255: Chapter 255: Shadows in the Cave

The night, like thick ink, filled the gullies between the hills. There was no moonlight, only a few of the most stubborn stars casting faint, almost negligible halos through the gaps in the lead-gray clouds.

Ling Ye's footsteps were as soft as a feline's, each step calculated to avoid loose stones and withered branches. His ears, eyes, and the passive perception enhanced to the limit by the "xuanyuan ring" constituted his entire reliance for exploring the darkness.

He had walked the path to the northeast once before, but that had been during the day. Traveling at night doubled the difficulty and risk. Relying on his vague memory of the terrain and an instinctive sense of direction, he detoured and crept along, taking longer than expected to finally approach that sun-facing slope.

From afar, he saw the overturned stone slab entrance. In the darkness, it was just a deeper void that seemed to swallow the light. There was no fire inside, no sound, only that familiar, musty, and dry airflow continuously surging out from the entrance.

He crouched behind a huge piece of weathered rock, motionless, as if he had merged with the stone. His gaze, like a searchlight, carefully swept over every inch of ground and every shadow of rock around the entrance. There were no footprints, no drag marks, no fresh feces, and no signs of any man-made camouflage or triggered warning devices.

It was excessively quiet.

Was the "Neighbor" not here? Or were they hidden deeper inside, or... had they already left?

Ling Ye's heartbeat was steady and powerful, but his mind was tense to the extreme. He did not enter immediately. Instead, he circled the perimeter of the entrance extremely slowly, observing from all angles. He confirmed there were no other exits (at least from the outside) and found no signs of any ambush.

He returned to the front of the entrance and listened intently. There was only the whimpering of the wind passing through the rock crevices and the low, constant "whooshing" sound of the airflow surging from within the cave.

He could not wait any longer.

He pulled an arrow from his quiver and nocked it, but did not draw the string. His left hand gripped his fruit knife backhanded. Then, he took a deep breath and, like a silent snake, slid sideways into the narrow, downward-sloping entrance.

Darkness instantly swallowed him. Only the extremely faint daylight penetrating from the entrance barely outlined the first few meters of the cave passage. He let his eyes adjust for a moment, then, relying on memory and touch, began to move deeper into the cave.

The cave passage was more slippery than he remembered (previous rain seepage?), and the musty, dusty scent in the air was also stronger. He walked very slowly, testing with his toes at every step and confirming safety before shifting his weight. His ears captured any slight abnormal sound in the cave, and his eyes struggled to discern possible obstacles or spatial changes ahead in the absolute darkness.

After walking down about ten meters, a familiar, more open darkness appeared ahead. He had reached the main cave chamber.

He did not enter immediately. Instead, he stopped at the junction of the passage and the main chamber, crouched down, and focused his perception again.

The main chamber was dead silent. There was no sound of breathing, no rustling of clothes, no crackling of sparks, and no... energy field of a living person.

There was only an extremely faint, yet impossible to ignore, scent mixed with old dust, some indescribable rotting organic matter, and... a trace of an extremely thin, yet familiar, discordant energy residue that made Ling Ye's hair stand on end instantly.

It was the scent of "abyssal eye" pollution! It was extremely faint, almost dissipated, but it had definitely existed! And, it seemed to have had some unnatural mixing or residue with the environment of this cave chamber itself!

Ling Ye's heart sank suddenly. Could the "Neighbor's" warning be true? Was this cave not just a former dwelling, but also related to "abyssal eye" pollution? Perhaps... it was even a part of that "moss cave"? Or, was it another undiscovered pollution point?

He gripped his bow and knife tightly. But the arrow was on the string, and the target was unclear.

He slowly stood up and moved into the main chamber. After his eyes adapted to the absolute darkness, he could vaguely see the general outline of the chamber—it was more empty and cluttered than in his memory. There seemed to be more scattered things on the ground, which he couldn't see clearly.

He moved forward cautiously, stepping on the soft sandy soil with every step, trying his best not to make a sound. His gaze vigilantly scanned the surrounding cave walls and corners, especially the locations where he had previously found the fireplace and those stone and pottery tools.

Suddenly, his toe hit something, making a slight, rolling sound of a hard object.

He stopped immediately, his body tense. He listened intently, but there was no follow-up movement. He slowly crouched down and felt around with his hand. What he touched was cold, rough stone, but the shape was irregular, as if it had been chiseled. He felt more stone fragments, pottery shards, and... a few dry, brittle, small things similar to bones.

Were they animal bones? Or...

He did not dare to dwell on it and continued to feel his way forward.

He touched the stones of the fireplace; they were cold, with no residual heat. Near the fireplace, his hand touched a damp, slimy area with a faint fishy smell. Was it water? Or...

