CHAPTER 408: CHAPTER 408: TRAPPED IN A CAVE (3 MORE)

Yang Xiao and Lan Xin were the last two to retreat to the entrance of the grand hall.

"Quick, move! This grand hall won’t hold back the Tibetan Mastiffs."

Yang Xiao spoke as he grabbed Lan Xin’s hand and ran quickly toward the inside.

Outside, the Tibetan Mastiffs roared violently. Dozens of them at the front were enveloped in a golden halo, baying wildly as they charged at the grand hall, followed by a thunderous crash, the several-hundred-year-old grand hall collapsed.

Immediately, one to two hundred Tibetan Mastiffs leaped over the ruins and surged inside, destroying any architectural obstacles in their path.

These Tibetan Mastiffs were like mini bulldozers, unstoppable.

The ancient buildings of the Shenming Mountain Sect were primarily made of wood and stood no chance against the onslaught of hundreds of Tibetan Mastiffs.

The cave at the back of the mountain was about 2 kilometers from the grand hall at the front.

Lan Xin and the others, familiar with the terrain and not requiring any lighting, raced towards the cave, with a large group of Tibetan Mastiffs hot on their heels. When they got close, Yang Xiao used One Finger Splitting Earth to send the leading Tibetan Mastiffs flying.

When Yang Xiao and Lan Xin arrived at the cave, Xiao Lan and the others had already entered.

The cave was carved from a natural cavern based on the solid mountain, constructed of tough granite rock, extremely sturdy, with about 1 meter of accumulated snow outside the mountain.

The entrance was about 3 to 4 meters wide and 5 to 6 meters high, with Xiao Lan, Ju Yun, and a few other experts standing guard at the entrance.

After Lan Xin and Yang Xiao came over, everyone immediately proceeded deeper into the cave, with Yang Xiao, Lan Xin, and the rest stopping about 2 to 3 meters inside.

The leading Tibetan Mastiff that was running in the front charged in directly; Lan Xin and Xiao Lan both swung their swords and decapitated it.

Yang Xiao grabbed the Tibetan Mastiff’s corpse and pulled it into the cave.

Lan Xin, surprised, asked:

"Why drag it in?"

Yang Xiao laughed and said:

"Aren’t you hungry? How can we waste such good food?"

Xiao Lan immediately said excitedly:

"I was worried about food. With this Tibetan Mastiff, we can at least eat for several days."

A Tibetan Mastiff the size of a water buffalo weighed over a thousand kilograms.

Xiao Lan dragged the Tibetan Mastiff’s carcass further into the cave.

Yang Xiao, Lan Xin, and the others stood guard at the entrance; the Tibetan Mastiffs outside dared not rush in and kept barking wildly.

Moments later, the Tibetan Mastiff King arrived, looking at the solid cave, seemingly at a loss.

One to two hundred Tibetan Mastiffs circled outside the cave, restless and howling continuously.

Yang Xiao asked:

"Where does this cave lead?"

"It doesn’t lead anywhere. It’s about five to six hundred meters deep inside; there’s a fairly large void with a width of several dozen meters and a height exceeding one hundred meters—a naturally formed cavern. The entrance used to be small; our ancestors excavated and expanded it."

Lan Xin explained.

Yang Xiao was taken aback,

"So, it’s a dead-end cave?"

Lan Xin nodded, looking at Yang Xiao, then suddenly said:

"I’m sorry for dragging you into this."

Yang Xiao chuckled and replied:

"I’m not dead yet, and besides, there may still be a chance for survival; at least we are safe for now."

Lan Xin gave a faint smile, looking at Yang Xiao, and for some reason, being with Yang Xiao, she suddenly felt a sense of dependency and security.

Last time, in the desert, when that gigantic mutated wild boar surrounded us, it was at the most critical moment that Yang Xiao rushed forward, saving her life, an act she would never forget.

"How come every time I meet you, there’s an accident like this? These Tibetan mastiffs are normally fine, but the moment you show up, they attack. Did you bring them here?"

