Chapter 516: Chapter 516: Frog King
 

Huang Xiaolong appreciated and toyed with the small bug in his palm, using an “Ancient Insect Language” to tame it that ordinary people couldn’t hear.

The few fierce ghosts following him craned their necks curiously.

“Hmm… Sir, it’s strange. This little bug doesn’t seem to be afraid of our dark energy~~” A green-cloaked fierce ghost remarked incredulously.

In fact, people familiar with Huang Xiaolong’s character would find this scene quite peculiar; Huang Xiaolong was usually laid-back and indifferent, rarely showing this level of interest for anything.

“Alright, I don’t need your help anymore. You can all go rest.” Huang Xiaolong smiled, calmly pulling his “ghost bug controllers” into his soul tube.

“Mr. Huang, have we chosen our bug?” Xia Jian was doubtful, looking at the tiny bug in Huang Xiaolong’s palm. “What… What kind of bug is this? I’ve never seen it before. But… It… seems… small?”

“Little Long, do you recognize this bug? It’s so peculiar, with three legs, no eyes, and things that look like crossbows growing from its mouth… too bizarre.” Ji Yianxue was intrigued too.

“Can’t we just decide without being so hasty? The old man mentioned that the most dangerous venomous bugs are concentrated in the Poison Dragon Cave. So, catching insects in that cave must be the best approach. And we all know that the most dangerous bugs are the Five Poisons: the scorpions, snakes, toads, centipedes, and geckos. This little bug of yours looks so weak to me. When it encounters a truly toxic creature, it will be swallowed up in one bite. Come on, let’s go to the Poison Dragon Cave to catch bugs.” Ouyang Lingling said skeptically.

No wonder Ouyang Lingling was suspicious. Looking at the bug Huang Xiaolong had caught, which seemed so “harmless,” you might think Huang Xiaolong had brought a knife to a gunfight. Matching it up against the poisonous bugs Wen Bin and his group had captured, there was only a slim chance of winning.

In fact, Ji Yianxue and Xia Jian felt the same way, but they were too polite to say so.

“There is no need to catch insects in the Poison Dragon Cave anymore. It’s this one!” Huang Xiaolong resolutely affirmed.

“Ugh~~ You’re so autocratic…” Ouyang Lingling mumbled with disapproval.

“Little Long, can I take a look at this little bug?” asked Ji Yianxue.

“Sure, I’ve already tamed it completely. It won’t hurt you. Here, take it.” Without hesitation, Huang Xiaolong transferred the bug to Ji Yianxue’s open palm.

Looking at the bug close up, Ji Yianxue found it ticklish as it crawled around her palm. At times she watched it flutter its wings, at others, saw it roll around like a little ball. She couldn’t help but burst into laughter. “The more I look at it, the cuter it seems… are you sure you want this bug to fight against other venomous bugs?”

“One hundred percent sure. Let’s head down the mountain now.” Huang Xiaolong took out the soul tube, opened the lid, and gently uttered some Ancient Insect Language. The bug obediently opened its wings and flew into the soul tube from Ji Yianxue’s palm.

“Let’s go!” Huang Xiaolong closed the soul tube’s lid.

“Um… Little Long, what is… what is this bamboo tube?” Ji Yianxue curiously asked.

“This… You can think of it as a vessel for raising bugs.” Huang Xiaolong strolled along as he explained. “Generally, bug tamers or bug-rearing people keep their bugs in a black earthen jar. The jar is made of Yin soil, which is filled with a terrifying dark energy, excellent for raising both ghosts and bugs. The so-called Yin soil is earth from graves; jars made from it not only contain dark energy but also corpse energy and negative energy. Bugs grow particularly ferocious in the nourishment of the dark energy. Some bugs aren’t even afraid of fierce ghosts.”

Upon hearing Huang Xiaolong’s explanation, Ji Yianxue and the others marveled.

