The Liao frontier, Tulan!
Rustling sounds echoed ceaselessly, as if something was crawling rapidly in the darkness.
"Sister, I'm scared~"
A childish voice choked with tears, burying itself in its sister's embrace.
"Nannan, don't be afraid, Sister is here, Sister will protect you!"
Lan Tian held the little girl in her arms, forcing down the fear in her heart, trying to suppress her trembling voice.
A few days ago, they were brought to the Liao frontier and then driven into this dilapidated and desolate town by Liao soldiers. The Liao soldiers avoided this place as if it were a plague; she had even glimpsed the fearful, evasive look hidden beneath their armor.
Since driving them into this place, Liao soldiers had stood outside the town every day, tossing food in. But today, they had stopped.
Muffled cries echoed in the ruined temple, as fear and hunger gnawed at everyone's nerves.
Lan Tian looked up at Sister Sansan standing at the doorway. The moonlight shone on her sister, casting her shadow far into the distance, beyond what Lan Tian could see.
Seeing Sister Sansan's back, Lan Tian's pervasive fear suddenly lessened by half for no discernible reason.
Sansan stood at the doorway, listening intently. Rustling sounds came from all directions. She turned abruptly, took out a Qilin Stone from her embrace, and ignited the firewood in the room.
The firelight instantly dispelled the darkness. Everyone looked up, slightly stunned.
"Sister?"
People began to stand up in twos and threes, gathering around Sansan. Hadn't Sister said they should use firewood sparingly? Now all of it was lit, what would they do later?
Sansan bent down, pulling out pieces of firewood from the bonfire and placing them into everyone's hands. She instructed, "Hold them tight. No matter what happens next, don't be afraid, don't panic. Fire is the bane of all living creatures!"
Lan Tian tightly gripped the firewood in her hand. The firelight reflected on her face. Though her body trembled with fear and her eyes were tearful, a fire seemed to blaze in her pupils, tearing at her fear with fierce aggression.
She shielded her frail sister behind her, her eyes filled with a desperate courage.
Hearing Sansan's words, everyone felt uneasy, finding solace only in the firewood they held.
"Rustle~"
The ground in the room began to shake. Black objects emerged from the earth, numerous and swarming, like the tentacles of a demon reaching out.
Sansan's pupils constricted instantly. The creatures, shrouded in darkness, appeared clearly to her eyes.
Spiders, all spiders!
"Gather closer!"
Sansan shouted, and everyone huddled around her. Sansan took out a pink bottle from her embrace, uncorked it, and drew a circle around everyone with the powder inside, enclosing them.
The firelight in their hands illuminated the spiders crawling into the room. Everyone's faces turned ashen.
Spiders, an endless expanse of them.
The largest were as big as a child's head, and they could clearly see the grotesque, ugly mouthparts in their jaws.
Lan Tian gritted her teeth, the veins on the back of her hand, clenched around the firewood, bulging, her knuckles showing a hint of paleness.
Cries and screams filled the entire room. Some cried, some screamed, some looked at Sansan with resentment, thinking that if she hadn't insisted on gathering them together, if she hadn't insisted on being brave, how would they have been trapped here? If they weren't here, they wouldn't be surrounded by spiders.
It was all her fault!
"Everyone, don't panic. I've sprinkled Gu Wang powder around. The spiders won't dare to approach. As long as you don't step out of this circle, you'll be fine!"
Sansan shouted loudly.
"Sister Sansan, you said as long as we don't step out of the circle, we'll be fine, right?"
A soft inquiry reached Sansan's ears. Sansan didn't turn her head but focused intently on the spiders continually crawling into the room, and nodded, "Yes, as long as..."
Before she could finish, a strong shove came from behind, and Sansan's body was uncontrollably pushed towards the outside of the circle.
"Sister Sansan!"
Lan Tian's eyes widened in fury. She quickly reached out her arm, trying to grab Sansan's sleeve.
Her hand brushed against Sansan's sleeve, grasping only air. She watched in horror as Sansan stumbled out of the circle. The spiders that had halted, afraid to approach, pounced on Sansan.
"Ah~"
Everyone let out terrified screams. Seeing Sansan about to be devoured by spiders.
A cold glint erupted from Sansan's sleeve. A silver ribbon sliced through the air, whipping spiders away like a whip. The ribbon struck the ground, leaving a pit. Sansan, who had been falling forward, soared into the air. The ribbon returned, and Lan Tian felt a cold wind sweep past her ear. The ribbon coiled around the person in front of her. With a flick of her wrist, Sansan threw the person wrapped in the ribbon into the spider swarm, then retreated back into the circle.
