I hauled Tian Ping'er along, gasping for breath, and after several dozen strides, finally saw the exit ahead. I dared not stop, sprinting a few more steps until I reached the gate exit. A quick glance suggested we had entered a relatively vast area.

With no time to examine the interior, I turned to support Man Niao Niao and Ji Ye, but when I shone my flashlight, I found no trace of either of them. In a panic, I yelled, "Niao Niao! Ji Ye!

Where are you?" The beam of the flashlight illuminated nothing but a dense mass of white mist; where were Niao Niao and Ji Ye? Agitated, I left Tian Ping'er behind and rushed toward the gate. Before I had gone two meters, Man Niao Niao’s enormous silhouette violently slammed into me.

Unable to stop, I was thrown clear over and landed heavily at Tian Ping’er’s feet. Man Niao Niao burst out of the thick fog and stopped in front of me, panting heavily. Ji Ye followed, stumbling out of the gate and joining us.

Before I could even get up from the ground, I heard Tian Ping’er scream once. My heart clenched. I flipped up instantly, setting aside whatever had happened, and gathered Tian Ping’er into my arms, cursing inwardly, "Damn it, just when one trouble subsides, another rises!

This damned Anle Cave is truly cursed!" Tian Ping’er, held close, felt unusually warm against me. I froze. Why wasn't she trembling as before?

Instead, her whole body was hot. She shoved me away forcefully, pouting petulantly, "Why are you holding me so tight? Trying to take advantage of the situation?" I was stunned again.

What was wrong with Tian Ping’er? At such a critical juncture, how could I even think of taking liberties! I barely had time to be surprised!

Seeing I didn't move, Tian Ping’er pushed me again, broke free from my embrace, and pointed forward with her finger, "Look at Hua'er..." I looked up. This spacious area appeared to be a circular hall, the floor entirely covered in dry yellow sand. Some daylight seemed to filter in from the ceiling, casting the hall in a dim obscurity.

Hearing Tian Ping’er mention Hua’er, I directed the flashlight forward and saw the companion animal was extending its appendage next to a rock, urinating! No wonder I hadn't heard Hua’er's barks back at the gate; the creature had somehow gotten ahead of us again. I wiped the cold sweat from my brow and glanced at Tian Ping’er, thinking to myself, Little sister, dogs are animals too; they have biological needs.

It doesn't know it shouldn't relieve itself anywhere. Why are you screaming? You’ve seen too little!

No wonder she felt so hot when I held her—it was from embarrassment! Tian Ping’er saw my conflicted expression, raised her eyebrows, and smiled. She ran over to me, took my hand, and murmured sweetly, "Brother, I'm sorry!" Hearing her call me "Brother," my anger completely melted away.

I said half-heartedly, "One day you and Man Niao Niao are going to scare me to death!" Man Niao Niao, leaning against the stone wall catching his breath, heard me mention him and stammered, "Ying Ying... You must have... conscience!

What does it have to do with... me?" Seeing him so wretched, I was about to ask what exactly he had seen inside the gate, but Tian Ping’er yanked me back fiercely, causing me to stumble and almost fall. She said to me in a voice laced with panic, "Ying Ying, look at Hua'er..." Hearing about Hua’er again, I thought, Is it really necessary for that creature to take this long to just pee?

I was about to turn and grumble at the animal when my glance snagged, and my eyes suddenly froze, fixed straight ahead. I shone my flashlight and saw Hua’er entangled with a pitch-black object. The dark thing was about the size of a small cat, resembling a giant dung beetle.

Strangely, this creature that looked like a scarab had its rear end facing Hua’er’s mouth. Hua’er kept circling, trying to get in front of the thing, but it also rotated its body, perpetually keeping its ugly rear facing Hua’er, confusing both Hua’er and the four of us. Hua’er grew impatient, suddenly twisting its body and unleashing the move it used against the strange toad.

A cloud of yellowish-brown dust erupted from the sandy floor. However, the thing was much faster than the toad; as soon as Hua’er turned, the object followed, its rear always presented to Hua’er, simply refusing to let Hua’er see its front. When the front of the creature finally turned toward us, I rubbed my eyes and screamed, "Antlion!

