Chapter 84 The Seven-Legged Spider-Man

Xie Xun rolled up his sleeves, added some water to the cinnabar, and then bit his fingertip, dripping a few drops of blood into it.

He deftly cut the yellow paper, folding it into a small paper figure the size of a palm in no time. Using a red ink pen mixed with blood, he wrote the birth date and time of Liu Yongchang's daughter, Liu Wanning, on the back of the paper figure, and finally chanted a spell while making hand gestures:

"Heaven and earth are boundless, the universe borrows its laws, seek!"

The little paper figure stood up with a whoosh, spun three times in his palm, and suddenly pointed towards the theater's basement.

"As expected, she's not in the opera troupe..." Xie Xun frowned; Liu Wanning had been kept well hidden.

He carefully tucked the paper figure into his pocket and followed the directions to the basement.

The deeper he went, the heavier the yin energy became, and a foul, rotten smell permeated the air. Just as he pushed open the basement door, a dark figure suddenly dangled upside down from the ceiling.

The thing was wearing a tattered theatrical costume. It was supposed to be human, but it had four arms growing out of its back, supporting it like spider legs.

She tilted her head, her mouth stretched almost to her ears, revealing a mouthful of sharp teeth.

Just then, a melodious operatic tune suddenly drifted from the basement:

"Her face was half-veiled by a crimson veil."

"The peach blossoms flutter in the dark, tinged with the crimson glow of dawn."

"The one who picks up the hairpin will meet a woman with a tragic fate."

"The hairpin's price has been reduced to that of Luoyang"

"The Fallen Hero of Jiangzhou Meets Sima"

It's that Spider-Man singing!

Moreover, the song being sung was a segment from the Cantonese opera "The Purple Hairpin" featuring Huo Xiaoyu. Xie Xun could understand Cantonese, but the stilted and incoherent operatic style was truly incomprehensible. However, the mournful melody was clear, and it sounded particularly eerie in the gloomy basement.

Six arms simultaneously lunged at Xie Xun!

"If you're going to perform opera, then perform opera. Why are you bringing mutations to it?"

Xie Xun cursed under his breath and hurriedly retreated, but the six arms seemed to have eyes and relentlessly pursued him. A pale arm suddenly wrapped around his ankle with astonishing force, pulling him directly to the ground.

"Oh no!" He frantically tried to reach for the talisman, but found nothing. He then realized that he hadn't brought any of his tools with him.

Spider-Man slowly approached, her other arms gripping his arms like iron pincers. A foul stench assaulted his nostrils, and Xie Xun could clearly see the dense array of sharp teeth in her mouth.

Just then, slow footsteps came from the basement doorway.

"Tsk, isn't this our Boss Xie?"

Fu Qinghuai leaned against the doorframe, his military uniform collar casually open, arms crossed, squinting as he surveyed the scene, a roguish smile playing on his lips.

"I told you to come back to the manor with me to perform at the banquet long ago, but you wouldn't listen. Now you know you were wrong, don't you?"

Spider-Man seemed startled, and two of his arms suddenly turned towards Fu Qinghuai. Fu Qinghuai casually swung his hand, and a black, blade-like aura slashed through, severing the two arms instantly.

"How about it?"

He strolled forward slowly, his military boots making a crisp sound on the stone slabs. "It's not too late to ask me for help now."

Spider-Man let out a shrill scream, and his remaining four arms frantically released Xie Xun, shrinking back as if they had seen a ghost.

While Fu Qinghuai was bending down to talk to Xie Xun, it scurried into the shadows on all fours and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

"Tsk, you run pretty fast." Fu Qinghuai chuckled and reached out to pull Xie Xun up from the ground.

Xie Xun brushed the dust off his clothes, frowning as he asked, "Do you know what that thing is?"

"how?"

Fu Qinghuai raised an eyebrow, put one arm around his waist, and deliberately leaned close to his ear, "Are you starting to rely on me already?"

Xie Xun was speechless at his words.

Indeed, in this mirror world, they should have been complete strangers.

But those tangled images from reality uncontrollably flooded his mind. He straddled Fu Qinghuai, gazing at his aroused expression, listening to his hoarse voice calling him "wife" again and again...

Xie Xun's ears burned, but he refused to back down, saying, "I don't know you well, who depends on you?"

