"Wake up, get up." I opened my eyes groggily, and in front of me was a bald head. Who was this? Why did he look so familiar?
"What's with that look? Sanda, you're not still dazed, are you? There's water inside, go wash your face first."
Sanda? He called me Sanda? Why couldn't I remember anything? I shook my head, trying hard to recall, but my mind was still completely blank.
Better focus on the present first. Where was I? I looked around. It was a cave. The bald guy who just called me "Sanda" was squatting at the entrance, pulling out several flags stuck in the ground. Inside the cave was a blurry figure, standing with his back to me. I couldn't see his face clearly, only that he was tilting his head up, staring blankly at some paintings on the cave wall.
The paintings showed some monsters, neither human nor ghost, crudely drawn—nothing more detailed than a child's doodles.
I felt like my brain was stuffed with cotton, still unable to recall who I was or where this place was. The feeling made my heart panic.
"Who... are you? And... who am I?"
My voice was low, but loud enough for the two to hear. Both the bald guy and the man inside the cave turned to look at me.
That's when I clearly saw the one inside the cave was a Fatty, about the same age as the bald guy, with small sharp eyes shining brightly. But it was obvious I had a better relationship with the bald guy than with Fatty. The bald guy put away the flags and walked directly over to me.
"Sanda, you alright? Hmm? I didn't notice before, but your face looks pale as death. Why are you sweating so much? Your clothes are soaked through."
I stared blankly, still unable to remember who he was. Yet deep inside, I felt this bald guy was very close to me, like a brother.
As for the Fatty inside, my feelings were the opposite. He was like a thorn in my heart—I wanted to pull it out but was powerless.
The bald guy touched my forehead, frowning. Then he shouted to Fatty, "Gao Liang, Sanda has a fever, burning hot. Looks like he's burning delirious. What do we do? Should we send him down the mountain? Dage and the others are almost here anyway. Let's go down early."
Gao Liang frowned too, coming over to touch my forehead. Squinting his small eyes, he thought for a moment and said,
"No, the Bloodshade Fiend is nearby. If it gets out, it'll be a nightmare to catch again. Who knows when that'll be."
The bald guy got a little anxious,
"Then what? Sanda's already burning and talking nonsense. If we treat him too late, even if he lives, he'll be brain damaged. He's my brother. Forget the Bloodshade Fiend, saving him is the priority!" Saying that, he lifted me up and was about to leave the cave.
"Wait!" Gao Liang stopped the bald guy,
"Going out means death if you run into the Bloodshade Fiend—and double death at that. Monk, do you want to save Xiao Sanda or get him killed?"
Hearing that, the bald guy immediately deflated, looking at Gao Liang helplessly.
"What should I do? We can't just watch Sanda die in front of us."
Gao Liang hesitated, then said,
"You stay inside, I'll take Xiao Sanda down."
The monk was stunned,
"Aren't you the same as me?"
Gao Liang glanced at him,
"We're really not the same."
He shifted me from the monk's back onto his own.
"Once I'm out, I'll seal the cave entrance. Remember, unless you see Dage and the others coming, no matter if the cave collapses—you cannot leave. Death can only come inside."
The last sentence was spoken word by word, sending a chill down my spine.
After briefing the monk, Gao Liang carried me out of the cave. Outside was a primeval forest. The mountain wind blew on my head, making me a little clearer, but I was still dizzy and couldn't remember who I really was.
Lying on Gao Liang's back, I asked,
"Who am I really? And you? Who's that bald guy?"
At first, Gao Liang didn't want to answer, but after I asked urgently, he said,
"You're a big fool. Bald guy is your dad, I'm your grandpa."
Though still dazed, I caught the sarcasm in his voice.
"I'm your gr—Get back! Hurry, Baldy's in trouble."
Suddenly a wave of tension swept my heart. The first image in my mind was the bald guy just now. I shouted involuntarily. I had a strong feeling something had happened to him.
"Are you talking nonsense? How could you know something happened to the monk? Do you have clairvoyance?" Gao Liang didn't take my words seriously at all.
That bad feeling grew stronger. I almost saw the monk lying in a pool of blood with my own eyes. Without hesitation, I suddenly flipped off Gao Liang's back, my strength surprising even me, making Gao Liang stumble and fall.
I got up from the ground and stumbled toward the cave entrance. Gao Liang got anxious,
"Are you done playing? The Bloodshade Fiend is nearby, you want to—"
He only said half the sentence before his face changed. The air pressure around instantly dropped, making it hard to breathe. But the low-pressure center wasn't where we were—it seemed to be near the cave we just left.
"Damn it! Xiao Sanda, you really guessed right."
Gao Liang drew a Type 54 pistol from his waist, pulled back the slide, then looked back at me,
"Stay here. The Bloodshade Fiend's target is Xiao Heshang. It won't come to you. If you see Dage and the others, tell them the cave's location and have them hurry over."
Then Gao Liang dashed toward the cave. Watching his chubby figure weaving through the trees, I didn't feel amused at all. The anxiety in my heart didn't ease, but only worsened.
That feeling was unbearable. Even if Gao Liang made it there, he'd probably just be a dead sacrifice. I sat down, overwhelmed by a sense of hopeless waiting for death.
I couldn't wait here. There was a hard object on my back belt. I hadn't paid attention before, but now I pulled it out—it was another Type 54 pistol, the same model Gao Liang had. Having a weapon in my hand comforted me a little.
