Chapter 51: Net
Chapter 51: Chapter 51: Net
It was obvious!
With the Third Realm Raincoat Fisherman around, Sui Niang shouldn’t have been in any danger.
At the very least, beings like the Tiger God wouldn’t dare to cause trouble.
Since the danger wasn’t coming from the outside, it had to be coming from the Raincoat Fisherman himself.
Bullying men and brutalizing women, preying on the common folk, running rampant without a shred of decency!
With people like him walking the earth, how could the Human Race possibly prosper? How could they?!
"Zhu Ge!" Yu the Scholar came out too, his face a mask of fury. "What’s your plan? If this goes too far, I’ll sacrifice everything!"
"Let’s go take a look first," Zhu Ge said, his own anger simmering.
The two of them went together, arriving outside Sui Niang’s house in just a few steps.
As for Duan Lei and Ji Fuhui, they were mortals, after all. They were probably sound asleep, undisturbed by the commotion.
At that moment, Sui Niang’s house stood before them, covered by the downward-facing projection of a fish basket.
This spectral fish basket emitted a faint green glow, making it impossible to see what was happening to the house inside.
"This is utterly outrageous!"
Enraged, Yu the Scholar’s eyes and throat shot out white light. He raised his right hand and wrote the character for "Confucian" in the air, sending it flying toward the fish basket.
"Break!"
However, the moment the "Confucian" character touched the fish basket, it shattered like an egg against a stone, dissolving into motes of light.
Yu the Scholar was not the least bit surprised by this. He bit through his own index finger, and blood spurted out.
He casually spat the flesh of his fingertip aside. The bone at the end of his finger was faintly visible, yet he seemed to feel no pain.
The character for "Kill" took shape, written in Yu the Scholar’s own blood with flamboyant, dance-like strokes.
"Damn that Raincoat Fisherman, preying on my people!"
Tears welled in Yu the Scholar’s eyes, and he had bitten his lip until it bled. The "Confucian" character on his chest flared with brilliant light in time with his heartbeat.
"Scholar!"
Zhu Ge’s eyes were even more bloodshot than they had been two days ago. "If you sacrifice yourself now, it will be like an egg smashing against a stone, not a fish tearing the net as it dies!"
Hearing this, Yu the Scholar whipped his head around. "Zhu Ge! That’s Sui Niang! Xianxian is in there too!"
"I know!" Blood trickled from the corner of Zhu Ge’s mouth, but he held Yu the Scholar back firmly.
"If we die, what will happen to them? We can die to satisfy your Confucian Dao, but who will look after Big Belly Dog and Little Black Egg? If Xianxian and Sui Niang die, who will be left to avenge them?"
Zhu Ge suppressed the urge to cry out. A metallic, sweet taste surged up his throat, rushed to his head, and then shot down through his entire body.
An inexplicable feeling welled up within him.
The First Realm of the Martial Dao, named... Indignation!
’I rescued them with my own hands. I’ve lived with them day in and day out...’ Zhu Ge felt none of the joy of stepping into the First Realm of the Martial Dao, only a heavy, painful weight in his heart.
"I want to charge in and fight to the death too, but that’s the coward’s way out! Once you’re dead and gone, who’s left to bear the pain of the living? Can’t you even endure that torment?!"
Zhu Ge kept his voice low, and it was terrifyingly calm.
Hearing this, the veins on Yu the Scholar’s forehead still bulged, but the nails of his left hand, which had been digging into his palm, slowly relaxed. Literary Energy flowed from his right hand, enveloping his injured index finger.
"I... will listen to you." Yu the Scholar fell silent and moved to stand quietly behind Zhu Ge.
Seeing this, Zhu Ge turned back and looked up at the fish basket.
’Fourteen years of lifespan...’
Zhu Ge’s heart felt as if it were bursting with scorching heat, yet at the same time, it was filled with an extreme cold.
He glanced at the simulator interface.
[Name: Zhu Ge]
[Lifespan: 16 Years]
[Trait Equipped: None]
[Inventory: Spider, Kunpeng]
He had forgotten. Now that he was in the First Realm of the Martial Dao, his lifespan had increased by two years.
’I wonder if I can use "Spider"?’
’Will it kill me outright?’
’Should I use "Kunpeng" or "Spider"?’
’Yes, it has to be "Spider".’
From its description, "Kunpeng" was more suited for post-event analysis or for quick thinking in an emergency.
"Spider," on the other hand, was for laying out plans and weaving a web.
A myriad of thoughts raced through Zhu Ge’s mind, finally coalescing into a single command—
Equip Spider!
The thought flashed, and even though Zhu Ge had walked through the Ghost Gate several times before, he couldn’t help but feel a little nervous.
But when he found he hadn’t been completely drained, he breathed a small sigh of relief.
In his mind, the simulator’s interface changed.
[Name: Zhu Ge]
[Lifespan: 8 Years]
[Trait Equipped: Spider]
[Inventory: Kunpeng]
’Eight years of lifespan?’ Zhu Ge felt a little relieved.
The next instant, a peculiar power welled up from the depths of his being.
’Control.’
’Planning.’
’Concealment.’
’Guidance.’
’Luring the target into a trap.’
...
One by one, these strange abilities flowed through his mind, giving him a feeling that...
Looking up at the sky, he felt as if he only needed a springboard to pluck the stars.
Looking down at the ground, he felt as if he only needed a fulcrum to move the very earth.
All things could be controlled!
Of course, to actually lay out and execute such plans would come at a terrifying cost in both time and resources.
He only had one minute of use. He could only make one plan, weave one web.
And so, Zhu Ge looked at the house and the fish basket before him, his gaze piercing through the obstruction as if seeing a certain "flying insect" trapped within.
’Weave the web!’
Reflected in the depths of Zhu Ge’s eyes was a nearly invisible spiderweb. At its center was the Raincoat Fisherman, shrouded by the fish basket.
The web surged outward in all directions like a tidal wave, its strands connecting to unknown, distant places.
These strands were like chains, wrapping around the Raincoat Fisherman at the center in layer after layer, pulling tighter and tighter.
’I see...’
Understanding dawned in Zhu Ge’s mind.
He recognized a few of the silk threads.
One stretched in the direction where the Tiger God had been, another toward Mr. Chong’s location.
There were threads connected to Zhu Ge and Yu the Scholar, and others that reached into the nearby house of Ji Fuhui and Duan Lei.
There were also countless dense threads connected to all sorts of places Zhu Ge had overlooked, and at the end of those threads were all kinds of insects.
Jingzhe, the awakening of insects!
When the time came, there would be a massive swarm of insects!
’There are still many threads whose ends aren’t connected to anything.’
Zhu Ge looked around, a vague understanding of those unconnected threads dawning on him.
To completely lock down the Raincoat Fisherman, what he had now might be enough, or it might not. Everything was still an unknown.
It was like a spider spinning its web, uncertain whether it would be able to trap its prey.
But at the very least, Zhu Ge now had a fighting chance.
’Even with just one thread, I’d have a chance to trap him. And now I have so many...’
Zhu Ge’s mind grew clearer and clearer. After equipping "Spider," plans began to form one after another in his head.
’Nineteen days. In nineteen days, the Raincoat Fisherman will die without a doubt!’
He arrived at a number. Then, just before the "Spider" trait faded completely, he glanced at Yu the Scholar and suddenly discovered another use for it.
He quickly used the same method to look at himself, then at Ji Fuhui and Duan Lei in the distance, and a sense of assurance settled in his heart.
’"Spider" could not only weave a web for a hunt, but it could also create plans for oneself!’
’Our path... we can also walk it like this...’
’I have to tell everyone tomorrow.’