I turned off my headlamp along with Xiao Liang, and we quietly lay in ambush in the shadows of the cave. I kept my hand on the diving knife at my waist, making sure I could wield it in self-defense at any moment.

At first, the rustling sound was indistinct, as if it were still far away, but soon it grew louder as it approached.

I could feel my heart pounding wildly, almost jumping out of my throat. Xiao Liang next to me was even more terrified, trembling uncontrollably.

I quickly held her down and whispered, "Don't shake! Don't let that thing find us!"

Xiao Liang bit her lip and nodded, but her body wouldn't obey. I could only hold her tight to prevent her from making noise due to the violent shaking.

Soon, the rustling sound came closer, and I smelled a foul odor, likely the golden-faced dwarf’s body odor.

Then, a dim light flashed into the cave. It must have been the light source brought by the golden-faced monster. Following the light, I gasped!

The short, stocky monster was holding a flashlight-like tool, wearing a gold foil mask, and standing at the entrance of the cave, cautiously peering inside.

It seemed to sense that there were people in this cave and had come to eliminate them.

Thinking of Lao Zhang dying at its hands and the scene of it strangling the Xiaoling Guard in the water, I felt a wave of fear.

This strange monster was clearly a demon that kills without batting an eye!

At this moment, Xiao Liang and I were lurking in the shadows of the cave, silently praying that the golden-faced dwarf wouldn't see us.

But it was clearly smarter than we thought. After looking at the entrance of the cave for a while, it quickly discovered a unique "water stain" on the ground – the alkaline solution I had used to treat Xiao Liang's wound.

This evidence directly proved that there were people in the cave! The golden-faced dwarf immediately stepped into the cave!

At this moment, my heart was about to jump out of my chest!

Because once it entered the cave, it would see us as soon as it turned around!

In this critical moment, I couldn't afford to be afraid!

As the saying goes, strike first and gain the upper hand!

Now, the enemy was in the dark, and we were in the light. It was a good opportunity to catch it off guard!

Whether it was human or ghost, I'd give it Cheng Yaojin's Three Axe Moves first!

Thinking of this, I hardened my heart, suddenly pulled out the diving knife from my waist, turned on the headlamp on my head to shine the light into the golden-faced dwarf's eyes, and with a loud roar, I launched a jumping slash at it!

"Die, you bastard!"

The golden-faced dwarf was obviously startled. Suddenly blinded by the light of the headlamp, it was caught off guard and could only take two steps back, raising its arm to block my diving knife!

A cold light flashed, and the sharp blade fell!

Instantly, a shrill scream came!

"Aaawooo!"

The diving knife drew blood on the spot. Under the cold light of the headlamp, I saw that the golden-faced dwarf's blood was also red.

It was certain that this monster wasn't invulnerable. It wasn't as scary as I had imagined.

Having tasted the sweetness of success, I pressed my advantage, stepped forward, kicked the thing in the chest, and followed up with another slash!

"Die!"

The golden-faced dwarf was hit in the shoulder again and fell to the ground, rolling and crawling, covered in alkaline solution.

Just as I was about to deliver another blow, the dwarf grabbed a handful of dirt and threw it at my face. While I turned my head to avoid it, it struggled to get up and ran away.

Although its legs were short, it ran very fast, disappearing into the tunnel outside the cave in the blink of an eye.

Because I still had Xiao Liang to take care of, I didn't rush to chase after it.

After this battle, my heart was pounding, feeling like it was about to jump out of my chest.

At this moment, Xiao Liang rushed over nervously, grabbed my shoulders, and asked, "Chen Rongsheng, are you okay? Are you hurt? Let me see!"

I smiled and shook my head, "I'm fine, I'm not hurt. Did you see that? I almost beat it to a pulp! If it hadn't run fast, I could have taken its dog life on the spot!"

Xiao Liang said with a red face, "I... I didn't dare to look. I was scared..."

Hearing this, I was speechless.

My god-like moment actually had no audience. What a waste of emotion.

Then Xiao Liang asked, "Did you see it clearly? Is it a Kappa, or a dwarf mule?"

I shook my head. "That thing was wearing a mask the whole time. I couldn't see it clearly."

Saying this, I lowered my head to check the diving knife. The blood on the blade was bright red, not like the blood of some mountain spirit or water monster, but more like human blood.

"What color is a Kappa's blood? Is it also red?" I asked Xiao Liang.

Xiao Liang shook her head. "How would I know? I've never chopped up a Kappa before."

I felt a burst of pride and said with a smile, "Hehe, so that means I'm someone who's chopped up a Kappa too."

After this battle, I suddenly didn't feel so scared anymore, because it proved that the golden-faced dwarf wasn't without weaknesses. It couldn't withstand my diving knife either.

After all, I was young back then. You're not a chuunibyou (a person with delusions of grandeur) if you're not young.

This battle boosted my confidence, and I even had the idea of chasing down the monster.

I pointed to the bloodstains on the ground and said, "Let's go, Xiao Liang. Let's catch it and see if it's really a Kappa."

Xiao Liang looked at me with a collapsed expression and said in a trembling voice, "Chen Rongsheng, please don't joke with me like that."

I said I wasn't joking. That thing was already injured. We had to strike while the iron was hot and not let it get away!

With that, I grabbed Xiao Liang's hand and started tracking it along the bloodstains.

Xiao Liang was both scared and unwilling to refuse me, because if she didn't go with me, she would be alone. She could only try to persuade me while hurrying along, "Chen Rongsheng, don't be impulsive. I think the most important thing for us now is to reunite with Officer Jiang and the others."

But I shook my head. "You don't understand. As long as this golden-faced dwarf is alive, it will continue to pose a threat to us. It dug through the wall to flood us earlier. If we let it go, we'll still be ambushed. Only by getting rid of it can we be completely safe."

Xiao Liang was gradually persuaded by me but still said uneasily, "But... you can't go and fight it alone!"

I said I wasn't alone, weren't you here?

Xiao Liang was completely speechless and had no choice but to follow behind me with trepidation.

After chasing along the bloodstains for about twenty minutes, I gradually heard the rustling sound again. As soon as I heard this sound, I knew I was about to find that shorty.

I immediately quickened my pace and chased forward with Xiao Liang.

Turning a corner in a tunnel, a large tomb chamber appeared in front of us.

I looked up and saw that the shorty had just climbed onto a stone coffin in the center of the tomb chamber, seemingly wanting to hide inside to treat its wounds.

Seeing us chasing after it, it raised its golden-masked face and stared at us from afar.

I slowly placed my hand on the diving knife at my waist. Just as I was about to draw my knife and attack, I heard the strange golden-faced dwarf actually speak!

I only heard it say in a hoarse voice, clearly enunciating, "I was sleeping peacefully here for a thousand years. Why do you disturb my slumber?!"

"Leave at once!"