We reached the brothel known as the Red Lily after questioning a few passersby. Most of them avoided the area altogether, pointing us in the right direction with uneasy glances before hurrying away.

  The place looked utterly destitute.

  The signboard hung crookedly, its paint peeled and letters ruined beyond recognition. One hinge barely held the door in place, and the other had already given up.

  “This place looks like it’s been abandoned for some time,” I said quietly.

  Tao Fang frowned. “The sex trade is looked down upon by most people, but places like this still serve a purpose. They calm rowdy men and prevent worse troubles.” He sighed. “The last time I was here, this brothel was still operating.”

  “When was that?” I asked.

  “Eight years ago,” he replied. “Back then, Xincheng barely had buildings. As a frontier city, it had to grow fast just to sustain its people.”

  Tao Yu stepped forward, cupping her hands around her mouth. “Is anyone here?”

  There was no response.

  She pushed the door.

  It came off its hinges with a dull crack and fell inward.

  Tao Yu blinked, then said flatly, “I’m not paying for that.”

  She walked inside without hesitation. Tao Fang and I followed closely behind.

  The interior was dark and empty. Broken furniture lay scattered across the floor, and the faint smell of iron lingered in the air. We reached what I assumed was the lobby, where overturned tables and shattered chairs told a clear story.

  “There was a fight here,” Tao Fang said.

  “I can see that,” I replied.

  Tao Fang bent down and picked up a spear snapped cleanly in half, one end still embedded in the wall. His expression darkened. “I recognize this spearhead. It belonged to Du Ping of the Thunder Hooves.”

  I crouched and pulled an axe lodged deep into the floorboards. It came free with some effort. “Judging by the damage, the fight was short,” I said. “And one-sided.”

  “Eugh… what is this?”

  Tao Yu held her fingers out in front of her, a stringy white substance stretching between them. Her face twisted in disgust. “It stuck to my hair!”

  Before either of us could stop her, she turned around instinctively.

  That only made things worse.

  White streaks smeared across her sleeve, her shoulder, and the side of her hair as she brushed against the wall and a table.

  “Stop moving,” Tao Fang said sharply.

  He reached out, poking the substance with a finger, then sniffed it cautiously. “I don’t know what it is,” he said slowly, “but it’s infused with qi.”

  Tao Yu frowned, brought her fingers closer, sniffed them… and then, to my horror, tasted it.

  I grimaced. “Are you out of your mind? You’re not even worried about what that is?”

  She smacked her lips thoughtfully. “It really is made of qi. Quite a lot, actually.”

  It took some effort and Tao Fang’s help for her to finally get the substance off her clothes and hair. When she was done, she looked more curious than upset. “It doesn’t really bother me,” Tao Yu said innocently. “If anything, it reminds me of milk. Though… it does have a sour smell.”

  Whatever…

  “Tao Fang, Tao Yu, the two of you always stay together, you hear me? Now, listen… This place has four floors. I’ll start from the top and work my way down. You two begin here and move upward. We’ll meet in the middle.”

  They nodded, serious now, and I took off toward the stairs.

  The upper floors were laid out identically. Narrow corridors, single rooms on either side, each with a bed placed squarely in the center. Many furnishings were missing with wardrobes torn out, and drawers emptied, but others remained untouched, as if the looters had worked hastily or selectively. Cobwebs clung to corners and ceilings, thick with dust that hadn’t been disturbed in years.

  The third and fourth floors yielded nothing new.

  By the time I finished my sweep, I met Tao Fang and Tao Yu on the second floor.

  “The first floor has the lobby, a few offices, a bathing area, and a small storage room,” Tao Fang reported. “The second floor is nothing but guest rooms.”

  “The third and fourth are the same,” I said. “Let’s head back down.”

  We regrouped in the lobby.

  Tao Fang looked around with a complicated expression. “This brothel likely lost business steadily after the courtesan house opened. Women with virtue, talent, and conversation appeal more to the wealthy. The lord probably kept this place running only as a stopgap, back when Xincheng was still forming and morale was fragile.”

