Where Immortals Once Walked

Chapter 729: Zhu Erniang’s Escape Route

Now that the mission was complete, Dong Rui could barely keep his eyes open.

Zhu Erniang spoke at just the right moment, “The little ones have already cleaned the two houses in the middle. Choose whichever one you like.”

She had arrived several days earlier and had nothing else to do.

He Lingchuan immediately bowed to her. “Lady Two, you truly are my good Lady Two!”

That night, the starry sky was like a painting.

He Lingchuan said to Dong Rui, “Tell me about Xunyang Sandbar.”

“Once you go past Rongshan[1] territory to the northwest, if you keep going for another fifteen kilometers or so, you’ll be there. For many years, it’s been a lawless no-man’s-land. Merchants buy and sell all sorts of strange things there, tax-free. I’ve been there many times.”

“I heard there are quite a few temples there too?”

“As I said, it’s a no-man’s-land.”

“No-man’s-land between whom?”

“Rongshan doesn’t govern it, Baling doesn’t govern it, and Yuan doesn’t govern it either,” Dong Rui explained. “Xunyang Sandbar isn’t large, and its borders are always shifting. Whoever tries to manage it gets all the trouble and none of the thanks.”

“Sounds good.” He Lingchuan smiled. “Once you’re rested, we’ll set out.”

Most of the houses in the abandoned village had been buried halfway by years of accumulated snow, and their doors could not even be pushed open. Only two houses stood out, because the snow on their doors, windows, and roofs had all been cleared away.

Dong Rui impatiently picked one of the houses. Sure enough, the inside had already been cleaned, and a thick layer of dry grass had been spread over the heated brick bed.

He first took off the backpack carrying his monster puppet and set it down safely. Then he pulled out his bedding and thick cloak, collapsed onto the bed—

He fell asleep in three seconds.

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

Winter woods were actually quite dry. He casually gathered a large bundle and carried it first to Dong Rui’s room.

Amid the man’s thunderous snoring, He Lingchuan lit the fire pit, and the room soon grew warm as spring.

Only then did He Lingchuan take the snail toad out of his pack and place it on a long bench by the fire. This kind of creature liked warmth and moisture and hated the cold. The bat monster puppet in the sky also descended, scratched the door open on its own, and came inside.

He had originally intended to return to his own room and boil some water, but then he saw burrow spiders going back and forth without entering the village, and he could not help but grow curious.

He followed them and discovered that behind the village there was an enormous cave, about sixteen meters high. Its depth was unclear, but no wind blew from within, so it was probably a cave with no other exit.

This was the true base camp of the burrow spiders. Zhu Erniang had already hidden several molts inside and had sealed the cave entrance with thick spiderwebs, leaving only a single passage in and out.

Each molt was huge, so human houses could not hold them at all.

Besides, after finally recovering the immortal molt, she would only feel at ease if she kept it under her own eyes.

The burrow spiders were quite friendly toward He Lingchuan and led him into the cave. Only then did he discover that the webbing blocking the cave entrance had been arranged with care. It was divided into several layers inside and out, with gaps left between each layer. It kept out the wind while still allowing air to circulate. If enemies attacked, the spiders only needed to add a little weaving, and they could seal the passage completely.

The cave was deep and dark. Originally, there had been cracks leading underground, but the spiders had blocked them with stones, then padded them over with webbing to create an enclosed space. Who knew what means Zhu Erniang had used, but the temperature inside the cave was far higher than the frozen world outside. So He Lingchuan was not at all surprised to see a thick fungal carpet inside.

As well as aphid cattle grazing on that fungal mat.

“Why are these aphid cattle so thin?” Compared with the aphid cattle he had seen in the Demon Nest, these had slimmed down by at least two whole sizes. At the moment, they were lying on the fungal mat and eating ravenously.

Zhu Erniang walked over from behind him. “After leaving Demon Nest Swamp, they rarely had the chance to feed. It’s already good that they survived.”

