The frenzied scar-faced mountain demon wildly swung its claws, attacking anything that came near it. The first to bear the brunt was the stone wall I had built, which it demolished with a single swipe.
Instantly, stones the size of fists shot out like bullets, striking the wall with a series of bangs. The impact shook the cave ceiling, causing dirt to rain down.
This sent a shiver of fear down my spine. Fortunately, I had fled into the cave the moment I injured it, hiding around a corner. Otherwise, I would have been smashed into a pulp.
Listening to the scar-faced mountain demon's wails, I cautiously poked out half my head to observe the situation outside. I saw the scar-faced mountain demon clutching one eye with a claw while its other claw flailed about. Any other mountain demons that tried to approach to investigate the situation immediately became targets for its rage.
A mountain demon shorter than the scar-faced one was struck on the head by a paw as soon as it got close. Red and white matter splattered across the ground, scaring the other approaching mountain demons into retreating several steps.
They circled the scar-faced mountain demon, chirping incessantly. Their rapid calls seemed to be either comforting the scar-faced demon or telling it that the one who injured it was in the cave, so it shouldn't take its anger out on its own kind.
They say fingers are connected to the heart. Normally, a small cut on a finger would cause pain for a long time. What's more, I had just blinded one of its eyes with my Yin Iron wooden ruler. Just thinking about the pain made my heart tremble.
The scar-faced mountain demon completely ignored its companions' urgent cries and reached out with its claws towards the nearest mountain demon.
The mountain demon being grabbed naturally refused to be a sitting duck. It opened its massive maw and bit towards the scar-faced demon's claw.
The scar-faced mountain demon, already driven mad by the pain of losing an eye, felt another surge of agony. The claw covering its eye grabbed onto the head of another mountain demon.
Chirp chirp--
The scar-faced mountain demon held the other mountain demon's head in its hand. The smell of blood instantly permeated the air for several meters. Seeing this, the other mountain demons scattered in all directions and vanished in the blink of an eye.
Seeing this, I rejoiced in my heart. With the other mountain demons gone, you should chase after them. It would be best if you all fought and died.
This time, it seemed the Grand Ancestor did not hear my plea. The scar-faced mountain demon did not pursue them but remained in place. Then, it slowly turned its head to look towards the cave. Its remaining eye glowed red, and under the moonlight, it appeared more ferocious than a hungry ghost.
It was clear that it still remembered me, its enemy. Its single remaining eye shone brightly, but it did not charge directly into the cave. Instead, it began to circle outside the cave.
Just as I was pondering what it intended to do, I saw it leap up and disappear from the cave entrance, which struck me as odd.
Mountain demons are known for their vengeful nature. Not only did I injure one of its eyes, but even when Yue'er hit one with a stone, they chased her all over the mountains. This shows how strong their desire for revenge is.
Just as I was hesitating whether to leave the cave, a tree trunk as thick as a thigh came crashing down from above.
Bang--
It hit the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust. Then came the second, and the third. After five were thrown down, the scar-faced mountain demon reappeared.
It first walked to the cave entrance and chirped a few times at me, as if telling me something, but I couldn't understand what it meant.
Then, I saw it actually pick up a tree trunk as thick as a thigh and throw it into the cave. Then came the second, the third. It was only when it threw in the fourth that I understood what it was trying to do.
I never imagined that this scar-faced mountain demon would try to block the cave entrance, intending to trap me inside and starve me to death.
Five tree trunks were jammed into the cave entrance, their canopies completely blocking it. From the inside, it was difficult for even a fly to get through, let alone a person.
After finishing this, the scar-faced mountain demon let out satisfied chirps outside, seemingly very pleased with its handiwork. I, on the other hand, was somewhat stunned.
This made me doubt again if they were truly mountain demons. Judging by its actions, this one was doing something only a human would do – eliminating danger before it advances.
Through the gaps in the branches, I could vaguely sense the scar-faced mountain demon happily hopping around. It wasn't until the moon began to set in the west that it reluctantly left the cave entrance.
Seeing it leave, I immediately tried to push the large trees outward, but they wouldn't budge. Although the trees only blocked part of the entrance, their canopies were firmly wedged outside. If they were pulled from the outside, it might be possible, but pushing from the inside, I couldn't exert any force.
The entire cave entrance was completely sealed. I tried to break the branches wedged in the entrance, but due to the wrong leverage, I couldn't apply any force. Furthermore, the branches were pressed tightly against each other due to the compression, forming a large stopper.
And I had become the unluckiest little crab, trapped tightly in the cave.
"Calm down, I must remain calm."
I took a few deep breaths, trying to calm myself down. At this moment, the more anxious I became, the less likely I was to find a solution to my predicament.
The best course of action now was to wait. Wait for Zhang Dabiao to realize I hadn't returned, or for Yue'er to have a surge of compassion and come to rescue me. But I didn't know how long that would take. What if they didn't think to look for me here?
Therefore, waiting for their rescue was a last resort, a choice I was forced to make. I took out everything I had on me to see what could be useful.
After organizing, I found that only a windproof lighter, more than half a bottle of mineral water, and a small packet of compressed biscuits were useful to me now. Everything else was completely useless.
With the windproof lighter, my hope of getting out increased. This mountain cave was very deep, with a high entrance and a low interior. Even if I set fire to the trees at the entrance, not much smoke would enter.
I couldn't start a fire yet. Firstly, I wasn't sure if the scar-faced mountain demon outside had left. Secondly, if Zhang Dabiao came looking for me, he wouldn't be able to see any smoke rising from here in the middle of the night. So, I had to wait until daylight.
With a plan for escape, my mood naturally became much lighter. A wave of sleepiness washed over me. Fortunately, the dried herbs I had slept on before were still there. Not only did this solve the problem of kindling, but it also allowed me to get a good night's sleep.
I slept so soundly that I lost all track of time. In my dreams, I was either being chased by mountain demons all over the mountains or being forced to jump off a cliff by that old immortal Li Zuoquan. In short, I woke up feeling extremely exhausted.
Through the gaps in the branches, I could see that it was already bright outside. Estimating the time, it was around ten o'clock in the morning. After eating a compressed biscuit and drinking a little more than half of the water, I felt a bit more energetic.
I gathered all the usable stones inside the cave and piled them onto the tree trunks, forming a circle. Then, I piled the dried herbs on top. This would not only concentrate the fire but also somewhat prevent smoke from blowing back in.
I tore off a piece of cloth from my clothes, soaked it in water, and tied it around my nose. With everything prepared, I lit the dried herbs. As a flame shot up, I quickly moved to the deepest part of the cave, pressed myself against the ground, and waited for the fire to rage.
Watching the flames gradually begin to rise, I breathed a sigh of relief. I could finally get out.
As the fire grew larger, the temperature inside the cave also increased. One of the pine trees even caught fire entirely. Now, I felt like a mouse squatting in a heated brick bed, with the constant possibility of being roasted.
I couldn't just sit here and wait to die.
Seeing that the canopies blocking the entrance were almost completely burned, I gulped down the last bit of water in the bottle and, enduring the intense heat, pushed hard against the burning tree trunks.
Sparks flew, and thick smoke billowed out. The canopies, which had tightly blocked the cave, had become extremely fragile after being burned. The fire, which had been raging fiercely moments before, suddenly weakened.
It would take at least several hours for these tree trunks to burn completely. By then, I would have been dried out and cooked. I didn't care about the sparks still on the tree trunks. Taking advantage of the weakened flames, I grabbed my belongings and scrambled out using all four limbs.
"Ouch, it's burning hot, damn it!"