He withdrew his hand and wiped it on his clothes. The unease in his heart grew stronger.

He decided that he must have some light. If he couldn't see the environment, the danger was greater. He fumbled around, took out the flint and tinder from his bosom, turned his back to the possible direction of the entrance, blocked it with his body, and struck a few times extremely carefully and slowly.

"Click... click..."

Weak sparks sputtered, igniting the tinder. A small cluster of orange, dancing flames lit up in his palm, illuminating a tiny area around him.

Borrowing the fleeting firelight, Ling Ye quickly scanned the interior of the chamber.

The sight made him gasp!

The interior of the chamber was much messier than when he had last visited! The previously neatly stacked stone tools and pottery shards were scattered all over the floor. Beside the fireplace, there was a pile of fresh, damp soil and crushed stones, looking like traces of recent excavation. And in the deepest corner of the chamber, where he had previously found the rusty tin can and special Ore, at this moment, a person was leaning and sitting there!

The firelight was too weak, and the distance too far to see the person's specific appearance clearly. He could only see a hunched, thin outline wearing tattered dark clothing, with the head lowered and face buried in shadows, motionless, as if it were a stone statue. On the ground beside the person were scattered a few pieces of that special Ore, and... a broken, dark red pottery jar, with shards scattered all over the floor, identical to the piece he had found under the stone slab earlier!

It was the "Neighbor"!

They were here! But their state was clearly not right! Were they in a coma? Injured? Or... dead?

Ling Ye's heart raced. He immediately extinguished the tinder in his hand (it couldn't be exposed for long) and plunged back into darkness. But the sight from that glimpse was already deeply branded in his mind.

The "Neighbor" was in the cave, and their state was unknown. There were suspected excavation traces in the cave, broken pottery jars, scattered Ore, and... that trace of weak, ominous pollution.

He had to make a decision immediately. Should he retreat immediately and leave this obviously ominous place? Or should he go forward to check the "Neighbor's" condition? If the latter, how could he ensure his own safety?

The sense of responsibility of the "Alliance" and his concern for the "Neighbor" clashed fiercely with the immense sense of danger brought by the bizarre scene before him.

He remembered the "Stone Language" on the Water Source slab: a head circled, pointing here. That might not have been information left by the "Neighbor" pointing to someone else, but the "Neighbor" indicating that they were trapped here! That broken pottery jar might be a signal for help or a warning!

But that trace of pollution in the cave made him extremely vigilant. How could the "Neighbor" be related to pollution? Was it accidentally contaminated? Or...

There was no time to think carefully. If the "Neighbor" was still alive and in urgent need of help, every second could be the difference between life and death.

Ling Ye took a deep breath and made a decision. He nocked his arrow again, gripped his knife in his left hand, and ignited a small pinch of tinder again (this time slightly brighter), shielding it in front of him like a weak light that could be extinguished at any moment, and moved step by step, extremely slowly and vigilantly, toward the figure leaning in the depths of the chamber.

His gaze was locked tightly on that figure. His ears were pricked up, capturing any slight breath or groan. His perception was also concentrated in that direction, trying to capture signs of life energy.

The distance shortened little by little in the dead silence.

Ten meters... eight meters... five meters...

The firelight finally barely illuminated the details of that figure.

It was indeed an extremely thin, ragged person. Their hair was gray and messy, their face covered with deep wrinkles and dirt, eyes tightly closed, and lips cracked. It was exactly that "Neighbor" he had glimpsed from afar at the Water Source! At this moment, their complexion under the firelight presented an unhealthy grayish-white, and their breathing was extremely weak, almost imperceptible. There were no obvious external wounds on their body, but their entire aura was like a candle in the wind, which could be extinguished at any moment.

And on the "Neighbor's" left side, near the ground, Ling Ye saw a small pool of dark red, dried blood. Beside the blood, a few pottery shards were scattered. It looked like the "Neighbor" had knocked over the pottery jar when they fell, and perhaps injured themselves as well.

But in the "Neighbor's" right hand, they were tightly clutching something—a palm-sized piece of special Ore with a dull color and faint, flowing dark green ripples! The energy fluctuations emitted by that Ore, although extremely weak, were the source of that discordant feeling similar to the "abyssal eye" pollution that Ling Ye had felt before!

Was the "Neighbor" clutching this polluted Ore? Was it grabbed unintentionally? Or... was it intentional?

Ling Ye's footsteps stopped about three meters away from the "Neighbor". He did not go forward immediately. His gaze scanned back and forth between the "Neighbor's" grayish-white face, their weakly rising and falling chest, the right hand clutching the Ore, and the pool of blood and scattered Ore beside them.

