Chapter 1090: Bright Blackeye Parasite
Jian Yanyou stood up from Jian Taiding’s headless corpse. He licked away the blood on his lips and replied, “Who am I? I’m Jian Yanyou, of course, your husband.”
His eyes had long become pitch-black like ink, and his face was covered in black patterns. Because he had just drunk blood straight out of Jian Taiding’s decapitated corpse, he looked extremely sinister and dangerous.
Yu Yanluo shook her head and replied, “No, you are definitely not him. Yanyou is honest and generous in nature. He would never wantonly kill the innocent.”
“The innocent? He was the one who almost killed me, and he lusted after his own sister-in-law. How is he innocent at all?” Jian Yanyou sneered.
Yu Yanluo said coldly, “That is why you cannot be the true Jian Yanyou. You do not know just how much he doted on his younger brother. He would give him whatever he wanted. Other than giving him me, his wife, he pretty much gave him everything else. Furthermore, no matter what kinds of mistakes his younger brother made, he would at most lecture him a few times, but would always forgive him in the end.
“Furthermore, you even came back to life. His schemes to harm you did not result in any severe consequences. With your usual nature, you would at most scare him again, then issue him some small punishments. There would be no danger to his life.”
Jian Yanyou gave the headless Jian Taiding a look. He grinned and said with a chuckle, “Humans always change. Besides, I’ve even walked along the borders of life and death.”
Yu Yanluo immediately cut him off. “No matter how much you changed, you would not change into a mad, bloodthirsty demon. Not only did you kill your own younger brother so cruelly, you even drank his blood. The look of enjoyment on your face is not fake at all. Speak, what kind of monster are you?”
Jian Yanyou laughed cruelly, his voice horrifying. It didn’t seem like a voice humans could make. He remarked, “Madam, should I praise you for being smart or stupid?”
Zu An stood in front of Yu Yanluo when he heard Jian Yanyou’s voice. It was strange, clearly not belonging to the true Jian Yanyou anymore. The pressure coming from the other party was just a bit too strong, almost at the level Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen had exerted in the past. He was also worried that the other party would suddenly attack Yu Yanluo.
Fortunately, Jian Yanyou didn’t seem to have any intention of making a move immediately. Instead, he continued with a sigh, “Madam, wouldn’t it have been great if you played the fool? Why did you just have to keep fretting over trifles? The two of us could have peacefully continued being husband and wife, but aren’t things much more difficult now?”
“This sound, this voice…” Yu Yanluo was alarmed, exclaiming, “You’re Uncle Ming?”
“Madam’s insight is indeed sharp. You were even able to recognize that?” Jian Yanyou exclaimed, a bit surprised. He no longer had any intention of hiding.
“How is this possible?” Yu Yanluo and Zu An exclaimed, both shocked. Hadn’t Yu Yanluo already taken Uncle Ming into her World Painting? All those present had almost forgotten about his existence after everything else that had happened.
Zu An thought, After all of this, he was the real final boss?
Yu Yanluo took out her World Painting and took a look. Uncle Ming was clearly still inside, but he was already a corpse.
“Huh?” Only then did Yu Yanluo realize that something wasn’t right. She had only taken him into her world, and hadn’t planned to kill him. Normally speaking, with Uncle Ming’s cultivation, he shouldn’t have died inside. She suddenly looked up at the other party and asked, “How did you escape?”
Jian Yanyou… no, it was Uncle Ming now, smiled proudly. He said, “I never went inside. What you took into your painting was just an empty shell.”
“An empty shell?” Yu Yanluo thought back to the prior scene. It did seem as if she had detained him a bit too easily.
Zu An was startled. He asked, “Did you enter his body when he went into the pool to bring out Jian Yanyou’s remains?”
Uncle Ming gave him a look of surprise and replied, “Sir Zu’s perception and thinking are meticulous, as expected. No wonder you were able to find out the truth of the plot against Jian Yanyou.”
Zu An muttered to himself, “To possess someone so easily, and then abandon the flesh so conveniently… There’s such an absurd technique in this world? Doesn’t that mean you have eternal life?”
He had experienced the dangers of possession personally. Old Mi had wanted his body. But even that hadn’t been as ridiculous as this! You can get rid of your body whenever you want, and you can change hosts whenever you want too?
