“Uncle Xiao, I heard there’s some guy who charged into the Golden Bees’ lair and stole the Bee Queen honey,” Chen Xu said with envy.
Xiao Jingting nodded and said, “Yes! The world is vast, with hidden dragons and crouching tigers. I never thought there would be such a capable person.” Xiao Jingting shamelessly praised himself.
Chen Xu nodded and said, “Exactly! This guy actually charged into the Golden Bees’ lair. The Golden Bees’ lair has several hundred Foundation Establishment stage Golden Bees! I wonder if this guy escaped unharmed. If he did escape unharmed, then he really struck it rich.”
Xiao Jingting nodded and said, “Yes! Really struck it rich.” Indeed, he had struck it big.
“I wonder who stole this Bee Queen honey – it’s really enviable! Originally, when the Wushuang Sect people got ordinary bee honey, it was already very tempting. I never thought there would be an even more capable person,” Chen Xu said with admiration.
Xiao Jingting: “……” He wasn’t really that capable, just lucky.
When Xiao Jingting transferred the Golden Bees’ honeycombs, he also transferred two Bee Queens and a large number of ordinary Golden Bees into the space. Xiao Jingting had originally thought the Bee Queens would be furious, but later discovered that the Golden Bees had happily settled down in the space.
The jade pendant space was rich in spiritual energy, and Xiao Jingting had planted many rare flowers and herbs in it. The Golden Bees seemed very satisfied with their new residence, which made Xiao Jingting very happy too.
It was said that honey brewed by Golden Core stage Bee Queens had even better effects. Xiao Jingting thought about finding an opportunity to contract those Golden Bees, then cultivate them to become Golden Core stage Bee Queens in the future. This way, he would have an endless supply of honey to consume.
Xiao Jingting’s mood fluctuated. Along the way, he had heard of many people inquiring about the person who stole the honey. Several suspected “culprits” had even been killed. This secret realm had been open for less than a year, but more than half of the cultivators who entered had already died.
“Alright, since we’ve obtained the Fanxing flowers, let’s find an opportunity to leave this place,” Xiao Jingting said.
Chen Xu nodded and said, “Good!”
“Father, let’s go find the Qingyun Immortal Sect people. I think they should be leaving soon too,” Xiao Xiaodong said.
Xiao Jingting nodded and said, “Good idea. More people means mutual support.” Those people could also help provide cover.
……
Liu Jinrong was somewhat surprised to see Xiao Jingting. “Junior Brother Xiao, how did you get here?”
“I wanted to ask Senior Brother Liu when you’re leaving. I’d like to catch a ride,” Xiao Jingting said.
Liu Jinrong smiled bitterly and said, “We probably can’t leave in the short term.”
Xiao Jingting asked in confusion, “Why?”
Liu Jinrong helplessly spread his hands and said, “It seems there’s someone on the island who robbed the Bee Queen’s lair. Now many people on the island have joined forces to investigate this matter, wanting to get a share of the spoils.”
Xiao Jingting asked in confusion, “How could this happen?”
Liu Jinrong spread his hands and said, “There’s no choice. The Golden Bee Queen’s honey can increase a Foundation Establishment peak cultivator’s chance of entering Golden Core by thirty percent. This probability is truly maddening. Although there are things outside that can improve Core Formation success, most effects can’t compare to royal jelly.”
Xiao Jingting asked in confusion, “I heard there’s also Golden Bee honey outside!”
“Although there’s some Golden Bee honey outside, supply falls short of demand, and it’s all astronomically priced and very hard to obtain,” Liu Jinrong said.
Xiao Jingting nodded and said, “I see!” As the saying goes, good people get bullied, and gentle horses get ridden1. If this Golden Bee honey had fallen into the hands of top-tier major sects, others probably wouldn’t dare pursue it so openly.
“I wonder which guy did it. I heard the Golden Bees’ lair was almost completely emptied. They say that person’s eating habits were terrible!”2 Liu Jinrong said with envy.
Xiao Jingting: “……” Which bastard said that! Who had terrible eating habits? Didn’t he leave quite a bit of honey for those Golden Bees? These people just talk nonsense.
Chen Xu asked in confusion, “That person entered the Golden Bees’ territory as if entering uninhabited land – he must be very powerful! With the island’s cultivators pursuing him like this, aren’t they afraid he’ll strike back and kill them all?”
Xiao Jingting thought to himself: Chen Xu really overestimates me. I’m not that powerful.
Liu Jinrong shook his head dismissively and said, “Many people think that since even Golden Core cultivators would be helpless facing so many Golden Bees, this person might not be as powerful as imagined. He probably just has some special methods – maybe he practices some special cultivation technique or possesses some special magical artifact.”
Chen Xu nodded and said, “That makes sense. Anyway, since he entered here, he’s at most Foundation Establishment. No matter how powerful, two fists can’t fight four hands” .3
Liu Jinrong nodded and said, “Exactly!”
Xiao Jingting: “……”
Xiao Xiaodong asked somewhat confused, “Senior Liu, why are you here alone? Where are the others? Did they go look for Fanxing flowers?”
Liu Jinrong shook his head and said, “No, we obtained the Fanxing flowers long ago. They went to look for the person who entered the Golden Bees’ territory.”
Xiao Xiaodong smiled mysteriously and said, “It looks like this person has definitely become like a mouse crossing the street now.” 4
Liu Jinrong smiled bitterly and said, “The people from various major sects on this island aren’t united. It won’t be easy to find that person. But with so many cultivators entering this time, many sects have special methods, so that person might very well be discovered.”
