Chapter 504 - Chapter 504: Chapter 496 The Unkind Yan Family for Wealth (2/2)

For instance, when the Yan Family wanted to purchase valuable timber to make furniture for the eldest young master, they handed the task over to the steward.

The steward bought a piece of golden-threaded phoebe with a diameter of four inches, offering the lumberjacks one Tael of Silver per meter, as it was the agreed upon price by the Yan Family. Then, when he reported the expenses to the Yan Family, it was very likely one Tael and five Mace of Silver per meter.

Effectively making a five Mace of Silver profit per meter.

This incident, however, served as a wakeup call for Qin Niu, who realized the necessity of overseeing his servants in the future. Otherwise, the servants might secretly take advantage and oppress the common people, and ultimately, the common people would blame Qin Niu for their grievances.

That would be truly unjust.

“Your family paid such a heavy price for a marriage, which is really unfortunate. Now that you are married with children, your father and brother, if their spirits are in heaven, can rest in peace with smiles on their faces.”

Qin Niu offered his consolation.

“What else can I do! One must always look forward. If I could do it all over again, I would definitely prevent my brother and my father from cutting down the second golden-threaded phoebe tree.

Perhaps we should not have been tempted by the Yan Family’s high price for valuable timber.”

Liu Shengli shook his head, a complex expression on his face.

“Right, that Scorpion Demon has some patterns in its activities. During the day, it rarely comes out. Also, it seldom leaves that valley. Over the years, I have observed it many times and have never found it leaving the valley.

However, at night, it seems to often go out of the valley to hunt for food. Because I have found traces of animal blood and signs of struggle outside the valley, as well as the remains of eaten carcasses. For example, fur, hooves, claws, tails, and antelope horns, and so on.

The Scorpion Demon not only feeds on the beasts and birds near the valley, but it seems to eat even insects. I have found that it’s almost impossible to find spiders, caterpillars, or other insects like that near the valley, and even crickets hiding underground are rarely discovered.”

Scorpions have a varied diet, their aggressiveness is strong, and they have a strong sense of territory.

During the day, they generally hide under rocks or in burrows they dig underground to rest, and only come out to forage at night. The nighttime is when they are most active.

“Have you been inside the valley?”

“Yes, I have! The special fruits I gather are found there. Those fruits cannot be found anywhere else but in that valley where there is only one plant.”

Liu Shengli would gather those special fruits every year to brew fruit wine, and had long since explored the perilous valley numerous times.

“Do you know where exactly the Scorpion Demon hides?”

Qin Niu pressed.

“I’m not too clear on that. I feel it must be hiding deeper within the valley. When it appears, there’s often some yellow fog. Right, that yellow fog is poisonous—just a sniff will make one dizzy and give a headache, and it takes a long time to recover to normal. Master Qin, you must be careful when you enter the valley, and be sure not to inhale the yellow fog produced by the Scorpion Demon.”

Demons with more profound abilities often like to stir up white mist, strong winds, yellow fog, black winds, and the like.

As saints make their entrance, it’s always in a splendid carriage and amid a shower of blossoms from the skies.

Demons too have their own spectacle and can be said to possess a certain commanding presence when they appear.

“Once we get to the valley, tell me also about the location where you pick the special fruits.”

Qin Niu wanted to dig up that special fruit tree and take it home.

Now that his Everlasting Spring Technique had advanced to the Spirit Qi Realm, his special ability to cultivate plants had also grown stronger.

By planting it in his backyard, it would be much more convenient to pick fruits for winemaking in the future.

“Master Qin, if you just want to pick those special fruits, I can do that for you every year.”

Liu Shengli’s eyes flickered.