The peerless great snail's eye flicked once toward Shen Cong, then swiveled away again, paying no further mind to the Great Vajra or the Four-Legged Dragon. Which set a whole new batch of thoughts turning in Shen Cong's head — if the snail wasn't interested in him, and it was this slow, why not attempt communication?

Worst case, he couldn't win a fight — but he could always run.

"Hello there." Riding the Four-Legged Dragon, trailing the peerless snail at a respectful distance, Shen Cong offered a friendly greeting.

One of the great snail's eyes turned back around, gave Shen Cong another once-over, then swiveled away and kept crawling. Toward Shen Cong and the Four-Legged Dragon: total indifference.

That made twice now that Shen Cong had been ignored — the first time being the dragon-claw pagoda tree, of course.

Though this was marginally better. The great snail had at least spared him a glance. The pagoda tree hadn't acknowledged him by half a hair.

"Jiji gugu!" The Four-Legged Dragon's scales were standing slightly on end — a sign of nerves — but seeing Shen Cong dare to holler at the great snail, she refused to be outdone and belted out a few cries of her own.

The great snail paid no further attention. It simply walked on and on.

Beneath its body you could see the flat foot rippling — really just row upon row of lateral bands, crawling ceaselessly along on those muscle-waves, leaving a trail of slime down the road behind it.

Then, suddenly—

On the snail's back, just below the shell's opening, a round orifice yawned wide.

And with one enormous wet SPLORCH, it blasted out a torrent of viscous black matter, wafting wave upon wave of stench.

"That is public defecation!" Shen Cong slammed his faceplate shut on the spot and steered the Four-Legged Dragon well clear. The great snail's excretions were unspeakably foul.

The great snail, as if having completed some trifling little errand, crawled on without so much as a pause.

"No shame whatsoever."

Seeing the great snail carry on in its own world,…