Knowing that many people on the island were looking for him, Xiao Jingting simply stayed with the Qingyun Immortal Sect’s group.
Xiao Jingting and his group were young, had no notable reputation, and their cultivation among the island’s many late Foundation Establishment and peak Foundation Establishment cultivators wasn’t too conspicuous. Even if others investigated Xiao Jingting, they would at most know he did menial work in the Qingyun Immortal Sect’s spirit medicine garden. The honey thief was famous and renowned, so no one suspected Xiao Jingting, who “only knew how to farm.”
……
Qingyun Immortal Sect’s stationed area.
“There really are people beyond people and heavens beyond heavens in this world!5 In this secret realm, there are people who can hunt down Yingui Sect members, people who can cure Golden-Topped Red-Tailed Scorpion poison, and someone who can boldly charge into the Golden Bees’ territory to seize royal jelly. Each one is more fierce than the last.”
Among the Qingyun Immortal Sect, there was someone called Qu Tao who was a chatterbox with a bold personality. Xiao Jingting enjoyed mixing with him.
“Yes! Yes! Each one more formidable than the last,” Xiao Jingting agreed.
Qu Tao stroked his chin and said, “I heard the Beast Taming Sect has people skilled in beast language who learned some secrets from those Golden Bees.” Among the Qingyun Immortal Sect people familiar with Qu Tao, all found him annoying. Rarely encountering such a faithful listener as Xiao Jingting, Qu Tao showed a tendency to tell everything he knew.
Xiao Jingting narrowed his eyes, his heart sinking. If someone really was skilled in beast language, he wondered what they had learned about the inside story.
“What did they find out!” Xiao Jingting asked.
Qu Tao shrugged and said, “Those Beast Taming Sect guys only captured outer Golden Bees. But from those Golden Bees’ mouths, they learned that the person who struck was ruthless! It seems the largest honeycomb in the hive was completely taken by that person. The benefits this guy obtained are really…”
“What else?”
Qu Tao shrugged and said, “Junior Brother, the Beast Taming Sect isn’t very close with our Qingyun Immortal Sect. Whatever they know, they won’t reveal everything.”
Xiao Jingting nodded and said, “True!” If the Beast Taming Sect really knew something, they would probably keep it secret and investigate privately.
Xiao Jingting frowned, becoming more vigilant. If the Beast Taming Sect people could learn about the stone person from the Bee Queen’s mouth, they might connect it to the Yanshi talisman. Fortunately, Chen Xu had said the Yanshi talisman was his trump card. Those followers who entered with him knew Chen Lifeng had prepared many things for him, but didn’t know the specifics.
……
The search continued for several days. Xiao Jingting was questioned several times but managed to deflect the inquiries.
“Qu Tao, people from Lingbao Pavilion have arrived. If you want to exchange for anything, hurry up,” a cultivator came in and said.
“People from Lingbao Pavilion came?” Qu Tao said with surprise.
“Yes! That young master from Lingbao Pavilion who was poisoned by scorpion venom also came. Senior Brother Liu is receiving them,” the entering cultivator said.
“Why did the Lingbao Pavilion people come to our side? Those guys are all very busy people with very high standards.”
“Senior Brother instructed that everyone must go.”
Qu Tao blinked and said, “I heard the Lingbao Pavilion people are also investigating who stole the Golden Bee honey. Could it be those guys suspect someone here stole the Golden Bee honey? The Lingbao Pavilion people are too imaginative.”
Xiao Xiaodong nodded and said, “Father, Chen Xu was bitten by a bug. Could you go take a look?”
Xiao Jingting nodded and said, “Alright! Brother Qu, I’ll come over in a bit.”
Qu Tao nodded and said, “Good!”
Xiao Jingting looked at Xiao Xiaodong and said, “Did something happen?”
Xiao Xiaodong said, “The Lingbao Pavilion people brought a type of blue butterfly. Chen Xu said that kind of butterfly is a very rare Honey-Seeking Butterfly. If someone has contacted Golden Bee honey, they’ll be discovered.”
Xiao Jingting shook his head in amazement, thinking to himself: This world really has hidden dragons and crouching tigers. These people really know how to use all sorts of tricks.
“Father, you should hide,” Xiao Xiaodong said.
Xiao Jingting shook his head and said, “No, hiding would make me look guilty. Besides, it’s fine – I haven’t contacted the honey.” Xiao Jingting had transferred the honeycombs into the jade pendant space from a distance. After that, Xiao Jingting had never had time to taste the honey.
Xiao Xiaodong nodded and said, “Alright then.”
Even so, Xiao Jingting still sprayed some strange-smelling medicinal water on himself, then cast spells to thoroughly wash himself several times.
After all this, Xiao Jingting’s scent became very strong and very mixed.
RNotes:
- “Good people get bullied, gentle horses get ridden” (人善被人欺，馬善被人騎) – meaning being too kind makes you a target for exploitation ↵
- “Eating habits were terrible” – Referring to taking too much, being greedy ↵
- “Two fists can’t fight four hands” (雙拳難敵四手) – meaning one person can’t overcome many opponents ↵
- “Mouse crossing the street” (過街老鼠) – meaning someone everyone wants to catch or harm ↵
- “People beyond people, heavens beyond heavens” (人外有人，天外有天) – meaning there’s always someone more capable than you ↵
Sorry, but hearing Xiaodong say: “ChenXu was bitten by a bug, can you take a look?” was SO precious… He really cares for his futere wife.
Yes, I know it was a ruse, but people around them clearly didnt think anything of it, so it must be common for him to take care of Chen Xu. My heart…..