ACIDEM 02

Chapter – 02

Encountering a Demon

Inside the mud burrow.

Struggling out of his old shell.

Feeling his own strength grow stronger, Fu Shaoguang’s mandibles lifted at the corners. In the first month of spring, he had already molted three times.

This was a huge improvement.

It meant that as an adult insect, his lifespan would be longer.

But it still wasn’t enough.

If he wanted to live longer, he had to keep eating.

Fu Shaoguang’s dietary options had expanded again. Not only did he hunt dragonfly nymphs, but he also boldly hunted small tadpoles.

When it was time to lie low, he lay low.

When it was time to strike, he struck.

Every time he hunted, he either wielded a sharp spike or set up traps. He never fought a battle he wasn’t sure of, fully embodying the traits of bullying the weak, kicking someone when they’re down, and being ruthlessly cunning.

To be fair, tadpoles didn’t taste half bad.

A hint of sweetness amidst the moonlight and starlight.

As spring faded into summer, lush greenery flourished.

When summer arrived, all things grew.

Fu Shaoguang had already molted twenty-one times, growing to about one centimeter in length, comparable to a small adult mayfly.

Compared to his peers at the same larval stage, his mandibles were sharper, his climbing speed faster, his strength greater, and his ferocity stronger.

But after summer began, more and more animals gathered near the water. With various aquatic creatures either breeding or growing up, the danger level skyrocketed. He became even more cautious, spending most of his time hiding in his mud burrow and only coming out to eat.

Of course, danger and opportunity went hand in hand.

With more fights came more deaths.

Most of the time, Fu Shaoguang didn’t have to hunt hard; he just waited to scavenge leftover carcasses and ate them along with algae.

He had also tasted the flesh of creatures like crucian carp, frogs, and river shrimp—species that were not part of a mayfly larva’s natural diet and were in fact its natural enemies. But unlike his dim-witted kin, he had to do things outside the norm to survive, as long as his safety was guaranteed.

Still, he could only take small bites and eat scraps; otherwise, his stomach couldn’t handle it.

After lying low for half a month straight, Fu Shaoguang couldn’t take it anymore and snuck out late one night for some air.

What he saw stunned him.

—

Moonlight filtered through the pines, and clear springs flowed over the rocks.

In the water, a river mussel slowly opened its shell, spitting out a millet-sized pearl that drew in the moon’s radiance amid the shimmering ripples.

The mussel was extremely cautious. After each brief period of breathing in and out, it would retract the pearl and clamp its shell shut. After waiting a while and confirming there was no danger, it would resume drawing in the moonlight.

Fu Shaoguang was shocked.

There were actually… demons in this world?

Did that mean he could cultivate too?

Not only might he break through the lifespan limit of a short-lived species, but he might also make up for the regrets of his previous life.

At that thought, Fu Shaoguang grew excited.

But he didn’t act rashly.

Mussels were natural enemies of mayflies.

Rushing in would be walking straight into a trap.

He decided to observe for a few more days first.

After getting some air, Fu Shaoguang returned to his burrow.

In the following days, aside from eating and resting, he watched the mussel every night, trying to control his breathing and secretly learn its breathing technique.

To avoid drawing the mussel’s attention, Fu Shaoguang didn’t do anything out of the ordinary and foraged alongside his kin.

The mussel was alert, and so was he.

The mussel cultivated, and he remained cautious.

He stayed hidden in the mud the whole time, watching and staying on guard against threats, so he wouldn’t die before he even got started.

Unfortunately, after several days, he gained nothing.

Fu Shaoguang couldn’t sense any qi, let alone draw in moonlight—he almost forgot how to breathe properly.

Realizing that this path wouldn’t work, he changed his approach.

His gaze turned to the mussel demon’s excrement.

He remembered a line from *Journey to the West*, where the Little White Dragon said: “If I urinate in the water, any fish that eats it will become a dragon; if I urinate on a mountain, the grass and herbs that taste it will turn into lingzhi, and if immortals pick it, they will live long.”

What if the mussel demon’s excrement also had miraculous effects?

As for embarrassment—if it actually worked, what did embarrassment matter? He was the only one with spiritual intelligence anyway.

And the mussel demon hadn’t noticed him yet.

As long as he didn’t tell, no living being would remember this dark chapter of his history.

—

The mussel demon changed its location every three days.

