Walking through the quiet town, one would occasionally see children wandering the empty streets or relieving themselves at the roadside. Adult sightings were rare.
Li Qian’an suspected these children’s abilities were still weak, so they didn’t need to hide themselves daily to alleviate the Shadow Insect’s side effects.
When they grew older and their abilities strengthened, they would become like their parents, hiding in nooks and crannies every day.
“No wonder Grandma Sky Insect said the Shadow Insect Clan’s ‘economic situation’ was poor—how could it be good when they waste most of their time playing meaningless hide-and-seek?” Li Qian’an muttered to himself.
When he first received the Seven Deadly Insects, he only found the Shadow Insect’s side effects troublesome, needing to spend time hiding himself daily for an hour or two.
He hadn’t considered what it meant for an entire race to live this way—it was essentially a “disaster.”
“You could hide at night, it doesn’t have to be during the day,” Li Qian’an said.
The young patrol guard nodded repeatedly: “Some do hide at night, but those are mostly unmarried folks. The married ones don’t have time at night.”
“Besides, the higher one’s level, the more hiding serves purposes beyond eliminating side effects. You’re a Grand Master of the Shadow Insect—you should understand.”
The side effects were just the Shadow Insect’s basic requirements. To increase cultivation and nurture the Shadow Insect, one had to actively hide in shadows to comprehend the Shadow Insect’s power.
As they spoke, he noticed Li Qian’an’s gaze fixed on the shadow at his feet and smiled: “You’re not mistaken—the other patrol members are all hiding in the shadow beneath my crotch.”
What the hell, the shadow beneath your crotch? Does everyone in your Shadow Insect Clan live under crotches… Li Qian’an barely managed to hold back his snark.
Passing through quiet alleyways, they approached the town center, where the population density increased. Small groups of people traversed the open streets, with shops lining both sides.
Li Qian’an noticed that among these pedestrians were both Central Plains and Southern Borderlands people, wearing tattered cloth garments, not much better off than Central Plains refugees.
More importantly, most of these pedestrians didn’t have Shadow Insects within them.
“They’re slaves—some captured from the Central Plains, others from unruly Southern Borderlands tribes we eliminated. The seven clans divided their population equally,” the young patrol guard said. “These slaves are precious labor for our clan.”
Li Qian’an pondered briefly before saying, “The Insect Clans frequently engage in human trafficking with Central Plains merchant caravans, don’t they?”
The term “human trafficking” took the young man a while to understand before he replied, “That’s right.”
“Central Plains merchants know we lack manpower, so they often bring people to the Southern Borderlands to exchange for unique herbs, timber, minerals, and such.”
And those people are mostly obtained through kidnapping… Li Qian’an thought of the Chai family ancestor, who as a child had his entire family murdered by enemies and was sold to the Corpse Insect Clan as a slave.
He somehow escaped back to the Central Plains later and established his sect in his hometown in Xiangzhou.
Right, I still need to get that map from Yu Shi—the Chai family ancestor’s half-map is with the Corpse Insect Clan… At this moment, Li Qian’an saw a large mansion with Southern Borderlands script on its plaque.
“This is the chief’s residence. Please enter, Constable Xu.”
Stepping into the mansion, Li Qian’an scanned the courtyard’s layout. A bluestone path led to the inner courtyard, with water vats covered by wooden boards on the left side.
On the right were narrow, deep pits.
People are hiding in both the pits and vats… Li Qian’an withdrew his gaze and continued following the young man deeper inside. They walked for a while without seeing a single person.
Only when they entered the inner hall did Li Qian’an see the Shadow Insect Clan chief Shadow, dressed in black, sitting in the main seat with a cup of tea in hand.
His face, pale from rarely seeing sunlight, showed a slight smile: “Tea is ready, please be seated, Constable Xu.”
Serving tea to guests was a Central Plains custom.
After Li Qian’an sat down, Shadow continued: “Please wait a moment. I’ve sent for the elders—the matter of sending troops isn’t something I can decide alone.”
This had been preliminarily discussed during yesterday’s battle.
Half a cup of tea later, eight shadows emerged from beneath the table, materializing in the inner hall as eight elders, some middle-aged, some elderly.
“The chief has told us that Constable Xu wishes to request Shadow Insect Clan members to march north and assist Great Zhou in fighting the Yunzhou rebels,” said the white-haired elder, who seemed to be the Great Elder, speaking slowly.
“It’s not impossible—it depends on what Constable Xu can offer.”
