As he watched the Spider Web descend from above, Chu Xiu realized that even with his guard up, he had never expected the Man Faced Demon Spider to attack from overhead.
Its abdomen was its weak point. Had he known it was hiding there, he could have finished it with a single stab.
"Ah!"
Shui Bing'er let out a startled cry.
She and Ah Yin were walking ahead. Before she could understand what was happening, the Spider Web falling from above and behind them enveloped them both.
Less than a second later, Shui Bing'er felt a numbing sensation spread through her body.
"I'm sorry. I only meant to get myself killed."
Ah Yin looked at Shui Bing'er, her eyes filled with apology.
But she had no choice.
As a wife and mother, she would always choose her family over strangers.
"You..."
Shui Bing'er instantly understood what had happened. With no time to wonder how Ah Yin had discovered the Man Faced Demon Spider, she turned and used the last of her strength to shout at Chu Xiu:
"Chu Xiu, run! It's a Man Faced Demon Spider!"
"It can use Concealment... its Spider Web has... a powerful... paralyzing... effect. Run..."
Before Shui Bing'er could finish, her body became so completely paralyzed that she could not move at all. Even her words came only in broken fragments.
Then she saw Chu Xiu lying on the ground, wrapped in a Spider Web as well.
Her heart sank into utter despair.
Suspended by a strand of silk from its rear, the Man Faced Demon Spider lowered itself from the canopy. It had been using Concealment directly above the space between the three of them, so when it landed, it was roughly the same distance from Chu Xiu as from Shui Bing'er.
Come on! Eat me first! Come on!
Chu Xiu screamed frantically in his mind.
If the Man Faced Demon Spider went to eat Shui Bing'er and Ah Yin first, he would have to abandon his act, cut through the Spider Web, and save Shui Bing'er.
Then he would lose his chance to kill the Man Faced Demon Spider.
Fortunately, luck was on his side. After pacing back and forth a few steps, the Man Faced Demon Spider headed toward him.
That's it. Come on. Come enjoy your delicious lunch.
Chu Xiu's heartbeat quickened. His right hand, gripping the Bone Dagger, was hidden beneath him, ready to deliver a killing blow at any moment.
The Man Faced Demon Spider was completely unguarded. With its limited intelligence, it could never imagine prey pretending to be paralyzed. It soon stood over Chu Xiu and opened its mouthparts to bite him.
The eight eyes on its abdomen were right before him. With the Bone Dagger in his right hand, Chu Xiu swiftly sliced through the silk, then drove the blade between the spider's eight eyes without hesitation.
"Hiss!"
Struck in its vital point, the Man Faced Demon Spider let out an agonized screech and spread its legs, ready to flee.
But how could Chu Xiu possibly let it escape?
"Trying to run? Not a chance."
Chu Xiu quickly tore away the remaining Spider Web with one hand. With the other, he gripped the Bone Dagger and repeatedly pulled it free before plunging it back into the Man Faced Demon Spider's weak point.
Only after more than twenty stabs did the Man Faced Demon Spider stop struggling and collapse with a crash.
"Whew..."
Chu Xiu let out a long breath and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
He had not expected the Man Faced Demon Spider to be so difficult to kill. Fortunately, the outcome was just as he had anticipated, with no unexpected mishaps.
After taking several deep breaths, Chu Xiu finally walked over to Shui Bing'er.
The Man Faced Demon Spider's Paralytic Toxin took effect quickly but wore off just as fast. A few seconds after Chu Xiu cut her free of the Spider Web, Shui Bing'er regained feeling in her body.
"Chu Xiu, thank goodness! I was scared to death!"
Shui Bing'er hugged him tightly, taking quite a while to calm down. "How come the Spider Web didn't paralyze you?"
Chu Xiu grinned. "Did you forget? When Rongrong was bitten by that venomous snake, I ate the leftover snake grass pulp after we treated her."
"So that's why."
Shui Bing'er silently counted her blessings. "I never imagined that herb could not only cure snake venom but also make you immune to the Man Faced Demon Spider's paralysis."
