It was an emerald beetle. Of course, green beetles were common, but this one’s color looked as if it had been carved from jade. Under the illumination of the nearby green light, it seemed a little inky, and the luster of its body made people feel like it had just come out of the water.
“Have either of you seen this kind of bug before?!” Pampered Guy cried out. When we shook our heads, Pampered Guy said, “Not good.”
The female bug struggled to get up, but was obviously in a great deal of pain. The green beetle on her body was hurting her, and she kept turning to try and throw it off. The males also kept climbing on her, but they couldn’t attack, as if there was some magic around the beetle that was keeping them away.
There was a myriad of colors in the cluster of bugs, and those with trypophobia (1) wouldn’t be able to bear such a mind-numbing sight.
While the female was rolling around, many of the males were pushed to the edge of the hall and fell into the lake. Pampered Guy frowned when he noticed, since this obviously prevented him from keeping count. The three men stood still for a moment, before Poker-Face said, “Don’t miss this opportunity. Get to work.” After flipping the knife in his hand, he ordered Snake Ancestor, “Give me the wine.”
“There aren’t many bottles.” Snake Ancestor tossed one to Poker-Face, who caught it, took a sip, and then sprayed it on the knife. He then proceeded to stick the knife in the brazier and let it catch fire. He threw the iron basin away, went up, and stabbed three bugs to death one right after the other.
The male insects crackled as they burned, and Poker-Face threw their burning broken legs into the water before stabbing them again. Pampered Guy and Snake Ancestor also went up to help, stationing themselves on the tall pillars so that they could keep track of what was going on below. They could see a lot of insects falling from the hall and landing in the lake, as well as those that were clinging to the hall’s wooden floor. Snake Ancestor shook himself, and all the letter snakes on his body climbed onto the pillar. Pampered Guy didn’t even let the nearby male bugs get close to him as he repeatedly spit the iron pieces at them and threw them into the water below. Once they hit the water, he spit at them again so that they would sink.
I didn’t know if Pampered Guy had lived to modern times. This whole thing probably took place during the Warlord Era, or it may have been the later period described in the novel “The Lost Horizon” (2). I honestly didn’t know the exact year.
If Pampered Guy had a chance to live to the present, I didn’t know how he must have felt when he saw the game Plants vs Zombies.
Snake Ancestor was very sullen. He could only order the snakes to defend while he stood off to the side and watched Pampered Guy spit. Pampered Guy was soon out of breath, and started panting heavily. “Don’t you have anything to help?! Spitting dozens of iron pieces does take a lot of work.”
“My handgun is in the outer part of the village.” Snake Ancestor said, shaking his head. His hair was very long and soon came loose, and a dark snake that looked like a nine-segmented whip slithered out of it.
A closer look revealed that the black color wasn’t actually the snake’s coloring, but an artificially made layer of armor that was on the snake’s back.
This snake was as thick as a finger, and almost seemed to stick to the post as it slithered up.
“Stay back!” Snake Ancestor snapped. The snake raised its head, and the armor on its body suddenly opened, revealing black hairs.
“What kind of snake is this?!”
“Cat snake.” Snake Ancestor said, “No one can be saved from its bite.”
The snake started imitating the sounds the insects were making and issued a series of “gegege” sounds. When two insects crawled towards it, the black-haired snake shook its black hair and stirred the armor, making a creepy sound.
When I saw this snake, I was as shocked as when I had seen that strange bug. Although it wasn’t big, it made people feel that it was very dangerous. It was the kind of aura that only existed with poisonous snakes and insects.
Then, I saw an amazing scene. The black-haired snake violently snapped at the nearest bug, agitated its upper body, and then coiled around the bug. The pieces of iron armor seemed to be very sharp, and the bug was torn to pieces in an instant.
“Won’t it be poisoned?”
“No, the snake has crocodile skin in its mouth, and its teeth are iron nails. If this snake could reveal its fangs, I wouldn’t dare put it in my hair.”
<Extra 2.24> <Table of Contents><Extra 2.26>
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TN Notes:
(1) A fear or disgust of closely-packed holes
(2) A 1933 novel by English writer James Hilton. Wiki info here (it actually sounds kind of interesting lol)
MereBear's Translation 