Chapter 134 Spider 21

In Xu Zhao's heart, even though Lin Yue's strange body made it difficult for her to look directly at him and occasionally made her feel a vague fear, he was still a very important person.

Seeing Lin Yue huddled in the corner in pain and helplessness, Xu Zhao felt worried and frightened, and couldn't help but feel a little self-blame and panic.

Blackwater Town was a secluded place, lacking a major hospital. Patients relied solely on the town's traditional Chinese medicine practitioner. Now that the doctor was gone, the town's residents were terrified by the spiders, and Xu Zhao didn't trust them. But she was left alone to care for the ailing Lin Yue, unable to offer any assistance, only to feel more apprehensive.

Xu Zhao's eyes turned red.

Lin Yue huddled in the corner, his large belly squeezed against the wall. His chest was covered in a thin layer of skin, and his bones were clearly visible. His face was pale, devoid of any color. His eyes were tightly shut, and his brow was furrowed in unspeakable pain.

Xu Zhao squatted in front of him and wanted to reach out to test his temperature, but was frightened by the eight curled up legs and stopped half a meter away from him.

"What's wrong with you? I don't understand your situation... Do you need any medicine?"

In a trance, Xu Zhao recalled the same panic she'd felt upon learning of her parents' death. At that moment, it felt as if there was no place for her in the vast universe, her eyes unable to see, her ears deaf. Returning to her empty home, still reeling from the news of her parents' passing, she naively imagined it was a joke.

Parting was so hard. Especially when you knew you'd never see them again. No matter how hard she worked or how strong she grew, she'd never reach or see them again. From then on, they existed only in her memory.

Xu Zhao took two steps forward, gathered the spider silk from the ground, and held it in her palm with care, as if she could hold onto the fragile life before her, which seemed to be about to slip away. Perhaps because her worry was too strong, Lin Yue opened his eyes and stared at her vaguely.

"Why are you crying? I'm fine." Lin Yue put his arms together and placed them on his legs, showing his thin and pointed chin that seemed to be able to prick people.

Xu Zhao took two steps forward and asked, "What's wrong with you? Are you sick or something? Do you need medicine or food?"

His eyelashes fluttered like a small fan, and his eyelids opened slightly, only half a finger's distance, and his eyes seemed to be covered with a layer of mist.

"It's a normal spider reaction." He felt weak and his mouth was dry. After just a few words, his lips were dry and flaky. Xu Zhao nervously watched his every move. Seeing him like this, he had already unscrewed the bottle cap and placed the bottle mouth in his mouth to feed it.

Gulp. Lin Yue moistened his lips and weakly raised the corners of his lips: "...Don't worry. I'm not sure how long it will last. This is a very normal reaction. You, don't cry."

Dark thoughts briefly emerged in my mind.

Xu Zhao, standing before her, had tears streaming down his face, his eyes reddened by silent tears, his face brimming with worry. This worry was entirely due to him, not anything else. These days, living with Xu Zhao had been warm and happy, but she had many other things on her mind.

Occasionally, when he spoke to him, his mind would wander. The jealousy and grievance he felt at that time, when he faced Xu Zhao, who was completely worried and sad because of his change, made him feel satisfied, and even thought - not enough, not enough.

He should have deceived Xu Zhao.

He told her that he didn't know what his condition was, and asked her to continue to worry and continue to look at him for a long time with those misty eyes.

But it doesn't work.

She was very sad, and that strong feeling of sadness made him happy and distressed at the same time.

Lin Yue struggled to open his eyes, took a breath, and gazed at her tenderly. His curled fingers moved, wanting to wipe away the tears from her eyes, but shyness prevented him from moving. He spoke weakly, "...When I was a human, before I reached adulthood, I combined with a spider to form this strange and terrifying form. Perhaps my genes were altered by the spider... Did you know that spiders shed their skin?"

Xu Zhao shook his head blankly.

Lin Yue held his breath, still looking at her gently. "Spiders shed their skin several times as they grow. I never thought it would happen to me," he said with a self-deprecating laugh. "...I've been feeling weak and having trouble eating lately. Don't be afraid. This is normal. I'll shed my skin in a few days. The process will probably be very, very disgusting... You'd better not look at me."

Xu Zhao breathed a sigh of relief when he told her it was a normal reaction. Then, hearing that it shed its skin, her eyes widened in surprise. She only knew that cicadas shed their golden skin, a valuable traditional Chinese medicine. But spiders also shed their skin?

