<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">Jeremiah addressed Bonnie who was confused. “What does the poisonous insect king usually eat? Human blood?”</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">Emmett, Charles, and Andrew immediately grew tense. Although it seemed harmless and even cute, they all knew exactly how it had been raised on human blood.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">Bonnie shook her head. “Jeremiah, the poisonous insect king is different from other low–level poisonous insects. It doesn’t need human blood to survive.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">“ording to ancient records left in Dungo Vige, once the poisonous insect king has fully matured, it can feed on ordinary tree leaves or dew.”</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">She paused for a moment before continuing, “Of course, if the poisonous insect king falls into the wrong hands and is constantly fed human blood, over time, it will turn bad.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">“At that point, it will need human blood every day. But since it hasn’t chosen a master yet, what it eats depends entirely on Yvette.”</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">Everyone rxed upon hearing this. Yvette tilted her head slightly, behaving quite obediently, and looked at Jeremiah who looked cold</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">“I want to keep it,” said Yvette.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">Jeremiah stepped forward, casually ncing at the poisonous insect king perched on Yvette’s shoulder. The insect seemed to flinch as if startled.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">Only Yvette and Jeremiah noticed the small movement. Yvette spoke lightly. “Don’t scare it.”</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">Now it was Jeremiah’s turn to feel a little wronged. His face remained stern, but his eyes held a touch of usation. “I didn’t scare it.”</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">Andrew, Charles, Emmett, and Bonnie fell into an awkward silence. ‘Did we just hear something we weren’t supposed to? Is Jeremiah going to silence us? Was he just acting cute?‘ they wondered.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">Yvette lifted her gaze, her delicate fingers gently picking up the poisonous insect king from her shoulder and returning it to its box.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">She smiled, her lips curling mischievously. Her bright eyes locked onto Jeremiah as she spoke nonchntly. “It’s your own. aura that’s too strong.”</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">Her words made Jeremiah’s heart soar, and his expression softened instantly. “You’re right. I think it’s my fault. I won’t me it.”</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">Emmett stood there, stunned. ‘Wait… Is this really the legendary cold–blooded General? First, he gets jealous of a poisonous insect. And now, after just one sentence from Yvette, he’s smiling shyly?‘ he wondered.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">Charles found it perfectly normal. In this world, there was nothing Yvette couldn’t handle, and it wasn’t just limited to people. Even a newly awakened poisonous insect king had to obey her, so what was there to be surprised about with Jeremiah?</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">The group exchanged nces, and after a silent conversation through their eyes, Emmett was pushed forward.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">Emmett spoke up. “Jeremiah, what do we do now? Holden is dead, and the vigers are still outside. Samantha and the police are out there. Should we send someone to prevent a riot?</font></font>
Bonnie immediately stepped forward. “Jeremiah, Yvette, can you give me a chance? I’ll find out why they were feeding the poisonous insects with blood. If the people of Dungo Vige really did something terrible, you can handle it however you see fit.”
Yvette nodded, her tone indifferent. “Okay.”
Jeremiah nodded as well. The vigers of Dungo Vige knew fill well that men weren’t supposed to raise poisonous insects, yet they were feeding them human blood. That was certainly suspicious.
Bonnie rushed out upon hearing this, and Andrew quickly followed. “Wait for me. I’ll go with you.”
At the entrance of the Jacobs residence, the vigers had gathered. Seeing the ck smoke rising from the study above, they were hesitant to enter but didn’t dare leave either.
When Bonnie came out, almost all the vigers had gathered at the door. As soon as they saw Bonnie with a stranger, the crowd became even more restless.
Janice was among the crowd. Upon seeing the man beside Bonnie, her heart skipped a beat. “This man is the same one in the photo Bonnie showed me. He really came to save her. Why? Why does Bonnie get so lucky?‘ she wondered.
Janice suspected something must have happened at the Jacobs residence. ‘Could it be because of this man?‘ Janice thought. Janice concealed the jealousy in her eyes and hid within the crowd, watching the two of them. Bonnie stood at the door, Andrew beside her.
Bonnie raised her voice and called out to the crowd. “Hey, everyone, please be quiet!”
Her voice immediately silenced the crowd, with only a few people still whispering among themselves. Bonnie’s expression turned serious as she addressed them all. “Holden is dead.”
Janice’s words froze everyone in ce, too shocked to believe it. After a long pause, someone finally spoke.
“What did you say? Bon, you said Holden’s dead? He’s really dead?”
“Impossible. How could Holden die? He can’t die! What will we do if he’s dead?”
“Yeah, we won’t survive this. It’s over. Everything’s over.”
The vigers‘ overwhelming sense of despair sent chills through the air. Bonnie furrowed her brows, her suspicion confirmed. From the very first day she returned to Dungo Vige, she had sensed it.
These vigers hadn’t willingly fed blood to the poisonous insects. They seemed to be coerced into doing so. There had to be a reason behind it.
‘Just as I thought,‘ Bonnie mused. She continued, “Everyone, you know that the poison arts in Dungo Vige are passed down to women. So what exactly did Holden do?
“Do you know Holden built a poison chamber in his home, where he raised the poisonous insects using people he trafficked? Human trafficking is a grave crime, and it’s illegal in Clusia.”
Upon hearing Bonnie’s words, the vigers fell silent, too ashamed to speak. This scene struck Bonnie hard. She took a step back, visibly shaken.
Andrew immediately stepped forward to support her, his expression full of concern. The truth was, for Holden to have kept -such arge operation hidden in the basement, there was no way the vigers weren’t aware of it. They were all aplices.
Finally, an elderly man with a cane stood up. He was a respected figure in Dungo Vige. Bonnie’s face lit up with emotion as she saw him.Belonging to N?velDrama.Org.
“Rafferty, you’re here too. What’s going on? Why did the vigers end up like this?” asked Bonnie.
Rafferty sighed and looked at the vigers, who all kept their heads down. “Bon, the vigers never intended to feed blood to the poisonous insects, but Holden made us a deal.
“He promised that if we gave him our blood every month to feed the insects, he’d pay each of us 3,000 dors.”
Andrew froze for a moment upon hearing this, and then a feeling of bitter irony washed over him.
So, these vigers had been willing to give up their blood to help Holden raise poisonous insects, all for just 3,000 dors a month? It was incredibly foolish.
Bonnie hadn’t expected it all to boil down to money. She looked at the vigers with disappointment. Each of them would rather sell their blood for that money than go out and find a legitimate job.
Bonnie lowered her head for a long while. It seemed like she had made up her mind. For the first time, she raised her voice firmly in front of the vigers.
She began. “Everyone, Holdenmitted a crime. He trafficked people, used human blood to raise poisonous insects, and caused the deaths of many people. The police already know about this. You all helped him cover up his crimes, and that makes you all guilty too.”
She paused, then added, “When the police arrive, I hope you’ll all confess and show remorse, so you can receive a lighter sentence.”
Bonnie turned to Andrew and said, “Let Jeremiah’s people in.”
Andrew saw how downcast Bonnie was and knew she was struggling inside. He spoke gently. “Alright.” He reached out and gently ruffled her hair, softly saying, “I will be with you.”