Before Uncle Ranaba could swing Ye Luo upwards towards the rope, the Hondana Baktulae struck again. Being a smart beast, instead of wasting time striking at them again and again, it now changed its direction and directly struck at the rope connecting the three people to the top of the cliff.
With shocked eyes, Rihanna watched as the rope connected to her waist, and being held in Uncle Yaoi's and Uncle He's hands at the top separated from the middle. Instantly, the entire weight of herself, and the two people below her, shifted to her arms, which was desperately trying to hold onto the hole in the mountain.
The sudden shift in weight tugged at her arms, and even with her enhanced body, she felt like her arms were tearing apart. Hanging helplessly down the cliff-wall on just one arm, she couldn't even push herself upwards anymore.
"Let Go! Let go right now!"
Rihanna turned to stare incredulously at Uncle Ranaba.
"Let go. We need to fall out of its range of territory. Only then will it leave us alone. We can break our fall with your wind and my earth power. But we need to let go now, or the other three will also get implicated. We can't fight against this beast."
Rihanna took a quick, deep breath, then instantly let go, just as the beast, who was trying to take a bite at her, snapped its long jaws over her head.
Seeing its prey disappearing into the darkness below, it let out a long, piercing shriek, clamoring down the mountain wall at a very high speed. Rihanna could feel the hot breath as every time the beast snapped at her head while swiftly climbing down after her. Even while falling, she had to keep twisting her head and body so she would not get caught in those sharp, jagged rows of teeth.
Finally, after following after them for a long distance, the bony Baktulae came to a sudden halt. Though it looked extremely annoyed at having lost its preys, and kept shrieking in an unearthly voice, it didn't take one more step downwards. As if it was more scared of what lay below, the fear being far greater than its annoyance.
As the light from the above slowly disappeared, and the surroundings turned pitch-dark, with their bodies falling into a dark and endless oblivion, Rihanna wondered what they were about to face next. What in the world was below, which made even that giant bat-bird unwilling to follow?!
"Prepare for landing!"
In the pitch-black surrounding, Rihanna too could feel the fast approaching flat piece of ground below them. Ye Luo was still hanging helplessly from Uncle Ranaba's arm, while Rihanna was free-falling down the endless abyss.
Uncle Ranaba released his energy to crush layers of surface stone, and Rihanna increased the wind around their bodies to slow down their descent. Ye Luo created numerous thick vines to cover the crushed rock, providing a softer landing.
Despite their best efforts, their fall was still very painful. For a long while no one moved, not even to check their surroundings. Moments passed, with each trying to come out of the grips of pain throbbing through their body and mind.
Uncle Ranaba being more experienced than either of them, got up first, trying to ascertain their positions, and also checking on what was around them.
The surroundings were dark. Not a shred of light could be seen. They could only rely on their senses of hearing and smell, and touch. but since they couldn't see, touching around randomly could also be dangerous.
After checking on the two kids, Uncle Ranaba decided to scout out the vicinity. The fall had been very long.....yet they had not reached the bottom! Just how deep was this cliff? Judging from their landing, he could say that they had probably fallen on a large boulder or a part of the mountain which was jutting out of the cliff-face.
Rihanna let out a tired groan as she tried to shift her mind from the pain raking through her limbs and nerves. The landing had jarred her brains, and her mind was in chaos. Feeling around with her fingers, she touched something soft but very warm.
"Unghh!"
Ye Luo's hoarse groan responded to the touch. He was barely hanging onto his consciousness. More than his body and nerves, his face and skin were still burning up. Those flames had been too intense, and he could smell the charred smell of burnt flesh coming off his body. He was desperately trying to hold back his desire to scratch at this still burning sensation. He felt as if the heat of those flames had gotten trapped within his flesh.
Sitting up after some effort, Rihanna rummaged through her storage space. Thankfully she did not require vision to see the insides of the storage ring. Just by passing her spiritual senses over it, she could sense what lay where. She took out a few bottles of ointment and pills. Shuffling closer, she picked out a dollop of fire-absorbing ointment, and started spreading it on Ye Luo's face and hands.
