Chapter 30: Yellow Sands and Giant Lizards – Part 2
I dragged Betty along without caring where the footprints led. I stepped unhesitatingly into the cave on the left. Betty struggled behind me, her buttocks pulling back, unwilling to move forward any further. She pleaded softly, “Sister, I don’t want to go. I don’t want to… I want to go home… I don’t want to go past here… I’m scared…”
“Hush! Be quiet!”
I turned back and glared at her, scaring the little girl so much that she suddenly trembled, nearly falling flat on her face. The lantern in my hand almost slipped. I quickly pulled her up, unable to hold back rolling my eyes.
Do you think I wanted to bring you along?
It’s just that I was afraid that if I left you behind, you might get eaten… Oh well, it’s a burden carrying you, affecting my meal. Let’s just hide her for now.
“Stay here.”
After entering the cave on the left, the layers of sandstone walls were even more uneven, with countless rock and soil chunks the size of heads scattered around. I pushed Betty behind a large rock, warning her, “Extinguish the light; call out if there’s danger,” before continuing to run forward without looking back.
“Sss, sss—”
Like a venomous snake hissing, sharp cries sounded about ten meters away. I already saw the fierce eyes glowing with a ghostly purple light hidden in the darkness.
That thing seemed to be lying in wait on the cave wall. From its vague outline, it was clear that it was very large, a ferocious animal, and also very alert. Seeing me coming with such force, its first reaction was to turn and run, trying to hide itself once again in the darkness.
Dream on!
In the next moment, the young girl running ahead had red light flashing in her eyes, and black mist surged up from her right palm.
Illusionary Destruction!
Whoosh—
Crimson light flashed briefly in the dark cave and then dimmed. The girl stopped her charge, and the huge shadow in front of her ceased moving as well.
In that instant, a long, thin wisp of smoke twisted and shot through the cave, hitting its target accurately. Accompanied by a series of “squeaking” sounds, similar to those of a mouse, the creature fell from the wall with a loud thud, struggling and writhing in agony.
Moon Step!
Whoosh—
The girl took one step forward, and the wind roared past her ears. In the next moment, she appeared beside the huge shadow!
Boom!
A muffled sound echoed, and a strong wind spread from under her feet, stirring up dust and sand. Her headscarf fluttered open, and her black hair cascaded down like a waterfall, flying backward. The girl caught the flying scarf in one hand while her other foot landed on the head of the squealing creature.
Then, she exerted sudden force—
Puff!
The eerie cry abruptly stopped. Red and white substances exploded, splattering onto the girl’s robe. The creature no longer struggled, its huge body twitching as it was gradually consumed by the spreading dead smoke, turning into a faint white smoke that disappeared into the girl’s chest.
“Aah…”
The girl clenched her fists, raised her head, her eyes still dazed. Her slightly parted lips emitted a soft, sensual moan in the darkness.
“Mmm…”
The intoxicating pleasure slowly dissipated after a long while.
So comfortable…
Want more…
I opened my hazy eyes. Pupils flashed with an unusual, gem-like color in the darkness. That color vanished instantly, and soon after, I felt a warm energy rapidly circulating within my body, finally settling in my lower abdomen.
Long-awaited… the feeling of a hearty meal…
But it wasn’t enough…
Still far from enough…
“Huuu—”
I exhaled deeply, regained my composure, and continued walking forward, waving my hand behind me. “Betty.”
“…Ah!”
A little girl’s startled voice came from behind. After a moment, footsteps approached with a “plop plop plop.”
“Lizard… where’s the lizard…”
Little Betty followed, but kept a slight distance, hanging back and not daring to come too close. She hesitantly asked, “Sister, did the adult eat it?”
“Didn’t you see?”
“No… It was too dark. I couldn’t see anything… I only saw red light shining, then heard the lizard squealing…”
“Next time, close your eyes,” I said calmly.
“…Okay.”
After a while, the little girl responded gloomily.
She fiddled around for a bit, and soon after, the lantern was lit again, illuminating the cave. I walked ahead and noticed the space becoming wider again.
This cave was much larger than I imagined, and its terrain was even more complex. Before long, we encountered another fork in the road. The little girl used a stone to carve something on the wall at the junction.
We marked and arbitrarily chose an entrance. I felt somewhat stiflingly hot and did not tie my headscarf again, removing the veil as well, and putting both into my satchel.
“Sister… It seems there are no more lizards…”
“Should we go back?”
“If we go further, we might get lost…”
Betty was very nervous throughout the journey. She grabbed my robe at times, muttering about turning back. She had dry bread in her bag and was eating small bites as she walked, her attention fixed on the surrounding sandstone. She would occasionally huddle her shoulders and look back, fearing something might come from behind.
“Betty.”
“Hmm?”
“Do you remember this place having many… whatever giant lizards?”
“Hmm!”
“But why have we only encountered one?”
“Betty, I don’t know…”
“Could it be that someone has eaten them all…”
This possibility was slim, but not impossible. If those church knights truly came here, they might have killed all the lizards for food if they were starving… Although I thought it unlikely that such a large army could reach here.
Regardless, I was genuinely annoyed.
“…Possible.”
The little girl nodded seriously upon hearing me: “Then, Sister… We should really go back? There’s nothing to eat here…”
“But I’ve only eaten one.”
“A whole one! Betty couldn’t finish it in ten days…”
“I need to eat at least ten… No, twenty, to be enough.”
“There aren’t that many…”
“I’m angry. If you say we’re going back, I’ll eat you.”
“Guh…”
Betty released my robe, too scared to continue walking: “Betty is skinny and not tasty… really not tasty…”
She seemed to start crying.
“No crying. If you cry, I’ll really eat you.”
“Guh—”
Betty sobbed a few times before managing to stop.
It was unclear how long we walked, as the path became increasingly difficult. The ground hardened and became uneven, with steep slopes that sometimes required climbing down. Betty, with her small arms and weak strength, couldn’t manage on her own. I had to carry her and jump down.
“Sister… Do you remember the way back…”
After jumping down several near-vertical slopes, little Betty finally trembled and asked.
“I don’t remember.”
I shrugged, walking ahead, nonchalantly.
“What… do we do…” she seemed about to cry again, “Betty… Betty doesn’t remember either…”
“It’s fine… Sniff…”
The air quality deep in the cave was poor; I wanted to sneeze and sniffed involuntarily, then frowned slightly.
There was always wind… Wind meant another exit.
Moreover, the smell of blood and decay mixed in the wind seemed to intensify… so much so that it was almost overwhelming.
Wait…
What was that?
Suddenly, I saw the darkness ahead, where the cave opened up again. The sandstone walls spread apart, revealing a cavern roughly a hundred cubic meters in size, like a grand hall in a complex underground city. Lying there in the faint light…
Purple scales, purple blood… staining a large area of sand, so foul-smelling…
That was a giant lizard’s corpse.
And there were more than one…
“Betty, give me the lamp, hide.”
I turned and snatched the lamp from the girl’s hand, gently pushing her aside. Holding the lamp, I entered the large cavern, pinching my nose, and squatted by the corpse of the lizard at the entrance, raising the lamp to inspect.
… This was a massive creature nearly three meters long.
Its scales shone like metal under the firelight. Its thick, powerful limbs ended in five sharp black claws that could pierce steel. Even the strongest lion would be torn to shreds instantly in front of it.
But this one was already dead.
Its body was rotting, emitting a foul odor. Its head appeared to have been cleanly severed by some weapon, the cut smooth. The blood had long dried, suggesting it had been dead for…
I didn’t know, but it must have been quite a few days.
Who did this…
I slowly stood up, looking around with slight caution.
