The Crimson Necromancer's Substitute

07: The Substitute Gains A New Experience I

Chapter 07: The Substitute Gains A New Experience I

He Jin's desire to murder Fen Lei dissipated immediately, and his curiosity grew the longer he looked at the gathered people.

Fen Lei's interest was piqued as well. Thus, they approached the scene only to discover two wounded villagers being aided by their fellow villagers—one was conscious, and the other was unconscious. These wounded villagers were young men dressed in ripped robes that appeared to have been ripped by a hundred blades, and every rip in their robes revealed a strange purplish wound on their skin.

"Their wounds are strange." Fen Lei mumbled as he observed their wounds. He then turned his attention to the unconscious villager and noticed a large rip in his right sleeve, exposing a bleeding purplish wound that appeared to have been cut by a sharp and very thin object. His bleeding knee was also exposed by another large rip in his lower garment.

He Jin was alarmed, but his voice was calm as he asked, "What happened?"

"Gentleman He, a gauwoki attacked us," answered the young man in a weak voice.

He Jin took a close look at the cuts on the young man's robe before asking once more, "Can you tell me how you got those cuts?"

The young man grimaced slightly as he stammered, "T-the cobwebs. The cobwebs that wounded us were sharp."

"Can you describe the gauwoki that attacked you? And where were you when it appeared?" There was a deep furrow in He Jin's brow as he spoke.

"It was a huge spider with a human head, and we were in the forest near the waterfalls when it attacked us. I am begging you, Gentleman He and Gentleman Li. Please save our fellows." The young man was on the verge of crying.

He Jin nodded and turned his gaze to the villagers. "Bring these two to the village doctor."

The villagers immediately followed He Jin's orders, and Fen Lei could not help but be impressed upon witnessing this. He thought, had these people always been this obedient and respectful to Li Yuan and He Jin?

"Let us go." He Jin gave Fen Lei a glance before opening a portal in front of them. They then entered the portal and arrived at the falls in less than ten seconds. And upon reaching the scene, the cobwebs entangled among the branches and trunks of the trees were the first thing that caught their attention.

He Jin walked up to the cobwebs and examined them closely. He frowned after a moment, realizing they were just ordinary cobwebs, completely harmless. But he was not easily persuaded; and thus, he summoned his bow, aimed it at the cobweb hanging from a huge tree branch, and discharged a silver arrow that struck seven cobwebs in a row. However, nothing unusual occurred.

"Wait, is this your commission?" asked Fen Lei.

He Jin gave a nod. "This is the commission I accepted five days ago. And, as described earlier by the young man, this gauwoki is a large spider with a human head. It has been over a week since it appeared and caused havoc in several villages. It only attacked animals at first, but it later began to attack humans."

Fen Lei was overcome with goosebumps as he imagined the human spider's appearance. He had never heard of such creatures existing outside of fiction in his world. "Apart from the two villagers earlier, did anyone else survive among those who were taken away by it?"

He Jin shook his head. "Nobody knows if they are still alive."

The surroundings were serene and tranquil, with only the birds' warbles and the joyful swish of the waterfall over the rocks to be heard. There were no signs of danger. He Jin continued to investigate the area for clues to the villagers' whereabouts, but not a single trace of them could be seen. Meanwhile, Fen Lei picked up a piece of wood from the ground and destroyed the cobwebs, expecting something strange to happen, but the webs remained lifeless.