typical

He grabbed his insect net and jar and led Ye Jing'an toward the Insect Valley. As soon as they entered, they could clearly see the environment inside was vastly different from the outside. It was extremely humid, with many unusual plants, and millipedes and earwigs everywhere. Even during the day, the surrounding grass could be heard buzzing with the sounds of insects.

Ye Jing'an nodded. He finally understood why Qiu Zimu liked bugs. In a place like this, only bugs could play with him. What he called a fun place was a place with lots of bugs.

He pulled Qiu Zimu's sleeve, pointed at a large millipede and said, "Hey, don't you want this thing? It looks amazing."

"No, there are plenty of those." Qiu Zimu glanced at it and continued walking forward. "I'm here to find the Ueto spider. It's highly venomous and ferocious, making it a great material for raising Gu."

"Spiders that are registered, are spiders also registered?" Ye Jing'an raised his eyebrows.

Qiu Zimu: "..."

"I was wondering if you found it. You've been gone for such a long time, and you...ah!" Before Ye Jing'an could finish his words, he disappeared.

Qiu Zimu turned around to look for it and found a pitch-black hole in the ground. He couldn't see how deep it was and didn't know what was going on down there. Ye Jingan's cry of pain spread from below.

Qiu Zimu didn't dare jump in rashly. This area had been a hunting-based area for generations, and the most common traps were traps and ground holes. There was no telling if there might be sharp bamboo sticks or forks underneath the holes, which could pierce his feet if he jumped in. Qiu Zimu asked, "What's the situation down there? Is there anything dangerous?"

Ye Jing'an turned on the light and looked around. It seemed to be just an ordinary tunnel, and he didn't see anything dangerous. However, the hole was quite high. If he came down in the wrong position, he would break his hands and feet. Fortunately, he had been climbing trees and walls since he was a child, so he was quite experienced in falling, so he didn't break his hands or feet.

Ye Jingan covered his foot and shouted, "Tsk, it hurts so much. Qiu, you are not a good person! You didn't tell me there was a trap at home. You want to kill your brother Ye by throwing him to the ground, right?"

As Qiu Zimu jumped down, he heard Ye Jingan scolding him and said angrily: "I didn't know there was such a place here. If you keep scolding me, just stay here."

Seeing him about to leave, Ye Jingan shouted with a bitter face: "No, no, no, it's wrong! I sprained my ankle."

"Serves you right!" Qiu Zimu helped him up. Using the light from his phone, he saw that Ye Jing'an wasn't just sitting on grass and mud, but also a layer of plastic sheet, which had been broken into several pieces by Ye Jing'an. Qiu Zimu picked up a large piece and examined it. It was an ordinary sheet, not coated with any medicine or poison. It had many round holes on it. He seemed to have seen this kind of plastic sheet somewhere before.

After a moment of silence, Qiu Zimu said, "I've seen this kind of board before. My dad has one in his room. He uses it to support plants for growing medicinal herbs in water."

"Then this was dug by your father?" Ye Jing'an said.

"It should be, but he never mentioned it to me." Qiu Zimu said.

The cave wasn't big, estimated to be only about 1.6 meters high, so both of them would have had to hunch over to stand in it. The floor and walls were paved with cement, and the ceiling was covered with a thick layer of gray silk. The two men wanted to pull off a strand to see.

Although it is silk, it is not as thin and soft as spider silk that breaks at the slightest pull. Instead, it is quite hard and densely intertwined, so you can imagine its weighing capacity.

Ye Jing'an punched the silk noodles. As expected, this punch did not cause any damage to the silk noodles. When Ye Jing'an punched it, it felt like hitting hard cotton. There was also some sticky liquid on his fist: "What is this? It's disgusting..."

Ye Jing'an felt strange. When he fell, he sat on the ground and felt that the underground didn't feel cold or damp, but rather dry. Now that he had stood up, the environment in the cave had changed dramatically. The air was very humid, with a hint of earth, a slightly bitter medicinal smell, and a unique odor he had never smelled before. These complex smells were sticky and greasy, making it difficult to breathe in this narrow space. Ye Jing'an told Qiu Zimu about this contrast.

"What?" Qiu Zimu said, "It's always been this wet since I came down here."

The two exchanged glances and, in tacit agreement, squatted down. The space below was, contrary to normal, quite dry, like squatting in a windless desert at night. Standing up, the environment was humid again, the dividing line at their waists.

"What's going on?" Qiu Zimu asked puzzledly.

"How would I know? Isn't this your home?" Ye Jing'an said.

"Uh... maybe my dad picked me up." Qiu Zimu blinked.

"I think it's the gray silk up there that's causing the trouble." Ye Jing'an stared at the depths of the cave and became interested. Walking inside wouldn't be much more exciting than stepping on the grass above! Curious about what was inside, he suggested going in to take a look.

Qiu Zimu knew nothing about this cave, but he was also a bit interested. The two of them bent over and slowly walked deeper, discussing the cave's situation.

When I turned the first corner, the tunnel ahead was still pitch black. The light from my phone couldn't reach the end, and there was nothing landmark in the tunnel.

Ye Jingan grabbed Qiu Zimu and said, "Wait! Is this a maze? Let me mark the time and write down the path we took, so we don't get lost and can't get back."

