Chapter 956: Am I a beggar?

Gu Ma took Ajie and Li Mo to the orchard of their tribe.

It is called a fruit forest, but in fact it is an area in the center of the forest.

In the middle of the tree grows a very tall and straight tree, with broad and stretched leaves that are slightly curled, like a giant bird's claw. Not only does it look like a bird, it also attracts birds, which is why the tree is called the bird's claw tree.

Clusters of light green fruits hang between the leaves.

These fruits are as thick as fingers and grow in clusters, like some kind of natural ornaments.

The lone horse led the tribesmen to climb the trees flexibly. They would approach and talk to the fruits.

"How is it? Are you ready? Not yet? Oh, you are such a coward."

"You have such a sweet voice. You are such a rare treasure. Let me pick you off and start the next stage of reproduction."

"No, you are still too young and growing. Your voice is hoarse and unclear. Let's talk about it in a few months."

…

In the eyes of others, these ant-keepers seemed to be talking to themselves.

They carefully picked bunches of ripe fruits from the trees and put them into the baskets on their backs.

Li Mo asked through his safety suit: "These trees can't survive anywhere else, right?"

"Yes, many people from other civilizations have tried this before I came here."

Ajie reminded again: "Young Master Mo, you must not take off your clothes and protection, and you must not come into contact with the locals."

"Especially the women here can't be touched."

The locals of Volut are passionate and bold, and develop very early. Many of the first people who came here easily got involved with local women and indulged in lust, and as a result, they also contracted the Volut plague.

Outsiders did not have the physical strength and resistance of the locals, so if they contracted the plague, it would usually take less than a week for them to get sick and die.

Even if they return, they will be checked by the descendants of the gods and believers of Cydiliya. They can detect symptoms and will immediately lock up the sick until they die and then bury and burn them.

Li Mo said: "I am not interested in women, I am here to discuss business."

His eyes were fixed on the bird's claw tree.

Ajie felt relieved. Li Mo's appearance and age were easy to be overlooked, but it seemed that he was here to investigate the family behind him.

"Brother Jie."

The other party's address made Ajie feel a little apprehensive. If a young master was arrogant and domineering, he would feel more at ease. But the other party's calm and polite attitude made him a little unsure.

"Call me Ajie."

"Ajie." Li Mo said, "Why did the Cediliya believers open this passage?"

"Well, they originally wanted to move the [Sediliya Stone Statue Formation] back. But that wonder is made up of stone statues, each of which is at least the size of a two-story house. Not only are they heavy, but they are also sunken underground. It is difficult to carry out large-scale excavation and transportation here. When you touch them, you can hear the ancient god's mumbling, which will make you crazy and weak."

While watching the locals picking fruits, Ajie said, "They wanted to hire locals to carry the fruits, but there was starvation and poison everywhere, so it was difficult to move. Later, they gradually cooperated with us [Wanli Chamber of Commerce]."

Most of the followers of Cydiliya are fanatics who have mastered some strange rituals and spells from the whispers of the ancient gods. Relatively speaking, negotiation and cooperation are their weaknesses.

After President Albi reached an agreement with the descendant of the god Cautry from Cydiliya, many merchants in the guild came here to test the waters, but up to now, only Ajie has been running this trade route for a long time.

The reason is that the local ant-keepers in Volut are difficult to deal with.

Normal people simply cannot get their recognition.

When Ajie was discussing cooperation with Gu Ma, the leader of the fire ant tribe here, he was irritated by the other party's rude and arrogant attitude and arrogance.

It's as if I was begging them.

After all this time, I have become a beggar? Ajie and Gu Ma started fighting after cursing at each other.

The other party was quite martial and challenged him in a one-on-one duel.

In the end, Ajie was defeated by the tall and strong Gu Ma, who was gifted with strength and endurance, but he was still highly regarded by the other party.

"Very good, very brave. You are very much like the Ant-Hunter. From today on, you are a friend of our Fire Ant Tribe."

Gu Ma patted Ajie who was wearing a protective suit and said, "You are a man. Those outsiders, what can you say? You don't even dare to fight. What else can you do?"

"We ant keepers are not afraid of death, so our friends must be brave enough as well."

In this way, a connection and friendship were established between the two sides.

It is difficult for normal businessmen to open up new land here.

Looking back, Ajie also felt it was thrilling.

What if Gu Ma punched him and seriously injured him that day, or his protective clothing was damaged that day, or even if Gu Ma was unhappy and chopped himself off and used as fertilizer for fruit trees... each of these would be a dead end.

After going through the most difficult stage, Ajie later exchanged the food bought from the Mystic Kingdom for some local goods.

Local export commodities include various leathers, local herbs and fruits, among which fruits such as bird's claw fruit are the most popular among buyers.

It has the ability to eliminate certain negative effects, has high practical value, is sweet and delicious, and is a new variety of fruit for the Yao clan. It has become an expensive food in the Mystic Kingdom.

However, bird's claw fruit only bears fruit twice a year and is difficult to preserve after being picked, so it is difficult to further increase its yield.

Li Mo was puzzled: "Why don't you consider preserving them by pickling them?"

"Mr. Mo, look."

Ajie motioned for the other party to look under the tree.

There were several women with jewel pendants around their necks. They were spreading bunches of bird's claw fruits on bird's claw leaves, then gathering the leaves on a wide winnowing basket and lifting them together to an open space on the side.

There were piles of wooden boxes there.

Small fiery red ants crawled out of the beehive-like box and soon covered the bird's claw fruit and started biting it.

Li Mo thought thoughtfully: "Are they processing fresh fruits?"

“You could say that.”

