Li Jian was so angered by my "money or not" that he almost had a heart attack on the spot. He snorted and turned to leave, no longer bothering to ask me any questions. Seeing this, Zhang Dabiao quietly gave me a thumbs-up.
With no one to disturb me, I could finally get a good night's sleep. I had run around the mountains all day, and had been chased by mountain sprites for half the day. My entire body ached as if it had fallen apart.
If I hadn't wanted to give the impression of being weak and helpless, I would have collapsed into my sleeping bag long ago. How could I have held on until now?
As soon as my head hit the pillow, my vision went black, and I knew nothing more. I didn't know how long I had slept before I was woken by a commotion.
I rubbed my eyes and found that a group of people had appeared in the cave at some point.
Because the cave was quite large, and our location was towards the back, I could only tell that they were all very burly, like bears standing on their hind legs. Sudan Novel Network
One person was particularly conspicuous. The leader was a burly man nearly two meters tall, with a full beard and a large, hooked nose. He carried a meter-high backpack.
The men who entered with him were also nearly two meters tall, each carrying a backpack. As they unloaded their packs, they landed on the ground with thuds, indicating their considerable weight.
"Brother Zhang, who are they? They look like mercenaries from TV."
This wasn't me speaking carelessly, but their appearance was different from that of Chinese people. Chinese people generally have black hair and black eyes, while they had brown hair and mostly blue eyes, with a few having hazel-yellow eyes.
Zhang Dabiao shook his head and said, "It's hard to say, but they're definitely not mercenaries."
"How do you know?"
"There are no mercenaries in China. If I'm not mistaken, they should also be Chinese, likely from the border regions."
"The border?"
"Yes!"
As soon as we finished speaking, the bearded man leading them began to converse with Li Jian in fluent Chinese, confirming Zhang Dabiao's guess.
Li Jian appeared extremely enthusiastic towards these newcomers from the border regions, even taking the initiative to shake hands with the leader. Judging by their expressions during their conversation, they seemed to be very familiar with each other.
Apart from the first few sentences we overheard, the rest of their conversation was taken aside by Li Jian, so we didn't know what they were discussing.
The next morning, we were woken up. After breakfast, Li Jian arranged the order of our departure.
The three of us were still arranged at the end, which suited me perfectly. Even if I were asked to go in front, I would find a way to lag behind.
Although Fatty Kang and I had dealt with most of the mountain sprites, a small portion had not been affected by the tranquilizer. Especially the mountain sprite leader and the dozen or so exceptionally large mountain sprite guards, they alone could easily deal with all of us. Walking in front would be suicidal.
With the addition of these border people, Li Jian was like a peacock that had eaten something good; his smile never left his face, and he appeared full of confidence.
On the way to the valley, almost no one spoke. Even Yue'er, who always loved listening to music, seemed a little quiet, and she frowned from time to time, appearing somewhat preoccupied.
Since Fatty Kang had been there before, we took fewer detours this time. Before noon, we were almost at the valley.
Li Jian then arranged for everyone to rest, and then sent Hei Zi to the rear of the team to invite me, Zhang Dabiao, and Yue'er over.
"Young Friend Song, we are about to enter the valley, and you and Daoist Kang have a relatively good understanding of the situation inside. Daoist Kang has already explained the situation to us, but I still want to ask you if you have anything to add?"
I raised an eyebrow and glanced at Fatty Kang beside me. He was looking at me with a blank expression, as if he had never seen me before.
I chuckled and said, "What I know, Daoist Kang knows it all. What I don't know, he also knows. So I have nothing to add."
How could I possibly tell you that the mountain sprite leader would leave here in a few days?
Seeing that I was unwilling to say anything, Li Jian couldn't help but frown, appearing somewhat displeased, but he didn't say anything.
Then, he arranged for the team to split into two groups. The group of border people who arrived yesterday were sent into the valley first to clear out the remaining mountain sprites, while we would follow behind, ready to provide support at any time.
I couldn't help but secretly give Li Jian a thumbs-up for his arrangement. I didn't know how to describe such a brilliant idea.
The bearded man didn't ask any more questions and immediately instructed his subordinates to prepare.
They each opened their backpacks and took out various weapons, which dazzled me.
When one of them assembled a small rocket launcher, I couldn't help but worry about the mountain sprites.
This thing was not something that flesh and blood could resist. It was truly a god-killer and a Buddha-slayer.
"I knew why that old guy's mouth had been stretched so wide since this morning, like he'd eaten magpie droppings. It turns out he had this thing."
Yue'er pouted and sneered, "If this thing dares to be used here, it's definitely seeking death."
I looked at her confusedly and asked, "Why?"
She didn't explain, but Zhang Dabiao beside me explained, "There are too many trees around, and they are covered with many vines. If it gets entangled by the vines, it's uncertain who will die."
While we were talking, the bearded man had already led his subordinates to the entrance of the valley. Perhaps because Fatty Kang had said that the mountain sprites would not come out of the valley, the bearded man and his men were walking very carelessly.
Roar, roar—
With two roars from the mountain sprite leader from within the valley, a black light shot out from the valley. Immediately, a man walking beside the bearded man fell straight to the ground.
Upon closer inspection, a black stone the size of a fist was embedded in the man's head. His body twitched twice, and he breathed his last.
The bearded man was stunned, then shouted loudly, "Be careful, there's something going on."
He didn't need to shout. The men beside him had already prepared to fight, aiming all sorts of firearms at the valley.
Li Jian and Fang Biuzi were so scared that they hid behind the big trees, fearing being beheaded by the mountain sprite leader.
I pulled Zhang Dabiao and retreated a bit further. If the situation turned bad, we would leave immediately.
As soon as I moved, Fatty Kang, who had been following Fang Biuzi, ran over, his fat face covered in sweat.
"Young Friend Song, where are you going?"