Chapter 44: The Eerie Cave

The miracles of nature are always nurtured in silence. The great wheels of the universe turn noiselessly, and humanity, insignificant to the point of being negligible within this vastness, nonetheless seems to share a boundless connection with it. As the saying goes, “To see a world in a grain of sand, and a heaven in a wild flower. Hold infinity in the palm of your hand, and eternity in an hour.” Perhaps this is what it means.

In the blink of an eye, just as Lin Hai was still uncertain, a dark figure had already lunged in front of him. He had no time to react, instinctively turning to the side, gathering his spiritual power, and bracing with his shoulder.

With a thunderous crash, even with Lin Hai’s formidable defenses, he was sent flying over ten meters before coming to a halt; the hard ground beneath him was gouged into a deep furrow by the sheer force of his body. Yet the shadowy figure merely staggered, remaining where it was.

The impact was so tremendous that the rocks lining the tunnel walls began to crack and crumble. As debris rained down, the shadow darted forward and escaped, leaving the falling stones to instantly block the tunnel behind it.

Lin Hai stared, unable to believe what had just happened. Even though he had been caught off guard, he’d used eighty percent of his strength, yet he was utterly outmatched.

To run into such a formidable adversary in this kind of terrain—there wasn’t even an option to flee. He hurriedly pulled out a stack of talismans, pressed his palms together, and was about to cast a spell when a familiar voice called out from ahead.

“Damn! What the hell is this? Blocking my way? Listen up, punk! I’ve worked the land, carried a rifle, been wounded, and—well, never mind that! Don’t mess with me, just get out of my way!”

Lin Hai froze. Wasn’t that Lin Fan’s voice? Why was that kid barreling backward? Baffled, he finally dared to catch his breath, his heart settling a little as he shouted back, “Hey! You little brat, I’m your uncle! Are you trying to kill me? I’ve been running flat out without a break, and now I finally found you!”

The shadowy figure that had burst forth was none other than Lin Fan, who had earlier been booted into the pit by Lin Hai.

Hearing that the one blocking his path was Lin Hai, Lin Fan immediately erupted in rage, cursing, “You old bastard! Were you trying to kick me to death? And you remember I’m your nephew now, do you?!”

Lin Hai switched on his flashlight, shining the beam over to see Lin Fan quickly shoving aside the rubble in his way. Without a hint of mercy, Lin Fan revved up again and charged straight at him.

“Wait! It’s a misunderstanding—” Lin Hai hastily turned his back, bracing himself against the cave wall with hands and feet.

Still fuming, Lin Fan didn’t care about the details. He floored it and rammed into Lin Hai again.

Even though Lin Hai was prepared this time, he still underestimated Lin Fan’s brute force. Despite using all his strength, he couldn’t withstand the impact and was sent tumbling head over heels before coming to a stop.

Flat on his face, Lin Hai was just about to get up when he felt someone step on him several times. Furious, he yelled, “You little rascal! Haven’t you had enough? I told you it was a mistake—what more do you want? You dare trample me? I’ll—”

After leaping over Lin Hai, Lin Fan stopped about ten meters away, his eyes fixed intently on something behind Lin Hai, as if he’d seen something terrifying. He kept edging backward, ready to bolt at any moment.

Lin Hai picked up his flashlight and, by its beam, saw Lin Fan’s pale face and darting eyes. Sensing something was wrong—after all, this kid was never so disrespectful to him—he tensed up, and without further thought, dove forward and rolled away, firing off several talismans behind him. Forming a quick seal with his hands, he shouted, “Explode!”

Boom! Boom! Boom! The tunnel, already battered by their earlier collisions, now collapsed entirely, blocking the passage completely.

Turning around, Lin Hai shone his flashlight at the collapsed tunnel, bracing himself for a fight.

Ten minutes later, unable to bear the suspense, he sidled over to Lin Fan and whispered, “What did you just see?”

Lin Fan, still shaken, replied, “Thank god it didn’t catch me. A snake—a python whose head was as big as a train engine! It lunged at me with its bloody maw wide open, ready to make me its snack. I swear, I should’ve checked my horoscope before leaving home today; what terrible luck!”

Lin Hai waited a while longer. When there was still no movement, he leaned against the cave wall with a sigh. “What exactly happened to you just now?”

Lin Fan finally relaxed a little, slumping to the ground. “After you kicked me into that tunnel, I rolled all the way down to a huge cavern. And damn it, there was a giant python coiled up in there! I nearly soiled myself. Now I realize the whole tunnel system was custom-built for it!”

Seeing Lin Fan’s haggard, shell-shocked look, Lin Hai pondered for a moment and said, “If what you say is true, then things just got a lot more dangerous. Where’s the rat? Why didn’t you summon it for help?”

