Chapter 52: Senior Brother Is Truly a Man of His Word

Chapter 52: Chapter 52: Senior Brother Is Truly a Man of His Word

"Xiaohua has a single offspring that is about to leave the pen."

Li Changsheng said earnestly, "That is what I was referring to, Senior Brother."

"Oh?" Dong Xing’s eyes lit up. He hurriedly asked, "Junior Brother, how many Spirit Stones do you want for it?"

"No rush, no rush." Seeing that he had piqued his interest, Li Changsheng waved his hand and said, "Let’s put aside these trivial matters for now. We can discuss it after clearing the Black Blood Moths from your Spirit Field."

Dong Xing nodded repeatedly. "Then we’ll do as you say, Junior Brother."

He couldn’t help but drastically change his impression of this Spirit Insect Manipulator junior brother. Didn’t everyone say that those who practiced this kind of magic were madmen? Now it seemed those were mostly baseless rumors. This Junior Brother Li before him spoke clearly and logically. How could he possibly be a madman?

The two strolled and chatted as they left the courtyard.

Dong Xing had his head constantly tilted up to speak with Li Changsheng, failing to notice the group of people slowly approaching from a short distance away. Li Changsheng saw them, but since he didn’t recognize a single person, he assumed they were just passing by. He gave them a cursory glance and paid them no further mind.

The two arrived at the edge of the Spirit Field.

With a slight shift of his thoughts, Li Changsheng kept Big Bro and ten Red-winged Blood Bamboos hovering above his head just in case. Under Little Bro’s lead, the remaining dozens of Red-winged Blood Bamboos dove down into the Spirit Field.

Almost the instant the swarm descended, two of the insects dragged a thoroughly black-and-red Black Blood Moth into midair and tore it apart to feast.

This was because the Red-winged Blood Bamboos were the natural predators of the Black Blood Moths. Black Blood Moths spawned inside the stems of the Spirit Rice. Eradicating them usually required snapping the stalks, which would kill the Spirit Rice—this was precisely why they were considered an agricultural plague. However, the Red-winged Blood Bamboos had mandibles as hard as metal and carried a blood toxin. They only needed to pierce a tiny hole in the Spirit Rice stem to poison the Black Blood Moth and drag it out.

It was both simple and effective. Following that, Black Blood Moths were continuously dragged out by the swarm and devoured.

"Good.

"What excellent spirit insects!" Dong Xing exclaimed, his face lighting up with joy as he cheered repeatedly.

Catching a glimpse of the group on the path from the corner of his eye, Li Changsheng smiled at Dong Xing. "If you think they’re impressive, Senior Brother, you could also learn it. As it happens, I have an Insect Control Technique that doesn’t belong to the sect..."

Dong Xing’s face twitched. He waved his hands repeatedly and forced a laugh. "Hehehe, there’s no need for that. Having you here is enough, Junior Brother."

"What a pity... To be honest with you, Senior Brother, this is the very technique I practice." Li Changsheng put on an expression that screamed ’you’re missing out on something great’ and added in a seductive tone, "This is a First-rank top-grade magic, you know!"

Dong Xing laughed dryly. "Please don’t tease me, Junior Brother. I don’t have the talent for Insect Control, nor do I want to turn into a mad—hehe." He abruptly caught himself at the end. Even though he felt that calling those who practiced Insect Control magic ’madmen’ was an exaggeration, he truly wouldn’t dare practice it himself.

Seeing this, Li Changsheng couldn’t well push the matter further. He couldn’t help but complain inwardly about why perfectly good Insect Control magic was rumored to be so sinister. Madmen? That was utter nonsense; he was perfectly fine.

What a pity. He had failed to fleece this sheep.

The swarm was busy, and he couldn’t just sit idle. Li Changsheng rallied himself and began touting Xiaohua’s various extraordinary qualities.

While the two were conversing, Steward Ma had already led the crowd right behind them. He looked at the two men and the pig with a peculiar expression. Elder Wang in particular kept twitching his eyelids as he looked at Xiaohua, then at the swarm hovering over the Spirit Field, tearing and devouring the Black Blood Moths.

Beside him, Liu Yong quietly leaned in, pointed at Li Changsheng, and whispered, "Look, Elder Wang, another fool."

Elder Wang hurriedly turned to glare at him. "Shut the hell up!" he hissed. "My lifespan isn’t up yet, and I’d like to live a few more years."

Liu Yong froze for a moment, offered a sheepish smile, and shut his mouth.

