When I asked about the cave where the butterfly man was rescued, Miao Xiaoxian explained, "That place was a site of human sacrifice. The person I was looking for was sent into that cave. It was during my trip there to rescue him that I happened to meet you."

After listening to Miao Xiaoxian's explanation, I glanced at the statue that was almost swallowed by the flowing water and looked at the butterfly man with a troubled expression: "It seems that this road is also blocked. Let's retreat."

How will you know if you don't try?

As the butterfly man spoke, he unpacked his travel bag and placed it on the ground, revealing the tools inside.

Inside this travel bag are carbon fiber shelves, with a protective net securing many pieces of equipment.

Old Song walked over and glanced at the bag, then said to the Butterfly Man in surprise, "You've prepared so much stuff! You even brought an angle grinder and an impact drill? And so much explosives, this travel bag must weigh about 60 or 70 kilograms, right? How can you carry so much stuff?"

The butterfly man took out a tool bag about the length of his forearm from his travel bag, and began to assemble the tools inside.

I looked at what the man with the butterfly-like hand and narrowed my eyes: "Are you assembling a gun?"

"It's a flamethrower."

Song Laosan asked the butterfly man professionally, "There is only a compressor, oil pipeline and ignition device here, but there is a lack of fuel supply."

After assembling the flamethrower, the Butterfly Man took out two canisters, each about the size of a 2-liter Coke bottle, from the bottom of his backpack. He then handed a flexible tube to Song Laosan: "Can you catch this?"

"meeting!"

Song Laosan took the hose and began to connect the flamethrower. At this time, Butterfly Man also took off his coat.

Beneath the butterfly man's outer garment was a vest resembling a bulletproof vest, several restraints wrapped around his body, and several steel pipes with visible electrical wires at the joints.

When Song Laosan recognized the item on the butterfly man's body, he was immediately dumbfounded: "Brother, if I'm not mistaken, that thing you're wearing is a soldier's exoskeleton, right? Are these sold in China?"

"Military equipment, the same kind of equipment Lockheed Martin made for the U.S. Navy SEALs, obtained through special channels."

The Butterfly Man took the fuel tank that Song Laosan had assembled, hooked the grappling hook onto the exoskeleton's buckle, emptied all the contents of his travel bag, unfolded it into a shield, and handed it to me: "You only have one chance to break out, stick close to me... Little girl, where is the stairwell entrance?"

"This way."

Miao Xiaoxian looked at the rapidly expanding Flowing Water Rock and took the lead in walking forward. At the same time, she took out a few Fire Beetles from her backpack and threw them towards the Flowing Water Rock.

"Boom!"

The beetle burst into flames in the darkness, and the scorching heat caused the flowing rock to recoil backward, revealing the steps behind it.

Upon seeing the stairs, the Butterfly Man was the first to run towards them and pull the trigger of the flamethrower.

"call--"

In an instant, a flame six or seven meters long tore through the void and shot towards the opposite Flowing Water Rock.

Under the intense heat, the flowing rock quickly melted, creating a gap. The Butterfly Man drew his signal gun and fired a flare towards the gap in the flowing rock: "We have limited fuel, stick close to me!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the Butterfly Man took the lead and ran over there. The rest of us quickly followed behind.

With the flamethrower clearing the way, a gap was quickly torn open in the flowing rock ahead, and we all followed the butterfly man up the steps.

Everything in the world has its counterpart, and under the continuous spray of flames, the rocks that were blocking our way melted away. In no time, the Butterfly Man led us to the top of the statue's shoulder.

Miao Xiaoxian pointed to the spot near the statue's ear: "The exit is right there!"

"call!"

The flames surged, burning away the surrounding flowing rock and revealing an exit at the back.

I saw that the cave entrance ahead wasn't filled with flowing rocks, and I felt a surge of relief. I followed the butterfly man out and turned to Miao Xiaoxian, asking, "Are there any mechanisms or traps in the passage ahead?"

"Our ancestors were skilled at using Gu poison, and the defensive measures here all use Gu poison; there are no traps or mechanisms."

Miao Xiaoxian paused for a moment: "If we go out through this passage, we can leave this mountain!"

Miao Xiaoxian's answer finally gave us a glimmer of hope.

About thirty meters later, we reached the end of the passage. Looking up the steps, which were covered with loose soil, we could already see the light outside.

The butterfly man was the first to emerge from the cave. After confirming that there was no danger outside, he pulled me up as well.

We entered the cave in the middle of the night, and by the time we crawled out, the sun had already risen.

I looked around and saw that we were standing next to a mound of earth in a grove of trees. There was dense bushes all around, and not even a proper road. I didn't know how the people of Ping'an Village had determined this location.

Old Song crawled out of the hole and plopped down on the ground, panting heavily: "Damn it, this night has really worn me out! We've crossed great rivers and mountains, but I never thought we'd almost capsize in this little ditch. Luckily we didn't die in there, or we'd be laughed at by our colleagues for the rest of our lives!"

"This is an altar from the Miao period, not a tomb. We have never been exposed to it before, so we are bound to suffer losses."

I was only wearing my underwear, and a gust of wind made my skin crawl. I rubbed my arms and said to the butterfly man, "You promised to help me find my friend. When are we leaving?"

The butterfly-shaped man glanced at me and said, "You should go back to Qingyun Town."

"What do you mean?"

Seeing that the butterfly man was giving me the boot, I glared at him angrily: "Just half an hour ago, we risked our lives to save you, and you're already trying to go back on your word?"

"I will help you find your people, but I won't take you with me."

The butterfly man replied calmly, "I'm used to being alone. Having more people around would be a burden for me. I will keep my promise and help you find your friend. If I can find him, I will send him to Qingyun Town."

After listening to the butterfly man's words, Song Laosan also advised, "Xiao Duan, the situation is still unclear. Now that the bull's head has been taken, we should try to rescue Qu Ruilin and the others as soon as possible. Otherwise, if the black-robed men feel that they have lost their meaning and choose to kill them to silence them, we will be completely passive."

I wanted to go with Butterfly Man to rescue people, but since we had no equipment and he had clearly refused me, I could only nod to him and say, "I'm going back to Qingyun Town now to prepare for a second trip into the mountains. Could you give me your contact information so that I can come and help if you need support while you're rescuing people?"

The butterfly man thought for a moment, picked up a stone, and carved a number on it with his dagger: "At noon, whether I find the person or not, I will leave the cave. Call me when the time comes."