Chapter 126: Chapter 121 Complete Resolution i

Translator: 549690339 |

The reputation of Insect Masters isn’t favorable; in the eyes of most people, they even belong to an infamous existence.

Why?

Because the vast majority of Insect Masters either raise spiders, centipedes, scorpions, or other venomous insects.

A single bite, at the least, causes several days of pain, at worst, results in writhing on the ground in agony, screaming in pain.

Even more severe cases lead to immediate death upon falling to the ground.

For a long period, Insect Masters even became synonymous with snakes and scorpions.

There’s also another reason the image of Insect Masters isn’t very positive. Most of those who raise insects come from impoverished backgrounds and lack higher education, leading them to sometimes behave barbarically.

Besides, the more solitary and vengeful a person is, the more likely they are to cultivate powerful insects.

Because they have only one thing on their mind: to exhaust all means, regardless of the consequences, to strengthen their insects and then seek their revenge.

For instance, Green Demon is a typical representative from among them.

This also makes the general public even more fearful of Insect Masters.

This officer, when he would go down to the countryside on ordinary days, carried himself arrogantly, as if he wanted to swagger like a crab.

But at this moment, he was filled with fear, particularly afraid of angering this Insect Master and bringing the disaster of extermination on his entire family.

“Get lost!”

Qin Niu concluded that it was about enough, commanded the officer with a shout, granting him what felt like a royal pardon. The officer scrambled to his feet and bowed repeatedly, “Thank you, Master Qin, for your mercy!” Then, he clambered onto the horse carriage in a fluster.

“Keep these two Silver Money, I never let people work for free! And I don’t like it when people take my Silver Money and don’t work!”

This officer, who would have rather died than take the money, saw Qin Niu throw the Silver Money to him with a frosty look and dared not refuse.

It was only after driving the horse carriage far away and realizing that Qin Niu wasn’t chasing after him that he lashed the horse with his whip.

“Giddy up!”

The horse carriage raced away, fleeing the terrifying Shuangfeng Village.

Wang Furen emerged, supported by his family, groaning in pain.

“Thankyou, Master Qin, for your intervention!”

Clamping down on his teeth and enduring the pain, he bowed in thanks.

If it weren’t for Qin Niu stepping in just now, a major disaster would have befallen his family.

The people shall not contend with officials since ancient times.

Despite having offended just a minor officer, if he were to go back to the city and complain, he could immediately bring great trouble upon the Wang Family.

Officials protect one another.

You have to look at the master before you beat the dog.

The officer came to the door by carriage to pick people up and moreover, it was the Wang Family who volunteered to participate in the Lantern Festival. However, not only did Miss Wang refuse to go, but she also beat the officer. Wasn’t this making a mockery of the official matters?

Once the higher-ups learned of this, they would surely be incensed.

Even reporting this to the middle ranks of the government would promptly lead to a decree to capture the Wang father and daughter in order to protect the government’s authority.

“Thankyou, Master Qin!”

Wang Wanyan, supporting her injured father, curtsied deeply towards Qin Niu.

She looked even thinner, but there was added agility in her every movement.

“Don’t be polite, Miss Wang should still call me Air Niu! The title ‘Master Qin’ sounds quite awkward to me.”

Qin Niu had always had a favorable view of her.

But time had passed, and their statuses had undergone significant changes.

In the past, she was a rich miss whom Qin Niu could only look up to.

She was not quite considered a daughter of wealth.

At least, one had to be at the level of the Yan Family’s daughters to be barely called a wealthy young lady.

Now, Qin Niu had become a respected Insect Master, while she remained a commoner.

Nevertheless, she also had her advantages and potential. Her stunning beauty and talent could give her opportunities to attach herself to a noble son and become a concubine of a powerful family.

As for becoming the principal wife, frankly, that was very difficult.

Even if a noble son did take a liking to her, at best, she would be brought home as a concubine.

The larger the family, the more they adhere to equal matches.

Only through strong alliances can a family become safer and more potent.

The direct children of large families carry an unshirkable mission from birth. They need to find ways to preserve and even enhance the prosperity of the family.

Marriage is often one of the most direct and effective means.

Not just the children of large families, but even ancient emperors had to consider whether the woman’s background included a strong family that could help secure their throne.

Thus, Wang Furen’s aspirations were more akin to a Wart Toad dreaming of swan meat while lying in the mud.

The likelihood of his daughter successfully climbing the ranks was as slim as winning the lottery jackpot.

“Uncle Wang, some matters concern your family’s private affairs, which as an outsider, I shouldn’t be voicing. These last few years, since the death of Old Master Liu, you and Miss Wang have been greatly supportive of me. It’s precisely because of this connection that today I didn’t hesitate to step in and help your family resolve this crisis.

However, I can save your family once, but not a second time.

Children and grandchildren have their own fortune. In the future, you should follow Miss Wang’s heart!

You wish for her to marry a powerful son, but the reality is that this is difficult to achieve.

With your family’s conditions, not to mention marrying the son of the City Commandant, it would be extremely challenging even to become the principal wife in the Yan Family. Your daughter sees this much clearer than you do.

Since ancient times, being close to the ruler is like being close to a tiger.

If your family possessed strength comparable to the other side, perhaps Miss Wang could have enough status and safety. Otherwise, even if she married into a large family, the internal struggle in the mansion’s back courtyard would be more vicious than palace intrigue. A single defeat could spell catastrophe for your family.

