Chapter Forty-Five: Silken Threads

“My young friend, we’ll take our leave now and not disturb your business any further. When you have time, let’s play another game of chess together!”

Seeing new customers arrive, Elder Lin headed for the door with the Third Prince. Li Pingyang hurried to escort them, jesting, “Let’s agree ahead of time—when we play, you mustn’t go back on your moves!”

His words made Elder Lin laugh heartily, and the Third Prince, fanning his folding fan as he walked, joined in the laughter. The three walked out together, chatting amiably.

Waiting outside was Su Baichuan, who didn’t recognize the Third Prince and wasn’t of sufficient status to know him. He recognized only Elder Lin and greeted him enthusiastically.

“Elder Lin!”

Su Baichuan smiled and bowed respectfully, but Elder Lin, engrossed in Li Pingyang’s words, ignored him. He called out again, and this time Elder Lin glanced at him, finding the man vaguely familiar but unable to recall his name.

He stood there, mouth open in a thoughtful pose, unable to remember. Su Baichuan comforted himself—after all, he was but a small merchant, and for a figure as prominent as Elder Lin, it was quite normal not to remember him.

After all, Elder Lin held a position second only to one, with power over tens of thousands, his influence second only to the royal family. Compared to him, even if Su Baichuan sold tofu for decades or centuries, he’d never match Elder Lin’s stature.

“Sir, you handle countless affairs daily. It’s natural you don’t remember someone like me. My name is Su Baichuan, and I run the Su Family Tofu shop in the west of the city.”

Su Baichuan introduced himself with a humble smile. Elder Lin responded with a perfunctory “Oh,” but still couldn’t recall him. To maintain appearances, he smiled politely.

“So, you’re Baichuan! See how my memory fades with age, ha ha… Tell me, do you know young Li as well?”

Elder Lin glanced at Li Pingyang. Li Pingyang began to reply, but Su Baichuan interjected, “I do, I do!”

“A man like Brother Li, so distinguished, so accomplished in poetry at such a young age, and with exemplary character! Now he’s invigorating business, making stinky tofu a famed snack throughout Cangzhou!”

He turned to gauge Li Pingyang’s reaction, finding him not at all displeased but rather buoyed by the praise, and so continued:

“It is true, heroes arise from the young! With more men like Brother Li, our great Song would not fear weakness or the predatory beasts of other nations!”

Su Baichuan’s words were spirited; Li Pingyang quickly raised a hand to halt him before he could be praised to the heavens, beginning to admire his eloquence.

“You flatter me, sir, truly! Ha ha…”

With laughter, Li Pingyang saw off the Third Prince and Elder Lin. As Elder Lin left, Su Baichuan, citing urgent affairs, departed with his young son, Su Liuwu.

Little Dragonfly spat in the direction they’d gone, saying, “As soon as the master leaves, they follow suit—truly a dog that wags its tail!”

After a short while, Little Dragonfly, at the young master’s behest, beat a gong, summoning all the beggars near the Li Residence.

She distributed the rice and fine pastries Su Baichuan had brought, giving each beggar a share. Li Pingyang’s reason was that he couldn’t stomach such gifts himself!

Among the beggars, a small girl tried to squeeze into the crowd for pastries, but her frail frame got her pushed out repeatedly. By the time her turn came, none were left.

Seeing her pitiful, disappointed gaze, Little Dragonfly took out a cloth-wrapped pastry she had saved for herself and handed it to the girl.

The girl smiled happily, took the pastry, but instead of eating it, ran to a corner and offered it to a man lying on his side.

He was ragged, both knees exposed and swollen with bruises. Yesterday, he’d been beaten while trying to steal food for his sister.

Now he could only lie on a wooden board fitted with small wheels, barely alive, as his slender sister shouldered the harness to pull him along.

Little Dragonfly’s eyes stung at the sight. She gave all the money her master had paid her from selling stinky tofu to the siblings. It wasn’t much, but enough for several meals, saving them from theft or begging.

She instructed the girl that whenever they were hungry, they should come to Pingyang Restaurant, where they’d always be welcome.

Tears welled in the man’s eyes as he gratefully received the pastry and looked at Little Dragonfly. In that moment, she felt a shock—she recognized him!

She tried calling his familiar name, and he was startled, studying her in return.

“Little Loach, it really is you!”

Little Dragonfly exclaimed, never expecting to meet a distant relative’s child here. Their family was never wealthy, but they’d never lacked food or clothing.

How had they come to such a state?

“What about your mother?” she asked anxiously.

“My father, my mother—they both…”

Before he could finish, Little Loach’s tears fell. His parents and the other villagers had all been devoured by a giant spider.

He and his sister survived only by hiding in a woodpile. Their father fought to protect them, wielding a weapon, but the spider pierced his chest with its forelegs.

Their mother and fellow villagers clung to the spider’s legs, buying the siblings time to escape. But the entire village was gone…

In a daze, the siblings wandered west, surviving on wild rabbit meat, eventually arriving in Cangzhou.

Passing a baked flatbread stall, he could endure his hunger, but his sister was so famished she began hallucinating, saying she saw their parents.

To feed his sister, he stole flatbread, was mistaken for a thief, and his legs were broken by the stall owner.

Even with his face bloodied, he clung to the flatbread, refusing to let go. Perhaps moved, the owner shook his head and left.

Later, Little Loach crawled back to their broken hut, blew sand off the flatbread, and gave it to his sister.

Seeing her brother beaten for her sake, the girl wept bitterly, and the siblings held each other tightly.

After hearing their story, Little Dragonfly wiped her tears. She’d heard the young master could slay monsters, so she ran into the restaurant, crying, to beg his help.

Soon after,

Li Pingyang followed Little Dragonfly to the siblings. He first looked at Little Loach and noticed a strand of spider silk invisible to others wrapped around his neck.

He removed the silk, and Little Loach’s breathing eased instantly, his pupils darkening from pale.

The system identified the silk as belonging to a fifth-tier or higher demon beast—the “Ghost Mother Venom Spider”—and there wasn’t just one, but likely a whole swarm!