Chapter 2: Escaping from the Snake's Mouth

  "Damn it!" The black-robed woman's giant snake tail flashed like lightning, sending Xiaodou flying out of the cave. She raised her snake tail and roared:

  "He was so scared that he shit and pissed everywhere, stinking to death. Xiao Guo, Xiao Mei, Xiao Xiao, you three must wash him clean, then I'll eat him alive, one small bite at a time!"

  The furious black-clothed demon turned around and grabbed another child, and with a few big mouths, the "scapegoat" of that little bean was eaten clean!

  In a pool of water in the cave, Xiaoguo turned around and said to the other two girls:

  "Grown-ups like cleanliness, so you two go clean up the internal organs of the two kids he ate today. Remember to wash the floor thoroughly and then sprinkle some licorice root on it. I'll give them a bath, after all, grown-ups are going to eat them tomorrow."

  The two girls went to work very obediently.

  Xiao Guo turned around and started washing the two little ones who had escaped today, pressing them into the water. Xiao Dou didn't make a sound, but kept scrubbing and rubbing, unable to get clean. Finally, after another child finished washing, he went back with tears in his eyes.

  Leaving behind two little guys still washing non-stop, when Xiao Guo ordered Xiao Dou to take off his pants, Xiao Dou rushed forward and grabbed Xiao Guo's hand, whispering urgently:

  "Little sister, I'm the one who peed my pants on purpose. It was just a joke, but somehow... this happened too. Don't worry about washing it, I can clean it myself soon. Please tell Little Bean how to survive, she's been alone since childhood and it's too hard for her. I don't want her to die without having anything to eat. Please, save me!"

  Xiao Guo raised her eyes and glanced at him, suddenly smiling lightly:

  "You're really interesting, how did you know I could save you?"

  Little Bean said with a serious face: "Because you're alive, sister, you must have a way to survive here and be needed by others. Unlike me, I'm not good at anything and am always being sold around!"

  Xiao Guo frowned and said: "You're not doing a good job! This is a bit difficult, sigh... Then I'll ask you, can you watch everyone die and remain unmoved? Do you have the guts to clean up the scattered corpses and then throw them away by yourself? Finally, can you listen to me 100%, no matter what I say?"

  "Anything, anything, anything..." Xiaodou's eyes widened with excitement and said: "Little Guo sister, I can do anything, I'll listen to you, as long as I'm alive, I can do any dirty work, what's more terrifying than death?"

  Xiao Guo looked at him deeply with her big eyes and nodded, saying:

  "Alright, from now on, you'll do as I say. Remember to wash off all the stench on your body, but tomorrow morning, roll around on the ground a few times and get a bit dirty. Then... when dawn breaks tomorrow, quietly follow me outside to sweep up the corpses! I'm leaving first, you come back later, I'll roast a potato for you, hurry!"

  As she spoke, her little hand mischievously splashed water onto his head.

  Xiao Dou giggled and quickly stripped himself clean, then seriously washed his only worn-out grey cloth shirt that was full of patches.

  Inside and out, she washed three times, almost scrubbing off her skin, then carefully returned to the children's exclusive little cave.

  Xiao Guo really gave him a hot baked potato with a salty flavor, which was very delicious and was swallowed by him in two or three mouthfuls. Then the two children leaned against each other and fell asleep.

  Early in the morning, before sunrise, Xiaodou was woken up by Xiaoguo. He originally wanted to sleep a bit longer, but thinking about dying made him jump up immediately.

  Following Xiao Guo out of the large cave, looking at the dawn outside, Xiaodou felt a little confused for a while, what was he doing?

  What kind of world is this? How can I be so unlucky to run into a legendary man-eating monster? Now I have to work for my life?

  Hehe, it's still a bit like city life, if you don't work well, you'll be driven away, the only difference here is that you'll be eaten!

  "What's wrong with you!" Little Guo walked over and said: "Hurry up and roll away, otherwise when Master wakes up soon, you'll be done for!"

  Xiao Dou hastily rolled on the ground several times, getting a bit dirty, before being called up by Xiao Guo and scolded again:

  "Listen up, here, if you want to survive, speak less and work more. It's not okay to do too much or too little. You need to be seen by the adults as working hard, but also leave some undone, there's a certain quota that can't be finished. In short, I'll remind you in the next few days when to stop, just follow my lead."

  Xiao Dou rubbed his small hands anxiously and said: "Little Guo sister, what should I do? Please don't let me hold the tray, I'll definitely drop it!"

  Xiao Guo patted Xiao E's forehead and sighed, "How can you be so stupid? Alright, from now on I'll find some physically demanding tasks for you to do. Look, the messy skeletons in front of the mountain gate, Master has mentioned it several times before, but us three girls can't handle physical labor and have little time to come out and deal with it, so you just take an iron shovel and get to work."

  "Okay, Little Guo sister, just leave all the hard work to me from now on."

  Xiao Guo shook his head and said, "No, remember, usually don't work hard, before the master appears, the air temperature will drop, then you must pay attention, must desperately flail your arms to work, like a show, if you make a mistake, you're dead for sure, that's it, don't ask why, don't forget, speak less!"

  Xiao Dou nodded and took the iron shovel she handed over, silently thinking deeply about what she had said for half a day, and carefully analyzing the steps he should take.

  Suppressing the fear in his heart, he used an iron shovel to gather several piles of bones nearby into a few small piles. He then borrowed a piece of land and dug a hole over a meter deep. As he was digging, he glanced at Xiaoguo, who was watering the plants in a small garden next door.

  At this moment, a chill came surging over, and Xiao Guo saw a sharp gleam in his eye, and Xiao Dou understood at once that the black-clothed demon must have arrived!

