### Chapter 30: Yellow Sand and Giant Lizards (Part 2)
I dragged little Betty along, not caring where those footprints led, and without hesitation, stepped into the cave on the left. Betty was pulling back hard behind me, her little b*tt refusing to move forward, begging softly, “Big sister, I don’t want to go… I want to go home… I don’t want to go in there… I’m scared…”
“Shh! Quiet!”
I shot her a glare, causing the little girl to shiver, her feet nearly giving way as if she’d trip and fall right on her face. She almost knocked over the lantern in her hands, and I quickly pulled her up, rolling my eyes in exasperation.
Did you think I wanted you to come along?
No, it was more about not wanting you to get eaten after I left… Ugh, forget it; having you around is just a burden, messing up my dining experience. Better let her hide.
“Stay here.”
Once inside the left cave, the layered sandstone walls jutted out irregularly, with countless rocks the size of heads scattered everywhere. I pushed Betty behind a large boulder and warned her, “Extinguish the light and call for me if anything dangerous happens,” then I dashed forward without looking back.
“Hiss, hiss—”
The sharp hissing sound echoed from about ten meters away, and I saw those vicious eyes glinting with a faint purple light hidden in the darkness.
That thing seemed to be lurking on the cave walls, and judging by its outline, it was quite large; definitely one of those seriously ferocious animals. It was also super agile—seeing me come in with a fierce attitude, its first instinct was to turn tail and run, trying to hide back in the dark.
Dream on!
In the next moment, my eyes flashed red, and dark mist erupted from my right palm.
Oblivion!
Whoosh—
Scarlet light briefly illuminated the pitch-black cave before fading again. I stopped in my tracks, and that massive shadow ahead stopped moving too.
In that instant, a slender strand of smoke twisted and whoosh zipped past the cave, hitting its mark dead on. Accompanied by a series of squeaky, mouse-like cries, the thing fell from the wall with a thud, struggling and writhing in agony.
Moon Step!
Whoosh—
I stepped forward, the rush of air ringing in my ears, and in the next moment, appeared right next to that massive shadow!
Bam!
With a dull thud, a gale of wind burst from under my feet, kicking up dust, and my scarf flew back like a dark waterfall. As it fluttered in the air, I caught the flying cloth, meanwhile, my foot was already planted on the head of that squeaky thing.
Then, suddenly, with force—
Pop!
The eerie cries abruptly halted, a red-and-white explosion splattered onto my robe, and the creature ceased to struggle, its massive body convulsing as the spreading Dead Smoke swallowed it whole, turning into a wisp of pale blue light that vanished into my chest.
“Ah…”
I clenched my fists and tilted my head back, my eyes drifting in a daze, pink lips slightly parted as I let out a soft, tantalizing m*an in the dark.
“Ugh…”
The intoxicating rush took a long while to fade away.
So comfortable…
I want more…
I opened my hazy eyes, my pupils flashing a brilliant jewel-like color in the dark, which flickered and vanished, then I felt a warm energy rapidly circulating through my body before settling in my lower abdomen.
That long-lost feeling of indulging in a big feast…
But still not enough…
So far from enough…
“Ah—”
I exhaled deeply, took a moment to collect myself, then stepped forward again while waving my hand back, calling softly, “Betty.”
“…Ah!”
A startled voice came from behind. Moments later, the sound of hurried footsteps approached.
“Where’s the lizard…”
Little Betty managed to keep up, but she kept her distance, afraid to get too close as she nervously asked, “Big sister, did you eat it…?”
“Didn’t you see it just now?”
“No… It’s too dark here; I couldn’t see anything… Just saw some red light, then… heard the lizard screaming…”
“Next time, just close your eyes,” I replied casually.
“…Okay.”
After a moment, the little girl mumbled back.
She fussed for a bit and soon lit the lantern again, the fire illuminating the cave once more. As I walked ahead, I noticed the space had become spacious again.
