Chapter 345: Second Mother's Fury

To protect her lair from being raided, Madam Zhu Er had sealed the cave entrance with a three-layered spiderweb when she left the underground palace to fight the two monsters. Even her own offspring couldn't squeeze through without getting stuck.

However, by the light filtering in from outside, He Lingchuan could see figures moving beyond the spiderweb.

Tu Zhongli and his men had arrived carrying wide wooden planks, which they had removed from large carts. They then inserted these planks vertically into the spiderweb, one by one, where they stuck. This allowed people to walk between the planks, with some effort but without touching the web.

To prevent their hands and feet from getting stuck, they, like Old Six, scattered sand and dirt onto the spiderweb until the pristine white web was completely covered in a yellowish-brown color. After testing it with a knife, they boldly ventured in.

Considering the time, Old Six and his men had been inside for too long, and it was unknown what trouble they had encountered. After all, this was a notorious monster's lair, so Tu Zhongli had to go in to support them.

However, only four or five of these bandits had ventured in when they came face to face with He Lingchuan and Dong Rui.

"Hi!" He Lingchuan waved at them. "What took you so long?"

"What's going on?" Tu Zhongli's gaze shifted uneasily. "Where's Old Six? What are you doing here?"

"Waiting for you, of course." He Lingchuan shrugged. "Old Six is lonely in the wine cellar, waiting for you to join him."

As soon as the words "wine cellar" were uttered, Tu Zhongli knew their secret was out. He fiercely snarled "Kill!" and was the first to charge forward, raising his saber to strike.

Before He Lingchuan could act, the red spider on his shoulder leaped first. Tu Zhongli reacted quickly; seeing a red blur darting towards him, he instinctively dodged. As a result, the bandit standing behind him was struck in the face, letting out a short "Ah!" and collapsing, convulsing.

Among Tu Zhongli's group was a spellcaster who, without hesitation, spewed out a burst of true fire.

His skill was considerable; the flames were over three feet long and blue, indicating ample power. An ordinary spider, if roasted like this, would at least be crisp.

But what kind of creature was the red spider? Its silk was impervious to both water and fire, so this ordinary fire was merely a warm bath to it.

It didn't dodge or evade, and once again attacked directly. However, the spellcaster was equipped with two amulets, which activated and repelled the small red spider.

Dong Rui pulled a golden bell from somewhere and jingled it. The spellcaster immediately felt dizzy; his spell chant stopped halfway, and the red spider bit him on the lip, causing him to cry out in agony.

Meanwhile, Tu Zhongli had already engaged He Lingchuan in close combat, cursing, "I kindly tried to recruit you, why are you betraying me?!"

'Because you have no chance, brother,' He Lingchuan silently thought.

He noticed that this bandit leader possessed considerable combat power and a well-defined fighting style. There was a ruthless efficiency in his movements, as if he had military experience.

Military combat training emphasizes lethal techniques, focusing on speed, accuracy, and ruthlessness, without many elaborate flourishes.

Tu Zhongli, however, was in a tough spot. This mysteriously appearing opponent's blade work was strange; it seemed to weave invisible currents of energy with each strike, trapping him. The opponent was clearly stronger than him, and if he stayed any longer, he would be like a trapped animal.

Just then, several spider guards, all burly and stout, suddenly appeared at the end of the passage!

Tu Zhongli had no mind to continue fighting. He feigned an axe swing, then threw out something that looked like neither sand nor mist, and turned to flee.

He Lingchuan raised his leg to pursue, but even the red spider on his shoulder didn't notice him quietly tossing a small item into a corner of the passage, into a small recess behind the underground palace exit.

The spiders in the underground palace didn't notice either. After the golden bell rang, a spider guard emerged from Dong Rui's workshop and made its way along the path toward the monster lair's exit.

Since they were all spiders, and this spider guard was of a higher rank, none of them blocked its path.

The bandits outside heard the commotion in the cave and dared not venture further in. Tu Zhongli swiftly rushed out of the cave; hearing his subordinates' screams from behind, he didn't dare look back. He led the remaining men to climb the tree roots and escape the sinkhole.

At this time, King Siwen and Lord Boshan were still bravely fighting Madam Zhu Er, but signs of defeat were already showing. King Siwen, being the least cunning, seeing the bandits fleeing, eagerly called out, "What happened?"

They had paid such a high price, even breaking ties with Madam Zhu Er, the swamp overlord. Wasn't it all for a certain outcome?

The bandits didn't answer, only focusing on climbing the vines.

He Lingchuan and the red spider pursued relentlessly. Consequently, the bandits falling behind collapsed one after another.

Dong Rui stopped after exiting the sinkhole. As a monster puppeteer, his speed and strength were inferior to He Lingchuan's, so he conveniently slipped away to the hillside.

As he walked, he jingled the golden bell a few times. The sound penetrated the underground palace's spiderweb, reaching the ears of the spider guard puppet.

It arrived at the underground palace entrance and stopped.

Meanwhile, Lord Boshan didn't hear the answer he wanted, and fearing that the bandits might have succeeded but then been caught, he decisively abandoned Madam Zhu Er and turned to pursue He Lingchuan and the bandits.

King Siwen, fighting Madam Zhu Er alone, was under immense pressure. It genuinely held on for a while, but then the spider's venom took effect, causing dizziness and confusion. It felt as though Madam Zhu Er's eyes had multiplied into seventeen or eighteen.

'If this continues, I'll die,' King Siwen finally let out a howl and turned to flee.

Its descendants quickly followed suit.

After this chaotic battle, six or seven wild boars of its clan lay dead on the spot, a considerable loss.

