69. Survival in Adversity (Part 1)
Lu Xun's body leaned back slightly, and he pressed himself against me as we passed through the space beside him. I saw a few meters ahead of us that there was a black snake coiled on the ground, about the thickness of an arm, its length indeterminate because it was coiled up. The hissing sound I had just heard came from its spitting.
Lu Xun let out a bitter laugh and said, "Xiao Jiu, I've really put you in harm's way this time."
I growled, "This isn't the time for regrets!"
When things have already happened, it's not about regretting them, but thinking of ways to solve them. At this point, we were clearly at a dead end.
Looking at the snake's triangular head, which was flat, I knew its venom was extremely potent. If we retreated, the long-haired monster would be waiting for us behind, and its body would block the passageway, making it impossible to get through unless we could knock it down. But judging from Lu Xun's previous encounter with it, this possibility was almost zero.
Because our flashlights didn't need to be conserved here, I got a clear look at the long-haired monster's true form. From its appearance, it resembled a human but had hair all over its body and was taller than a person. Its back was hunched, its arms were long, and there was something wrapped around its waist. Its green eyes glowed with an eerie light from behind its long hair.
This creature looked most like the primates - apes, monkeys, and gorillas - but it didn't quite resemble any of them. Because these animals, including monkeys, wouldn't have such long hair on their faces, and their eyes wouldn't glow green either.
After analyzing this for a while, I still couldn't figure out what kind of animal the long-haired monster was.
Considering our current situation, I thought that breaking through from the snake's side might be more possible. The snake's body was relatively smaller, and if we could seize the opportunity to kill it in one strike, we might be able to turn things around.
As far as my eyes could see, there wasn't a dead end behind the snake; this passageway still led deeper into the cave. But whether there were more dangers waiting for us ahead was unknown.
After thinking this through, I quietly told Lu Xun my plan, but just as he was about to act on it, the long-haired monster suddenly leapt at me with a fierce and swift movement. My conditioned reflex allowed me to raise my hands to protect my head. Its shoulder knocked against mine, and I used force to sink my shoulder and shrink back.
At this time, Lu Xun had already made his move, and a strong gust of wind brushed past my face. I instinctively raised my foot to kick the monster's knee, but it felt like kicking stone - hard as rock. About two seconds later, the long-haired monster seemed to have finally reacted to the pain and let out a hiss before retreating.
I saw it rub its shoulder and then crouch down to rub its knee. Lu Xun and I exchanged a glance, changed our strategy, and charged at the long-haired monster instead. After all, being bitten by the venomous snake wasn't something to be taken lightly, and there might be even more ferocious beasts waiting for us ahead.
I sprinted towards the long-haired monster with incredible speed, and just as I reached it, I pushed off the wall with both hands, my feet leaving the ground. With a burst of strength, I flew over the long-haired monster's head, which was lowered.
As I landed and rolled on the ground, my instincts made me look back. This required a tacit understanding between Lu Xun and me; he had to jump up at the same time as I did, so we could both flip over the long-haired monster's head simultaneously. Otherwise, he would lose his chance, and be caught in between.
But when I turned around, I was stunned - Lu Xun hadn't followed our previous eye contact and done what we had agreed on. Instead, he wrapped his arms around the long-haired monster and slammed it to the ground, then looked up at me and roared, "Xiao Jiu, go!"
