The fatty swung his entrenching tool, smashing it down on the monster's head as the creature struggled against its chains, lunging madly at him.
Unfortunately, it was no match for the fatty. I seized the opportunity and slowly sidled away, then darted forward to grab the lighter.
Who would have thought, just as I was rushing forward, the back of the monster's head seemed to grow eyes, and it turned to charge at me.
I dared not go for the lighter again and had to retreat quickly.
"Fatty! You need to put more effort into it!" I shouted.
The fatty spat into his hand and rubbed it, cursing, "Damn it, let's see how Fatty deals with you!"
I saw the fatty knock down several stones from the side with his entrenching tool and then hurl them at the monster.
These stones had considerable force, and coupled with the fatty's accurate aim, they struck the monster's forehead.
With this blow, the monster lunged furiously at the fatty.
Seeing this, I said, "Fatty, smash it hard for me!"
"You got it!"
I took a deep breath, gritted my teeth, and charged forward again. The monster seemed to notice me and was about to turn, but another stone from the fatty drew its attention.
My heart pounded like never before, almost matching my best hundred-meter sprint times from school. I picked up the lighter and was about to dash back when the monster suddenly turned its head, ignoring the fatty completely, and charged at me.
At that moment, I realized I had been tricked!
This monster was far smarter than I had imagined!
It had deliberately feigned being distracted by the fatty, and its true target was me!
In the blink of an eye, the monster was upon me!
Seeing that it was too late to escape, I had no choice but to brace myself and light the lighter.
The lighter the fatty had was a Diao Gang lighter. After opening the lid, it ignited, and as long as the lid wasn't closed, it wouldn't extinguish.
I lit the lighter and threw it towards the monster. The monster, which had been lunging at me, instantly transformed into a giant fireball!
I leaped to the side, and it missed. It was then that I quickly got up and ran towards the fatty.
The monster's screams were truly tragic, making my eardrums ache faintly. It was a high-pitched scream, akin to a child's.
The monster, now covered in flames, rolled on the ground a few times before quickly getting up and diving behind the stone statue, disappearing in an instant.
"Xiang Ye! Did that thing die?" the fatty asked.
I shook my head. "I'm not sure, but even if it's not dead, it's probably close."
"Then should we go take a look?"
"Let's wait a moment."
The fatty sighed, sat down on the ground, took out a cigarette, placed it in his mouth, and then fumbled for a box of matches to light it.
Watching his sequence of actions, my pupils slowly dilated. "You damned fatty!!! Didn't you say you were out of fire?!"
The fatty blinked, looked at the matches in his hand, and was also confused. A moment later, he realized, "Right! I have fire! I just don't have a lighter!"
I felt an urge to kill. Seeing my icy stare, the fatty quickly handed me a cigarette. "Xiang Ye… listen, let me explain… just now, I was scared and forgot I still had matches… I really didn't do it on purpose."
I couldn't be bothered to talk to him. I took the cigarette and let him light it for me, taking a puff. "Damn fatty, what good would it do you to get me killed?"
"Xiang Ye, what are you saying? What good would I get? I genuinely forgot."
After smoking, I asked the fatty to lead the way and check behind the stone statue. The fatty's face was filled with worry. "Xiang Ye… I…"
"I'm the one who set that monster on fire just now. It's not unreasonable for you to scout ahead this time, is it?"
"But what if that monster isn't dead?"
"If it's not dead, you'll be its meal."
"Ah!"
"Stop the nonsense and hurry!"
The fatty, with a look of utter despair, took his flashlight and tiptoed toward the back of the stone statue.
As they approached the cave entrance behind the stone statue, a burnt smell wafted over them. The smell wasn't exactly unpleasant, but it was a bit strange, like the smell of burning cowhide.
"What are you standing there for? Go in and take a look," I said, nudging the fatty.
"Xiang Ye… perhaps we should leave? What's so good about this place?"
"What if there's a passage inside?" As I spoke, my eyes darted around, and I added, "I'm telling you, this monster guarding this place, there's a high probability there's some treasure inside. At this point, if we don't go in and see, wouldn't it be a huge loss?"
Upon hearing this, the fatty clenched his entrenching tool and gritted his teeth. "You're right! Damn it, fortune favors the bold!"
Seeing the fatty stride confidently inside, I quickly followed.
Once we were inside, we found animal skeletons scattered all over the ground.
This place was about thirty to forty square meters, circular in shape, and the stone walls were covered in bloodstains and fur.
Looking up, we could even see a few stars!
This meant there was a way out.
It's just that the stone walls were too smooth from friction. Unless someone dropped a rope from above, it was impossible to climb up.
And the height was at least ten meters.
Looking at the animal carcasses on the ground, I guessed this was likely a beast pit.
Once an animal stumbled and fell from above, it became food for the monster.
This was probably how the monster had survived until now.
Seeing the monster's corpse, emitting black smoke, in a corner not far away, the fatty poked it a couple of times with his entrenching tool. Seeing no reaction, the fatty said, "Xiang Ye! This monster is probably dead!"
I walked over and looked at the monster, charred black, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Xiang Ye, what do you think this thing is?"
I looked around and noticed some murals on the stone wall not far away, so I went over to examine them.
Initially, I didn't expect to understand them, but I discovered that the writing on them was in Small Seal Script.
I could understand Small Seal Script, so I began to read carefully.
"This monster is called a Zhongzhoushou," I said.
"Zhongzhoushou?"
I nodded and pointed to the text on the mural. "It says here that this monster is a divine beast of an immortal. Because it committed a mistake, it was banished to the mortal realm and then imprisoned here."
"Which immortal?" the fatty asked.
I said, "It doesn't say, but it seems that immortal is probably the stone statue outside."
"Then that's a divine being? I think it looks more like a fierce ghost!"
I said, "What's so strange about that? Aren't the Buddha statues in Mahayana Buddhism also fierce-looking?"
The fatty looked helpless. "Xiang Ye, I think we should leave quickly. The smell of this place is making me a bit nauseous."
I nodded and was about to leave when the monster's corpse, which had been emitting black smoke, suddenly twitched…