Chapter 2: Outcast, Freak!

Muttering softly to himself, he glanced back at the young girl, then looked down at his own body. Suddenly, understanding dawned on him.

Without hesitation, he made up his mind and set off at once to find the Lady Ye they had spoken of, determined to see for himself what the truth was.

He did not know how much time had passed. By the time he was so exhausted from flying that his wings felt like giving out, Yun Yi had no choice but to find a windowsill to rest. As luck would have it, he stumbled upon an opportunity.

A wave of energy swept through the room as he landed.

“Spiritual energy!”

How wondrous, how light—it was Yun Yi’s first impression.

“I’ve found the right place, haven’t I?”

Without further thought, he immediately searched for a crack or gap through which he could slip inside.

His persistence paid off; before long, he found a gap beneath the door just large enough for him to pass. He hesitated for only a moment before plunging headlong inside.

Once within the room, Yun Yi focused his sight.

On the divan, a short-haired girl, beautiful as a celestial maiden, sat cross-legged with eyes closed. She looked to be about fourteen or fifteen.

But at that moment, Yun Yi’s attention was not on the girl, but on the opened cultivation manual resting beneath her closed eyelids.

“Is this a cultivation method?” Yun Yi stared intently at the book. Suddenly, a surge of spiritual intent slipped into his mind.

It happened so quickly that Yun Yi hardly noticed before it vanished.

He was oblivious to it, still pondering: if this was truly a world of cultivation, could a mosquito cultivate? He had no desire to remain a mosquito forever—so weak that he might be squashed at any moment.

He longed to be human, to become immortal, even to build a family. After all, he had never managed that in his previous world, and it was a lingering regret.

Moreover, a mosquito’s lifespan was but a few dozen days—a fact that made him all the more anxious.

Before he realized it, Yun Yi had been lost in thought until dawn.

Warm sunlight filtered through the gauzy window, falling softly on Ye Weier’s delicate face. She opened her beautiful eyes and gazed outside.

Suddenly, a flash of intuition struck her—she felt as though someone was watching. Without hesitation, she released her spiritual sense, but after a moment, she found nothing. Just as she was about to give up, she spotted the mosquito, “Yun Yi,” hovering not far away. She did not kill him; rather, she found this mosquito oddly interesting. Curious, she looked from the mosquito’s perspective.

“You can read my book?” she exclaimed in surprise.

At those words, Yun Yi immediately fled.

He left Ye Weier, her slender hand still half-raised, puzzled.

Escaping by the skin of his teeth, Yun Yi panted for breath. Gazing at the newborn sun, he felt warmth, but quickly remembered he needed to find a place with standing water—a dim, safe corner.

After all, daylight had come, and mosquitoes were creatures that avoided the sun.

Perhaps he would find his kind there.

He also planned to seek out the main swarm and ask whether cultivation was possible.

Perhaps the answer lay with the great mosquito swarm.

As Yun Yi flew on, he suddenly encountered several men in black patrolling the grounds, swatting at the air and shouting, “What damned mosquito dares disturb your lordship!”

At that moment, a tall, thin, square-faced man in black, annoyed, shook himself violently. A powerful wave of energy blasted out, sweeping Yun Yi away as he buzzed nearby.

Though not dead, Yun Yi was knocked unconscious.

When he awoke, he found himself in a dim space.

It was a lotus pond, a fish pool.

The sound of fish bubbling could be heard all around.

He opened his eyes and looked about.

Mosquitoes darted in every direction. They were small, mostly brownish or chestnut in color, some with pale scales on the back of their legs—anopheles mosquitoes, though Yun Yi only knew they were mosquitoes, not to what species they belonged.

At that moment, an elderly-looking mosquito, seeing Yun Yi awake, approached and kindly greeted him, “You’re awake, I see.”

Yun Yi felt a warmth in his heart, though he still nodded shyly in response.

Where there were mosquitoes with good intentions, there were bound to be others with bad ones.

“You’re really lucky. Survived a shock like that, and even ran into Red-Eye out fetching his wife.”

“Who’s Red-Eye?” Yun Yi was more interested in the fact that these mosquitoes seemed sentimental—why would one have to fetch his wife rather than go together?

At that moment, the so-called Red-Eye emerged, but his words were hardly friendly. “Alive is good enough.”

“Rest a few days. Then come with me to a secluded patch of flowers and gather nectar.”

At this, Yun Yi replied honestly, “Nectar? Aren’t you all bloodsuckers?”

At these words, the other mosquitoes stared at him in astonishment, their expressions strange.

After a while, one asked, “Bloodsuckers? Aren’t you a male?”

Indeed, among male mosquitoes he was an oddity.

Male mosquitoes, with their short, fine jaws, cannot bite people at all. They live off nectar and plant juices. But Yun Yi, lacking such knowledge, had assumed both male and female mosquitoes sucked blood.

In this way, Yun Yi had unwittingly exposed himself—a sign of his lack of social experience.

But now he finally understood why there was nectar residue in his mouthparts—along with traces of blood.

At that moment, Yun Yi wanted to explain.

But how could he? Claim to have evolved? Say he was hermaphroditic? Nothing seemed right.

The other mosquitoes gave him no chance to explain. Instantly, a flood of voices crashed over him like a tidal wave.

“He’s an oddball?”

“He’s the bane of our kind!”

Yun Yi panicked. He had no idea what they might do to him. If this were the ancient Western world, oddities like him would be eliminated.

“Elder, don’t you think this mosquito is a freak? Keeping him here won’t be good for our clan,” a mosquito whispered to the clan elder.

The mosquito elder looked around. Seeing more and more mosquitoes siding against Yun Yi, and though he didn’t believe Yun Yi was bad, he couldn’t go against the collective will. With gentle words, he advised Yun Yi to leave.

Yun Yi understood and did not wish to make things hard for the elder.

They had, after all, saved his life. Now that they asked him to leave, he would not refuse.

“Very well, I’ll go,” Yun Yi said resolutely, then flew off, dragging his weary body.

The swarm watched him disappear into the distance, finally breathing a sigh of relief.

A long time passed.

Yun Yi wandered for ages outside, but did not see a single mosquito.

Just as he was about to give up, he accidentally bumped into a giant mosquito.

This mosquito’s abdomen was marked with vivid silver-blue and yellow stripes, its size more than ten times his own.

This time, having learned from experience, Yun Yi was careful not to claim he was a bloodsucker.

Facing a mosquito so much larger than himself, Yun Yi was keenly aware that this one was no ordinary insect. Perhaps it would know something about cultivation.

He stepped forward and apologized.

But the giant mosquito responded with unexpected friendliness, saying it was nothing, and in the next breath invited Yun Yi to its home—its nest.