The boss of a foreign organization called the police, claiming that he was defrauded by me

If a person is alone and all the fireflies swarm towards them, they might not even have a chance to escape.

If two people go together, they can look out for each other even if something happens, so they won't be left helpless.

Yuan Feng looked at his injuries and then at the swarms of fireflies. In the end, he listened to Meng Yin's advice and did not become blindly arrogant.

"Alright, I'll go in with you, but we can only stay on the edge. Let's not go to the center yet."

Yuan Feng hesitated before speaking.

Mengyin understood his meaning: "Then let's stay on the edge and not go to the center for now."

There are fewer fireflies at the edges, and the range they can catch is limited, but although there are more fireflies in the center, it also means danger.

If the two of them go in and can't get out, that would be a different story.

Seizing the opportunity, the two discussed their plan and rushed inside together. The fireflies, seeing them, swarmed towards them like mosquitoes attracted to blood, flapping their wings in a frenzy.

The feeling of being bitten on their hands made them want to slap the fireflies to death. But when they thought of the people behind them waiting for treatment, they suppressed this inexplicable urge.

They successfully lured the fireflies over, and the soldiers and imperial guards nearby were already on high alert.

Just as the fireflies approached, they quickly used their clothes to swat them all to death on the ground.

One after another, fireflies fell to the ground, forming a thin layer. The tiny lights on their tails still glowed faintly, but their wings or legs were damaged and they couldn't fly away; they had no choice but to accept their fate.

Yuanfeng and Mengyin stumbled back, feeling that their injuries had worsened, and they couldn't even heal themselves with their internal energy.

Fortunately, they had collected enough fireflies. They applied the firefly sap to the wounds, which not only stopped the itching but also caused new changes in their skin.

Yuan Feng pointed to his skin and said, "The juice from these fireflies is truly amazing! I'm always wielding swords and spears, so my hands should be like withered tree bark, but they're much better than before."

Mengyin pointed to her hand and said, "Mine too! And the wounds heal incredibly fast where I applied it. It's truly a rare gem!"

If we could capture and sell these things, we could probably make a lot of money.

But since the king hadn't given any orders, they didn't dare to have such thoughts. They could only pretend they knew nothing and tend to their wounds.

Yang Xia naturally heard their conversation; after all, he wasn't deaf. However, he had absolutely no interest in such benefits.

Putting aside the potential side effects of applying these insects to the body, if these insects were taken out and allowed to run rampant among the people, it would be a disaster for the people of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

At that time, let alone making money from this, you might even cause a huge disaster and be condemned by thousands.

Yang Xia advised from the side, "You should get rid of these inappropriate thoughts as soon as possible. Once these fireflies break out of this place, nothing will be able to restrain them anymore, and they will definitely get out of control."

Yuan Feng was taken aback when he heard what he said, but then he realized what he meant.

Don't be fooled by these tiny insects, which seem so fragile that you could easily crush them with a finger. That's because they're trapped here and can't get out.

Moreover, it's difficult for them to get close, otherwise, given the fireflies' attack power, they would all probably perish here.

After Yuan Feng understood, he said, "Your Majesty is right. We shouldn't have had such thoughts. We didn't think this through, and we won't make such a basic mistake again."

Mengyin also felt that he had been blinded by profit and had not thought things through. He was only thinking about making money and had ignored the fundamental practical issues.

Meng Yin said, "It was my fault, but it was just a joke. We wouldn't dare to have any intention of profiting from it."

Yang Xia knew he didn't have that intention, but some things still needed to be made clear beforehand to avoid making a mistake and causing irreparable consequences. By then, it would be too late to criticize or punish him.

Everyone was applying the firefly's juice, which relieved their pain.

At least I'm no longer scratching my head in frustration like before, and I can now discuss with everyone normally how to get out of here.

At this point, one of them suggested, "How about this, one person attracts the attention of the fireflies, and the others take the opportunity to run quickly past here."

His suggestion was so thoughtless that Yang Xia couldn't help but retort, "Would you be willing to be that person?"

Putting aside the fact that doing this is tantamount to driving that person to their death, those fireflies are not to be trifled with either.

Even the most brainless person wouldn't ignore these "fat meats" and attack only one person.

The man blushed and immediately lowered his head.

The person next to him said, "I've heard that these kinds of insects are most afraid of fire. Why don't we light a fire and burn all these insects to death? That way we can get through here without any problems."

Yang Xia asked, "Where can we find flammable materials?"

The cave was completely empty. There wasn't even a single blade of grass, let alone any kind of firewood to burn, let alone enough to kill all the fireflies. It simply wouldn't work.

Yang Xia rejected all the proposed methods one by one, because they were all unfeasible and would be futile to implement.

Yang Xia stared at the soil on the ground, and seemed to have an idea in mind.

Yang Xia wasn't entirely sure either, unsure if his guess was correct. He slowly squatted down and began to carefully compare the soil on both sides, and indeed discovered something unusual.

The fireflies remained hesitant to approach, seemingly because of the soil. The soil where the fireflies were located was reddish in color, resembling red mud and sand.

The soil where they were standing was brownish-yellow. Yang Xia couldn't help but wonder if it was because the soil was different that the fireflies dared not fly over.

Yuan Feng leaned closer and stared intently at the soil on the ground. He was quick-witted and immediately figured out what was going on.

He asked, "Your Majesty, are you suspecting that the fireflies are afraid to fly over here because of the soil?"

Yang Xia nodded and said, "That's right, I did have that suspicion. When we rushed in, those fireflies were starving and looked like they wanted to devour us. But when we retreated to this side, they hesitated and didn't dare to fly over."

The fireflies were starving, yet they were still wary of what was here. And apart from the different soil, there was nothing particularly special about this place.

