There are many dirt roads in the narrow path, and the answer to the seven twists and turns of the river is the zodiac snake. In this riddle, the narrow road is described as winding, just like the number 8. The eighth animal in the 12 zodiac is a sheep. However, the second half of the riddle, "seven turns and eight bends downstream", seems to describe the shape of a snake, because snakes usually meander when crawling, forming a "seven turns and eight bends" shape.