Ajie said: "It seems that Mo Shao has done some research on these. There are some tiny toxin particles in the bird's claw fruit. All the toxins are concentrated in those small black thorns and evenly distributed in the fruit. These fire ants are removing those poison sacs. At the same time, they will also remove some seeds, so that the bird's claw fruit can have a chance to grow into a tree in the soil."

"Fire ants are very poisonous. When they bite people, they feel like they are burned by fire. The wound will continue to swell, and there may even be bleeding and paralysis of the mouth and tongue. In severe cases, it can be fatal."

Ajie looked at the tiny, busy insects and said, "That's why we call them ant herders. In Volut, different tribes coexist with different ant colonies, which are mainly divided into two branches."

"One is to be with the fire ants like the fire ant tribe here. Fire ants can protect fruit trees and will also attack creatures such as birds, snakes and monkeys that eat the fruits. But they recognize the scent of their own ant keepers and will not harm the people here."

"Another branch is the seed ants. Seed ants usually live underground. They store a variety of seeds and plant them. Seed ants use toxins to identify suitable species, and many of the seeds they collect are very valuable for planting."

"Some tribes live with seed ants and obtain food through large-scale planting... but due to the influence of hunger disease, it is still far from enough. The people here will eat more and more, and become weaker and weaker, but they will easily become hungry."

Li Mo's eyes swept between the ant colony and the fruits in the winnowing basket, and then turned his gaze to the bird claw tree.

"You mean, after removing the poison sac, the bird claw fruit can be eaten?"

"That's right."

Ajie is not shy about this. His core business route is his friendship with Gu Ma, and other aspects are not worth mentioning.

At this time, three men came out of the house carrying small dark brown wooden barrels with lids on them. They walked cautiously to the other side of the forest.

There is no mistake in the poem, post, content, and read the book on 6, 9, and bar!

Li Mo said, "Are they fetching water?"

"No. The barrel contains the antidote for sale."

"Oh? You have this ability?" Li Mo said casually: "Medicine itself is a necessity in many worlds. Making medicine can also be exchanged for a lot of food, right?"

Ajie shook his head: "The amount of antidote is very small, it can't fill the gap, this bottomless pit."

“Are herbs difficult to find and grow?”

"This... follow me and you will know after you take a look."

Ajie followed him all the way to the other side of the forest ahead.

There were a few men from the Fire Ant Tribe over there, bargaining with three outsiders.

The outsider was tall, wearing a white robe, a bird-beak mask and a black hat, and holding a man-sized cane, like some kind of monk.

The masked man in charge said, "We give food based on the weight of the medicine. That's the rule."

The men of the Fire Ant Tribe were on the border: "These are the freshest medicines, freshly made by men, you won't suffer any loss. The medicine is strong, and the effect is the same as before. Give me more."

The other party refused to give in: "Give me as much medicine as you want."

Finally, the man from the Fire Ant Tribe was a little embarrassed. He wanted to say something harsh, but couldn't. Finally, he took off the dagger wrapped in cowhide from his waist and handed it to the other party with gritted teeth.

The person on the other side took it, looked at it and put it away.

A masked man behind him took the barrel and placed it in a silver barrel behind him and covered it.

The other man slammed his staff into the ground, and the soil suddenly rose up, forming a giant earth elemental snake. The snake swallowed the silver barrel in one gulp, then lowered its head and let the two people walk on its back.

When he saw Ajie, the leading man nodded slightly.

Ajie nodded in return.

The other party left with the giant snake, and wooden carts full of bags of wheat flowed out of the giant snake's body.

"Which world do these people come from?" The clever Li Mo has already seen the clues.

"They are followers of the god [Staff of Chepo] in Greek mythology. The one leading them is the hero Fanel. They come here to buy medicine."

Ajie saw that the man who used a dagger to make up the difference was now very happy and was pushing the cart back.

He said: "The core ingredient of that special antidote is the blood of ant-keepers, and it must be fresh blood, preferably from adult males. After some filtering and removing impurities, it becomes a usable antidote."

Li Mo was stunned: "Are they selling blood?"

"You have to live and eat."

Applejack said softly, "This is the ant-keeper, but don't feel sorry for them, or they will break off relations with you. When a person is penniless, dignity is his last treasure."

The Ant-Man is just such a group of stinky and stubborn people.

Surviving in the poisonous pool of Volut.

If it weren't for this last bit of pride, they would have long turned into humanoid beasts controlled by appetite.

In the evening, the men and women of the Fire Ant Tribe danced, beat drums, sang songs, and ate hot potatoes piled on the table.

Being well-fed will make the Ant-Hunter forget all his worries and he will never worry about things that have not yet happened.

Meanwhile, Ajie was finally able to get back into the car, take off his heavy helmet, and wipe the sweat off his face and neck with a towel. He relaxed his breath a little and drank water in big gulps.

In the passenger seat, Li Mo was still looking at the light in the forest, silent.

Ajie took a sip of wine and said, "We can go back now, Mr. Mo, do you think it's about time?"

"Wait a moment."

Li Mo said: "I want to find out their living conditions and... whether there is any value in helping them."

really.

Ajie didn't care. "Mr. Mo, I have to remind you that several gods have already inspected this place, including the [Staff of the Chip] from Greek mythology, the [Maid of Mercy] from Norse mythology, and the [Shennong] from heavenly mythology... They are all famous gods, and they can't solve the problem here. Don't have too high expectations."

“That’s them.”

Li Mo said calmly: "We are different."

Ajie was stunned.

The other party emphasized again: "We Yao people are different."

Ajie was envious when he saw the undisguised confidence and sense of entitlement in Li Mo's eyes.

When faced with a disaster, normal people would stay away from it, but the Yao people like to seek out and tame disasters. They even want to lock up natural disasters that destroy the world in a laboratory for dissection.

This is the Yao clan that has the support of God Yao.

The superior people of the Mystic Kingdom.

(End of this chapter)