Chapter 236: The Fourth Insect’s Scheme

The lighter was knocked flying.

I dodged to the side, and by the time I picked it up again, it was completely shattered—there was almost no chance of getting a flame. Holding the book, I turned to run toward the eternal lamp, intending to burn *The Insect-Raising Notes* under its light.

“Take one more step, and I’ll shoot you dead.” A voice came from the stone hut’s entrance, the gun already aimed at my vital spot. My hand froze midair.

One after another, Fourth Chong entered, flanked by two tough-looking men. Their stance and steady grip on their guns made it clear they were highly trained.

Yi Miao and Guo Qiqi were both tied up, while Lian Xiaoyao and Xie Xiaoyu had also been subdued. It was a classic case of the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.

Fourth Chong’s face bore a faint smirk. I shouted, “Fourth Chong, after all the trouble you went through to set up this scheme, what exactly do you want?” Then I glanced at Guo Qiqi. “Isn’t she your Guo family’s young lady? Why is she in cuffs too?”

A steel wire worm crawled out from Fourth Chong’s hand, slithering up his arm toward Yi Miao. “Throw the book over. Otherwise, I’ll kill him.”

Guo Qiqi yelled, “Fourth! You dare betray your masters and even bind me? Do you have a death wish?”

Fourth Chong answered with exaggerated deference, “Young Miss, I had to tie you up. Otherwise, you might’ve shown mercy and let this brat live. Of course, you can scold me now—but never again. Because the Chong family is breaking free from the Guo family.”

Yi Miao spat, “Damn bastard, you think I won’t wipe you all out?” Fourth Chong backhanded him across the face. “Shut up, kid. If you could actually kill me, you wouldn’t be my prisoner.”

Lian Xiaoyao was livid. “You disgusting piece of trash! If you dare touch him again, I won’t hold back!”

Fourth Chong shook his head in disdain. “Such a shrew has no manners. Marrying a woman like you would be a lifelong curse.” Yi Miao, his face smeared with blood, chuckled. “Who cares what you think? A lonely old bachelor like you wouldn’t know anything about wives.”

The steel wire worm had reached Yi Miao’s neck, and he wisely stopped cursing. “Master! These two gunmen—they’re the ones I met at the Three Pure Mountains’ temple! They were the ones trying to buy Zhen Yangzi’s alchemy furnace!”

Watching the worm inch toward Yi Miao’s neck, I had no choice but to toss *The Insect-Raising Notes* over. Fourth Chong retracted the dark steel wire worm and caught the book, unable to resist flipping through its pages.

Guo Qiqi snapped, “How dare you, a mere servant, lay eyes on that book!”

Fourth Chong suppressed his anger and tucked the book away, then pointed at the jars and bamboo tubes lining the walls. “Take those bamboo tubes. Be careful when handling them.”

The two men silently holstered their guns and got to work. Fourth Chong paced, eyeing me with a smile. “Master Xiao, you’re still too young. You didn’t realize you were just bait—thinking you could survive is laughable.”

The men struggled with some of the higher-placed bamboo tubes. The wooden ladder nearby was so old it crumbled to dust at a touch.

I asked Guo Qiqi, “You came looking for the old lady of Western Hunan—wasn’t it just to steal the Golden Mantis Gu, was it?”

She bit her lip and stayed silent. Fourth Chong laughed. “The young miss wouldn’t risk her life for a mere mantis gu. Let me enlighten you. The Guo family’s glorious history includes a master of the Five Elements insect arts—Guo Tianjie. During the Anti-Japanese War, he hid in Western Hunan to raise insects. He once sent a letter back to the Guo family, claiming he’d solved several critical problems in insect arts and had even bred a creature with all five attributes—the Yin Snake.”

“And then?” I pressed.

Fourth Chong yelled at the men, “Be careful!” before continuing, “That letter took ten years to reach the Guo family—by then, the Liberation War was over. Only three people learned of it: Ye Guyi, Ruan Jinluan, and the old lady of Western Hunan, Ma Ruolan. Ye Guyi was the oldest at the time, while Ruan Jinluan and Ma Ruolan were young and even had a little romance—but that’s beside the point.”

“The insect was too evil. Both Ruan Jinluan and Ma Ruolan wanted it, but after a decade, no one knew where Guo Tianjie had hidden it. They went to Western Hunan to search, but the area was under strict military control during the Southwest Bandit Suppression Campaign. With the new government cracking down on insect masters and geomancers, Ye Guyi and Ruan Jinluan gave up and left. Only Ma Ruolan stayed.”

