Before I could ask, the mysterious figure suddenly pulled Zhuo Ya's arm and walked behind the pillar.
What was he going to do to Zhuo Ya!
In this extremely eerie temple, a mysterious person appeared out of nowhere. Although he had saved us just now, we still didn't know if he was friend or foe.
I was extremely anxious and quickly took out my gun and followed.
The mysterious person was incredibly fast, and to my surprise, Zhuo Ya did not resist at all!
In the blink of an eye, he pulled Zhuo Ya and disappeared into a cave entrance.
Looking at the dark cave entrance, I did not hesitate to follow.
After a stretch of dark progress, light suddenly appeared before my eyes!
This cave entrance actually connected the temple to the jungle outside!
I greedily savored the bright sunlight shining on my body. Only after experiencing a life-or-death crisis could one understand the beauty of survival!
Zhuo Ya looked dazed. Her gaze inadvertently fell on the mysterious person's hand, and her face suddenly showed an incredulous expression.
Could it be that Zhuo Ya knew this mysterious person!
Just as I was wondering, I stepped forward and lifted the mysterious person's cloak. A head of golden hair scattered down from the hood.
The mysterious person's face was revealed to us.
She was about forty years old, her weathered face etched with a sense of hardship. It was evident that she had been a stunning beauty in her youth.
Most striking were the two crossed scars on her snowy white neck, the skin raised and exposed, looking extremely ferocious.
It seemed as if they had been cut open by a knife!
After clearly seeing the face of the middle-aged woman, two lines of tears rolled down from the corners of her eyes.
"Mom!"
Zhuo Ya cried out as she looked at the woman before me, and I was stunned.
This middle-aged woman who had rescued us from the temple was Zhuo Ya's long-lost mother!
Zhuo Ya's words seemed to awaken the woman's memory. With trembling hands, she pulled Zhuo Ya into her embrace.
Zhuo Ya could no longer hold back, and she wept profusely in her mother's arms.
Watching this scene, I felt a mix of emotions, but more so, confusion.
Zhuo Ya had said her mother had been missing for many years. Could it be that she had been in this temple all along?
And what about the wounds on this woman's neck?
Many doubts filled my mind, but seeing the touching reunion of mother and daughter, I didn't want to intrude and simply stood by the side.
However, suddenly, Zhuo Ya's mother pushed Zhuo Ya away from her embrace. She forcefully hit her own head with both hands, her expression extremely pained, as if she were suffering some cruel torture.
"Mother? Mother, what's wrong?" Zhuo Ya looked at her mother, who was in agony, in a panic, not knowing what to do.
I stepped forward to help, but the woman grabbed my hand.
"Go... go... take her, as far away as possible..."
The woman's voice was rough and hoarse, like sand grinding against paper, extremely piercing.
Her facial expression was even more contorted, and her eyes held a terrifying madness!
Before Zhuo Ya could ask anything, she forcefully pushed me away, reached up and pulled down the hood of her head. She moved on all fours like a maddened beast and darted into the nearby jungle, disappearing without a trace!
Zhuo Ya stared blankly in the direction her mother had gone, her expression a little dejected.
My heart, however, was filled with a tempestuous storm!
Why could Zhuo Ya's mother enter the temple? And what had happened to make her become this half-human, half-beast, maddened state!
I had a premonition that Zhuo Ya's mother's current state was definitely related to this extremely eerie nameless island!
A military officer, an outsider, had combined with a local savage, giving birth to Zhuo Ya. She then disappeared, only to reappear mysteriously years later in the savages' holy land and save us.
All of this seemed so bizarre, and upon closer thought, it remained unfathomable.
After pondering for a while, I realized I had too little information to deduce anything, so I let it go.
After all, Zhuo Ya's mother had given birth to her; she wouldn't harm her.
Zhuo Ya sat on the ground, holding her head, and cried for a while, venting all her grievances.
"I'm fine now, Brother Xiao Ye. Let's go back quickly," she slowly stood up, wiping the tears from her face.
I knew she was just pretending to be strong, so I didn't expose her. I helped Zhuo Ya up from the ground. "Let's go."
The sun was gradually setting by then, and we dragged our exhausted bodies towards the high mountain.
Along the way, it seemed that the Kasa tribe had received the news that we had broken into the temple. They probably thought we were doomed, as we didn't encounter a single savage.
This was the most fortunate thing amidst the dangerous encounters of the day.
If we were in our current state and ran into a group of savages, we would have truly fallen before the sun rose.
By the time the sun had completely set, we finally returned to Zhuo Ya's cave.
As soon as I entered the cave, I collapsed onto the ground, my entire body feeling like it had fallen apart, utterly devoid of strength.
Zhuo Ya was in a similar state. After we had recovered for a while, Zhuo Ya got up and lit a fire to start cooking.
After we finished eating, I bid Zhuo Ya goodnight and lay down on the ground, intending to sleep.
But for some reason, even though my body was sending signals of fatigue, my mind was exceptionally clear. The various fantastical experiences of the day replayed like a slideshow.
The more I thought, the more questions arose, and amidst the chaotic events, there was a missing thread that would tie everything together.
What was that thread?
Sleepiness gradually overtook me. I couldn't figure it out and fell into a deep sleep.