Her eyes involuntarily fell on his chest. This was a human limb, so the skin shouldn't suddenly peel off, right? Otherwise, the thought of that scene was terrifying. Then, slowly and tentatively, her eyes fell on Lin Yue's lower limbs, the eight legs, and the furry belly behind his hips. She usually didn't dare to examine him closely, so she couldn't see any difference.

Xu Zhao: "Will the molting process be painful?"

Lin Yue wanted to say it didn't hurt, but he dropped his eyes for a few seconds, thinking. Then, his weak, dependent gaze fixed on her, his watery eyes seemingly speaking. He muttered, "...I don't know, maybe it doesn't hurt." But his eyes, as if anticipating the pain of shedding, filled with tears.

Xu Zhao suddenly felt distressed, not knowing what to do, and could only comfort him dryly: "I'm with you."

Lin Yue's eyelashes fluttered twice. "No, just mind your own business... I'll be very weak during this period, so don't go too far. There are spiders around..." He forced his eyelids open, and the moment he finished speaking, he heard Xu Zhao say, "Your body is weak, and I can't leave. Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere during this period. I'll stay here with you."

So happy. Lin Yue took one last look at Xu Zhao, exhaustion gripping him deeply, and fell asleep with Xu Zhao's face in his mind as his pillow.

…

It turned out that Lin Yue was just shedding his skin normally. Xu Zhao's fear finally subsided. She sat on the ground, hugging her knees, half a step away from Lin Yue. A bristly spider leg was only about two or three fists away from her.

The night was deep, and it was time for bed. But Xu Zhao's mind was filled with Lin Yue's words, "molting." Could spiders actually shed their skin? At first, she only glanced at the sleeping Lin Yue with a vague gaze, but then, seeing how deeply he slept, she began to stare at his... lower body with a certain indulgence.

Walking legs and a big belly.

Perhaps it was Lin Yue's filter that made her look at the spiders that had shocked and terrified her. After staring at them for a long time, she actually felt that they held a strange beauty. It wasn't until she looked closely that she could clearly see the true appearance of Lin Yue's body.

The waist and abdomen are the dividing line.

Above was a human chest and head, with two spider eyes on its forehead. Below was a dark, gloomy spider's limbs. Where the legs should have been, they were now covered in black armor, from which the legs grew.

Its legs were thick, as thick as an adult man's thigh, and its fluffy bristles made it appear even larger. In the moonlight, it shone with a brilliant blue glow. This cool, yet slightly alluring blue color unexpectedly suited Lin Yue's appearance.

The big belly at the back was like a blown-up balloon, covered with coarse, hard hair, which hung like a pebble behind the buttocks.

During the observation, Xu Zhao's mind was highly focused on Lin Yue's body. When the foot landed on the back of her stomach, she took a few steps forward because she couldn't see clearly. At this time, she was only a few centimeters away from the foot.

She could even feel the tingling sensation of the bristles touching her.

Can I touch it? It looks weird.

Xu Zhao thought so. She tried her best to suppress the urge to touch his legs. Couldn't she just touch him gently? Lin Yue was asleep, and even just touching his legs made him look at her pitifully, like an abandoned puppy.

Now, she tried hard to suppress her fear and touched the walking leg. Even if he knew about it, he wouldn't feel offended, right?

Xu Zhao boldly extended his hand.

She thought she was close enough to Lin Yue. Little did she know that spiders are extremely sensitive and easily frightened during the molting process. Furthermore, Lin Yue was no ordinary spider. His fangs could tear through Xu Zhao's neck in an instant and suck out the sweet blood.

He snapped his eyes open. His legs were gently touched, then again, and even... carefully plucked, but it didn't come off. He removed his hand with regret. A sweet scent filled his nostrils, but by the time he realized it was Xu Zhao, it was too late.

Fortunately, he didn't react more violently, but...

Xu Zhao watched the quiet legs begin to rub violently, and the bristles that she couldn't pull off were easily rubbed off and floated onto her arms. She stared in amazement at Lin Yue's sudden strange behavior.

What did this mean? Before she could concentrate on thinking, she felt a painful and itchy feeling on her arm. She scratched it again and again, then looked down. The skin covered with spider bristles was red and swollen, as if it had been burned by fire.

“Ah… this is…”

——Kick the hair.

