Chapter 738: Zhu Xiuer

Zhu Xiuer spoke at the right moment: "The two rooms in the middle have already been cleaned by my little ones; you may choose for yourselves."

It had arrived several days ago, and in any case, it had nothing else to do.

He Lingchuan immediately bowed to her: "Xiuer, you truly are my good Xiuer!"

Tonight, the starry sky was like a painting.

He Lingchuan said to Dong Rui: "Tell me about the Xunyang Shazhou."

"Head northwest out of the Rongshan territory, and after another thirty miles, you'll be there. For many years, that place has been a 'three-no-man's-land'—merchants buy and sell all sorts of strange and bizarre things there, and there are no taxes. I've been there many times."

"I heard there are quite a few temples there as well?"

"Just as I said, it is a three-no-man's-land."

"Which three don't care?"

"Rongshan doesn't care, Baling doesn't care, and the Yuan Nation doesn't care either," Dong Rui explained. "The Xunyang Shazhou isn't large, and its borders are constantly shifting; whoever tries to manage it will find it a thankless task."

"Sounds good," He Lingchuan smiled. "Once you've finished resting, we'll set off."

Most of the houses in the deserted village were more than half-buried by years of heavy snow, making the doors impossible to push open. Only two rooms were particularly conspicuous, as the white snow on their doors, windows, and roofs had been cleared away.

Dong Rui couldn't wait to choose a room; sure enough, the inside had already been tidied up, and the kang was covered with a thick layer of dry grass.

He first untied the backpack containing the demon puppets and set it aside, then took out his bedding and a thick cloak, and collapsed onto the kang—

Asleep in three seconds.

Watching him snore thunderously, He Lingchuan shook his head, grabbed an axe, and went to chop firewood.

The winter timber was actually quite dry; he easily gathered a large bundle and took it to Dong Rui's room first.

Amidst the man's earth-shaking snores, He Lingchuan lit a fire in the hearth, and the room soon became as warm as spring.

Only then did He Lingchuan take out the Snail Toad from his backpack and place it on the long bench by the fire. This creature liked warmth and humidity and hated the cold. The bat demon puppet in the sky also descended and scratched at the door to get in.

He had intended to return to his own room to boil water, but seeing the Cave Spiders moving back and forth without entering the village, he couldn't help but feel curious.

Following them, he discovered a huge cave behind the village, about five zhang high. Its depth was unknown, but no wind blew out from within; it was likely a dead-end cave with no other exits.

This was the Cave Spiders' main base. Zhu Xiuer had already hidden several of the molted shells here and sealed the cave entrance with thick spider silk, leaving only a single passage for entry and exit.

The molted shells were all tall, and they wouldn't fit in human houses at all.

Besides, it had only managed to reclaim the Immortal Shells with great difficulty and had to keep them under its own nose to feel at ease.

The Cave Spiders were quite friendly toward He Lingchuan and led him into the cave. He then realized that the spider silk sealing the entrance was sophisticated, divided into several layers inside and out, with gaps between each layer to block the wind while allowing ventilation. Once an enemy attacked, the spiders could block this passage with a little coordination.

The cave was deep and dark; originally, there were cracks leading underground, but the spiders had blocked them with stones and padded them with spider silk, creating a sealed space. He didn't know what method Zhu Xiuer had used, but the temperature inside the cave was much higher than the freezing world outside. Thus, He Lingchuan was not surprised to see thick fungal mats inside the cave.

And the Aphid Cattle on the fungal mats.

"Why have these Aphid Cattle become so thin?" Compared to the ones he saw in the Demon Nest, these were at least two sizes smaller, and they were currently gorging themselves on the fungal mats.

Zhu Xiuer walked over from behind: "After leaving the Demon Nest swamp, they have had few opportunities to feed; it's a miracle they survived at all."

These Aphid Cattle were the Cave Spiders' food source, and they hadn't had a chance to grow properly along the way.

"I have already heard of your actions at Mount Xushan."

It seemed the Spider Queen sisters had engaged in an in-depth exchange.

He Lingchuan asked it with a thick face: "I braved countless dangers to bring your Immortal Shells back; surely there should be some reward?"

In fact, the reward had been prepaid; he had basically received it before setting off.

Zhu Xiuer didn't know which eye it used to look at him: "I won't hold you accountable for the one molted shell you stole earlier; consider that your reward."

He Lingchuan felt sheepish.

At that time, Lord Boshan and King Shiwen had jointly attacked the spider nest, and He Lingchuan had seized the opportunity to steal a spider shell to feed the Divine Bone Necklace.

Zhu Xiuer would certainly figure out who the real thief was afterward; arguing would be meaningless and would only increase the rift.

Zhu Xiuer continued: "However, the Immortal Shells are of great significance to me; I can give you something extra."

He Lingchuan gave a chuckle; working for Zhu Xiuer was always worth it.

"Let's wait for a few days."

He Lingchuan still had that much patience: "By the way, where will you go from here?"

They could no longer stay in the Demon Nest Swamp; where would Zhu Xiuer and her large family settle down?

Zhu Xiuer had already thought about this question: "I want to set sail from Baishawan and go to the Mu Nation!"

"The Mu Nation?" He Lingchuan was moved, "That is a very long journey."

Right now they were west of Beijia, but the Mu Nation was to the east of Beijia. For this move, Zhu Xiuer would have to cross an entire great empire by ship.

"Beijia's power cannot reach that far." Zhu Xiuer knew clearly that Lingxu City would not let them go, so she had to leave Beijia's sphere of influence. "I remember there is still vast territory in the eastern part of the Mu Nation, where there are several large canyons, very suitable for me to build a nest."

If she wanted to leave, indeed no one could stop her. He Lingchuan sighed: "I'm afraid it will be hard to have a chance to meet again."

"That would be for the best."

He Lingchuan was not sure if she was joking, so he rubbed his nose and added: "By the way, have you ever heard the name Nailuotian?"

Zhu Xiuer thought carefully for a good while:

"No."

A Heavenly God that even ancient demon immortals didn't recognize, what kind of remarkable character could it be? Just then, a cave spider crawled past the depths of the cave, and He Lingchuan felt it looked strange.

In his eyes, this creature's form was unusually blurry, as if separated from him by a layer of frosted glass.

"Eh, what is that?" He pointed it out to Zhu Xiuer, "A foreign object has mixed into your descendants."

But Zhu Xiuer's fat, bulky body didn't move at all, as if she knew that thing was no threat.

"That is a Mirage Demon. It doesn't like outsiders and doesn't want to come out to see you." Zhu Xiuer said lazily, "We can't stay in the Demon Nest Swamp anymore, so it decided to come with me."

If Beijia decided to crusade against Zhu Xiuer, the demons in the Demon Nest might suffer as innocent bystanders.

"This is a Mirage Demon?" He Lingchuan was startled, "I thought the true form of a Mirage Demon would be a giant clam spitting water."

A major reason why the Demon Nest Swamp was so mysterious and unfathomable was that a Mirage Demon lived inside, wrapping the swamp in layers of fog and isolating it from the world; humans and animals that entered would get lost and die.

He Lingchuan hadn't expected that Zhu Xiuer could persuade the Mirage Demon to leave with her.

"I haven't seen its true face either." Zhu Xiuer suddenly felt something was wrong, "Wait, how can you see its abnormality?"

(End of chapter)