After being struck once, Xing'er lay on the ground like a little pig, sleeping soundly and sweetly. As the spiders approached the cave to shelter from the rain, Xiao Shu wanted to carry Xing'er deeper inside. Ignoring the throbbing pain in his injured leg, he braced himself against a stone with one foot and gripped the chain with both hands, summoning all his strength to pull at the iron links, hoping one of the loops was loose enough to snap so he could drag Xing'er away from the place the spiders were about to occupy.

But no matter how hard he pulled, the chain wouldn't budge an inch, as if it had been forged in the depths of Taishang Laojun's alchemical furnace. The wound on his knee tore open further from the extreme exertion, and blood dripped steadily, soaking the ground drop by drop.

I set the terrified A'li down, instructed her to be a brave girl, and went to wait under the stalactite by myself. A'li, tears glistening, scampered off, looking back at us every few steps.

"Without tools, there's no way we can break this cast-iron chain," I said, reaching out to help, and together with Xiao Shu, we strained to yank the chain apart.

"Fine," Xiao Shu released his grip on the chain, spat twice into his palms, and gasped, "If the east isn't bright, the west might be. Plan A failed; we still have Plan B. You carry Xing'er; I'll see if I can drag the boulder."

Saying this, he lifted the sleeping Xing'er from the ground and passed him to me, then turned and strained against the iron chain, dragging it toward the cave's interior.

"One, two, three... One, two, three... One, two, three..."

Xiao Shu pulled desperately, his effort erupting in waves, inching the massive stone further inside. The sweat dripping from his forehead was like rain, and the blood flowing from his knee poured out ceaselessly, like a spring.

Holding Xing'er behind him, I inwardly marveled. It felt less like Xiao Shu was fighting the chain, and more like Xing'er's father was. Yes, his father! From the moment he first saw Xing'er, he had nurtured the child with paternal love, ignoring his inhuman nature, ignoring his bloodlust, ignoring his coldness toward him. He only strove to maintain and protect him, even when his own strength was nearly spent, trying every possible method to rescue him from danger.

"One, two, three..." Under Xiao Shu's shouted count, the boulder finally shifted, lifting out of its muddy embedment and moving two inches toward the stalactite. At the same moment, the spiders' advance guard began crawling into the cave mouth.

"One, two, three..." Xiao Shu continued to strain, dragging the stone. Once it was free of its original spot, it moved much easier, like a rootless tree, and within moments, they had covered more than half a meter. As Xiao Shu pulled the stone backward, I retreated alongside him, moving until we were on the opposite side of a small stream cutting across the cave floor. Only then did Xiao Shu release the chain and straighten up, letting out a long sigh of relief.

"Do we need to drag it further in? Shall we switch?" Fearing he couldn't manage any more, I prepared to hand Xing'er to him and take over the unfinished work.

"No need, we're safe now," Xiao Shu waved his hand and said.

"Safe now?" Just as I was about to ask why, I saw that following the advance guard, the rustling army of spiders surged in, pouring in from both the left and right flanks of the cave. Just as expected for taking shelter from rain, they stopped when they reached the small stream before us, forming dense ranks on the ground, unwilling to advance a single step further inside.

Humans inside, spiders outside. Seeing this bizarre tableau, my mind was blank with confusion, unable to grasp the situation. I looked at Xiao Shu with questioning eyes.

"Did you smell the scent of blood in the cave?" Xiao Shu asked, seeing my bewilderment, a slight smile on his face.

"I did. What does that have to do with the spiders?" I countered.

"Then look at the color of the water in this stream."

I placed Xing'er on the ground, covered him with my coat, and knelt down. I scooped up a handful of water from the stream and held it close to my eyes, using the faint light from the entrance to examine it closely. I gasped in surprise, "It's red!"

"That's it then," Xiao Shu nodded. "Not only is this water red, but the stalactites themselves might be formed from droplets of the Sea of Deceased Souls. If the spiders attacked us here, they wouldn't gain any advantage, which is why they stopped moving once they reached the stream bank. When the rain stops, they will naturally leave."