Chapter 143: Insects

Seeing Su He's hesitant expression, Zou Jiren asked doubtfully, "Did even you fail to see his face?"

Su He replied, "Indeed so, but let us set this aside for now. Your injuries must be tended to by the senior back at our quarters. We must not allow any hidden complications to fester, or things will turn sour later." With that, he gently pushed Zou Jiren's shoulder, urging him to hurry back and stop worrying so much.

Zou Jiren lowered his gaze to check his wounds, then laughed wryly, "Such a minor matter, it's of no consequence."

Though he said this aloud, a strange and complicated taste lingered in his heart. They were both risking their lives working for others, so why was the gap between their situations so vast? Could it really be that he had been blind in the past and misjudged his master?

"Watch out."

"Many thanks!"

Noticing his thoughtful demeanor, Su He bantered, "What are you pondering so deeply? You didn't even notice the pit ahead. Are you afraid your wounds are too light and the senior won't treat you?"

Zou Jiren's ears flushed red with embarrassment. He awkwardly scratched the back of his head and said, "It's nothing. By the way, did the senior and Brother Yun find anything on their end?"

He chose to change the subject rather than answer. How could he let Su He know that he was comparing him to Lin Mao? Voicing such thoughts aloud would sound truly unseemly. Better to chat about something else and spare them both the awkwardness along the way.

Su He did not press the matter further. Walking alongside him, he replied, "Both sides came up empty-handed. Hmm? What about your end?"

Zou Jiren raised his gaze, shot him a sideways glance, and suddenly turned serious. "To tell you the truth, I did manage to uncover a shred of intelligence."

"Oh?"

"Yes. When I previously inquired among the nearby immortals, they all claimed to have witnessed nothing out of the ordinary. However, because this region lacks the abundant spiritual energy of other villages, the residents are quite scattered rather than concentrated, so I wandered further into other areas. It wasn't until I reached the border of Little Zhou Village that I discovered two more isolated immortal households. I stepped forward to make inquiries and learned that one household had already relocated."

"Relocated?" Upon hearing these two words, Su He's footsteps instantly grew heavier, unconsciously slowing down.

"Indeed. Upon asking, I learned that on the very night of the incident, the immortals who later moved away went for a stroll by the lake, only to discover that the fish and shrimp in the lake were floating dead across the entire surface for reasons unknown. Being kind-hearted and thinking nothing of it at the time, the immortal gathered up the fish and shrimp from the lake intending to bury them. But as he walked toward the opposite bank, he found wild beasts lying dead along the shore as well, so he simply dragged them back together. Originally, there was nothing more to the matter. The misfortune lay in the fact that while transporting the load, the immortal accidentally stepped on a withered branch that punctured a fish's belly. According to the surviving immortal's recollection, his elderly neighbor stated that what spilled from the ruptured fish belly was not fish entrails, but a mass of tiny black insects. At the time, the immortal assumed the weather was simply hot, causing the fish and shrimp to rot rapidly. Half-in-credulous, he tried puncturing the bellies of the other fish, only to be frightened ashen."

"Why?"

"Because all the fish bellies surged with tiny black insects. Even the prawns, though small in size, when their heads were pulled off, revealed no difference from the fish. Refusing to give up, the immortal cut open the bellies of the dead beasts to inspect them, and the sight was even more horrifying than the fish and shrimp. Consequently, after hurriedly burying them, the immortal told his neighbor that a natural disaster was imminent, declared that he was leaving on a distant journey to escape calamity, and urged his neighbor to flee as well."

"Then... how did the immortal who stayed behind view this matter?"

Every abnormal event portends a monstrosity. Since he was warned yet chose to stay, he was either ignorant or possessed great talent.

Seeing Su He's reaction, Zou Jiren instantly guessed what he was thinking and said, "At first, I shared your view, thinking the immortal must possess some extraordinary capability. After chatting with him for a while, I realized he didn't possess great talent at all—he simply felt it was no big deal. They were just a few bugs, after all, and there was no need to frighten oneself. When his neighbor moved away, he even thought the man was regressing in his cultivation, reducing himself to a coward trembling at shadows."

"Insects?"

