The smell of the powder dissipated quickly, and the pond became clear again.
Those leeches coiled their bodies and lay quietly at the bottom of the pond, blending in with the rocks.
It was impossible to tell which were the real rocks and which were the leeches.
Lu Fei and his three companions couldn't help but get goosebumps when they thought about the several ponds they had just passed through.
"Blood? Where are we going to find blood?"
"Of course, we'll have to contribute a little." Lu Fei took out a pack of tissues from his backpack, then used a dagger to cut his left index finger, squeezing some blood onto the tissue.
Then, let Jing Jian do the same.
"Is this little bit of blood enough to even fill their teeth gaps?" Jing Jian frowned, pressing his finger harder to squeeze out as many drops of blood as possible.
"So, we need to act fast!"
Lu Fei stuffed the blood-soaked tissue into a mineral water bottle and then made a few small holes in the bottle.
Finally, he reached out and patted the pale-faced bodyguard on the shoulder.
"Brother, please carry Old He. Once the leeches are lured away, we will run over immediately!"
"Okay, okay."
The bodyguard swallowed hard, squatted down, and carried He Yunsong on his back.
"You guys have worked hard!" said He Yunsong.
"Get ready!"
Lu Fei threw the mineral water bottle to the other side of the pond.
Splash, splash, splash!
As soon as the bottle hit the water, blood spread out, and those large leeches were immediately attracted, stretching their bodies and rushing over in a frenzy.
"Run quickly!"
Once all the leeches were lured over, half of the pond seemed to be boiling. Lu Fei shouted loudly, and everyone immediately started running.
Water splashed as they ran swiftly.
Everyone was on high alert, not wanting to stay in the pond for an extra second.
Lu Fei and Jing Jian both managed to run through successfully.
The bodyguard was just two steps away from making it.
A pair of ghastly white skeletal hands suddenly emerged from the water, grabbing the bodyguard's ankle.
"Ah!"
The bodyguard, off balance, tumbled into the seething mass of leeches, pulling He Yunsong with him.
This was no small matter!
Lu Fei and Jing Jian hurriedly grabbed the two and desperately dragged them out of the pool.
Their clothes were soaked, and as they saw the large leeches swarming to the edge of the pond, both men broke out in cold sweat.
"Mr. He, did you get any leeches on you?"
"I don't think so."
He Yunsong checked his body and breathed a sigh of relief.
"M-my leg... I can't feel it," the bodyguard stammered as he pulled up his pant leg, his face turning pale, "L-leech..."
On his leg, a leech as thick as an arm was furiously sucking blood.
"Hold on!"
Lu Fei quickly grabbed a large handful of medicinal powder and sprinkled it on his leg.
The leech writhed wildly but refused to let go of the bodyguard's leg, so Lu Fei added another handful of powder.
Clumps of black blood oozed out, and the leech finally released the bodyguard. Its thick body gradually shrank until it was only as big as a chestnut.
A long, dark mark remained on the bodyguard's leg, with the flesh sagging. The entire leg was noticeably thinner, looking shocking.
He YunSong took a small bottle from his chest, poured out a pill, and made the bodyguard swallow it.
"This thing is too terrifying, let's just burn it; at least it won't harm anyone else!" Jing Jian said with disgust, pulling out a lighter.
"Leeches have extremely strong vitality, and fire may not necessarily kill them... This thing seems to do more than just suck blood."
Lu Fei looked at the mess the leech had vomited. The black blood seemed to contain yellowish fat, which made him think.
He took out a new bottle of mineral water, poured out the water, and used a stick to pick up the leech and put it in the bottle.
"Lu Fei, what are you doing?" Jing Jian widened his eyes.
"This thing is also a kind of evil object; it should be quite popular among modern people," Lu Fei said as he sprinkled some powder into the bottle, ensuring that the leech wouldn't wake up, and then put the bottle in his backpack.
"Who in their right mind would like this kind of thing?" Jing Jian was incredulous.
"Leeches are also a type of medicine, but the leeches here are extraordinary. What can they do?" He Yunsong also found it hard to believe.
"I'll explain in detail later. If everyone is okay, let's continue on our way."
Lu Fei turned his head and looked ahead.
Ahead, thick fog swirled, and a deep pool appeared and disappeared in the mist, with no clue how far away the Falling Dragon Cave was.
"Brother, how are you? Can you walk?" Lu Fei helped the bodyguard up.
The bodyguard, of course, understood. He moved his injured leg, which felt numb and weak, but he could still walk, so he nodded to Lu Fei.
"Let's go."
Everyone continued on their way, carefully avoiding the leeches.
Fortunately, the shallow ponds became less frequent after that, and as the terrain gradually descended, the puddles connected to form a winding stream.
The mountain walls on both sides squeezed towards the center, leaving less and less space for walking.
Looking up,
the sky was reduced to a thin strip of light.
It was dark and damp.
When they spoke, there was a faint echo all around.
Lu Fei was fully alert, holding his thunderstruck jujube wood staff, and cautiously observing his surroundings.
There were rugged stones everywhere, and they had to avoid the deep, dark water areas, which made their progress extremely slow.
Lu Fei estimated in his mind.
At this rate, it's unlikely we'll make it to the Dragonfall Cave before dark.
Then let's find a clean place to rest first.
Patter.
Patter.
The sound of footsteps echoed in the dark mountain crevice.
Walking along, Lu Fei suddenly stopped and looked around suspiciously.
"There are only four of us, how come there are footsteps everywhere?"
"You heard it too?" Jing Jian's expression was serious, "What's strange is that I've been paying attention the whole time, and I haven't noticed anything following us."
"We just haven't seen it yet, something must be coming. Be careful."
Lu Fei lowered his voice.
Jing Jian nodded seriously.
Everyone carefully made their way through the mountain crevice. The further they went, the darker it became, and soon it was as dark as night.
"It got dark so quickly?"
Lu Fei turned on his flashlight and shone it around, feeling that something was not quite right.
He took out his phone.
There was no signal, and the time was stuck at midday.
It was the time they entered Luolong Ridge.
"My phone is the same. We can't see the time here." Jing Jian shook his head.
"Uncle Qin said we shouldn't go forward when it gets dark."
Looking around with their flashlights, they found a place that was relatively dry and flat, but there was no grass growing there, only slippery moss. They could not find any dry wood to start a fire.
"Does a candle count as fire?"
Jing Jian took out a candle from his pocket, lit it with a lighter, and placed it in the southeast corner.
But as soon as he put it down.
The candle turned a ghostly green.
"There's something foul!"
Lu Fei and Jing Jian immediately changed their expressions, becoming wary and holding their ritual instruments across their chests.
The flashlight swept through the damp, dim mountain crevice.
A fuzzy object emerged from the water and silently climbed up the cliff.