Where Immortals Once Walked

Before they had fallen asleep, they were still in the main channel of the Han River, being battered downstream by a violent, raging current.

But now, the two of them, along with the giant jellyfish, seemed to be drifting through a swamp. Dense, lush aquatic jungle surrounded them on all sides. Tall trunks and tight, interwoven branches formed a roof so thick they only caught glimpses of sky the size of a palm now and then.

A few dragonflies buzzed past the jellyfish, each one longer than his middle finger.

The waterway the jellyfish traveled was sometimes narrow, sometimes broad, changing without any obvious pattern.

Wait, hold on.

We’re already deep inside a swamp now, and the water’s calm. There isn’t much wind, and there aren’t any waves, so why is the jellyfish still moving forward at a steady pace?

Dong Rui expressionlessly pointed downward.

He Lingchuan looked and was surprised at what he saw.

The giant jellyfish was not drifting with the current at all. It had a different source of propulsion.

Beneath it was a tangled mass of eels, packed so tightly they looked like a living net. There were at least several dozen of them, and even the thinnest of the lot was as thick as a fist, and the biggest one had a waist like a bucket, making it something that one could easily mistake for a python.

He Lingchuan’s mind immediately went to one of his favorite dishes, specifically sizzling eel slices in oil[1]. Hiss. If all these eels were thrown into a wok, how many platters could I get? That aroma, that heat, that rich sheen—

He was busy craving their bodies; the eel-clump, meanwhile, seemed to have less than friendly intentions toward them. Some eels pulled from the front, some shoved from the back, dragging the jellyfish deeper into the swamp forest without slowing in the slightest.

When he had first woken, He Lingchuan had not looked closely. He had actually thought it was just weeds brushing past beneath them.

“Where have we drifted to? And where are these eels taking us?”

Also, now that he paid attention, he noticed that it was not dark at all beneath the water. There was a faint light seeping up from below.

“And how am I supposed to know the answer to that?” Dong Rui snapped, still annoyed. If he had woken earlier and managed to kill this damn guy, would he not have already slipped ashore and escaped?

He Lingchuan rubbed his nose. “I need to pee.” He had been holding it for over twenty hours at this point. He wanted the kind of glorious relief that made a man feel reborn.

Dong Rui went rigid. “Not in here! Wait until we’re out!” We’re stuck sealed inside the same enclosed water sphere right now! Can’t you have even a shred of decency?

He Lingchuan drew Fleeting Life in one smooth motion. “Among these eels, it looks like there’s only one proper monster, and it doesn’t even look very strong.” In other words, he was saying that it would be easy to handle the eels that were dragging them around.

Dong Rui suddenly made a sound. “Hey, look! There are buildings up ahead!”

In the washed-down daylight filtering through the canopy, they saw a long sandy shoal ahead. On the shore, clusters of structures built from stone and shells connected into a continuous stretch, the tallest rising three stories high.

However, these houses looked like they had been abandoned for ages. Now, grass and vines were the only tenants.

The reason as to how Dong Rui had managed to spot them so quickly was largely because the roofs were decorated with clam shells. The paint inside those shells caught the light and reflected it sharply, making them eye-catching even from a distance.

He Lingchuan was about to slice open the jellyfish and swim up for a closer look when the clump of eels suddenly climbed up onto the jellyfish itself, swarmed across it, and wrapped it completely. Then, with a hard tug, they dragged it down into deeper water!

“Wait. It looks like they’re taking us somewhere.” Dong Rui’s curiosity was stronger than He Lingchuan’s sense of urgency. “Hold it in for now.”

He Lingchuan muttered, “Other than their dinner table, where else would they be taking us?”

Even so, he kept his saber for the moment, because once their angle shifted underwater, visibility actually improved.

The bottom of the swamp was carpeted in fine, slender water grass, creating what looked like an enormous underwater meadow. Its fruit were shaped like pearls and actually glowed with a dim, deep blue, attracting schools of fish that darted and played through the light like children.

He Lingchuan even saw a few turtles paddling clumsily past. The ecosystem was thriving.

But as the clump of eels dragged them deeper, He Lingchuan began to see more shell-and-stone buildings, ones that were identical to those on shore.

