Insect eggs

It took Zhao Sanqi and five others working together to restrain Wang Fei, the fifth brother, who seemed to have gone mad.

"Aaaah—!"

Dongfang Wanyu knocked him unconscious with a swift chop of her hand.

"What on earth happened to Fifth Brother?" Mu Qing, the sixth sister, held him and sobbed.

"His wound is infected."

Dongfang Minghui woke in a daze to find everyone gathered around the same person. She moved closer, and the sight of his wound instantly jolted her awake.

There was a large hole in Wang Fei's thigh. The flesh inside had rotted, giving off waves of foul stench, and a section of white bone was clearly visible. It looked as though something sharp had gouged out a chunk of his flesh.

They held down his arms and legs. Everyone could see something bulging beneath the surface of his thigh, wriggling under his skin.

Even unconscious, Wang Fei's brows were tightly knitted, and his breathing was labored.

"At the time, we only managed to dig the Ironclad Beetle out of his flesh. We never imagined it would turn out like this." Zhao Sanqi was filled with guilt.

"Then what do we do? Fifth Brother will die if this keeps up." Tears streamed down Mu Qing's face. Before long, her eyes were red from crying.

"Big Brother, why don't we leave the Purple Demon Mountains now? We might still be able to save Fifth Brother."

Dongfang Wanyu stepped forward and gently pressed his wound with her fingers. Two or three clusters of larvae immediately darted away in both directions along his leg, moving extremely fast. "The larvae have already infested his body. Even if you leave the Purple Demon Mountains now, I'm afraid it will be too late to save him."

Those words were as good as a death sentence.

Dongfang Minghui nodded in agreement. "Once the larvae enter his internal organs and the vessels around his heart, nothing will be able to save him."

Ever since arriving here, she had been preoccupied with staying alive and winning The Female Lead's favor. She had all but forgotten that she had once been a doctor.

"Then what do we do? Are we supposed to just watch Fifth Brother suffer like this?" Mu Qing's tears began flowing uncontrollably again.

"Your immediate priority is to catch a female Ironclad Beetle." Dongfang Wanyu produced a porcelain bottle from somewhere. "This contains a Life-Saving Pill. It can keep him alive for one day. If you haven't caught an Ironclad Beetle by then, even I won't be able to save him."

Mu Qing reached out, took the bottle, poured out the pill, and put it straight into her fifth brother's mouth.

Zhao Sanqi cupped his hands gratefully. "Miss, if there's anything you want, just tell us. If it's within our power, we'll spare no effort."

Dongfang Wanyu gave a derisive laugh. "Instead of wasting time saying that, you'd be better off hurrying to catch a female Ironclad Beetle. If you miss your window, you can prepare a coffin for him."

Zhao Sanqi nodded. "Yes, yes, you're right, miss. But could you tell us why we specifically need a female Ironclad Beetle?"

"If newly hatched larvae smell the distinctive urine of a female Ironclad Beetle, they'll come out to find her. It's one of the simplest ways to draw all the larvae out of your brother's body," Dongfang Wanyu explained slowly. Then she pointed at the girl beside her who had been looking after her. "You'd better get rid of that smell on you. Corpse-Stench Grass is an Ironclad Beetle's natural enemy, so their larvae are naturally afraid of its smell as well."

Hearing that, Dongfang Minghui felt as though she had shot herself in the foot.

Once everyone understood Dongfang Wanyu's explanation, they gathered to discuss a plan to return to the Ironclad Beetles' cave and capture a female.

Dongfang Minghui sat to one side, bored and lost in thought. The Female Lead really does good deeds wherever she goes, without asking anything in return.

A rustling suddenly came from behind a tree.

Dongfang Minghui turned and saw a pair of shifty eyes fixed on her. No, they were fixed on the food in her arms.

Apparently, even the stink on her couldn't mask the aroma of roasted meat.

She had heard that Lightning Mice moved as fast as lightning. More importantly, one careless scratch from those claws would be the end of her.

Dongfang Minghui grew wary. She put on a stern, displeased expression, but still kept her voice low. "Were you the one who took my bundle?"

The Lightning Mouse tilted its head, looking at her with a dopey, adorable expression.

Before, Dongfang Minghui might have fallen for it, but she had learned her lesson. Now she clutched the food in her arms tightly and gestured at the Lightning Mouse, outlining the shape of her bundle.

Her meaning was simple: no bundle, no food.

The Lightning Mouse stuck out its little pink tongue and kept licking. Dongfang Minghui turned away, pretending not to see, though she still glanced at it from time to time to see what it intended to do.

Apparently realizing that Dongfang Minghui was determined, the Lightning Mouse flicked its tail and left.

Dongfang Minghui looked toward the others. They were still discussing their plan, and apparently no one had noticed anything unusual on her side. She couldn't help breathing a sigh of relief.

A little while later, another rustling sounded, louder than before.

There was still a long night ahead. Dongfang Minghui had just been about to fall asleep when the noise the Lightning Mouse made startled her. She watched it emerge from the darkness, dragging a large bundle.

With a light flick of its thick, long, furry tail, the bundle landed in Dongfang Minghui's arms.

The Lightning Mouse bared its teeth and made a series of gestures.

"You're giving it back?" She could hardly believe her luck. She had thought her belongings were gone for good, never expecting to recover them.

The Lightning Mouse planted its front paws before it and started licking its lips, paws, and tongue at Dongfang Minghui again. Its lively eyes fairly screamed, "Food, food, food!"

