When Ye Dui and the others had initially pretended to be a circus travelling around various places, they once came to a remote village and stayed there for quite some time. The village had scant supplies, and the food Ye Dui and his group had brought with them was nearly exhausted. It was during that time that Ye Dui discovered this dragon ant egg.
This dragon ant egg looked much like an ostrich egg. After leaving the Palace of the Goddess of Wealth back then, Ye Dui had always tried to hatch this dragon ant egg, but without success. It had shown no signs of life.
At that time, Debbie had half-jokingly suggested that they might as well try roasting this thing like an egg and see what happened. Perhaps it would hatch then? After saying this, the little girl licked her lips, looking as if saliva was about to drip down… Of course, Ye Dui did not agree. It was clear she simply wanted to taste what this thing would be like if roasted.
Only now did Ye Dui discover the peculiarity of the dragon ant egg. It could actually intimidate other ants!
When the people from the Golden Lion Circus saw the treasure in Ye Dui’s hand and its extraordinary effect, as animal tamers, this thing was incomparably precious to them. The leader with the golden hair immediately narrowed his eyes, a glint of greed flashing in them. He waved his hand at the skinny old man, signalling him to withdraw the ant swarm back into the jar. Then, with a face full of feigned smiles, he took a few steps towards Ye Dui.
“You must be the leader Jobs, right? I have long heard of your circus’s exploits. You truly have some remarkable abilities. For our Golden Lions to rank below you is something we accept wholeheartedly.” The Golden Lion leader said.
Such a sudden change in attitude? Ye Dui glanced at the map in his magic guide book. He detected hostility emanating from this leader. Just moments ago, they had appeared as mere white dots on the magic guide book map, with only a faint redness, indicating that although they were very angry then, they merely intended to teach Ye Dui a lesson. But now, upon seeing Ye Dui produce the dragon ant egg, the leader’s malice intensified dramatically, showing a strong inclination towards murder and robbery.
Ye Dui looked at the Golden Lion leader with a cold smile, saying nothing.
“The thing in your hand, if I am not mistaken, must be the egg of some ant-type magical beast, right? Heh, my ancestors were hunters who tamed magical beasts, so I am most familiar with eggs of magical beasts. This thing probably has little use in your hands. Why not sell it to me? I am willing to offer a high price.” The Golden Lion leader said, his words laced with greed.
He actually planned to buy this dragon ant egg? Ye Dui turned his head to glance at Debbie and the others, then asked, “So, how much are you prepared to offer?”
“Ant-type magical beasts are usually not very valuable. How about this… I will offer five hundred gold coins. That is already a very good price. What do you think, Leader Jobs?” The Golden Lion said slyly.
“Heh heh…” Ye Dui was amused by him.
Five hundred gold coins. Did he truly take him for a fool?
Even the lowest-tier first-rank magical beast cub could sell for over a thousand gold coins now, let alone such a rare magical beast egg. Magical beasts were not necessarily more valuable the more mature they appeared. They were often most expensive in their juvenile form, or even as eggs or larvae, since establishing a deep bond with a magical beast required raising it from a young age.
Moreover, the dragon ant was no ordinary low-tier magical beast. It was an ant species that had evolved by devouring the skull of a giant dragon.
Seeing Ye Dui’s expression, the Golden Lion’s face turned cold, but he soon forced another smile. “If you are not satisfied with this price, then I can add another two hundred gold coins…”
“No need. This thing will not be sold to you. No matter how much you offer, it is useless.” Ye Dui shook his head, storing the magical beast egg back into his magic guide book. He then turned his body away.
A flash of ferocity crossed the Golden Lion’s face. His hands suddenly lifted. He wore a loose robe, and as his arms rose, the sleeves of the robe suddenly billowed out. A buzzing sound rang out loudly, and a swarm of black insects suddenly flew out from inside his sleeves.
These small insects were not ordinary bugs, but a type of low-tier magical beast: insect-type magical beast, called black needle beetles. The rank of this insect-type magical beast was extremely low, almost not qualifying as a magical beast at all. They were a legacy of the Golden Lion’s family, controlled through an insect nest hidden in his sleeve. If cultivated properly, these tiny magical beasts could breed tens of thousands in the nest.
The Golden Lion’s grandfather had once cultivated a full thirty thousand insects. They could silently kill a high-level swordsman or magic guide with ease, making them a very powerful and terrifying force.
But when the insect nest was passed down to the Golden Lion’s generation, the queen insect inside the nest was nearly dead, leaving only about a hundred beetles.
The black needle beetles were pitch black all over, no different from ordinary beetles, but they had a large tail stinger retracted into their abdomen. Once it pierced the human body, it would rapidly inject toxin, making them extremely fearsome and difficult to deal with.