This cave was much larger than I had imagined, and the terrain was even more complex. After a short while, we came across a fork in the path, and Betty marked a symbol on the wall with a stone. We randomly chose one of the entrances, and I felt a bit hot, so I didn’t bother tying my scarf back on, even taking my veil off and stuffing it into my bag.
“Big sister… there don’t seem to be any lizards left…”
“Should we just go back?”
“If we go any further, we might get lost…”
All the way, Betty was incredibly anxious, and at some point, she grabbed onto my robe, mumbling protest after protest. She had some dry bread in her bag, and as she walked, she took tiny bites, her attention fixed on the surrounding sandstone, occasionally flinching and glancing back, clearly afraid something might suddenly leap out.
“Betty.”
“Yeah?”
“Are you sure there are many… those giant lizards around here?”
“Yeah!”
“Then why have we only encountered one?”
“Betty doesn’t know either…”
“It wouldn’t be that they’ve all been… eaten, would it?”
That possibility was slim but not entirely out of the question. If those Church Knights really came here and ran out of food, wiping out the lizards for military rations wouldn’t be completely unlikely… though I thought it would be tough for the Church’s forces to make it this far.
But regardless, I was genuinely getting a bit irritated.
“…It’s possible.”
Upon hearing me, the little girl nodded seriously, “Then big sister… should we really go back? You see, there’s nothing left to eat…”
“But I only ate one.”
“One whole one! Betty couldn’t finish it in ten days…”
“I want to eat at least ten… No, twenty wouldn’t be enough.”
“There’s not that many left…”
“I’m very angry. If you keep saying to go back, I’ll eat you.”
“Ugh…”
The little girl gasped and let go of my clothes, clearly too scared to continue following, “Betty is too skinny, and not delicious at all… really not delicious… ugh…”
She seemed to start crying.
“Don’t you dare cry. Cry again, and I’ll really eat you.”
“Ugh—”
Betty whimpered a few times and then put in a lot of effort to silence herself.
I had no idea how much time passed, but the cave path gradually became more difficult. The ground turned hard and uneven, with the slope becoming steeper, sometimes needing to climb down. Betty’s little arms and legs were weak; she couldn’t manage it on her own, so I had to carry her and jump down.
“Big sister… do you, do you remember how to get back…” After jumping down several steep slopes, little Betty finally couldn’t hold back and trembled as she asked.
“Don’t remember.”
I shrugged nonchalantly as I walked ahead.
“What… What do we do then…” She seemed on the verge of tears again, “Betty… Betty doesn’t remember either…”
“Don’t worry… sniff—”
The air quality deep in the cave was poor, and I felt a sneeze coming, struggling to hold it back while inhaling sharply, then frowned at the smell.
There was wind ahead… wind definitely means another exit.
Plus, the bloody and rotting scent mingling in the air seemed to grow stronger… to the point it was a bit overwhelming.
Wait…
What is that?
Suddenly, I saw the cave space opening up again in the darkness ahead. The sandstone spread wide, with flickers of firelight revealing a large chamber about a hundred cubic meters in size, resembling a complex hall in an underground maze. Over there, something was lying…
I picked up my pace.
Purple scales, bl**d was purple too… staining a large patch of sand, what a stench…
That was a giant lizard’s corpse.
And not just one…
“Betty, give me the lamp, hide.”
I turned around, snatched the lantern from the little girl’s hands, gently pushed her aside, and walked into the large cave, holding my nose as I crouched down to examine the lizard’s body by the entrance, raising the lantern for a better view.
…This was a colossal beast nearly three meters long.
Its scales resembled armor, reflecting a metallic luster in the firelight. Its powerful, sturdy limbs ended with five sharp black claws that could pierce steel; even the strongest lion would be torn to shreds in an instant before this thing.
But this fellow was utterly dead.
Its body had started to rot, a terrible stench wafting out. Its head looked like it had been neatly severed by some sharp weapon; the cut was perfectly clean, bl**d long drained, making it clear it had been dead for at least…
I don’t know, but it must have been many days ago.
Who did this…
I slowly stood up, scanning the surroundings, feeling a slight alertness creeping in.
