When the Han River flooded, the bandits led by Tu Zhongli had been boating on the river to evade government pursuit. Their luck had been wretched to the extreme—the torrent swept them straight downstream into the Demon Nest Swamp.
Listening to the tale, He Lingchuan realized these unfortunates had suffered a fate remarkably similar to his own, except several of their boats had capsized and more than half their men had drowned.
Nor had fortune turned in favor of Tu Zhongli and the other survivors, for they had been washed right into Lord Boshan's territory.
As was his habit, the great serpent had intended to devour this heaven-sent feast, but Tu Zhongli begged bitterly for his life, swearing he was willing to serve him like a dog or horse.
No human had set foot in the Demon Nest Swamp for a very long time, save for the caravan that traded regularly with Zhu Erniang. Lord Boshan immediately saw a use for these bandits.
He forced them all to drink a slow-acting poison, commanded them to venture out of the swamp to ambush Master Gan's caravan, and dispatched several serpent demons to aid them.
Master Gan's merchant guild did a thriving business in the local region of Longqiu. In particular, his trade with the Demon Nest Swamp was the cornerstone of his wealth and a favorite topic for the Gan family to boast about, well known to all the locals.
Once out of the swamp, the bandits returned to their old trade. Without much effort, they ferreted out the caravan's departure date and route, laid an ambush using Lord Boshan's poison, slaughtered Master Gan and the martial masters accompanying the expedition on the spot, and hijacked the entire caravan into the Demon Nest Swamp.
Tu Zhongli then transformed into Master Gan's "nephew," using wine jars to smuggle his men into the Demon Nest. Lord Boshan in turn persuaded that rash brute, King Siwen, and the two great demons joined forces to pin down Zhu Erniang while the bandits moved to steal the giant spider's molt.
It was a fairly intricate scheme, ruined only by the muddying wildcard that was He Lingchuan.
He Lingchuan gave two light coughs, then sharply questioned Lao Liu under the red spider's watchful gaze: "The molt is still missing! Who took it?"
Lao Liu looked utterly bewildered. "W-We don't know either!"
Seeing that nothing more could be squeezed out of him, the red spider issued an order, and the swarm of spiders surged forward, tearing him apart and devouring him.
The curdling screams turned the legs of nearby captives like Manager Zhao to jelly.
He Lingchuan rubbed his nose and stepped back.
The spiders clearly hungered for more, but they did not eat the rest of the captives, only herding them into the ruins under heavy guard.
Since Zhu Erniang's main body had gone off in pursuit of the great serpent, the red spider had to leave He Lingchuan and hop down to deploy forces. The captives watched detachment after detachment of spiders march toward Lord Boshan's territory, a dark, churning horde sweeping across the hills in ferocious momentum.
Evidently, the battle on Zhu Erniang's side was fierce, requiring the nest to pour out in full force to provide all-out support.
He Lingchuan had no intention of joining that sort of fray.
As he rummaged through the bandits' belongings, he said to Dong Rui, who had edged closer:
"A piece of good news and a piece of bad news. Which do you want first?"
"Good news first."
"We can leave. There's a very good chance." With the red spider away, they could speak in hushed tones. "Thank Lord Boshan for making this wonderful opportunity."
"What were you doing in the display chamber earlier? Why did Zhu Erniang only discover the molt was gone after she came out?" Dong Rui had also heard Zhu Erniang's enraged roar, which gave him an ominous premonition. "Does this have to do with the bad news?"
"Presumably her molt was stolen after all."
Dong Rui stared fixedly at him. "Was it you?"
"With what could I steal it?" He Lingchuan held up his empty hands. "Weren't you and the red spider watching me the entire time?"
True enough, but Dong Rui still believed this boy was inseparable from the matter.
He could not articulate a reason, but his instincts told him so.
Facing his suspicious gaze, He Lingchuan summed it up: "If Zhu Erniang fails to retrieve her molt, she'll return in a foul fury. You and I will definitely suffer."
"Then where is the opportunity?" By now, Dong Rui had Zhu Erniang's temperament fairly well figured out. Just as He Lingchuan said, they were very likely to bear the brunt of her wrath.
"We have a single chance to turn defeat into victory and seize the upper hand, but only one," He Lingchuan said in an undertone. "It lies with your demon puppet."
"...That creature?"
"After the bandits' infiltration, defenses inside the underground palace will surely tighten. Your demon puppet isn't still in the workshop, is it?" He Lingchuan knew well that Dong Rui relied on demon puppets for combat; only demon puppets gave him a sense of security. At ordinary times it might not matter, but in turbulent moments like this, he would certainly keep the puppet as close to him as possible.
Besides, He Lingchuan had heard bells chiming several times. Was Dong Rui ringing them just for fun?
*He even noticed that?* Dong Rui had taken special care to deploy it discreetly. A chill ran down his spine; this boy was far sharper than he appeared on the surface. "Where do you want it?"
"Just inside the entrance of the underground palace. You have to make it obey my commands."
"And then?"
"Then you can just watch the show." He Lingchuan patted his shoulder with immense sincerity. "The rest is my part to play. If it succeeds, we leave; if it fails, only I'll take the fall."
Fine words, but only a ghost would believe them! Dong Rui snapped, "Speak plainly. Even if I die, I deserve to know why!" If the plan failed, the Spider Queen's fury would hardly stop at He Lingchuan alone.
