Chapter 235: “I am the demon Silk Nest”
Yu Yin’s long, jet-black hair draped over the front of his body, and his face was hidden behind a mask that obscured his eyes.
In the past, he was someone who stood in his older brother’s shadow, lacking any noticeable presence. But at this moment, he resembled a deep, dark cavern suddenly revealed, inexplicably drawing everyone’s attention.
The eerie and sinister aura he exuded was palpable, instantly quelling Wu Jin’s burning anger as if it had been doused with cold water.
Wu Jin felt something was off. Clutching his chest, he croaked, “They have the advantage in numbers. I’ll stay and hold them off. Little Brother, you should look for an opportunity to leave…”
Yu Yin ignored him and stepped out of the simple, low mud hut. In that instant, the light in front of the house seemed to dim.
Wu Jin’s gaze followed his movements, and the words of warning stuck in his throat. His eyes widened in shock at what he saw.
Above the open space in front of the house, countless black threads crisscrossed densely, forming a massive web.
From the web, more black threads silently extended downward, falling onto the heads of Zhen Chi and his men.
These people seemed completely unaware of the threads above them. They continued to jeer smugly, urging their opponents to kneel and beg for mercy, oblivious to the fact that the threads had already pierced through their heads and bodies.
Only two or three people standing close to Zhen Chi sensed that something was amiss. Hesitantly, they looked upward.
The black threads plunged into their puzzled and terrified eyes. Their belated struggles were utterly futile against the countless threads.
The confrontation ended swiftly. In the span of just a few steps—enough time for Yu Yin to walk from Wu Jin’s side to Zhen Chi’s—every single one of the hundred people present had become silent puppets.
They resembled marionettes in a puppet show, their heads and limbs suspended by strings.
Zhen Chi, seated on a sedan chair, wore an exaggerated, triumphant grin frozen on his face. Stiffly, he stood, bowed, and knelt before the sedan chair.
Yu Yin stepped on his head and took his place on the sedan chair.
The sedan chair bearers, wearing the same blank expressions, lifted the chair. The bodyguards who had previously followed Zhen Chi now calmly followed Yu Yin instead.
Even the household servants and cultivators Wu Jin had killed earlier stood up as if nothing had happened, taking their places silently on either side of the sedan chair.
Wu Jin stood frozen, staring at this eerily quiet scene, a sudden shiver running down his spine.
Moments ago, he had fought desperately without fear, but now, fear crept into his heart.
As he remained in a daze, Yu Yin, sitting atop the sedan chair, turned his head “toward” Wu Jin, though the mask obscured his face.
Everyone else also turned to look at Wu Jin, as if silently asking: Why aren’t you coming over?
Wu Jin’s legs felt weak as he stumbled forward.
As he moved, the sedan chair bearers also began moving. The group, cloaked in silence, made their way toward Chazhou City.
Walking among them, Wu Jin felt deeply uneasy—worse than standing next to an evil spirit.
These people had been shouting moments earlier, determined to capture him, fighting him to the death.
Now, as he walked in their midst, he couldn’t even be sure whether the people surrounding him were still alive.
Walking next to him was a fierce-looking bodyguard Wu Jin had killed earlier by crushing his chest.
That guard’s chest was still caved in, his clothes stained with blood, yet he continued walking.
Wu Jin wiped his fist nervously, edged away from the bodyguard, and couldn’t help but glance at the tops of everyone’s heads.
The black threads that had filled the air earlier, binding everyone like puppets, had disappeared. Now, everyone appeared “normal.”
Finally, Wu Jin looked toward Yu Yin, who sat silently on the sedan chair.
“Little Brother… Yu Yin, these people—are they all dead?”
From behind the mask, Yu Yin’s voice was cold and indifferent. “Mm.”
Wu Jin hesitated before asking, “Then… about what they said earlier, that Big Brother is buried in the gold mine in Hui Lian Mountain. You heard it, right? What should we do now?”
Wu Jin stared at the mask on Yu Yin’s face, only realizing after he asked the question how foolish he was being.
His little brother couldn’t even speak—at most, he could make a few simple sounds. How could he possibly explain what to do next?
It dawned on him that he was just rattled by everything that had just happened.
But it wasn’t entirely his fault. No one had ever told him that his little brother was capable of something like this. They had all believed Yu Yin to be fragile.
From a young age, their Big Brother had always carried Yu Yin on his back or in his arms, never letting them spar or even roughhouse with him. While their Big Brother arranged for them to fight or exorcise evil spirits, Yu Yin had never participated.
Who would’ve thought those black threads of his could be used for something other than fishing?
Wu Jin slapped his own head a couple of times.
At that moment, the bodyguard with the sunken chest suddenly spoke:
“Big Brother won’t die, but they will soon.”