Mengyin was more seriously injured. Leaning against a nearby rock, he glanced sideways at the soil, then at the fireflies flying freely in the air, and asked with a puzzled look, "That's unlikely. Fireflies fly in the sky and never come into direct contact with the ground, so why would they be afraid of this soil?"

He thought this was completely illogical; the fireflies hadn't even gotten their hands on the mud, so how could they be afraid? He figured the fireflies might not be afraid of the mud, but rather of what was behind them. But as they made their way here, the most obvious thing behind them was that swamp.

Could something be hiding in that endless swamp that even fireflies fear?

The seed of doubt was planted, and Mengyin voiced his thoughts: "Is there something in the swamp that frightens the fireflies, which is why they dare not fly over?"

Yang Xia also found it quite suspicious, since there was no conclusive evidence to prove that fireflies were afraid of the soil here.

However, the appearance of a swamp in a cave is really strange.

Yang Xia said, "Perhaps what we encountered in the beginning was not a swamp at all."

That place is so wide that it almost fills up the main road that can get there. Maybe it just looks like a swamp, but it's not actually a swamp.

They had no way of verifying this. There were two suspicious things: the mud under their feet and the swamp not far behind them.

No matter which one it is, you have to try to find out, otherwise you'll never get the result.

Seeing that they were all panting heavily, Yang Xia had no choice but to smear mud on his own arm and decide to try it himself.

But he had only taken a couple of steps when Yuan Feng stopped him and stepped forward, saying, "Your Majesty, let me handle this!"

How could we let the king take such a risk? This is a dereliction of duty on their part as subordinates.

Yang Xia glanced at his injuries; there wasn't a single unscathed spot on his skin. He said, "You'd better stay here quietly and don't wander off."

They were indeed highly skilled in martial arts, but they didn't have a good way to deal with these biting insects.

It's like a fierce lion with a mosquito on its body. The mosquito bites you painfully, and you have no way to fight back.

Because the opponent is so small, so small that you can't find any point to counterattack.

Ignoring their objections, Yang Xia reached out his hand halfway through the walk.

He thought the fireflies wouldn't bite him, but the next second, two red bumps appeared on his arm.

It seemed the mud wasn't working, so Yang Xia quickly retreated back to his camp. The fireflies stopped chasing him and flew about aimlessly in the air, as if they had lost their souls.

Yang Xia crushed a firefly and applied its juice to his arm to relieve the itching.

He shook his head and said, "It seems that the problem isn't with the soil. The only way to find a way to control the fireflies is to go into the swamp."

Everything on this island is bizarre and cannot be understood with normal thinking. Even these blood-drinking fireflies are no longer what they used to be.

Yang Xia turned around and noticed that everyone behind him looked listless. He asked, "What's wrong with you all?"

Yuan Feng shook his head vigorously, feeling as if there was a voice in his head trying to lull him to sleep. He said, "I don't know what's wrong, I just feel weak all over, extremely sleepy, and want to sleep."

He tried desperately to open his eyes, but it was no use, and slowly he closed them.

The others were in worse shape than him, but Mengyin managed to hold on for a while longer, saying, "Could the stuff on these bugs have a sedative effect? ​​I feel really sleepy."

He fell into a deep sleep shortly after he finished speaking, and his even breathing could be heard.

Yang Xia quickly went up to check on them, placing his hand in front of their noses. Fortunately, their breathing was still relatively even, and their lives were not in danger.

Yang Xia had only applied a small amount of firefly juice, enough for just two fireflies. Therefore, while everyone around him fell into a deep sleep, he was the only one still able to move freely.

However, he was also a little dizzy. To clear his head, he pinched his thigh hard, and instantly he felt much more energetic and no longer looked as disheveled as before.

He took a deep breath, slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, and tried to calm himself down.

Everyone is currently in a deep sleep, and he is left to figure out how to get out of this hellish place on his own.

With a massive army of fireflies looming ahead, he knew he couldn't get through this way, so he had no choice but to turn back.

He returned to the swamp he had passed through earlier, which was more like a still, stagnant mud pit than a swamp.

Yang Xia reached out and brushed away the layer of mud on top, only to find that underneath was still a muddy puddle filled with water, seemingly nothing special.

But why are fireflies afraid to go near this place?
He couldn't understand it at all, and slowly sat down on the ground. Recalling everything that had happened, his gaze suddenly fell on the grass growing on the surface of the mud.

This grass is lighter in color than the usual green grass, which is even lighter than green, looking like light green.

From the perspective of light refraction, the entire plant appears almost translucent.

Yang Xia reached out to grab the grass, but found that his arm couldn't reach it at all, so he had to pull his hand back.

Perhaps the key to leaving this place lies in this blade of grass.

He shouldn't have applied the firefly's juices; now his body is starting to react, and he feels like he's about to fall asleep.

Just applying the juice of two fireflies has such a powerful effect. Think about the people around you who apply dozens of times more than you.

They would have to sleep here for at least three days and three nights, but the human body simply cannot endure that long without drinking water.

Yang Xia went back, took the swords from their bodies, and with all his might, finally managed to hook the grass over.

There were many more of these kinds of grasses nearby, but he wasn't sure if this particular grass was useful. After all, it was so much trouble to get even one grass; if it was useful, he could always come back for more.

He carried the grass back, and on the way, he also paid attention to the people sleeping around him. He found that they did not have any other symptoms of discomfort except for being asleep, so he was not so worried.

He continued walking forward with the grass in his hand, looking at the fireflies dancing in the sky. After hesitating for a while, he finally held the grass up.

The fireflies avoided this plant like the plague, keeping a safe distance and constantly pushing their way out. (End of Chapter)