Chapter – 180 - Light at the End of Darkness

They had been crawling on the ground for a very long time. The tunnel they had entered gave way to a medium-sized cave, which again joined another tunnel, which then opened into a series of co-joined caves.

They were almost sliding on the wet ground on their stomach. The stinking soggy earth below then was a bit slippery and slimy. Though the slipperiness helped in speeding up their movements, the sliminess stuck to every pore and even the roots of their hair. It was too gross to even ponder upon.

Crawling and sliding through this long network of tunnels and caves, they were trying their best to keep all sounds to a minimum. Being covered by this pungent smelling slimy fluid was helpful. The bats probably thought they were some type of worms and other bugs crawling on the floor, not very delectable.

Even then, some of the more curious ones would fly down from time to time, just to check what they were. At such times, the three could only hold their breath and completely freeze in their movements, trying to curtail their existence.

Still, as those extra-large talons scraped against the black walls of the cave, they could see the glowering sparks showering all around them. The sound of scraping was especially hurtful to the ears. They could only swallow the groans of protests which threatened to break out at such moments.

Nothing was visible in this eternal darkness, making things more difficult and eerie. Still, Rihanna pursed her lips and kept crawling forward. This path was so long, and even Uncle Ranaba couldn't tell if these caves ended in a dead-end, or if they would suddenly find some opening ahead.

However, they felt that there must be some more openings. There were too many of these blood-bats, they couldn't possibly have only one entrance.

After crawling for ages, Rihanna, who was at the front of the group, felt like she could see light. However, being inside this all-consuming darkness, for a long time she felt as if she was seeing a mirage. Perhaps her mind had become so numb to the blackness all around, that it was now creating visual illusions.

She kept crawling, not really paying heed to the tiny dot of light swimming before her eyes. At least not till Ye Luo also gasped just behind her.

"Is that light? Am I just seeing things?!"

"You can see it too?! Does that mean it is really an opening?!"

"Don't make so much noise. I can see it too, so it must be an opening up ahead. Keep your voice down and don't attract attention of the bats."

Having found an aim, the three of them moved even faster. The tiny dot of light grew larger and larger, till they could make out an opening up ahead. Rihanna stopped and closed her eyes. Having been inside this cave for such a long time, her eyes were starting to hurt just looking at that light. She blinked, trying not to rub her eyes with her stinky slime covered fingers.

But her eyes were truly hurting after this sudden exposure to light. Turning her head slowly, she was surprised that she could vaguely make out the forms of Ye Luo and Uncle Ranaba behind her.

What kind of light was this, which even these light absorbing stones could not absorb?! She was pretty sure that it was not sunlight.

As they crawled out of the long tunnel of caves, Rihanna turned back at the sound of fluttering still following them at a distance. The blood-bats must be scared of light as they did not try to follow them out of the caves. But the few random ones which had trying to figure out what creatures were these which smelled so bad and crawled on the ground relentlessly, could be swooping down to the ground.

They landed just behind the point where the light from outside entered the cave, vaguely traceable forms sniffing at them, as they opened their fanged mouths and let out strange, guttural cries. Unlike the sharp shrieks bats generally let out, these sounded more like heavy and hoarse grunts, short but very loud.

Rihanna observed them for a moment. These blood-bats had no eyes. There was nothing above their nose, which themselves were much larger than normal. Instead, they had two sets of mouse-like ears, twitching incessantly. Similar to the flying beast up there, these bats had very small, skeletal bodies, wrapped in a thick, leathery skin. And their bat-like wings spread out wide around them.

She could feel her eyebrows rising in surprise and curiosity. Was this nature's way of eradicating unnecessary organs, and instead evolving the more rigorously used parts of the body?! Considering the complete lack of light, the eyes were definitely a completely useless organ here.

Also it seemed, that having evolved in complete darkness, their bodies were especially sensitive to light of any kind. They refused to even come close to the line of light separating the dark cave from the outside!

Turning back, Rihanna kept crawling forward till she reached the end of the cave. Though the bats had stopped following, she couldn't be careless right now and catch their attention.

It took Rihanna and Ye Luo a lot of effort to stand up. Especially Ye Luo, whose body was still badly injured. And after crawling through the cold muck for uncountable hours, his limbs were numb and had started to cramp.

With Uncle Ranaba's hep, Ye Luo managed to reach a large boulder at the side, and sat down to breathe heavily. The effects of the ointment were starting to wear off. Not surprising, as Rihanna was sure that most of the ointment had rubbed off into the slimy muck they were crawling through.

"There should be water somewhere nearby."

Rihanna blinked and tried to focus despite her aching muscles. Looking around, she noticed the light was being reflected off the yellow rocks of the surrounding.

"Is this sunlight?"

"Partly. It seems we have reached another crack in the mountain. The light coming from above is sunlight. This place is filled with Nanentuo ores. These ores have the capacity of absorbing, storing and reflecting sunlight. The ore has the capability of refining the light it absorbs, making the light more pure and intense. That is why the stones of the cave are unable to absorb this light."

"Nanentuo?....Isn't that one of the Ores on the Mission List?"

"Hmmm...but we have to find the origin point of the ore. The ore in these rocks will be too little and spread out. The or at the origin point will be denser and richer. Also the quality will be better. But before that, we need to wash off this slime from our bodies. Perhaps even change our clothes. It's even making me feel like vomiting. Tsk! Let's go, it's not good being in this state for too long!"

Rihanna didn't say a word. There was no need to dispute this statement. She indeed had the desire to get out of these stinking clothes, probably even discard this set of clothes forever!

Supporting Ye Luo from the side, Rihanna followed behind Uncle Ranaba who was warily moving forward, keeping an alert eye on their surroundings. Though they couldn't hear any sounds around them, it could mean that some bigger beast was hiding nearby.

The ground was rocky, surrounded by large and small boulders, and yellow pebbles covered the yellow earth. With Ye Luo suffering from the rage of burning-pain once more, their movements were rather unsteady and slow. Shuffling onwards, Rihanna stared at the scraggly vegetation around them, struggling to climb over the rocks and boulders. Was this due to the light-absorbing ores?

"There water here. Be careful. The rocks here are very slippery."

Rihanna hesitated, then stopped at a flat boulder nearby to place Ye Luo over it. His body was limp despite being conscious, and he lay down on the flat stone, breathing heavily, even the slightest of movement was burning through his body, making him breathless.

Rihanna frowned. This was not good. If left without proper treatment, this burning would affect all his internal organs. After he had washed and changed his clothes, she needed to check and give him some form of treatment.

Turning towards Uncle Ranaba, Rihanna moved forward till she was standing at the edge of the rock he was on.

The large rock overhung a short fall, below which a big pool of water was swirling about. The water was coming down from the other side, in thick streams, and created a large pool. There should be an opening below, through which the water probably passed onto some other place.

The water was thicker than normal water, and deep yellow in color. Rihanna turned to Uncle Ranaba in confusion.

"Don't be scared by the color. The ore of the surrounding has mixed into the water, that's what is giving the yellow color and thickness. But it is not that different from normal water, and won't harm the body."

Saying so Uncle Ranaba looked around, pointing his hand in one direction.

"There is a cluster of large rocks over there. You can go and wash up behind those rocks. I'll help Ye Luo to wash and change here with me. Let's meet here once we are all done. But remain alert while bathing."

Rihanna looked at the rocks in the distance and nodded. She was really dying to get out of these damp clothes. Uncle Ranaba had already returned back to the rock on which Ye Luo was lying down. Glancing back at them, Rihanna swiftly made her way to the other part of the lake. Once they were done with bathing, she would need to check up on Ye Luo.