Chapter 22: Red Pattern Spirit Bee Queen! (Please follow! Please collect!)

Royal Jelly!

If it is an ordinary bee, royal jelly is the secretion from the throat glands of worker bees, and it is the exclusive food of the queen bee.

At the same time, it can also be fed to larvae that are to be cultivated into queen bees, causing their growth curve to differ from that of ordinary bees, ultimately becoming queen bees.

Of course, this is for ordinary bees; for spirit bees possessing spiritual power or demonic power, they are two completely different organisms.

Yunhe never expected to be able to find royal jelly in the nest of the black-ring hornet.

"If."

Looking at the five-pattern red pattern spirit bee hovering near the Wang Terrace, today unusually excited, Yunhe's eyes flickered.

Returned to his dwelling.

Put away his attire.

Yunhe arranged tonight's harvest one by one on the table.

One corpse of the black-ring hornet queen, nine corpses of ordinary black-ring hornets, one intact nest, a small amount of royal jelly, and six lifeless bee pupae.

He sat at the table, looking at the items on it.

Especially the corpse of the black-ring hornet queen and the small amount of royal jelly, Yunhe fell into deep thought.

What truly restricts the spirit bee farmers of the market from working for the Wang Clan?

It is the bee source!

The Wang Clan tightly controls the spirit bee source within the market, only selling larvae, young bees, or already mature spirit bees.

They keep secret the method of cultivating spirit bee queens.

Even if some people or forces know how to cultivate bee queens, they would not offend the Wang Clan for the sake of these spirit bee farmers.

But if one could cultivate their own bee queen and produce their own bee stock?

"I have long tried to cultivate spirit bee queens using the method for cultivating honeybee queens, but it does not work."

In fact, shortly after Yunhe arrived in this world—less than a month—he had attempted it, but failed.

The Wang Clan does not restrict the output of spirit bee larvae; even in the market's taverns, there is a famous dish made from cooking spirit bee larvae.

This also shows that the Wang Clan does not worry about someone using larvae to cultivate bee queens; they surely use a more special method.

"So, in fact, I have no other choice, and there is nothing to hesitate about."

With this thought, Yunhe loosened his restraint on the five-pattern red pattern spirit bee.

Buzz—

The next second.

The five-pattern red pattern spirit bee flung itself onto the corpse of the black-ring hornet queen and began to gnaw.

"Even if I overthought it, these things combined should be enough to raise the strength of the red pattern spirit bee by several levels."

While muttering to himself, he also placed a small bowl of the already scarce royal jelly beside the five-pattern red pattern spirit bee.

Actually, other red pattern spirit bees are also interested in the corpse of the black-ring hornet queen and the royal jelly, but their reaction is not as great as that of the five-pattern red pattern spirit bee.

On one hand, it is because of Yunhe's control.

On the other hand, it is because the five-pattern red pattern spirit bee has unknowingly become the "head" of all the red pattern spirit bees in Yunhe's hands.

The hierarchy of the bee swarm actually already has an embryonic form.

While the five-pattern red pattern spirit bee feeds, Yunhe turned his attention to the remaining nine ordinary black-ring hornet corpses.

"Since the remaining twelve spirit bees are insufficient to complete this month's task, I might as well turn them all into red pattern spirit bees."

"As for spirit honey, worst case we wait for the next batch of red pattern spirit honey to be produced and sell it for money, find someone to buy spirit honey, or directly give the steward spirit stones. With spirit stones, what problem cannot be solved?"

Thinking this, Yunhe immediately ordered the remaining twelve ordinary spirit bees to devour six of the black-ring hornets.

As for the remaining three, he selected from the red pattern spirit bees the three that appeared strongest and had them eat.

Unable to increase the number of red pattern spirit bees, he would strengthen the individual strength of the red pattern spirit bees.

"The condition for minor achievement of the 'Insect Battle Array' is needing at least fifty red pattern spirit bees; for major achievement, besides the number requirement, one also needs a 'Formation Commander' to guard the array and several 'Assistant Commanders' to maximize the power of this array."

As for the remaining nest and bee pupae, Yunhe finally decided to use them to make wine!

Simply put, these few bee pupae are not enough to stir-fry a dish; it is better to use them to make wine, which can serve as a seasoning for leisure time.

In a moment.

Besides the swaying lamp light in Yunhe's room, only the sound of something being gnawed could be heard.

Time passed like flowing water; in the blink of an eye, three months had gone by.

River Stream Method.

Yunhe wore coarse hemp clothes, carried a bamboo box weathered by wind and frost, and walked out of the Spirit Farmer Administration Office of the market.

