The chubby boy was also fed with the "Black Shen" poisonous insect like me. He grumbled and was then kicked by Lingqian. Qin Qianqiu also seemed to have made some deal with Lingxuan, thereby saving his own life.
"Based on the location of the fixed qi, we still have a considerable distance to go, and the terrain in the forest is difficult to figure out. If we go ourselves, we may find the place but it will waste too much time, so it's best to have a local person to guide us."
If we travel on our own, we might arrive at the cave at night, making it unfavorable for us to fight that mysterious giant. If there is someone local who knows a shortcut, it might save us a lot of time.
The hunters in the village would be a good choice, but after seeing Lingqian and her company armed and dangerous, no one dared to speak up.
"I think you would be good."
Lingxuan, who had been sitting aside all this while, suddenly pointed at Luoqiong. The black-skinned boy seemed stunned and then looked around, before finally speaking in a wooden tone, "Are you asking me to guide you?"
"I am a fair person. If you guide us, we will pay you. One hundred yuan for each time, more than you can earn in half a year. Are you willing?"
Lingxuan took ten ten-yuan notes out of his pocket and waved them in front of Luoqiong. The village was actually quite poor, with an annual income of only a few hundred yuan, and though the sales of the animal skins from hunting were good, it took too much time to get them out and there were not enough hands, making it high-risk.
Luoqiong was clearly interested. This boy was actually quite pitiful. His mother was taken away by his father from outside, and she died in childbirth. His father was an alcoholic, who died in the mountains when Luoqiong was still very young. For Luoqiong, he was quite tough, and the village treated him well, but unfortunately everyone had their own difficulties, and it was good enough to just be able to feed him, let alone hope for him to go to school.
I previously asked him about his dreams, and he laughed in a simple and honest way, saying, "I hope to have the opportunity to go out and study in the future. I haven't read much, and I'm afraid of being laughed at."
A hundred yuan, placed in the present day after many years, perhaps doesn't really count for much. But back when I and Fatty were young, a hundred yuan held great weight.
"If you're not willing, I can find someone else."
Ling Xuan shifted his gaze elsewhere, and suddenly Luo Yong shouted, "Add fifty more, and I'll take you guys on the shortcut."
"One should not be greedy."
Ling Xuan seemed a little displeased.
"I'm the only one in the whole village who knows that shortcut. The place you want to go is called Guaiya Cave. My father took me there once when I was a kid. No one else dares to go there. Add fifty, and my life is yours!"
That was the reason Luo Yong left the village. Later, I often teased him, saying he sold himself for fifty yuan. But he would say that fifty yuan is money, and principles are only meaningful when you're not hungry.
Ling Xuan looked at Luo Yong with a strange look, then suddenly laughed. He always seemed unfathomable. He took out five ten-yuan bills from his pocket, handed them over, and then said to Luo Yong, "I think you're a trustworthy person. If you deceive me, the price you'll pay will be severe."
The mountain road always gives one a sense of deja vu. Luo Yong led us deeper into the shortcut, sometimes along the edge of a small waterfall. Fatty struggled, grumbling all the way.
It was originally expected to take two hours, but with Luo Yong's guidance, we saved half of the time.
It was still the same cave, the same forest. Luo Yong pointed to the cave in front and said, "That's Guaiya Cave. It's named because the mouth of the cave looks like numerous sharp teeth. Few people come here, and even skillful hunters dare not approach. It's said that a monster lives inside..."
"We're looking for the monster."
Ling Xuan coldly smiled, then beckoned. Ling Qian, with four other followers, quickly went up. Fatty, Luo Yong, and I hid at the back.
Fatty and I had both been poisoned. Even if we wanted to run, we would still die, but Luo Yong, after taking the money, acted as if he couldn't leave even if the sky fell down.
"It's best if the giant kills him, no, half kills him. I'll go up and search for the antidote, and we'll escape. Haha..."
In a sense, I still admired Fatty. He could always maintain a cheerful spirit, often comforting himself like Ah Q.
Ling Qian and four others surrounded the cave, then one of them opened a backpack and took out a square object, and threw it into the cave with force. I had initially thought this was the same method as Qin Qianqiu used, but after a while, there was a loud "bang," which startled Fatty and me.
"Damn, big move, is that a bomb?"
Fatty asked.
"It probably isn't for military use; it's not easy to get those. It might be a homemade bomb. Ling Xuan really has a way; he's even carrying a bomb into the mountains."
Compared to that, Qin Qianqiu was much more civilized.
There are many methods to make homemade bombs. If you don't know the proportion of gunpowder, you'll typically use leftover detonators or grenades from the Liberation War. Fatty's uncle had used old detonators with gunpowder to blast rocks before.
Broken stones flew out of the cave, and a large amount of smoke filled the air. Ling Qian shouted while holding a short knife, "Be careful, no matter what comes out, first catch it with a net, then open fire!"
"They're planning to use firearms to solve the battle. Is there such a method to capture monsters?"
The fat man asked in surprise.
"Yes," I nodded and said, "According to the records of 'Mountain Wilderness Tales', after the appearance of the matchlock in the Ming Dynasty, firearms began to be used for hunting. Naturally, some earth creatures that could be subdued by matchlocks would have emerged. Apart from some earth creatures with extremely tough bodies that matchlocks couldn't pierce at that time, many small earth creatures could be dealt with using similar methods, provided they weren't hit in vital areas. Otherwise, we would end up like the last time dealing with 'Square Tail', unable to seize anything, only able to maim the creatures for easier subduing."
The fat man nodded somewhat puzzled, while Luoyun next to him looked at us with a puzzled expression, still not knowing what we were up to.
After the huge shock from the explosion quieted down, the low growls of wild beasts were soon heard in the cave. A black-horned bull charged out of the cave, emitting a terrifying roar, but with obvious scars on its skin, and one eye bleeding, showing that it had been impacted by the powerful earth bomb. Surprisingly, it hadn't been blown to death, which was somewhat unexpected to me.
"Go for it!"
Ling Qian shouted, and the two men on either side raised a cylindrical gun and, after pulling the trigger, shot out hooks, bringing out a large net that was then thrown over the bull's head.
"This is used for catching large quantities of fish on a sea vessel. This thing is not cheap."
I exclaimed in surprise as the large net dropped from above, covering the black-horned bull perfectly. Then the remaining two men aimed at the bull's limbs, using hunting rifles which were not as powerful as the demon-hunting crossbows carried by Qin Qianqiu's men. I only saw the bull's legs continuously spraying blood, but although its body swayed, it didn't fall. It continued to emit "moo" sounds and then bent down, the sharp black horns targeting one of the men as it charged forward.
"Tighten the net, don't let it cause trouble!"
Ling Qian shouted loudly, and the two big men held onto the large net, while the other two continued shooting. Gunshots rang out continuously in the woods, and finally, the black-horned bull couldn't hold on any longer and fell to the ground.
It made a huge sound as if a small mountain had toppled over, with its limbs almost smashed to a pulp, but it still had a breath left, not dead yet!
"It's not dead, confirmed."
A guy with a hunting rifle walked up next to it and after verifying, shouted.
"Below should be the Ghost Tiger, right? They seem to be very skilled, even more so than Qin Qianqiu's gang."
The fat man murmured from behind, and I nodded. This kind of proficient cooperation was the result of long-term practice. I felt a bit of admiration, even envy, as with our capabilities, it would be difficult to deal with a black-horned bull like this, but those people finished the job in five or six minutes. If only I could gather my own team in the future.