Yue'er's words plunged the three of them and the snake into silence. The crackling of wood in the fire seemed unusually loud. I remained silent because a problem had occurred to me.
The idea of incapacitating the mountain spirits was mine, and I had guaranteed it would be foolproof. However, I had no idea that the number of mountain spirits was far greater than what we had seen.
This was because the mountain spirits that rushed out of the valley were not the usual grey-furred ones, but ghost mountain spirits with red fur and faces like hungry ghosts.
Ghost mountain spirits belonged to the mountain spirit clan, but they did not live together. Their propensity for fighting was several times that of ordinary mountain spirits.
Therefore, very few people were familiar with them, and I myself had only just remembered seeing them in the "Records of Exotic Beasts."
Looking at Bai Ling'er, who was happily treating Yue'er's earpiece as a "nest," I finally understood why she had urged me to run quickly.
The current problem was quite troublesome. Li Jian had lost so many subordinates, and their fate was still unclear. If he died, all problems would be easily resolved. But if he lived, it would be a big mess.
They would definitely blame me for this mistaken decision to enter the mountain, otherwise, they would have no way to account to Li Zuquan.
Thinking of this gave me a headache. Li Zuquan's purpose in forcing me into the mountain was obvious. We hadn't even reached halfway, and almost all his men were dead. It would be strange if he didn't fly into a rage.
The thought made my head ache immensely, and I couldn't help but sigh.
"Sigh..."
Seeing this, Zhang Dabiao moved closer to me. "What? Worried about Li Jian and the others?"
I smiled bitterly and shook my head. "It would be better if they were all dead. I'm worried about us."
My words made Zhang Dabiao look confused. "Worried about us? We didn't raise the mountain spirits. Whoever ran slow got caught. To put it nicely, it's an accident. To put it bluntly, they brought it upon themselves. If that old man Li had agreed to take the longer route, there wouldn't have been so much trouble. Calling it deserved is putting it mildly. What's there to worry about? This is a natural disaster."
Zhang Dabiao's words rendered me even more speechless. The issue now was no longer whether or not we knew about the mountain spirits inhabiting the valley, but how to explain the deaths of so many people to Li Zuquan.
We entered the mountain with a total of three people, and all of us were unharmed. But Li Jian, along with the border guards who came later, numbered over twenty. Now, only Li Jian and the remaining three were left alive.
As for whether they were dead or alive, I was also unclear, because Yue'er didn't know either. We only judged that they were likely still alive based on the absence of their bodies.
After Zhang Dabiao entered the cave, Yue'er took out a secret medicine and sprinkled it in a circle at the cave entrance. At this moment, the calls of the ghost mountain spirits, like the roars of hungry ghosts, lingered incessantly outside the cave entrance, as if they wouldn't be satisfied until they had torn us to shreds.
Through the vines, we could see pairs of blood-red eyes greedily scanning us inside the cave, but then they quickly jumped away as if struck by lightning.
Seeing this, Yue'er's narrow, willow-leaf eyebrows furrowed. After a moment of contemplation, she picked up Bai Ling'er, who was playing on her earpiece.
Then, she whispered something to Bai Ling'er. Bai Ling'er's anthropomorphic eyes lit up, and she nodded, flying out joyfully, causing the ghost mountain spirits outside to howl.
As the mountain spirits' calls grew farther away, Yue'er quickly packed her belongings. Seeing this, I asked somewhat puzzled, "What did you send Ling'er to do?"
Yue'er replied without looking up, "The ghost mountain spirits can no longer be controlled by my secret medicine. If we don't leave now, we won't have another chance."
While speaking, Yue'er had already finished packing her backpack. She turned and slung it over her shoulders. "If you want to go, hurry up. Otherwise, stay here and become their rations."
Hearing this, my face darkened. Regardless of anything, I was part of the same group. But judging by Yue'er's demeanor, she was clearly preparing to bolt, with no intention of taking care of me, a sick person.
