After the Immortal Disappeared

Chapter 327: Chapter 326: Willing to Toil Like a Dog and Horse for Second Mistress

”I’m truly honored to meet you today!”

”You’re an interesting little boy, and you have such a sweet tongue. You can stay and keep me company.” After all, life in the swamp was monotonous. It would be nice to have someone to talk to and relieve the boredom. Second Madam Zhu crawled over a broken log as if it were flat ground. ”As for you—”

She slowly approached, the pressure now falling on Dong Rui.

Seeing Hee Lingchuan’s expression of someone enjoying a good show, he quickly leaned over and whispered, ”Hey, think of a way to save me!”

”Aren’t you a Demon Puppet Master who specializes in handling Demons?” Hee Lingchuan raised an eyebrow. ”There are plenty of Demons here. Are you telling me you’re helpless?”

’This little bastard is deliberately poking where it hurts. Is he trying to get me killed by a Demon’s claw?’ Dong Rui cursed him internally.

Second Madam Zhu’s hearing was astonishing. She had already caught the three words ”Demon Puppet Master.” Spreading her eight legs, her body instantly seemed a size larger, and even her voice rose a few pitches. ”You’re the Demon Puppet Master? The kind that captures Demons and turns them into Puppets?”

”He’s talking nonsense! He’s framing me!” Dong Rui declared righteously. ”I’ve never heard of such a title, let alone committed such an act condemned by gods and men!”

’How is this old Demon, living in a desolate swamp, so well-informed? She’s even heard of my reputation as a Demon Puppet Master?’

”You’re not?”

”I’m really not!” Dong Rui pointed at Hee Lingchuan’s nose and cursed, ”We’re enemies! This bastard wishes I were dead.”

”What a pity.” Second Madam Zhu sighed. ”Then you’re useless. Children, eat him.”

”?!”

Hee Lingchuan almost collapsed with laughter. ”I’ve been trying to save you this whole time, you know?”

The little spiders at the side were already eager to pounce.

There were only a few dozen edible things in the swamp—frogs, rats, snakes, turtles, cicadas, fish. Occasionally, some wild boars or rabbits would provide a feast, but with so many spiders and such small prey, there was never enough to go around.

Humans were still the tastiest—tender, smooth, and chewy. A single bite was memorable for years.

Seeing the sea of spiders about to overwhelm him, Dong Rui was stunned and immediately changed his tune. ”I am! I am! I am the Demon Puppet Master, Dong Rui! I am willing to serve you with utmost loyalty, Second Madam!”

Second Madam Zhu lifted a foreleg to wipe her large, watery eyes. The swarm of spiders halted, the two in front just half an arm’s length from Dong Rui.

Hee Lingchuan crossed his arms, voicing the question on all the spiders’ minds. ”Didn’t you just vehemently deny it?”

’This kid is getting his revenge!’ Dong Rui suppressed his anger. ”I thought you were trying to harm me. The Demon Race has always hunted me relentlessly, and they’ve even issued several Wanted Commands for me.”

A wise man knows when to yield. He turned back to Second Madam Zhu. ”If you have any orders, I will do my utmost to fulfill them.”

He would never go so far as to promise to spill his brains for her.

Second Madam Zhu slowly took two more steps forward. ”I hear the Demon Puppets you create can resist Primordial Power?”

As soon as she said this, both men understood.

So this was what Second Madam Zhu was after.

Indeed, for Scattered Demons like her who lived in deep mountains and vast swamps, there wasn’t one who didn’t want to find a way to counter Primordial Power.

If they could contend with Primordial Power, what would they have to fear from human armies?

Hee Lingchuan, in particular, knew of Second Madam Zhu’s glorious past. For an Ancient Demon Immortal like her to have survived to this day only to be relegated to such a desolate place, how much resentment must have built up in her heart?

Dong Rui’s value was now apparent.

With his life hanging on this one answer, Dong Rui said decisively, ”That’s right! Demons that I have modified can do it!”