The unexpected voice startled Wu Jin. He turned to look at the bodyguard.
For a moment, he was shaken by the ominous tone of the words. Then it struck him—this wasn’t the bodyguard’s voice.
It was Yu Yin, speaking through the bodyguard’s mouth.
Wu Jin: “…”
For the rest of the journey, he didn’t dare say another word.
Despite having lived alongside this little brother for years, he suddenly found Yu Yin terrifying.
*
The Zhen family patriarch returned to his estate with a beaming smile, only to notice the Huang family’s patriarch’s carriage parked at the gate.
“You called us all here in such a hurry—does this mean the matter is settled?” Huang Patriarch asked.
“It’s indeed settled, but when did I send word for you to come?” Zhen Patriarch replied, puzzled.
A household servant approached and bowed deeply. “Patriarch, the third young master has returned with his men. He is waiting for you in the main hall.”
Zhen Patriarch, in high spirits, dismissed the small inconsistency with a laugh. He invited Huang Patriarch inside, saying, “Since everyone is here, let’s feast and celebrate today, hahaha!”
The hall was packed with people—Zhen family servants, the cultivator bodyguards assigned to his son, and several other family heads who had arrived even earlier than Huang Patriarch.
Despite the crowd, the hall was eerily silent. Zhen Patriarch’s attention was first drawn to a figure kneeling near the door.
At first glance, he thought it was one of Yu Guang’s captured allies. But on closer inspection, he realized with shock—it was his own son.
His son was kneeling there. Then who was sitting in the host’s seat?
Zhen Patriarch’s gaze snapped upward, and he was met with the sight of a plain mask. Standing behind the masked figure was someone he recognized—Wu Jin.
“You all…!” Zhen Patriarch exclaimed, sensing something was terribly wrong. His eyes darted to the other family heads seated in chairs along the sides of the hall.
Those familiar faces were staring back at him, their expressions eerily identical.
It wasn’t just them—every single person in the hall was staring at him.
Huang Patriarch, who had walked in a step behind him, spoke up in confusion, “What’s going on… ack, grk—!”
Zhen Patriarch’s face twitched as he turned to see a black thread wrapped around Huang Patriarch’s neck, lifting him into the air.
Huang Patriarch’s eyes rolled back as he flailed, his dangling feet kicking dangerously close to Zhen Patriarch.
Zhen Patriarch stumbled backward, his face deathly pale, watching as Huang Patriarch’s struggling gradually ceased. He didn’t even dare to turn around.
A voice spoke. “Was it you who planned to bury my big brother in the mine?”
Zhen Patriarch froze. The voice was unmistakable—hoarse and raspy. It belonged to his ally, the elderly Hong Patriarch.
Another voice followed. “I saw you walk in just now, smiling. Were you pleased? Satisfied?”
This voice was sharp and piercing, belonging to yet another ally, Han Patriarch.
Zhen Patriarch’s trembling gaze shifted back to the lone figure seated in the host’s chair—the masked young man. This time, his eyes were filled with utter terror.
He realized he had made a grave mistake. His lips quivered as he stammered, “W-who… who are you?”
“Yu Guang gave me the name Yu Yin.”
“When he was here, I was Yu Yin.”
“When he’s not…”
“I am the demon Silk Nest.”
One voice after another, some familiar, some unfamiliar, echoed in Zhen Patriarch’s ears.
He collapsed onto the floor in despair. His gaze fell on his son kneeling blankly to the side, and he desperately clawed back a shred of sanity. Without hesitation, he knelt and kowtowed fervently.
“Mercy! Please spare me! It was my foolishness, my mistake! I’ll immediately send people to dig him out. I swear I’ll save Yu Guang!”
He kowtowed so forcefully that his vision blurred, but suddenly, he felt a tightness around his neck. Thin black threads wrapped around him like a noose.
“I will, of course, save my big brother. But as for all of you—all who tried to harm him—you will die.”
The fine threads dug into his flesh, drawing a ring of crimson beads of blood.
“My big brother doesn’t like killing; he prefers reasoning with people. I, on the other hand, am his complete opposite.”
The last words came from Zhen Chi’s mouth. His head twisted unnaturally toward Zhen Patriarch, and with a chilling smile, he said, “Die.”
“Ahhhhhhh!”
A series of gut-wrenching creaks echoed through the hall, followed by a spray of crimson.
Thick blood seeped into the loosened cracks of the brick floor, dripping down into the underground cavity below.
The droplets landed with a sickening plop on the rotting corpses of countless rats.
Wu Jin, standing behind Yu Yin, witnessed the gruesome scene and could no longer control the twisted grimace on his face.
‘Big Brother! You never told us that our little brother had such a terrifying side!’