Madam Zhu Er thought for a moment and abandoned King Siwen to pursue Lord Boshan. 'This wretched snake is full of treachery and poses a greater threat to me. Let the foolish pig live for now; I'll deal with it later.'

Meanwhile, after pursuing them to the ruins of the Gana tribe, He Lingchuan changed direction and darted into a shell house.

The red spider urged him, "Keep going! Why did you stop?"

He Lingchuan ignored it, simply pressing himself against a wall.

Just two or three breaths later, a massive creature rushed past the side of the house, sending fallen leaves scattering with a whoosh.

He Lingchuan peeked out the window and saw Lord Boshan's retreating back.

Its speed was immense.

He had no deep-seated grudge against these great swamp monsters, so why would he pursue them relentlessly?

Of course, even if he didn't pursue, someone else would.

A few more breaths passed, and Madam Zhu Er's colossal figure also arrived. Just as she was about to pass through the ruins to chase Lord Boshan, a spider demon suddenly emerged from the underground palace entrance, hissing with extreme urgency.

He Lingchuan couldn't hear its voice, but Madam Zhu Er's massive body suddenly came to a screeching halt. Her eight legs pivoted, and her head came to rest by the shell house window. Her voice was filled with an impending storm of rage:

"Who stole my shed skin!"

Her rage caused her body to visibly expand, and her eyes seemed to bulge even more.

"Huh?" The theft of the shed skin had been discovered so quickly by the small spiders in the underground palace? He Lingchuan looked directly into her suddenly crimson eyes, showing only confusion, no fear. "I put your shed skin back in its original place, didn't you see it with your own eyes?" As he spoke, he pointed to the red spider on his shoulder.

This red spider was a small clone of Madam Zhu Er, and they shared vision. So Madam Zhu Er had, of course, seen everything He Lingchuan did in the display room.

"One of the shed skins is missing!"

He Lingchuan was even more surprised. "We've been together the whole time; it definitely wasn't me who stole the shed skin. Besides, how big are your shed skins? Who could even move them out!"

Each shed skin was a circle larger than Madam Zhu Er's current size. Besides herself, no one knew how such a large item could pass through the narrow passages of the underground palace. Most existing storage rings had small capacities, with occasional exceptions being negligible. Even the immortal ring in He Lingchuan's possession couldn't hold an entire shed skin.

'Wait, there's one more person who knows—' He Lingchuan had a sudden realization at the opportune moment. "That's it! Could it be Lord Boshan who sent snake demons to sneak in a second time? Look at him, he didn't say a word and slipped away so quickly," unlike King Siwen, who foolishly and honestly asked if they had succeeded.

Madam Zhu Er's claw tips fiercely gouged the ground.

"Lord Boshan!"

She had personally seen the snakeskin sack that could hold a shed skin. If Lord Boshan could create one, who's to say he couldn't create a second?!

'He used the bandits as bait to distract the spider horde. He must have actually sent smaller snakes in to steal!'

'What a clever trick, luring the spider away!' Madam Zhu Er let out a long howl and strode rapidly to pursue Lord Boshan.

She moved with lightning speed. He Lingchuan saw tiny blood-red spots appearing on the giant spider's body and knew Madam Zhu Er's rage had been completely ignited; she absolutely had to seek "justice" from Lord Boshan.

'But Lord Boshan can't provide it...' He Lingchuan sighed and instinctively patted the divine bone necklace on his chest.

'It's fine, as long as it's not me who's unlucky.'

To avoid suspicion, it wasn't appropriate for him to return to the underground palace now.

He turned his head and saw Steward Zhao and his men, who had been hiding behind the hillside woods, being driven out by the spider guards. Dong Rui was also following behind them.

These appeared to be legitimate merchants. They also knew that there was an illusionary mist around the monster lair's swamp, and their travel flag had been taken by Tu Zhongli. They couldn't get out either way and dared not stray far.

The wild boars and snakes near the monster lair had all fled. As the spiders cleared the battlefield, they also cleared these people out.

Spiders of all sizes surrounded them. Although their eyes showed no change, Steward Zhao could sense a fierce killing intent from their restless movements.

This group of spider demons was furious and wished they could suck them dry.

Just as Steward Zhao was feeling apprehensive, He Lingchuan walked over, and the surrounding spiders moved aside.

Steward Zhao, of course, didn't know He Lingchuan was merely 'borrowing prestige,' and that the spider guards were deferring to the red spider on his shoulder. He only thought this man was deeply trusted by the Spider Queen. He immediately dropped to his knees and tremblingly said, "Your Excellency, please see clearly! We were also victims; these bandits killed our master!"

As he knelt, the dozen or so people behind him all knelt as well.

"What is your master's surname, exactly?"

"Gan!" Steward Zhao replied. "Our master's surname is Gan."

"Why were you with the bandits?" He Lingchuan asked, then suddenly said, "Wait," and turned to instruct the spider guards, "Go bring out the prisoner from the wine cellar."

The spider guards, receiving instructions from the red spider, carried them out.

A short while later, Old Six, the bandit, was dragged out by two spider guards and thrown onto the open ground.

He was wrapped in spiderweb like a zongzi, unable to even bend his knees. The spiders peeled off the web from his face, revealing a terrified expression.

Looking at the surrounding spiders, he immediately understood his predicament. He answered all of He Lingchuan's questions, behaving very obediently.

Combining the answers from both sides, He Lingchuan pieced together a rough understanding:

Sure enough, all of this was Lord Boshan's plot. Madam Zhu Er hadn't chased the wrong person—no, not the wrong snake.