He looked at Second Madam Zhu’s magnificent, plump figure, and his eyes lit up. ”Demons with a better foundation and stronger Life Force have a higher chance of success.”

’To be able to modify such a powerful Demon? This would be the pinnacle of my career! Just the thought of it is thrilling!’

”If he manages to survive, that is,” Hee Lingchuan threw cold water on his excitement. ”Second Madam, you may not know this, but this scoundrel has used over thirty test subjects and only succeeded with four. That’s a failure rate of over ninety percent.”

”Oh?” Second Madam Zhu’s voice turned cold again. ”Are you trying to kill me?”

Mentioning success without the odds was a classic swindler’s trick, meant to either take your life or your money.

Dong Rui glared daggers at Hee Lingchuan. This guy was truly ruthless, turning on him in an instant. They had just had a heart-to-heart conversation inside the jellyfish, and now that they were on shore, he was acting like a total stranger!

”Second Madam, you worry too much! We can run repeated experiments until we are absolutely certain of success before we try it on you!” he said cautiously. ”After all, your advantages are unparalleled, which other Demons lack. Just like all these many...”

’Offspring? Consumables?’

The surrounding swarm of spiders was eyeing him covetously. Who knew how many of them could understand human speech? He didn’t have the courage to continue.

Second Madam Zhu didn’t give it much thought and just waved a foreleg. This was her territory. She could go back on her word anytime, so there was nothing to agonize over.

Their leader had made a decision, so the spider swarm had no choice but to disperse resentfully.

Well, there went their chance to get a better meal today.

Second Madam Zhu pointed a foreleg at Dong Rui. ”Didn’t you want to experiment? Go on, then. Start now.”

’She’s an impatient one, isn’t she?’ Dong Rui gave a bitter smile. ”It’s not that fast. There are tests, preparations, and observations to be made. It will take two months at the very least...”

”Hm?” Second Madam Zhu’s foreleg gently tapped the ground, poking a hole more than three feet deep.

”...If I have your full cooperation, perhaps it can be shortened to about forty days.”

”What do you need?”

”A clean room to use as a laboratory. I’ll give you a list; have the herbs on it prepared according to my requirements. For the first batch, find me seven Spider Demons, ranging in strength from weakest to strongest.” Dong Rui switched into professional mode. ”Oh, and get me something to eat. I need meat, fish, and shrimp. Fish roe would be best—it’s food for the brain. And, uh, I’ll need some sweet berries, too.”

Man is iron, and food is steel. You can’t work hard on an empty stomach.

Second Madam Zhu stared at him for a long moment before asking a large, colorful spider beside her, ”Did you get all that?”

”Got it.”

”Then go do it.” ’My children are loyal, but they’re naturally a bit dense, not as clever as humans, alas.’

The crisis was temporarily averted. Dong Rui suddenly felt an unbearable pressure on his bladder and quickly found a deep patch of grass to relieve himself.

He was halfway through ”watering the plants” when someone came whistling over, stood right next to him, and started ”watering the flowers” too.

Who else could it be?

Dong Rui said coldly, ”You little mutt, you really shot yourself in the foot. Just you wait. I’ll make you beg for death and be denied!”

The drugs he carried alone were enough to kill this little brat a hundred times over.

Hee Lingchuan reminded him, ”You just swore an oath not to move against me before we get out of the swamp.”

Dong Rui chuckled. ”I don’t even have to do it myself. I just need to tell Second Madam Zhu that the experiment requires a human’s heart, liver, spleen, stomach, and kidneys. Then I can just sit back and watch you get dissected alive.”

Hee Lingchuan glanced behind them. Well now, three spiders were tailing them. Being watched by thirty-six pairs of eyes at once really showed how much Second Madam Zhu trusted them.

”And you think you can rest easy now?” Hee Lingchuan laughed. ”If you fail, how are you going to escape on your own?”

”...” Dong Rui was speechless. ”What, am I supposed to count on you?”

