Mo Dao Zu Shi: Astray

Forest of Webs, Part One

She didn't get much sleep. She was too scared and alert.

Those  giant spider demons were still on the hunt for her. She could hear the  sounds of their legs scurrying across the forest floor and trees in the  distance.

She avoided touching any spider webs that gave away her location.

She had stayed hidden and motionless at the location she told Wei Wuxian about. If she ran all over the forest, it would have been hard for him to find her.

Since the spider demons detected their prey through vibrations and movement, it was best for Pan Wukun to stay still in one place.

A whisper came from Pan Wukun's side. "Psst! Chun-ge!"

Pan Wukun turned to see a grinning Wei Wuxian standing next to her.

"Hey, Chun-ge!" Wei Wuxian whispered so the spider demons wouldn't hear him.

"Why did you come by yourself?! You were supposed to bring reinforcements!" Pan Wukun sputtered.

"You  said you needed help immediately! The only way I could do that was sneaking through this forest alone to avoid the spider demons and find your exact location first! The rest of the YunmengJiang  sect will come by later!"

"Oh...I see." It had been five months  since Pan Wukun last saw Wei Wuxian. In person, anyway. She had been  surprised to be sent letters by Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian on her  travels. She answered them back, of course. No reply would have been  rude. Seeing Wei Wuxian again, he still looked his usual cheerful self,  nonchalant in the face of danger. Having him here made her feel safe but  she'd probably just invited him to his doom.

Wei Wuxian's face  turned serious. "We need to get out of this forest. Or better yet, find  the source of the eight-legged spider demons and destroy it."

He held up a talisman.

"What's that?" Pan Wukun asked.

"It's  a new talisman I created! The string keeps the person attached to me by  four meters. If a spider demon tries to quietly drag one of us off, the  other person will know and save them."

"Good idea." Pan Wukun allowed Wei Wuxian to use the talisman on her. A string wrapped around her and Wei Wuxian's wrists.

Pan Wukun and Wei Wuxian cautiously crept through the dark forest.

Wei  Wuxian didn't mind Pan Wukun keeping so close to him. It was obvious  that she didn't like dealing with eight-legged spider demons. He  remembered how Pan Wukun comforted him when he ran into Jin Zixuan's dog  at the Cloud Recesses. Wei Wuxian didn't hesitate to do the same for  her.

Pan Wukun and Wei Wuxian didn't know how long they walked for, but they eventually came upon a clearing with wide open space.

Wide open space that was currently occupied.

"Do you see that, Wei Ying?" Pan Wukun asked with a quiver in her voice.

"Yes..." Wei Wuxian answered grimly.

In the center of the clearing rested a gigantic spider demon, much bigger than the ones Pan Wukun and Kang Xieren faced.

Beside it were empty egg sacs.

Pan Wukun figured that the babies that hatched must've been the spider demons that chased after her and Kang Xieren.

The spider demon nest made Pan Wukun incredibly queasy and Wei Wuxian disgusted.

Before Pan Wukun and Wei Wuxian could move, a small spider demon leaped at them from the shadows.

Pan Wukun slashed it with Yuyun.