In the air, that trace of discordant energy residue seemed to be emanating from the piece of Ore in the "Neighbor's" hand and the other pieces of similar Ore scattered on the ground.

This cave, these Ore... the relationship between the "Neighbor" and the pollution...

Countless questions, like cold poisonous snakes, coiled around Ling Ye's heart. But he saw the "Neighbor's" dying state and the pool of blood on the ground that might have been caused by weakness and an accident, and his reason told him that the threat from the other party at this moment was perhaps far less than the death threat they were facing themselves.

"Hoo..."

A sound of an extremely weak breath, like a sigh, came from the "Neighbor's" mouth. Their eyelids seemed to tremble extremely slightly.

They were still alive!

Ling Ye did not hesitate anymore. He quickly extinguished the tinder in his hand (to avoid prolonged light irritation), but kept his fruit knife and arrow ready. He stepped forward, crouched down, and first, with extreme caution, used the tip of his fruit knife to gently touch the "Neighbor's" right wrist that was clutching the Ore.

There was no reaction. The hand was cold and stiff.

He tried to use the knife tip to gently pry the dark green, flowing Ore. Unexpectedly, the Ore seemed to be only loosely held in the "Neighbor's" hand; a gentle touch caused it to loosen and roll to the ground.

Ling Ye immediately used the knife tip to flick the Ore far away. Then, he reached out and tentatively checked the "Neighbor's" carotid artery.

The pulse was extremely weak and slow, but it was indeed still beating. Their body temperature was very low.

It was a coma caused by extreme weakness, dehydration, and possible blood loss (if the bloodstain was their own).

The "Neighbor" needed water, warmth, and treatment for possible wounds.

Ling Ye did not hesitate. He quickly untied his water bottle, unscrewed the cap, gently supported the "Neighbor's" head with one hand (it was frighteningly light), and carefully brought the bottle opening to their cracked lips with the other hand, slowly dripping a few drops of clear water.

The clear water flowed down the corner of their mouth. The "Neighbor's" throat seemed to roll unconsciously, making an extremely faint swallowing sound.

Ling Ye was delighted and continued to feed water slowly. At the same time, he quickly checked whether the "Neighbor" had any other wounds. Apart from some old abrasions and calluses on their palms and arms, he found no new, serious external wounds. The source of that pool of blood was unclear, but it did not look like arterial bleeding.

After feeding half a bottle of water, the "Neighbor's" breathing seemed to become a little steadier and stronger. Their eyelids trembled again, and then, slowly and with extreme difficulty, they opened a slit.

What a pair of eyes they were. Cloudy, bloodshot, the whites of the eyes yellowish, and the pupils seemed somewhat unfocused in the darkness. But when they saw Ling Ye, who was close at hand, those unfocused pupils suddenly contracted! A trace of extremely complex emotions—surprise, vigilance, relief, indescribable pain, and... a trace of deep-seated guilt that Ling Ye could not interpret?—flashed across those cloudy eyes.

The "Neighbor's" lips moved, as if they wanted to say something, but they only made a few broken, hoarse, almost indistinguishable syllables.

Ling Ye immediately leaned in and pressed his ear close.

"...Stone... don't... touch..." The voice was as hoarse as sandpaper rubbing.

Stone? Did they mean those special, polluted Ore?

Ling Ye nodded immediately and whispered, "I didn't touch them. How are you? Can you get up? It's not safe here."

The "Neighbor" seemed to understand his words and shook their head extremely slightly, their gaze struggling to turn to the other side of the chamber, to the soil pile with fresh excavation traces, with deep fear and urgency in their eyes.

"Go... hurry... go... something... below... has been... disturbed..." Their voice was more hurried and weak, with a strong sense of urging.

Something below? Had it been disturbed? Was it disturbed when the "Neighbor" was digging? Or was it the source of the Ore pollution?

Ling Ye's heart sank suddenly. He did not hesitate anymore and immediately put one of the "Neighbor's" arms over his shoulder, using his strength to help them up. The "Neighbor" was so light they had almost no weight, their body limp, relying entirely on Ling Ye for support.

"Hold on, I'll get you out." Ling Ye whispered, while his gaze vigilantly swept toward the excavation soil pile and the scattered Ore. The trace of discordant energy in the cave seemed to become more active and unstable because of the "Neighbor's" awakening and movement.

He supported the "Neighbor", turned around, and moved his feet with difficulty toward the direction of the entrance where he had come.

Behind him, deep in the chamber, it was as if something, beneath the dark soil and rock, was moving extremely slowly, creepily... It wriggled. Accompanied by an almost inaudible "rustling" sound, as if countless fine sand grains were falling, and a clearer, colder, malicious energy fluctuation quietly spread out like a tide from the direction of that excavation soil pile...