any other recourse, grabbed his elder brother’s legs with both hands and fiercely struggled against the snake. Miraculously, he managed to pull his brother out of the python’s mouth. The injured python then fled.
When the younger brother examined his elder brother, he saw that his ears and nose had already been corroded [likely by the snake’s digestive fluids]. His elder brother was barely alive, on the brink of death. The younger brother carried his brother home on his back, resting more than ten times along the way before finally reaching their house. After treatment and months of recovery, it took half a year for the elder brother to fully heal. To this day, the scars remain on his face, and his nose and ears are reduced to mere holes.
Ah! Among the rustic peasants of the mountains, there exists such a younger brother who so reverently honors his elder sibling! Someone remarked, “The python did not devour the elder brother entirely because it was moved by the younger brother’s moral virtue and righteousness.” Truly, this seems to be the case!
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