Looking in the direction of the sound, I noticed that the bride standing next to me seemed to have moved.
Now she was standing exactly where I had been. Beneath the red veil, I could clearly feel her side - eyeing me. Her blood - red mouth curved into an arc, and she was staring at me with a chilling smile.
As the saying goes, "One should fear a ghost's smile more than its wail." Her smile could only mean trouble.
Instinctively, I grabbed Jun He's arm and yanked hard. Just then, the bride who had been sneering suddenly stretched out her bony hand and lunged at Jun He's back.
Thankfully, I had pulled him in time, and the bride missed her mark. She let out a shrill scream.
This scream seemed to be a signal. As the sound shattered the silence, all the body parts of the brides on the walls of the kiln cave began to move.
The red veils on their heads fell without any wind, revealing their hideous faces.
These faces bore no resemblance to those of brides. Their bodies were attached to white spider threads, and their contorted postures, as if their bones and flesh were being torn apart, made them look more like reptiles.
Just one glance would leave a psychological scar.
Jun He, wearing Tian Peng's face, stood shoulder to shoulder with me in battle. His cold eyes were piercingly cold.
I scanned the surroundings and finally saw Yan Lin and Wang Siqi not far ahead, behind a bride.
Their physical bodies were not here. Their souls had been captured by the snow spider.
"Yan Lin," I called out to her in a hurry.
But she didn't respond at all, lying there like two lumps of mud.
"Don't bother calling. A Yin is guarding them. This is the lost soul of the two of them," Jun He said.
"Hahaha, you two little spirit - mediums think you can take someone from me? You're still too weak," a voice cackled.
As the voice faded, a gust of demonic wind howled through the kiln cave, and a huge black spider appeared in front of us.
On top of the spider sat a woman wearing a phoenix crown and embroidered robe, with phoenix - like eyes and red lips. She was holding a black cat in her arms and stroking it constantly.
The snow spider didn't give off the feeling of a gentle and delicate woman but rather that of a domineering queen looking down from above.
This kind of woman had a strong - willed personality, not easy to be tamed by an ordinary man.
However, she was still no match for Jun He. She couldn't even recognize Jun He's true identity.
Jun He grabbed my wrist and stepped forward, saying, "I'm here today for one thing only. Remove the butterfly - transformation gu from her body and hand over the antidote. Then we'll call it even."
The snow spider slightly lowered her phoenix - like eyes. The eight legs of the giant spider moved forward a bit. Instinctively, I took two steps back.
The snow spider leaned forward in front of me, took a sniff, and said with an air of enjoyment,
"She smells so good. It's an addictive kind of fragrance. It would be wonderful to keep her in my bedroom."
"Then my dear Chen will never stay out at night and will always be with me, entangled with me for all eternity."
She was still fantasizing about being with Chen Guang. She didn't mention removing the gu at all but clearly indicated that she didn't intend to do so. Instead, she wanted to keep me in her bedroom to scent the room.
I couldn't help but roll my eyes. Could it be that the fragrance on me could help with sleep and something else? No wonder Gu Yuan was so fierce.
Jun He tightened his grip on my wrist. Naturally, he was dissatisfied with her answer. His voice was tinged with annoyance as he coldly said, "Snow spider, Chen Guang is dead. You killed him."
Jun He never beat around the bush. He was clearly trying to provoke her.
"Shut up. He's not dead. He's resting in the bedroom right now," the snow spider roared in anger.
The eight legs of the giant spider moved, and the whole cave was filled with dust. The brides, their bodies attached to white threads, crawled towards us like spiders.
Jun He and I were now cornered. There were only abandoned red bricks behind us.
"Why did you provoke her?" I asked.
Jun He hooked the corner of his mouth and said, "It'll be more exciting that way."
Saying that, he pulled me behind him and stared directly at the giant spider with his cold eyes.
"Snow spider, I'll give you one more chance. I don't care how many people you've killed in the past or how many you'll kill in the future. But if you dare to touch this person, I'll raze your cave to the ground and make sure you have no place to hide."
"Hahaha, you're so overconfident. A mere spirit - medium dares to challenge me. I, the snow spider, am protected by the Demon Lord. Who can stop me if I want to kill someone? Who would dare?"
She lowered her body, her veins bulging as she stared at Jun He with red - rimmed eyes. She was completely crazed with the urge to kill.
"I'll take this girl's life today. I'll not only turn her flesh and blood into butterflies but also make a sachet out of her skin and carry it with me."
The snow spider burst into laughter, her arrogance palpable.
Protected by the Demon Lord? No wonder she was so arrogant. It was all thanks to that guy.
The snow spider let out a long howl. Jun He's fists clenched so tightly that they made cracking sounds. Her words seemed to have deeply hurt Jun He.
He waved his arm and drew a barrier in front of me. He shouted angrily,
"You're asking for death."
Jun He's anger had reached its peak. Black qi around him condensed into a huge black python, coiling around his body.
The python's eyes were scarlet. It opened its blood - red mouth and spat out a vast amount of black qi, submerging the whole cave.
The snow spider's face changed drastically. The giant spider under her was like a dwarf in front of this black python.
The python's head rammed forward, and the top of the cave was completely lifted off. The spiders on it scurried everywhere, some running away and some attacking.
Spider webs hung on the python's head. Those webs were highly poisonous, but Jun He wasn't afraid at all.
He stood on the python's head, and the python's head lunged towards the snow spider. The overwhelming sense of oppression forced the giant spider to retreat quickly.
The snow spider finally showed fear and hurriedly asked, "You... Who are you?"
"You don't even recognize me. Who gave you the audacity to kill in my name?" At this moment, Jun He's demonic qi was shooting out. The black qi blotted out the sky, and demonic obstacles rose everywhere.
"You... You're the Demon Lord?" The snow spider finally realized.
Jun He didn't answer her. The giant spider under her had seen Jun He before and was scared to death. Its body deflated like a punctured balloon and became very small.
Just as it was about to run away, with a single look from the Demon Lord, it turned into charcoal.
If I guessed correctly, this was the demonic spider that had devoured the snow spider back then.
This battle was over even before it started. The snow spider's body went limp, and she slumped to the ground. With tear - filled eyes, she asked, "Demon Lord, I've respected you for a hundred years. Can you spare my life and let me spend the rest of my life with Chen?"
Seeing that she had surrendered, Jun He waved his arm, and the black python turned into smoke and disappeared.
He didn't answer but walked up to me, dispelled the barrier, and let me out.
"You're so stubborn," he said.
The snow spider let out a sneer and looked up at Jun He. "The Demon Lord is no different from me."
Suddenly, Jun He frowned. He raised his arm, and a wisp of black smoke flashed by. The snow spider's body was wrapped in the black smoke, rolled in the air, and then crashed heavily to the ground.
This black smoke seemed to be taking the snow spider's life. Her skin all over her body burst open, and she was covered in blood.
She let out a pained wail and knelt on the ground, begging for mercy.
"Demon Lord, I'm willing to exchange the antidote for a whole body."
Only then did Jun He retract the black smoke. He stepped forward and said, "The antidote."
"Pfft - " The snow spider suddenly looked up, and a poisonous needle shot out of her mouth straight towards Jun He.
I cried out in alarm, "Jun He, be careful..."