Chapter 50: Gather in the valley, race against time

The moment I was swept away by the flood, my mind went blank. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to think about anything, but in the face of nature’s sudden outburst, you simply don’t have the ability to think about anything.

In a daze, I was washed out of the cave and down a gentle slope until I reached a flat area, where the water slowed down!

It was only then that I reacted, and I grabbed a tree to stop myself.

After I had settled down, my first reaction was to observe the surrounding environment. This was a large valley between the mountains. Apart from a few trees, there was a patch of grass that had withered in the winter and a patch of bushes that had been torn apart by the rushing water.

I was on a tree, and from my elevated position I could see the mouth of the river, which was wide open. I was amazed, and I realized why people say that things go smoothly when the wind is favorable. From the mouth of the river to this valley, it would take me at least half an hour to walk there on foot, but it only took a moment for the water to wash me here.

Putting aside these chaotic thoughts, and not caring about my wet clothes, I began to worry about my master and the others, but I was sitting in the tree, just looking around carefully in the moonlight, and I immediately felt relieved.

Because the flood had not continued to rush out, the water that had just rushed into the valley had been absorbed by the huge valley area and turned into a shallow pool, not even reaching the calf of a person. All the people were here, my master and them, Wu Liyu, the old monster, the big bug… all of them were washed into this valley.

Master, what is he doing? Is the purpose of this flood to wash people into the valley? I shook my wet hair, which was still dripping, and accidentally saw a number of people’s shadows appearing around the watery area in the valley. These people were holding flashlights, which were so obvious that I couldn’t see clearly from a distance. It wasn’t until a hearty voice reached my ears that I was sure that those shadows were our people!

I was sure that those figures were our people! Because the heroic voice was Guan Xige’s! How did they get to this valley? Among those figures, I clearly saw motorcycles, horses, etc., indicating that they had still galloped here.

I was a little confused for a moment, and I instinctively reached for a cigarette, but I found with a wry smile that the cigarette had been soaked in my clothes and had become a soft, soggy wad of cigarette ash.

I threw the cigarette away with a bitter smile, but then I heard a voice from below scolding, “Why aren’t you coming down? Do you want to be a monkey in the tree?” I looked down and saw that it was my master. I had just seen that we had been washed up very close to the shore, and I had been distracted for a moment, but he had already walked up to me.

My master ordered, and I dared not disobey. I quickly climbed down the tree. My master looked at me and said, “How scared are you of death? You’re the only one hanging in the tree!”

I blushed and said in my defense, “Isn’t it because I’m quick-witted?”

But I saw Master Hui in front of me, twisting his clothes while saying, “You’re a throwback. You want to climb trees whenever you see them. No wonder you’ve felt like you haven’t evolved fully since you were a child, like a monkey.”

I was speechless.

Soon, our people gathered together, and over there, the old monsters were also busy gathering, I don’t know what they were using to try to gather the bugs together.

A flood of water had inexplicably washed everyone here. I didn’t know what the master was trying to do. I was deep in thought when suddenly something grabbed my ankle in the water.

I was so scared that I kicked instinctively, but I saw a bug man being kicked out of the shallow water by me and then swooping at me again. How could I have forgotten this? Everything was washed out, and the bug man cocoons were of course among them.

Facing the attacking bug people, Master Hui snorted and kicked them away with a beautiful flying retreat. There is no “special medicine” for this thing, and only Taoism can attract thunder to destroy it.

Master said, “It’s too close to the mother insect. These insect people will definitely attack. Now is not the time to worry about these trivial matters. Let’s hurry up and race against time with them!”

After that, the master took us running in the direction of the crowd. Of course, in order not to cause trouble, we naturally ran away from the mother bugs, lest these bug people go crazy. The mother bugs were glowing purple in the night, like a big flashlight, and it was hard not to see them.

It was because the mother worms were so eye-catching that I couldn’t help but look at them a few more times, but I discovered a fact that made my stomach cringe. The mother worms had been washed out of their burrows, and their huge mouthparts were still holding the corpses. These corpses were all female corpses, mostly mutilated… The old monsters had gathered the mother worms together, and now they were beginning to circle around the mother worms, dancing like crazy, and mumbling a mysterious language.

After seeing it for a while, I naturally knew that this was a kind of mysterious witchcraft. I saw that in just a moment, the speed at which the female worms ate the bodies of the women increased a lot, almost similar to swallowing…

I couldn’t help but dry heave. The master said, “Don’t look. They are also racing against time with us. Hurry up. Otherwise, the consequences will be serious!”

I don’t know who brought a few searchlights from the army. After they found us, the lights followed us all the way, allowing us to run in the dark, flooded valley without getting too disheveled.

It was not easy to run in the water, and every step splashed up a lot of slippery mud. Everyone didn’t know how many times they had fallen, but since the master had said to hurry, we dared not stop, and could only grit our teeth and run forward.

The funny thing is that halfway through the run, we ran into Wei Shuzi and Wu Liyu. There was no need for words between the two sides, but my master reminded us, “You’d better run out of this valley quickly. This place will be the battlefield later.”

Wu Liyu looked very disheveled. After hearing my master’s words, he just grunted and said, “Jiang Lichun, do you think I can’t see the traces of a great formation in this valley? You are so calculating! But you have to remember that I didn’t lose to you. In this operation, you are standing behind the country. In the fight with your apprentice, give me a little more time, I…”

I realized that Wu Liyu was actually a very talkative person. In the face of his persistent spirit, which could still chatter on at such a time, my master responded very decisively, and we had already run several meters.

I happened to hear Wei Shuzi remind Wu Liyu, “Master, let’s go quickly. Someone is waiting for us outside. Let them fight it out to the death.”

“I @ #% $…” Wu Liyu was still talking, but I couldn’t hear him clearly. I just thought it was funny. I guess this person has been pretending to be serious for a long time, and when he gets the chance, he can’t help but talk a lot.

After running out of the slippery flooded area, we were able to run much faster. After another ten minutes or so, we finally reached the place where the crowd was gathered. I saw that everyone was there except for the troops.

I understood my master’s intention. Although they belonged to the special forces of our department, most of them were ordinary people. They might have encountered more mysterious events, but it was better not to see the core things, as it would only add to their troubles in life.

After nearly half an hour of running, my clothes, which were originally wet and clammy, had become semi-dry. When we arrived at our destination, I couldn’t help but sit down on the ground and pant heavily. I guessed that the effect of the medicine for the insect that Grandma Ling Qing had given me had worn off, and the feeling of exhaustion came over me like a tide.

But the master did not have time to catch his breath before saying to the others, “Shine the searchlight on the mother insect. I want to see the situation. The rest of you, come and take the flag. Follow my command and prepare to set up the formation. I have done my best. Whether it can be destroyed or not is up to fate!”

Master wants to set up a big formation here? At this time, a man came to my side. It was Brother Chengxin. He looked exhausted, and when he saw me sitting on the ground panting heavily, he said, “You drilled a circle in the cave, and you’re so tired? Master and I were also tired of setting up in this valley.”

He was just making a casual remark, but it made me wonder. Since we were all washed here by the flood, what did Master take us to the village and the cave for?