  But at this moment, he was frightened and his hands and feet were soft. It was an inexplicable fear in his heart, a natural fear that came with birth. Just at this moment, a small stone hit his head heavily.

  It hurts! It's good that it hurts, this deep breath gave him the strength to move, he swung his iron shovel violently, and a small pile of corpses that had been prepared in advance was instantly thrown into the pit, flying at an incredible speed!

  Anyone who sees such a small child working so efficiently can't help but praise him, and the black-clothed stranger who comes out to breathe in the air is also taken aback, feeling very relieved at heart.

  Watching the little boy's performance, he was extremely satisfied, nodded his head in approval, took a few breaths of fresh air, and then swung back to the mountain cave with a big snake tail.

  Before long, Xiao Guo ran over quickly, with an excited look on her face, and patted him on the shoulder, saying in a low voice:

  "Xiao Dou, you're really something, sir smiled at you, haha, today you don't have to die, remember, from now on, you still need to be like today, you can be lazy but when working, you must use your brain, let sir see your performance, this way you can survive."

  Xiao Dou also beamed with joy: "Little Guo sister, just watch me! I'll work hard, oh, I'll clean up the whole place today, you see!"

  "You want to die!" Xiao Guo slapped him on the head and scolded: "You've finished all the work, what's the use of you tomorrow? The master will definitely fire you. When there's no next task, you absolutely can't finish this one."

  "Ah~" Xiaodou scratched her head and asked: "It's so complicated, Little Guo sister, how can we do it?"

  "Alright, today it's just this, in this small circle, finish up and you can rest on this side, don't even think about running away, these four weeks have strange foggy forests, you absolutely can't get out. After noon when the master takes a nap, you quietly sneak back to our little cave, got it?" Little Guo explained patiently.

  Xiao Dou thought for a moment and said: "Xiao Guo sister, didn't you tell me to clean up the internal organs that Mr. ate? When should I go? Don't worry, I won't be scared stiff again!"

  "Shake your head and say: 'Today is not used to you, this is a small life, if you go today, then Xiao will be eaten. I'll find another stable job for Xiao first, let the master see it after that, and then you can take over this task. Remember, without my permission, you are not allowed to do anything else, lest someone be killed by you. Alright, think about how to work now, I'm leaving.'"

  When she disappeared into the cave, Xiaodou's eyes gleamed with a sharp gaze at the mountain below, and indeed, one couldn't see to the end, with hidden mist blocking the way.

  Helpless, he had no choice but to follow Xiao Guo's instructions, but this morning was too boring. Within the scope of what Xiao Guo said, he wandered around and took a look.

  There's really nothing fun to play with, a small path by the mountain stream, a small garden, and endless bones in all directions. The entire space that can be moved around is only about 200 meters wide.

  Sitting in a pile of dead people, Xiao Dou has become numb to it all. He doesn't know what fear is, nor does he understand the difference between the living and the dead. All he knows is that everything Xiao Guo does is right and good, and that's what he strives for!

  At noon, Xiaodou returned to the cave and searched around, but all he could find were potatoes.

  Xiao Guo seemed to see his intention, and walked up to pat him on the shoulder, saying softly:

  "Just make do with eating a bit, being alive is already quite good, it's just these, still the ones we ourselves planted in that small garden you saw in the morning, if these are finished, probably only really going to the mountain stream's cold pool to guard the stake and wait for rabbits, even starving for several days can't catch one fish to eat!"

  Xiao Dou's face lit up with excitement: "Fish? Are they the fish that customers eat at the wine shop? Haha, great! Little Guo sister, isn't everything okay now? Then let's go catch some fish!"

  Xiao Guo smiled wryly and said, "You're really gluttonous, don't you think that maybe in six or seven days you'll be eaten by others? Forget it, just like those two girls, they were excited at first but got frustrated when they couldn't catch anything. Come on, I'll take you!"

  The little bean didn't care at all whether she would die or not, and happily followed her to catch fish and eat.

  Through the belly of the mountain, to the deepest part, what comes into view is a dimly lit large pool of water, with hanging stalactites, icy frost on all four walls, emitting a faint chill, cold and eerie...

  "Right here, don't go down, be careful not to freeze to death. Besides, there are rotting corpses inside, I heard those dead bodies were soaked in water and became bloated, their pale faces are super scary. Just stay by the side and use this small net to see if you can scoop anything up!"

  Xiao Dou took over the magical tool she handed over again, picked up a small net and laughed:

  "This is fun! I've never played like this since I was a kid, haha, fish, watch me scoop~scoop~scoop~"

  After a busy whole afternoon, the hard work paid off for the diligent people. Finally, he caught a small fish that was not as long as his little hand, and the two children hid it in the cave with happy faces, agreeing to come back at night to roast it and each eat a small mouthful.

  However, by nightfall, the black-clothed demon would appear at dusk and devour two small children, a boy and a girl. Witnessing the bloody scene, Xiaoguo had grown accustomed to it, but Xiaodou couldn't help but feel a wave of nausea.

  But he couldn't help but feel excited, just like Xiaoguo said, that demon not only didn't eat him, but also let him stand with Xiaoguo and the three girls, as if acknowledging his existence.

  When I got back in the evening, the remaining children had cried themselves into collapse and couldn't eat anything.

  Xiao Dou and Xiao Guo, the two kids, still followed their usual routine of roasting one potato each, then secretly adding a small fish in between, savoring the delicious taste of fish for the first time in their lives, almost dropping their jaws in amazement.

  Xiao Guo also enjoyed this deliciousness and agreed to continue accompanying him to catch fish tomorrow.