"Young Master Ji!" Gui Feng exclaimed in shock and anger, "How dare you steal the medicinal seedlings of my Ghost Doctor Sect! It seems that the affairs of the Ghost Doctor Sect cannot be kept secret from your Ji family! Hand over the seedlings at once!"
"I didn't do it, Song Hao stole it," Ji Dongyang said in a panic.
"What! Song Hao!?" Gui Feng, Hong Huang, and the others were all shocked upon hearing this.
"Damn it! What a mess! How did Song Hao end up here?" Gui Feng roared.
After someone had searched Ji Dongyang's body thoroughly, they shook their head at Gui Feng.
"There really is someone here! Search! We must find him," Gui Feng ordered.
"Tell me, what are you doing here?" Gui Feng slapped Ji Dongyang, causing blood to flow down his face from his nose.
"I saw some suspicious people coming in from the old mine tunnel behind the mine. I was afraid they might do something to harm the Ghost Doctor Sect, so I followed them in to find out what was going on. Sect Master Ghost Wind, please don't misunderstand me," Ji Dongyang explained.
“The Ji family really knows how to talk nonsense!” Hong Huang shook his head and said.
"Listen up, kid! If we don't catch that Song Hao or find the medicinal seedlings on him, I will wipe out your entire Ji family!" Gui Feng said fiercely, getting close to Ji Dongyang's face.
"I knew something was off today! How dare that Song Hao be so audacious! You ran away, fine, I was going to let you go, but I didn't expect you to come back and ruin my plans. Catch him, take back the medicinal seedlings, and then bury him alive in this mine," Gui Feng said angrily.
"Squeak... Waaah..."
Then, that strange sound rang out again.
Chapter 44 Meridians Spontaneously
The members of the Ghost Doctor Sect, who were searching around, were all terrified upon hearing this sound and rushed back.
"Sect Master, that thing has come out again!" Hong Huang said in a panic.
"Damn it! As soon as anyone gets close to the seedlings, that thing comes out. Get out of here first. Order men to guard the exit and don't let Song Hao escape. Also, have men guard the entrance to the old mine tunnel behind the mine." Gui Feng gave orders as he led his men to quickly retreat with Ji Dongyang in tow. They seemed to be terrified of that thing and wanted to leave even if they didn't want the seedlings for the time being.
Song Hao and Wang Li, hiding to the side, heard the commotion and knew that Ji Dongyang had been captured. Then, with the strange noises and flashing lights, the Ghost Doctor Sect members had actually retreated.
The cave was of unknown size. By the time Song Hao and Wang Li turned on their headlamps to find a way out, they had lost their bearings. They had been groping around to avoid the Ghost Doctor's Sect members, but now they were lost.
"Squeak... Waaah..."
The strange noise rose again, as if right beside them, making their hair stand on end, especially in the darkness, as if they were trapped in an abyss with no way to escape.
"What...thing?" Wang Li turned on his headlamp with trembling hands, shone it left and right, and could vaguely see something moving in front of him. The two of them were so frightened that they backed away.
Under the light, there was a creature that looked like a legless, hairy monster, half-standing like a seal, with a sharp snout and dark eyes, roaring incessantly, writhing and approaching. A stench wafted through the air, suffocating the senses.
Upon seeing this, Song Hao and Wang Li were greatly alarmed, never expecting that such a monster could exist deep underground, and hurriedly retreated.
Suddenly, strange noises arose all around, as countless monsters appeared and advanced.
Song Hao and Wang Li retreated to a huge rock, finding themselves with nowhere to go. Just as they were in a panic, Song Hao looked up and saw that the rock was climbable. He then pulled Wang Li up and they climbed up using both hands and feet. Once at the top, they discovered a cave leading elsewhere, and without thinking twice, they ran inside.
This cave is different from the karst caves and mine tunnels. Under the light of Wang Li's miner's lamp, the stone walls on both sides faintly show phosphorescence, with a mixture of five colors. It is unknown what kind of metal is contained in the stone walls.
After traveling for a while, the monster's roar had faded into the distance, and the two finally leaned against the side to catch their breath and rest.
"The geological structure here is really special; they're all different. It seems like the mine is hollow underneath," Song Hao said, still shaken.
“I never expected that there could be something like this underground in a mine, and that there could be living things there. It’s unbelievable!” Wang Li replied.
"We can't go back the way we came, what should we do?" Song Hao asked worriedly.
"We...we're trapped!" Wang Li said helplessly, looking down.
Both of them felt a sudden tightness in their chests.
"There's always a way out! Don't worry, we'll get out of here," Song Hao reassured Wang Li. But deep down, he felt uncertain.
Wang Li shook his head and said, "Where can we get out? Even if someone on the ground wanted to rescue us, they wouldn't know where to start."
Song Hao took the miner's lamp from Wang Li and shone it ahead. The darkness stretched endlessly, and he wondered what dangers lurked there. He sighed in silence.
The two then checked their belongings and found two unused headlamps, a few bottles of water, and some food, which, if used sparingly, would last them five or six days.
"Let's keep exploring ahead; maybe we'll find a way out," Song Hao said helplessly.
Wang Li replied, "That's the only way."
The two then stood up and continued on their way.
Wandering aimlessly for an unknown amount of time, Song Hao sensed something was amiss and stopped with Wang Li. They discovered that the terrain inside the cave was gradually sinking, extending deeper underground. If they continued like this, they would never see the light of day again.
Song Hao held up his miner's lamp and shone it on the ground, discovering several steps he hadn't noticed before. A thought struck him, and he looked down to examine them closely, exclaiming with delight, "These... these steps show signs of being carved, which means someone came here in ancient times. It shouldn't be a dead end; there must be an exit leading to the surface."
Wang Li exclaimed in surprise, "Yes! I didn't expect that people had come in so deep underground. It seems that we have hope of getting out."
Their hopes were greatly increased.
They came to a large stone cave, but apart from the scattered rocks, they didn't find anything unusual. However, several caves in the stone walls led to other places. The two decided to rest there, eat something, and conserve their energy before continuing.
"Brother Wang, I'm so sorry. I never expected we'd get into this mess and drag you into it," Song Hao said apologetically.
"It's alright, you did this for the sake of Yuehe Village. You're a good person, God should bless us so we can make it back to the surface alive." Wang Li smiled honestly.
Song Hao smiled gratefully upon hearing this. The two then turned off their headlamps and took a nap.
Lying there, Song Hao felt a gentle warmth on his body. Reaching out to touch it, he was surprised to find it was the stalagmite. He wondered, "How can this thing generate heat?" Not paying much attention to it, he became drowsy and fell asleep.
Inside the chilly stone cave, waves of cold air constantly seeped into his body. Wang Li curled up and instinctively moved closer to Song Hao, hoping to warm themselves with their body heat. He also felt that Song Hao was radiating a strange, continuous warmth.