Chapter 243: Insect Lair

A figure staggered in and shut the door behind them.

The figure wore a dark coat with a hood pulled low, almost covering most of the face.

The exposed lower half of the face was gaunt, lips tightly pressed, exuding suppressed pain and fatigue.

Their movements were stiff, especially the left side of the body, which seemed uncoordinated.

It was Jiantong Yanye.

Jiantong Yanye had just finished another forced activation of the incomplete Magic Circuit within, trying to make the body adapt to the torment of Engraved Insects, and returned from outside.

The body's excruciating pain and the burning sensation in the nerves left Jiantong Yanye nearly collapsed, but the Flame burning in his heart sustained him.

(Sakura... endure a little longer... I will... obtain the Holy Grail... take you out of this hell...)

Jiantong Yanye leaned against the wall, gasping, and struggled to shift his steps.

Upon stepping into the corridor, Jiantong Yanye immediately sensed something off about the atmosphere.

It's too quiet.

Then, his gaze fixed on the figure he both despised and feared, Jiantong Zangyan, who stood there in a strange hand‑raising pose, motionless, surrounded by a few eerie deep‑red light shadows, like a grotesque statue.

Jiantong Yanye's pupils suddenly contracted, and his heart leapt.

(What's happening?! That old insect…)

Alertness and the instinct honed by years on the brink of danger surged to the peak in an instant!

He barely had time to think before feeling a swift gust of air surge from behind his head!

(Someone!)

Jiantong Yanye was horrified, forcibly enduring the excruciating pain and numbness in his left side, desperately trying to twist his body to dodge or defend—

"Dong!"

A muffled thud.

A Xing's bat struck precisely at the side of Jiantong Yanye's back of the neck.

Her timing and angle were flawless, perfectly exploiting the moment when the opponent's body was hindered and his attention drawn to Jiantong Zangyan.

Jiantong Yanye's vision went black, he couldn't even see the attacker, his body went limp, collapsing to the ground, losing consciousness.

A Xing stepped out of the shadows, glanced at the man lying on the ground, then at the unremarkable bat in her hand.

She crouched, gently prodded Jiantong Yanye's cheek with the end of the bat, then examined his pallid, haggard complexion, abnormal white hair, and the half of his body that, even in a coma, twitched slightly, looking painful.

(This person... seems like there are insects moving inside his body? And his condition is very poor.)

A Xing calmly made a judgment.

(Is he the same kind as that old man? Yet it feels... a bit different.)

She didn't quite understand why this family was all linked to insects, nor why they made him suffer so much.

But she recalled the Mission Command was to obtain the "Qualification", and to minimize unnecessary attention.

Knocking out this suddenly returned, potentially disruptive person was a reasonable action.

After confirming Jiantong Yanye wouldn't wake for a while, A Xing ceased to attend to him.

She stood up and began to wander the first floor of the manor.

Meanwhile, deep beneath the manor.

Here, the light was almost entirely devoured by darkness, with only occasional phosphorescent minerals embedded in the walls offering faint illumination.

The air was foul, reeking of nauseating putrid rot and countless tiny rustlings of arthropods scuttling.

This was a massive Insect Lair.

The walls and floor were covered with thick, constantly writhing Insect Carpets— a terrifying sight formed by countless Engraved Insects converging.

At the center of the Insect Sea, a small figure lay quietly.

She wore a thin white underskirt, her eyes hollowly open, her once jet‑black hair now a dull purple, and on her tiny body countless insects crawled, burrowed, and seeped...

She seemed to have lost all sensation, merely enduring everything numbly; her violet pupils reflected the endless darkness above and Insect Shadows, leaving only a faint, almost extinguished emotion deep within, called "Despair".

(Is there anyone... save me...)

That thought, even she could barely gather, drifted like the lightest dust at the edge of the abyss where consciousness was about to fully sink.

Then, in her dilated pupils, a glimmer of light reflected.

It wasn't phosphorescence, but a deep red like the afterglow of a sunset.

Several translucent, gracefully extending deep‑red jellyfish, their tentacles unfurled, had appeared at some point within this foul Insect Lair.

They emitted a soft glow; where they passed, the surging Engraved Insects seemed to encounter a predator, retreating in fear and clearing a passage.

Xiao Ying stared blankly at these beautiful, unfamiliar halos, her dead‑still heart lake unable to stir even a ripple.

In the next moment, a deep, gentle drowsiness rose like a tide, enveloping her shattered consciousness.

She didn't even have time to feel fear or doubt before her eyelids grew heavy and shut, plunging her into a dreamless slumber.

In the final instant of losing consciousness, she seemed to see a tall silhouette holding a Black Umbrella, standing quietly at the entrance of the Insect Lair, its crimson eyes fixed on her.

Chang Ye Yue stood at the edge of the Insect Lair, the tip of the umbrella lightly touching the ground, her crimson eyes scanning the hellish scene before finally resting on the small figure bathed in the gentle glow of the deep‑red jellyfish, already asleep.

Chang Ye Yue returned to the corridor, several faint deep‑red jellyfish silhouettes gently supporting the sleeping Sakura Matou floating behind her.

Her crimson eyes swept the corridor, landing on the figure lying face‑down.

She raised an eyebrow and stepped forward slowly.

(Jiantong Yanye... this generation of the Jiantong Family barely counts as "Master" people...)

Chang Ye Yue's fingertips brushed her forehead; from the memory fragments of Jiantong Zangyan and Jiantong He Ye, she had already pieced together this man's outline: a second son who fled the family only to be forced back, who voluntarily underwent Insect Technique Modification to rescue a certain girl, now painfully struggling on the brink of collapse.

"Pathetic obsession," she murmured, her tone revealing neither sympathy nor mockery, merely stating a fact.

Her gaze fell to the back of Yanye's left hand—there, three bright red Command Spells stood out like brand marks.

(Master Qualification...)

Chang Ye Yue slightly curled the corner of her mouth.

It's truly gotten without any effort.

She extended her right hand, palm facing down, hovering above Yan Ye's hand back.

Deep crimson light seeped from her palm, wriggling down like a living thing, gently 'wrapping' around those three Command Spells.

The light lasted about three seconds, then retracted—and the red mark on Yan Ye's hand back had already disappeared.

Chang Ye Yue turned over her left hand.

On her fair hand back, three brand-new scarlet Command Spells slowly emerged, the patterns clear, emitting faint power fluctuations.

"Now,"

She muttered to herself, "It's time to summon."

As for these two people…

Chang Ye Yue's thoughts stirred slightly, and via the Spiritual Link she sent a brief report and request to the Black Curtain Lady.

System Space

In the pure white vast space, the Black Curtain Lady stood before a huge arc-shaped screen.

The screen was divided into several images.

A woman with gray-white long hair crossed her arms.

She looked at the request sent by Chang Ye Yue, a flicker of thought passing through her purple-black eyes.

"Zang Yan that old worm…"

"Heimu's voice was very calm, 'Just kill him. As for Yan Ye…'"

She paused for a moment.

After quickly skimming the 'Jiantong Yanye Life Summary' based on the basic information of this world line, she made a judgment:

"We can spare his life. A pitiful worm half-devoured by the insects, unable to stir any trouble. But just to be safe… let him 'sleep soundly' for the next few days, lest he wake up and do something irrational that interferes with our plan."

The command was transmitted instantly via the system.

Jiantong Residence Corridor

Chang Ye Yue received Heimu's reply, her crimson eyes glancing at the stiffly standing old man.