Oh? the spider said, its beady eyes blinking. Can you make something from nothing? Can you turn back time and reverse cause and effect?
“I cannot,” Cha Ming admitted.
And can you dive into this leyline of gold and coax it to produce another one of these treasures that you want so dearly? the spider continued. It gestured to the pulsing vein in front of it, inviting Cha Ming to come forward. If so, by all means, go right ahead. While you’re at it, my only requisite payment is that you do it again.
“You don’t have it, do you?” Cha Ming said. “Someone already took it from you.”
A few months ago, the Life-Leaching Monarch admitted, its mental voice dripping with anger. I had wanted to use it to gain my mark and enter the initiation realm. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for treasures like that to appear so rarely. I prepared for many centuries to use it. I coaxed the fissures to form complex formations in the earth to protect me. These preparations were almost complete, but before I could consume the core, thieves came and picked it out from under my very mandibles. It shivered again. This time, its legs cracked like a man cracking his knuckles before a fight. Emboldened by this victory, the humans dared intrude ever deeper inside our territory, stealing metallic ore from my younglings and the other demons in the area. They do not fear us as they once did.
“Do you know who stole it?” Cha Ming asked. “Any distinctive features, like hair color, eye color, or pupils? Does a black-haired man with red pupils ring any bells?” If anyone had done this, it was likely Zhou Li.
Red pupils? A seer? the spider asked. It shook its large body. No seer came here. As for distinctive features, I’d say the most obvious one was the man’s golden hair. He was an older man, a peak-core-formation cultivator. He carried an expensive-looking treasure that shielded me from his aura. He was also accompanied by two strong body-cultivating bodyguards. One cultivated fire and metal, as for the other, I’m not sure. They didn’t fight for long and preferred to leave as soon as they retrieved their spoils.
Golden hair? A fire-and-metal body cultivator? Two such individuals came to mind, and he doubted he’d be able to find another such pair anywhere else in the South.
“I believe I know who you speak of,” Cha Ming said. He summoned a projection of Director Yong and Tian Zhi. “Did they do this?”
The spider shivered in anger.
Yes, the spider said. The treasure is no longer mine, so I cannot trade what I do not have. You should go now. Do not come back. Life has always been hard for demons, especially when humans are involved.
Cha Ming thought for a moment. The spider hated humans so much. It was indignant about the cultivators harvesting ore outside. Could he use that? Did he dare use that? A plan began to take shape in his mind. “Would you like to strike back at the humans?” Cha Ming asked. “Not to slay them decisively, but to put fear into them, so that they don’t dare come out into the Shattered Lands for a dozen years or more?”
The spider blinked. That depends on the opportunity and the price that must be paid. We can sacrifice some of our members if the benefits outweigh the costs.
“I’m not sure if it will work yet,” Cha Ming said. “But I’m not from around here. I’m from the North, and I’m here to sabotage their city.”
Humans, the spider said. Always fighting amongst themselves. It seemed disappointed somehow.
“If you’re up for it,” Cha Ming continued, “I would consider destroying a very large section of Bastion Wall. What could you do if I gave you that opportunity?”
The spider considered for a moment. I would send a small force into the city, the spider said. Mostly to slaughter powerful cultivators and harvest them for the brood. I would kill the chicken to warn the monkey. I would also make an appearance. Our forces aren’t nearly powerful enough to claim the city, but a taste of my life-leaching abilities will give them something to think about for decades. It will remind them that I, the Life-Leaching Monarch, still live, and can come out whenever I so choose.
Cha Ming closed his eyes. Many lives would be lost if he did this. “It would be difficult to grasp this opportunity,” he said. “Unless, of course, you had prior information on the timing of such an event. Then you could rush in almost as soon as the break in the wall occurred.”
And what would you like in exchange? the spider asked.
“A small favor,” Cha Ming said. “I will leave a sound-transmission mark here so I can give you advanced warning. In exchange, when you charge up, I want you to spare those that bear my mark if you can.”
The spider moved its mandibles in agreement. Very well, the spider said. You may leave your marks. I do not guarantee I will go—such an outing is risky. But if I choose to act, I will respect your wishes.
“I also want you to focus on combatants, if you can. Spare the weak who are running away,” Cha Ming said.
“Also acceptable,” the spider said. “They provide meager sources of energy.”
“Then it’s agreed,” Cha Ming said. He summoned his Clear Sky Brush and painted white lines in the air. They solidified into a sigil that dropped to the floor in front of the Life-Leaching Monarch. It was a transmission sigil. Then he took out a piece of paper and painted a talisman. It didn’t contain a powerful function and was ornamental in nature. “Those who wear these talismans should be avoided and spared if possible.”
Very well, the Life-Leaching Monarch said. If they do not fight us, we will not fight them. It then turned toward the exit and pointed. Please