The ointment was made with ice energy, and the cold sensation washed over the burnt areas, making Ye Luo moan in relief. Using her enhanced senses, Rihanna sensed out all the burnt areas she could reach, and soon the chilled ointment started taking its effect on the charred flesh.
Ye Luo lay prone on the ground, relishing the cold sensation as it slowly doused out the itching fire of flesh and skin. He only opened his eyes when he sensed Uncle Ranaba coming back from his scouting.
"This place is very strange. We still can't use any spells. Only raw elemental powers seem to work down here. Moreover, the stones of this part of the mountain are different from the ones above. They have the capacity of absorbing all kinds of light. That is why this place is so dark."
"Can't we climb back up? We still have the rope, and also the green stones."
"To go up, even if we have the rope, we still need the support of the mountain wall. But.....these rocks are way too hard. Even my stone and earth energy is not able to penetrate it."
"Then...how long can we remain stuck here? Or should we continue going downwards?"
"No. We can't go downwards. The way that Hondana Baktulae reacted, there seems to be something very dangerous down there. But...there seems to be some kind of a tunnel here. It probably leads to a cave. Maybe the cave will lead onto somewhere else. Even if does not, at least we can take rest in there, and then plan our next step."
"Is the cave safe? What if there is some other beast inside?"
"Well, it is not empty, if that is what you mean. But with the proper precautions, we should be able to go through it safely."
Rihanna looked around, only to realize that she could literally not see anything. This darkness was not like the darkness of night. Not even a moonless-night. This was endless darkness, without a single spot of light visible all around her. It was making her feel blind and helpless.
"Then....what precautions should we take? Do you know what beast might be inside this tunnel?"
"Hmmm...I just sensed some of them inside. This seems to be the nest of Blood-Bats."
The low hissing sound came from Ye Luo, making Rihanna wonder if these bats were as deadly as that thing which had just driven them here.
"Are they very dangerous?"
"One blood bat is not dangerous. Thing is, they like living in large groups. And they attack with their whole group. They can't see, but they have extremely heightened senses of hearing and smell. But that is not the worst part."
Rihanna paused for a second, wondering if she wanted to hear the worst part. She was having an ominous premonition.
"....What is the worst part?"
"The easiest and quickest way to get these things off your back...is to cover yourself with their piss."
Rihanna pursed her lips. Did she really hear that?! She did not....right? But thinking more deeply, even on earth, she had heard of hunters and warriors covering themselves in mud and shit to remove the smell of their bodies in order to keep animals off their tracks. Just.....she had never thought she would be trying it out first hand.
Taking a deep breath, she could only harden her resolve. What had she not done within the dimension space. How could she turn her nose at such low level issues. It was just some piss...she would just bear through this!
"Where is the piss?"
This blunt question made Uncle Ranaba speechless for a second. Ye Luo already knew Rihanna would be responding in this manner and merely chuckled. The pain in his body had gone down considerably, so he nudged himself up till he was sitting on the boulder. He released a deep breath, ignoring the slight numbness and burning sensations flickering through his body.
"At the entrance of the tunnel, if you touch the ground, you will feel the ground is mushy. Ignore the stink, just cover yourself in that slimy liquid. Don't forget your head."
"Just that much will be enough?"
"No. To stay safe, we need to crawl through this cave. Stay as low and as close to the ground as possible. These creatures have very sharp claws and teeth. And they are poisonous. Even a light scratch can instantly get infected. And make as little sound as possible. Don't use any spirit power, or they'll sense your presence despite the camouflage."
Rihanna nodded into the darkness. She had already turned on her survival mode, and none of these suggestions had any effect on her mind. Both Ye Luo and herself had been through plenty of dangerous situations before, way more than the normal people of their age growing up in clans and sects. Helping up Ye Luo, they followed Uncle Ranaba towards the cave entrance.