A small plot of land in a mountain village

Chapter 82 The Man-Eating Quagmire

The little one jumped down from the tree and hopped forward.

"Keep your distance," the second brother, who was being helped along, quickly said. In his mind, he wondered if the little guy was thinking of his companions; if so, hehe, then they could all be wiped out. His eyes lit up.

The others, unaware of what the second brother was thinking, were excitedly following behind, fantasizing about the huge sums of money they'd get if they caught it. It seemed as if those money were flying right towards them.

The second brother, usually very shrewd, suddenly lost all caution upon seeing the strange beast. Unbeknownst to him, a treacherous swamp, devouring people without leaving a trace, lay waiting with gaping maws ahead.

The little one would run forward a bit and then look back. The red-haired man and his gang were secretly pleased, thinking they were checking if the little one was keeping up. This kid is really silly.

Zhang Niu, who was behind, didn't dare to get too close. He had been lying in the bushes when he heard a sharpshooter. He realized that he had been incredibly lucky not to sneak up in the dark.

The little guy waved his tiny paws, quite pleased with the guy who had followed. Unfortunately, since it was night, they could only see the little guy waving his paws; they didn't see the angry expression on his face.

They walked through the bushes to the open area where Zhang Niu had just been. As soon as they emerged from the bushes, Lao Er sensed something was off. "Wait, let's wait a bit before we go."

"What's wrong? Can't you see that guy right in front of us?" Redhead was a little annoyed that the second brother had suddenly stopped.

This remark garnered agreement from others. "Yes, how can we stop here so easily?" The fifth brother, touching his blindfold, said, "Second brother, what are you up to? This is just an empty lot. Everything seems normal. Are you overthinking it?"

"Bullshit! What do you know? Those places were only visible during the day. It's night now, and it's hard to see the road ahead in the dark. That's why I told you to stop. Can't you think straight? And you're blaming me. You're really heartless," the second brother cursed angrily.

"Stop arguing. Since you said you'd stop, let's take a look first. We have plenty of time, no rush." ​​Seeing the somewhat noisy group, the red-haired man had to act like the leader.

That advice worked. Everyone stood by the bushes. The second brother looked around, his intuition telling him something was wrong, yet the little one was running around on them every now and then without any problems. A big question mark formed in his mind.

After they stopped, Zhang Niu immediately darted behind a large tree. They assumed they had discovered the swamp. Zhang Niu couldn't help but admire the guy's skill; he could tell there was a problem just by looking at the terrain.

Seeing the group of men standing motionless, Zhang Niu felt a surge of anxiety. Even though stepping inside meant certain death, these guys were probably seasoned veterans who had likely harmed countless rare animals.

Zhang Niu was unaware that his heart was slowly shifting. At first, he felt a little reluctant. Now, he no longer felt the same way about these guys.

The little one tilted its head, stretched out its paw, and touched its head. It was strange that these guys weren't following. Then it looked around, its eyes lit up, and it ran into the mud.

Watching the little guy run away, the red-haired man next to him started to get grumpy again. "Look, now look what happened, all the monsters have run away," he said, while keeping looking ahead.

The second brother didn't argue. He wasn't sure if the little guy had just run off like that; he was probably testing them. Realizing what was going on, the second brother clapped his hands. "Goodness, we almost got fooled by that beast. But we're still too green."

"They ran away. And you're clapping your hands in glee, I don't know what you're thinking." Seeing the second brother's reaction, the red-haired man became even angrier.

"Everyone, don't panic. This guy is testing us. Third brother, fire a shot anywhere in there," he said to the sharpshooter.

Hearing his name called, the sharpshooter quickly stepped forward. "Yes, sir." He took a few steps forward and pulled the trigger. "Bang!" "Little guy, we've spotted you. Come out."

Zhang Niu almost burst out laughing. This second son was really being clever. It was clearly the little one who was drawing them to the front. It seems they all assumed the cub was still playing around.

As soon as the words were spoken, everyone held their breath, waiting for the little one to come out.

The little one reappeared in the darkness, looking at the group of people before him.

"Second brother, what you said is amazing! That guy ran out as soon as I shouted." Seventh brother quickly flattered him.

"The cubs are just playful. I only realized this when I calmed down. Few exotic beasts in the world have companions. They're always looking for fun. With us around, how could they possibly run away?" The second cub laughed smugly.

"Now, can we follow them? That little guy should be alright up ahead, right?"

Everyone wanted to catch up quickly. The second brother lowered his head in thought. In the end, he decided to continue following. The main reason was his leg injury. He really needed to practice more in peacetime. Right now, he was just a burden.

"Then let's follow them!" the second brother said.

Just as the two were about to help the second child up, the little one in front of them darted over. A red blur darted out and "rip!" The red-haired man looked down and saw a claw mark torn in his clothes. Not only were his clothes torn, but there were also streaks of blood.

The little guy ran back to his spot in the blink of an eye. He stretched out his claws and hit the red-haired man a few times. This action immediately ignited his anger. Without saying a word, he snatched the third brother's gun and fired two shots in the little guy's direction. "Bang!" "Bang!"