The Golden Lion leader had harboured malicious intent ever since seeing Ye Dui take out the dragon ant egg. He had never truly considered spending gold coins to buy it. He had long planned to ambush Ye Dui, poison him with his insects, and then trade the antidote for the ant egg.
However…
Just as he released the black needle beetles to attack Ye Dui, Ye Dui seemed to have anticipated it. His body swiftly shifted to the side, dodging the black needle beetles’ assault.
“Insects!? He can control these insects?” Debbie exclaimed.
“None of you will get away easily today!” The Golden Lion shouted arrogantly. He not only intended to attack Ye Dui, but had no plans to spare Ye Dui’s troupe members either. He made a few hand gestures. Part of the black beetles continued to pursue Ye Dui, while the rest rapidly flew towards Lessa, Grin, and the others.
Facing the incoming beetles, Debbie and Lessa were about to act when Grin suddenly said, “Let me handle these insects!” As he spoke, Grin hurriedly retrieved a strange jar from his own magic guide book and positioned himself in front of the others.
The black needle beetles swarmed over densely. The Golden Lion still shouted loudly, “My black needle beetles are not so easy to dodge!”
Then…
Hiss—
Grin sprayed the jar into the air. A pale red, pungent mist erupted from the jar. Then, the black needle beetles fell from the sky like rain, dropping one after another.
This scene stunned the Golden Lion and his troupe members. They all stared at the thing in Grin’s hand.
“This is an insecticide I specially developed. The effect is quite good, is it not? Essential for home and travel. Would you like a bottle too? I can give you a seven-fold discount.” Grin said, tossing the jar in his hand and smiling at the Golden Lion. This insecticide had also been developed during their outdoor camping, when they were plagued by insects and ants, inspiring Grin to create it.
He had gathered some plants with fatal toxins to insects and ants—most people knew to burn these plants to produce smoke that repels mosquitoes—but Grin went further by adding stimulating odours like lemon juice and chilli water. Of course, he could not forget Ye Dui’s suggested spray device. The resulting insecticide spray proved exceptionally effective. Spraying it around the camp immediately eradicated all mosquitoes and insects.
The Golden Lion quickly regained his senses. Looking at the beetle corpses on the ground, he showed a pained expression, his face twisting with even more fury. “You killed so many of my insects. I will never forgive you…” He realised this circus was not to be trifled with, and his heart filled with shock. Suddenly, he noticed Guni, who was squatting to the side.
Guni had shown little interest in their dispute from the start. This little girl was squatting on the ground, curiously staring at the venomous snakes… No one knew how she found amusement in these venomous snakes.
The Golden Lion’s heart hardened. He waved his hand, temporarily abandoning Ye Dui and Grin. Instead, he directed the remaining black needle beetles to attack Guni.
“Watch out!” Grin hurriedly warned.
Guni lifted her head in some confusion. Seeing the incoming swarm, her small body remained squatting on the ground. She reached one hand behind her and just happened to grasp the leg of the solid wooden table in the room. Then, with a “whoosh,” the entire table was swung up by Guni holding the leg. It whistled through the air and slammed straight into the flying swarm.
Though the table was large and heavy, in Guni’s hands, it functioned just like a fly swatter, swatting the swarm away in one go.
The Golden Lion’s entire face bore only one expression: !!!!!
But it was not over yet. Guni swung the table in a full circle in the air, then hurled it towards the Golden Lion. With a “crack,” the table shattered. Accompanied by an exclamation from the Golden Lion, it knocked down two members of the Golden Lion Animal Taming Troupe and sent them tumbling out the door. After doing this, Guni continued to gaze at the venomous snakes with interest. To her, these snakes were far more entertaining than the Golden Lion and his lot…
Ye Dui looked at Guni somewhat speechlessly. Their dispute with the Golden Lion was, at most, just playing around with these animal tamers. But Guni clearly had no such inclination, so she resolved it in the simplest and most brutal way… He then hurriedly stepped out of the room, wanting to see if the Golden Lion had been smashed to death by Guni’s table blow. He thought that perhaps he could learn from the Golden Lion how to hatch the dragon ant egg?
Outside, he saw the Golden Lion sprawled狼狈ly in the courtyard. As he crawled up from the ground, his face was full of terror, and he kept letting out cries of pain. Clearly, he was not lightly injured.
Ye Dui was about to speak when his brows suddenly furrowed, and he looked towards the entrance of this small courtyard.
A man in a white robe was walking in from there. In his hand, he clutched a broken table leg, his face covered in frostiness.
