...Today’s haul was more than enough. It’ll take a few days to digest all this. I’ll come back another time.

On the way back to Wanshui City, he stopped to start processing the Bee Meat.

He had, of course, already prepared a knife. He carefully sliced open the bee’s upper body along the joint between its thorax and abdomen. Then, using a small, pre-prepared blade, he began to scoop out the meat from the abdomen, bit by bit.

The translucent, shimmering white Bee Meat gave off a honeyed aroma that was incredibly appetizing. Qin Fang couldn’t resist and took a bite. The texture was crisp yet springy, and his taste buds exploded with flavor!

...Pure bliss!

As he neared the bottom of the abdomen, however, he became extremely cautious. ’If I’m not careful and rupture the Poison Gland, all this Bee Meat will be ruined.’

Then again, maybe he didn’t need to be *that* careful. The Poison Gland was surprisingly tough and not so easily punctured.

Soon, he had completely hollowed out the first bee.

This single bee yielded a good amount of meat—at least a pound of it!

Glistening translucently in the porcelain jar, it looked incredibly tempting.

He popped another piece into his mouth, then moved on to the second bee...

Before long, he had finished processing all three bees.

He now had a full jar containing at least three pounds of Bee Meat.

Three mostly-full Poison Glands.

And... three Poison Needles that glinted with a cold light!

...These Poison Needles were especially dangerous. Constantly steeped in the venom from the Poison Glands, they had become highly toxic in their own right.

’This stuff seems to be miraculously effective against monsters... I should always keep some on hand,’ he thought.

But then, he suddenly froze.

’That’s not right.’

’That Wild Boar King... Since when did wild boars have such incredible resistance to poison?’

’Such terrifying monsters die instantly on contact with Bee Venom!’

’How could a mere wild boar withstand the stings of so many Giant Bees, only to die from a fall and not from the venom?’

’And how was its meat still edible?’

Qin Fang finally put his finger on what had been bothering him all this time.

He had previously assumed the Wild Boar King mutated after being stung by the Giant Bees. He figured it must have gone into a frenzy for some reason, provoking the swarm to attack it, and in its panicked flight, it fell off a cliff to its death.

But now, after dealing with two monster incidents back-to-back, he realized something wasn’t right.

The monster from Wang Hu’s body had died almost instantly after emerging.

But with the one from Yan Jun’s body, he had to fight a truly bitter battle, suffering serious injuries just to barely kill it.

Its Life Force was the strongest he had seen in years!

This meant the monster from Wang Hu’s body had likely been killed by the Bee Venom.

And that raised a question.

’...The venom can kill monsters.’

’But it couldn’t kill a wild boar?’

’Isn’t that a joke?’

Qin Fang subconsciously glanced toward Old Ox Back, his brow furrowing deeply.

’...Looks like there’s another anomaly here I haven’t uncovered.’

’My previous analysis could have been completely wrong!’

He mulled it over with a frown for a long time before finally letting out a breath, a new resolve flickering in his eyes.

’Forget it. I’ll investigate more carefully next time I’m here. I’m definitely in the right place; the territory the Wild Boar King marked out for itself can’t be faked.’

’But it’s also a fact that its body had no trace of Bee Venom!’

’If there’s an explanation... it’s probably still in that cave.’

’Last time, I just followed the main path. But now that I think about it... there might have been some branching tunnels inside...’

’Could there be something else in there besides the Treasure Plant? Something special... that could even grant immunity to Bee Venom?’

’If so...’

Qin Fang’s heart began to race.

If he could become immune to Bee Venom, then "bee fishing" would become completely risk-free!

But after a long exhale, Qin Fang suppressed the impulse.

’I’d love to go right now, but the sky is already getting dark. By the time I get back to the cave... it’ll be pitch-black.’

’Visibility in the cave is limited even during the day, let alone at night.’

’It’s better to go next time, fully prepared.’

With that decided, Qin Fang went back to work.

He thought for a moment about the Giant Bee carcasses. Just like last time, he decided to keep only the abdomens. He dug a pit and buried the upper halves.

He placed all three Poison Glands into the Jade Bottle, then wrapped the bottle securely in several layers of cloth.

He wrapped the three Poisonous Thorns in a piece of leather for now and tucked them into the special needle bag he had made.

Finally, cradling the porcelain jar of meat, he started toward his temporary home in Wanshui.

...

"Boss, I haven’t seen your nephew all day. Did he go home?"

In Wanshui City, Jiang Xin was on his routine patrol of the market, making sure no trouble was afoot.

’This place is my cash cow,’ he thought. ’Can’t let anything happen to it.’

As he was walking along distractedly, Yuan the Second, who was beside him, suddenly spoke up, causing Jiang Xin to whip his head around.

"What did you say? He’s gone?"

Yuan the Second was startled by his reaction. Seeing Jiang Xin’s expression, he quickly said, "He probably just went sightseeing nearby. Don’t worry, Boss. You want me to get the boys and have a look around?"

He mistook Jiang Xin’s agitation for anxiousness.

’Anxious?’

’Anxious my ass!’

’Look for him?! The hell I will!’

’I couldn’t be happier if he just pissed off for good!’

But then he remembered the cover story he had concocted. He cleared his throat. "No, what’s the point? He’s a grown man, it’s not like he’s going to get into trouble. Relax. He probably just went back to his village..."

’Right. Can’t let anyone get suspicious.’

’That guy’s background is shady. And hearing all the recent rumors, I strongly suspect he’s the one who supposedly wiped out Ganlu Hall!’

’I’m not an idiot.’

’The man moves in secret, and Fishermen’s is so close to Wanshui. He shows up out of the blue, covered in injuries... clearly from a fight.’

’And the biggest rumor going around right now is about Ganlu Hall... It’s impossible not to connect the dots.’

’But I haven’t breathed a word of this to anyone. I even played dumb in front of him, and I have no intention of probing...’

’What would be the point of finding out for sure?’

’I, Jiang Xin, have my own code for surviving in this world...’

’Curiosity killed the cat!’

’Curiosity? The less, the better.’

’It’s better to play the fool.’

’Alas, a shame I’m too damn smart...’

’But now, that pest is finally gone...’

"Back to his village? I don’t think so. The man might be gone, but his dog is still around,"

Yuan the Second muttered.

Huh?

Jiang Xin froze. ’The dog is still here?’

’That guy brought his dog with him even when he was on the run... which means...’

’He hasn’t left?’

His face twitched.

’Wait, didn’t he say three to five days?’

’It’s been nine days!!!’

"Hey, speak of the devil! Brother Jiang, Brother Jiang! Where’ve you been? Your uncle here was just worried sick about you!"

Qin Fang had just reached the market when he heard Yuan the Second’s voice.

Hearing this, Qin Fang raised an eyebrow and glanced at Jiang Xin, whose eyelid was twitching furiously.

He let out a snort of laughter.

’Him, worried?’

’More like thrilled, right?’

"Second Uncle Yuan... Uncle. Just taking a stroll?"

He walked over with a grin, his eyes narrowed playfully.