Chapter 2255: Red-Eyed Monster

Sun Hongye stood still for a few moments, then suddenly found himself amusing. What was he doing? Getting back to sleep was the priority.

Just as he was about to move, he suddenly heard a rustling sound, as if something was scuttling along the wall nearby, disturbing the fallen leaves on the ground.

Twenty zhang further north lay the restricted zone, guarded by the military, where the Profound Crystal warehouse was located.

The courtyard gate was right next to him, and Sun Hongye subconsciously peered through the crack.

He barely took a look when a pair of blood-red eyes emerged from the dark alley three zhang away!

They were round, large, and glowed red.

Originally, the red glow was aimed at the restricted zone, but the moment Sun Hongye peered through the gate, it swiveled around and stared fixedly at him!

Sun Hongye’s scalp tingled with dread, and he had to bite his tongue to keep from crying out.

There was also a dead body on the ground, which was swiftly dragged into the dark alley.

Immediately after, the pair of red eyes also vanished.

Sun Hongye stood there for a long while until the dark alley fell silent and the insects and frogs in the pond began to croak again; only then did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.

What on earth was that thing?

Suddenly, a blade appeared from behind him, its gleaming edge thrust violently into the ground right beside his foot!

“Ah!” Sun Hongye jumped in fright and spun around, only to see that it was Pu Hua who had drawn the blade.

Pu Hua withdrew his blade and showed him what was on the tip.

It was a dark red insect, still wriggling.

At first glance, it looked like an earthworm, but it had bristles and a white line along its side.

“A centipede,” Pu Hua said. “It’s very fast; it nearly crawled onto your foot. This thing seems highly venomous.”

Sun Hongye quickly thanked him.

He had only gotten up in the middle of the night to use the latrine; it would be quite unfair if he were inexplicably bitten by an insect, wouldn't it?

“What were you doing?” Pu Hua asked, noting his undignified posture from earlier.

“Something was hiding in the alley across the way just now, with a pair of blood-red eyes! It also killed someone and dragged the body into the alley,” Sun Hongye whispered. “When I got up for the night, the courtyard was completely silent, no croaking frogs or buzzing insects.”

The alley across the way?

“You go back inside first; I’ll be right back.”

Before Pu Hua jumped over the wall, he also glanced north, clearly making the same connection to the Profound Crystal warehouse.

That area was brightly lit, with sentries standing guard and patrolling.

Sun Hongye waited for a quarter of an hour before Pu Hua returned.

“The alley was empty, but there were indeed drag marks on the ground.” He took out a piece of paper and wrote a few words:

Thirty zhang south of the restricted zone, a red-eyed demonic creature is killing people.

Pu Hua.

Then he casually stamped it.

Sun Hongye watched him fold the paper into a butterfly, sprinkle a little pale yellow powder on it, and then gently blow on it.

Puff—

The paper butterfly immediately flapped its wings and flew up.

It flew quite gracefully, soaring over windows and walls, heading north.

Before long, the butterfly surprisingly flew back.

Pu Hua opened the letter to see his original message, but with a small cluster of white silk added.

“Alright, the camp has received my warning, and we won’t alert the enemy prematurely,” Pu Hua stood up. “Mr. Sun, you should rest now.”

Sun Hongye had no objections. He extinguished the lamp and lay down fully clothed.

He had a strong premonition that something would happen before dawn.

After an unknown period, Sun Hongye, while meditating, heard a loud bang and felt the ground shake.

He had just opened his eyes when Pu Hua rushed over from next door again: “Thieves have invaded the warehouse; fighting has broken out in the north.”

Something exciting to see! Sun Hongye’s sleepiness immediately vanished:

“Who’s so foolish? Have they been caught? Do you need to go help?”

Pu Hua smiled, “Don’t worry, it won’t escape!”

Seeing his confident smile, Sun Hongye grew very curious.

Flashes of light occasionally burst in the northern sky, visible to them even through the window.

Lights came on in every household; clearly, the entire mountain town had been woken up.

More than a quarter of an hour later, the northern area finally fell silent.

Soon after, a guard came to invite Pu Hua.

“Let’s go, the mission is complete.”

Sun Hongye followed Pu Hua and easily stepped into the restricted zone.

Two guards stood at the entrance. Sun Hongye glanced up and saw a white net hanging on a large tree by the camp, with a small spider perched on it.

Besides living quarters and stables, this area consisted of warehouses and workshops, with two paths leading to the back mountain, which was said to be the entrance to the mine.

The garrison here numbered about six hundred men. Their commander, named Chen, immediately bowed respectfully upon seeing Pu Hua, his hand nearly touching the floor:

“Lord Pu!”

This man was a high-ranking official of the Black Armored Army, a formidable warrior who had followed Emperor Jiuyou in conquering the lands in the past.

Pu Hua waved his hand: “At ease. Did you catch them?”

“Yes, we did!” Commander Chen personally led them to the back mountain, explaining, “They were six scorpion demons who snuck in under the cover of darkness to steal Profound Crystals. When we discovered them, they scattered and fled, but we’ve now captured five of them.”

Sun Hongye understood: “Awakening of Insects season?”

“Indeed. In previous years, the demons weren’t this brazen,” Commander Chen said, implying his job wasn’t easy. “The new demons and those who have just emerged from cultivation don’t care about local rules or the lives of the common people. When they arrive, they either go on a killing spree or plunder extensively.”

The Profound Crystal veins in Flashgold Plain are all state-owned. These newly emerged demons and immortals likely can’t obtain them elsewhere, so they resort to theft.

“Over the past three years, while guarding this Tongyue Mine, I’ve encountered eleven instances of theft, both minor and major.”

Sun Hongye also felt a deep resonance: “I was originally in Fu State. A man-eating great demon suddenly appeared near the secondary capital, devouring all the living inhabitants of two towns. The common people were terrified to speak of it, and public morale became unstable. Fu State deployed its army seven times and even invited powerful experts to assist, only barely managing to drive it away.”

Note that it was merely driven away, not killed.

Dealing with these sudden incidents was too difficult for smaller states. After all, most countries had no prior experience with such matters.

The resurgence of spiritual energy in the world was originally a good thing, yet it placed higher demands on state governance.

The group walked to the warehouse area and saw several shallow pits in the center, with freshly turned earth, indicating the site of the previous battle. In one pit, there was a cage holding five scorpions larger than dogs. Under the light of spore lamps, they appeared sleek and black, with red around their eyes.

Two of them were already dead, and the other three had broken legs or tails to varying degrees. Sun Hongye noticed the intact tail stinger of one scorpion, which was sharper than a hook for deep-sea fishing, and its venom sac was as large as an egg.

A sting from that thing would leave one half-crippled, if not dead, wouldn't it?

The cage itself was also a magical artifact; though its bars were thin, they emitted a faint white glow. Otherwise, an ordinary cage probably wouldn’t have been able to contain these creatures.

Pu Hua asked Commander Chen, “Were there any casualties?”

“Fortunately, thanks to Lord Pu’s warning, only three people were injured. One was stung and was in critical condition, but after treatment by the Spider Queen, he is now out of danger.”

Spider Queen? As soon as Sun Hongye heard the term, Pu Hua bowed respectfully towards the darkness behind the warehouse:

“Greetings, Spider Queen!”

From that patch of darkness, a furry figure silently glided out.