Instead, Zhang Dabiao immediately stood up. "What do you mean by that? Are you planning to abandon Qingyun here? He's not fit for strenuous activity right now. If he exerts himself violently now, he might lose his life along the way."
Yue'er tightened her backpack and glanced back at me. "That's your business." Without looking back, she left the cave and disappeared from the entrance with a leap.
Seeing this, Zhang Dabiao couldn't help but curse. "This damned girl, she's truly heartless and unrighteous..."
I stopped Zhang Dabiao from continuing his scolding. Although Yue'er was found by the Fifth Princess, she wasn't close enough to us to share life and death.
Moreover, Yue'er had helped me a lot along the way. One must know how to be content.
"Brother Zhang, don't say anything more. Her choice is the right one. I know my own body. You should go too! If you bring me, you might also..."
Before I could finish speaking, Zhang Dabiao interrupted me. "What nonsense are you talking about? Am I the kind of person who fears death? We live together, and we die together. You're injured, I'll go up first, and then I'll lower a rope to pull you up."
Seeing Zhang Dabiao's resolute stance – if you don't go, I won't go either – I nodded helplessly.
"Alright!"
Zhang Dabiao was very fast. He discarded anything in his backpack that wouldn't be used temporarily, taking only a few bottles of water and a few packs of compressed biscuits. After tying the rope to his waist, he leaped out of the cave.
To save Zhang Dabiao some effort, I also started rummaging through my backpack, shaking out anything useless.
Yin Tie Mu Chi (Ironwood Ruler) – I couldn't discard this. This item was best for sealing evil spirits, and it was incredibly hard and lightweight, making it the best weapon for me.
The bottled water had been smashed, leaving only empty bottles. Some of the compressed biscuits were soaked by spilled water. I picked out two or three undamaged packs and threw them into my backpack.
The Mi Hun Xiang (Soul-Seeking Incense) was broken into countless pieces and was unusable. However, I was reluctant to throw it away because its materials were too expensive. Fortunately, it was wrapped in a plastic bag, which saved it from the water damage.
As for the paper talismans I had drawn myself, they had all turned into mud and were unrecognizable. Anyway, the talismans I drew myself couldn't compare to those drawn by my master, so I didn't feel bad about discarding them.
After packing my belongings, I prepared to leave, but as I slung my backpack on, something fell out.
*Pa--*
"Hmm?"
I looked down and saw what appeared to be a black, lumpy iron object, about half the size of my palm.
I bent down to pick it up and wiped off the dirt. I was stunned. I never expected it to be this thing.
While I was still in a daze, Zhang Dabiao had already called me softly several times from above. Looking at the iron lump in my hand, I hesitated for a long time, but I still couldn't bear to throw it away. I casually tossed it into my backpack and left the cave.
Emerging from the warm cave, I couldn't help but shiver. The difference in temperature between the forest at night and during the day could be ten degrees Celsius or even more.
I tied a slipknot around the rope that had been lowered and fastened it to my waist, then pulled it firmly twice.
Above, Zhang Dabiao, having received the signal, began to pull the rope up. I also used this momentum to climb up. I didn't know how they had managed to get up. Even with Zhang Dabiao pulling me from above, I climbed up with difficulty.
*Squeak--*
*Roar--*
As I was halfway up, the sound of mountain spirits came from a distance, which made me anxious. I lost my grip and slipped down several meters.
"Don't get distracted. They're far away from us! Hurry up and climb," Zhang Dabiao's slightly strained voice sounded from above.
When I finally managed to climb to the top of the cliff, the mountain spirits' voices were right beside me. But for some reason, they did not attack us, only emitting threatening sounds from the trees.
Zhang Dabiao and I stood back to back, constantly on guard against surprise attacks. Just then, a more high-pitched cry came from the direction of the valley.
Upon hearing it, my heart sank. It was over. The mountain spirit leader had arrived.