Chapter 20: Natural Enemy
Chapter 20: Chapter 20: Natural Enemy
"Go home, lock your doors and windows..."
Zhu Ge mused, "Don’t I need to marry Hua Xiaomei?"
"Marry Hua Xiaomei? You mean Hua Liusha?" Yu the Scholar’s head turned mechanically. "Isn’t Hua Liusha already dead? Have you been possessed?"
’Hua Liusha is dead?’
Zhu Ge gave a nearly imperceptible nod.
’It seems Yu the Scholar really does have three states: one controlled by each of the two gods, and his own self.’
’The Yu the Scholar before me now is the one controlled by what I previously thought was the Tiger God, so his memories have changed accordingly.’
This, however, made Zhu Ge doubt the authenticity of his own memories.
’Could it be that the memories from the body’s original owner are also fake? Fabricated by one of those gods?’
"Anyway, you should head back now." Zhu Ge pointed toward the path back. "I’ll be right behind you."
From their brief exchange, Zhu Ge could vaguely tell that the Insect Demon probably didn’t dare step foot inside Jianshan Village.
’What’s the reason?’
If he could ask for more details, Zhu Ge might find a breakthrough.
After all, he still didn’t know the identity of the other god besides the Wedding God.
Besides, Yu the Scholar was no use here anymore. Since the Transformed Insect Demon hadn’t eaten them the moment it saw them, there must be a reason.
Whether its intentions were good or evil didn’t matter, as long as there was information to be found.
"You’re staying here alone?" Yu the Scholar stared at Zhu Ge, his face blank. "I told you, there’s a god out here."
"Yes, I’m staying here alone." Zhu Ge nodded. "I need to watch over the newly planted seedlings."
Normally, to prevent rats, voles, and the like from chewing up the tender shoots, every household would come out to guard their newly planted terrace fields.
But recently, because Yu the Scholar had been going around the village saying "a god has come" and telling everyone to go home and lock their doors and windows, no one was willing to come out anymore.
"I see. Alright." Yu the Scholar nodded very slowly, then turned and walked step by step up the mountain.
Zhu Ge watched Yu the Scholar’s retreating figure, his eyes narrowing.
He felt like he was starting to grasp some of the rules at play.
For instance, after being possessed, villagers under the Wedding God’s influence thought only of marriage.
Meanwhile, villagers under the other god’s influence acted according to their bodies’ instincts.
Just like with Yu the Scholar—as long as Zhu Ge’s actions aligned with his prior knowledge, they weren’t considered abnormal.
Yu the Scholar did indeed know about the need to guard the fields from his past life, so he accepted Zhu Ge’s actions as normal.
’In that case, there are many things I can exploit...’ Zhu Ge’s eyes narrowed.
Just as he was thinking, a faint tremor came from behind him.
Zhu Ge turned around just in time to see the body of the Insect Demon, the Big Cricket, landing from the sky.
"Is he gone?"
The Big Cricket’s voice trembled slightly.
Seeing this, Zhu Ge raised an eyebrow.
’Yu the Scholar is afraid of insects, but it seems this Insect Demon is even more afraid of Yu the Scholar.’
’Or rather, it’s afraid of the Yu the Scholar controlled by the other god?’
Zhu Ge’s thoughts raced. He felt like he was missing a key piece to connect all this information.
That key point was hazy and indistinct; even in his Kunpeng state, he couldn’t see it clearly or grasp it.
He desperately hoped the Big Cricket before him could provide some crucial information. That was, after all, the reason he had risked coming here.
"He’s gone," Zhu Ge replied to the Big Cricket. "Why are you afraid of him? Is it because of the god controlling him?"
"Heh, how the hell should I know?" It seemed the Big Cricket’s compound eyes could no longer see Yu the Scholar, and its tone relaxed.
"But you, kid... Your Martial Dao is mediocre, you haven’t even condensed your Blood Qi, yet you’ve got some nerve."
"You don’t know? Then what are you afraid of?" Zhu Ge’s brow furrowed slightly.
The Big Cricket’s reaction to Yu the Scholar had clearly been one of fear; otherwise, it wouldn’t have flown off in an instant.
The crucial part was that this Big Cricket was a Second Realm existence, the same as his teacher.
A single word, "Scholar," left behind by his teacher had been able to suppress the village for so long. His power was unquestionable.
Yet a being of the same realm as his teacher, the Big Cricket, had been scared into retreat at the sight of the controlled Yu the Scholar. This was undoubtedly a huge issue.
"What am I afraid of?" The Big Cricket’s sharp mandibles writhed back and forth. Zhu Ge suspected that even steel would be ground to pieces if placed inside.
"You kid, don’t you know that toads eat cockroaches, and little sparrows snatch dragonflies?"
The Big Cricket’s voice held a trace of anger. "How the hell should I know what I’m afraid of? Why don’t you go ask the cockroach and the dragonfly what they’re afraid of!"
Hearing this, Zhu Ge froze for a second before a flash of inspiration struck his mind.
Natural enemy!
The names were all local dialect, but the principle behind them was simple.
Natural enemies!
’The god controlling Yu the Scholar... its true form is the natural enemy of crickets!’
’If that’s the case, the range of possibilities for its true form has narrowed!’
"I see..." With this realization, Zhu Ge immediately asked, "Then are you afraid of tigers, leopards, water buffaloes, cats, or dogs?"
But at this question, the Big Cricket grew even angrier. "Why the hell would we be afraid of so many things? I’m a demon! Those are just beasts. If they ran into me, I’d turn them into mincemeat!"
’I see, so it really only works for natural enemies!’
A natural enemy implies a very clear relationship of suppression.
For example, an anteater and an ant. The anteater naturally suppresses the ant, and its existence seems tailor-made to prey upon ants.
Only this kind of suppressive relationship can be called that of a natural enemy.
But if the other god wasn’t a tiger, what could it be?
’What preys on crickets?’
’Toads?’
’Birds?’
’Other insects?’
’It could be any of them!’
"Hey? I’m starting to think you lured me out here just to piss me off, kid."
The Big Cricket raised one of its legs and extended it to Zhu Ge’s neck.
The leg was covered in stiff, barbed bristles that looked incredibly sharp, as if they could easily slit Zhu Ge’s throat.
"You won’t kill me, or you would’ve done it by now." Zhu Ge’s expression was calm. "You’re either afraid of my teacher’s retaliation or you’re a friend of his, but in any case... you don’t dare cross the line."
From the very beginning, the Big Cricket’s feet had remained firmly planted outside the boundary. There was clearly a reason for it.
"Your village is about to be devoured anyway, so what’s one more if I eat you?" The Big Cricket’s wings vibrated, producing a mocking tone.
"Even if that teacher of yours comes back, he’ll never know how you died."
"So, why don’t you dare cross the boundary?" Zhu Ge couldn’t be bothered to trade barbs with the Big Cricket. "What is your natural enemy?"
"Natural enemy?" This time, the Big Cricket didn’t deny it. It propped up its chin with two of its legs and began to pace back and forth along the boundary.
"It’s strange. A state like that man was in just now... I have no idea what was controlling him. We of the Demon Race aren’t exactly experts in matters of the soul..."
"Then would you be willing to enter the village with me?"
Zhu Ge’s tone was calm. "If you come into the village, you might discover something."
The Big Cricket stopped pacing, its pair of compound eyes staring at Zhu Ge. "Are you sure? You’re inviting me into the village?"
Seeing its reaction, Zhu Ge felt a chill in his heart, but his face remained impassive. "What, you don’t dare?"