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“Guys, leave without me first. And grab two gasoline cans!” Lin Feng’s voice sliced through the air. “Just as a precaution, but be quick about it!”

Hao Jian, clutching his bow, eyes wide with anxiety, shot back, “And you?”

“I’ve got a life to save. Trust me, I’ll race back.” Lin Feng’s tone was unyielding. “Be ready to bolt at the drop of a hat.”

Liu Mengqi’s fingers wrapped around Lin Feng’s wrist, “Don’t—”

Lin Feng silenced her worries with a determined look. “I promise, I’ll be back in a heartbeat.”

Having given his assurance, Lin Feng charged deeper into the depths of the peach grove. The moment he ignited a match, casting a fervent glow on his path, a blood-curdling scream ripped through the stillness.
“No!!!”

Emerging from the shadows was a nightmarish creature, locked in a fierce duel with Mr. Spider. In a heartbeat, Lin Feng notched and released three arrows in quick succession, targeting the spine-chilling shrieker.

But as the creature lunged forward from the haze of pollen, its monstrous form became glaringly evident. Instead of legs, it stood on a pair of segmented limbs, similar to an isopod, its fingers twisted into lethal talons. A torrent of fiery-red hair hid a collection of spindly legs underneath. A thick exoskeleton protected its torso, interspersed with patches of ghostly white skin. But its most harrowing feature was a swollen, crimson sac that swayed menacingly with its every move.

One of Lin Feng’s arrows hit dead center. Though, only one. Seizing this fleeting moment of chaos, he lunged forward, snatching the wounded Mr. Spider off the ground.

“Now! We need to move!” Lin Feng’s voice was edged with urgency.

Mr. Spider, battered and bruised, had multiple broken legs, each injury bearing testament to the brutal skirmish. However, the crimson arachnid wasn’t unscathed either. Burn marks marred its once flawless skin, and its protective shell bore deep dents.

As the fierce flames roared closer, threatening to engulf them, Lin Feng, with Mr. Spider clutched tightly, made a breakneck dash towards a sliver of hope and safety.

Rage surging within, the red spider yanked the arrow from its shell, blood seeping from the puncture. “You wretch! I’ll make you suffer!”

Suddenly, its wrathful cries halted, its demeanor shifting as if its very essence had been shattered. With a swift gesture, it signaled its legion of smaller spiders, ordering them to find water to quench the blazing inferno in the peach grove.

As the legionnaires leaped into action, the commanding red spider watched intently, its eyes tracking every determined movement of its devoted minions.

Lifting its clawed appendage to its chest in a gesture of respect to no one in particular, it implored with desperate intensity, “My queen, bestow upon me the right to exact vengeance for our ravaged homeland.”

But its resolve faltered in the very next heartbeat. An unseen force cruelly bent one of its limbs at an excruciating angle.

“Ahhh!”

With a heart-rending scream, the red spider, regaining a momentary awareness, clutched its mangled leg, howling in torment. As though driven by some unspoken edict, it hurled itself into the shadowy abyss beside the pool.

“Hang on, little spider!” Lin Feng exclaimed.

Lin Feng had always believed insects to be devoid of emotions, but this experience shattered his preconceptions. In Mr. Spider’s gaze, he discerned an unmistakable blend of agony and despair, its multiple eyes turned mournfully to the heavens.

Abruptly, Mr. Spider, with its tremulous legs, tugged gently at Lin Feng’s attire.

Perplexed, Lin Feng met the gaze of the spider nestled in his arms.

Pointing towards the rooftop of the girls’ dormitory, Mr. Spider made his intentions clear. Weighing the suggestion, Lin Feng murmured, “Mr. Spider, it’s risky. Aren’t those red spiders our enemies? We should stay away from their lair.”

But Mr. Spider, with determined fervor, kept directing Lin Feng towards the rooftop.

Curious and slightly apprehensive, Lin Feng thought, “Could there be something important atop that building?”

Upon reaching the rooftop, Mr. Spider descended from Lin Feng’s embrace. Using its leg, now stained in its own violet blood, the spider carefully scrawled a message laden with remorse:

/I’m sorry; I deceived you earlier./