As soon as he stepped out, the smile on his face instantly vanished.

"Wang Blood Leech!"

He cursed silently.

He casually placed two low-grade spirit stones into his pocket.

Three months of time, saying it is short is not short, saying it is long is not long either.

Due to the scarcity of spirit bees.

Yunhe had to use spirit stones instead of spirit honey to pay taxes for two consecutive months, and also had to present fifty spirit crystals to curry favor.

Only then did he "barely" let the Wang steward not pursue the trouble of insufficient spirit honey production.

Until this month, he finally managed to replenish the spirit bees continuously and smoothly completed the quota of the spirit bee farmer tax.

Who would have thought, the Wang steward was fed by him.

This time, even without needing to curry favor, he actually felt that ten spirit crystals were not enough, and he picked and chose Yunhe's spirit honey.

Left with no choice, Yunhe had to supplement another ten spirit crystals before finally making him relent.

There are still five years left on the contract.

Yunhe, walking down the market street, was calculating the time in his mind.

The Wang Clan provides the beekeeping grounds, bee stock, and bee‑control arts; the spirit‑bee farmers gain a way to earn spirit stones, so naturally both sides have a contract.

Although it is just an ordinary contract, the Wang Clan, being the local tyrant‑like family, really has no one daring to treat this contract as if it didn't exist.

Of course, the contract can also be terminated early, as long as the spirit‑bee farmers are willing to hand over a large sum of spirit stones.

A five‑year contract, at the very least, requires ten low‑grade spirit stones.

"Forget it. Anyway, raising Red Pattern Spirit Bees is raising, raising spirit bees is raising; might as well make some extra money."

Yunhe's main source of spirit stones now has shifted from spirit honey to Red Pattern Spirit Honey.

But beekeeping requires beekeeping grounds.

Moreover, taking out a large sum of spirit stones all at once not only hurts his wallet, but also easily draws unwanted attention.

Having the cover of a spirit‑bee farmer can save a lot of trouble.

"Fortunately, the weather is gradually warming up, and the market's demands on spirit‑bee farmers aren't as high."

Once spring passes, the yield of spirit honey will decline somewhat.

Ignoring the bustle of the market street, Yunhe strode straight into a shop.

"Yun‑little brother, you're here to get bees again."

Seeing Yunhe enter, Lao He, one of the shop's managers, smiled kindly and asked.

"Yeah, Lao He, this time I only need ten."

Saying that, Yunhe placed a small cloth bag on the counter.

Lao He didn't check the number of spirit crystals in the bag; with practiced motion he took a hive from the shelf, picked out ten spirit bees, and put them into a cage.

"Yun‑little brother."

Seeing Yunhe pick up the cage and prepare to leave, Lao He hesitated a moment, then called out to him.

"Huh?" Yunhe stopped, turned his head in doubt, "Lao He, anything else?"

Lao He chuckled, rubbed his hands full of old calluses, hesitated a moment, then spoke rather earnestly:

"Yun‑little brother, if it really won't work, I, Lao He, will help you bridge things and talk things out clearly with that Daoist friend Wei."

Upon hearing this, Yunhe was startled.

"You go after bees every month; it must be because of the Black‑Ring Wasps, right? Continuing like this leads nowhere; it would be better to clear things up with Daoist Wei, turning a big issue into a small one—wouldn't that be better?"

"Rest assured, I, Lao He, may not say much else, but I still have a bit of face among the spirit‑bee farmers."

Seeing Lao He's sincere demeanor, Yunhe pressed his lips together.

In memory, the original owner's family seemed to have some connection with this Lao He.

But later, after the original owner's parents died, and Lao He's daughter married into the Wang Clan, that connection faded.

In recent years, whenever he went for spirit bees, Lao He basically sold him the best‑condition bees from the hive.

Yunhe actually noticed all of this.

So, under Lao He's hopeful gaze, Yunhe nodded slightly and said softly:

"Good."

Lao He was slightly pleased.

"I'll go after my shift."

Yunhe waved his hand.

"See you, Lao He."

He walked out of the shop.

Thinking of Lao He's words, Yunhe couldn't help but let out a light chuckle.

Being able to have one less trouble is naturally the best.

But Yunhe estimates that Lao He will probably make the trip for nothing.

Because he had already gone to their door once before, trying to resolve the conflict.

However, he couldn't even get past their door.

"Big brother, Lao He has come, saying he wants us to sit down and have a good talk with that Yunhe, who is willing to apologize and bring an apology gift."

