Chapter 216 - Chapter 216: Chapter 211: Water Controli (2/2)

It was just a shame its size was still quite small; otherwise, in the future, carrying it with him would be like having a high-level life preserver, no longer needing to worry about drowning.

Moreover, as it continued to evolve and its Water Control skill improved, he believed it wouldn’t just be for frolicking in the water.

Potent aquatic monsters, even if only a fish or shrimp, could be invincible beings within their watery domain.

The beast pet had grown stronger, and Qin Niu, as its master, naturally felt elated.

However, the absence of horse hoof sounds outside made his nerves remain taut.

That person riding a horse into the village could not have avoided leaving eventually.

As long as they left the village, they would inevitably pass by the road in front of the door.

The continued silence of horse hooves indicated that person had not left the village since entering.

Had they infiltrated to lie low in one of the villagers’ homes, or had they entered the mountains to lie in wait, hoping Qjn Niu would walk into their trap?

Or had they followed the scent of Wu Hao’s corpse and accidentally wandered into the maze of the Ancient Banyan Tree?

If it were the last case, Qin Niu would have cause to celebrate.

As the night gradually faded and the sky showed a glimmer of dawn, the stranger still had not emerged from the village.

This couldn’t help but keep Qin Niu on edge.

He made up his mind that if the person had not left soon, he would report the matter directly to Chairman Li of the Insect Master Association.

If the enemy proved too powerful, he still had one more card to play.

The Fang Family had promised to help in times of trouble at a moment’s notice.

And since the Fang Family needed Qin Niu to cure that high-grade herb, they wouldn’t just watch him be killed. As long as he asked for help, the Fang Family would likely get involved.

At dawn, Qin Niu watched as the sky brightened, but the mysterious person who had entered the village still hadn’t left.

He decided to investigate discreetly first.

Even if he wanted to report to Chairman Li, he needed to get a clear grasp of the situation first.

Last night he had only heard faint hoof sounds and couldn’t even be sure what kind of animal had made them, let alone confirm that someone was riding it. How could he report that?

Rashly heading into the mountains or running to Xie Laizi’s house to snoop around would be a death wish.

This needed to be handled without undue haste, finding a way to subtly gather information.

After eating breakfast, he showed no intention of leaving the house.

Xiao Qing had cultivated up to the tenth level of mortals and was urgently wishing to advance to the Acquired Realm soon.

“Master, aren’t we going up the mountain to cultivate today?”

“No hurry. These next two days, you should meditate on the Seven-Star Sword Technique at home and cultivate in seated meditation. Don’t go out,” Qin Niu instructed her.

“Alright!”

She clearly seemed reluctant but dared not defy Qin Niu’s orders.

Qin Niu shouldered a hoe and a basket and stepped out.

The field of sorghum had been harvested and was lying fallow.

Because of the constant pest troubles, planting anything amounted to nothing.

The food supplies he had stored were enough to feed himself and Xiao Qing for an entire year. Moreover, he now had plenty of Silver Money and could buy more food.

Now, pretending to be a farmer and working in the field would serve as a cover.

It would at least not likely draw that person’s attention.

Once outside, he discretely observed the tracks on the road.

Regrettably, until now, he had only mastered Insect Trace Identification. He had acquired very few skills in the realm of beast control.

Despite being a high-level Beast Tamer, that was only because he had successfully subdued the Red-Eyed Golden Watcher, which allowed him to advance.

Having a high rank was meaningless without the corresponding skills in controlling beasts.

There were some traces left by livestock on the ground, but he couldn’t discern anything from them.

After an inconclusive secret check, Qin Niu headed straight for his own thin acre of farmland.

In just over a month, various weeds had overgrown the field.

He released the Termite.

“Fourth, eating plants is your innate instinct, lead the Worker Ants to help weed. The Soldier Ants will take care of defense,” he said.

When he first started raising Termites, his ambitions had been quite modest.

He had only aimed to be a low-level Insect Master.

Given that Termites primarily fed on plants—wild grass, leaves, tree trunks, roots—they were all fair game and easy to keep fed.

Once their numbers increased, they could help him weed the crops.

After all, the thing that grew fastest on this thin acre was the weeds, not so much the crops.

Weeding had always been the most troublesome task for him.

If the Termites could help eliminate those hard-to-deal-with weeds, it would give him much relief.

Now, the Termites he raised had become very powerful.

If they were simply tasked with weeding, it would indeed be a waste of their abilities.

In reality, he was not that foolish.

Accompanying the Termites in the mountains, he could easily catch some rare insects that could be sold for a couple hundred Wen Money or even fetch a high price of a few Silver Coins.

How much could farming bring in a year?

Land like this could count itself lucky to yield five hundred Wen Money.

In a year of heavy taxation and poor harvest, there might even be a loss.

The Termites no longer needed to fear predators like frogs, spiders, snakes in the fields.

They could even easily kill these predators.

Qin Niu released them into the field and let them be.

He busied himself with hoeing, weeding, and turning the soil.

Digging down, all he found were stones.

That’s the nature of thin soil—barely arable and extremely poor in quality.

He turned over the earth, planning to plant wheat in the second half of the year.

Previously, farming was for survival, but now he was purely enhancing his planting skills to lay the foundation for future high-grade plant cultivation.

“Master Qin, you’re still farming by yourself even though you’ve become an Insect Master?”

Xu Zhenchang passed by carrying a pole and noticed Qin Niu working in the field, he specifically came over to greet him.