However, the underwater settlement was far larger, composed of at least two to three thousand buildings, and the architectural styles were richer and more elaborate, with a strong exotic flair. Under the glow of the water-grass pearls, it looked so beautiful that it almost did not feel real.

The tallest structures rose five stories or more, grand enough to be called monumental. The jellyfish drifted past the eaves of one of those tall buildings, close enough that He Lingchuan could make out shell reliefs and weathered carvings.

Of course, it went without saying that this was not a human city. It was an aquatic habitat with fish, shrimp, crabs, and shellfish everywhere, moving in and out like busy townsfolk.

Even Dong Rui sounded genuinely shocked. “There’s a whole city hidden under the swamp?”

He Lingchuan pointed forward. “If we don’t leave now, we won’t get the chance.”

Ahead of them was a black mass that resembled a mouth. That was probably the eels’ destination. The two had no intention of staying around to find out what it was.

Sightseeing was over. He Lingchuan turned his blade and cut a long slit across the top of the giant jellyfish.

Its skin looked translucent and fragile, but it was surprisingly tough. Even using Fleeting Life, it felt like cutting heavy canvas. He was met with rough resistance, not the clean slice that he had originally expected to perform. It was no wonder the jellyfish had survived being pummeled by rapids and waves for so long without breaking apart, and why curious river creatures along the way had not managed to puncture it either.

The two of them wriggled out through the opening and kicked upward hard, fighting for the surface.

The eels realized two prey had escaped. Most of them continued towing the jellyfish, but thirty to forty peeled off and gave chase, flashing their sharp teeth as they snapped at the two men, trying to force them to turn back.

These things had mouths full of sharp teeth. Their bites were vicious—one nip, one chunk of flesh.

Dong Rui took a bite on the ass and yelped, pain shooting so hard his leg went numb. More eels surged after them, and that python-sized monster was joining in, too. He Lingchuan did not hesitate to reach into his robe and pull something out, which he then scattered directly into the water.

Dong Rui saw a pale yellow cloud bloom around them. The pursuing eels reacted as if struck by lightning and instantly scattered in panic, fleeing in every direction without daring to look back.

What in the world did he just scatter? Why is it so effective?

A dozen breaths later, the two of them broke the surface and crawled onto the long sandy shoal.

The moment they were out, Dong Rui asked, “What did you throw into the water?” Because of his profession, he had a constant, avid curiosity about powders and pills.

“An aromatic repellent.” He Lingchuan held out his hand. “Now, where’s the antidote? Give it to me.”

“The anti—” Dong Rui remembered the lie he had blurted out while he was suffocating. “Oh, uh...”

He had told He Lingchuan the fluid inside the jellyfish was poisonous.

“It’s not poisonous.”

“So you tricked me?” He Lingchuan cracked his knuckles slowly.

“Wait, wait!” Dong Rui suddenly pointed behind He Lingchuan. “Hey, hey, turn around! There’s a spider monster!”

“Pig[2] your—” He Lingchuan snapped, but the words died halfway, because behind Dong Rui, round, plump shapes were emerging from the abandoned buildings too.

It was not pigs, but spiders.

The smallest were only the size of oranges, but the biggest were as large as millstones.

He Lingchuan whipped around and saw them coming from all directions, swarming over grass and rubble, encircling the two of them in the center. The sound of countless legs brushing through leaves made his scalp prickle.

No, another correction.

The spiders varied wildly in size, and two giant spiders pushed out from behind tall grass, each bigger than an adult wild ox.

Each of their eight long legs bristled with stiff hairs like weapons, radiating killing intent.

However, He Lingchuan could not help but feel something strange. Hm? Why do they feel so familiar?

Dong Rui’s eyes flicked around frantically. “That aromatic repellent or whatever, use it again!”

There were way too many spiders here. There had to at least be several thousand of them!

If he remembered correctly, burrow spiders had divisions like ants. Some of them spat acid, some specialized in binding and capture, and some carried venom. They were a nightmare to deal with.

In the blink of an eye, the ground, trees, and vines were covered in spiders.

Anyone with trypophobia[3] would faint on the spot.

“It’s damp.” The incense balls that he had gotten from the Hongya Route sand bandits had been soaked when he scattered them in the water. They would not be as effective as they usually were now that they were damp.

He Lingchuan calculated quickly.