"I can't spell it out; we'll have to play it by ear." He Lingchuan pointed in the direction of Lord Boshan's territory. "Things have come to this. Even if we do nothing, Zhu Erniang won't let us off easy. I'll give you five seconds to consider. Five, four, three..."
The terms were terribly unfair, but He Lingchuan gave him no room to negotiate.
He was the one driving the plan.
Dong Rui gave him a searching look, knowing the young man kept the full plan close to his chest for fear he might bungle it. Back when this fellow had been his enemy, it had caused him endless frustration; but looked at from another angle, it proved He Lingchuan truly possessed real ability.
He only hoped the boy would perform just as reliably this time and let Zhu Erniang taste his anger and helplessness.
"If it succeeds, will you truly take me along?"
"Naturally. I can swear an oath," He Lingchuan said. "You could also go inform the Spider Queen that I'm plotting against her. But before she obtains the formula she wants, she won't let you leave either."
No matter how he sliced it, Dong Rui seemed to have no other choice. After a moment of thought, he let out a breath. "Fine. Swear your oath."
Only after receiving He Lingchuan's solemn vow did Dong Rui stroll toward the sinkhole, giving the gold bell a discreet shake as he went.
That was his choice.
Moments later, he walked back. "It's arranged."
...
The sun climbed high. The captives had spent the night in terror, not daring to shut their eyes, when Zhu Erniang's massive form finally emerged in the forest, surrounded by a large swarm of spiders bustling around her.
The moment she returned, she sought people out. "Where is He Lingchuan? Where is Dong Rui?"
Dong Rui hid in the ruins and kept his mouth shut, while He Lingchuan poked his head out from the canopy of a large tree growing within the sinkhole.
"Over here." Rooted into the rock wall of the sinkhole, the tree somehow grew lush and green; tucked inside, He Lingchuan had been completely concealed. "Congratulations on your triumphant return, Erniang."
Zhu Erniang was stronger than Lord Boshan. If the latter had won, Zhu Erniang would have retreated long ago; yet several hours had passed, suggesting she had wiped them out to the last.
"How did it go with Lord Boshan?"
"Dead." Zhu Erniang's voice was laced with exhaustion. "The bandits are all dead as well."
She had no time to chase down every single bandit, but the spiderlings could do it for her.
She was covered in wounds. Her burly body bore numerous bloody gashes, some still oozing black blood. Spiderlings crawled over their progenitor, continuously drawing out serpent venom and tending her wounds. Zhu Erniang also appeared to have broken three of her legs; unable to touch them to the ground, every step looked arduous.
Though she had eliminated Lord Boshan once and for all, she was gravely weakened.
"Strange thing is, to his dying breath, Lord Boshan denied stealing my molt." Zhu Erniang was missing two more eyes; the rest fixated on He Lingchuan in the tree. "I searched his lair and every one of his magic artifacts, yet found nothing. Tell me, where could the molt be?"
As the old saying went, once you eliminated all the impossible, whatever remained, however absurd, had to be the truth.
Her molt would not vanish into thin air. The only living person who had entered the display chamber and performed sleight of hand right under her nose was this young man!
By her final words, a chilling intent to kill could no longer be masked.
"You couldn't have wiped out every single serpent demon," He Lingchuan offered thoughtfully, helping her consider the possibilities. "Could Lord Boshan's offspring have taken it, hoping to stage a comeback and seek vengeance on you later?"
"Do you know what I think?" Zhu Erniang uttered each word slowly, then suddenly dipped her head toward him and spewed a blast of white silk.
The sprayed spider silk fanned out mid-air like an umbrella, covering at least a dozen square yards and blanketing nearly half the tree. Once an organism was caught, escape was practically impossible.
Not only was it blisteringly fast, it came without the slightest warning.
Yet He Lingchuan had been on high alert all along, slipping behind the trunk a beat ahead of time. The canopy was dense, and the web failed to envelop it entirely.
"He Lingchuan!" Zhu Erniang roared. "Return my molt!"
The moment her fury erupted, spiders converged from all directions.
The dagger was finally bared!
With half the canopy smothered in web, He Lingchuan appeared on the opposite side, shot a sleeve arrow into a rock fissure on the far side of the sinkhole, and swung straight across.
By the time the spider swarm pivoted to pounce, he had already climbed over the lip of the sinkhole and turned to sprint into the dense forest, leaving the Spider Queen with only a parting shout:
"I really don't have it! Believe it or not!"
"Chase him!" Zhu Erniang's fury echoed in the minds of every spider. "Take him alive! I want him begging for death!"
The spider army immediately set off in pursuit.
Heavily injured, Zhu Erniang moved more slowly and could only trail behind.
Yet through scent, she released a silent signal, commanding every spider in her territory to converge immediately in this direction. Against a carpet search by an army of spiders, where could He Lingchuan flee, and how far could he get?
Zhu Erniang was full of confidence. Once she captured He Lingchuan, she would suck him dry in one gulp!
Fueled by wrath, she found the pain racking her body far more bearable.
A quarter of an hour slipped by in a flash.
Two quarters, three quarters...
Ahead lay a steep slope. Just looking at it exhausted Zhu Erniang, so she simply collapsed to the ground to rest.
She ought to have possessed immense self-healing powers, yet for reasons unknown, the bloody holes on her body were still leaking blood even now. Furthermore, the moment she lay down, her body felt impossibly heavy, weighing on her so severely that even breathing proved difficult.
Under these circumstances, she could only remain where she was, waiting for her brood to return from every direction with news.
Chapter 341