"All right." Dongfang Minghui took out the wrapped food in her arms and fed it piece by piece. "Since you've been so good, you can have all of it."

The human and beast stayed quietly together like that, one feeding and the other acting cute and rolling around to beg for food. They actually got along remarkably well.

After feeding it the last piece, Dongfang Minghui spread her hands. "That's all."

Still wanting more, the Lightning Mouse licked its paws while watching Dongfang Minghui. Once it had apparently finished grooming its fur, it flicked its tail and silently disappeared into the darkness.

"Did everything I told you go in one ear and out the other?" Dongfang Wanyu had actually noticed what was happening long ago, but because the Lightning Mouse was behaving itself, she had stayed out of sight.

Dongfang Wanyu was rather displeased by Dongfang Minghui's repeated, reckless attempts to get close to the Lightning Mouse.

Dongfang Minghui, on the other hand, happily held up the bundle. "I didn't go looking for it. It brought the bundle back itself. Look, our bundle."

She opened it and checked through everything. Finding nothing missing brightened her mood even further.

Seeing that innocent, carefree expression, Dongfang Wanyu sank into unfathomable contemplation. When had the arrogant, overbearing Ninth Miss who constantly targeted her back at the estate become like this?

"Seventh Sister, we should treat your wound." Dongfang Minghui took a bottle of medicinal powder from the bundle and sniffed it. It was indeed medicine to stop bleeding.

She had The Female Lead uncover her earlier injury and found that the wound was rather deep. Using the water boiled while preparing dinner, she cleaned around the wound and applied the medicine. Then she cut a clean strip from a clean garment with a dagger, bandaged the wound, and tied a bow over it.

"All done." Dongfang Minghui smiled.

Dongfang Wanyu looked at it and pulled down her sleeve. "Thank you."

"Seventh Sister, I'll keep watch for the second half of the night. Go get some rest." Dongfang Minghui figured that since she couldn't sleep anyway, she might as well find something to do.

As for tomorrow... there might be a tough battle ahead.

Dongfang Wanyu did not refuse. She walked back to the tree from earlier and closed her eyes.

Within moments, only four of them remained. The Female Lead was asleep, while Mu Qing refused to rest and continued tending to the gravely injured man.

"What should I do tomorrow?" Dongfang Minghui found a spot with grass and trees and murmured to herself.

Although the mercenaries had gone to catch a female Ironclad Beetle, once they reached the cave, one of them would grow greedy and try to steal the Ironclad Beetle king's eggs as well. As luck would have it, they would succeed. But with the eggs stolen, the entire colony would swarm out in force, and the smell of Corpse-Stench Grass certainly wouldn't be enough to hold them back.

She knew only that The Female Lead would turn danger into good fortune. But what about her, someone utterly defenseless? The book had never said that Ninth Miss would come to this godforsaken place...

"Tell me, what should I do?" Sitting on the ground, Dongfang Minghui tugged and tugged, nearly pulling the little plant in front of her out by its roots.

"Waaah, stop pulling, stop pulling! You're stripping me bare!"

"What other natural enemies do Ironclad Beetles have besides Corpse-Stench Grass? Tell me, hurry up! Tell me and I'll stop pulling at you." Dongfang Minghui poked it relentlessly, until the little plant toppled over and couldn't get back up.

"Waaah, dunno! If you keep poking me, I'll still dunno!"

Dongfang Minghui immediately propped it upright. "I was wrong. Come on, tell me. Otherwise, when the Ironclad Beetles swarm out tomorrow, you'll suffer too."

They would be trampled to bits.

The little plant swayed, feeling dizzy. "I dunno, but I can ask my friends for you."

Dongfang Minghui slumped. "All right."

Dongfang Minghui had no idea that a pair of eyes behind her had suddenly opened and was watching her.

"Your ninth sister is rather adorable, talking to herself among the flowers and grass. Aren't you afraid she has an ulterior motive for getting close to you?" The cool voice sounded again.

Dongfang Wanyu closed her eyes and continued feigning sleep.

Early the next morning, Dongfang Minghui was awakened by a furry tail brushing over her. She grabbed at it again and again but failed to catch it. Instead, something heavy suddenly sat on her chest, pressing down so hard she could barely breathe.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak."

Dongfang Minghui opened her eyes and found herself staring into a pair of round, bulging eyes. The little creature sat firmly on her chest, its tail swishing back and forth and even brushing her face.

She turned her head and looked around. Mu Qing was still tending to the unconscious fifth brother, but The Female Lead was nowhere to be seen.

"Little one, get up." Dongfang Minghui picked up the little creature and set it aside, then straightened her clothes and sat up.

The Lightning Mouse copied Dongfang Minghui, smoothing its fur with its tail. Then it curled its tail around her wrist and tugged.

"Huh? What are you trying to do?"

The Lightning Mouse took a step forward and tugged her wrist with its tail, then took another step and looked back at her with its dopey, adorable expression.

"You want me to follow you?"

The Lightning Mouse flicked its tail, took another two steps forward, and looked back at her again.

Left with little choice, Dongfang Minghui followed it, having no idea where it wanted to take her.

"Little one, I won't know the way back later. What exactly are you trying to do?"

The Lightning Mouse squeaked at length, but neither could understand the other. Dongfang Minghui talked until her mouth went dry, then simply threw caution to the wind. "Fine, let's go. I'll come with you."