Chapter 97: The Spider People

This was a remarkably unusual caravan, totaling about forty-some people, yet almost none were weak.

For a large underground-traveling merchant caravan, this number was too small; for an independent adventuring team, it was too large.

Rules and conventions are usually the result of experience; casually breaking them is not a good thing.

"This means our journey will draw attention from most monsters, and if a real fight breaks out, we won't have enough hands for combat or defense," warned a seasoned member of the group.

"There's no choice—it's nearly my limit. If I bring more, I won't be able to bring them back." The Purple Rose offered a cryptic reply.

Before departure, the Purple Rose had directly guaranteed she had the ability to bring people back directly, and it wouldn't take much time.

This was also the main reason Li En joined—he didn't intend to stay away from Huicheng too long. He'd already paid his tuition; his courses weren't finished.

But in such a special caravan, bringing too many weaklings was impossible; nearly everyone, except a few specialized personnel, were transcenders.

The vehicles weren't many, but their specifications were extremely high—mostly large freight beast-carts and luxurious carriages suited for long journeys.

As Li En saw, there were at least seven or eight fully loaded multi-wheeled beast-carts carrying goods; the boar-dragons pulling them were absurdly muscular, even armored with plates, appearing from afar like armed tanks.

"Li En," spoke Sallyman, standing behind the Purple Rose—this time she had brought two guards along.

Unlike her usual elegant splendor, she wore a simple yet high-quality gray leather armor.

She wore a veil, and at her waist carried daggers and throwing knives, dressing herself like an ordinary adventurer.

"Sallyman," Li En opened his mouth but couldn't think of what to say; in a way, this was a rare "long time no see" between them.

It was clear Sallyman's condition was poor—dark circles under her eyes, as if she hadn't rested well.

But considering her dual identity as a conservative pillar and royal confidant (in truth, also a royal spy), when the Princess was overwhelmed, she had no reason to rest.

Seeing Sallyman like this, Li En felt an inexplicable unease.

"You really need to rest properly." This was obvious to everyone, yet few dared to advise her.

She was the highest-ranking in title and status, and naturally became the leader of this journey.

"Mm, I've been working overtime lately. Once we're on the road, I'll sleep in my carriage." Sallyman's condition was far worse than she let on.

These past days, Huicheng uncovered numerous foreign spies, captured attackers, and cultists; as a royal spy, Sallyman had been forced to witness too many depraved aspects of human nature.

She was lying now—her actual workload wasn't heavy; she simply couldn't sleep, terrified.

Perhaps, compared to evil dragons and monsters, boundless human cruelty was more terrifying.

For some, killing was routine; their joy came from savoring the process of plunder and slaughter, and their "enjoyment" of the weak had evolved into an art. Enduring such minds, it was no wonder "timid" Sallyman couldn't bear it.

In fact, the Purple Rose was eager to depart because she feared her immature niece would be broken by it.

Yet even so, once she returned to her carriage, she still wouldn't sleep.

"Um… would you like to come to my carriage?" Perhaps due to her fragile state, she blurted it out unconsciously.

This plea clearly seemed impolite and weak.

She immediately fell silent, then regretted and hesitated—she already sensed the piercing stares from behind; no one usually dared to look directly at her.

A noblewoman inviting someone onto her private carriage was a serious breach of etiquette.

Unless they were betrothed, it bordered on promiscuity; even with that, nobles would deem her immodest.

Li En considered—he didn't want to get too close to Sallyman, especially knowing he was a "snake mint."

He had gradually shed the constraints of "Li En Sudar"—as the Spirit Emissary, he now had an independent record; he didn't wish to owe "Li En" too much.

But seeing Sallyman's dark circles and the hesitation and unease in her plea, he smiled and nodded.

"Of course, I'll come over. After all, I am Sudar." He sighed inwardly—no matter the reason, Sallyman had truly been sincere with him.

And now she seemed in terrible shape; otherwise, she wouldn't have broken etiquette so openly.

Clearly, upon Li En's response, the girl's eyes brightened.

She realized she might finally get a good night's sleep.

"Me too! Me too! I want to sleep with little snake-niece too!" Instantly, the girl-like Purple Rose jumped in to disrupt.

Helping her niece out of a bind was one thing; yielding on certain matters was another.

Clearly, Sallyman, now being hugged, showed a look of disgust and turned away immediately.

The Purple Rose, brushed off, chased after her, muttering in some peculiar language.

"Stop relying on sleep aids. Human minds have limits. Suppressing too long makes it easy to slip too far." The two seemed to be using a strange "snake language" for private familial communication.

Others looked baffled; Li En kept a straight face, pretending he didn't understand.

"You won't help me, even though I asked." Sallyman still sounded annoyed.

"My help merely suppresses you—it's no different in essence from drugs, and since it's more effective, the side effects are worse. You must learn moderation, moderation. A healthy, stable mind begins with controlling your own power." As she spoke, the Purple Rose waved at Li En, as if addressing not just Sallyman.

Lady Sallyman's departure signaled the end of the pre-departure pleasantries.

A brief introduction to establish mutual cooperation and set emergency signals was enough.

The small initial incident passed quickly; assembly took little time—anything important could be discussed on the road.

After confirming again that goods and supplies were all in order, the strangely unusual caravan set off.

