Chapter 10: The Water Cave

  "It seems that we can't find the musk deer anymore, the terrain in here is too complicated." Meng Qiu said after checking the terrain inside the cave. "We can only do so for now!" Wang Haibing sighed helplessly, although he was unwilling to give up, but there was nothing they could do. As for Wang Zheng and others, they had even less to say, earlier when they encountered that giant lizard beast, if it wasn't for Meng Qiu and Wang Haibing taking action, they would have been in a precarious situation, thinking back to that situation still made them feel uneasy.

  The crowd fell silent for a moment, preparing to return by their original route. Just then, Wang Shimiao suddenly cried out: "Lingyang!"

  As she turned around, her eyes inadvertently swept over a nearby place and saw that the musk deer was peeking out curiously.

  Meng Qiu and others immediately followed suit, looking in the direction of the deer. The musk deer was startled and quickly retreated, but it did not escape the eyes of Meng Qiu and Wang Haibing. Their eyes lit up at the same time, and without saying a word, they took off in pursuit. Wang Zheng and several others also followed closely behind, all revealing expressions of surprise and delight. No one had expected that just as they were about to give up, an unbelievable turn of events would occur at the last moment.

  However, at this time, no one had time to speak. The musk deer was extremely alert and agile, and in the blink of an eye, it escaped into the cave entrance. Meng Qiu relied on his swift steps, his body as light as a goose feather, with wind under his feet. In just a few breaths, he had already surpassed Wang Haibing by nearly ten feet, and the people behind him, including Wang Zheng, were left even farther behind, more than 15 feet away. Yet, he still failed to catch up to the musk deer's shadow.

  Fortunately, they didn't encounter any other forks in the road, otherwise it would have been even harder to chase after them. However, after a short while, Meng Qiu suddenly stopped in her tracks and furrowed her brow as she gazed at the scene before her. Closely following behind were Wang Haibing and Wang Zheng, who also couldn't help but pause in surprise, for right before their eyes, this natural mountain cave had reached its end, and further ahead lay a vast expanse of dark water.

  "Damn it, how is this water!" Wang Haibing cursed, slightly hesitant. The surface of the water was pitch black, affecting visibility, and it was impossible to predict what was hidden beneath the water.

  "Brother Meng, what should we do?" Wang Zheng also had some hesitation and walked to Meng Qiu's side to ask.

  "This passage leads directly here, and no other forks have been found. That musk deer can't escape." Meng Qiu thought for a moment and said: "But I don't know what's under the water, I'll go down with Wang Haibing first, and the others will follow up later." After that, he patted Wang Zhong's shoulder again and smiled, saying: "Don't worry, if we really catch that musk deer, your share won't be less."

  "Not bad, this idea is feasible." Wang Haibing also nodded and said: "This cave seems to be naturally formed, but I always feel that it has some origin. And that musk deer, its arrival is even more suspicious. We must be on guard."

  Meng Qiu glanced at him, actually Meng Qiu also had a similar feeling after entering this cave, especially that musk deer, every time it showed its head, as if to entice them. However, with his growing strength, Meng Qiu was quite bold and wanted to investigate clearly, even though he knew something was fishy. He slightly comforted Wang Zheng and others, exchanged a glance with Wang Haibing, and called out: "Let's go!"

  The two immediately unfolded their movements and stepped onto the water's surface in an instant.

  At present, Meng Qiu and Wang Haibing's cultivation, flying is not possible, but with a little borrowed power, treading water and running wildly is not difficult for them.

  "Tap tap tap..." A burst of splashing sounds, and in the blink of an eye, the two figures disappeared into the deep darkness within the cave.

  Meng Qiu's speed was extremely fast, like a gust of wind sweeping across the water surface. Wang Haibing was not inferior, with his true energy supporting his feet. Every step he took, the water surface rippled, closely following Meng Qiu's back. The two formed a pincer movement, ready to respond at any moment if something happened.

  However, they flew forward for over a hundred yards without any accidents, and instead the top of the cave got lower and lower. It turned out that the passage of this mountain cave was downward, and the lower part was flooded with water, so it naturally became lower and lower, even to the point where they had to stoop down to avoid the stalactites hanging from the top of the cave. Not until after passing a huge stone pillar inserted into the water surface did the top of the cave gradually rise up, without being completely submerged in the water.

  "Brother Meng, be careful, this cave is indeed not simple." Wang Haibing suddenly called out after passing through the stone column.

  Meng Qiu didn't say a word, but nodded his head. He also saw some artificial axe marks in the cave. Apparently, this cave was natural, but someone had been here before, and some places were very obvious. This made Meng Qiu feel that the appearance of the musk deer was suspicious, as well as the blood python and giant lizard. At the time, he hadn't paid attention, but now thinking back, it seemed more like they were domesticated monsters.

  Meng Qiu and Wang Haibing were even more vigilant in their hearts, but as they looked up at the top of the cave, it was getting higher and higher. In a flash, the two of them ran out for over a hundred feet, but there was no movement at all.

  "Could I have been wrong?" Meng Qiu thought to herself.

  Just then, Wang Haibing suddenly jumped up, passed in front of Meng Qiu, waved at him, and then jumped up again with both hands grasping the stone pillar on top of the cave.

  Meng Qiutian immediately jumped up and asked in a low voice, "What's going on?"

  Wang Haibing's expression turned serious, and he put his index finger on his lips: "Shh, it seems like someone is talking!"

  Meng Qiuxin's heart skipped a beat, and she was sure that Wang Haibing must have some secret technique that made his hearing extremely sharp. She quickly held her breath, tilted her head to listen carefully, and indeed heard faint sounds coming from around her, like someone was talking, but she couldn't quite make out what they were saying.

  After listening for a while, Meng Qiu couldn't make out what the voice was saying either. Just as he was about to ask Wang Haibing if he could hear clearly, when he turned his head back, Wang Haibing had disappeared!

  "Huh? Where's the person?" Meng Qiu's heart skipped a beat, just now Wang Haibing was less than one zhang away from him, holding onto a stone pillar. How could he have disappeared in the blink of an eye without making a sound? Even if he had been ambushed, with Wang Haibing's abilities, it was impossible for him not to have let out a cry for help!

  But the more it was at this time, Meng Qiu was even calmer. He didn't call Wang Haibing and didn't go to check. Now one move is not as good as one quietness. If something really attacked Wang Haibing, then next will definitely come to find, just wait in array, and then head-on strike.

  Meng Qiu quietly concentrated his true energy of the Ten Dragons and Ten Elephants Technique to its limit, ready to strike with lightning speed at the slightest movement.

  But soon after, Wang Haibing's voice came again: "Master Meng, there is a cave here!"

  As they spoke, Wang Haibing's head popped out from behind another stone bamboo, waving at Meng Qiu.

  Meng Qiu was slightly stunned, and hurriedly climbed over to find that Wang Haibing's body had shrunk into the stone pillar. The top of the stone pillar had an opening just wide enough for one person to squeeze through, which couldn't be seen from below due to the darkness and angle. Earlier, Wang Haibing must have discovered this entrance and gone in to investigate, only to suddenly disappear without a trace.