Yu Yanluo’s red lips moved as she explained, “I remember that there is an obscure branch of the Fiend race, the Parasite race. That race can lay their offspring in the bodies of their prey. During their growth period, they ingest the internal organs of the prey’s body as food, and once they completely mature, they emerge from the body. The most powerful of the Parasites can even steal a target’s flesh and take their place.” She asked Uncle Ming, “Are you from the Parasite race?”
Uncle Ming was truly shocked and replied, “Madam actually knows so much about even the remote clans of the fiend races? Not even the other fiend races know about our race!”
“Are you admitting to it?” Yu Yanluo asked, looking serious.
“Indeed, I’m from the Parasite race. Furthermore, I’m the most prestigious Bright Blackeye Parasite,” Uncle Ming said proudly. He didn’t have any intentions of hiding anymore, clearly believing that everything was already under his control.
“No wonder you call yourself Uncle Ming,” Zu An said with a sigh. This world really was quite mysterious. He had run into the bloodsucking Mosquito Daoist earlier, and now, he had encountered a Parasite that lived off another body. Both of them had ridiculous cultivations too.
“Did you already plan to earn the trust of the duke all those years ago?” Yu Yanluo frowned and said, “You’ve been quite cautious and conscientious. Your acting has been quite good.”
“Why would I ever do something that stupid, to serve that fool for several decades?” Uncle Ming sneered. “Of course I found a chance to scheme against Uncle Ming, then took over his body. Then, I returned to the Duke Manor in his body.”
Yu Yanluo nodded. She had found it strange the moment she learned that Uncle Ming was working with Jian Taiding. After all, it wasn’t that easy to change one’s character after so many years.
Jian Yanyou had been able to reach such a high level of cultivation, and furthermore occupy such a high position. There could be no way he hadn’t at least had a sufficient level of insight to discover the plot. Now, they had finally obtained an explanation.
Zu An thought to himself, This Uncle Ming really is pitiful. He devoted his entire life to service, and yet all he got in return was having his body possessed by a parasite.
As a human, death wasn’t all that scary. What was scarier was being treated as food by something else, or even having a parasite turn one into a being that wasn’t alive or dead.
Uncle Ming couldn't help but sigh as he gave Zu An a look. “When I saw you appear in the Duke Manor in Jian Yanyou’s form, and furthermore without any gaps in behavior, I thought there was another one of my kind who had similar motives. Fortunately, I didn’t sense any familiar energy from your body, or else all of my hard work over the years would’ve been just for the benefit of another.”
“Since you knew I wasn’t one of your kind, why did you still have to come with Jian Taiding all the way here to investigate?” Zu An asked grimly.
“Because you were just too similar,” Uncle Ming replied, giving him a deep look. “I even began to wonder if Jian Yanyou had revived ahead of time and was going to ruin my plans.”
Yu Yanluo was stunned when she heard that, exclaiming, “So Yanyou really was still alive?”
“Indeed. Actually, I already knew he possessed the Golden Silkworm Art a while ago. If he hadn’t attempted this trial, I really wouldn’t have been able to do much to him with his cultivation,” Uncle Ming replied.
Yu Yanluo quickly explained to Zu An, “Even though the Parasite race is bizarre, they are actually extremely weak. They can only scheme from the dark.”
“Resourcefulness and strategies are a kind of strength,” Uncle Ming replied, not too happy with her assessment. He harrumphed, “I was always lying in wait for Jian Yanyou to challenge this trial. But that guy was full of lingering attachments, and he had already enjoyed his high position and wealth for too long. He actually gave up on the chance to improve himself!
“Out of helplessness, I could only seek out Jian Taiding. That fellow just happened to have coveted you, his beautiful sister-in-law, so we quickly hit it off. You two know what happened afterward as well. Jian Yanyou was at the end of his rope, and I deliberately gave him the chance to flee here. He didn’t have any other choice, so he could only attack his final trial. By then, everything was already moving according to my plans.”
Yu Yanluo sighed and remarked, “The lowest level, lowest intelligence parasites love silkworms the most. Yanyou just happened to have cultivated the Golden Silkworm Art too. He really ended up facing his natural enemy.”
“Indeed. When he turned into a cocoon, I infused a seed of my soul into the cocoon. Once he broke through the final trial and his strength greatly increased, I could then smoothly take over everything. His body, his cultivation, his identity, even his women,” Uncle Ming said confidently. It was a plan he’d had to keep a secret for so long, so he really needed to have at least someone hear it now.
However, his expression quickly darkened. He stared at Zu An and said, “But I never expected you to have experienced everything that should’ve been mine ahead of time.”