”Shouldn’t we at least be on the same page for now?” Hee Lingchuan sighed. ”Second Madam Zhu is a rare Ancient Great Demon. Her mind isn’t simple. Do you really think you can escape from her clutches so easily?”

”What did you say?” Dong Rui looked shocked, almost shaking so hard he wet himself. ”There are still Demons from Ancient Times?”

He calmed down in an instant. ”That’s just hearsay. You didn’t really inherit some ancestral records, did you? Legends from Ancient Times passed down to today are bound to be distorted.”

”You think I’m just saying things?” Hee Lingchuan’s expression was serious. ”I really do recognize her, and I know exactly why she was able to survive and didn’t disappear along with the Immortals.”

”Survived since Ancient Times... Survived since Ancient Times!” Dong Rui muttered a few times, a fanatical light in his eyes. He couldn’t help but rub his hands together in glee.

’This is bad,’ Hee Lingchuan thought. ’I shouldn’t have piqued his interest. He might decide to live in the swamp forever, single-mindedly focused on Second Madam Zhu.’

That would put him in danger.

Dong Rui was heard muttering to himself, ”This might be exactly what I’m looking for. The missing piece might...” He said a few more words that Hee Lingchuan couldn’t make out. ”...It’s all right here! This is a real light at the end of the tunnel! A light at the end of the tunnel!”

He impulsively pumped his fist, and Hee Lingchuan quickly dodged, afraid of getting splashed.

Ugh, so disgusting.

”Stop working against me, and I’ll spare your life!” Dong Rui said to Hee Lingchuan with a serious expression. ”We can go back to our own devices after we get out. But in here, we have to cooperate fully. Let’s both make a blood oath!”

”Fine!” Hee Lingchuan was always pragmatic. He couldn’t be bothered with Dong Rui’s tone and took the lead, making a heartfelt blood oath on his father’s life.

Seeing that his oath contained no empty words, Dong Rui made one as well.

Trapped in the enemy’s den, the two humans were forced to form an alliance.

They looked at each other and smiled, each filled with contempt for the other.

After finding some clean water to wash their hands, the two of them went to the spider swarm to ask for food.

This was the Earth Cave Spiders’ territory. It wouldn’t make sense for guests to hunt for their own food, would it?

Only then did Hee Lingchuan discover that the Earth Cave Spiders were truly a hardworking and simple Demon Race. Back in the Ghost Needle Stone Forest, they had run a Pasture, raising aphids like dairy cows. Now, living in the swamp, they even knew how to weave large nets to farm fish.

Their webs were impervious to water and fire and were astonishingly tough. They could take over an open stretch of water and set up cage aquaculture, specifically choosing three or four types of plump, herbivorous fish to raise.

Furthermore, the Spider Demons even had to post Guards to watch over the fish ponds in shifts, to prevent Flying Birds from coming to steal the fish.

Birds die for food. Unlucky water birds often ended up as a meal for the spiders because of this.

Hee Lingchuan also saw vast expanses of reeds in the swamp. They bowed in the wind, elegant and ethereal. It was beautiful, even though it wasn’t autumn.

Then he learned that the Earth Cave Spiders planted these too. The reed shoots were edible, and any leftovers could be used to feed the fish.

They really adapted to their environment. These Earth Cave Spiders had truly maxed out their farming skills.

A spider Guard ambled over to the fish pond and returned a short while later with several large fish, as well as some crabs and shellfish.

There was even a huge black fish, over a meter long and full of life. Who knows how long it had been stealing fat crucian carp in the net cages.

Looking at it, Hee Lingchuan dearly missed the Szechuan-style boiled fish seasonings from his family’s grand restaurant. Wasn’t black fish the best ingredient for making spicy boiled fish fillets?

Unfortunately, conditions in the swamp were crude. He and Dong Rui could only build a fire and roast everything.

The only saving grace was that his Storage Ring was never short on salt, cumin, and chili powder.

The fragrant aroma of fish filled the air. Hee Lingchuan picked up a piece of fish and silently turned his back to Dong Rui.

He just couldn’t eat while facing that guy’s face.