The Biological Legion

Nine-Star Insect King!

Wang Shouzhe's mouth twitched slightly. This fifth younger sister of his usually kept a low profile, but in private, she was... truly hair-raising.

"Buzz, buzz!"

The Nine-Star Insect King, the size of a fist, opened its carapace, its membranous wings fluttering rapidly in response to her.

At the same time, Wang Luojing pulled a small green bamboo flute from her waist and pressed it to her lips. She began to play a unique melody; the sound was sharp and high-pitched, quite grating to the ear.

Yet, the Nine-Star Insect King was intimately familiar with that sound. With a vibration of its wings, it emitted a continuous buzzing. The other smaller Nine-Star insects in the box took flight one after another, surrounding the Insect King like a shifting, unpredictable cloud.

Under Wang Luojing's direction, the Nine-Star Insect King led the charge toward the wheat fields, followed by a swarm of thousands of insects that swept forward like a gale. Although they were all ladybugs, the ladybugs of this Profound Martial World were clearly far more ferocious.

They landed on stalks of wheat that were still somewhat withered, caught an aphid, and began to feast. Their combat prowess was far beyond that of the lacewing larvae; in just a quarter of an hour, each Nine-Star insect had devoured at least five or six aphids.

Once such a biological legion was unleashed, it was truly invincible.

"Luojing, well done, well done." Wang Shouzhe praised her happily. "With a skill like yours, our Wang Clan's grain harvest is saved."

"Fourth Brother, it's not enough yet," Wang Luojing shook her head and said. "From the grain-filling stage to maturity, there are only ten days or so. The longer we drag it out, the easier it is for yields to drop."

Her grandfather, Wang Xiaozhi, had been a professional farmer his entire life, and she had been influenced by him since childhood, making her quite familiar with the craft. Without another word, she reached into the lacewing box and pulled out two withered-looking, large insects as thick as an arm.

"Fourth Brother, these two Lacewing Insect Kings produce too many eggs; I fear they won't live for another month," Wang Luojing said, her voice filled with heartache and guilt. "I hope that in their final moments, they can make one last effort for the clan."

As she spoke, she played the bamboo flute again. This time, the sound was completely different from when she commanded the Nine-Star Insect King—it was very low and deep. The two withered, gray-colored Lacewing Insect Kings suddenly jolted awake, flapped their wings, and flew off into the distance.

Their speed was immense, and within a few breaths, they had vanished without a trace. As they flew, their mouthparts continued to twitch, emitting low-frequency sounds.

"Fourth Brother, the Lacewing Insect Kings have the ability to summon their companions," Wang Luojing explained. "I hope they can bring back many more. There are fewer and fewer lacewings in the wild now; only those deep in the mountains remain."

Wang Shouzhe pondered this. It was highly probable that this was the fault of the Pest-Exterminating Powder pushed by the Purple Mansion Academy; the massive reduction in aphids had also led to a decline in the lacewing population.

Now that drug-resistant aphids were showing signs of an outbreak, the lacewing swarms could not keep up. I fear something major is about to happen.

An hour later, one of the Lacewing Insect Kings returned, bringing with it a massive army. They swarmed through the wheat fields, frantically preying on the aphids. Even more terrifyingly, as they ate, they began to lay eggs on the wheat leaves.

By dusk, the second Lacewing Insect King returned, bringing even more of its kin. The dense, swarming army of lacewings made Wang Shouzhe wonder if the aphids in these thousands of acres of wheat would even be enough to feed them.

Moreover, the vast number of eggs they laid would hatch in just a few days, and the tiny larvae were not to be underestimated either.

Such a spectacular scene gradually caught the attention of the tenant farmers, who then reported it to Wang Xiaozhi. When Wang Xiaozhi arrived and realized it was the handiwork of his granddaughter, Wang Luojing, he was so shocked he couldn't even speak.

In an instant, tears streamed down his aged face as he muttered, "This time, our Wang Clan is saved. Saved."

"Fourth Grandfather, our other two farms have plenty of crops as well," Wang Shouzhe said. "As for the specifics, I won't get involved. You and Luojing can discuss it yourselves." Although the silk farm focused on sericulture, they also grew a fair amount of wheat.

"This..." Upon hearing that he had to discuss matters with his granddaughter—and his youngest one at that—Wang Xiaozhi's expression immediately soured.