The spider's reaction when it is startled or feels threatened.

Why is it so different from the way it feels to the touch? It feels soft and tender to the touch. Who would have thought that the feeling of falling bristles floating on the skin would be like a wasp's sting! Xu Zhao raised her arm and was about to dig out her backpack to see if there was any pain-relieving ointment inside when a shadow fell over her.

The moonlight that filtered through the cracks was completely obscured. Lin Yue slid over to her side, pinching her arm. His reddened eyes revealed an innocent and aggrieved expression. He blinked twice, filled with guilt and self-blame. "It's all my fault. I didn't realize it was you..."

As he spoke, he lowered his head. His soft lips covered the tingling skin, his tongue was slippery and sticky, and his head moved gently and softly, as if he was holding a sweet marshmallow in his mouth, so carefully that he was afraid that the marshmallow would shrink into a small ball if he was not careful.

He lowered his head quietly and attentively, his thin shoulders leaning slightly on Xu Zhao.

The burning pain on the arm Lin Yue had held in her mouth was gone. Instead, she felt a strange emotion radiate from her tailbone to the back of her head, like an electric shock. She pulled her arm back: "Don't, don't be so shameless... Doesn't your tongue hurt?"

"No," Lin Yue lowered his slender back, like a devout believer intently kissing the very ground of his faith. His slender eyelashes fluttered against the hair on her arm, and Xu Zhao felt a strange tingling sensation. At this moment, Lin Yue's voice was unusually low, perhaps due to molting, and his voice, hoarse and muffled, carried a lingering undertone as he uttered the words.

Inexplicably, it feels like a little hook.

The arm that was touched was red and had shiny saliva on it.

Lin Yue lowered his eyes and looked at her for a moment, then wiped it clean with his fingertips: "...Next time, if you want to touch me, remember to call my name. I know it's you, and I won't do this again. Does it still hurt?"

His saliva must have contained ingredients that could soothe pain; the arm that had been licked no longer hurt. Xu Zhao was about to shake his head, but Lin Yue lowered his head again and took hold of the visibly moist skin.

He bent his back hard, but raised his eyes high. He was still a little weak, but there was a faint smile lingering in his eyes, as lively and smart as a naughty child. He used the surface of his tongue to soothe his arm that was pricked by the bristles, while staring at her intently.

"Does it still hurt? Will this make it better?"

Xu Zhao froze under his gaze. Lin Yue was at his weakest at that moment, and she didn't need much strength to push him away. But it was as if he had sucked all her strength away. She couldn't even support her raised arm, and it suddenly fell down. Lin Yue caught it with his hand and lifted it to his mouth.

There. I don't know if it's red from the prickles of the bristles or from the bite.

The tip of his teeth bit her thin skin, as if it was an unintentional action.

Xu Zhao felt herself suddenly light and airy. What was this feeling? She didn't know, only that her spine tingled and shivered. Lin Yue's appearance suddenly became as blazing as the sun in her eyes, and she lowered her head.

When Lin Yue's tongue invaded and occupied more skin, he suddenly pulled his arm back.

He stumbled and said, "Thank you... No, it doesn't hurt anymore. You rest, I, I want to sleep too." He returned to the bed nervously, lay flat on his back and closed his eyes.

Lin Yue leaned back against the wall.

The moist and clean blue sky, as if washed by rain, suddenly changed color.

The scent of Xu Zhao lingered in his mouth. The corners of his mouth curled up, and he secretly counted the time. When Xu Zhao finally overcame her restlessness and fell asleep, Lin Yue tilted his head, his eyes firmly fixed on her.

Like a monster locking onto its sweet prey.

…

Lin Yue didn't understand at first and was confused and puzzled, even to the point of self-abasement and self-loathing.

Xu Zhao's scent, Xu Zhao's smile, Xu Zhao's palm...even everything about Xu Zhao had a fatal attraction to him.

Wherever she appeared, his gaze was like thousands of bottles of super glue, impossible to tear off. He wanted to stare at her firmly, to keep her locked in his sight at all times.

He is so dirty, scary and dark.

But he couldn't control himself.

Xu Zhao.

Xu Zhao.

Xu Zhao.

Lin Yue repeated her name in his heart countless times.

Why?

His heart was pounding. In his eyes, everything in the world had lost its color, only Xu Zhao was alive and beautiful. Why? What was this strange feeling?