Chapter 29 I’m Back
Arthrocofus had no energy.
The green lizard with the long tail, their idol, had disappeared.
They waited for him every day, but even after a week, he still hadn’t shown up.
…Did that crocodile get him?
Pus worried about the lizard, making a keening sound.
“Kieeng…”
Anthracomartus approached and tapped her lightly.
“Keek…”
It seemed like his way of offering comfort.
Pus and Tus.
The two were sisters.
To be precise, they weren’t blood-related sisters.
For one, they were different species.
One was a spider that spun silk, and the other had venomous fangs.
But they had grown up together since birth.
They slept together, ate together, and lived together.
The two sisters, who lived peacefully, were kidnapped by humans one day.
It was the Sichuan Tang Clan.
They captured venomous creatures, making them fight each other to extract the venom from the survivor.
Solitude.
The sisters’ fate would have been to become ingredients for solitude.
Before the tragic event of having to devour each other occurred, a man saved them. He stole all the spiders that had the potential to become human-faced spiders, which the clan had carefully kept.
Tus and Pus were among those spiders.
Thus, the two sisters were released into the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains after their kidnapping.
A fresh start in a new place.
The two sisters put their heads together and worked in unity.
However, surviving in this harsh wilderness was not easy.
For reasons unknown, beasts larger than most buildings roamed around, and even the insects were bigger than Tus and Pus.
Being spiders less than 5cm in size, hunting anything was difficult.
They fled from predators and finally arrived at a swamp.
They tried to hunt, but their web lacked adhesion, and the small amount of venom from their tiny fangs wasn’t enough to hunt any creatures.
They literally starved.
If not for the occasional seeds fallen on the ground, they would have died long ago.
In the midst of this, a green lizard appeared like a comet.
Tus and Pus felt an immediate affection for him.
It was due to the effect of his title, but they couldn’t have known that.
His sharp yet somewhat goofy face, green skin, and plump white belly naturally made them drool.
And the best part was his tail, which seemed twice the length of his body.
Even Tus, who was usually timid, showed interest in him.
Though his appearance alone was oddly charming, it was merely an attraction.
However, the lizard showed them more than that.
Approaching him hesitantly, he handed them a water beetle they couldn’t even dream of catching.
Tus and Pus, starving for so long, immediately pounced on the water beetle to eat it.
Though they almost got eaten by the living water beetle, the lizard saved them in the end.
Watching him peel the water beetle’s shell with his sharp claws, Tus and Pus couldn’t help but feel more affection for him.
Just as they were basking in happiness, the lizard did something incredibly shameless.
He touched Pus’s butt.
Not only that, he put his hand in and pulled out spider silk!
The spider sisters were shocked.
Touching Pus, who hadn’t even married yet, was shocking.
Tus was angry, and Pus was so embarrassed she didn’t know what to do.
Though they realized it was necessary preparation for hunting piranhas, the embarrassment of allowing her butt to be touched didn’t go away.
Yet, they both clapped when eating the piranhas.
It was a taste they’d never experienced before. What spider in the world could catch and eat a piranha? Pus thought she could allow her butt to be touched multiple times if it meant eating that fish.
The small lizard seemed to need a lot of Pus’s spider silk.
He used it to build a nest and even to hunt toads.
Pus reluctantly offered her butt.
Strangely, she liked the light tap on her butt before the silk was extracted.
It was very rude for an unmarried spider to have her butt tapped for silk, but the charm of the lizard’s long tail made it worth it.
Tus was shocked by her sister’s change, but sometimes she also fantasized about having her silk extracted. However, she was a venomous spider and couldn’t produce silk, leaving her frustrated.
Then, she too got an opportunity.
The lizard asked her to bite his tempting long tail.
Tus refused, saying she couldn’t bite the tail of their savior, but overcoming her desire was hard. As she bit into that long, beautiful tail, she discovered something new.
Pus liked having her butt tapped, and Tus liked biting the tail.
You might think this was a disastrous situation, but it was fine.
The green lizard seemed to have no thoughts at all.
Tus and Pus believed these happy times would last forever.
But sudden happiness leaves just as suddenly.
Caiman.
A giant crocodile destroyed their home.
The last they saw of the lizard was him luring the Caiman away to save them.
Despite the lizard’s sacrifice, Tus and Pus were caught by the Caiman.
It was foolish, but anyone could become foolish in the face of love.
The Caiman captured the small spiders.
It was strange.
They were smaller than the Caiman’s eyes.
Instead of eating them, he chose to keep them alive.
Why did the Caiman capture them?
The answer was simple.
It was for their cores.
They were spiders with the potential to become human-faced spiders.
The Caiman, who had lost part of his core, needed to recover it somehow.
Hunting spiritual creatures everywhere was good, but spiritual creatures with cores were not easily caught, even if they weren’t strong.
So, he chose to raise the two spiders.
To eat them once they developed cores.
Pus produced spider silk daily, and Tus squeezed out venom.
They believed using their powers would eventually produce cores.
It was continuous exploitation, a living death.
Seeing the Caiman moving around was terrifying.
Yet, the two sisters endured.
They relied on each other.
And they thought of the lizard.
“Krur…”
The Caiman’s eyes glared at the spiders.
It was a warning to stop dawdling and get to work.
“Kieek…”
Pus tried to produce more spider silk, but nothing came out.
The sadness of the lizard no longer tapping her butt reduced her silk production.
The Caiman watched the spider silently, then raised his large forefoot.
Pus struggled.
“Kiaaak!”
Didn’t that mean he was going to tap her butt to produce more silk?
She would rather die than allow her precious place to be touched.
The Caiman grew angrier at the spider’s firm refusal.
“Krrrrr…”
Tus held her sister’s leg, trying to stop her.
“Keek…!”
But Pus didn’t stop.
“Kiaaaak!”
She would no longer submit to the enemy who killed the lizard.
It was humiliating enough to produce silk until now.
Not satisfied with that, now trying to touch her butt?
“Kieeeek!”
For her husband, for her integrity, she would sacrifice herself.
Pus’s determination was extraordinary.
The Caiman raised his forefoot again.
Anyway, the venomous one had a higher chance of becoming a human-faced spider.
Killing one wouldn’t be a problem.
He thought it was better to set an example, so they would obey him more.
A giant shadow covered Pus.
She had lingering attachments to life.
She felt sorry for leaving Tus, who grew up with her since they were babies.
And it hurt that she wouldn’t see the lizard’s face again.
Arthrocofus closed her eyes.
To make her impression of him a little clearer.
That long tail.
Green scales.
Kwoong!
…It would have been nice to hear his voice.
It was the moment she sensed her death.
“Gr…”
A beast’s roar was heard.
It was different from the Caiman’s.
Moreover, Pus somehow felt familiar with that sound.
She opened her eyes.
The Caiman’s huge forefoot was trembling.
Blocking her was a huge lizard.
A lizard she had never seen before.
He had dark teal skin and blue eyes.
Yet, he was familiar.
The length of that tail, wrapped in colorful threads and bundles, was very familiar.
…Why?
No, how?
She widened her eyes in disbelief.
The emotions she had been holding back poured out like a waterfall.
Joy bubbling up from deep within her heart.
Her feelings went beyond mere delight.
She groped with her short arms to touch the being in front of her.
It was no longer an image in her mind.
“Geggegek!”
He had returned.