My old uncle! How can there be such a huge antlion?" "Antlion, also known as Tui Che, Tui Niu, Di Gu Niu, Shan Lao Niu, Yi Shi, Yi Di Yu, Di Gong, Sha Shi, Sha Ruo Zi, Yao Yao Guo, Sha Niu, Dao Hou Chong, Tui Tui Wo Wo, A Luoluo; an insect of the family Ascalaphidae in the order Neuroptera; the living or dried whole body of the larva of the Chinese Eastern Antlion; salty, cool, and toxic; used to calm the liver and quell wind, clear heat and stop spasms, draw out toxins and reduce swelling; treats hypertension, stroke, high fever in children, convulsions, malaria, urinary tract infections, deeply embedded splinters or foreign bodies, and fractures; externally used for otitis media, carbuncles, erysipelas, and unknown toxic swellings." This was an excerpt about the antlion I recalled reading in the Compendium of Materia Medica. I had seen antlions in my childhood, specifically in a place called Biandong Cave.

In truth, Biandong could hardly be called a cave; from a distance, it looked like a half-closed eye, and the interior was filled with yellow sand. On the sandy floor were countless tiny pits, shaped like inverted cones, perfectly regular. If you poked one of these small pits with a thin stick, a chalky-white antlion would emerge from the center of the pit and scuttle backward.

The first time I saw one, I found it fascinating, secretly wondering why it ran backward. For a long time, I pondered this question without finding the right answer, and eventually, I lost interest. It was rumored that the antlion was a potent traditional medicine.

Once, when I had a stomachache as a child, many medicines failed to relieve the pain. Finally, Ji Ye suggested to my father, "Go to Biandong and dig up a few antlions; swallowing them whole with hot water will fix it." While drinking, I watched the antlions still crawling in the cup; they were covered in black hair yet looked fleshy and disgusting. But unable to bear the pain any longer, and after my father’s coaxing and frightening, I had no choice but to close my eyes, steel myself, avoid letting the water touch my tongue, and swallow them straight down my throat.

Soon after, the pain really did subside. Thinking of this, I asked Ji Ye, "Ji Ye, this is an antlion, right?" Ji Ye nodded. "It is an antlion, but I've never seen one this big!" I found it very strange.

Generally, antlions are only the size of ladybugs; how could there be such a massive one here? Tian Ping’er asked me what an antlion was, and I told her what I knew. Ji Ye added some supplementary information, and Tian Ping’er finally understood.

I told Tian Ping’er that this thing was nothing to worry about. I glanced at Hua’er, who was still circling with the first antlion and appeared unharmed, so I relaxed and walked over to Man Niao Niao to check on his condition. Man Niao Niao finally calmed down after catching his breath, patted his chest, and walked toward me.

"Niao Niao, did you see that old man with the white beard again?" I asked, patting his shoulder. "Yes! Just now..." Before he could finish, I heard Tian Ping’er scream again.

My brain hurt. Little sister, can I call you my great-aunt? I beg you, can you stop being so dramatic?

Man Niao Niao shot past me with a "whoosh." My mind went numb; I realized something truly terrible had happened this time! I turned around and saw seven or eight antlions surrounding Tian Ping’er, who stood in the center of the yellow sand, scrambling to crawl all over her. These seven or eight antlions were even larger than the one tangling with Hua’er.

They must have just emerged from the sand, as they were covered in grayish-white silt, looking like little piglets swarming around Tian Ping’er for food. Hilariously, all the grayish-white antlions faced backward toward Tian Ping’er, trying to climb up her legs by crawling in reverse. Tian Ping’er, surrounded by the antlions, held her hands up, balancing on one foot while violently kicking at the backward-crawling creatures with the other.

She kept screaming, her voice sounding helpless and terrified. Man Niao Niao burst through in a cloud of flying dust and rushed to Tian Ping’er’s side. He snatched one antlion with his large hand, swung his arm in a full circle, and hurled it far away.

