Li Qingjun wanted to step outside, probably for a quick break. With a large group of outsiders arriving, it was hard for her to just go off and do her business, so she sat back down by the campfire, holding it in. Qin Yi could only sit there looking dejected, enduring Li Qingjun's gaze, which was filled with disdain.
He just wanted to know if these people from the martial world would scare off the demons.
The campfire flickered as a group of martial artists casually entered, laughing and chatting loudly.
It was common for travelers to take shelter from the rain at a Taoist temple, so these martial artists didn’t pay much attention to Qin Yi and the others. They lingered a bit longer on the long spears of the Li siblings, and without fear, one of them chuckled, “Look at this pretty boy, playing with a spear.”
Qin Yi thought to himself, this is bad, but he saw Li Qingjun slowly munching on some dried food, ignoring the provocation.
Since she didn’t respond, the others didn’t push it further, just sneering and going back to their own conversations.
Qin Yi was a bit surprised to see Li Qingjun keeping her cool. She didn’t seem like the type to let things slide so easily...
Li Qingjun shot him a sideways glance and said, “Didn’t we agree you’d clear the spider webs? Why are you just sitting there?”
Qin Yi casually replied, “When it’s just us, we can clean up and make it nice. With all these outsiders around, why should I clean for them?”
“Pfft, who said we’re on the same side?” Li Qingjun spat, but she didn’t insist on cleaning the webs anymore. It seemed she also didn’t want to help these rude people.
Laughter and chatter from the martial artists drifted over.
“Did you hear? There’s a ghost haunting Zhang Family Village outside Hengshan County, the village head was harmed by it.”
“Ghost? Daoist Cangsong went to check and said there’s no ghost, the person just died of illness.”
“If Daoist Cangsong says there’s none, then there’s none.” One person nodded in agreement, “He’s a man of the way, can speak the truth and handle hot oil.”
“So it’s the Zhang family’s own fault for not doing good deeds and getting their comeuppance.”
The group agreed and laughed loudly, “Exactly! What’s so great about those rich families? Maybe we should rob them and help the poor next time.”
Li Qinglin sipped his drink, a slight smile on his face. Qin Yi knew what he was laughing at; it was a cold laugh. In this country, even the martial artists believed in gods and spirits, and tricks like handling hot oil could easily fool them. No wonder knowledgeable people felt dissatisfied.
Qin Yi felt even more anxious than Li Qinglin. With this loud group, they might provoke the demons nearby, but he couldn’t find a reason to stop them.
This wasn’t his place; why should he tell them to be quiet? Expecting martial artists to speak softly was unrealistic.
The martial artists changed the topic again, “About the Lin family…”
Someone quickly replied, “They deserved it! The national master wanted the blazing fire stone but couldn’t find it anywhere. That old man from the Lin family had it but dared to hide it.”
“That was for the King of Martial Virtue to make a longevity pill, right? Last time it was the purple grass, and they searched everywhere, causing a lot of complaints. I say the old man did the right thing, he shouldn’t help that foolish king.”
“What do you know? Whether the foolish king lives or dies has nothing to do with us. The national master is a true immortal, someone we can’t offend!”
“Hey… how could a true immortal make pills for a foolish king?”
Li Qinglin was still laughing, but Li Qingjun couldn’t hold back any longer and angrily said, “The purple grass and blazing fire stone are all because of the national master! Why don’t you blame him instead of the king?”
One of the martial artists looked at her sideways and said, “Isn’t it the king who asked the national master to make pills? Why would a true immortal bother with such things? The local officials use these names to extort money, is that also the national master’s doing? Isn’t the root of the problem with the king?”
Li Qingjun wanted to argue back, but Li Qinglin handed her a piece of cake, “Eat something.”
So, she held back her anger and started eating the cake. But the martial artists didn’t let her off easy. A big man mocked, “Oh, even eating a cake looks so delicate. Are you a little rabbit from the capital? No wonder you’re speaking up for the king.”