Yang Xiao let out a chuckle, saying:

"It’s probably fate!"

Upon hearing this, Lan Xin laughed softly, her heart skipping a beat.

The mountain cave, being a place where the elders from the Shenming Mountain Sect would seclude themselves for cultivation, had huge oil lamps placed every few meters along the walls. Xiao Lan and the others had already lit the lamps, and most people had moved further inside into the large inner cave, where there were simple carpets and bedding for resting.

Even a few hundred jin of charcoal was stocked inside the cave, along with a charcoal brazier, and some basic household and living items, prepared for those elders in seclusion.

Xiao Lan and the others took a head count and discovered that sixteen junior sisters were missing, immediately their eyes reddened as they burst into tears.

These were sisters who lived and bonded closely, laughing and joking during dinner tonight, and in the blink of an eye, they were gone; how could one not grieve?

Yang Xiao and Lan Xin discussed it briefly, and felt there was no need to guard the cave’s entrance. If these Tibetan mastiffs wished to charge in one by one, that would be ideal. Thus, the two went further into the cave and even extinguished a few oil lamps along the way.

Upon learning that more than a dozen junior sisters were lost, Lan Xin was also deeply grieved, her tears immediately falling, and the atmosphere in the cave became very oppressive.

Yang Xiao cleared his throat and said:

"Now is not the time to grieve, our junior sisters are already gone, we the living must pull ourselves together, and strive to survive this predicament safely. Only by doing so can we honor the opportunity our junior sisters fought for with their lives."

Lan Xin nodded her head; as the eldest senior sister, she was the spiritual pillar for everyone and must be the first to rally. She then said:

"My junior sisters, wipe away your tears, once we have rested well and regained our spirit, we will kill the Tibetan mastiffs outside and avenge our fallen sisters."

Xiao Lan, Ju Yun, and the other junior sisters all nodded, wiping away their tears, forcibly pulling themselves together.

Yang Xiao said:

"Since we have charcoal here, and the meat of the Tibetan mastiffs, let’s start a charcoal fire and roast some meat. Vent all your hatred on these Tibetan mastiffs, skin them, eat their meat, and drink their blood."

As soon as Yang Xiao said this, Xiao Lan and the others immediately responded with fervor:

"Eat, roast Tibetan mastiff meat!"

So, everyone quickly lit the charcoal fire, skinned part of the Tibetan mastiff’s hide with swords, sliced off a few dozen jin of meat, and started roasting it over the fire.

Yang Xiao’s seasoning bottles came in handy; when he took out the salt shaker and chili flakes, the girls immediately got excited. Sprinkling salt and chili flakes on the roasted mastiff meat, they began to eat hungrily.

The sorrowful atmosphere in the cave was swept away.

After the previous series of battles, everyone had exhausted a lot of energy, and now they realized they were truly hungry.

Each person ate 2 or 3 jin of the roasted meat, and Yang Xiao himself consumed at least five or six jins.

After eating the meat, everyone sat around the charcoal fire to rest.

Lan Xin arranged for two junior sisters to stand watch in the passage of the cave a little further ahead, ready to call everyone if Tibetan mastiffs came charging in.

The passage was narrow enough to let only two Tibetan mastiffs through at a time, making it a choke point that one person could defend against thousands.

In the main hall of the cave, there were several huge oil lamps, bookshelves filled with various classical books near the walls in the distance, and also a weapons rack with more than a dozen longswords.

Five or six girls went to a large bed and squeezed together to sleep.

The remaining girls lay down on chairs, wooden planks, and next to Lan Xin and Yang Xiao, by the fire to sleep.

Lan Xin and Yang Xiao sat together.

Yang Xiao, tired, laid down his head on a chair and fell into a deep sleep.

Lan Xin glanced at Yang Xiao, who was sleeping soundly on the chair, smiled slightly, and leaned gently against him, closing her eyes.

The freshly added charcoal crackled as it burned, filling the whole cave with warmth.

(Today, there are only three updates.)