The antlion flipped over on the ground, then started backing its way toward Tian Ping’er and Man Niao Niao again. Seeing Tian Ping’er’s predicament, Hua’er stopped wrestling with the first antlion. It pushed off with its hind legs and lunged toward Tian Ping’er’s location.

As soon as it reached her side, it snatched an antlion in its big mouth and shook its head violently left and right, sending a cloud of dust from the creature swirling into the air. After shaking it several times, Hua’er suddenly let go. The antlion was flung far away, struggled for a moment on the ground, and then began backing toward Tian Ping’er once more.

I found it very odd. Why would these antlions attack people? In my experience, I was always the one making them miserable; when had they ever turned the tables to attack humans?

This was certainly bizarre. There was no time to ponder; I yelled loudly and charged toward Tian Ping’er, trying to drive off the antlions surrounding her. However, before I could reach her, I suddenly noticed mounds of massive antlions emerging from the surrounding yellow sand.

The sandy ground began to undulate like waves, with more grayish-white antlions constantly burrowing out and backing toward Ping’er in the center. Seeing this, I didn't bother counting how many there were. Waving my flashlight, I rushed toward Tian Ping’er, trying to rescue her from the antlion siege as quickly as possible.

Man Niao Niao remained beside her, arching his rear and digging like he was excavating, constantly tossing away the antlions trying to climb onto her. Those thrown aside did not retreat; they merely turned around and continued to converge toward the center. Hua’er also grew anxious.

It barked wildly, helping Man Niao Niao fling the ever-increasing swarm of antlions far away. The antlions Man Niao Niao and Hua’er threw flew past me, each bringing a nauseatingly pungent stench. The dust from the thrown creatures sprinkled down, filling the still air, causing visibility to drop drastically.

I finally managed to reach Tian Ping’er and saw that the numerous antlions were building a flesh ladder, stacking one on top of the other, crawling upward in reverse. The uppermost one was about to reach Tian Ping’er’s waist. Frantically, I blindly smashed at the grayish-white antlions with my flashlight.

In my subconscious, antlions were soft and covered in fine hair; a blow from the flashlight should surely tear their skin, right? —But I was wrong. When the flashlight struck a huge antlion, there was a "clang." The glass of the flashlight shattered, and the reflector ("silver bowl") flew off, disappearing into the sand.

Without the reflector to focus the beam, the light dimmed considerably, mixing with the rising dust, further lowering visibility. In despair, I threw the broken flashlight on the ground and pulled out the machete from its sheath, slashing wildly at the antlions outside Tian Ping’er’s immediate perimeter. The sharp blade struck the antlions with muffled thuds, spurting foul, grayish-black ichor everywhere, splashing onto us and Hua’er.

"Niao Niao, get your machete out too!" I roared. "Damn their mothers, let's hack these ghosts to death!" Man Niao Niao snapped out of his daze upon hearing the shout, drew the machete from his waist, and began hacking furiously at the growing tide of antlions. Hua’er circled Tian Ping’er, barking madly.

Mingled with Tian Ping’er’s screams and my and Man Niao Niao’s enraged shouts, the cavern hall erupted into chaos. The sound bounced off the walls, returning as a muffled echo. By now, the entire space was a hazy gray mass, and the flashlight I had dropped on the ground had also gone out.

In the midst of my frantic hacking, I glimpsed large patches of white mist spewing out from the gate, while even more and bigger antlions continued to surge from the yellow sand. Frantic, I hacked wildly alongside Man Niao Niao until only a few antlions remained near Tian Ping’er. I tossed my machete aside, took a deep breath, and flung those last few creatures far away.

Finally, Man Niao Niao, Hua’er, and I formed a tight ring around Tian Ping’er. She lay on my back, her chest rising and falling violently; she was clearly badly frightened. I picked up my machete from the ground, gripping it tightly, and hacked indiscriminately like a madman at the oncoming antlions.