After disengaging the safety, I started staggering toward the cave.
From far away, I could already see the cave entrance. I didn't see Gao Liang's figure—he probably was already inside. No sound came from inside. Had the Bloodshade Fiend not arrived yet?
Just as I was about to enter, several gunshots rang out from inside the cave. My heart sank — something had indeed gone wrong inside. Outside the cave, there might still be a chance to survive, but inside the cramped space, the chances of Gao Liang and the bald Heshang getting out were almost zero.
What was strange was that after those few gunshots, the cave fell into a deathly silence. No screams, no cries, no other sounds at all.
A few minutes passed, and still no sound came from inside. I couldn't hold back any longer. I didn't care if that fat guy Gao Liang died — let him die — but Heshang absolutely could not die. A vague memory started to surface. I didn't seem to have any friends, and if Heshang were to die too, I would truly be a lonely man.
No matter what, I had to go in and take a look. I cautiously approached the cave, hiding behind a large tree, and peeked inside. I saw a figure completely red from head to toe — a red-colored wildman — standing inside the cave. The situation was slightly better than I imagined: Gao Liang and the bald Heshang hadn't been taken out yet; they were still locked in a standoff with the red wildman.
The red wildman stood near the cave's edge, as if an invisible glass wall blocked its way. It paced back and forth but couldn't take another step forward.
The red wildman couldn't get inside, but those two inside weren't much stronger. Heshang was frantically rearranging several small flags planted in the ground, while Gao Liang's face was grave, gripping his pistol and aiming at the wildman.
From the look of it, Heshang wouldn't hold out much longer. If he made a mistake, the wildman would break the barrier and rush in — Gao Liang would fire immediately.
I hadn't been watching long when disaster struck. Heshang hesitated for a moment while moving the flags, and the barrier showed a crack. The red wildman let out a howl, broke through the invisible glass wall, and charged toward the two inside.
Almost simultaneously, Gao Liang's gun fired again, aiming for the wildman's eyes. Gao Liang's aim wasn't bad, but the wildman's eyelids were already shut. I had no idea how its eyelids worked, but even after four or five bullets, though the wildman was pushed back a few steps, it wasn't harmed in the slightest. The wildman retreated to the cave's edge, and Heshang had time to shift a few flags — the invisible wall reappeared in front of the wildman.
They were drinking poison to quench thirst. Gao Liang's bullets would eventually run out. If something like this happened a few more times, their deaths would be near.
The red wildman seemed to sense this too. It paced back and forth, waiting for Gao Liang's ammo to run dry so it could burst in and finish off the two survivors. Then Gao Liang saw me, like a sighting a savior. He didn't dare make a sound, but his eyes no longer fixed on the wildman; instead, he glanced repeatedly at the green backpacks placed by the cave entrance…
Gao Liang kept winking toward those green backpacks. Anyone but a fool would understand there was something inside. If the red wildman's eyes had been open, Gao Liang probably wouldn't dare be so blatant.
While the red wildman's eyes remained shut, I picked up a stick and nervously approached the cave entrance. Gao Liang cooperated perfectly, occasionally making noises to distract the wildman.
I used the stick to lift one of the backpacks, then slowly retreated. After confirming I hadn't attracted the wildman's attention, I carefully opened the backpack, not daring to make a sound.
Damn — the backpack was stuffed full of hand grenades. Already dizzy from the fever, I felt even worse. What exactly were they doing? There was no time to think; gunshots erupted inside the cave again. Gao Liang cursed, "Almost out! I'm fucking running low on bullets!"
I could tell he was urging me; they probably couldn't hold on much longer. My mind went blank. Without hesitation, I bit my lip, grabbed a grenade, twisted off the cap, hooked the pin on my pinky, and with the other hand grabbed the backpack full of grenades. I took a few steps toward the cave entrance.
Gao Liang looked nothing like before. Sweat ran down his face in rivulets, and several strands of hair stuck to his forehead. Heshang's side was even worse — his flags were tattered, looking like they would break any moment.
My movement was too loud. The red wildman heard my footsteps and turned to look at me. I realized not only was its entire body red, but even its eyes were blood-red. It didn't seem surprised to see me; instead, it grinned. When it parted its lips, I saw its teeth, red like coral and agate.
No time to describe its face. I stuffed the grenade back into the backpack, pulled the pin, and threw the grenade-filled backpack next to the red wildman, then ran out of the cave.
"Bang!" The grenade backpack exploded inside the cave. I faintly heard Gao Liang's voice mixed in with the explosion: "Not that bag!"
The explosion — far more powerful than I imagined — caused the cave entrance to collapse. Falling rocks nearly buried the entrance. I looked at the entrance, regretting my actions — could the three of them really be dead?
"San Da!" A voice called out from inside the cave — it was Heshang's voice, and it didn't sound injured. A heavy stone fell from my heart, and I squeezed through the rubble outside the cave.
The light inside was dim and dust filled the air; I didn't see either Heshang or Gao Liang's figure.
"Here." A hand waved at me from the darkness. Then two people came out, one after the other.
"Xiao San Da! You tried to blow all three of us up together? If Heshang hadn't reacted fast and switched to the Nine Prison Formation(Note: a magical defensive formation) at the last moment, we two would have been your cannon fodder!" Gao Liang roared at me. He and Heshang both looked covered in dust and dirt. How did they dodge a backpack full of grenades?