It was now the afternoon and Yang Kai had started to walk towards the track that would lead him back to High Heaven.
Yang Kai was only given three days of leave, so he had to return before tomorrow morning, otherwise there would be harsh punishment waiting for him.
Yang Kai felt he had plenty of time and was certain that he could return before dark. Afterall, he was only hundred miles away, not a long distance.
Halfway through his journey back Yang Kai heard an unexpected, piercing cry not to far from his position. There was the sound of a child screaming/crying mixed in.
When he heard this he paused he recognised it as the sounds of the father and son pair from the night before. And that child's crying sound was from the little boy.
As he ran towards them, the father's roaring became increasingly desperate and the boy's grew softer and softer.
By the time Yang Kai arrived, the father's roar could no longer be heard and he only saw a dark cave in a high hill. To the side of the cave in the midsts of some bushes, tangled between some spiderwebs was a silver bow. This bow the same one the little boy had been holding the previous night.
Yang Kai threw this possessions onto the ground, heightened his senses and plunged straight into that dark and sinister cave.
When he looked around, the cave was covered in webs. On the walls and the ground, they crisscrossed each other and varied in thicknesses. Layer upon layer, the road ahead was blocked by the multitude of webs.
Not only that, the cave was damp. The water dripped down at a steady pace.
His gaze fell upon a large cocoon in the corner of the cave. A human face peeked through the webbing—it was the hunter, unconscious but alive.
Yang Kai approached and called out to him. Slowly, the man stirred, his voice weak. "Save... my son... He was dragged further inside… Please..."
He proceeded, a normal man would have been cautious, but Yang Kai felt no need for such things. What was the worst that could happen? He could be stabbed, torn apart, poisoned—but he would not die. The only consequence of failure was that the child would perish. That was the only reason to act swiftly.
Soon, he found the boy. Suspended in midair, the child was wrapped in a silk cocoon, his small frame twitching weakly.
Next to him, an enormous flower-patterned spider greedily sucked his blood through a long, needle-like straw.
Yang Kai observed it calmly. He had read countless stories of encounters like this. In every tale, the hero always found himself up against impossible odds. But what separated heroes from ordinary men?
The will to act.
Yang Kai exploded into motion.
He didn't think—he didn't need to. His mind was already made up.
His body crashed into the Demonic Spider Beast with reckless abandon, sending both of them tumbling through a hole in the webbing. The little boy fell as well, hitting the ground with a soft thud.
The spider screeched in fury, its eight black eyes locking onto Yang Kai. It pounced without hesitation, pinning him beneath its heavy frame.
Yang Kai grinned. If it thought this was enough to stop him, it was sorely mistaken.
He drove a fist straight into its throat, sending a shockwave through its body. The beast flinched—its reaction too slow. With his free hand, Yang Kai grabbed one of its hairy legs and twisted violently. A sickening crack echoed through the cave as the limb snapped.
The spider shrieked and stumbled back, allowing Yang Kai to roll to his feet. Blood dripped from his arm where the beast's fangs had grazed him, but he ignored it entirely.
The spider lunged again, spitting out its durable silk threads.
Yang Kai dodged effortlessly, but as he did, he realized something—the spider wasn't aiming for him.
In seconds, the entire cave was covered in an intricate web, sealing off all exits.
He smirked. "Forcing me to fight to the death? Fine by me."
Without another thought, he charged forward. The spider reared up, stabbing at him with its front legs.
Yang Kai raised an arm to block, allowing the spider's limbs to pierce straight through his flesh. Blood splattered across the cavern floor.
But he didn't stop.
Pain was meaningless.
Grabbing hold of the spider's forelimbs, he locked them in place, preventing the beast from retreating. Then, he drove his fist into its head, pulverizing one of its many eyes.
The spider screeched in agony, its body thrashing wildly. But Yang Kai didn't let go. He rained blow after blow onto its head, shattering more eyes with every strike.
Its desperate attempts to escape only fueled his assault.
When it finally spat its silk at him, ensnaring his limbs, he simply gritted his teeth and continued punching. His body was battered, covered in shallow wounds, but he didn't care. He couldn't die, and that made all the difference.
By the time the spider collapsed, twitching and lifeless, Yang Kai stood over it victorious.
He wrenched its limbs from his body, letting the blood flow freely. The sensation of pain was there, but it only exhilarated him. He had won.
Not bothering to revel in his triumph, he rushed to the little boy's side. The child was pale, his breathing weak.
Yang Kai carried him out of the cave, finding the hunter waiting anxiously.
"He has lost too much blood and has also been poisoned."
The hunter fell to his knees in gratitude, but Yang Kai waved him off.
Hunter saw his saviour was also injured,
"Saviour, do you not want to also treat your own wounds."
Yang Kai replied: "Not needed."
"But you have shed such a large amount of blood, how is that alright?" The Hunter looked at him in shock.
Ignoring him , he felt his body already healed.
As the child's breathing steadied, Yang Kai let out a breath.
It wasn't over yet. He reentered the cave, his eyes scanning the darkness. Every adventure had rewards—that was an unshakable rule of the world.
And sure enough, among the scattered bones and webs, he found them.
A vast field of glowing purple flowers—Three Leaved Chaos Spirit Flowers.
Without further ado, Yang Kai hurriedly took out his shovel and started to harvest these herbs.
Just as he was preparing to leave the cave, Yang Kai discovered a red, mushroom like plant in the corner of the cave.
His curiosity piqued, Yang Kai walked towards it to carefully examine it. This thing was about the size of a bowl, dark red and was like a mushroom or fungus. Yang Kai didn't recognise this thing, for it was not mentioned in the little book that Treasurer Meng had given him.
Could it be a priceless treasure? Rolling up his sleeves, Yang Kai went to pick the mushroom like plant. As for the matter of its identity, he could work it later; it wouldn't take much space up anyway.
By evening they had arrived back at town, and in the dark, they searched for the doctor's home.
After settling the little boy Yang Kai left.