Li Qing had a bad feeling. It was only a matter of time before they were caught up. They were climbing too fast. Mane was running as fast as it could, but the distance between them was still closing.
The mane carried the two through one patch of grass after another. Just as Li Qing's brain was racing, trying to think of a way to break the deadlock, a hole suddenly appeared in front of them. It was dug by some unknown creature and was at a 20-degree angle downwards, just big enough for the two mane-like creatures to crawl through.
Upon seeing the cave entrance, the mane ran towards it.
"Come back quickly!"
Li Qing became anxious.
They're still trying to climb in there? Aren't they just asking for death?!
It's highly likely that it's a burrow dug by some creature, and there's probably only one exit. If you rush in, wouldn't you be putting yourself in a death trap?
Xiong Ga exclaimed in terror, "Zongmao, what's wrong with you? We can't go in! If we go in, we're doomed! These bugs will block the entrance and surround us, then eat us up!"
But this time, the mane defied Xiong Ga's command and went straight for the cave entrance.
"Don't go in!"
Xiong Ga frantically patted his mane, but it had no effect; the mane continued to rush inward.
It rushed into the cave entrance.
Xiong Ga looked back at the approaching swarm of insects with a terrified expression.
This is no longer a question of whether one is strong or not. Even if one is strong, the size and number of the opponent can completely negate the difference in strength. Just like that horse just now, it can crush insects as easily as eating and sleeping, but it still died miserably in the end, and was eaten without leaving anything in the blink of an eye.
After rushing to the cave entrance, Mane stopped in place. Xiong Ga turned around anxiously, "What's wrong, Mane? We need to get out of here quickly, the swarm of insects is coming soon!"
"No... wait."
Li Qing said softly.
"Those insects, they didn't come over."
"How is that possible?"
Xiong Ga also looked back.
When he looked at those insects for the last time, he clearly saw them rushing towards this place with all their might, so why did they stop at the entrance of the hole and not come in?
"What...what's going on?"
Li Qing glanced back at Xiong Ga, whose expression was strange, shrugged, and gave a wry smile, saying, "Who knows? Maybe they're full and too lazy to chase after us?"
Of course, this was just a joke Li Qing made casually. He was equally puzzled and looked back at the cave entrance.
The insects circled around the entrance of the hole, appearing very restless and crawling around, but none of them ventured into the hole, as if... there was something in the hole that frightened them.
Xiong Ga wasn't in the mood to respond to Li Qing's earlier joke: "Are they afraid of this place?"
Li Qing nodded and said, "Very likely, otherwise they would have no reason to stop."
“Look,” Li Qing pointed to the insects, “they keep circling around the entrance of the cave, which proves that they are still very interested in us, but for other reasons, none of them dare to come in.”
Xiong Ga looked back at the pitch-black road behind him and frowned, saying, "But what is here that they are so afraid of?"
Li Qing shook his head.
If you were to say that wild beasts, who believe in the law of the jungle, know fear and know to flee from creatures stronger than themselves, Li Qing would be willing to believe it. But these insects, their "brains" are probably only the size of a grain of millet. All their actions are driven by instinct. Just like their pursuit of the two of them, it was driven by their ferocious instincts. If these creatures can even know fear, then what kind of creature could possibly make them feel fear—a fear that originates from their biological instincts?
“If that’s the case, then in a sense, what the mane did wasn’t wrong,” Li Qing said. “They often sense things that we can’t. The mane probably sensed the terrifying aura of the creature inside, which is why it risked its life to bring us in.”
Upon hearing this, the expressions of the two who had just relaxed became serious again.
Outside, restless insects scurried about, seemingly unwilling to leave anytime soon.
Inside the cave entrance, there is a high possibility that an unknown and terrifyingly powerful being resides.
Whether they advance or retreat, it means they could all end up dead here.
Xiong Ga flipped off his mane and said with a wry smile, "Alright, it seems we have no other choice."
Li Qing: "The insect swarm outside has surrounded us. Going out means certain death. We have no choice."
Xiong Ga looked at the pitch-black road ahead: "You mean, we should go in and take a look?"
Li Qing: "We should still give it a try. It's better than just waiting for them to leave."
Xiong Ga quickly perked up: "That's right, the tribe is still waiting for us to go back. We can't wait any longer, let's go, let's set off!"
At this moment, Mane walked up to the two of them, its body slightly arched, looking at them ingratiatingly, as if it were apologizing for its rash actions just now.
Xiong Ga stretched out a hand and placed it on Zongmao's forehead, then turned around and said, "Just as I thought. Zongmao just told me that it had nowhere else to hide, so it could only hide in this seemingly more dangerous place."
Li Qing smiled wryly and said, "This choice isn't bad. At least being killed by these big guys here is better than being covered in those giant insects outside."
Xiong Ga actually took it seriously. He snorted and said, "I won't die. Neither you nor Mane will die. The tribe is still waiting for us to go back!"
Li Qing could only rub his nose and say helplessly, "Just kidding. Okay, let's go."
“We’d better get off here and walk around,” Li Qing asked again. “By the way, could you ask Mane if it knows what that thing living here is?”
Following Li Qing's instructions, Xiong Ga conveyed his meaning to Zong Mao. After a moment, he shook his head: "Zong Mao can only sense that this place is dangerous, but he doesn't know the specifics."
Li Qing shrugged.
This answer was expected.
"Alright then, let's keep going."
The cave was so dark that Li Qing had only taken a few steps from the surface of the cave entrance where the sunlight was shining in when it was completely dark and he could not see anything. As a result, Li Qing could only hold onto the wall and carefully move forward in the dark. They had not prepared anything like flint, so they could only travel in the dark.
A cool breeze occasionally blew through the cave, making Li Qing feel very comfortable. His tense mind gradually relaxed. However, when he thought of the creatures inside that even the insect swarm feared, Li Qing still reminded himself from time to time to stay alert.
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