We called out several times, but there was no response.
The fatty suggested we go back and look, but Fu Honglang said, "Look for what? Damn it, that guy must have been scared away... Don't worry about him, let's keep going. We should be out of the cave in about another hour."
I wanted to ask what we would do after exiting the cave.
However, seeing Fu Honglang's anxious expression, I knew he would insist on moving forward even if I asked.
So, I didn't say much more and just followed the group.
The deeper we went, the stickier the mud became. Several times my shoes got stuck and I couldn't pull them out.
The fatty walked ahead of me and suddenly stopped. Just as I was about to ask him what he was up to again, I saw him turn around with a pale face, silently signaling to me.
I was confused. Looking at his lips puckered like a chicken's backside, I realized he was trying to say: "Foot."
Just as I was about to ask what was wrong with his foot, Fu Honglang ahead of us shouted, "There's something on the ground!"
In this dark cave, visibility was already low. With his shout, everyone's flashlights shone on the ground.
I couldn't help but look down. I saw that the fatty's foot was entangled by something, dark and black, somewhat like a vine.
As the thing coiled around his foot, it kept wriggling, making my skin crawl.
Before I could get a closer look, I felt my own foot being ensnared by something.
The sticky mud on the ground was already bad enough, and now being held back by something like this, I couldn't move an inch.
"What is this?" Xiao Liu asked.
No one could answer him, as no one knew what this ghostly thing was.
Fu Honglang drew the dagger he carried and without a word, slashed at it. Instantly, the thing was cut and a lot of black sap oozed out.
Seeing this, everyone drew their knives and began cutting the black vines.
I also quickly took out the dagger Bai Hanyan had given me and slashed at the thing wrapped around my foot without hesitation.
Since the last time, I had kept this dagger with me, never expecting it to be useful today.
"Brother Xiang, lend me your knife!" the fatty said urgently.
After cutting the vine around my own foot, I took two steps forward and crouched down to cut the vine around his foot.
"Yo, you still kept that dagger?" Wang Yang came over and said.
I turned to look at him and rolled my eyes, "How can you even say that? If it wasn't for you back then..."
Before I could finish, Fu Honglang's voice came again: "Run!"
His voice was loud and urgent. I hadn't quite registered what was happening when I saw him and Shi Tou turn and run back.
Seeing this, I didn't care what was in front of me and turned to sprint back the way we came.
But the mud on the ground was so sticky that I couldn't run at all, and even when I did, it was extremely difficult.
Suddenly, I felt someone push me, and I lost my balance, lunging forward onto the ground.
The moment I hit the ground, the fatty pinned me down tightly, making it hard to breathe.
This damn fatty was really heavy, and his fall almost made me suffocate.
"Brother Xiang... sorry..."
"Sorry for what? Get up!"
When he got off me, I saw that Wang Yang in front of us had stopped.
"No! This isn't the way we came!" he said, turning his head.
In that brief moment, the people behind us had reached us.
Fu Honglang shone his flashlight and then sniffed, "Damn! This is a ghost cave!"
I didn't understand what he meant by "ghost cave," but judging by the words, we were in trouble this time.
After getting up, I looked back. Not far away, Shi Tou was frantically hacking at the vines with his knife.
The black vines were climbing up his legs, and in a blink of an eye, they reached his waist.
"Boss!" Shi Tou shouted.
Fu Honglang said, "You guys keep going!"
After saying that, he turned back to save Shi Tou.
We didn't dare to delay. Just as I was about to turn and continue walking, I saw a "wave" surge from the ground behind Shi Tou and rush towards us.
I didn't dare to look any further and quickly ran.
I don't know how long I ran. My clothes were soaked with sweat, and I was exhausted.
If I was this tired, the fatty was no better. He kept shouting behind me, "Slow down... slow down..."
"There's no way out," Wang Yang said, turning and shining his flashlight at me.
I stopped and looked back. Only the fatty and Xiao Liu had followed me. As for Fu Honglang and Shi Tou, they had disappeared.
"Where are they?" I asked.
Xiao Liu finally reacted, looking back, "They were right behind us a moment ago, how..."
I was both angry and amused. This guy only knew how to run, and didn't even care about his boss and brother?
"Could they have been trapped by that ghostly thing?" the fatty speculated.
I thought it was very possible. After a moment of hesitation, I said, "Then what are you standing around for? Let's go back and find them!"
"Ah? We have to go back again?" the fatty said with a grimace.
"Isn't that obvious? Hurry up, don't dawdle," I said irritably.
Just as I was about to go back, Wang Yang grabbed me and said, "You guys stay here. I'll go back and check."
"Can you do it alone?" I asked.
Wang Yang said, "Look at all of you, you're already tired after running this little bit. Going back would just be a burden, better to wait here."
I thought what he said made some sense, but I was still worried about him going back alone. So I said, "No, if you go back alone and encounter any trouble, you won't have anyone to help you. I'll go with you."
Xiao Liu also said, "I'll go too."
Three out of the four of us wanted to go back. The fatty naturally didn't dare to stay alone and had to follow us back.
"Everyone stick close together and don't get separated," Wang Yang said, shining his flashlight on our footprints, and led the way back.
After walking for about ten minutes, we saw a flashlight lying on the ground not far away. Wang Yang quickened his pace and ran over. In the mud pool not far away, something was sinking.
"Boss!" Xiao Liu suddenly shouted and rushed forward.
Seeing this, I also gripped my dagger tightly and ran over.
Xiao Liu reached out and grabbed the sinking black vine, slashing at it a few times with his dagger. Soon, a face was revealed: "Damn..."
If it weren't for the familiar voice of Fu Honglang, I wouldn't have been able to recognize who it was.
Xiao Liu cut the vines off Fu Honglang in a few swipes and pulled him upwards. I quickly went to help.