Catching Insects and Observation

Huo Hai could only feel helpless at Huo Yuner's whimsical idea. Never mind whether flowers could be woven at all—even if they could, were they supposed to let grass-eating insects devour them? Not every insect ate meat.

"Yun'er, this is for raising insects. Flowers and grass simply won't do." Huo Hai could only supplement Huo Yuner's common knowledge. He feared that grass cages were something he might be the first to make in this world; to everyone else, they were hardly common knowledge.

Huo Yuner's eyes widened, her face full of shock. "Y-you said what? You actually want to raise insects? How could you do something like that?" Upon hearing that it was for raising insects, Huo Yuner seemed to have been provoked. Instinctively, she wanted to throw away the grass cage in her hand. But looking at the exquisite little cage, she could not bear to do it. At worst, she simply would not raise insects.

Huo Hai found it rather amusing. Sure enough, girls were all afraid of insects. He truly did not know how his grandmother had overcome her fear of insects when she was young. Thinking of his grandmother, Huo Hai's mood dipped slightly.

"All right, not every insect is that frightening. Think about it—aren't there some insects whose calls sound especially lovely at night? This cage is for raising those kinds of insects. Besides, you won't need to catch them yourself. You only need to put in some food from time to time to feed them."

Huo Hai made it sound simple, but raising insects was not so easy. This crude method might keep an insect alive for a few days, but keeping one alive indefinitely was utterly impossible. Even raising a cricket involved so much knowledge, let alone raising gu.

"Really?" Huo Yuner thought about it. It did seem that some insects had very pleasant voices. It was not as though she had never noticed them before; she had simply instinctively ignored them. Whenever she thought of insects, Huo Yuner's first reaction was to run away. She had never looked at them carefully at all. How could Huo Hai not understand that mindset? Even he had gone through a period like that when he was young.

But once one looked at insects closely, one would discover that they were not actually so frightening. "Of course. If you don't believe me, look—there's one in that patch of grass. Look closely. Don't you think it's interesting?" Huo Hai pointed at a harmless little insect.

Suppressing the fear in her heart, Huo Yuner cautiously leaned closer for a look. Once she did, she truly did not find the insect disgusting at all. Looking more carefully, she even found that it seemed almost like a work of art.

"Wow, it's true. Some insects really are quite pretty when you look closely." Huo Yuner's eyes rolled, and she grabbed Huo Hai's arm, shaking it repeatedly. "I don't care, I don't care! Brother Hai, you said some insects have very nice calls, so you have to catch one for me. Otherwise, otherwise I'll take all these grass cages away." Huo Yuner had actually learned how to threaten him.

Huo Hai was not very familiar with Huo Yuner, yet a warmth welled up from the depths of his soul. So this was what family affection felt like. He had never had a younger sister in his previous life. Since Heaven had given him one in this life, he would certainly not let his sister suffer harm.

"All right, let's go now." Huo Hai abruptly stood up and agreed at once. This gave Huo Yuner quite a fright.

In a patch of grass, Huo Hai and Huo Yuner crouched beside it, watching carefully. Huo Yuner did not even dare breathe too loudly. If Huo Hai had been catching insects on Earth, he would not have needed to go through so much trouble. He had remembered clearly which insects had pleasant calls. But on the Spirit Realm Continent, he could not do that, because he knew nothing at all about the insects of this world.

So first, he had to observe them. Fortunately, there were many varieties of insects, but broadly speaking, there were only a few main kinds. Ordinary small insects on Earth and in this world shared many similarities.

Aside from minute differences, similar insects were enough for his purposes. Learning about different insects through observation was also part of the art of raising insects. Whether they were poisonous, what special abilities they had, even their habits—much of it could be determined through one's eyes. Huo Hai did not have much practical experience in this regard, but his theoretical knowledge was not lacking in the slightest.

"Chirp, chirp..." A crisp, pleasant sound suddenly rang out beside him. Without changing expression, Huo Hai glanced over. A large-headed black insect was perched atop a leaf, producing a clear and melodious call.

It looks a lot like a cricket. I wonder if it can be used for fighting. Its call is crisp and pleasing, fitting Yun'er's requirements. It seems to make sound with its wings; when it calls, its wings vibrate at a high frequency. Judging by the leaves, it should eat grass. In that brief instant, Huo Hai had already figured out seven or eight parts of the insect's basic information.

Originally, Huo Hai had planned to observe it for a while longer. But seeing the anxious look in Huo Yuner's eyes, he could only sigh. Forget it. He would catch it first; as for the future, he could deal with it when the time came.

The moment he made up his mind, Huo Hai moved like a flash, his speed astonishing. Huo Hai, who had cultivated the Spirit Art, could no longer be compared to his former Earth self, who had been too weak to truss a chicken. Catching an insect was simple; the insect itself had not even reacted.