  Tao Yu nodded thoughtfully. “If this place has been abandoned for a long time, the demonic human might have used it to recuperate. The Thunder Hooves probably came to investigate and ran into it here.” She hesitated. “It’s also possible the demon is already long gone.”

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  “Then where are the bodies?” Tao Fang asked grimly. “If this were a man-eating beast, that would explain it. But this was supposed to be a demonic human… unless their intelligence was wrong.”

  “I don’t think it was,” I said. “There had to be a reason they checked both the courtesan house and this place. There’s a pattern here.”

  I was about to explain my suspicion when something caught my eye.

  Most of the white residue we had seen earlier wasn’t smeared randomly. It clustered between the floorboards. I crouched, peering closer. There was a narrow gap between the planks. Beneath it, unmistakably, was empty space.

  “There’s something under here,” I said. “Help me pry these boards up.”

  Together, we worked the floorboards loose. It took time, splinters biting into our fingers, but eventually the planks gave way.

  Beneath them was a hollow cavity, crudely dug out.

  The white substance wasn’t residue at all.

  “They’re webs,” Tao Fang said quietly.

  Thick, layered spider webs filled the space below. Wrapped within them were four human silhouettes.

  “Help me,” I said. “Carefully.”

  I spotted a sword lying nearby, half-hidden beneath dust. I picked it up, recognizing the style immediately. “This belongs to one of the Thunder Hooves.”

  “They’ll be fine,” Tao Fang said, though his voice lacked conviction as he used his blade to pry one cocoon open.

  “These webs are tough,” Tao Yu muttered, sawing through them with effort.

  I cut into the one nearest to me, peeling the layers back until the body inside was exposed.

  Lu Zexi of the Stormy Fists.

  I pressed two fingers to his neck.

  Nothing.

  “There’s no pulse,” I said. My gaze fell to his throat. Two small puncture wounds marked the skin. “He’s dead.”

  Tao Fang and Tao Yu finished opening the others.

  “All dead,” Tao Fang said grimly. “Same marks on the throat.”

  Suddenly, the last cocoon moved. A muffled, panicked cry came from inside.

  “Please, please don’t eat me! I don’t taste good! Don’t… don’t put your eggs in me!”

  I froze. “He’s alive.”

  We tore the webs away together, faster now, less careful. The man inside collapsed forward, sobbing and shielding his head with his arms.

  It was Jia Xiang of the Lightning Sword.

  I noticed immediately that there were no bite marks on his throat.

  I grabbed his shoulders firmly. “It’s fine. We’re friends. No one’s going to hurt you.”

  Slowly, trembling, he lowered his arms. His eyes met mine, wide and bloodshot, breath coming in ragged gasps.

  Then his strength gave out.

  Jia Xiang slumped forward and fainted in my arms.

  Tao Fang’s face darkened as he took in the scene before us.

  “This is bad,” he said gravely. “It’s a spider demon.”

  My grip on Jia Xiang tightened.

  “The Martial Alliance has grossly mishandled their intelligence,” Tao Fang continued. “No group of martial artists could subdue a spider demon. To deal with something like this, you’d need at least a Qi Refinement cultivator… or several working together.”

  I wanted to ask more about the Martial Alliance, but my thoughts drifted elsewhere.

  Experience points.

  No, focus.

  The spider demon.

  Three of the Thunder Hooves were dead. From what I had seen, they were decent people. Loud, brash, maybe a little reckless, but not deserving of this. Still, one of them was alive, and that had to mean something.

  I slapped Jia Xiang across the face.

  His head lolled weakly.

  “Senior, what are you doing?” Tao Yu cried, alarmed.

  “I’m going to find the spider demon,” I said coldly. “And I’m going to avenge the Thunder Hooves.”

  Tao Fang’s expression tightened. “If it spared Jia Xiang, then the spider demon was likely planning to use him to mate and implant its eggs.”

  I slapped Jia Xiang again.

  His eyes flew open, bloodshot and unfocused, his breathing ragged and uneven.