If I bolt back toward the water right now, what are the odds I actually make it?

He could still remember that these spiders had been able to cast webs back inside his dream. If they netted him mid-jump and yanked him down, then there was simply no way he was going to make it back into the water.

Amateur! Dong Rui cursed silently. He was about to pull out some method to poison the swarm when, from within the tallest building, a massive figure emerged.

It descended along broken walls and collapsed beams. Despite its enormous size, its movement was unnervingly nimble, and it landed without a sound.

The mismatch of a huge body yet swift, silent motion made it feel like a ghost.

Dong Rui pointed a shaking finger at it and choked out, “T-the spider queen! Damn it, this is a burrow spider nest!”

Yes. Now, He Lingchuan understood why they looked familiar.

He had seen their kin before, back in the Guizhen Stone Forest.

As the spider queen slipped through mottled shadows and stepped onto the sandy shoal, its cold, eerie voice rang out, “I’ve been eating fish for too long. Changing flavors once in a while won’t hurt.” It finally revealed its true form.

He Lingchuan took one look and blurted, “Zhu Erniang!”

This spider queen was especially thick-set. It was so large that it was like a small house. Its eight legs looked more like massive pincers, as if someone had taken a coconut crab and scaled it up into a terrifying, reinforced monstrosity. Twelve huge eyes gleamed across its head, each one black and glossy.

Its entire body was covered in hard, bristling hair that made it look vicious, almost evil.

And yet it was beautiful too, because on its abdomen was a naturally formed star map, exquisite and magnificent, as if an entire skyful of stars had been pressed into its flesh.

Unfortunately, by the time most people got close enough to admire that pattern, they were already near death.

He Lingchuan recognized that star map. It belonged to Zhu Erniang!

Yes, this was the powerful spider queen who ruled the burrow spider den in Guizhen Stone Forest, the same one who, in reality, had once killed Panlong City’s General Nanke.

He had never imagined that after leaving that spider den, he would meet Zhu Erniang again in the real world.

A span of more than a hundred and fifty years lay between those encounters.

What kind of cursed, twisted fate was this?

I’m screwed. With Zhu Erniang here, there really is no way I’m going to be able to escape by water.

How am I supposed to run now?

Zhu Erniang had been drooling over the two “fresh pieces of meat.” At his shout, she stopped. All twelve of her eyes locked onto He Lingchuan at once. “You know me?”

“I...” Of course, he knew her. Back then, in the den, they had faced each other just like this. But back then, Zhu Erniang had been furious. After all, he had set a fire that destroyed the underground farm she had cultivated so painstakingly. His brain went into overdrive as he lied smoothly without blinking, “My honored ancestor once had the fortune to see you in Guizhen Stone Forest. He was deeply shaken, and he recorded the experience in a book for his descendants. He specifically mentioned the brilliant constellation pattern on your abdomen!”

“Oh?” Zhu Erniang sounded intrigued. “What did your ancestor do?”

“He lived in Wutu Town and traveled as a merchant through the Panlong Wasteland. He often had to stop in Guizhen Stone Forest along the way. You kept the burrow spiders under control and forbade them from eating humans, which was a tremendous convenience for traveling merchants. My ancestor always remembered your grace with deep gratitude!”

He was making things up as he went, his face sincere enough to fool a god.

Dong Rui watched from the side and almost believed him.

Almost.

After all, he knew how slippery the He father and son could be.

Still, the two of them were now trapped in a spider nest, and He Lingchuan’s approach was the best they had.

There had to be thousands of spiders nearby. With just two men and four hands, they could not possibly fight their way out.

“If not, how could someone as young as me call your name the moment we meet?” General Nanke’s entire unit had been wiped out by this very greater spider monster. Eating the two of them would be effortless for her. He Lingchuan kept talking, kept praising, kept stalling, and kept thinking.

1. This is a relatively well-known dish in China, featuring tender, often shredded eel flash-cooked with hot oil, garlic, chilies, and aromatic herbs like chives or basil, creating a crispy, savory, and fragrant experience typically served with rice or noodles. Here’s an example image ☜

2. Note that spider and pig are homophones in Chinese. ☜

3. If you’re wondering, the raws did specifically say trypophobia, which is valid, though arachnophobia would have probably been a lot more intuitive in comparison. ☜