I infiltrated the backstage area specifically to find this number four. Now that he has come to me on his own initiative, I naturally cannot refuse. I nodded and said, "I had a competition with you at the auction earlier, but I have no intention of being your enemy. I just urgently need this item to save someone's life, and I hope you won't hold it against me."
“Auctions are a form of open bidding. You are rich and powerful, while I am not as capable, so it is normal for me to be at a disadvantage.”
Number Four smiled magnanimously: "We're rivals on stage, but friends off stage. That's what auctions are all about."
"Sir, you are very generous!"
I smiled at Number Four, then took the brocade box from Wei Shengnan, placed it on the table, and opened it: "Please take a look."
Number Four nodded, then stared at the malignant tumor inside the glass case.
Taking advantage of this moment, I stood next to Number Four, opened the small bottle Wang Qing had given me, and discreetly flicked a few drops of liquid inside onto Number Four.
About two minutes later, Number Four looked away and nodded to me, saying, "Thank you for your trouble, sir."
"You're too kind, sir. It was nothing at all."
I exchanged pleasantries with Number Four, then quickly changed the subject and asked, "Sir, your willingness to pay a high price for the Yama's Tumor indicates that you have some knowledge of this item. I wonder if you can tell whether this item is genuine or not?"
"Forgive my poor eyesight."
Number Four shook his head slightly: "The Yama's Tumor is a natural fungus, so it's impossible for every single one to grow the same. Therefore, there's no fixed standard for its appearance. As it stands, there's nothing seriously wrong with your item, but it's impossible to identify it based solely on its appearance."
I smiled and nodded: "That's right. Buying these kinds of things is similar to opening blind boxes. Whether we can save someone this time depends on our luck."
I chatted with Number Four for a while, and then we went our separate ways. I had a cup of coffee in the lobby, and as soon as I left the venue, I went to Wang Qing's place to meet him.
When Wang Qing saw me enter, he stood up and asked, "So, did you find number four?"
“Found it. I also sprinkled the things you gave me on him.”
I asked Wang Qing in return, "What exactly is in that bottle?"
Wang Qing smiled and pulled a small porcelain jar, about the size of a palm, from his pocket. After opening it, he revealed a ground beetle inside: "This little insect is called the 'Tiger Beetle.' It only has one mate in its lifetime. The male insect has a special ability: even if its mate is taken to the ends of the earth, it can still find it by following its tracks. Therefore, it is often used for tracking."
Jiang Man looked at the small yellow and black insect inside with surprise: "This insect is so amazing? But I've never seen any related science articles or introductions before!"
"This is not a natural insect, but a kind of Gu insect. It is very difficult to cultivate and has a very short lifespan. After mating, it can only survive for fifteen days. Once the two insects are separated, the male insect will mostly die on the way to find a female."
Wang Qing paused for a moment: "These insects have a short lifespan, but they are very difficult to cultivate. It often takes several years to successfully breed a pair. This kind of high investment and low return makes many Gu breeders too lazy to do it. Only some masters who have inherited the skills still master this technique! If it weren't for a place like Fengmen Village, I wouldn't be able to find such a good thing."
I raised an eyebrow: "But what you gave me before wasn't bugs, it was a bottle of colorless and odorless water!"
"That's not water, but the female insect's bodily fluid, which should contain a lot of pheromones. As for how the male insect finds the female, whether it's through its sense of smell or some other weird thing like magnetic fields, I don't know."
Wang Qing shrugged slightly: "Raising Gu is a profound and unfathomable art, which combines metaphysics and science, and contains a lot of knowledge that we still cannot grasp. I have tried to study it, but it is just too difficult."
I know absolutely nothing about raising gu, and I pointed at the beetles inside with a skeptical look: "Are you sure this thing can really help us?"
"I've only heard of Tianya Tiger Armor before; this is the first time I've actually used it."
Wang Qing shrugged and said, "It is said that the porcelain jar containing it can block its senses. As long as it is released, this little thing will go looking for female insects."
As Wang Qing spoke, he had already poured the insect onto the table.
Sure enough, the little insect circled the table a few times, quickly identified a direction, and swiftly crawled towards it.
It was only then that I noticed that Wang Qing had a very thin thread in his hand, attached to the little insect, probably to prevent it from squeezing into some crevice.
Seeing Wang Qing set off, I followed beside him and asked, "What will happen after this little insect finds a mate?"
Wang Qing nodded and said, "Yes, once it senses that the mother insect is within a certain range, it will make a sound by flapping its wings to attract the mother insect to appear. As for what that sound is like, I don't know."
"Squeak squeak squeak!"
As soon as Wang Qing finished speaking, the insects on the ground suddenly stopped, spread their elytra and began to vibrate, making a sound similar to that of a cricket.
Hearing the insect's sound, the monkey was speechless: "You spent millions on this piece of junk! It started making noise before we even left. Its sensing range must be hundreds of kilometers, right? Even if it wears its wings to pieces, the mother insect still won't hear it!"
"No way! Even if this thing is incredibly sensitive, it couldn't possibly detect the presence of the mother insect from this distance!"
Wang Qing also had an incredulous expression on his face: "Damn it, could I have been scammed by that bastard who sells Gu worms?!"
"No!"
I suddenly raised my hand, interrupting Wang Qing: "Is it possible that the person I tainted with the potion has already arrived here?"
"Clang!"
No sooner had I finished speaking than the door to Wang Qing's residence was kicked open.
Immediately afterwards, a group of strangers dressed in funeral clothes and wearing masks rushed into the room, all wielding knives and clubs, and pounced on us.
"Duan Tao, watch out!"
Wang Qing saw someone attack me with a knife, pushed me away, and kicked the attacker in the stomach.
Faced with this sudden attack, I didn't have time to think. I rushed forward, punched one of them in the stomach, grabbed his wrist, and took his knife away.
When the man's companion saw my action, his eyes reddened as he shouted angrily, bringing his stick down on my head: "You're asking for it!"
"when!"
I raised my knife to block his weapon, and with a flick of my wrist, I slashed his side with my knife, followed by an elbow strike that knocked him to the ground.
Before I could find my next target, three or four sticks fell at the same time. I didn't dare to take them head-on, so I could only dodge backward.
Looking up, we saw that there were at least a dozen attackers, all of whom rushed into the narrow space and swarmed at us like a beehive.
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