Chapter 132 Spider 19
The spider silk was secreted completely unconsciously. If Xu Zhao hadn't pinched it, Lin Yue wouldn't have noticed it. He wanted to turn his head to check his stomach, but his thoughts flashed back to Xu Zhao by the stream, and his neck froze, unable to move.
Several fine strands of spider silk emanated from the spinning machine and drifted onto the water's surface. Lin Yue's rearmost legs—the fourth pair—were about to comb through the emerging threads and break them. At the last moment, the legs froze.
Lin Yue lowered his eyes, his gaze calm and composed, staring at the trees and grass ahead. Spider silk is a vital tool for hunting, nesting, climbing, and so on. It falls to the ground, drifts through the air, touched by birds, and shaken by fish. Or perhaps a few days ago, a townsperson, chased by a spider to a thatched cottage, accidentally touched the silk Lin Yue had secreted. Those strands, still attached to him, vibrated, still connected to his spinning machine.
He felt hungry, and the emptiness in his stomach made him want to move his legs, walk out of the hut, and snatch prey from the giant spider.
The feeling brought by Xu Zhao's touch was completely different. Of course he was hungry. How could human food be as sweet as Xu Zhao's blood? But this desire for blood was only faint, unable to control him at all.
The involuntary secretion of spider silk drifted across the water, scattering around Xu Zhao. She wrapped the silk around her fingertips, oblivious to any aberration, and continued with her previous cleaning routine. Unbeknownst to her, each vibration of the silk carried a message to the seemingly harmless little spider crouching on the shore.
The palm of her hand was condensed with water droplets, and the golden spider silk in the sunlight was also wetted by the water. The spider silk became taut. As Xu Zhao raised her arms, bent down, or made other small movements, the spider silk stuck to her fingertips, and the other end was hidden in the air from a distance. However, if you looked closely, you could find that it led to the bottom of Lin Yue's big belly under the grass leaves.
Tremble, tremble, and tremble again.
Lin Yue's fourth pair of legs slowly landed on the ground, unwilling to sever the connection. Following the landing, Lin Yue's cheeks, almost hidden in his arms, were as red as a ripe apple.
Xu Zhao had no idea how much pain his unintentional action had caused Lin Yue. The stream here was clean, and the cool, comfortable feeling of the water washing over his legs made him ignore the spider silk scattered around. These spider silks were actually quite easy to spot; where they lingered, they seemed to have settled on a film of water, emitting a brilliant golden glow.
Her knees slammed into the web of spider silk that had formed on the surface of the stream, and she looked out at the distant, hill-like object that rose deep in the forest.
The trees there weren't as sparse as here; they were interwoven and dense, with not a single gap visible. After staring for a long time, I noticed something strange emerging from the cover of the grass and trees, like a hill hanging from the branches.
Xu Zhao stood on tiptoe to watch carefully. A bad feeling welled up in her heart. But in the blink of an eye, those hill-like things disappeared. She thought for a moment and asked loudly, "Lin Yue, have you ever been deep in the forest? There seem to be very strange things there, like... silk cocoons?"
Lin Yue grew up in Blackwater Town, and combined with the larger, more powerful spider Lin Wang had described, forming a strange body shape, perhaps asking him would yield the answer. Had he ever been deep in the forest? Did he know what those things were?
Xu Zhao took a few steps toward the shore, expecting Lin Yue to answer, but he remained silent for a long time. Was he asleep or didn't hear clearly? She asked again: "Lin Yue, have you been there? There's something like a hill ahead. Do you know what it is?"
——What’s ahead?
Xu Zhao asked him.
Lin Yue slowly regained consciousness. The trembling spider silk, connected through the spinneret to the gland inside, the organ that produced the silk, tugged at his heart with each tremor. It felt like thousands of ants gnawing at him. A sour and astringent sensation spread continuously through his internal organs, even to his skin and flesh... pain, aching, and numbness.
What does it feel like?
——What’s ahead?
Lin Yue struggled to shake off the dizziness. The grass blades swayed overhead, and sunlight streamed down his skin, stirring itchy blisters. Unconscious, his eyelashes fluttered as he stared ahead. There should have been a tall, sturdy tree, its thick trunk, lush branches and leaves, tangled roots, and withered, yellow soil and weeds tinged with blood.
Lin Yue blinked in disbelief, then blinked again and replied, "The one in front is...Xu Zhao."
Taking off his long-sleeved shirt that had turned white from washing, his skin was covered with crystal water droplets, his long black hair was scattered on his shoulders, and Xu Zhao was smiling.
She stood before him. At first, she just stayed where she was, but then, perhaps because his gaze was too offensive, she walked towards him. Her expression was somewhat condemning and helpless, but her eyes were always soft and warm.
Lin Yue felt burned and quickly lowered his eyes.
Then, his whole body stiffened. He realized—Xu Zhao was in the stream behind him, so how could she be in front of him?
When I opened my eyes, I saw towering trees.
Lin Yue pinched his fingertips suddenly.
Xu Zhao looked bewildered. What was Lin Yue saying? His voice was low and hoarse. She suspected that stream water had flowed into her ear canal during the cleaning process. Otherwise, why would she suddenly seem deaf and even vaguely hear her own name? How strange.
She cleaned her ears, leaned sideways, and patted them with her palms, trying to get the water out.
"I don't understand. Can you say it again?" Lin Yue's voice came. It was still low and hoarse, but much clearer than the previous sentence. Xu Zhao thought, it must be because of water in her ears. She stood up and took a few more steps toward the shore.
