As soon as I put it on, I met a sickly man

Everyone filed in. The entrance to the cave was narrow, only wide enough for one person to pass through.

Ding Chen walked in front, holding a fire starter tightly in his hand. The faint light swayed in the darkness, reflecting the strange shapes of the rocks on the cave wall.

A pungent smell filled the air, making it difficult to breathe, as if what was being inhaled was not air, but some rotten substance.

Ding Chen couldn't help but frown. The smell was completely different from when they came in before.

"This cave... seems different from before." General Lin's voice was low, with a hint of vigilance.

Ding Chen also noticed something unusual.

The layout of the cave is very different from before. The originally straight passage has become curved, and there are many more forks, as if it had been reshaped by a mysterious force.

The marks they had left behind also disappeared without a trace, as if they had been deliberately erased.

"Be careful!" Ying Feng shouted softly, and his figure flashed, standing in front of Ding Chen.

Almost at the same time, a sharp stone spike shot out from the darkness, brushed past Yingfeng's sleeve, and nailed into the cave wall.

"There's a trap!" Ah Hu exclaimed, pulled out the machete from behind, and looked around vigilantly.

"Everyone be careful, this cave is full of traps." Ding Chen said in a deep voice, with an ominous premonition in his heart.

Everyone can only grope forward cautiously, and every step is full of unknown dangers.

"This isn't a solution," Ah Hu said in a muffled voice. "Let's split up into smaller teams and search. This way we can find that profiteer faster."

"No!" Yingfeng immediately objected, "That's too dangerous. We'll be easily defeated one by one by the enemy."

The two of them insisted on their own opinions and refused to give in to each other, and the atmosphere gradually became tense.

Ding Chen was caught in the middle and couldn't make a decision for a while.

At this moment, Xiaoxuan gently pulled Ladinchen's sleeve, pointed at the ground and said, "Look..."

Xiaoxuan squatted down, brushed her slender fingers across the ground, and felt something strange with her fingertips.

"Look," she pointed to some barely perceptible marks on the ground, "these footprints..."

Ah Hu scratched his head. "Footprints? It's pitch black in this cave, how can there be any footprints?"

Xiaoxuan explained, "These footprints are very shallow and have been deliberately covered up, but they're still distinguishable upon closer inspection. They're different from our own footprints. The patterns on the soles are more complex, and the stride is longer. They must have been left by that mysterious merchant."

Only then did everyone notice the subtle differences on the ground and couldn't help but admire Xiaoxuan's careful observation.

"Miss Xiaoxuan is amazing!" Ah Hu said with a simple smile, "Now we finally have a direction!"

Following these special footprints, everyone quickly passed through the maze-like cave. The original confused atmosphere was swept away, replaced by the excitement of finding the target.

Deep in the cave, firelight flickered and a dark shadow was busy moving something.

"It's him!" Ah Hu growled and was about to rush forward.

"Wait!" Ding Chen stopped him, "Be careful, there's a trap!"

As soon as he finished speaking, an old voice echoed in the cave: "I didn't expect you could find this place..." An old man in a black robe appeared in front of them at some point, holding a strange scepter in his hand.

The old man in black robe smiled sinisterly, slammed his scepter, the ground began to shake, and a burning breath filled the air.

"Taste my fire spirit!"

As he finished speaking, countless elves with flashing fire emerged from behind him, like a wave of fire, sweeping towards everyone.

The temperature in the cave suddenly rose, and the rocks seemed to be melting.

Ding Chen's heart sank, and a strong sense of crisis came over him...

Ding Chen held Xiaoxuan's hand tightly and protected her behind him.

Xiaoxuan felt the warmth and strength of Ding Chen's palm, and her heart was filled with a sense of security. She looked up at Ding Chen, her eyes full of trust.

Ding Chen smiled at her, his eyes firm: "Don't be afraid, I'm here."

General Lin brandished his long sword, the blade light was like snow, and every swing brought up a gust of wind, whistling and slashing towards the fire elf.

However, these fire elves were extremely agile. They dodged General Lin's attacks like jumping flames, and counterattacked from time to time, licking General Lin's armor with scorching flames.

Seeing this, Yingfeng flashed and shuttled among the fire elves like a ghost. The dagger in his hand flashed with cold light as he tried to find the weaknesses of these elves.

Ah Hu was not willing to be outdone. He roared, swung a thick wooden stick, and hit the fire elf fiercely. Each blow had the power to split mountains and crack rocks, but it always missed by a hair's breadth.

There were more and more fire elves, and everyone gradually felt exhausted.

Xiaoxuan frowned, staring at the dancing flames. Suddenly, an idea flashed in her mind. She pointed at a puddle that was accidentally ignited by the fire elves and said, "Water! They are afraid of water!" Everyone suddenly realized what was going on and took out the water bags they carried with them and poured the water at the fire elves.

Sure enough, the fire spirit that came into contact with water made a sizzling sound, and its light quickly dimmed, eventually turning into a wisp of green smoke and disappearing.

Seeing the fire elves being repelled, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

However, at this moment, they discovered that the mysterious businessman had disappeared.

Deep in the cave, a hidden stone door suddenly appeared in front of everyone. The stone door was engraved with strange runes, exuding an ancient and mysterious atmosphere.

Apparently, the mysterious businessman took advantage of the chaos to hide behind the stone gate.

"Damn it, he got away!" Ah Hu pounded the stone wall angrily.

Ding Chen walked to the stone gate, reached out to touch the cold rune, and frowned.

He felt a powerful force hidden in these runes, as if it would burst out at any time.

"Behind this door... there may be even greater danger." Ying Feng's voice was low and solemn.

Ding Chen nodded, his eyes firm. "No matter what, we have to go in and take a look." He turned to look at Xiaoxuan, his eyes soft and gentle. "You stay here and wait for me."

Xiaoxuan was about to open her mouth to refute, but Ding Chen had already turned around and stretched out his hand to push the stone door...

"Wait!" General Lin suddenly said, "This rune..." He reached out to stop Ding Chen and pointed at a special symbol on the stone gate. "I think I've seen this symbol somewhere..."