I smirked. “So that’s how it was. Too bad Master Ye and Ruan Jinluan never returned to Western Hunan.”

Guo Qiqi frowned. “Why have I never heard of this? How do *you* know?”

Fourth Chong sneered. “The Chong family has been the Guo family’s slaves for generations. I’ve long wanted to change that.” His words made it clear—he intended to kill even Guo Qiqi.

She was stunned. “Why? You were always loyal—even chivalrous!”

“My second and fifth brothers died mysteriously. After your family got their hands on the copper jar, you abandoned any thought of vengeance. So I decided to make sure you understood—Chong family lives aren’t cheap.”

Guo Qiqi fell silent. The Guo family had always relied on the Chongs to do their dirty work. She’d heard enough to know the Chongs had sacrificed much. From Fourth Chong’s perspective, the Guo family had betrayed them.

She met his gaze. “Our family has wronged you. But that doesn’t justify killing so many people.”

Fourth Chong laughed. “In the 1980s, when things settled down, another group came to Western Hunan—including Master Xiao’s grandfather, Long Youshui. But they left empty-handed. Eventually, people realized only a Five Elements insect master could find what another had hidden. So Long Youshui bred five insects.”

I asked, “When did you figure out I was a Five Elements insect master?”

Fourth Chong paused. “When my brothers vanished, I suspected you. But as a Ghost Sect disciple, the odds were low. Then I tested you at the Zhe family hotel—that’s when I knew for sure.”

“So you lured me here. Because you guessed Ma Ruolan also knew—that a Five Elements insect master might find Guo Tianjie’s creation.”

He gave an approving nod. “Exactly.”

I had nothing left to ask.

But Guo Qiqi pressed, “*When seven corpses appear, immortality is near.* What does that mean?”

Fourth Chong shook his head. “Only your grandfather knows that secret.” He waved his sleeve as the two men finished collecting the bamboo tubes.

“One’s missing,” one reported.

Fourth Chong shrugged. “The Yin Snake is beyond my control. Finding it doesn’t matter—with these insects and *The Insect-Raising Notes*, I have more than enough to stand against the Guo family!”

He took a pistol.

I shouted, “I’m the one who got your brothers killed—they were bitten by insects. These people are innocent. Just kill me!” He aimed at me. “I’ll grant your wish. But first, I’ll repay my debt.”

I scoffed. “How honorable!” He tossed an envelope at my feet, sending up dust.

Six-Wa blocked the hut’s entrance, shaking his head frantically.

Guo Qiqi said, “He’s warning you—taking those insects is dangerous. *Extremely* dangerous.”

Fourth Chong smirked. “Just a little zombie.”

Before he could finish, Six-Wa slammed into him. The gun went off, bullets tearing into Six-Wa’s body. His skin turned crimson as terrifying corpse energy erupted.

Yi Miao, still handcuffed, lashed out with a kick. “You escaped last time at Three Pure Temple. Let’s see how you handle this!” The men dodged, but one punched him square in the face, swelling it instantly.

A gunshot rang out. Yi Miao clutched his bleeding chest. “Damn you! You shot me!”

The gun swung toward Guo Qiqi. Fourth Chong kicked Six-Wa aside. “Don’t shoot the young miss!” Six-Wa crashed into the wall, his red corpse energy intensifying.

Sweat beaded on Fourth Chong’s forehead. His shirt was torn, his face bleeding. He muttered something, and I convulsed—the steel wire worm flared to life, dropping me to the ground.

“Big Mao, Little Mao—run! Now! The Yin Snake’s in that zombie!” Fourth Chong bolted. The men followed, bewildered.

Six-Wa gave chase. A deafening explosion echoed outside—likely a bomb.

I lay paralyzed, watching Yi Miao bleed. Lian Xiaoyao and Xie Xiaoyu stood frozen, helpless. Agony wracked me—the steel wire worm was under orders to kill, burning like oil over fire.

Hidden in this cave, the life’s work of another Five Elements insect master—Guo Tianjie’s creation and *The Insect-Raising Notes*—had been stolen. And the Yin Snake they’d sought? It had been inside a little zombie all along.

But of course—only something as vile as the Yin Snake could emit such ferocious corpse energy, sending even the arrogant Fourth Chong fleeing in terror.

Guo Qiqi, still bound, stepped toward Lian Xiaoyao. “Untie me.”

At the cave’s entrance stood Six-Wa—his hair blown into a wild mane by the blast.

Inside him lurked the Yin Snake.