Chapter 74

Xu Mo stood at the fork in the path, listening intently for a moment. From deep within the cave, came a distant, heavy breathing, as if from two giant bellows.

He couldn't help but feel a chill of fear. What kind of monster could be hiding in this cave?

He vaguely discerned that the monster's breathing was coming from the left fork. He sprinkled some fluorescent powder in an inconspicuous corner to mark the direction, then headed toward the left fork.

The deeper he went into the cave, the darker it became, and the forks multiplied. Eventually, even with Xu Mo's keen eyesight, he could no longer see anything and had to feel his way forward.

However, by following the direction of the monster's breathing, he didn't have to worry about taking the wrong path. He marked each fork with fluorescent powder to avoid getting lost on the way back.

The deeper he went, the louder the monster's breathing became. As he approached, a faint light began to appear ahead, which surprised him: How could there be light in the cave? Was he about to find a way out?

Full of doubt, he continued walking for a while. Suddenly, the cave opened up into a vast hall. The light was dim but sufficient to reveal the entire hall.

The hall was at least 700 to 800 square meters in area, resembling a circular dance floor. It was very high, with the ceiling about 7 to 8 meters above the ground.

On the ceiling grew a type of luminescent grass. The grass was small, with roots embedded in the rock crevices and leaves shaped like willow leaves, long and slender, emitting a faint glow. This faint glow illuminated the entire hall.

Xu Mo looked up at the grass a few times but couldn't identify it. Clearly, the hall had been dug out by the monster.

Around the hall were a dozen cave entrances. He was now very close to the monster. Xu Mo knew clearly that the monster was in one of these entrances, about a few dozen meters from the hall.

From the sound of the monster's breathing, it seemed to be sleeping. Xu Mo felt a surge of joy and continued forward, holding his breath to blend in with the surroundings, making no sound. The monster didn't sense his approach.

Leaving the hall, without the luminescent grass, the visibility became dim again. Xu Mo felt his way to the end of the cave where the monster was, and by feeling his way, he realized he had reached another small hall.

The monster was sleeping in this small hall. Its breathing was now very loud and heavy, like a series of闷雷 (muffled thunder) in Xu Mo's ears.

Without light, Xu Mo couldn't see what the monster looked like, but he had no time to care. He stopped at the edge of the small hall, took out a bamboo tube containing the rage powder, removed the stopper, and poured it on the ground.

He was worried that the monster might not inhale enough powder to become enraged, so he poured out all the rage powder. The powder was extremely fine, and Xu Mo deliberately aimed it in the direction of the monster's breathing. As soon as it hit the ground, it was blown into the air by the monster's exhalation.

The monster immediately inhaled the air mixed with the rage powder and sneezed several times. Xu Mo, who had plugged his nose and held his breath, was not worried about inhaling the powder. He quietly retreated to the hall, found another cave entrance, and hid inside.

Everything was ready. He then used his "harmony with nature" ability to let out a loud cry. This ability was very peculiar, as it allowed him to blend with his surroundings and control the environment in a miraculous way. By using the principle of sound reflection, he could make a sound in the east and have it heard from the west, controlling it at will.

Thus, when he cried out in the depths of the cave, the sound seemed to come from outside. The monster, hearing the sound, immediately woke up and let out a deep roar.

Xu Mo intended to provoke it and cried out again. The monster, thinking it was being challenged, roared even louder, its voice filled with anger due to the rage powder.

Xu Mo cried out once more, and he heard the heavy footsteps of the monster as it charged out of the cave. Its body was so heavy that the entire mountain seemed to shake as it ran.

The monster's speed was not very fast, similar to that of an ordinary cow, but in its anger, it collided with the cave walls several times. With a few 'crashes,' the rocks fell, indicating that the monster's momentum had knocked down the protruding rocks on the walls.

Xu Mo was even more surprised and couldn't resist stepping to the entrance of his hiding cave to see what the monster looked like.

