The massive iron hammer, illuminated by the light and shadow, appeared colossal, akin to the legendary weapons wielded by ancient gods.
While my body was covered in bat droppings, there was no stench from the giant, unlike the unbearable odor emanating from him. Holding my breath, I dodged the giant's attack, and with a dull thud, the iron hammer slammed into the ground.
In retaliation, the giant kicked me, sending me flying several meters away, where I landed heavily, feeling as though every bone in my body had been shattered.
This behemoth possessed incredible strength, far beyond that of any ordinary human.
"Ha-ha, those bats refused to be my pets. How about you stay and be my little kitten instead?" he taunted.
I retorted, "Go to hell, you sick freak. Even the thought of it makes me sick."
"You dare insult my mother, I'll kill you!"
With a roar, the giant pounded the cave ceiling with his fists, causing debris to rain down before raising his iron hammer for another strike.
Realizing that I couldn't match his strength, I decided to focus on his feet.
Wearing a pair of worn-out travel shoes, the giant's toes wriggled inside, making a flapping sound as he walked.
Clutching my teeth, I pulled out the diamond-pointed halberd and thrust it downwards, piercing through the giant's foot and pinning him in place.
The giant, despite his strength, stumbled and fell to the ground from the force of inertia. Seizing the opportunity, I climbed to my feet and delivered a couple of kicks to his head.
"You sicko! I'll kick you to death!"
After a few more kicks, I quickly turned to chase after Stone Jingxia and the others.
From behind me came the giant's voice, "I'll find you. It's been too long since I've tasted human flesh."
Human flesh—almost certainly those people had been eaten by the giant.
Brandishing my flashlight like a cudgel, I gritted my teeth and ran forward, determined not to let the fear catch up to me.
Suddenly, I collided with an obstacle, halting my progress. Before me were three openings, branching off like the claw of a chicken, each leading in a different direction.
"Stone Jingxia, Big Nose, where are you guys?" I shouted, receiving no response.
Glancing back, I noticed a distorted figure limping towards me.
"Where are you? I'm going to find you. This is getting more interesting," the figure called out menacingly.
With no time to waste, I dashed into the middle opening.
After several twists and turns, I collapsed from exhaustion, gasping for air.
Afraid that the giant would catch up, I switched off my flashlight, plunging the cave into darkness. Only the sound of my rapid breath echoed through the cavern, as if the entire Yanmen Mountain breathed with me.
But the respite was brief. Just as I caught my breath, I felt a presence beside me. Before I could react, a flashlight flew from my hand as a foot kicked it away.
I tensed up, feeling an icy chill at my temple.
"Don't move, or I'll shoot you dead."
"Who's there?" I demanded.
Instantly, a chill spread across my temples.
"Don't move, or I'll shoot you dead."
"White Ruoxue, it's you!"
"Du Guangting!"
Her gun had been depleted from fending off the wolf pack earlier. She was bluffing now.
I gently pushed her hand away. "Stop using your gun to scare people. There are no bullets in the barrel."
"Really? Don't forget, your gun is still in my hands. Trust me, I could easily finish you off."
I had forgotten about that. I quickly replied, "Don't, don't be impulsive."
"I don't want to kill you right now, but you'd better behave yourself and not play any tricks."
Here, it's just the two of us. I asked her about the others, and Bai Ruoxue said it was chaotic at the time, and no one paid attention to each other. She speculated that they might have entered the other two openings.
Bai Ruoxue took out her phone and tapped it, but it was already out of battery. She then asked me, "What time is it now?"
I replied irritably, "You sure have a short memory. You confiscated all my belongings."
Bai Ruoxue clicked her tongue and swallowed a mouthful of saliva. "I only had a few locust flowers this morning. Now I'm both hungry and thirsty."
The mention of it made me realize I felt the same. Enduring a day without food was manageable, but without water, it was torturous.
I licked my chapped lips, feeling as rough as steel wire.
"Staying here and waiting to die is not an option. Let's go check ahead."
After a brief rest, the two of us resumed our adventurous journey.
I found the flashlight but the lampshade was broken. When I turned it on, the light scattered like a candle, barely illuminating the surroundings.
"Squeak, squeak."
I twisted the lampshade, adjusting the flashlight's beam.
Suddenly, Bai Ruoxue said, "There's someone next to you."
At her words, I immediately stopped what I was doing and glanced sideways, only to find a person lying beside me.
Without hesitation, I kicked out, but the sound of metal clashing filled the air.
It wasn't a person but a bulging denim handbag.
At that time, bell-bottom jeans were in fashion in the north. Wearing a pair was the epitome of fashion in the streets of Xi'an.
A denim handbag was considered a luxury item.
"If I'm not mistaken, this must be left by those people from the south," I remarked.
Bai Ruoxue's eyes lit up as she unzipped the bag, revealing a collection of bronze items.
"What a stroke of luck, getting all this without any effort," she exclaimed.
There were bronze goblets for drinking, bronze cauldrons for cooking, and even a set of bronze bells, though there were only three, all strung together.
Bai Ruoxue snatched the flashlight from me and examined them carefully.
After a while, her excitement waned, replaced by a look of regret.
"No inscriptions, no patterns, no signatures. They're all unmarked products, and you've kicked several of them, so they're practically worthless," she lamented.
"What does it have to do with me?" I retorted.
Bai Ruoxue lightly tapped one of the bells with her gun, producing a harsh, cracking sound.
I didn't quite understand. I remembered seeing the bells on TV before. The bells of Marquis Yi of Zeng were known as "bianzhong," with a range of seven notes, twelve semitones, and five and a half octaves, comparable to modern instruments.
But what lay before me seemed rather shabby.
"These bronze items must belong to those people from the south. Perhaps they encountered an emergency and abandoned them here."
Then, Bai Ruoxue changed her tone. "Do you think it's possible that they only found these low-grade bronze items and never discovered the real treasures?"
I shrugged. "How should I know? Go ask those corpses."
Bai Ruoxue shot me a look and continued, "I have a strong feeling that this place is not simple. Let's go inside and take a look."
With that, she walked forward confidently.
Bai Ruoxue seemed anxious, like a dying person in the desert suddenly spotting an oasis.
At this point, I began to feel wary because when I proposed a fifty-fifty split earlier, Liu Yuanbao whispered something in her ear, and she flashed a terrifying smile. Bai Ruoxue was ruthless and decisive, and I had already guessed that while she agreed to my terms on the surface, she had long harbored murderous intent. Once she found the treasure, my days might be numbered.
From now on, I had to keep an eye on her from behind to prevent her from double-crossing me and making a move against me.