Seeing Li Qingjun’s face turning purple from holding it in, Qin Yi suddenly said, “I advise everyone to watch your words.”
Someone scoffed, “What? Are you going to report us?”
Laughter erupted, shaking the walls, and dust fell from the ceiling, landing on the spider webs.
Qin Yi said calmly, “Don’t blame me for not warning you. You can laugh even louder.”
The man who mocked Li Qingjun stood up, laughing loudly, “I’m laughing, what are you going to do about it?”
Before he could finish, his laughter suddenly stopped, as if it had been cut off. Everyone saw a small spider drop from the beam, landing right in his open mouth. The big man turned pale.
“Big brother!” The crowd panicked, rushing to support him. The big man bent over, trying to spit out the spider, but nothing came out, only dry heaving. Even Qin Yi felt nauseous listening to it.
Li Qingjun quietly asked Qin Yi, “Was that your doing?”
Qin Yi whispered back, “No, there’s likely a demon hiding here. Be careful.”
Li Qingjun’s expression changed, “You stopped me from dealing with the spider webs and from going outside…”
“Yeah.”
Li Qingjun fell silent.
The martial artists also didn’t dare to speak loudly anymore. After Qin Yi warned them, they had just seen someone eat a spider, making them feel uneasy, and they forgot about provoking Li Qingjun. The big man covered his throat and headed for the back door, wanting to rinse his mouth with rainwater.
As he rounded the altar of the temple, his eyes suddenly lit up, “There’s a huge coral tree at the back door!”
Qin Yi and Li Qinglin exchanged glances. They had looked around when they first entered and hadn’t seen any coral tree. Qin Yi figured it must be a trap set by the demon, and now they were being lured in.
Catching people and catching insects is essentially the same, just using bait to attract them.
The group of martial artists rushed toward the back door, and Li Qingjun couldn’t help but shout, “Don’t go out! It’s a trap!”
But no one listened to her. In the courtyard behind the door stood a beautiful tree, glowing in the night rain, incredibly tempting. The big man was the first to rush outside, reaching out to touch the tree, “It really is coral, such a big coral tree…”
Since he touched it and nothing happened, no one listened to Li Qingjun anymore. The group rushed forward, their eyes filled with greed.
Li Qingjun stood by the altar, watching the scene unfold. She saw the big man’s eyes, ears, nose, and mouth suddenly oozing white threads, creating a very eerie sight, yet the people around him seemed oblivious.
The sight of white threads oozing from a person's seven orifices was truly disgusting, and Li Qingjun covered her mouth, nearly throwing up.
In the next moment, the white threads surged, as if thousands of white lights were bursting from every pore of the big man, wrapping around everyone nearby tightly, turning them into several human-shaped white cocoons. The big man transformed into a spider monster the size of a cart.
His body was still that of a spider, but a human face had grown on his head, with protruding fangs, looking fierce and terrifying.
There was no coral tree; it was just a crooked, dead tree covered in spider webs. The beautiful colors that had seemed so enticing were now revealed to be the rotting flesh of rats and cockroaches.
Li Qinglin remained silent, sipping his drink. Li Qingjun stood to the side, watching the whole thing, gripping her spear tightly, her hands slightly trembling, showing her fear of the spider demon.
A tiger demon still looks like a tiger, but this giant spider with a human face felt completely different and was very unsettling.
Qin Yi also felt disgusted and creeped out.
A voice echoed in his mind, “You have two choices. The first is that this demon still has a connection with us; as long as we don’t disturb it, we can coexist peacefully and maybe even gain some friendship. But I suggest you choose the second option. This demon has taken on a human face, and its powers are quite interesting. This is a sign that it is about to reach a significant breakthrough. If it absorbs all these people, it might evolve and create a demon core. Then we can kill it and take the core…”
Before the voice finished, Li Qingjun took a deep breath, her spear ready, charging straight at the spider demon, “Demon, don’t harm anyone!”
(End of Chapter)