"That's good. If I really get lost and can't find my way, I'll have to ask my dad for help. If he knows I came here secretly, he'll beat me to death. It's better for me to go back the same way I came." Qiu Zimu agreed.

The further they went, the stronger the smell in the tunnel became. The dark environment coupled with the thick humidity made them feel more and more oppressive and a little breathless. They both broke out in a thin layer of sweat and gasped slightly.

"Hey, there is a fork in the road here. Which way should I go?" Qiu Zimu asked.

"I'll say it again, this is your home!" Ye Jing'an said.

"Okay, go left. It's none of my business if you go the wrong way." Qiu Zimu said indifferently.

The further you go in, the more forks there are. You have no idea where you are going after all the twists and turns. This tunnel is truly a maze.

Ye Jingan always had a good sense of direction, but now he was a little lost and completely lost. He was secretly glad that he had recorded his tracks, otherwise it would be difficult to find his way back.

The trajectory of the phone showed that they were still moving forward, but in a bow-shaped pattern. Qiu Zimu took a look and saw that according to the distance shown on the trajectory, they were almost at the center of the Worm Valley.

"My goodness, there is a huge maze hidden under your forbidden area, and you don't even know it!?" Ye Jing'an exclaimed.

"I picked it up." Qiu Zimu said with a smile.

"It's too tiring to walk with a hunched back. Let's take a break." Ye Jing'an sat on the ground.

"Yeah." Qiu Zimu took out his poison jar. Ever since entering the tunnel, the poisonous insects began to become restless.

There are generally three reasons why Gu insects become agitated: when they're happy to eat something good, when they're in their estrus phase, or when there's danger nearby. However, Gu insect agitation usually lasts for a period of time, and this intermittent agitation is the first time I've encountered it. What could be the cause?

He ruled out the second possibility. Either there was something in the tunnel that Gu worms loved, or there was danger ahead. He leaned more towards the former. If there was anything dangerous, Qiu Ningyuan would definitely tell him. Besides, he'd already gone this deep, and it would be itchy if he didn't check out what was inside. He put the Gu jar in his bag. After all, Ye Jing'an was a good fighter, and he knew Gu, so he should be able to handle any danger.

"It's over. I kept the flashlight on and my phone is running out of battery. I need to keep some power to record my tracks. How much battery is left in your phone?" Ye Jing'an said.

Qiu Zimu glanced at his phone and said, "More than 50 percent."

"Is this enough electricity? I don't know how deep it is in there or where it leads to." Ye Jing'an sighed and said, "I should have brought a flashlight earlier. A candle would be fine too. Oh, by the way, we didn't do any light experiments since we came here."

"We've come this far and there's nothing we can do with light experiments, but I do have a candle." Qiu Zimu rummaged through his bag and took out a long white candle.

"Wow, brother, what era is this? You still carry this thing with you?" Ye Jing'an said with a smile.

"I told you to come to the Insect Valley and catch insects. Some poisonous insects are special and need to be sealed with wax." Qiu Zimu lit a candle and walked a short distance forward. The candle didn't go out. The air quality ahead was still good, so he wouldn't suffocate if he continued forward. He took out a small box from his bag, fixed the candle in the box, and placed it against the wall.

"You are the one who is reliable. From childhood to adulthood, I can always come to you for anything I need." Ye Jing'an said.

"How dare you ask that? Pay me back for the eraser!" Qiu Zimu bought a set of insect erasers and loved them so much that he couldn't bear to erase them. He even carefully chose the right spot to erase after each use. Ye Jingan, on the other hand, borrowed his erasers every day and rubbed them so hard that the insects were deformed.

"Remember, erasers are for erasing! You..." Ye Jing'an didn't finish his words. The candle went out and it was pitch black around him. He couldn't see anything. Ye Jing'an was speechless. "You don't need to use it, do you? You don't want to let me use the eraser, so you won't let me use the candle either?"

"Ah? I didn't touch the candle..." Qiu Zimu said.

Ye Jingan turned on the flashlight and shone it towards the place where the candles were previously placed. There was nothing there. He shone the light into Qiu Zimu's eyes and said, "Where did you hide it? Take it out quickly! It's like you don't need light. Stop searching around. I'll buy you a bunch when I get out!"

Qiu Zimu pushed his hand away and cursed, "Are you sick? I said I didn't touch the candle!"

"You didn't move? Where's the candle?" Ye Jing'an questioned, "Didn't you put it in that corner before?"

Qiu Zimu looked in the direction of the light and saw that the candle was indeed gone. He had just placed the candle to his left hand, and Ye Jingan was sitting face to face with him, not moving. It was impossible that Ye Jingan was deliberately playing a trick on him. Qiu Zimu's scalp exploded, and he stammered, "I really didn't move it..."

Ye Jing'an didn't believe it. He grabbed Qiu Zimu and searched his bag and pockets, looking for any place on his body where he could hide a candle, but there was indeed nothing. He was no longer sure. The surroundings were so quiet that Ye Jing'an's hair stood on end. He forced himself to stay calm and not think about ghosts or gods.

"There won't be any here..." Qiu Zimu moved closer to Ye Jing'an and whispered the word.