Spring Calamity of the Insect Cage
What was a dead end has ironically become an advantage.
Upon hearing this, Xie Jinhui, with its patchwork-like flat snout, suddenly charged towards me...
He immediately tried to bite me, probably aiming for my neck.
I jumped aside to avoid it; that was really ruthless.
"Xie Jinhui, don't joke around. Look at this grasshopper skin of mine, I specially made it tough and sturdy."
"Trying to bite me to death? Your teeth can't even scratch me."
"I'm determined," Xie Mazha said persistently.
"Then let's follow your first method: I'll bite you, you bite me, and if we keep at it, we'll eventually kill one of them."
Stretching his beard, he pounced again.
"Yuan'e, cooperate a bit, let's have one of us die quickly."
Oh dear, I slunk away.
This has turned into a veritable grasshopper fighting arena!
"Wait a minute, wait a minute, there's something else I haven't told you."
"If we're going to die, we'll die together."
He chased me until I was forced to beg for mercy against the wall.
"We live and die together, why?" It stopped and repeated my meaning.
I was forced to stand up, and my two whiskers were pressed against the transparent barrier.
The pressure was too intense; I kicked my front legs frantically, but I couldn't push him away.
"Xie Jinhui, your shapeshifting technique is copied from mine."
Okay, let's talk about it if we can't pedal anymore.
"In this magical system, if two extremely similar bodies appear one after the other, the second body will become the life source for the first."
If I die first, and you survive, your life will be given to me.
Xie Mazha interrupted, saying, "Isn't that perfect?"
I whipped him: "What's so good about that? Shut up."
Let me finish speaking.
"If you give me your life, I will be restored to my former self, and at the same time, I will automatically give you my own life, and you will also be restored to your former self."
"Life is bound to have its losses, isn't it?" Xie Mazha interrupted this time, proving that he was listening attentively.
“It will break,” I said, pointing to my antennae. “However, the life force of the grasshopper is replenished by the divine power within us.”
Just think, if you use an entire ocean to replenish a single drop of water, how long would it take for the ocean to completely deplete?
He released me, and asked, still unwilling to give up, "If I died first, would you still take my place?"
“Yes, but it’s not unsolvable,” I said.
"To live and die together? Must we breathe our last breath together?"
I slid down slowly, marveling at his precision.
"There's a tiny time difference, about five breaths. If we can seize that opportunity, we'll die together..."
If Xie Jinhui had hands, he would definitely grab me and run away, killing me who dug his own grave and buried me.
But he chose to flap his wing at me, making me stumble, and then I jumped up with him.
Confused, I lay in the middle of the transparent dome, following his gaze as I rolled my eyes upwards.
“Yuan’e, there’s a top up there,” Xie Mazha said, glancing upwards with his wise eyes. “Let’s fly as high as possible, then crash a few times to weaken our life force.”
We'll figure out a way later, find an opportunity, and live or die together.
I looked at him, unable to nod, but able to fly away first to show my willingness to atone for my sins and die with him.
He's smarter than me. If I die first, he might be able to come up with a better solution and turn the tide.
And so, the time that followed...
Me and Xie Mazha, we jumped, flew, and fell, in an endless cycle.
They absolutely enjoy it; they live to suffer.
Surprisingly, this method is quite effective.
I could feel the grasshopper's internal organs leaking slightly, and its outer armor was starting to become thin and brittle.
It turns out that wanting to die isn't difficult; what's difficult is timing it perfectly so that you can kick your legs at the same time.
Suddenly, the area outside the transparent barrier was instantly filled with fiery red light.
Something was burning brightly and swaying.
I could vaguely make out that there were rows and rows of red candles flickering.
Then, a silent figure appeared, bathed in firelight, or perhaps floated by; it might be a person, or perhaps nothing at all.
But with my eyesight, and because of the cover,
Everything outside looked like a hideous monster with bared fangs and claws to me.
The world seen through the eyes of a grasshopper is bizarre and fantastical; my world seems endlessly distant.
The figure tapped on the cover; the sound was just so-so, all crooked and uneven.
"The two little ones are quite energetic."
Hmph, who are you calling a little thing? What are you, doing stroking this goddess?
Of course, that thing couldn't understand what I was saying, nor could it see my flying kick.
The scoundrel kept saying, "We've given you so much time, and all you do is jump around."