  “Hey,” I said firmly, gripping his shoulders. “Where is the spider demon? Tell us everything you know so we can track it.”

  Jia Xiang swallowed hard, trembling. “It… it said it needed prey. To nurture its babies.” His voice broke. “It said it would infiltrate the courtesan house. Lure men. Drain their life force.”

  My jaw clenched.

  I held his shoulders more firmly and met his gaze. “I will avenge your brothers. I’ll make this right.”

  Those were words he needed to hear. I knew it, even as I said them.

  Tears streamed down Jia Xiang’s face. “Please,” he begged. “Kill it.”

  I nodded once and placed his sword back into his hands.

  “Tao Yu,” I said, turning to her, “take him to Lord Meng’s residence. Find Meng Rong. Tell her everything.”

  Tao Yu hesitated. “Senior, I won’t be able to come and go freely in the lord’s official residence.”

  “You will,” I said. “Tell them my name.”

  She looked uncertain, but finally nodded, supporting Jia Xiang as she helped him to his feet.

  I turned toward the exit. “Tao Fang, you’re with me.”

  He followed a step before stopping, calling out urgently, “Senior, what are you thinking?”

  I paused.

  “You can’t just charge into the courtesan house and start swinging,” Tao Fang warned. “A spider demon is a monster with terrifying shapeshifting abilities.”

  I looked back at him. “Then tell me how spider demons are hunted.”

  Tao Fang took a breath. “Many monsters of folklore use beauty as a lure. Over time, that fear became tied to witchcraft. In ancient times, women who were too beautiful were often accused and burned at the stake. Spider demons were among those said to possess such beauty.”

  He hesitated. “You could try the same method. But if you’re wrong… you could hurt innocent people. The courtesan house is filled with beautiful women.”

  I met his eyes steadily.

  “Trust me,” I said. “I won’t miss.”

  As we made our way through the streets, I continued on my inquiry.

  “Tell me everything you know about spider demons.”

  Tao Fang did not hesitate. The old man straightened slightly, his voice steady, as if he were reciting from a well-worn text.

  “Spider demons live in a matriarchal society,” he said. “Their offspring are always female. They capture human males, mate with them, and implant their eggs inside the host. When the eggs hatch, the male is consumed from within and becomes nourishment for the young.”

  A chill ran down my spine.

  “They often leave their original lairs once they achieve human transformation,” Tao Fang continued. “For spider demons, this feat comes more easily than for most demonic beasts because of their method of hunting. Each successful hunt hastens their transformation.”

  I frowned. “Shapeshifting?”

  “Terrorizingly effective,” he replied. “Because of their stealthy nature, they can appear as harmless as any mortal. The more experienced ones can alter their apparent age, and some can even transform into the likeness of people you know.”

  That was… unsettling, to say the least.

  “And how do they hunt?” I asked.

  Tao Fang nodded. “I once read that they hunt the same way whether in the wild or among humans. They use their beauty, or illusion techniques that stir attraction. At the same time, they inject poison through saliva, sweat, and sometimes their webs. They prey on lust, drain life force, and consume flesh without discrimination.”

  He glanced at me. “The saying about being cautious of beautiful women who show sudden interest has its roots in spider demons.”

  We stopped in front of our destination.

  A plaque hung above the entrance, its carved characters elegant and refined.

  House of Cherry Blossoms.

  Soft light spilled from inside, accompanied by music and laughter. It looked nothing like the abandoned brothel we had just left.

  Tao Fang lowered his voice. “Senior… how do you plan to handle this?”

  “Follow my lead,” I said.

  I stepped forward.

  Two guards stood at the entrance, one with [Level 32] hovering above his head, the other [Level 20]. One of them eyed us briefly and asked, “Business or pleasure?”

  I smiled, slid my sunglasses down onto my face, and answered smoothly, “Oh, pleasure, of course.”

  The guard chuckled and stepped aside. “Go on in. Turn left, head to the counter. The clerk will guide you through the process.”

  I walked past him without slowing, Tao Fang close behind, the doors of the courtesan house closing softly at our backs.