These aphid cattle were a food source for the burrow spiders, but along the way, they had never had the chance to grow properly.

“I’ve already heard about what you did at Mount Xu.”

It seemed the spider sisters had held a very thorough exchange.

He Lingchuan put on a shameless smile. “I braved untold dangers to bring your immortal molt back. Surely there should be some reward?”

In truth, the reward had already been paid in advance. Before setting out, he had basically taken what he was owed.

Zhu Erniang looked at him with who knew which eye. “You stole one of my shed molts earlier. I won’t pursue that matter. Consider it your reward.”

He Lingchuan looked embarrassed.

Back then, when Mountain Monarch Bo and King Si Wen had joined forces to attack the spider den, He Lingchuan had taken the opportunity to steal one spider molt and feed it to the divine bone amulet.

Afterward, Zhu Erniang would certainly have figured out who the real thief was. There was no point in arguing. It would only create unnecessary cracks between them.

Zhu Erniang continued, “However, the immortal molt is extremely important to me. I can give you something extra.”

He Lingchuan chuckled. Working for Zhu Erniang really was profitable.

“Wait a little while.”

That much patience, He Lingchuan still had. “By the way, where will you go from here?”

Demon Nest Swamp’s no longer safe. Where would Zhu Erniang and her whole massive family settle down?

Zhu Erniang had clearly thought about this long ago. “I want to leave by sea from White Sand Bay and go to the State of Mou!”

“The State of Mou?” He Lingchuan was moved. “That’s a very long journey.”

Right now, they were west of Beijia, while the State of Mou lay east of Beijia. For this move, Zhu Erniang would have to cross an entire great empire by ship.

“Beijia’s power does not extend there.” Zhu Erniang knew perfectly well that Lingxu City would never let them go, so she had to leave Beijia’s sphere of influence. “I remember there are still vast lands in eastern Mou. There are several great canyons there, very suitable for building a den.”

If she wanted to leave, there was indeed no one who could stop her. He Lingchuan sighed. “Then I fear it will be hard to meet again.”

“That would be best.”

He Lingchuan was not sure whether she was joking. He rubbed his nose and asked, “By the way, have you ever heard the name Naluotian?”

Zhu Erniang thought carefully for quite a long while before answering, “No.”

Hearing that, He Lingchuan then could not help but wonder if Naluotian was even any good at all. After all, even an ancient monster immortal did not recognize its name.

At that moment, a burrow spider crawled through the depths of the cave, and He Lingchuan felt something strange the moment he looked at it.

In his eyes, the creature’s shape was unusually blurred, as though a layer of frosted glass stood between them.

“Hm? What’s that?” He pointed it out to Zhu Erniang. “Something strange has mixed in among your descendants.”

But Zhu Erniang’s plump body did not move at all, as though she already knew the thing posed no threat.

“That is the mirage monster. It doesn’t like outsiders and doesn’t want to come out to meet you.” Zhu Erniang said lazily, “Demon Nest Swamp can no longer be lived in, so it decided to leave with me.”

If Beijia decided to campaign against Zhu Erniang, the monsters in Demon Nest might well be dragged into the disaster with her.

“So that’s the mirage monster?” He Lingchuan was startled. “I thought the mirage monster’s true body would be some huge clam shell spitting water.”

One important reason Demon Nest Swamp was so mysterious and unfathomable was that a mirage monster lived there, wrapping the swamp in layer upon layer of fog and isolating it from the world. Humans and animals that entered typically lost their way and died.

He Lingchuan had not expected Zhu Erniang to persuade the mirage monster to leave with her.

“I’ve never seen its true form either.” Zhu Erniang suddenly sensed something was off. “Wait, how can you see that there’s something unusual about it?”

1. This could have also been translated as Mount Rong, but as that name has already been used in the past, though using different characters, I’ve opted for this. Still, the bigger reason for this name choice is that Rongshan seems to be more of an official territory. ☜