Fu Qinghuai stared at his reddened earlobes, a hint of amusement flashing in his eyes. This little beauty said no, but his body was quite honest.

He then deliberately moved closer, his nose almost touching Xie Xun's cheek.

"Not familiar with each other?"

He chuckled softly, raising his hand to touch Xie Xun's face. "But why do I feel like you smell like me?"

Xie Xun's heart skipped a beat.

That old devil really did notice!

He slapped his hand away and took a half step back, but Fu Qinghuai grabbed his wrist.

Why are you running?

Fu Qinghuai narrowed his peach blossom eyes, a roguish smile curving his lips as he looked at him with a mischievous grin and said, "Could it be that you really have some connection with me?"

Stop playing games.

Xie Xun pretended not to understand, abruptly shook off his hand, and straightened his collar. "What exactly is that Spider-Man?"

Fu Qinghuai snorted coldly and raised an eyebrow, saying, "Want to know? Look it up yourself. Aren't the answers hidden in this basement?"

This kind of schadenfreude, this tendency to enjoy watching the drama unfold, is exactly the same as Fu Qinghuai's despicable behavior at the very beginning.

Xie Xun recalled that back in the Liu family's haunted house, the thousand-year-old evil spirit had also stood by with its arms crossed, watching him frantically deal with the vengeful ghost, and only slowly made its move after he had been beaten half to death.

For some reason, the corners of his lips unconsciously curved into a smile.

"why are you laughing?"

Seeing this, Fu Qinghuai suddenly leaned closer, looked down at him, and frowned deeply. "Why are you smiling so... disgustingly?"

"What's it to you?" Xie Xun immediately stopped smiling and turned to walk deeper into the basement.

"Tsk tsk,"

Fu Qinghuai relentlessly pursued him, uttering words so vulgar they were infuriating: "You're not thinking about someone else, are you? That Spider-Man from earlier isn't good enough for you."

"Shut up."

Xie Xun crouched down and carefully examined the opera boxes piled up in the corner. The musty smell mixed with dust was pungent, but he could still detect a faint, fishy odor.

"What are you looking for, little beauty?"

Fu Qinghuai squatted down next to him and, out of curiosity, tugged at his sleeve. "If you ask me for help, I might tell you if I'm in a good mood."

Xie Xun ignored him, swatted away his paws, and pulled a hard object from the bottom of the box.

Frowning, I saw it was half a dressing mirror, with a faded group photo pasted on the back. The actress in the photo had bright, beautiful eyes, and vaguely looked quite familiar.

Is that... that Spider-Man from earlier?

"Oh, your old flame?" Fu Qinghuai peeked out sarcastically.

Xie Xun ignored him and continued searching.

Before long, he finally found a notebook carefully wrapped in oilcloth at the very bottom of the box. Opening the first page, the crooked handwriting made Xie Xun's heart sink.

[Diary entry: March 3rd, today I found a notebook in Mr. Xie's study! It says that 'Seven-Legged Ghostly Path' can bring the dead back to life. Yu Ru, wait for me, I will definitely be able to save you!]

Fu Qinghuai also moved closer to him, stared at the diary for a while, and chuckled, his words full of sarcasm, "So he's a hopeless romantic."

Xie Xun turned the pages one by one, becoming increasingly alarmed with each reading.

On March 17th, the first leg was retrieved from the mass grave and reattached. Yuru's fingers seemed to twitch slightly? It must be that my sincerity moved Heaven…

[On March 25th, the second leg was reattached. But Yu Ru's skin started to turn bluish... It's alright, it must be because we haven't collected all seven legs yet.]

[On the eighth day of the fourth lunar month, the troupe leader discovered I was stealing body parts and had no choice but to... Yu Ru, I did all this for you.]

[April 22nd, the fifth and sixth entries are now complete. Why is Yuru starting to grow new arms? It shouldn't matter; Mr. Xie is the most respected and capable person. The notes say, "Seven legs are complete, the soul has returned to its place," so Yuru will definitely come back...]

On the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, all seven legs were complete! But why did Yuru become like this? She screamed at me, she didn't even recognize me anymore...

On the seventh day of the fifth lunar month, Yuru ran away. I searched the entire theater, but all I found were her torn costumes. Why not? Why not? Why not? Why not!!!

The last few pages were completely insane, with a twisted humanoid monster drawn on the paper, covered with seven legs and several arms, and the words "Why not?" written in blood next to it.