Chapter 19: Divine Blood Protection

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“There are so many corpse beetles that they could drown the two of them just by sheer numbers. You’re blocking the way now, but what if the beetles get out and attack the villagers nearby after we leave?” Uncle Three scolded, pointing angrily at Wu Xie’s nose, exasperated by his stubbornness.

Pangzi killed the two corpse beetles crawling on his backside and came over to stand before the crack. “Don’t worry, old man. Wooden Fish and Little Brother both have divine blood protecting them. Anyone else might die, but those two won’t.”

Uncle Three was so furious that his nose nearly twisted sideways. Pan Zi, clutching his wound, came over and tried to persuade him as well. “Third Master, why don’t we wait a little longer? We’ve already made it out. A short delay won’t matter.”

Da Kui stood to one side without saying anything, but his meaning was perfectly clear.

He had seen it all earlier. The corpse beetle king had unmistakably been coming for him; it was only because Wooden Fish had intercepted it halfway that he had survived. Otherwise, he would certainly have been the one lying dead now.

Besides, Da Kui cast a furtive glance at Uncle Three, then quickly lowered his head.

“Fine. The two of you are loyal to the point of making me look like some heartless old bastard.” Uncle Three’s expression darkened for a moment. “Then we wait another half hour. Once that time is up, we burn the place, no matter what.”

Inside the cave, Little Brother found Zhang Wuxun sitting cross-legged on the ground. One hand supported his chin while the other lay open, a tiny red insect nestled obediently in his palm. Every so often, it twitched its antennae. The man and insect appeared to be getting along remarkably well.

A large black cloth sack lay beside him. Zhang Wuxun had taken it out of his storage space; otherwise, it would have been difficult to explain when they returned.

Little Brother’s arrival startled the red insect. It began fanning its wings, preparing to attack, but Zhang Wuxun quickly pressed it down gently with his thumb.

“All right, all right. Be good. I have to go now. Go play by yourself.”

The little red insect gave two faint buzzing cries, its antennae tapping against Zhang Wuxun’s fingernail.

The corners of Zhang Wuxun’s eyes curved slightly. He brought his hand close to the blood corpse’s head.

“Go back.”

The red insect remained in his palm for several seconds before slowly crawling along his finger and slipping into the blood corpse’s eye socket.

“That’s done.” Zhang Wuxun rose and brushed the dirt from his clothes. He picked up the black cloth sack and smiled at Little Brother. “Let’s go.”

Little Brother nodded. He glanced at the blood corpse’s head, and the two of them returned to the foot of the Nine-Headed Snake Cypress.

All the corpse beetles at the bottom of the cavern had already retreated into their nest.

Zhang Wuxun spotted the purple jade casket on the ground. “Well, well. Pangzi actually left this behind.”

Finders keepers. Zhang Wuxun walked over, closed the lid, put the purple jade casket into his pocket, and slung it onto his back so it would not hinder him while climbing.

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“Are you not going to ask why the corpse beetle king couldn’t bite me?”

Little Brother had remained silent throughout the climb, but Zhang Wuxun was the first to lose patience.

“You’ll tell me when you want to,” Little Brother said evenly.

All right. That was very much like Little Brother.

Zhang Wuxun clicked his tongue. “Actually, my bloodline isn’t pure. Half of it is the same as yours—the ancestral qilin bloodline. As for the other half, I don’t even know what it is myself. When I was little, I once followed some adults into a tomb, and we encountered a corpse beetle king there too. The entire team had twenty people, and in the end I was the only one left alive. I was trapped inside that ancient tomb for a whole week. The corpse beetle king darted in and out of the heads of the people around me countless times, yet it acted as though I didn’t exist.”

“After that, I discovered that no matter whether they were snakes, rats, insects, or ants, they would basically ignore me the moment they saw me. It left me depressed for quite a while.”

“But I suppose it was lucky.” Zhang Wuxun gave a teasing smile. “Otherwise, you wouldn’t be seeing me today.”

Little Brother remained silent for a long time. Just as Zhang Wuxun thought he would stay silent forever, he suddenly heard him say, “Mm.”

Zhang Wuxun froze for a moment. When he recovered, his face immediately broke into a smile. The corners of his eyes curved upward, revealing the dimples beside his lips.

The two climbed swiftly and soon reached the top of the Nine-Headed Snake Cypress.

When they crawled out through the crack, they came face-to-face with Wu Xie, whose large, deerlike eyes were widened in excitement and delight.

“Wooden Fish! Little Brother!” Wu Xie rushed forward and threw his arms around Zhang Wuxun. “I knew nothing would happen to you two!”

He had originally intended to pounce on Little Brother as well, but the latter’s indifferent expression reminded him of the cold ruthlessness with which he had strangled the jade burial figure. That memory made him hesitate.

“All right, all right. Is there really any need to get so worked up? Isn’t it perfectly normal for me, your Young Master, to return safely?” Zhang Wuxun patted his back and peeled him off. He looked him over from head to toe, then noticed a small bloody cut exposed above his rolled-up trouser leg. “Are you hurt anywhere else?”

Wu Xie shook his head. “No. Pangzi has it worse than I do.”

Pangzi began complaining from the side. “Oh, so you do remember Fatty! I fought against everyone’s objections and waited for the two of you until my eyes nearly fell out. And what happens? The moment you come up, you go straight to getting all cozy with Little Heavenly True Boy, completely ignoring Fatty. Ah, my poor heart—it’s gone ice-cold.”

Zhang Wuxun rolled his eyes. “Only a ghost would listen to your nonsense.”

Pangzi chuckled twice and reached out to rummage through the sack on Zhang Wuxun’s back. “What treasures did you find? Come on, let Fatty have a look.”

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Zhang Wuxun took off the black cloth sack and handed it to him, then motioned for Little Brother to leave.

Free labor was still labor. There was no reason not to use it.

Pangzi lifted the sack with one hand. “Huh?”

Why was it not moving?

He opened it and took a look. Good heavens—the sight left his eyes bulging. He hurriedly called for Wu Xie.

“Quick, Little Heavenly True Boy, come help me! These are all treasures!”

Wu Xie and Pangzi grunted and strained as they carried the sack along behind the others.

The four of them returned to their previous camp. When Uncle Three saw Zhang Wuxun and Little Brother, his expression was one of utter shock. Clearly, he had never expected the two of them to return alive, let alone looking completely unharmed.

But when he noticed the sack in Pangzi’s hand, a sly smile unique to an old fox appeared on his face.

“I thought you’d lost those two jade bottles earlier. I never imagined you still had them.”

Zhang Wuxun naturally understood what he was implying. Uncle Three was merely reminding him not to forget their agreed-upon division of the spoils: seventy-thirty.

“Don’t worry.” Zhang Wuxun took several boxes of self-heating meals from the tent he had been staying in and handed them around. “I said everyone who sees them gets a share, so I certainly won’t go back on my word.”

Uncle Three smiled and said nothing more.

After eating and resting for a while, Uncle Three sent Da Kui over to the crack to make a round and check whether any corpse beetles had taken the opportunity to crawl out.

Da Kui returned and reported that there were indeed none. Only then did Uncle Three abandon the idea of setting the place ablaze.

After everyone had recovered, they returned to the village guesthouse. They settled Pan Zi in the clinic, then went back, enjoyed a hot shower, and collapsed into bed.

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