You won't let me down, right, little ones? Hurry, hurry!
Hurry up and do what you're supposed to do this season, and make an offspring for me.
Hurry, hurry, did you hear me?
"Give it to me, and I'll let you go."
I collapsed to the ground, staring blankly at Xie Jinhui, who was retreating towards the edge.
"Don't you want to?"
The clapping sounds outside were filled with impatience.
“A stupid thing with only a bit of spirit is just trouble.”
"Come on, let me help you."
Knock knock knock...
The monster tapped on Xie Mazha's spot, and a wisp of what appeared to be a misty green gas slowly seeped in.
"Hurry up, young man," the monster's voice was tinged with excitement. "This thing is enough to make you... well, don't let my good intentions go to waste."
[Unclear], to have offspring?
What else could this green stuff be? Aphrodisiac mist for grasshoppers, perhaps?
Ugh, I have no eyebrows to furrow, how annoying.
As the monstrous creature, which was nothing but a thing, disappeared into the distance with its wicked laughter, only the red glow of candlelight remained in the entire space.
I opened my eyes and saw something amazing.
Outside, there were red candles; everything in front of me was red; and there was a canopy serving as a roof—it was just like a wedding night scene from a folk painting.
But what does that green cloud floating above our heads mean?
What does "love" mean?
The monster lighting the candle, the drifting clouds, and his... well, what does that have to do with us?
No!
I jumped up and sniffed the green mist; it felt a bit swaying.
Taking advantage of the excitement that could affect the grasshopper's body, I looked at the grasshopper that was being treated.
Wow, this grasshopper looks really smooth and shiny, just what I like.
However, I just pursed my lips.
The feeling of being immersed in it was too short-lived to be something I would cherish in the future.
After passing through my inner spirit, the poisonous mist from the grasshopper had no medicinal effect whatsoever.
I sighed and leaned over to touch Xie the grasshopper's whiskers.
To my surprise, he hurriedly backed away and stretched out his long tentacles, asking me what I wanted to do.
what?
Of course, you should keep jumping around and courting death, you silly grasshopper.
He did remind me.
"Xie Jinhui, did he say he would let us go?"
"Yes, but there are conditions." Xie Mazha hesitated before speaking.
I looked at him and said, "I'm thinking..."
"Don't even think about it," he blurted out, interrupting me.
"Yuan'e, don't even think about it, please don't even think about it."
I could see the guilt in his eyes.
“Yuanhe, I didn’t see the grasshopper, how did it [illegible]?”
"I...I can't."
I grabbed my head and rammed it into its head, hoping to kill it and find another grasshopper.
"Xie Jinhui, what are you thinking? If you could do it, why don't you actually do it?"
He wanted to rub his head, but couldn't reach it.
Then I heard him speaking not to me, but from his own inner thoughts.
"A grasshopper is a grasshopper, and a kite is a kite. I won't ride a grasshopper; if I'm going to ride one, I'll only ride a kite."
"you!"
I realized that this was what he really thought, and I was so angry that I blurted out a single word and quickly lifted the tentacles away.
What pure and innocent naiveté that borders on beastly!
I can't describe it anymore.
“鸢姀”.
Huh? Why am I hearing Xie Jinhui's voice again? I've already severed my tentacles with him.
Looking around, I thought of the changes in the external objects: one was that the candles outside were lit, and the other was that there was fog.
I've come up with a possibility.
I immediately jumped up and stirred the gas with my body, causing the highly inert green mist floating in the air to sink faster.
After that, I kept backing away and kept talking to Xie Jinhui.
Finally, it was confirmed that wherever the mist reached, Xie Mazha and I could communicate by touching each other without direct contact, thanks to the green mist.
Not only is the sensing distance longer, but the process is also smoother.
Perhaps it was the aphrodisiac that intensified the attraction between the grasshoppers? I wondered.
Xie Jinhui, too, was suddenly freed from the fog of this unexpected aphrodisiac, and his spirits lifted.
"Come on, Yuanhe, let's continue, jump!"
...
As I jumped back and forth in mid-air, I looked out into the red light and shadow and seemed to see a frame that looked like a large bed.
On the frame lay what appeared to be a distorted yet human-like body.
After skipping over it several times, I felt increasingly familiar with the shape of the body and the contours of the face.