Ouyang Lingling suddenly asked out of curiosity. “Can your bamboo tube not only raise bugs… but also raise ghosts?”

Huang Xiaolong turned around, smiling brilliantly. “Yes, indeed. This bamboo tube is known as the soul tube. There are thousands of fierce ghosts inside. If I were to release them all, an entire army would be instantly wiped out, and a whole city would perish.”

“Bragging!” Ouyang Lingling curled her lips in disdain.

“Pfft, Little Long, you’re so funny.” Ji Yianxue chuckled at his joke.

Huang Xiaolong looked genuinely confused. “I’m telling the truth. Why don’t you believe me? Is it that you city folks only believe in lies?”

…

Outside the Poison Dragon Cave.

Burning herbs sent smoke billowing into the cave.

Soon, a swarm of poisonous insects was smoked out!

What a sight!

Ghastly green praying mantises!

Giant centipedes!

A vividly colorful poisonous snake!

A gecko a foot long!

A black-headed giant ant!

…

“Damn it!” Wen Bin felt somewhat sick, his scalp tingling, backing away a step.

But the beast tamer, Mr. Cao, seemed thrilled, green lights of greed gleaming in his eyes. “Good! Good! All excellent poisonous creatures! This Poison Dragon Cave is indeed a blessed place!”

Immediately after, Mr. Cao busily took out several large, rough, dark clay jars from his bag and distributed them to those around him, shouting, “Don’t just stand there! Catch the bugs! We’re going to strike it rich this time! We’re going to strike it rich! It’s a good crop of poison bugs; we’ll surely raise some powerful Gu!”

Quite a few people helped Mr. Cao use black clay jars to capture the bugs. A jar could hold quite a number of bugs.

“Mr. Cao, what exactly does raising Gu entail?” Wen Bin couldn’t help but ask.

“Gu are formed by causing bugs to kill each other out of resentment. In the same jar, put a large number of poison bugs and let them have a bloody battle. Bury the jar in yin soil, or cemetery dirt, chant spells and pray daily, take it out several years later, and only one poison bug remains in the jar, that would be the so-called Gu.” Mr. Cao was in such high spirits today and explained everything thoroughly.

“Then…then…Adong was killed by that old man with a Gu?” Wen Bin asked with some trepidation.

“Yes, it must have been a centipede Gu.” Mr. Cao nodded.

Suddenly~~~

Ribbit~~Ribbit~~Ribbit~~~

A loud sound, similar to the call of a frog, rang out.

Just then, a huge toad burst out of the Poison Dragon Cave! More accurately, a warty toad!

This toad was a purple and green color all over, clearly extremely poisonous, its bulging eyes filled with a terrifying resentment. Its size was enormous, as large as a full-grown tortoise.

The toad croaked while sticking out its tongue, rolling up the surrounding poison creatures and swallowing them.

The poison creatures didn’t dare resist at all, trembling all over, being eaten by the toad.

The poison snake was swallowed…

The huge giant centipede was swallowed…

The foot-long four-legged gecko was swallowed…

Even the smaller toads were swallowed alive by it.

…

This creature was simply an ungrateful monster!

“Ah!!! King Toad! It’s an extremely poisonous King Toad! God! Mr. Wen Bin, we’re rich! This is a rare poisonous creature encountered once in a century! Hahahaha! We’re all set for the bug fighting match! And the Gu raised from this King Toad won’t be much weaker than the Golden Silk Gu! Hahahaha! Grab it! Grab it!”

Mr. Cao was practically jumping with joy.

The next second, Mr. Cao was carefully sprinkling a handful of medicinal powder towards the King Toad, then moving around it, gesticulating wildly and chanting a spell. He even took out a yellow paper talisman, as if he was conducting a ritual.

Having exerted all his strength, Mr. Cao finally managed to put the King Toad into a black clay jar.

“Done! Let’s go! Down the mountain! For the bug fight! Wait till you see the unique charm of the King Toad!” Mr. Cao was beaming with joy.

…