"Ah~"
A piercing scream erupted. While everyone was stunned, the person Sansan had thrown into the spider swarm was already gnawed down to a skeleton with scraps of flesh and blood.
"Ugh~"
Seeing this, everyone's faces changed drastically. The overwhelming stench of blood and the scene before their eyes, a double impact, caused them to retch in disgust and terror.
Fortunately, they hadn't eaten anything that day, so their stomachs were empty. They only vomited some sour liquid, which didn't overly pollute the air.
Sansan ignored the person gnawed to a skeleton and turned to look at the crowd behind her. Her eyes were sharp and devoid of any warmth. Lan Tian, standing beside Sansan, shivered violently, suddenly finding the Sister Sansan before her more terrifying than the spiders surrounding them.
Her swift and decisive actions had truly shocked everyone.
They had never imagined that Sansan, who had always protected them, could be so ruthless as to throw someone into a spider swarm without batting an eye.
Meeting Sansan's gaze, everyone lowered their heads in fear.
"I am not a saint!"
Sansan spoke, her voice chillingly cold, "I can save you, or I can let you be devoured by spiders and trampled by the Liao bandits. I hope you understand what you can and cannot do, and don't be as disgustingly foolish as her."
"Sister~"
The little girl behind Lan Tian grabbed Lan Tian's sleeve, fearfully seeking Lan Tian's protection.
Lan Tian held her sister's hand, but unlike the others, she didn't fear Sansan. This was all Yinling's doing. If she hadn't harbored malicious intent, how could she have ended up like this? What if Sister Sansan's methods were a bit ruthless? All of this was Yinling's just desserts. Did she expect Sister Sansan to repay evil with good?
Lan Tian turned and said to her sister, "She brought it upon herself. Since she harbored malicious intent and wanted to push others into the spider's mouth, she shouldn't blame others for pushing her back.
"If anyone thinks Sister Sansan is cruel, then they should think about Yinling, who was swallowed by spiders. Her actions were far crueler than Sister's. If she could push Sister Sansan into the spider swarm without warning today, if she were still alive, she would push others into the fire pit to save herself later. Letting such a menace live means we will die later."
Lan Tian surveyed the surroundings, her voice resolute. Those who had previously thought Sansan too ruthless now came to their senses upon hearing Lan Tian's words. That's right, if Yinling hadn't tried to harm Sister Sansan, Sister Sansan wouldn't have harmed her. They owed their survival to Sister Sansan's protection along the way. If not for her, they would have died countless times already.
"Sister, we understand!"
Whether the others truly understood or were just trying to survive, Sansan didn't care. Her task was to do her best to save these people's lives.
As for Lan Tian, Sansan gave her an extra glance. This girl was quite intelligent!
...
Xiongshi soldiers stood outside Tulan City, listening intently to the commotion within.
"Why is there no sound?"
The expected screams did not materialize, and the soldiers frowned, a bad premonition rising in their hearts. The leading soldier furrowed his brow. After a moment of thought, he decided to return to the temporary camp to report this anomaly to the general.
Just as he was about to turn, a sword's hum suddenly reached his ears. Immediately, he felt an itch on his neck, followed by warm liquid flowing into his armor.
He raised his hand, feeling along the gap between his armor and helmet. After touching the liquid, he brought his hand before his eyes.
Crimson liquid met his gaze.
What is this? Blood?
His body stiffened abruptly. He looked at the fresh blood on his fingers in disbelief. The belated pain finally surged into his brain. The next moment, his consciousness left his body. At the moment of his death, he was still wondering who had severed his throat.
Xiongshi soldiers fell to the ground one after another. Several figures appeared beside them. The figures bent down, lifted the fallen soldiers, and threw them into Tulan City.
The spiders gathered in the room suddenly became agitated. They turned and scurried towards the outside, disappearing without a trace in a short while.
Sansan's eyebrows twitched slightly. She stepped out of the circle, left the room, and looked towards the city gate—Xiao Ba and the others had made their move!
Tens of thousands of spiders devoured the Xiongshi soldiers, then burrowed back into the earth, satisfied.
More than ten miles away, at a Xiongshi temporary camp, a man dressed in shamanistic attire had a large incense burner placed before him. A wisp of smoke rose from the burner into the air. He looked up at the bright moon and murmured, "It's almost time!"
As his words fell, the ground suddenly began to tremble.
Thousands upon thousands of spiders emerged from the earth, crawling into the incense burner in a scramble.
After the last spider entered the incense burner, the Xiongshi soldier lifted the lid and placed it on the burner. The man added firewood to the bottom of the burner and ignited it.
Soon, very soon, once the Ten Thousand Spider Pill was refined, the Spider God would see the light of day again.
The entire world would prostrate itself before the Spider God!