From east to west, from south to north.

That was why Fu Shaoguang dared to eat… that stuff.

Relatively high safety margin.

Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned.

Even though he had become a brave warrior, bold enough to face reality, reality still defeated him: he had overthought it.

Fu Shaoguang cut his losses before he got carried away.

He patiently bided his time, silently observing and waiting, eating while continuing to watch the mussel demon.

Time flew by like birds taking flight and rabbits running past the window.

A little over a month into summer, Fu Shaoguang had molted three more times and grown even stronger, but he still hadn’t risked approaching the mussel demon.

One day, the bright moon was reflected in the water.

The mussel demon was once again breathing in the moonlight, enveloped in a mysterious and dreamlike haze of flickering firefly-like specks of light.

The next moment, its shell snapped shut.

Fu Shaoguang was suddenly overwhelmed by an immense pressure and fear, and he immediately fled into his mud burrow.

Using all six legs, he blocked the entrance and moved quickly into the depths, winding and twisting through the tunnels.

Only when he reached the bottom did he stop, still feeling unsafe, and covered himself with another layer of mud.

At the same time, a sharp claw pried open the mussel shell. The claw’s blue-scaled back was thick with bulging veins, and a piercing screech rang out—like the mussel demon crying and begging for mercy.

Shrill, sharp, piercing!

Then, it stopped abruptly.

Inside the sand burrow, Fu Shaoguang’s body trembled, and even the mud clumps around him shook with dust.

Only after the sounds of chewing faded into the distance did he relax.

But Fu Shaoguang didn’t go out immediately. He silently counted to a hundred before cautiously poking his head out from another entrance.

He peered around nervously.

Then he tossed out a piece of aquatic weed he had stored in the burrow. After confirming there were no other movements and the danger had truly passed, he carefully emerged. The mussel demon was gone.

To be precise, it was dead.

Its shell was shattered into pieces scattered all over.

Fu Shaoguang crept over, checking every step, and arrived beside the fragments. He opened his mandibles wide and devoured the bits of flesh still clinging to the shards.

The taste was delicious and chewy.

After eating, he felt full of energy.

Good stuff!!!

Fu Shaoguang’s compound eyes lit up. He gorged himself until his belly was round, then covered the smell of the mussel meat with mud and struggled to drag a few small fragments back into his burrow.

The larger shell pieces with meat were snatched up by other aquatic animals—they were irresistible to them.

Fu Shaoguang swaggered right past a crucian carp, and the fish didn’t even blink at him.

Of course, some insects and bugs of similar size fought him for the scraps, but he killed them without mercy.

His sharp mandibles pierced straight into their eyes.

That had become Fu Shaoguang’s killing move.

Before any larger animals could notice him, he quit while he was ahead and sealed up the burrow entrance to keep the smell from spreading.

As for what had killed the mussel demon, Fu Shaoguang didn’t care to investigate. As long as he was safe, who cared what it was?

—

For several days in a row,

Fu Shaoguang stayed hidden in his burrow.

Aside from eating the leftover mussel scraps, he just dug tunnels.

Even a mussel demon that had begun cultivating had died so easily—let alone a tiny creature like him. He had to prepare for the worst, widening his escape routes so that when he was eventually targeted, he wouldn’t be trapped with nowhere to run.

After finishing the accumulated mussel scraps, Fu Shaoguang fell into a deep sleep that lasted a full day and night.

When he woke up, he had molted again. His body was several times stronger, and he had grown to two centimeters in length.

A powerful hunger hit him, so Fu Shaoguang left his burrow and cautiously moved forward, nibbling on algae.

He found that his senses were sharper and his awareness of his surroundings had improved. Several waves of natural enemies passed by, and he could detect them in advance and escape precisely.

After eating his fill, he returned to his nest.

The summer heat gradually faded, and the autumn wind began to rise.

Two months had passed since he devoured the mussel demon’s flesh scraps. Perhaps his body had been subtly transformed, as his molting frequency had reached four times a month.

By now, he had molted thirty-two times total, making him an outstanding specimen even among the many mayfly species.

He had left his peers far behind, but he didn’t grow complacent—because it still wasn’t enough!

Even if he molted forty times, he would live at most seven days as an adult—still a fleeting moment.

Only by breaking his limits again and again could he possibly extend his lifespan.