“Ugh, our fusion skill drains it too much. It already burned through its soul power fighting that cat demon earlier—there’s no way it can help now…” Lin Fan suddenly remembered something and looked at Lin Hai oddly. “Uncle, did you come all the way down through the same tunnel we used?”

Lin Hai paused, surprised. “Why do you ask? It’s not like I could dig my own way down.”

Lin Fan, forgetting his surroundings in his shock, jumped up and banged his head on the cave ceiling with a loud thud, immediately doubling over in pain. “Ow, damn it!”

Clutching his head, he shouted, “But I fell down from the tunnel in the cave ceiling and ended up crawling out through a side tunnel in the wall! I didn’t come in or out through the same tunnel. So how did we meet up?”

Lin Hai was baffled. “Tell me exactly what happened.”

Recalling his ordeal, Lin Fan shuddered. “As soon as I dropped into the cavern, I saw two lanterns—I thought I’d time-traveled! But when they floated closer, damn it, those were eyes filled with terror and death. I’ll never forget that look. I’ve never seen a snake so huge. Its forked tongue, its gaping mouth—those fangs were even longer than you! I—”

Lin Hai grabbed Lin Fan’s wrist anxiously. “Describe the snake in detail.”

“It was pitch black—who could see what it really looked like? It was a snake, that’s all I know!” Lin Fan shook off Lin Hai’s grubby hand, annoyed. Damn, he doesn’t care about me, just that monster!

Lin Hai considered this and nodded. “Go on.”

“When I finally reacted and was ready to fight it, it was already too late—the beast was right in front of me! I had no choice but to retreat. I barely ran two steps before I was backed up against the cave wall. I honestly thought about bashing my head in right there, figured I was done for. But then, as the python loomed over me, I saw by the light of its ‘lanterns’ that the entire cavern was honeycombed with tunnels. Didn’t dare look twice; I just threw myself into the nearest tunnel and clawed my way out—and that’s how I ran into you.” He shivered again as he finished.

“Come on, let’s go take a look.”

Without another word, Lin Hai pulled out a talisman, slapped it onto the rubble blocking the tunnel, formed a seal, murmured an incantation, then clenched his fists and smashed them into the heap.

Lin Fan hesitated, debating whether to follow Lin Hai back down.

But the next moment, he watched as Lin Hai’s fists hit the rocks and, as if smashing through tofu, the entire blockage burst apart, the stones breaking into tiny pieces and rolling down the sloped tunnel. He felt a bit more confident, though he still asked cautiously, “Uncle, are you sure about this? Can you really handle that monster?”

Lin Hai didn’t even look back, flexing his fists and making no room for argument. “We have to go! We can’t leave things unfinished. What, you want to chicken out now? With your skinny frame, that snake probably felt sorry for you! With me here, what’s there to fear?”

“Uncle, with words like that, I’d follow you to hell! Let’s skin that thing and take its gallbladder—good for your health!” Fired up by Lin Hai’s words, Lin Fan resolved to follow him, come what may.

“‘Good for your health’ my ass! Stay close. There’s something off about these tunnels—if you get lost, I’m not coming back for you.” Lin Hai led the way, secretly massaging his swollen fingers and cursing inwardly, “That little brat had better not be lying. I can’t even use my spiritual power now—what if we run into that thing again? To save strength, I have to use that damn softening technique. Damn, it hurts!”

The two of them twisted and turned through the tunnels for a while before their flashlight beams finally illuminated a wide, open space.

Lin Hai, on high alert, switched off the flashlight and motioned for Lin Fan to slow down. He reached over and touched both his own and Lin Fan’s eyes, activating thermal vision.

Before Lin Fan’s eyes, a red silhouette of varying intensity immediately appeared—Lin Hai’s thermal projection.

Lin Fan was amazed. So advanced? He’d have to ask his uncle later if this had X-ray features, too.

Lin Hai crawled quietly to the edge of the opening, cautiously poking his head out to survey the pitch-black cavern.

Lin Fan, seeing Lin Hai stare for a long time without reacting, crept up beside him. Not a breath of movement in sight. Huh? This time, the tunnel wasn’t at the top or bottom, but opened into the middle of the cavern. Another change?

“Hey, nephew, you weren’t dreaming again, were you? You sure you didn’t trick me?”

Lin Fan raised his right hand and, swearing by the large red head before him, declared, “If I lied to you, may I be cursed to eat our cousin’s cooking forever!”

“Oof, that’s harsh. Must be true, then. Let’s go!” Without hesitation, Lin Hai leaped down with agility.

Lin Fan followed close behind.