Everything was as expected, and yet nothing was. What was expected was the news of Yingzi's appearance being explosive for Xiaoshu; what was unexpected was that my initial plan to keep it from him was completely derailed by that little imp, Xing'er.

"Two grandfathers," I pleaded, clasping my hands together in supplication toward the two figures who had sidled close, "I truly never spoke a word to that lady. She only made two gestures: first, she beckoned to me, and when I walked over, she handed me the water flask, then spun around and vanished. If I've told a single lie, may I choke to death on my food and suffocate on my drink!"

Seeing my vehement oaths that I hadn't exchanged words with Yingzi, Xiaoshu and Xing'er deflated like punctured balloons, instantly losing steam, and each retreated to their original spots, bored.

"Ah... spiders..." Just as everyone was still eager for more news about Yingzi, Ali cried out from beside them.

Everyone turned their heads at the sound, and there, by the dark, gaping mouth of the cave, several small trees were faintly visible, from which hundreds of egg-sized black shapes were dropping down rustlingly, rolling onto the ground, deploying six legs, twitching their rear tails, and crawling towards the stream.

I simply assumed it was another bout of the blood rain outside, and that the spiders had retreated into the cave to shelter, just as before. Annoyed by Ali's theatrics, I dismissed it, "It's just spiders, nothing to worry about."

Before the words had fully left my mouth, Ali sprang up from the ground, weeping and shouting, "Spiders, spiders..."

Everyone followed the direction of Ali's feet, and there, a completely blood-red spider had already crossed the stream and was crawling right up to her side. If she hadn't jumped up, it would have been less than a small step away from leaping onto her.

The spider had crossed the stream! I was astonished, exchanging a glance with Xiaoshu; we both felt that things were taking a grim turn. Looking back at the stream, dozens of spiders were already dead in the water, piled one atop another, their corpses forming a small embankment, filling the chasm that lay before us. The surviving main force, treading upon the bodies of their comrades, was marching across the stream towards us.

Without a word, I scooped up Ali and bolted toward the depths of the cavern, hoping to find another stream blocking our path to impede the spider advance. After running several hundred meters, until the light from the bonfire could no longer illuminate the path ahead, I had no choice but to set Ali down beside a stalactite, instructing her to wait there for my return.

Ali nodded obediently and stood still in the darkness. I turned and ran back, gasping for breath, until I reached the bonfire site again. The spiders had already completely encircled Xiaoshu and Xing'er. Xing'er, with the shackles on his feet, stood on a stone, one hand brandishing a torch while the other used a burnt twig to ignite and hurl flaming debris into the spider swarm. The spiders touched by the flame instantly erupted in a plume of orange fire, charring to black coke, causing their companions nearby to recoil sharply. Xiaoshu grabbed a longer branch, lit the end, and ceaselessly swept it through the mass of spiders. The swarm retreated upon seeing the fire, but as soon as the flames vanished, they lunged forward again after barely two seconds—displaying an almost endless relay of advance.

I tore off my windbreaker and flailed it wildly against the ground, using the momentum of the cloth's swing to smash the spiders crawling before me into pulp, carving out a bloody path, and shouting to Xiaoshu, "Quick! Jump out now while there's a gap!"

Xiaoshu glanced back at me, then at Xing'er on the rock, shook her head, and replied, "You hurry and take Ali away, don't worry about us..." With that, she rushed behind Xing'er and used the torch to sweep away a cluster of spiders that had just climbed onto the stone.

Xing'er frantically waved his flaming stick, shouting urgently, "Kindling, kindling, we need more kindling..."

But Xiaoshu was reaching her limit, shouting loudly, "If that doesn't work, step on them! Move fast..."

Seeing this, I hastily threw my windbreaker onto the stone, grabbed a bundle of kindling from the side, and leaped into the ring of spiders.