Wu Yong’s eyes gleamed as he watched the swarm. He sized up Li Changsheng from head to toe, as if he had just discovered some new prey. Steward Ma’s eyes flickered as he observed the insects. Yun Wan, Wang Wen Yu, and the others watched the two with curiosity. Seeing that no one else was speaking, they didn’t dare say a word either.

The crowd simply stood there quietly, watching the two men shower each other in praises.

It wasn’t long before Li Changsheng faintly sensed that something was amiss. Why were there no footsteps behind him? This realization startled him, and he hurriedly turned his head.

More than a dozen pairs of eyes were staring straight at him, giving him a fright and causing his body to tense subconsciously. Feeling the pressure from his legs, Xiaohua turned around. Its small eyes locked onto the dozen-plus people before it, and its hooves pawed the dirt. It looked perfectly ready to charge straight into them at a single command!

Li Changsheng frowned. "Who are they?" he wondered.

Seeing him turn around without a word, Dong Xing tilted his head to look. Seeing so many people—especially Steward Ma at the lead—gave him quite a shock.

"Stew..." He hastily cupped his fists and called out, "Greetings, Steward Ma!"

Steward Ma? Was he like Steward Ye? Another one of the stewards for the Spirit Fields?

Despite his inner confusion, Li Changsheng dismounted, cupped his fists, and greeted, "Disciple Li Changsheng greets Steward Ma."

Steward Ma nodded slightly. "Are all these spirit insects yours?"

"Yes, Steward," Li Changsheng replied.

Steward Ma nodded. "Good. After you finish clearing the Black Blood Moths from this Spirit Field, come with me."

Li Changsheng furrowed his brow slightly, unsure of what he meant.

"Don’t worry. I just want your spirit insects to go to the other Spirit Fields to eradicate the Black Blood Moths and find their Insect Mother." Fearing he might be reluctant, Steward Ma gave a brief explanation. Looking at the four of them, he said solemnly, "As long as the Insect Mother is found, I will not treat you unfairly."

Liu Yong, Elder Wang, and Wu Yong hurriedly bowed with cupped hands. "Thank you, Steward."

Seeing this, Li Changsheng couldn’t really object. He also cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, Steward."

Steward Ma nodded and said no more.

Li Changsheng swept his gaze over the three people beside Steward Ma, his eyes landing on Wu Yong and the Thousand-legged Poison Centipedes by his feet.

"What venomous insects!"

Seeing the corrosive trails left behind by their crawling, Li Changsheng’s expression shifted slightly. Big Bro slowly descended to his side and circled around him.

This change caused Wu Yong and Elder Wang’s eyelids to twitch, their hearts trembling in shock. How could this person contract so many insects yet remain so at ease? Furthermore, he didn’t look like he had used a Soul-Damaging Technique. But could a person’s mind truly withstand being split so many times?

"This person is definitely not as harmless as he appears on the surface," Elder Wang and Wu Yong thought inwardly almost at the exact same time.

The four of them—or rather, the three of them—wore subtle expressions. It was a tense standoff where both sides were wary of each other. The others watched curiously as well, but with Steward Ma present, they didn’t dare say much.

A cup of tea’s time passed.

The swarm dove down less and less frequently, until eventually, they simply hovered in midair above the Spirit Field, no longer descending.

Steward Ma glanced at Li Changsheng. "Next plot," he ordered. With that, he turned and headed back.

The crowd hurriedly followed. Wu Yong looked at the insect swarm, hesitated for a moment, then crouched down and stored his Thousand-legged Poison Centipedes into his Spirit Beast Bag before turning to catch up.

Seeing the group walk a distance away, Dong Xing took out thirty Spirit Stones and handed them over. "Thank you for the help this time, Junior Brother. We can talk in detail once you’re done."

Li Changsheng accepted the Spirit Stones and put them away, asking in confusion, "Senior Brother Dong, you must know that Steward Ma brought people here precisely to help you clear the Black Blood Moths... For me to take this..."

Dong Xing waved his hand magnanimously. "One thing has nothing to do with the other! We already had an agreement; how could I go back on my word?" He paused and smiled. "Besides, I’m very interested in this ’annual contract’ you mentioned."

Li Changsheng’s eyes lit up, and he smiled. "You are truly a man of your word, Senior Brother. We’ll discuss it in detail when I return."

Dong Xing watched him walk away to catch up with the group ahead.

Dong Xing’s smile faded. He smacked himself hard on the mouth, his face filled with agonizing regret as he muttered,

"Why did you agree so fast?!

"If you had just waited a little longer, just a little!

"Ouch... my Spirit Stones!"