"Yes. I believe there must be a cause for this. Fish and shrimp do not die en masse for no reason. The beasts that died on the shore must have perished from drinking the lake water."

Su He let out a turbid sigh, frowned as he looked up at the sun overhead, and asked, "Have you investigated the lake?"

"I have, but the lake water currently shows no abnormalities whatsoever."

"What do you mean?"

"I caught wild birds and rabbits from the forest to test the water; those that drank it suffered no ill effects. I also caught a bag of frogs and dumped them into the lake, and they were hopping about lively."

"It seems the traces were wiped clean, and everything has returned to normal."

"Indeed, that was my conclusion as well. Furthermore, to verify the truth of the matter, I located the spot where the immortal buried the carcasses of the fish and shrimp. Strangely enough, those fish and shrimp have yet to rot or putrefy, and they look remarkably fresh in every respect. Those insects certainly do not look like something bred by hot weather."

Hearing this, Su He gradually sank into deep contemplation. After a long while, he murmured, "So that is how it is."

Zou Jiren nodded and continued, "There is another matter. When Sanju Moruyuan arrived, a dark shadow fled the scene. I intended to pursue it, but was intercepted by the masked person. By the time I managed to break away and resume the chase, I had lost the shadow's aura entirely."

"Moruyuan?"

Noticing Su He's slight look of astonishment, Zou Jiren let out a dry laugh. "Indeed. This man is one of the Three Masters of Spring and Autumn Calligraphy. Because his temperament is exceedingly difficult to get along with, he rarely wanders through the Sea of Desire. Whenever he appears, nine times out of ten he has sneaked out behind Qiushui Wuhen's back."

"How did you come to know this?" Su He was still somewhat surprised. He had heard of the Three Masters, and had even crossed paths once with Ziyi Wuyi and Shi Duanchang. In his mind, the remaining master ought to at least resemble the previous two. He had never expected someone with such a fiery and volatile temperament.

Zou Jiren sheepishly replied, "You know what I used to do for a living; naturally, I pay a certain amount of attention to the affairs of various factions."

"That is true. Did you notice anything amiss about that dark shadow?"

"I sensed an aura on him identical to the one carried by those fish and shrimp."

"You mean... he might be the true culprit?" If so, the masked person's objective became obvious, and his perfunctory attacks during the skirmish found a reasonable explanation. Yet, judging by the masked person's cultivation, what he displayed was merely the tip of the iceberg. Could such a figure...? Suddenly, a person came to mind—someone whose signature trait was also the manipulation of insects. If it was him, Su He did not doubt his capabilities. However, could the truth really be this simple?

Zou Jiren asked, "What have you thought of?"

"I have some ideas, but I cannot be certain yet. Do you know where their auras intersect? What are their characteristics?" Su He shook his head, though a turbulent storm raged within his heart.

Is the fish finally about to take the bait?

Yet upon second thought, it seemed too incredible. Insects, the Red Widow, and Chang Daizi had previously wreaked havoc in the Sea of Desire, but their past methods bore distinct differences from this. As with the previous provocative letter followed by several subsequent occurrences, everything had been completely untraceable. Why would they leave such glaring flaws this time? It was completely unlike their usual style. Reconsidering the dark shadow, could this be a subordinate they were cultivating?

Zou Jiren pondered for a moment before saying, "Intersecting characteristics? Intersecting..."

Suddenly, he clapped his hands and said loudly, "Lend me your ear."

Su He complied, and Zou Jiren whispered several sentences close to his ear, causing Su He's expression to grow increasingly solemn.

After a long pause, he looked at Zou Jiren in absolute astonishment. "Are you certain you didn't mistake it?"

Zou Jiren replied gravely, "This matter is of utmost gravity. Would I joke with you about this?"

Su He hurriedly explained, "No, I didn't mean it that way. I simply find it utterly unfathomable."

"I know." Zou Jiren gave a bitter smile and then lowered his head to walk forward. He had strayed from the path in the past, and this current predicament was merely what he deserved to endure.

