Chapter 769: Whose Fault Is It After All?

He saw Dong Rui’s generosity, tossing out two taels of silver without a hint of reluctance.

Dong Rui chuckled, "I don't have any, but you do."

Ever since wearing the mask provided by the Frost Leaf National Master, he no longer needed to cover his face when venturing into the city. He could now enjoy tea and meals without having to hide in a secluded corner.

This was the life he had always wanted.

He Lingchuan’s hand paused. "I have money, but what's that got to do with you?"

"How many favors do you owe me?" Dong Rui said leisurely. "Do you want me to list them out for you, one by one?"

He Lingchuan was speechless.

Indeed, he had acquired divine bones and divine blood from Dong Rui, and even borrowed two of his demonic puppets for the Void Mountain Project. It was safe to say that without Dong Rui's assistance, he wouldn't have been able to reclaim the divine artifact.

He truly owed an enormous debt of gratitude.

Seldom seeing him at a loss for words, Dong Rui became even more delighted. "Hand over the money! I'm running low here. Let's start with a thousand taels."

He Lingchuan promptly handed him a thousand-tael silver note.

Dong Rui immediately summoned a waiter and tossed him a silver ingot. "I'm in a good mood today, so I'm treating everyone here to tea, plus an extra dish of dried fruit for each! And you, storyteller, give us a few more exciting tales!"

Hearing such good news, the guests in the teahouse stood up one after another and thanked him.

Dong Rui burst into loud laughter, practically having "carried away" written all over his face.

Once his laughter subsided and the surrounding chatter quieted, He Lingchuan spoke, a forced smile on his face. "You can play around all you want, that's fine. But I must warn you, too much generosity isn't always a good thing. If a debt of gratitude becomes too great to repay, then you might as well just—"

He raised a palm, making a throat-slitting gesture.

Dong Rui's smile vanished instantly.

If the creditor is gone, then neither the debts nor the favors need to be repaid.

The ghost ape, sensing He Lingchuan's threat to its master, immediately bared its fangs and hissed at him, yet it dared not make a move.

Regardless of its previous two defeats at He Lingchuan's hands, the ghost ape also sensed that He Lingchuan had grown much stronger since their last encounter, so much so that it felt wary and dared not act rashly.

Dong Rui patted its head, then asked, "What else do you want?"

"Those strange cicadas—have you figured out anything about them?"

"How could it be so quick?" Dong Rui picked up a mung bean pastry and chewed it slowly. "I only arrived at Mount Rong yesterday. You expect results today? Do you take me for a deity?"

He had just woken up and hadn't yet eaten or played to his fill.

"This is truly odd," He Lingchuan remarked, propping his chin as he observed Dong Rui. "You used to research demonic puppets in the demon's lair day and night, even refusing to flee for your life. Where has that fervent passion gone now?"

Would Dong Rui really be the type to cast aside his research just to indulge in food, drink, and entertainment?

Especially since the seventy-year cicada's mutation was so interesting, and he still had several live specimens.

"Times have changed. After what you and I went through there—" Dong Rui gestured eastward—"surviving multiple life-or-death situations and escaping countless pursuits, I finally realized how precious time is. One must seize the day and enjoy life! What's wrong with that?"

He Lingchuan knew that "east" referred to the Begya Empire, and he also knew the fellow was spouting nonsense. So, he waved to summon a waiter:

"A private room."

"Two esteemed guests, please come upstairs."

The private room in this small teahouse was far from elegant; there were suspicious, possibly still wet, spittle marks in the corner. It was more accurately a cubicle, though it did have a door.

He Lingchuan closed the door and casually set up a soundproofing barrier, then asked him, "Alright, what's going on?"

Dong Rui looked bewildered. "What do you mean, 'what's going on'?"

"The mutated seventy-year cicadas came from the northeast, and so did your ghost ape. Your home is still in the Wange Marsh," He Lingchuan stated. "Tell me, is there any connection between these?"

"Uh..."

He Lingchuan cut to the chase: "These seventy-year cicadas became so bizarre because of divine blood, didn't they?"

He had conducted experiments with divine blood and even used it to frame Nian Zanli, so his understanding of the substance far surpassed anyone else's.

Since He Lingchuan was clearly hard to deceive, and Dong Rui couldn't even keep his secret for a single night, he said with a wry face, "Let me make it clear first: this cicada disaster in Mount Rong was purely an accident and has nothing to do with me."

He Lingchuan hummed in acknowledgment. "For the past few months, we've either been in Begya or traveling west."

"Exactly, exactly." Dong Rui nodded vigorously. "Number Seventeen couldn't wait for me in Xiazhou, so he returned to Wange Marsh on his own. But I had been away too long, and during that time, a gang of bandits appeared in the Wange Forest, raiding everywhere, and they ended up finding my home."

Number Seventeen was the ghost ape.

He Lingchuan immediately felt something was wrong. "And then?"

"Coincidentally, during those few days, Number Seventeen had stolen wine from the town and was drunk outside all day long!" Dong Rui fumed at the memory, forcefully slapping the ghost ape's head beside him. The ape cradled its head with both paws, not daring to make a sound. "These thieves were halfway through their raid when Number Seventeen returned, and a fight broke out. During the struggle, a little less than half a bottle of divine blood was accidentally shattered, spilling onto the forest floor."

"At that time, it happened to be the active period for the seventy-year cicadas in the Wange Forest. They were all busy emerging from underground, and once splashed by the divine blood, they just... they just..."

So it was like this again. He Lingchuan rubbed his temples. "So, the cicada plague was indeed triggered by your divine blood?"

"Hey, hey, it has nothing to do with me!" Dong Rui quickly disclaimed responsibility. "If those bandits hadn't come to steal from me, the divine blood would still be safely sitting in my home!"

"Such an important treasure, couldn't you hide it properly?"

"I did, of course, I hid it!" Dong Rui said with a wry smile. "But how could I, the victim, possibly be as experienced as a thief? I hid it so meticulously, yet they still managed to find it."

He Lingchuan sighed. "Go on."

"Some plants on the ground splashed with divine blood also mutated. Number Seventeen was too busy killing the thieves to pay much attention. About ten days or so later, some animals and monsters in the Wange Forest suddenly went mad, destroying crops and attacking people. The local authorities began to organize culls. It was at this point that the cicada plague simultaneously erupted. Two or three months ago, the seventy-year cicadas weren't as large as they are now, but their swarms were so dense that wherever they went, not a blade of grass survived."

He Lingchuan looked at him. "This kind of cicada mutation seems a bit too straightforward for you, doesn't it?"

Since he was going to reveal everything, Dong Rui simply straightened up:

"No, no, it's very enlightening!"

"Enlightening?"

"I've already finished experimenting with the two cicadas that Old Lady Zhu helped me capture. I originally lived in the Wange Forest, and I had previously experimented with the ordinary seventy-year cicadas, finding them of little use. But this time... this time is different."

As soon as he mentioned experimentation, Dong Rui's eyes gleamed. "I'm certain that ninety-nine percent of the seventy-year cicadas that ingested the divine blood died instantly. But a few definitely survived. Do you know why, hmm?"

Seeing his excitement, He Lingchuan could only play along: "Why?"

"They're about to give birth!"

"During that period, seventy-year cicadas typically emerge to mate and lay eggs. Perhaps a few had already mated, and under the stimulation of the divine blood, they laid their eggs prematurely!"