In an instant, Huo Hai was beside the little insect. With a light sweep of his right hand, he used the mouth of the grass cage to cut off the leaf the insect was resting on, sending it into the cage. He then closed the grass cage. The entire movement flowed like drifting clouds and running water, without the slightest delay. He had not injured the insect either; at most, he had merely frightened it a little. It was nothing serious.

After tightly sealing the mouth of the grass cage, Huo Hai handed it to Huo Yuner. "Yun'er, here. This is the insect you wanted. You only need to feed it some fresh grass from time to time." Huo Hai briefly explained the matters that required attention when raising insects.

Afterward, Huo Hai lowered his head again and began observing insects. Huo Yuner's eyes turned, but she did not leave. Instead, she fed the insect using the method Huo Hai had taught her while watching him. She also wanted to see what kind of insect Huo Hai intended to catch. There were so many grass cages here. Could Brother Hai be raising many insects to listen to music at night? Yes, that had to be it.

Huo Yuner thought so with complete confidence, but after more than half a day, she regretted it. Huo Hai had actually remained quietly in that spot for a very long time, and Huo Yuner was nearly unable to endure it anymore. Children were always restless.

When Huo Hai finally caught an insect, Huo Yuner's face turned green.

"Brother Hai, y-you... how could you catch such a disgusting insect? And it's poisonous." That was right—Huo Hai had caught a centipede. Of course, it might not have been one, but the two truly looked alike. Encountering such a commonly used poisonous creature for refining gu made Huo Hai overjoyed. But even though Huo Yuner had accepted insects, she still could not bear the appearance of a centipede.

"Hehe, Yun'er, I caught this because I have a use for it, not because it looks good. This thing is called a centipede. Although it is poisonous, if used properly, it can also be a fine medicinal ingredient." Huo Yuner would not listen to any of that.

What medicinal ingredient? It was still just a disgusting bug, nowhere near as pretty as her cricket. Sticking out her tongue, Huo Yuner turned and ran away. Huo Hai, meanwhile, continued observing insects on his own. He was already considering what he should refine.

Over the following days, aside from cultivating the Spirit Art, Huo Hai spent all his remaining time observing the insects in the grass, studying their habits. He even used methods that appeared highly unusual to others to inspect these insects.

At times, he removed venom sacs from poisonous insects and carefully analyzed their contents. Or he dissected insects and studied their structures, using that to determine their type and even the direction in which they might evolve. If possible, he truly wanted to find some books about insects to read, but unfortunately, there was no one in this world who studied insects.

As for Huo Yuner, she came over to take a look every day. But whenever she saw Huo Hai catch things like spiders and centipedes, she stayed far away. Still, Huo Yuner took excellent care of her own cricket.

Over several days, Huo Hai caught insects from inside the residence all the way to outside it. The Huo Family compound was not small, but neither was it large. There were only so many kinds of insects, and very few poisonous ones. To find what he needed, he still had to go outside.

That day, Huo Hai continued searching outside when a piercing voice suddenly rang out. "Hahaha! Look, look! The Huo Family's fool! This fool has been squatting in the grass and catching insects every day lately. Does he want to spend the rest of his life with insects?"

Huo Hai turned his head and cast a sidelong glance, disdain flashing through his eyes. He Family dandy He Ya. As the He Family's second young master, he was nearly ten years older than me, yet his strength was about the same as mine. Huo Hai had no interest in understanding such a playboy. Even if the He Family, like the Huo Family, was one of the top Lineages in the Western Frontier of the Southern Cloud Kingdom, it made no difference.

"Look, look! That fool doesn't even react after being called that. They say he lost his memory, but I think he's simply gone mad. Before long, the Huo Family will be replaced by us." He Ya spoke with great excitement.

This fellow was the true idiot. He had not noticed the disgust in everyone else's eyes at all. This kind of trash only knew how to bully those weaker than himself; upon meeting someone stronger, he would immediately cower. In contrast, Huo Hai had always enjoyed an excellent reputation. He Ya trying to bully Huo Hai now would only make others despise him even more.

After laughing for a long time, He Ya realized that no one seemed willing to respond to him, and he felt rather bored. "Hmph, a fool is a fool. I'll let you off today. But the next time I see you, I'll make you pay." He Ya felt that his pride had been damaged.

Huo Hai was different from a peripheral He Family member like him. Although Huo Hai had lost his memory, he was still the Huo Family's only direct descendant. If He Ya dared make a move against Huo Hai at such a time, the Huo Family would absolutely not let him go. He Ya left bitterly, his eyes full of venom. Huo Hai did not even know that without doing anything at all, he had somehow offended someone.

"But that's fine. Since I'm going to be the villain anyway, I might as well start with an idiot like this. That way, I won't feel any psychological burden." Huo Hai smiled faintly. The villains in his mind clearly differed greatly from the villains in everyone else's eyes.