Soon, the monster's figure burst out of the cave and entered the hall. The light from the luminescent grass on the ceiling illuminated its body, and Xu Mo was stunned by its appearance.

The monster's appearance was so bizarre that he couldn't identify it.

To be precise, it wasn't that he couldn't recognize any part of it. He recognized each part, but when combined, it was unrecognizable. It looked as if different parts of several creatures had been sewn together.

For example, its body was the size of a cow, with a rat-like body but a hippo's head. It was covered in thick scales like a pangolin, with a long, spear-like spike on its back. Its limbs were thick like a rhinoceros, but it had cat-like claws, sharp and sword-like. As it ran, its claws left deep marks on the hard rock.

In that moment of shock, the monster had already charged out of the hall. Xu Mo cried out a few more times, and the monster became even more enraged, seemingly driven mad, roaring loudly as it charged out.

The monster's voice was extremely loud, and anyone in the valley would surely hear it. Xu Mo thought that the two men must have already heard the sound. If they were indeed here for the monster, they would surely come in this direction.

Xu Mo followed the monster out of the cave, worried that the two men might arrive too late and miss the aphrodisiac powder at the cave entrance. If the monster charged out and encountered them outside, his plan would be in vain.

Therefore, when the monster was almost at the cave entrance, he cried out a few more times, this time from deep within the cave, leading the monster in circles.

The cave had many forks, and he had already hidden in one of them before the monster returned.

After the monster passed, he walked back out of the cave. When he was a few dozen meters from the entrance, he suddenly stopped.

He could clearly hear the footsteps of two people outside the cave. As he had expected, Wei and Chu had both arrived. Xu Mo could even hear their breathing.

The two men hadn't entered yet, apparently observing outside the cave. Xu Mo was not in a hurry.

He heard Wei ask, "Old Chu, is this the place?"

Chu responded after a moment, "Judging by the appearance of the cave, it should be. I can't think of anything else that could dig such a cave."

Wei's voice was tense, "If this cave was really dug by it, that means it has mutated. After mutation, it will be much stronger. With just the two of us and our guns, we might not be able to take it back."

Chu's voice also sounded timid. He sighed, "No matter what, we should go in and take a look. Whether we can take it back is one thing, but we need to investigate the situation. Even if we can't take it back, we can at least report back with a clear understanding."

Wei hesitated for a long time before sighing, "You're right, but it knows the cave better than we do. Once we go in, we might not come out alive." His words clearly showed his reluctance to enter.

Hearing the tremor in his voice and the fear in his tone, Xu Mo couldn't help but sneer: So you're afraid too!

But hearing Wei's words, he also felt some concern: If they don't come in, won't the aphrodisiac powder at the entrance be wasted?

He heard Chu ask, "What do you suggest we do?"

Wei reminded him, "Didn't we already have a plan? Once we find where the thing is hiding, we would take action against Xu. We would force him to reveal the secret formula for the wine and then bring him here to explore the cave."

Chu slapped his thigh in delight, "You're right. I was so excited when I got the news that I forgot."

Wei laughed, "I thought that might be the case. The plan was your idea, after all."

Chu continued thoughtfully, "Yes! We'll bring Xu to find the thing. If our guns can't hurt it, we'll break Xu's legs to buy time. While the thing is killing Xu, we'll find a chance to escape."

Hearing this, Xu Mo was furious: Even at the brink of death, you still want to scheme against me!

"Brilliant!" Wei was delighted and clapped his hands, then sneered, "Xu probably doesn't know. But dying under the thing's claws will be a mercy for him."

"Let's not waste time. We'll go back now. Xu must still be on the mountaintop. We'll capture him and force him to reveal the formula first," Chu said.

"Good!" Wei agreed.

Then the sound of footsteps indicated that the two men were moving away from the cave, heading in the opposite direction.

Xu Mo was desperate and couldn't help shouting, "Xu is here! Are you looking for me?"