Chapter 644

Chapter 29: Yellow Sands and Lizards – Part 2

We were almost there.

Just look at how refreshing that sentence was.

Already baked like a pug dog, I lifted my drooping head at the sound of this and looked forward with eager eyes.

Around us, towering sand dunes surrounded us on all sides. Closer to where we stood, a few tall sandstone formations occasionally rose up. We were standing in a lower area, so the wind and sand seemed stronger, but they couldn’t reach us here. I saw the sand dune the little girl was pointing at. It was very prominent, less than five hundred meters away from us.

… Hooray!

I almost couldn’t hold back my excitement and shouted out loud, immediately becoming energized. Without hesitation, I grabbed the little girl’s hand and started running.

“Sis… Sister…大人… You, slow down!”

The little girl hurriedly followed, panting and stumbling along the way, waving her small hands nervously: “Those lizards are very cunning! You’ll startle them if you run like that. Slow down… I can’t run anymore…”

“But I’m hungry.”

I still ran quickly, holding onto her.

When I was hungry and knew food was nearby, I never listened to anyone else.

Because dinner is ready!

“Sister, no, wrong! We’re off track, we’re off track! Over there…”

“… Oh.”

This time was different.

I turned around and pulled her back, stepping on the fine, slippery sand as we climbed up the slope, leaving a series of sinking footprints behind us. Soon, following the little girl’s guidance, we reached the top of the sand dune. The sandy ground beneath our feet gradually became firmer, with numerous broken rock fragments scattered about. In the distance ahead, I saw a large cave with a diameter of at least three meters, seemingly extending deep underground.

I stopped at the entrance of the cave and turned to look at Betty: “Is this it?”

“Um, yes…”

The little girl tugged at my robe, her voice trembling, her expression showing some fear.

“Then let’s go in.”

I shook off her hand, a joyful look on my face, and walked toward the cave entrance. After a few steps, I noticed that Betty hadn’t followed, so I turned back, my eyebrows slightly furrowed: “What’s wrong?”

“I… I don’t dare…”

Betty remained where she stood, her shoulders tense, fidgeting. Seeing me looking at her, she instinctively took a step back: “Sister,大人… That cave… It’s so dark inside, and the lizards are fierce… I’m scared. Can I… wait for you here instead of going in…”

… Not going in?

This is the entrance to the giant lizard’s nest. If you don’t come with me, you might get eaten more easily, right?

What is this kid thinking…

“Come on. Give me the lamp.”

I didn’t bother explaining much. I walked over and grabbed the little girl’s hand. She made a soft sound, struggling a bit, but seeing she couldn’t resist, she obediently followed.

Walking back to the cave entrance, before even stepping inside, I felt a gust of wind blowing toward us, carrying a faint stench. My foot hit something with a thud, kicking a stone that hit the sand wall, making a dull sound. Instinctively, I looked down, but suddenly froze.

“Hold on…”

I pushed the little girl behind me and stopped moving forward, slowly squatting down, my brows furrowed: “There are footprints.”

At the entrance of the cave, there were a few scattered, uneven footprints, not looking like they belonged to one person. I squatted down in front of one of the footprints, feeling around, and picked up a handful of yellow soil, letting it slowly fall from my palm.

These footprints were almost buried by the sand and wind…

Hmm.

Judging by the thickness of the sand covering them, it had been some time—maybe five days, ten days, or even half a month…

So, how long ago were these footprints made?

I couldn’t tell. Hehe~

In any case, someone definitely came here before us…

“Hey, little girl—”

“Sister大人, my name is Betty…”

After hearing my words, the little girl also squatted down, carefully examining the footprints, her little face wrinkled as if she was thinking hard.

“Betty, let me ask you. Are you sure the townspeople haven’t come this way to hunt?”

“Um…”

The little girl pursed her lips, thinking: “No… Ah! But recently, because all the lizard meat in town has been eaten by Sister大人… The townsfolk are anxious and want to catch more lizards quickly. Whether they’ve taken risks to come back here, I don’t know. My grandfather didn’t say anything.”

“Shouldn’t be…”

Ah…

So it’s my fault?

No.

These footprints shouldn’t belong to the townsfolk, at least not from Meser Town. They only started hunting lizards for me these past two days. If they really came here, the tracks wouldn’t be buried so deep…

These definitely aren’t from Meser Town.

Then who could they belong to?

Strange…

Who would come to such a place at this time… Wait a moment.

Could it be the Church people?

No way… No way…

I stood up and walked to the entrance of the cave, looking deep inside. “Click, click,” I bit my nails.

It probably… wouldn’t be that coincidental.

If the Church people had arrived here before me…

Judging by these footprints, it’s been many days…

That means…

That means…

My lizard meat might have been eaten already!

“Betty! Quickly, let’s go in!”

Suddenly thinking that my hopes might be dashed and I might have no food, I exploded with anger, feeling both humiliated and furious. My scalp tingled as I held back my frustration, regardless of what the Church was or wasn’t, I grabbed Betty and strode hurriedly towards the inner part of the cave.

I had walked under the scorching sun all morning just to get here!!

A whole morning of anticipation!!!

Who dares to take my food…

“Betty, light the lamp!”

After entering the dark cave, it became pitch-black after just a few steps. I urged the little girl to light the lamp. She cried out several times and hastily agreed. After some rustling noises, sparks flew and the lamp was lit, illuminating the narrow and dim outline of the cave ahead.

“Hush! Follow closely behind me…”

I instructed her, then pulled out the “Dragon Claw” from my waist, gripping it tightly. My eyes focused on the darkness ahead as I stepped steadily—there was no need to hide or be cautious. Although my stamina had only recovered a little, my senses had recovered quickly. I hadn’t lost my sharpness or combat awareness. Anything approaching within a hundred meters would be heard immediately—except for someone like Reckert.

Could it be that the Church people have actually chased us this close…

Plop, plop, plop.

The sound of boots on the yellow earth echoed eerily inside the cave. The candlelight flickered weakly, and fine sand trickled down from above. The darkness ahead looked like a terrifying mouth ready to swallow everything, twisting and extending. The deeper we went, the steeper the slope became, and the space widened.

This leads to the underground…

“Sis, Sis…”

Little Betty tugged at my clothes. I turned around: “What?”

“There’s a fork in the road ahead…”

“…Huh?”

Fork in the road…

I hadn’t noticed earlier because I was preoccupied. Hearing Betty’s words, I suddenly looked forward again and saw indeed that the darkness ahead had cleared slightly. There were three other tunnels in front, left, and right, all leading underground. It was pitch-black inside, and nothing could be seen.

“Which way should we go?”

I frowned and asked. The little girl clung to my robe, trembling as she answered: “I… I don’t know… I’ve never been here before… and I don’t know how to hunt giant lizards…”

“Let’s look for footprints on the ground… Light the way.”

I held the girl’s hand and began searching the ground, trying to see which direction the footprints led. Then I would avoid them and choose one of the other two paths—my thought was simple: whether or not they were Church people, avoiding them was always the safest option.

Besides, it was obvious that wherever those people had passed, there probably wouldn’t be any food left.

Ssshhhhh—

Suddenly, even before finding any traces of footprints, about thirty to fifty meters away in the depths of the left cave, I heard a faint sound, like something hard scraping against the sandstone wall.

“Eh!”

The sound was unusually sharp in the quiet cave. Even Betty heard it and instinctively let out a cry, then quickly covered her mouth, looking at me with terror.

I looked at her bright face under the lamplight and was momentarily stunned, then burst into laughter.

…Found it.

It’s food!