"Sigh... Let's go. They must be growing anxious waiting for us." Knowing that Zou Jiren harbored a knot in his heart, Su He initially wanted to offer further explanation, but thought better of it and gave up. They were both men; fussing over things like women would only make matters worse. Since it was a mental block, he could only let Zou Jiren walk out of it in his own time. Otherwise, it would only make Su He seem hypocritical.

Zou Jiren nodded. Channeling their inner energy, the two crossed mountains and rivers, quickly returning to the inn.

Seeing them finally return, Queyunzi let out a breath of relief, hurriedly waved at them, and called out, "Hurry, hurry! We've saved food for you, and the dishes have been reheated several times over."

Su He said, "Senior, examine Jiren's injuries first. It doesn't matter if we eat cold dishes in this weather."

With that, he pushed Zou Jiren toward Queyunzi.

Zou Jiren stiffened his posture, feeling somewhat awkward. He had thought Su He still harbored lingering resentment over his past, and even if nothing was said, subtle traces would inevitably slip out. He had not expected that seemingly everything was truly just his own overthinking.

Queyunzi was no ordinary man; with a roll of his eyes, he understood the situation entirely. He signaled for Zou Jiren to sit down and told him not to be tense.

Daring not to disobey, Zou Jiren sat down as instructed and said, "I'm fine, it's just a flesh wound."

Queyunzi peeled back the shredded cloth covering the wound and poked it, immediately causing cold sweat to break out on Zou Jiren's forehead. "Hmph, a mere flesh wound indeed! One can practically see the bone inside; it's a hair's breadth away from a fracture."

"Senior..." Can you spare the sarcasm?

"Hmm? What is it?"

"..."

Su He asked, "Senior, how is the situation?"

"Not bad, it missed any vital organs. Any deeper by an inch, and this old man's medical skills would have been stretched too thin." With that, he turned to Zou Jiren and said, "Follow this old man upstairs to my room. Xingyu, come and lend a hand."

"Understood." Yun Xingyu immediately rose from his seat and, regardless of whether Zou Jiren was willing or not, forcibly hauled him up the stairs.

In an instant, the bustling lobby was left with only a few patrons, alongside Su He, Huai Yin, and Sui Yuren.

Seeing everyone else leave, Huai Yin tentatively asked, "Did you make your move?"

"Indeed," Su He nodded while signaling the waiter to bring clean bowls and chopsticks.

"Immortal master, here are the bowls and chopsticks you requested." The waiter quickly delivered them and turned to leave.

Su He called out to him, "Wait."

"Does the immortal master have further instructions?"

"I must trouble you to deliver these meals to my injured friend upstairs." With that, he picked out the best dishes into a bowl, ladled out soup and rice, and had the waiter carry them up together.

"Right away! Please wait a moment, I'll deliver them right now."

"Thank you for the trouble."

"Not at all, not at all, it is my duty."

The waiter waved his hands repeatedly, picked up the tray of food, and hurried up the stairs.

Sui Yuren watched with a hint of envy, resting her chin on the table as she blinked and said, "Big Brother Baili, you picked all the best food for him—what are you going to eat yourself?"

Sister Yi certainly had good taste; look at how considerate and gentle Big Brother Baili was. At this thought, she cast a disdainful sideways glance at a certain someone. Unlike certain people, who remained utterly blind no matter how well one treated them, stubbornly failing to see anything.

Huai Yin turned his head away and said with displeasure, "Ancestor, what have I done wrong this time to incur such disdain from your elderly self?"

"Hmph, I wasn't talking to you."

"..."

Su He hurriedly smoothed things over. "It's nothing, I can just make do with whatever is left. Besides, aren't there still plenty of dishes?"

Sui Yuren glanced into the serving bowls and grumbled, "There are plenty, alright—mostly bones, vegetable leaves, or soup."

Huai Yin sneered, "Hoh, so you actually know how to care for people."

Furious, Sui Yuren delivered a direct kick under the table straight at his shin, gritting her teeth as she hissed, "None of your business."

"Tch... so fierce? Careful you never manage to get married." Huai Yin clutched his foot in pain, rubbing it furiously while thinking, *Dead girl, she really didn't hold back.*

"Hmph, this young lady would rather marry nobody than marry you, so don't you worry about it."

"Pfft, as if I wanted to worry."

"You..."