‘Big Brother, please come back soon. I’m starting to be scared of our little brother!’
“You will take these people and their families and go to Hui Lian Mountain to dig out the mine again.”
The words were directed at Wu Jin. He snapped to attention, suddenly energized. “Understood! But… aren’t you coming with us to Hui Lian Mountain to rescue Big Brother?”
“Of course, I’m staying here to deal with a few more people. Or did you think the only ones who wanted Big Brother dead were these people?”
Wu Jin was already itching to leave, but seeing that Yu Yin would be left on his own, he couldn’t help but voice his concern. “Can you handle it alone?”
Yu Yin: “…”
Although he was still wearing the mask, Wu Jin could feel a strange gaze directed at him, making him awkwardly scratch his head.
He knew by now how powerful his younger brother was, but it was hard to adjust so quickly.
“You don’t need to worry about me. Just focus on rescuing Big Brother,” said one of the Zhen family servants standing next to Yu Yin in a monotone voice.
Hearing the softened tone, Wu Jin regained some courage and tried to persuade him. “It doesn’t have to be so urgent. Once Big Brother is safe, we can all take care of them together.”
“There’s no time,” Yu Yin replied with a cold laugh. “If I don’t deal with them now, while he’s still not out, once he’s free, he’ll just go soft-hearted again.”
So that’s what he meant by ‘no time.’
Wu Jin thought to himself, ‘We need to dig Big Brother out fast. If Little Brother starts a killing spree, there’s no stopping him!’
With a serious expression, Wu Jin led the group toward Hui Lian Mountain, heading straight for the gold mine.
*
Meanwhile, in Chazhou’s leading Fang family, Lu Gong, the rat demon, packed up a pile of gold and quietly slipped away from the Fang estate.
Naturally timid and cautious, Lu Gong had sensed the overwhelming presence of another powerful demon enveloping Chazhou City. Not wanting to take any chances, he decided to leave the area temporarily to avoid trouble.
The Zhen family, the Fang family, even the Dragon Lady herself—all were cast aside the moment they lost their usefulness.
The only thing Lu Gong truly cared about was his young grandson, hidden in a secret estate.
Even after becoming a demon, Lu Gong had retained his deep affection for the boy. Unwilling to let his grandson face the inevitability of mortality, he had gone to great lengths to turn the child into a demon as well.
No one knew that Lu Gong had a grandson, nor did anyone know the boy’s whereabouts. Even Lu Gong himself only visited the hidden estate in secret every now and then.
But when he arrived at the secluded house, all he found were scattered remains—fingers and toes left uneaten by his grandson. The boy himself was nowhere to be seen.
“Who?! Who dared take my precious grandson?!” Lu Gong roared, his usual refined, celestial appearance crumbling under his fury.
With a leap, his body transformed into a massive rat. Countless smaller rats emerged from his form, scurrying across the bloodied ground, sniffing the remnants of the scene.
As the swarm picked up traces of a foreign scent, they darted off in every direction, vanishing into the shadows.
*
At the same time, Ming Yu and Mu Yi arrived at the gates of Chazhou City.
“Are you sure Big Brother and the others are here in Chazhou City?” Ming Yu asked, reins in hand.
“They should be,” Mu Yi replied confidently. “The locals said someone killed the Dragon Lady by the Ling River a few days ago. That has to be Big Brother. Knowing him, they’re probably in the city reorganizing the family now.”
Mu Yi tightened the cloth bag he was carrying as the rat demon inside struggled violently. “Settle down!” he barked, giving the bag a firm shake.
As they passed through the city gates and entered a dim alleyway, Ming Yu suddenly reined in his horse and unsheathed his blade, his eyes scanning the shadows warily. “Be careful—something’s coming.”
From the depths of the alley, a swarm of rats surged forward, standing upright on their hind legs as they advanced.
Amidst the chaotic, writhing mass of vermin stood an elderly man with a vicious expression. “My grandson! So it was you who took him? Good, good! Let me grind you both into mincemeat to calm his fright!”
Lu Gong had arrived astonishingly fast.
Mu Yi cinched the cloth bag tightly and, like Ming Yu, drew his weapon.
“Just Lu Gong? He’s nothing to worry about,” Mu Yi said with a smirk.
As the battle was about to erupt, black threads began to seep from the walls of the dark alley.
Seeing the black spider silk dangling from above, Mu Yi, who had been merely cautious of Lu Gong, instinctively stepped back and exclaimed, “He’s here!”
The demon Silk Nest!
“Hmm? These threads belong to Yu Yin. He’s nearby too,” Ming Yu observed, also noticing the strands.
Ming Yu’s smile widened, and Mu Yi suddenly caught on, relaxing his previously tense posture.
He had nearly forgotten—they were currently allies with the demon Silk Nest.
