Insects and Dogs

If someone asked Ruger now when he had been happiest, he would certainly smile and say, "The previous second, at the last intersection."

He had gotten lost again.

After turning through an intersection, he sensed something was wrong. But when he tried to retrace his steps, sobbing like a heartbroken child rose all around him. He had encountered this strangely familiar crying once when he left the Half-Man, and afterward came the current situation: no matter where he went, the sobbing echoed through the passages around him.

The other party seemed capable of affecting people's judgment. It was likely the true culprit behind him getting lost over and over.

And now, because he had kept the Stinking Skin Spell active, the culprit that could be heard but not seen seemingly dared not approach. The two sides had fallen into a bizarre standoff—a mobile standoff, no less. It was simply unheard of.

After circling around for who knew how long, when the crying sounded from behind him again, he suddenly broke into a sprint. For a moment, he actually left the sobbing behind.

He had replenished the spell in his temporary spell slot through meditation while resting on the road earlier. If the thing that used crying to scare people dared show itself, he would not mind wasting another spell to give it a vicious beating.

The kind that broke his stick.

As he ran, the crying was flung farther and farther away until he could no longer hear it at all.

Apparently, it was not some all-powerful creature after all, he thought.

"Nice-smelling big brother, can you help me?"

Along with the somewhat childish voice, a small figure clumsily stepped out from the corner where the cave walls met in front of Ruger.

Ruger knew the other party had grown tired of playing around too. But he had no choice but to stop, because whenever he took one step forward, the little thing took one step back. There truly seemed to be no end to it.

"Didn't you say I smelled nice?"

He gathered his courage and carefully examined the little creature before him.

Once he saw it clearly, he was less nervous than when he had only heard its voice. It looked like an ordinary child, except for the two long, thin antennae atop its head, its simple plain-colored robe, and the segmented shell-like features at its shoulders and elbows. It reminded him of the Insectfolk Tribe, which was rarely seen here and which he had only heard Aisijin mention.

"Not this stinky spell. The aura your spiritual power gives off smells nice."

The little insect-person hurried to explain. Its voice was steady, yet tears continued streaming down its face.

"You're an insect-person?"

Naturally, he would not stop the spell so easily. While traveling, he had considered trying to control the spell when he met Aisijin, to see whether he could keep it running without hurting the Kobold girl.

"I'm from the Chrysalis People," the little insect-person said hesitantly, as though carefully choosing its words. "Bad people are chasing me. Can I give my little brother to you?"

As it spoke, the little insect-person took out a round object.

"First tell me who's chasing you. Lizardfolk?"

He looked at the fist-sized, egg-like thing and could sense a life growing inside it.

The little insect-person shook its head, and its tears fell even faster.

"Auntie One Hundred and Seventy-Five said they were wizards. She said I absolutely mustn't let them catch me." Tears poured down the little insect-person's face. "This is my favorite little brother, but he hasn't awakened his intelligence. An insect egg that never lights up with the glow of intelligence can only become an insect beast, not an insect-person. And I can't keep taking him with me."

So many aunties! The insect-people really could breed even more than Kobolds, he thought.

"Then you can give him to your aunties..."

"All my aunties are dead. My other aunties are dead too."

The little insect-person cried even harder.

"Fine! I promise you! But I want to see what wizards look like. You have to tell me where the wizards are."

He felt a little excited, then suddenly remembered his own dog-headed appearance. That led him to think of Ka Liu, the wizard apprentice who had owned that diary, and the mysterious Half-Man.

"The wizards are dead too. Um, there are still a few chasing me," the little insect-person said worriedly. "But I don't know where they are now either. As long as I fall asleep, they can tell where I am and find me. I'm already very sleepy. I haven't slept in a long time..."

As the little creature spoke, it yawned again, looking as though it were about to fall asleep.

"I was supposed to leave long ago. I only stayed a few extra days because I found you smelled nice. I really need to go now." The little insect-person raised both hands, lifting the insect egg over its head. "I can't take him with me. Auntie Seven Hundred and Twenty-Eight said I have to enter the city deepest inside. Then I won't have to be afraid of the wizards finding me anymore."

The little insect-person did not point in any direction, but hearing its words, Ruger inexplicably thought of the journey he had once imagined, exploring all the way to the end of these cave passages.

"But I can tell you where those wizards died. If you want to see wizards, you can look at their corpses. They don't smell nice, so underground beasts probably won't eat them."

The little insect-person's tears seemed as if they would never run dry. Perhaps its race ought to be called the Crybaby Insects.

During the moment Ruger hesitated, the little insect-person had already begun nodding repeatedly. Its eyes were nearly shut, yet it stubbornly waited quietly for his decision, occasionally tugging at its antennae to force itself to stay awake.

"Put it down."

He did not choose to stop his spell.

"Here's a cultivation pouch. You can put him inside it. It's very convenient, and he won't cause you any trouble."

At last, a hint of happiness appeared on the little insect-person's face.

The little creature truly seemed to be in a hurry. It placed the insect egg into the cultivation pouch, set it down, and left. Its small body floated through the darkness as though swimming, vanishing from sight in the blink of an eye.

Didn't those hundreds of aunties teach you to keep your promises? You still haven't told me where the wizards are! he thought.

Just as Ruger carefully picked up the cultivation pouch.

A sound came from the darkness again. The little insect-person had returned. It apologized repeatedly, then tilted its head and pointed into the distance with an antenna.

"When I grow up a little more, I'll come out and play with you again. You really smell nice. My little brother will like you too." With those words, the little insect-person disappeared into the darkness of the passage.

At that moment, Ruger sensed a ripple of spiritual power. With a slight touch, he read a crude map through his own spiritual power.

He hung the cultivation pouch beneath the animal hide at his waist, then quickly left the area.

As he walked, he eagerly examined the map. There was more than one place marked as a wizard's burial site. He studied it for a long time, but none of the marked locations was where he had guessed the Half-Man might be.

Still, that was good news. With information about wizards, he would not need to rely too heavily on the Half-Man.

And judging from the insect-person's words, those fleeing had not looted the wizards' belongings.

He returned to a familiar stretch of passage and chose another route.

As the passage grew wider and wider, he knew he had finally chosen the right path this time. Last time, bolstered by Strength of the Savage Bull, he had felt like an incomparably mighty man. But once the spell's effect wore off, his entire body had immediately become painfully sore, forcing him to stop and find a secluded spot to meditate and rest. It seemed spells like this also required a certain level of physical strength to support them, and could perhaps produce even stronger effects.

With the Holy Lord's fruit on his mind, he sneaked up to the great cavern, only to find the ground covered in blood.