Chapter Forty-Four: The Molt of the Parasite

Thinking about the miserable state the Second District’s hunting party returned in not long ago, Li Le's heart tightened into a hard knot. If anything happened to Brother Bai, she couldn't even begin to imagine how her life would go on; above all, she knew she could never forgive herself.

She pressed her lips together, her expression taut with anxiety.

Brother Bai noticed Li Le's worried look and seemed to understand. The cold hardness on his face softened just a little. Glancing at the little one standing solemnly at the door, a faint smile flickered in his eyes, but he kept his explanation brief and direct:

"The Second District’s hunting party found traces of the ‘Parasitic Husk’ outside the city, and were disrupted during their mission, resulting in the deaths of many of their strongest members."

"This time, the ‘Lamp Keeper’ assigned our Thirteenth District to go out for routine hunting and reconnaissance. It’s just a simple hunt; there’s no need to worry."

Brother Bai finished the explanation in a few words, his expression unchanged, eyes sharp, his iron-blooded bearing making his tall figure seem indomitable.

Had it been just a few days ago when Li Le first met Brother Bai, she might have been easily reassured and not pressed further. But now, she was no longer ignorant of this world. Moreover, her keen intuition caught the key term in his words—Parasitic Husk!

She’d seen that name somewhere before.

Li Le’s face grew tighter, her brows knitted as she rapidly searched her memory, then suddenly recalled.

The beast hide parchment!

She remembered buying it at the market with Lie.

Her eyes darkened as she turned, rummaging through the cabinet: she remembered that after purchasing it with Lie, she’d only skimmed the contents and then shoved it away.

“Le?”

Brother Bai watched Li Le crouched by the cabinet, her little face serious, dust smudged on her clothes, and looked rather puzzled.

“Found it!”

Li Le half-dove into the cabinet, suddenly grasping a thick, yellowed roll of beast hide parchment. She lifted her head, bumping into Brother Bai’s palm.

Looking up, she realized Brother Bai had placed his hand at the corner of the cabinet, preventing her head from hitting it directly.

But Brother Bai’s brows were furrowed, clearly displeased as he looked at dusty Li Le.

Li Le didn’t care about anything else. She sat cross-legged on the floor, teeth clenched, hurriedly unrolling the parchment.

Relying on her memory, she fixed her gaze on the lower right corner of the parchment, where there was indeed an entry about the ‘Parasitic Husk’.

It wasn’t lengthy; Li Le quickly read through the introduction to this strange creature.

The more she read, the more alarmed she became.

Turning, she slapped the parchment on the ground, pointing to those few lines of tiny script, staring at Brother Bai as she asked, her voice trembling:

“Brother Bai, are you talking about the ‘Parasitic Husk’—those swarm insects that can briefly parasitize the human brain and control the body?”

Li Le’s voice quivered as she fixed her gaze on Brother Bai.

Brother Bai clearly hadn’t expected that Li Le, who used to be clueless about this world, would know about the ‘Parasitic Husk’.

He fell silent for a moment, glanced at the parchment, then decided to be honest. He nodded and answered,

“Yes.”

Li Le watched Brother Bai’s unchanged tone, biting her lip, her voice tinged with anger:

“Brother Bai, that’s the kind of ‘Parasitic Husk’ that can directly infest humans and kill them! If you encounter one, you really could die!”

“With something so dangerous, why are only people from the Thirteenth District being sent?”

Her tone was sharp, her expression tense and suddenly ugly.

“Brother Bai, are people in the city deliberately giving you trouble because you’re young and inexperienced?”

Bai Ye hadn’t been district chief of the Thirteenth District for long, only about twenty-four or twenty-five years old—two years younger than ‘Rain,’ the district chief of the Second District.

Among the district chiefs, most in their thirties and forties, his youth made him stand out all the more.

This was not an era of peace! The division of prey and resources among districts was always contentious, inevitably leading to conflict.

They were all competitors.

The tallest tree in the forest is always the first to be battered by the wind.

If Brother Bai was being targeted because of his age, pushed to a point where he’d be sent to his death…

Li Le’s gaze chilled, dangerous thoughts stirring in her heart: Even if it meant risking further damage to her body, she would use the Dead Fog to drag down a few people!

After all, she had such a rare ability!

Usually, she stayed beneath the lighthouse, gathering faith points she didn't need, and the timing was never right…

So she rarely used it, but it wasn’t impossible!

Seeing the cold edge to Li Le’s face, Brother Bai, for once, smiled. He reached out and rubbed her head:

“What are you thinking? The Thirteenth District is one of the strongest among more than a dozen districts—no one can threaten me!”

His voice was always hard and cold, like ancient ice, but now carried a reassuring tone:

“It’s only because the place where the ‘Parasitic Husk’ was discovered is close to Cloud City, so someone must handle it… And our district happens to be stronger than the Second District…”

“So this time, we’re being called to take the lead.”

Li Le’s brows relaxed for a moment, then furrowed again as she said,