The market, Wei Qingfei's manor.

In a side hall, Wei Qingfei listened to the report from a member of the Extermination Team before him, his expression calm.

He didn't speak, merely idly turning the cup in his hand.

"Big brother, although Lao He isn't much, his daughter is actually a concubine of the Wang Clan's young master."

Zhou Shouxin, sitting aside, spoke up to remind.

Wei Qingfei gave a noncommittal nod, drank the tea in his cup, then spoke:

"Just tell Lao He that I, Wei, have made a mistake in my cultivation and am currently in closed‑door retreat to recover; once I'm better, I will personally visit."

"Yes!"

After the subordinate acknowledged, he turned and jogged out.

"Big brother."

Zhou Shouxin apparently holds a higher position in the Extermination Team, showing doubt.

Wei Qingfei gave him a sideways glance.

He casually tossed a ledger into that person's hands.

Zhou Shouxin, doubtful, flipped a few pages, and his expression gradually grew solemn.

"This"

The ledger clearly recorded that several beekeepers had not turned in the 'public fees' on time!

Wei Qingfei slowly rose to his feet.

"Someone sees that Yunhe's life is getting better, the black ring calamity slightly weakened, and their thoughts become active."

Actually, in the past two months, Yunhe's life had been 'miserable', and the deterrent effect was still not bad.

Who would have thought, in the third month Yunhe's life unexpectedly became comfortable again, producing a countereffect.

"That older brother, this time not as good."

Zhou Shouxin's expression turned fierce, and he swiped his hand across his own neck.

"The 'public fees' concern not only Wei Qingfei, but also the profits of people like us."

When faced with interests, they will not yield.

"You want to settle him in the market in front of others?" Wei Qingfei snorted and retorted.

If not done in front of others, how can it serve as a warning by killing a chicken to scare the monkeys?

But doing it in front of others, they treat the market rules as what?

"Eh"

Zhou Shouxin's expression stalled.

"Tomorrow, capture a few black-ring hornets, then you'll know what to do, right?"

Zhou Shouxin's eyes lit up instantly.

"Understood!"

Since his life has been comfortable, let's make him miserable again.

The more miserable Yunhe's life, the greater the deterrent effect.

And the more it lets the beekeepers understand that they need the Extermination Team to solve the black-ring hornet problem.

Yunhe can die, but he cannot die silently now.

In Wei Qingfei's conception.

It would be best for Yunhe to be miserable for another three or four months or longer, until all the beekeepers completely regard the 'public fees' as routine and second nature, then he can sell Old He a favor, simultaneously resolving the conflict and earning a gift of apology.

Finally, let him die quietly.

At the same time.

Upon returning to his dwelling, Yunhe opened the cage, and ten spirit bees flew out.

Buzz—

Immediately afterward, more spirit bees slowly flew out from around the room and its corners.

He actually kept all the spirit bees at home!

Next, flying out of the hive were one after another vigorous, full-spirit Red Pattern Spirit Bees!

Roughly speaking, there were at least forty or fifty!

Buzz—

Among them was one that differed from all the Red Pattern Spirit Bees.

Its body was smaller, but its aura was utterly incomparable to that of Red Pattern Spirit Bees,

A special spirit bee hovered around Yunhe.

Upon close inspection, one could see that this spirit bee's abdomen was entirely red.

More importantly, its aura could rival that of an early-stage first-rank demonic beast!

Red Pattern Spirit Bee Queen!

After three months of cultivation, Yunhe actually managed to cultivate a Red Pattern Spirit Bee Queen!

Only after all the Red Pattern Spirit Bees had flown out did Yunhe exhale and set down the bamboo box.

He lifted his clothing to look, and the corner of his eye twitched slightly.

"My eight-pack abs are almost trained out."

No way, with exactly fifty Red Pattern Spirit Bees, he can no longer hide them all on his person.

Carrying them back and forth every day feels terribly heavy.

"We must buy a 'spirit insect bag'; otherwise, continuing like this is too inconvenient."

He opened the hidden compartment in the bed planks.

Inside lay several jars of tightly sealed Red Pattern Spirit Honey!

After three months, he had already stored quite a bit.

Buzz—

The Red Pattern Spirit Bee Queen landed on his shoulder and lightly unfolded its wings twice.

Yunhe glanced at it and smiled.

"Now, if I were to face that Shi-surnamed cultivator again, I should be able to slay him head-on? If it's against Wei Qingfei."

The update was a bit late, sorry. Here's nearly 4k characters—please vote for monthly and recommendation tickets~~

(End of chapter)