"Wait..."
Something suddenly occurred to Shui Bing'er. Her gaze turned cold as she looked at Ah Yin nearby. "She seemed to know there was a Man Faced Demon Spider here. She led us here on purpose."
"I heard everything earlier."
Chu Xiu handed the Bone Dagger to Shui Bing'er. "Go cut up the Man Faced Demon Spider and see if you can find a Core. I'll ask her why she tried to get us killed."
"All right."
Shui Bing'er knew that Chu Xiu might have to use some unsavory methods to make Ah Yin talk.
But she did not stop him. After all, showing mercy to an enemy was being cruel to yourself.
Ah Yin had brought her and Chu Xiu to the Man Faced Demon Spider. Whatever her reasons, that was unforgivable.
Taking the Bone Dagger, Shui Bing'er walked toward the Man Faced Demon Spider's corpse.
Meanwhile, Chu Xiu dragged Ah Yin behind a large tree some distance away from Shui Bing'er. He forcibly tore the silk from her face, first allowing her to speak again.
"Tell me. How did you know there was a Man Faced Demon Spider here?"
Chu Xiu crouched in front of Ah Yin, his expression mocking.
"Just kill me."
Ah Yin closed her eyes. At this point, she had nothing left to say.
"Kill you? Heh!"
Chu Xiu sneered. "Do you think I kill indiscriminately like you?"
"I don't."
Ah Yin argued, "I only wanted to kill myself. You were the ones who insisted on following so closely. I've never hurt anyone in my life."
Had anyone else said that, Chu Xiu would never have believed it.
But coming from Ah Yin, it did have some credibility.
None of that mattered, though. Whatever Ah Yin had been thinking, Chu Xiu had no intention of treating her kindly. He only wanted to know what abilities she possessed and whether they could help him.
"I remember warning you. Don't you care whether Tang Hao and Tang San live or die anymore?"
Ah Yin suddenly sneered.
"Of course I care. That's why I wanted to make my death look like an accident. But none of that matters now."
Ah Yin took a deep breath, her expression relaxed. "This place is full of danger. Those eyes of yours may see through my identity, but that alone will never keep you alive here for long."
"You'll all die here. Once you're all dead, Brother Hao and Xiao San will be safe."
Along the way, she had detected at least three deadly threats within a thousand-meter radius.
The danger posed by the Man Faced Demon Spider was not even the most obvious. She had chosen it only because it was not far from the direction they were heading.
The forest looked vast, and deeper within it stood a mountain a thousand meters high.
In such a dangerous place, Chu Xiu and the others, who had no martial souls, would never make it out alive.
"So that's what you were thinking."
Chu Xiu could not help laughing. He stared at Ah Yin with a teasing expression. "But what if I told you there's someone important from Spirit Hall among the people surviving alongside us?"
Ah Yin froze.
Spirit Hall's influence reached across the entire continent. If one of their important figures was really here, their people might come looking very soon.
"Impossible. You're lying." Ah Yin sneered. "Spirit Hall couldn't possibly have an elder or an enshrined elder this young."
"Who said anything about elders or enshrined elders?"
Chu Xiu taunted her. "Couldn't it be their Angel Young Master?"
At the words "Angel Young Master," Ah Yin's mind reeled, and her face instantly turned deathly pale.
When she had first seen Qian Renxue earlier that day, she had felt that the girl looked somewhat familiar.
Now, with Chu Xiu's reminder, she instantly understood where that familiarity had come from.
The people who had hunted her back then were Spirit Hall's elders, led by Qian Xunji. Qian Renxue was his daughter, so naturally, her features bore some resemblance to his.
If it really was her, Spirit Hall would mobilize every resource it had and scour the entire continent to find her.
When that happened, not only would she die, but Brother Hao and Xiao San would have no chance of escaping either.
"I was wrong."
All of Ah Yin's earlier confidence vanished. She pleaded in a meek voice, "Please, give me one more chance."
"I'll do anything you ask, as long as you keep my secret."
Before you continue