Severed limbs and bodies of the encroaching creatures flew everywhere, and the air was thick with a sickening stench. After several rounds of fighting, the dust mixed with the white mist, limiting our vision to about a meter ahead; anything farther was indistinct. Our position had become an island, surrounded by a surging, backward-crawling tide of huge, grayish-white antlions.

Wielding my machete, I wondered where Ji Ye had gone. I hadn't seen or heard him. Had he encountered trouble?

He absolutely could not be harmed; he was the anchor for all of us. If something happened to him, none of us would know what to do! Just as my mind was a chaotic mess and my arms were aching, I suddenly heard the resounding "clang" of a gong.

The sound was enormous, crashing and ricocheting off the stone walls of the hall, until my ears were filled only with a high-pitched ringing. I stole a glance at Man Niao Niao and Tian Ping’er. They were covering their ears, and Hua’er had burrowed its head between my legs; all of us were clearly stunned by the gong strike.

As the sound reverberated through the hall, I noticed that the surrounding antlions were abruptly turning around and retreating in all directions. In an instant, not a single one remained, leaving behind a floor littered with the brethren we had cut down. Seeing the situation ease, I pulled Tian Ping’er, intending to find a safe place to hide—at least to avoid being attacked from front and back again.

But as I pulled, Tian Ping’er cried out, "My leg... My leg!" I paused. Was Tian Ping’er injured?

Despite my confusion, I didn't stop. I swept her up into my arms and shouted to Man Niao Niao and Hua’er, "Go! Find a safe spot!" Man Niao Niao gripped his machete, his eyes wide as a bull's, scanning the surroundings vigilantly, while Hua’er stayed close to my legs.

Stepping over the corpses of the fallen antlions, I ran in one direction with Tian Ping’er in my arms like a headless fly. The entrance to the gate was no longer visible. The milky white mist and the yellowish-brown dust fog mixed together, suffocating me.

My plan was simply to reach the edge of the hall first. Holding Tian Ping’er, who clung tightly to my neck, I kept running. After the frenzy of hacking, my strength was almost depleted, and running blindly while carrying her left me gasping for air, cursing nonstop.

I should have done more physical training earlier. Man Niao Niao, hearing my thunderous breaths, reached out his right hand, gripped my shoulder, and helped support me as we rushed forward. As I hurried along carrying Tian Ping’er, she suddenly cried out "Ah!" and my foot kicked against the stone wall, sending a sharp, intense pain shooting up my toes—we had finally reached the edge of the hall.

I set Tian Ping’er down, leaning against the cold stone wall, my left arm around her waist, my right hand drawing my machete from its sheath, holding it ready. Man Niao Niao also held his machete, back against the wall to Tian Ping’er's left. Hua’er poked its head out from between my legs, emitting a low whine occasionally.

Relieved from the danger of being attacked from both sides, and seeing no more antlions approaching, I breathed a small sigh of relief. Just as I was about to bend down to check Tian Ping’er’s foot, I saw Ji Ye darting out of the dense fog and dust, carrying a wooden carrying frame on his back and holding a bronze gong. "Don't make a sound.

Wait until the fog clears!" It dawned on me: in our shouting and commotion inside the cave, we had managed to "call out" that strange white mist again! But a thought flashed through my mind: why was the white mist spewing from the gate and not the hall itself? Seeing everyone quietly pressed against the stone wall, and Hua’er remaining still under my legs, I leaned close to Tian Ping’er’s ear and whispered, "What happened to your foot?" Tian Ping’er leaned her head against mine and whispered back, "It seems swollen!

It hurts a lot!" "Swollen? Why did you run to the center of the sand pit?" "Didn't you say the antlions weren't a big deal? I saw a huge pit there and thought it looked fun, so I used my foot to scratch around in the pit.

Suddenly, my calf seized up in pain, and I couldn't move! Then, a grayish-white antlion emerged from that pit. I don't know what happened with the rest that came out..." Hearing her explanation, I recalled that I had indeed seen large, funnel-shaped pits covering the ground when I first entered.

I was just about to bend down to see how swollen Tian Ping’er’s foot was when I heard her soft gasp, "Where is Niao Niao?"