Immortality: Raising an Ant Queen to Cultivate by increasing stat points

Chapter 504: Chapter 496 The Unkind Yan Family for Wealth

Even after so many years, listening to Liu Shengli recount what happened at that time was still incredibly terrifying.

“I was very scared at the time, not knowing what had happened below.

From a distance, I could only see a yellow mist rising in the valley, accompanied by the agonizing screams of my dad. I still remember the last roar my dad made before he died, ‘Take care of your brother and your mom, take this tree back to sell for a wife. Whatever money is left, save it for your younger brother to get married. Your father isn’t very capable; this is the last thing I can do for you two boys.’

My dad’s roar echoed into the valley.

Before long, my brother dragged out the felled Phoebe zhennan tree with great effort.

The Phoebe zhennan tree was considerable in size, the diameter of the tree trunk was at least seven inches if not a full foot. It was very difficult for my brother to drag it by himself, and I was just about to go down to help him when that dreadful yellow mist emerged from the valley.

Then my brother screamed and fell to the ground.

After the yellow mist dispersed, I ran over crying to check on my brother who was lying on the ground.

My brother’s face was pale, but he was not dead.

He told me that a huge scorpion had attacked him and our father. My dad had already been killed by the Scorpion Spirit, and my brother had just played dead to escape its clutches. His right leg was stung by the Scorpion Spirit.

Suppressing our grief, we brothers dragged the Phoebe zhennan tree back home.

As a result, my brother fainted at the doorway as soon as we got home.

We later discovered that the area where his right leg was stung had turned black and was swollen.

We called a doctor to treat him, and after examining him, the doctor said the scorpion poison was too severe; the best method would be to amputate the right leg immediately to see if we could save his life.

At that time, our family was devastated.

My father died a horrible death, leaving no remains. My brother was about to have his right leg amputated just to stay alive, our well-kept home instantly shattered. Having no choice but to save his life, my brother had his right leg amputated. The doctor prescribed some antidotes for my brother to take orally and apply externally, and only then did his condition start to improve.

After visiting the doctor, the five taels of silver we had gotten from selling the trees were all spent.

At this point, my mom thought of selling the large Phoebe zhennan tree to the Yan Family.

After all, it was obtained in exchange for my father’s life and my brother’s leg. If we could sell it for a good price to the Yan Family, it would be some consolation.

Little did we know, the Yan Family were as ruthless as dholes, devouring people without spitting out the bones.

They said they would purchase it for one tael of silver per meter, taking advantage of my father’s death and my brother being disabled, preying on the fact that there was no one in my family to make decisions. In the end, in order to get treatment for my brother, my mother spoke a basket of good words to the Yan Family’s steward, who finally agreed to give one more tael of silver.

The large Phoebe zhennan tree was sold for nine taels of silver.

When my brother learned about this, he was furious. His condition worsened that night, he refused to eat or drink, and before dying, he held my hand, trembling he said to me, ‘Brother, I’ve wronged you, I promised to save the money so you could marry a wife in the future; those nine taels of silver definitely won’t be enough.’

‘After I’m gone, it’s all up to you to take care of the family, make sure to live a decent life and get a wife.’

It was only then that I learned my brother was refusing to eat in order not to undergo treatment anymore, wanting to save the nine taels of silver for me to get married.”

At this point, Liu Shengli’s fists were clenched so tightly they could wring out water, and his knuckles turned white from the strain.

He hated the Yan Family for being too crafty, indirectly causing the death of his brother.

No wonder Liu Shengli never worked for the Yan Family; he had long harbored hatred for them.

Given what I know about Yan Ruohai, he shouldn’t be so deceitful and heartless. Perhaps this was manipulated by the subordinates.

Many stewards of large households played both sides for their own benefit.

For instance, when the Yan Family wanted to purchase valuable timber to make furniture for the eldest young master, they handed the task over to the steward.

The steward bought a piece of golden-threaded phoebe with a diameter of four inches, offering the lumberjacks one Tael of Silver per meter, as it was the agreed upon price by the Yan Family. Then, when he reported the expenses to the Yan Family, it was very likely one Tael and five Mace of Silver per meter.

Effectively making a five Mace of Silver profit per meter.

This incident, however, served as a wakeup call for Qin Niu, who realized the necessity of overseeing his servants in the future. Otherwise, the servants might secretly take advantage and oppress the common people, and ultimately, the common people would blame Qin Niu for their grievances.

That would be truly unjust.

“Your family paid such a heavy price for a marriage, which is really unfortunate. Now that you are married with children, your father and brother, if their spirits are in heaven, can rest in peace with smiles on their faces.”

Qin Niu offered his consolation.

“What else can I do! One must always look forward. If I could do it all over again, I would definitely prevent my brother and my father from cutting down the second golden-threaded phoebe tree.

Perhaps we should not have been tempted by the Yan Family’s high price for valuable timber.”

Liu Shengli shook his head, a complex expression on his face.

“Right, that Scorpion Demon has some patterns in its activities. During the day, it rarely comes out. Also, it seldom leaves that valley. Over the years, I have observed it many times and have never found it leaving the valley.

However, at night, it seems to often go out of the valley to hunt for food. Because I have found traces of animal blood and signs of struggle outside the valley, as well as the remains of eaten carcasses. For example, fur, hooves, claws, tails, and antelope horns, and so on.

The Scorpion Demon not only feeds on the beasts and birds near the valley, but it seems to eat even insects. I have found that it’s almost impossible to find spiders, caterpillars, or other insects like that near the valley, and even crickets hiding underground are rarely discovered.”

Scorpions have a varied diet, their aggressiveness is strong, and they have a strong sense of territory.

During the day, they generally hide under rocks or in burrows they dig underground to rest, and only come out to forage at night. The nighttime is when they are most active.

“Have you been inside the valley?”

“Yes, I have! The special fruits I gather are found there. Those fruits cannot be found anywhere else but in that valley where there is only one plant.”

Liu Shengli would gather those special fruits every year to brew fruit wine, and had long since explored the perilous valley numerous times.

“Do you know where exactly the Scorpion Demon hides?”n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Qin Niu pressed.

“I’m not too clear on that. I feel it must be hiding deeper within the valley. When it appears, there’s often some yellow fog. Right, that yellow fog is poisonous—just a sniff will make one dizzy and give a headache, and it takes a long time to recover to normal. Master Qin, you must be careful when you enter the valley, and be sure not to inhale the yellow fog produced by the Scorpion Demon.”

Demons with more profound abilities often like to stir up white mist, strong winds, yellow fog, black winds, and the like.

As saints make their entrance, it’s always in a splendid carriage and amid a shower of blossoms from the skies.

Demons too have their own spectacle and can be said to possess a certain commanding presence when they appear.

“Once we get to the valley, tell me also about the location where you pick the special fruits.”

Qin Niu wanted to dig up that special fruit tree and take it home.

Now that his Everlasting Spring Technique had advanced to the Spirit Qi Realm, his special ability to cultivate plants had also grown stronger.

By planting it in his backyard, it would be much more convenient to pick fruits for winemaking in the future.

“Master Qin, if you just want to pick those special fruits, I can do that for you every year.”

Liu Shengli’s eyes flickered.