The two of them had just walked a dozen or so zhang away when suddenly they heard a low growl coming from the far east. Maxwell looked up and saw that the huge bug was turning around from behind the stone statue with a dragon's head and a human body in the east. When it saw the two of them, it let out a strange cry and stared at them intently with its single eye.
Doha's face turned pale with fright. He asked in a trembling voice, "What should we do, Maxwell?"
Maxwell grabbed his hand and felt it was ice-cold. He said, "Let's run quickly."
By this time, they were already far away from the dungeon. There was no time to hide back in it, so they could only run towards the cave they had come from. The cave was quite small. Judging by the size of the huge bug, it definitely couldn't get in. If they climbed into the cave, they could avoid the bug's pursuit.
They had only run a few zhang when suddenly everything went dark in front of their eyes. The one-eyed bug had already landed right in front of them.
In this moment of danger, Maxwell didn't hesitate. He raised his hand and fired four shots in succession at the face of the huge bug - bang, bang, bang, bang. Then he quickly turned around, grabbed Doha's hand, and ran into the cave behind the turtle-shaped stone statue in the north. They could hear the deafening roar behind them as the huge bug chased after them furiously.
The two of them ran all the way into the cave. The cave wasn't small. A long, straight passage extended forward. After running dozens of zhang along the passage, Doha was so out of breath that he gasped, "Let's take a break. I... I can't run anymore."
Maxwell urged anxiously, "You have to keep running even if you can't!" Then he dragged Doha and continued to run like crazy.
The bug was getting closer and closer behind them. At this moment, suddenly, they saw a bright light ahead. The passage had come to an end. The end of the passage was a bit wider. It looked like a small stone chamber. Standing in the stone chamber were five people. They were of different heights, some fat, some thin, and had various appearances.
Doha couldn't help but shout loudly, "Help! Help!" As if he had seen a life-saving straw, he grabbed Maxwell's hand and rushed towards the five people with different appearances.
The five people were also startled. Two children had run out from the inside of the cave, and a huge green bug as big as a cow was following closely behind them. They quickly took out their weapons.
A thin, dark-skinned middle-aged man said to a sallow-faced man beside him, "Second Brother, you, Third Brother, and Fifth Brother block this bug. Fourth Brother and I will take these two children out first, and then you can slowly retreat."
Another short, fat man and a pale-faced man in black clothes nodded together.
By this time, the huge bug had already caught up. One of its eyes was still dripping blood.
The fat man waved two steel rulers in his hands, and the man in black clothes shook something that looked like a soul-calling pennant in his hand. The two of them attacked the bug from the left and the right.
The sallow-faced man had his hands tucked into his sleeves. Suddenly, he swung his sleeves, and a black light swept towards the huge bug.
The huge bug roared continuously, opened its big mouth, and lunged left and right to bite the three men. The three men were agile, dodging and moving around to avoid the bug's attacks. The weapons in their hands kept hitting the bug's body.
The sallow-faced middle-aged man said while fighting, "Third Brother, this looks like the Corpse-eating Turtle you raise."
The fat man also said on the side, "Second Brother is right. It does look like the one Third Brother raises, but it's much bigger than that one."
The three men and the bug were in a fierce melee.
The thin, dark-skinned man said to Maxwell and Doha, "You two kids, come with me. It's too dangerous here."
A man who looked like a scholar grabbed Maxwell's hand and said kindly, "Yes, we'll take you to a safe place first, okay?"
Doha quickly replied, "Okay, okay."
Maxwell gave him a sideways glance and said, "What about those three uncles? Are they in danger?"
The scholar smiled and said, "They'll be fine. They've encountered situations ten times more dangerous than this." Pointing to a cave on the left side of the stone chamber, the scholar said to Maxwell, "Do you see that cave up ahead? We'll walk another few dozen zhang and get out of that cave, and then it'll be safe outside." Then he turned around and grabbed Maxwell's hand and walked out.
The thin man grabbed Doha, and the scholar grabbed Maxwell. They jogged for a while and soon walked out of this cave.
By this time, it was almost dusk. The setting sun had already sunk, and the sky was filled with colorful clouds. The afterglow of the evening dyed the distant sky a bright red.
The four of them were standing on a cliff. On the cliff, a narrow winding path led down the mountain.
The scholar looked at the colorful clouds all over the sky and said to the thin man, "The scenery of Yandang Mountain is so beautiful. No wonder the Moving Mountain Sect chose Tiyun Valley as its base." Looking back at Maxwell, the scholar saw that the child had delicate features. There was something vaguely familiar about his eyebrows and eyes, as if he had seen him somewhere before. His heart skipped a beat.
The thin man also saw it. After looking carefully, he shook his head at the scholar. The scholar sighed and said to Maxwell, "You two kids can follow this path and walk down the mountain."
Doha was already impatient. He grabbed Maxwell's hand and said, "Let's go."
Maxwell looked at him and said, "Why don't you go first? I'll wait for those three uncles inside. They haven't come out yet."
The scholar smiled slightly and said, "Child, you go first. Those three uncles will really be fine. Don't worry."
Maxwell nodded and said, "Okay, then. I'll come to see you again tomorrow."
The scholar smiled and said, "Tomorrow, we uncles will be leaving. See you again if there's a chance."
Maxwell walked down the mountain, looking back every few steps.
The thin man said to the scholar, "This child has a kind heart."
Just as they were talking, the short, fat man, the man in black clothes, and the sallow-faced middle-aged man rushed out of the cave. When they got outside the cave, they quickly moved to both sides.
Only to hear a low growl. The huge green bug rushed out of the cave with a strong gust of wind, without stopping, and rushed straight down the cliff.
The five men all stood on the edge of the cliff, leaned over to look, and saw the huge bug rolling all the way down. They guessed that by the time it reached the bottom, it would already be smashed into a pulp.
The thin man asked the fat man, "What happened?"
The fat man was still in shock. He trembled and said, "This bug has thick skin and tough flesh. It's impervious to swords and guns. Fortunately, Second Brother blinded one of its eyes with a hidden weapon. That's how we managed to escape. Otherwise, it would have been really difficult to deal with. It just fell off the cliff by itself."
The scholar said to the man in black clothes, "Third Brother, I think this bug looks like the Corpse-eating Turtle you usually raise. Isn't it?"
The man in black clothes nodded expressionlessly.
The scholar continued, "I wonder what it usually eats to grow so big."
This huge green bug was the Corpse-eating Turtle raised by the man in black clothes. Six years ago, it was brought here by Iron Foot. Later, it escaped from the Ancestral Hall and hid in a cave in the back mountain. It fed on the animals in the mountain, and especially liked to eat living people. As time passed, it grew so huge. The caves in the back mountain were connected to each other. The Moving Mountain Sect built a dungeon here to imprison important prisoners. The Corpse-eating Turtle took this place as its temporary lair. Many disciples of the Moving Mountain Sect who were sent to deliver food to the prisoners were eaten by it.
Later, the Moving Mountain Sect discovered that its disciples were frequently disappearing. When imprisoning important prisoners again, they ordered the seven major disciples to take turns to deliver food. The seven major disciples usually practiced alchemy and had a strong smell of medicine on them. The Corpse-eating Turtle couldn't stand it and gave up the idea of eating them.
On this day, the Corpse-eating Turtle didn't catch any prey in the forest and was starving. So it went to the caves in the back mountain to look for food. Unexpectedly, it encountered Maxwell and Doha, these two little rascals. Later, it also met these five people. It failed to eat anyone and instead lost its own life.
Maxwell and Doha had just walked a short distance away. Looking at the huge green bug rolling and falling off the cliff, they also felt dizzy.