Moreover, this involves trading her lifelong happiness to become a man’s appendage, which would be excessively cruel to Miss Wang.

From what I know of Miss Wang, the love she seeks is certainly one of equality and mutual respect, not a so-called privileged life exchanged for appeasing men with her body and beauty.”

Qin Niu’s words made Wang Furen nod repeatedly.

Miss Wang looked at him with an expression and gaze of seeing a true confidant.

In the entire Shuangfeng Village, only this taciturn All Niu truly understood her.

“I was foolish before, deluded. From now on… daughter, whoever you wish to marry, that’s your decision to make.”

Wang Furen had weathered the crisis and had finally come to terms with the situation.

Upon hearing Qin Niu’s advice, he came to his senses.

“Thankyou, Father!”

Miss Wang was overjoyed when she heard her father finally relent.

Wang Furen, on the other hand, took out two taels of silver from his sleeve.

“Master Qin spent a significant amount dealing with the official envoy. I would like to offer twice the amount to express my gratitude,” he said.

“One tael is enough,” replied Qin Niu, accepting one tael of silver and refusing to take the rest.

It wasn’t that he was not in need of money now, but even if he was short on silver, he would not take Wang Furen’s money.

He had never forgotten the kindness that the Wang Family showed him during his most lonely and helpless days.

Bonds of affection were far more precious than silver money.

Watching Qin Niu walk away, Wang Furen gritted his teeth and called out loudly, “Master Qin is currently constructing a new house. If it’s not too much trouble, I can make two rooms available in my house for you and your servant to stay in.”

Having completely given up on the idea of using his daughter to climb the social ladder, Wang Furen thought it wouldn’t be too bad for his daughter to marry Qin Niu.

At least, her standing in the village would be secure.

Moreover, Qin Niu was a man who valued old friendships and loyalty, a man worthy of trust.

“No need, I’m quite content living in the shack!” Qin Niu flatly declined.

Had Wang Furen extended this offer when he was just about to start building a house, Qin Niu might have considered it.

Now that his house was half-built and he, along with Xiao Qing, were already settled, why would he move to someone else’s home?

Moreover, with his many secrets, he certainly felt more comfortable living in his own place.

He carried his basket on his back, with Xiao Nui puffing and panting as he followed behind.

Unlike other people’s cattle, his did not need to be tethered.

They never idly grazed on others’ crops.

And they never got lost and couldn’t be found.

He deliberately detoured to check the fields. In the fields of others, locusts could be seen everywhere.

In just one night, the leaves had been severely devoured.

He even saw locusts of a golden hue.

The few he had caught the day before were all green, as they were still in their ‘youth’.

These golden locusts had molted three times or more and had reached adulthood.

Like humans, they were entering middle age.

They now had the ability to reproduce.

Locusts generally do not lay their eggs on leaves, but rather in moist soil.

Qin Niu had not yet figured out an effective way to eliminate these locusts.

His termites did have the ability, but unfortunately, their numbers were too limited.

They were only enough to protect his own acre of corn.

And termites had one flaw: they were quite averse to sunlight.

If there was sunlight during the day, they could not operate.

This was why Qin Niu always carried his termites to eliminate pests at night.

After visiting his own field, he found many more locusts had migrated over from the adjacent plots.

There’s no saving eggs under an overturned nest.

When locusts are numerous enough, it’s impossible to keep oneself unharmed.

Nor can one create an area free of pests.

Unless his termites could fight day and night, relentlessly eliminating any locusts that crossed the boundary.

Fourth and the Tiger Striped Iron Armor Ghost Ant seemed to have acquired this capability. Other termites, even the Grade Two Lightning Worker Ants or the Grade Two Tiger Striped Ants, still feared the sunlight and couldn’t take part in pest control during the day.

This indicated that only those termites of Grade Three or above could adapt to harsher environments.

However, breeding Grade Three termites was exceedingly difficult.

After all, an ordinary person only needed control over one Grade Three creature to be certified as an Insect Master.

If Grade Three creatures were so easy to breed, Insect Masters would be everywhere, not as rare as they are now.

“First, let’s go up the mountain and see the evolutionary abilities of the bees,” Qin Niu decided, heading straight for the mountains.

Passing by the front of Xie Laizi’s house, where Xie Laizi, who had to crawl on the ground, saw him and struggled to muster a smile and greet, “Master Qin, you’re heading up the mountain so early!”

Qin Niu grunted in acknowledgment and briskly walked past.

Deep down, he despised this man.

It was truly regrettable that Wang Haikun had not killed Xie Laizi last time but only crippled him.

Perhaps there is a divine purpose in the workings of fate.

To let such a scourge live and suffer more.

Arriving at the Ant Nest, he first released over a hundred termites back into their nest. Then he fed the Worker Ants with insect eggs, allowing them to feed the Ant Queen, thereby enhancing her breeding skill.

So far, he had only discovered two ways to enhance the Ant Queen’s breeding skill.

One was natural laying of eggs, and the other was feeding with insect eggs.

Every time he saw the Ant Queen’s increasingly plump body, and her growing difficulty in movement, Qin Niu felt the urge to feed her with Banyan Tree Blood.

But each time, he would forcefully suppress this impulsive thought with reason.

He wanted to wait until the success rate of breeding termites using Banyan Tree Blood reached one hundred percent before he would feed the Ant Queen.