Places suitable for beekeeping were hard to find. Places especially suitable for raising hornets were even harder to find.
Yet Zhang Chen really did find one. At the top of the karst cave was a dry spot, and it was extremely narrow—ordinary people simply could not reach it.
Most importantly, it was very suitable for hornets to build a nest.
"But how am I supposed to find nectar and lure the hornets over to build a nest?" Countless thoughts churned through Zhang Chen's mind. Nectar was a rare and precious thing; ordinary commoners did not even have the chance to see honey.
"Perhaps there's another way. I can find a patch of flowers with lots of bees, then order the bees to gather honey for me for two hours. If they gather honey for two hours every day, I'll have enough honey in just a few days to serve as bait and tempt the hornets into rebuilding their hive." Having thought of this, Zhang Chen stopped making gunpowder and began wandering through the mountains.
Hornets were extremely overbearing and were the natural enemies of bees. Within ten li of wherever hornets lived, there could not possibly be a bee hive.
Zhang Chen could only continue deeper into the mountains. The mountain ranges were now covered in primeval forest, with no paths left between them. This was a place rarely touched by human feet; if not for the gunpowder protecting him, Zhang Chen himself would never have dared enter so casually.
From afar, he spotted a large stretch of trees blooming with dense clusters of tiny flowers. They looked somewhat like the osmanthus trees from his previous life.
Countless little bees buzzed industriously among the woods, gathering nectar.
Zhang Chen chose a suitable location, making sure the largest possible radius of osmanthus trees lay within a hundred meters. Then, without hesitation, he cast the Beast Control Technique.
As Zhang Chen used it, countless points of light within a hundred-meter radius reflected into his mind. He saw the bees flitting through the forest—there were probably several hundred of them.
He saw venomous snakes hiding in the tree trunks, as well as birds concealed among the branches.
With a thought from Zhang Chen, several hundred bees were captured. He did not immediately order them to gather honey, however, and instead moved swiftly through the mountains. As he walked, those bees followed closely behind him. Along the way, more bees continually entered Zhang Chen's domain as it shifted with him and were directly captured by it.
There were many bees in the mountains. After walking for ten minutes, Zhang Chen had probably captured over a thousand bees. Then he arrived at a Locust Flower Forest, and with another turn of his thoughts, the bees began diligently gathering nectar among the flowers.
Of course, Zhang Chen did not stop moving while they gathered nectar. He shifted along slowly, all to capture even more bees.
A pottery jar he had prepared long ago appeared in Zhang Chen's hand. Once the time was right, he would be able to harvest a large amount of honey.
As Zhang Chen continued moving, countless bees were captured. After half a shichen, several thousand bees had already become hardworking laborers under Zhang Chen's command.
As the density of the bee swarm increased, the honey-gathering speed also rose. To maintain efficient honey collection, Zhang Chen had to keep moving, ensuring that more fresh flowers were continuously covered and replaced. Only then could the gathering remain efficient.
Seeing that time was nearly up, Zhang Chen ordered the little bees to pour their collected honey into the jar. A sky-covering mass of bees swooped down, swarming into Zhang Chen's jar. They painstakingly left behind the honey, then beat their wings and flew away.
After all the bees had departed, Zhang Chen looked at the pool of honey in the jar and could not help smiling. "It seems I've discovered an incredible skill! Maybe I can consider changing careers in the future?"
There was quite a bit of honey in the jar. Measured by mineral water bottle caps, there were probably seven or eight capfuls.
Several thousand bees had gathered nectar, yet they had only produced seven or eight capfuls. It was mainly because the gathering time had been too short. If he had been given half a day, he could have filled an entire jar.
"This is enough for me. Judging by the time, it should be the season for hornets to split their hives. A new queen should be born as well."
Zhang Chen returned all the way to the karst cave and looked at the spot he had chosen for the hornets' nest. But the top of the cave was a full ten zhang high. Even if Zhang Chen were beaten to death, he still would not be able to reach it.
"This place gets plenty of sunlight and has good ventilation. It's an excellent place to build a hive." Zhang Chen examined it carefully for a while. The more he looked, the more exquisite he felt his chosen spot was.
But figuring out how to smear honey onto the cave wall would take some thought.
"There isn't a stick that long." Zhang Chen studied it for a long time, but still could not find a way to spread the honey up there.
After pondering for a long while, inspiration suddenly flashed through Zhang Chen's mind, and he came up with an idea. "I don't have wings, so of course I can't reach the hive. But I can summon birds with wings, smear honey on their wings, and have them spread the honey up there."
"I really am a little genius." After thinking it over for quite some time, Zhang Chen smiled and continued making gunpowder.
When the sun began slanting westward, Zhang Chen sealed up the honey and placed it inside the karst cave. Then he carried a basket down the mountain to inspect his traps.
Today's harvest was not bad. He had actually caught two roe deer.
But when Zhang Chen returned to the foot of the mountain, he did not see the Fox Spirit or Zhang Chen outside the gate. He could not help feeling secretly puzzled. Could that Fox Spirit have changed her ways? She used to wait outside the gate every day with longing eyes. Why has she disappeared these past two days?
Zhang Chen returned to the house and casually tossed the roe deer onto the floor. But when his gaze swept over the wall, he froze. "How strange!"
The two pheasants he had hung on the wall yesterday had not been touched in the slightest by the Fox Spirit.
"How could this be? Could that Fox Spirit have changed her ways? Can that beast change her ways?" Zhang Chen stood there in a daze, his eyes fixed on the pheasants hanging from the wall. Confusion, bewilderment, and disbelief filled his gaze. He had already grown accustomed to being exploited by the Fox Spirit, so why had she suddenly changed her ways?
"Why? Would the Fox Spirit really kindly change her ways and stop exploiting me?" Zhang Chen's eyes widened, his expression full of utter bewilderment.
Just then, light flickered next door. The white-skirted girl poked her head out from the neighboring room with a smug expression, looking from afar at the dumbfounded Zhang Chen. Her large eyes were full of pride as she secretly thought, Aren't you stunned? This auntie has run into trouble now, so I can't exploit you too harshly. What if you throw down your burden and run away? Then this auntie will be in deep trouble!
The Fox Spirit had thought about it all day and decided not to exploit Zhang Chen anymore. At least, until the trouble inside the Ancient Tomb was resolved, she should not continue exploiting him. What if this kid ran away? What would happen to her and Zhang Chen then?
Seeing people still using the Fox Spirit to attack me—Fox Spirit will die! Die!
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