So I said curiously, "Xie Jinhui, that thing looks familiar."
I landed on him and let him fly; I took him to see.
He hovered in the air, staring intently for a long time, before finally giving up.
“Yuanhe, with our current eyesight, nothing looks familiar to us.”
Hmm? Really? No matter how hard I look, I can't figure it out, so I have to give up.
...
Just when we were half-dead from the fall and felt death was imminent, the monster that had been created came again.
When he saw us, we were still jumping around, of course.
It would be best if he got so angry that he blew up the shield and killed us all.
Even if we don't die, we can just bite one of them to death, escape, and then fly home fully healed.
I'm not afraid.
But he walked over and raised the shadow that looked like a hand.
Just then, two beams of light pierced through.
Both Xie the grasshopper and I flipped over, exposing our bellies, and our six legs were completely immobile.
What is he going to do?
I shouted instinctively, sensing that something more terrifying than life and death was about to happen.
At the same time, the drifting green mist began to dissipate.
This means that we may lose contact with the other party at any time.
“Yuan’e, don’t be afraid. If you can find an opportunity to die, don’t miss it.”
Xie Jinhui's voice was like a crutch, supporting me with a tiny bit of courage.
I wanted to tilt my head to look at him, but I couldn't.
The shadow outside lifted up another blurry thing?
It doesn't matter; this time he remained completely silent and got right to work.
As soon as he lifted me up, I felt a sharp pain in my abdomen, and something inside started churning.
This unlucky thing dared to touch me...
Suddenly, I saw a ball of light land on my stomach, and then I heard a strange singing voice coming from outside the dome.
"Two little grasshoppers, green and plump, their bellies full of..."
The sound suddenly stopped, followed by an exclamation: "Little female grasshopper, indeed remarkable."
As he spoke, the white ball passed right through my stomach, and a tremendous suction force was pulling me away...
Damn it!
I yelled, "Xie Jinhui, Xie Jinhui, this damn thing, it sucked all my grasshopper sons away!"
...
After a moment of silence, Xie Jinhui responded with a single sentence.
Does it hurt?
"It doesn't hurt, it's just very irritating," I said.
He used "hahaha" to express laughter.
“Yuan’e, the ‘life essence’ inside a female grasshopper’s belly doesn’t distinguish between male and female, so why are you so sure it’s a grasshopper’s son?”
It seems you don't know much about grasshoppers either.
I'm tormented by the ball of light and can't fight back, and I can't even vent my anger on you.
"Xie Jinhui, stop talking about me. You think you know everything? You don't even know how."
"Alright," he said, his voice still tinged with laughter, adding, "They're about the same."
"No, I said grasshopper son is grasshopper son."
I designed this body to become, of course I know that.
I just like yin and yang to be aligned in the center, so the grasshopper son and daughter grasshoppers are arranged in a row on each side.
Now, all my grasshopper sons are gone, and this body... alas!
My regret is false, but my anger is real; my perfect arrangement has been ruthlessly shattered.
He roared at that damned shadow.
"Once I regain my true form, I will give you seventy pairs of arms on the left and eighty feet on the right."
“Yuan’e, this is symmetrical too, at least perfectly symmetrical.”
If you can't make a good point, don't embarrass yourself.
“Yuanhe, I think the truth is that he took your grasshopper son away, which is why your grasshopper son exists.”
Heh, heh!
"So I should thank him? Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey, ptooey!" I spat repeatedly at the shadow outside.
“Yuan’e, I think I should spit on him a few times too, because that might be our son.”
I was shocked; he was right.
The ball of light in front of me floated up and flew towards him.
"How are you feeling, Yuanhe?"
"I'm so tired," I said.
After the ball of light left, I was able to move, but I couldn't even lift my tiny feet.
I'm lying on my back, and Heaven doesn't pity me, nor does it send any deity to rescue me.
"Yuan'e, will you die?"
"No," I replied weakly.
“Well, I’ll die in a bit,” he said. “I think he’ll take half of me too.”
In this way, we might very well die together.
Why is Xie Jinhui so calm? I hummed softly in response.
However, something came to mind.
As the green mist thinned, its tail began to shrink towards Xie Mazha's direction.
I used my wings to control my body with all my might, circled around a few times, and caught up with the fog.
Tell him right away.
"Xie Jinhui, you might be different from me; you're male."
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