Just finished swatting them. A swarm of black wasps flew out from all around. "Wasps are coming! Run!" someone shouted.

The second brother immediately remembered that he hadn't brought any herbs. "Why did this guy fire? Now look what's happened!" he thought, having hit a hornet's nest. The people around him had already helped him up and were running towards the little guy. The buzzing of hornets could be heard behind them.

For those who frequently venture into the mountains, being stung by a single wasp is nothing to worry about. But a swarm could be fatal. Yesterday, they encountered one on the road and only managed to soothe it with medicinal herbs.

Everyone was complaining about the redhead; all he did was scratch a few times. He had no choice but to start shooting. Now he's really stirred up a hornet's nest.

The red-haired man was even more frustrated. It was just a couple of random shots. When would he ever have such good aim? But right now, the most important thing was to escape. He'd been stung several times on the back and was in terrible pain.

A group of people ran forward with a whoosh. The little ones in front of them also started running. Seeing that the strange beasts ahead were preparing to run away, everyone wished their parents had more legs.

Those running behind keep pushing those in front, all hoping to run faster.

They only realized they were standing in a mud pit after running forward, but no one paid any attention and kept running.

"Oh no, everyone back off!" The second brother shouted as he realized something was wrong after running only a short distance into the swamp.

No one paid any attention to the shouts.

The second brother and his companions didn't notice that the wasps weren't actually following behind. They were just buzzing incessantly, scaring the group of people in front of them into running into the mud.

When they reached the little guy's spot, they realized they were sinking steadily.

It was just past their knees a moment ago. Now it's up to their navels. Only then did they realize they'd stumbled upon the swamp that the second brother had described as a place where people devour each other without leaving a trace. Looking again at the little guy in the tree not far away, the red-haired man holding the mortar realized it was out of ammunition. "Damn it, this guy's got us all played," he cursed angrily.

Then everyone remembered the second brother's shout when he stepped into the mud, but no one had paid attention at the time. The second brother also caused the eighth brother, who was running behind, to crash into the mud even more.

The second brother is now lying on his back. "Everyone, quickly do what I do, it can prolong the time. The more urgent it is, the faster it sinks," he shouted to everyone.

The timid eighth brother had already started crying, "I don't want to die, I don't want to die!" He waved his hands and struggled incessantly.

When Lao Ba shouted, even the usually bold guys were now desperate to get out of the quagmire. But the more anxious they were, the faster they sank. Lao Ba, who was struggling, was already up to their chests.

The second brother had realized something was wrong earlier. If he had sent someone to check, everything would have been fine. Now, he didn't even know if he could get out of here alive. There weren't even any vines or branches around, and looking at the tiny creature waving its little claws not far in front of them, the second brother knew he was doomed. He was completely defeated by this strange beast. The running around earlier was to lure them down. And commanding the wasps was definitely one of the beast's abilities.

Zhang Niu was hiding behind a tree. Watching them slowly lure the little guy over, provoke the hot-tempered redhead, and shout out the wasps to scare them away, he was just as clever as a human.

Old Eight had sunk completely into the mud. Only his hands remained in the swamp.

Zhang Niu was stunned by what he saw. A living, breathing person had vanished right before his eyes. The thought made him vomit. He collapsed to the ground. It was truly horrific.

As soon as Lao Ba sank, everyone shouted even louder, their shouts cutting through the dark night sky.

"I don't want to die."

The fiery redhead was still cursing fiercely. Now everyone knew that this time it was the little guy not far away who had caused the trouble.

The second brother watched as the eighth brother sank. He wasn't feeling so good inside either. No wonder they couldn't catch the beast even with a high price. This money was hard to come by. And this thing wasn't a cub, but an adult. He'd been mistaken for a cub and killed.

One after another, the sharpshooter, the fourth, and the fifth all went down. In the blink of an eye, the gang of many years vanished like smoke. Everything from the past was gone. The second brother's wife would take all the money. This was his last thought before he went down.

After Zhang Niu had vomited most of it, there was no one left in the black mud. The silent mountains and forests, which had been filled with shouts and curses just moments before, were now completely quiet.

Leaning against a large tree, Zhang Niu slowly stood up. He walked to the edge of the swamp, the very swamp that had just swallowed eight lives. He couldn't believe he'd done this in his quest for revenge. He crouched down, burying his face in his hands.

The little creatures on the swamp watched them sink one by one, squeaking at the roasted meat on their paws, as if trying to tell them something.

Seeing Zhang Niu running over from the side, he suddenly appeared.

The little one seemed to sense Zhang Niu's feelings, licking his cheek with its tongue before handing him the roasted meat.

Thinking back to how he had driven this pig to Happy Little Abode himself, and how it usually stayed in its pen, he never expected it to end up like this after just one trip into the mountains. A touch of sadness crossed his face.

Let's go! Let's go check out the tents. Zhang Niu really wanted to leave this place that had just swallowed a living person.

The chapters are too long to edit, so they have been divided into two chapters.