They, unlike expected, departed directly from the city.

Li En boarded the luxurious carriage bearing the Sudar family crest; on it, besides the uninvited Purple Rose, was the clueless Larry, who had followed along.

She hadn't chatted or learned from her senior in a long time; now that she had time, she naturally followed without hesitation.

She recounted her recent knightly training insights and discussed problems encountered in the new "Punish Evil" technique. Admittedly, the docks had forged her—Li En was pleasantly surprised to find Larry had learned patience and tact, especially to distrust single-sided accounts and no longer swung her sword blindly.

As for disturbed rest time, Li En didn't mind much—the mistress, Sallyman, had fallen asleep after only a few words once Li En and the Purple Rose boarded, carried by her maid to a small room at the rear of the carriage.

"So this is your family's business…"

"I personally didn't know—hadn't Lorna told me, I wouldn't have known. Father and she handled all this."

This caravan, besides "special personnel" like the Purple Rose, was publicly a merger of at least five noble merchant families.

Their commonality? All had some connection to the underground world—or more accurately, commercial ties.

The Labol family was one of them; had they not allied themselves this time, they wouldn't have so readily mobilized this connection for the royal court and city.

"Apparently, several underground spider tribes produce excellent silk, usable as material for special scrolls and mage robes—this was the origin of our family."

This girl was too honest—she just blurted out her family's origin.

Spider people originally came from the underground and primeval forests; the Labols were from underground, and some of their distant relatives still lived in tribes there.

So how did the wealthy relatives in the city treat their rural kin? Naturally, by exploiting them regularly—trading cheap daily goods for their specialty magical spider silk.

This business gave the Labol family far more "spider" resources than publicly known, allowing them to outcompete other spider silk merchants and eventually monopolize the high-end textile industry.

This caravan was also commissioned by the Princess to gather underground intelligence.

Thus, these previously connected merchant families became even more valuable—sending both their daughters proved the Labol family's sincerity and decisiveness.

"Right here?"

After traveling less than half a day, they began descending through an underground cave beneath a hill.

This underground passage was clearly not on any map—it was one of the merchant families' trade secrets.

The orc village outside was likely an informant network; someone monitored this caravan throughout its journey.

Only upon seeing the crests of these Labol families did they leave.

"Young Master Larry, Miss Nocturna requests your presence for a meeting."

After entering, Larry was called back—he left reluctantly.

As for Li En himself, he exhaled in relief—not because he disliked Larry, but seeing Nocturna reminded him of all the messy past events.

"Strange—they don't seem to care about you and that boy?"

The smiling Purple Rose appeared to have seen through everything.

"Their family has peculiar traits—they've only recently returned to civilized society, so they still retain strong spider instincts. Usually invisible, but at critical moments—"

Spider instincts? What was that? A form of beast nature? Soon, Li En's eyes widened.

The beast people of this world were clearly distinct—shaped by their racial traits and abilities, they retained unique customs and habits.

If grouped together, they'd be influenced by culture and public perception, gradually converging.

But the more primitive the tribal form, the more primal it remained—even harboring secrets and customs too unspeakable for outsiders.

"Are spider tribes matriarchal?"

Li En was surprised, but upon reflection, it made sense.

In nature, male and female spiders are entirely different—females are far stronger and more aggressive; worst of all, their lifespans are much longer, differing by three to ten times depending on the subspecies.

Many males are discarded annually—their sole purpose is reproduction; even if they escape becoming the female's meal, they die naturally after mating.

Females, however, can live for over a decade, with no limits.

After becoming beast people, female spider people utterly dominated males—not only larger and stronger, but also far longer-lived; male spider people remained notoriously short-lived. In a sense, Young Master Labol's situation was utterly hopeless.

"They now let males serve as heads of household and force females to act as men, to adapt to the kingdom's customs—but outside is one thing, inside is another. At home, women definitely hold power."

In this era, strength still ruled, especially among beast tribes with strong tribal culture—female spider people were naturally stronger, thus more suited to lead.

Now Li En understood—the noble young master might truly be superfluous in his own home.

In a normal family, if the first two children were daughters and the third a late-born son, he'd likely be doted on; in the Labol family, everyone probably resented why he wasn't another daughter.

"If nothing goes wrong, in a few years he'll be sent to marry another spider family—but with his reputation ruined, even that function may be lost. Ha, it doesn't matter anyway—he won't live long."

Wait, even the shortest lifespan wouldn't be under thirty; the Labol patriarch was over forty—Purple Rose, are you hinting at something horrifying?

"Uh… female spiders eat males. Could female spider people do the same?" This wasn't baseless—Li En recalled the Blood Frenzy disease and the mad beasts he'd faced.

"Ha, guess." The Purple Rose smiled mysteriously; Li En's eyes widened—could it really be true? Hadn't those spider people been taking their medicine?

"Sometimes, instinct is hard to control. Spiders are especially cruel." The Purple Rose said nothing—and yet said everything.

At that moment, Li En was genuinely stunned—he never imagined the seemingly honest Larry might have this side.

"You're not joking, are you?" Li En still hesitated—these two Labols didn't seem like it.

"Ha, if you think it's not true, then it isn't." The Purple Rose said nothing again.

(End of Chapter)