"Fourth Grandfather, if you feel Luojing is a nuisance, I can take her back so she doesn't get in your way here," Wang Shouzhe said with a smile.

"Not a nuisance, not in the way at all," Wang Xiaozhi hurriedly shook his head. His old face twisted as he offered a fawning smile toward Wang Luojing. "Luojing, we still need to find a way to save the other two farms. Whatever you need done, just tell your grandfather."

Wang Shouzhe smiled. Although this old man, Wang Xiaozhi, was stubborn and favored boys over girls, his loyalty and sense of belonging to the clan were beyond question. As long as his mindset could be turned around, he was still a pillar of the clan.

Seeing Wang Xiaozhi's change in attitude, Wang Shouzhe pulled him aside and said with a solemn expression, "Fourth Grandfather, it seems this pestilence is not just affecting our Wang Clan. I wouldn't dare speak for all of Longzuo, but in the vicinity of Changning Guard, we are likely looking at a total yield reduction of at least forty to fifty percent."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Wang Xiaozhi blinked, then chuckled foolishly. "If other families have reduced yields and we have a bumper harvest..."

"In this world, good and bad are rarely absolute," Wang Shouzhe said coldly. "Sometimes, things that look very good often turn into bad things."

Wang Xiaozhi shuddered, then realized, "Shouzhe, you mean other families will be jealous of us?"

"If it were only jealousy, that would be one thing," Wang Shouzhe's expression was grave. "As the saying goes, 'do not worry about scarcity, but about inequality.' If everyone suffers, there is nothing to be said. But if our Wang Clan alone has a bumper harvest, let alone those hostile families, even the families we have good relations with will likely harbor resentment. One wrong move, and our Ping'an Wang Clan could become the target of everyone's ire."

"Then what should we do? Our Wang Clan is already teetering on the brink; if we were to..." Wang Xiaozhi grew anxious. He was, after all, just a clan elder who had spent his life farming; he understood too little of these matters.

"Fourth Grandfather, do not worry. Sometimes bad things can turn into good things," Wang Shouzhe said with a confident smile. "It depends on how we manage the situation to steer it in our favor. Let us calculate: first, the Changning Xu Clan, the Shanyang Gongsun Clan, and the Shanyin Liu Clan. These three clans have long-standing intermarriages with our Ping'an Wang Clan. Our relations are naturally close, so we must find ways to assist them."

In truth, among these three, Wang Shouzhe had the best impression of the Shanyang Gongsun Clan. This was not just because his current legal mother was from the Gongsun Clan, but because the Gongsun Clan's style was open and magnanimous; they did not look down on the now-declining Ping'an Wang Clan.

Of course, this also had much to do with previous intermarriages between the main branches. The current head of the Gongsun Clan, Gongsun Mo, had a grandmother, Wang Lingdie, who was from the fourth generation of the Wang Clan's main line.

The Changning Xu Clan itself was a very powerful Profound Martial family, not inferior to the Ping'an Wang Clan at its peak. Back then, the main branches of both sides intermarried, and their relationship was close.

It was a pity that later...

Wang Xiaozhi nodded with a complex and pained expression. "Indeed, these three families have deep blood ties with our Wang Clan. It is just a pity about Aunt Zhenmei..."

Wang Shouzhe knew what he was talking about. After the great upheaval in the Wang Clan, in order to consolidate relations with the Changning Xu Clan, under the orchestration of Ancestor Longyan, the fifth-generation main-line daughter, Aunt Wang Zhenmei, was married to the eldest son of the Xu Clan.

Wang Zhenmei did not fail her mission, and a few years later, she became pregnant with a legitimate heir, bringing the two families to their closest state. Unfortunately, Aunt Wang Zhenmei died inexplicably during childbirth, resulting in the tragic loss of both mother and child.

The Wang Clan was devastated. The brothers of the 'Xiao' generation went to the Changning Xu Clan to cause a scene, and even Ancestor Longyan was alarmed and personally went to perform an autopsy. It was only after finding nothing suspicious or untoward that they let the matter rest.

Since then, the intimate relationship between the Wang and Xu clans had developed a rift, and intermarriage was limited to the direct branches, never again involving the main line.

Similarly, the relationship between the Shanyin Liu Clan and the Wang Clan was also somewhat intricate and difficult to describe in a few words.

But complex as it was, the blood ties between them could not be erased, and at critical moments, they still had to pull each other up.