Just now, when Guni had smashed the Golden Lion out with the table, the table had shattered, and one table leg had flown outside, happening to strike the white-robed man who was passing by the door. That was why this white-robed man had entered the small courtyard with such displeasure. His face was full of chill, and a savage, tyrannical aura permeated his body. To Ye Dui’s shock, he recognised this as an acquaintance.
“Eh? The Fourth Prince?” Debbie had followed him out too and whispered in surprise near Ye Dui’s ear.
This white-robed man was none other than the Fourth Prince, with whom Ye Dui and the others had tangled many times. But now, he gave off an extremely eerie feeling. His hair was still green, and though he wore a plain white robe, it imparted a very dark impression. His eyes were blood-red, filled with crimson. What surprised Ye Dui and the others most was that two ridges had appeared on his forehead, as if horns were about to grow from there…
He held the broken table leg in his hand and slowly walked over.
“Sir…” The Golden Lion’s body trembled incessantly, full of terror as he addressed the Fourth Prince.
The Fourth Prince did not wait for him to finish speaking. Abruptly, he thrust the sharp end of the broken table leg into the Golden Lion’s neck!
This elicited a cry of alarm from the Golden Lion. Blood sprayed wildly from his neck, and his body thudded to the ground.
He had actually just killed the Golden Lion like that!?
The Golden Lion’s troupe members were all too terrified to speak.
And this was not the end. The Fourth Prince clearly felt that merely killing the Golden Lion was insufficient to vent his resentment. He continued walking towards Ye Dui with a阴冷 expression.
At this moment, the Fourth Prince exuded an immensely terrifying and oppressive presence.
Though the original Fourth Prince had been rather brutal, the current him was especially frightening… Back then in Fengyan City, he had left ahead of them and returned to the capital. Now, two or three months had passed. What had happened to him in these two or three months to make him seem like a completely different person?
The venomous snakes controlled by Ye Dui suddenly seemed unable to be attracted by the Golden Snake Frenzy BGM anymore. They scattered and fled in all directions. It was as if they had been frightened and driven away by the cold aura emanating from the Fourth Prince! Ye Dui frowned and turned off the Golden Snake Frenzy BGM.
Realising the danger, Debbie, Guni, Grin, and the others hurriedly moved to Ye Dui’s side. The Fourth Prince approached them with full malice. Having killed the Golden Lion, he clearly had no intention of sparing Ye Dui’s group either. Ye Dui and the others were not truly afraid of the Fourth Prince. It was just that if they had to clash with him head-on, their identities might well be exposed…
“Demon…” Ye Dui murmured softly. He sensed this familiar aura from the Fourth Prince.
And at that moment, a teasing voice came from outside the small courtyard. “Fourth Brother, what are you getting angry about with a few actors? Your reputation lately has not been very good.”
As he spoke, a handsome man walked in. Calling him handsome was no mere simple description. He was truly a youth more handsome and perfect than a woman, wearing a robe adorned with fresh flowers, long hair cascading over his shoulders, his beauty unparalleled.
He addressed the Fourth Prince as Fourth Brother, so he was very likely a prince himself. Connecting this to the appearances of the various princes, Ye Dui easily guessed this beautiful man’s identity: the Flower Prince rumoured to be gay, the Fifth Prince.
The savagery on the Fourth Prince’s face eased slightly. He took a deep breath and turned to look at the newcomer.
“Fourth Brother, Seventh Uncle has already arrived. If you still remember even a shred of imperial etiquette, you should come with me quickly to pay respects to him.” The Fifth Prince said with a playful smile, patting the Fourth Prince’s shoulder.
Seventh Uncle… referred to Prince Geller. Prince Geller was the old emperor’s brother, the former Seventh Prince, whom Debbie always called Little Seven. And back in Fengyan City, the Fourth Prince had addressed him as Seventh Uncle.
“Hmph!” The Fourth Prince shook off the Fifth Prince’s hand and turned to walk outside.
The Flower Prince watched the Fourth Prince’s departing figure with an amused expression. He waved his hand, summoning some attendants to clean up the corpses in the courtyard. The Golden Lion Animal Taming Troupe’s people slunk away dejectedly. With their leader dead, their troupe would likely disband. Naturally, today’s performance could not continue.
Once the others had handled the matter here, the Flower Prince turned to Ye Dui with interest. His gaze fell on Ye Dui’s strange attire and beard, and in a tone laced with frivolity, he said, “You lot are the Apple Circus? From abroad? Heh, truly full of exotic flavour. This is still my first time encountering such an exotic man.”
As he spoke, he raised his delicate eyebrows at Ye Dui.
Ye Dui’s body immediately shuddered. Bloody hell, what did this Flower Prince mean?