Once again, the spider silk tangled into a web was broken up.
The clattering sound continued.
Xu Zhao: "I was asked to come to Blackwater Town to look for someone. I didn't expect to encounter something like this. It's unbelievable. I asked, um..." Considering that Lin Yue had gone crazy once when he heard the name of a town resident, she had to omit the word "mayor" and continued: "I asked the people in the town, and they said that the tourists who came here a month ago were all eaten by spiders. Then I discovered some things about the town..."
"It's a terrible thing. The chances of the person I'm looking for surviving are very low, but even if it's just a corpse, I'm determined to find him. I just saw something like a cocoon hanging from a tree branch in the distance. Are those... could they be human corpses?"
Lin Yue's consciousness was already scattered, and his facial features were several times stronger than a human's. Xu Zhao's few steps forward were insignificant. He was still several meters away from him, but he had only shortened the distance by a few dozen centimeters.
But the sweet smell came from deeper inside his body, penetrating his skin and drifting into his nostrils. He couldn't help but take a deep breath, and when the air rushed into his throat and nasal passages, he choked and coughed a few times, staring at the trees in front of him with red eyes.
Grasping a few key words, Lin Yue searched his memory, suppressing his wavering rationality. He carefully considered the possibility of blurting out something he shouldn't, and explained slowly, "...Spiders have a habit of storing their prey. I was only taken to the location you mentioned at the very beginning. It's just ahead, about ten minutes away from here."
The memories of that journey were too painful to recall. Thinking of them brought a wave of heartbreak, agony, and despair. Lin Yue pinched his fingers, staring obsessively at the phantom figure formed by the grass, leaves, and trees ahead. The heart-wrenching pain gradually faded.
He said, "...that place is indeed a spider's nest and very dangerous. Xu Zhao, if you want to go there, be sure to tell me. I will go in with you, don't go in alone."
Xu Zhaowen in front of him smiled softly. His skin was stained with water droplets, which fell and hit the ground, splashing around him.
He looked away sheepishly.
This is fake. Although it's fake, it's derived from his memory, from a scene he accidentally encountered a moment ago. This is very rude and offensive. Don't do it again. Lin Yue secretly warned himself. He lowered his head, not daring to look at the shadow in front of him.
"Okay, I understand."
Xu Zhao glanced at Lin Yue's frail body. Even if he wanted to go inside to find out what was going on, he had to at least wait until the two of them recovered from their injuries. Otherwise, if they went in like this, no matter how powerful Lin Yue was, he was afraid that his body would not be able to withstand the attack of so many spiders.
"If I need anything, I will definitely ask you for help. There's no rush for this matter. The most important thing right now is for both of us to recover from our injuries."
Xu Zhao said no more and quickened his pace. The sky gradually darkened, and from the shadows, prying eyes could be heard. When the wind blew, it carried with it a long-held, rotting, bloody smell, the emanation of the spider's fangs.
She bent down and dipped her hair into the stream. This was the last step, and she would leave after washing.
…
Lin Yue thought about the past. Zhao Chunhong didn't like him being idle. She would often place laundry, used dishes, and ready-to-eat vegetables and fruits in a basin for him to wash. While he sat on a stool and washed in front of the door, he would often overhear the conversations of the men next door, or perhaps the reckless chatter of adolescent boys.
Which woman has the biggest buttocks? Which woman has fair skin and good looks? Which woman has the biggest breasts?
He didn't like hearing such words, and even less the unpleasant, vulgar laughter that followed. He thought it was extremely rude. But now, he couldn't help but turn towards the kind of people he hated.
His cheeks flushed. The raised blades of grass slowly drooped, and the pain of the sun burning his skin alleviated the guilt he felt for offending Xu Zhao in his fantasy.
The legs clattered restlessly to the ground. My peripheral vision glanced at the legs covered with black bristles, and the feeling of guilt was quickly replaced by inferiority.
When Lin Yue was a human, he was weak, sickly, cowardly and incompetent.
Lin Yue died.
But it turned into something even more terrifying and dark.
He bit his lip, pinching his fingertips tightly. The imaginary shadows finally dissipated, replaced by the brilliant sunlight and the spiders peeking from the shadows. Those dark, gleaming eyes, like 360-degree surveillance cameras, monitored Xu Zhao's movements.
The masculine scent filled the air, and the stench seemed to cover up the bitter fragrance of the herbs.
Why do they do that? Why? Why?
Lin Yue felt a strange emotion stirring in his chest. He hated the way the spider looked at Xu Zhao. Even though that look was a sizing up of food, the anger he felt at Xu Zhao being treated as spider food wasn't enough to mask the other strange emotions.
When my younger brother was born, he took away my father's care and love. Now my younger brother not only has my father's love, but also my mother's protection.
During Chinese New Year and other holidays, the best things were always reserved for his younger brother. Lin Yue was gentle and harmless, and he took it for granted. But now, thinking back, the emotions that had seemed so subtle at the time had become intense. The candies and cakes that passed by, and the broad back of his father... These emotions, which should have been caused by other things or people, and had nothing to do with Xu Zhao, were now all over Xu Zhao.
envy.
Even if the spider spying on Xu Zhao was an ugly, predatory one, Lin Yue still felt displeased by its gender—male. He even felt jealous. Why could it stare at Xu Zhao so unscrupulously? Seeing her defenseless form, seeing that body saturated with water droplets... Why? Why?
Lin Yue stood up straight, his stomach rumbling. The unpleasant smell made him want to tear himself apart and eat.
He was going to hunt. Only by filling his stomach could he become stronger.
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