Li Qian’an sipped his tea and said, “After the war is settled, Great Zhou will annually grant the Shadow Insect Clan fifty thousand taels of silver, fifty thousand bolts of silk, and thirty thousand dan of grain, for five years.”
The elders were slightly moved and began whispering to each other in the Southern Borderlands language.
“Fifty thousand taels of silver could fill my entire room!”
“Fifty thousand bolts of silk would let everyone in our Shadow Insect Clan wear beautiful clothes.”
“The grain is more important—our clan members never have time to hunt or farm.”
The white-haired Great Elder coughed forcefully, interrupting the elders’ whispers, relieved that Constable Xu couldn’t understand the Southern Borderlands language. Otherwise, these useless people would have ruined their bargaining position.
The Great Elder shook his head: “But what if Great Zhou loses? Wouldn’t all our efforts be wasted?”
Li Qian’an’s expression remained unchanged: “How much more would the Great Elder like?”
“Straightforward!” The Great Elder nodded and said in a deep voice: “Double it.”
“Straightforward!” Li Qian’an silently stood up, cupped his hands, and said:
“I still need to visit the Heart Insect Clan. I won’t disturb you further. Farewell.”
Shadow’s hand twitched but he held back. Seeing Li Qian’an reach the hall entrance, he sighed and said:
“Sixty thousand taels of silver, fifty thousand bolts of silk, fifty thousand dan of grain, for six years.”
“In return, our clan will send eight hundred elite members to fight. Rest assured, they are elite.”
Though the Insect Clans were all warrior societies, after excluding the elderly, weak, women, children, and ordinary clan members, eight hundred elites were indeed significant.
Li Qian’an stopped and smiled: “Deal!”
Before coming, he had already discussed with Huaiqing about reasonable “annual tribute” ranges.
After all, Li Qian’an wasn’t a history scholar and had no research on such matters, not knowing the market price for “annual tributes.”
Shadow’s demands were within reasonable bounds.
Shadow exhaled: “The Shadow Insect Clan’s elite warriors will do their utmost to help Great Zhou eliminate the rebels.”
As for whether Li Qian’an could represent the Great Zhou court, Shadow and the elders had no doubts. This man not only carried the title of Great Zhou’s premier warrior but was also the dual cultivation partner of Imperial Preceptor Luo Yuheng.
In the Shadow Insect Clan’s view, his words were more reliable than the Central Plains emperor’s golden edicts.
“In some time, I will have the court send documents as proof of the alliance between Great Zhou and the Insect Clans,” Li Qian’an said.
Shadow nodded slightly.
…
After leaving the Shadow Insect Clan, Li Qian’an flew through the air. Half an hour later, he arrived at the Heart Insect Clan’s territory.
The area was filled with birdsong and fragrant flowers, with birds and beasts everywhere.
The Heart Insect Clan’s houses were built within the dense forest, with pavilions nestled among emerald branches, humans and animals living in harmony.
Young maidens rode striped giant tigers, frolicking joyfully through the wilderness. Various enormous beasts served as draft animals in the fields. Agile long-tailed monkeys carrying bamboo baskets gathered fruits across the mountains and valleys.
Suddenly, Li Qian’an saw a scaled beast with membranous wings burst from the dense forest below, carrying a young Heart Insect Clan member who circled beside him.
“Constable Xu, the chief sent me to receive you,” the young patrol member said respectfully in somewhat imperfect Central Plains official language.
Li Qian’an grunted in acknowledgment. He had chosen to fly openly to deliberately “expose” himself, allowing Chunyan to detect his presence.
The young Heart Insect Clan member guided his flying beast down toward the forest.
Hmm, this flying beast isn’t female, so the rider must be a proper rider… Li Qian’an had this random thought as he followed the patrol member to a pavilion on the southern side of the mountain, near a cliff.
A tall, umbrella-like ancient pine stood beside the pavilion.
Squirrels played in its branches while white apes were called below.
Outside the pavilion, several long-legged black-feathered birds pecked at food, taking flight in panic at the sight of strangers.
Chunyan, wearing a blue dress with two small red snakes dangling from her earlobes and possessing striking features, stood outside the pavilion with a gentle smile.
“Chief Chunyan!” Li Qian’an returned her smile.
They entered the pavilion and sat in the ground floor hall. As a Heart Insect Master, Li Qian’an immediately detected various venomous insects, snakes, and small beasts hiding in the corners.
“Do all these snakes, insects, rats, birds, and beasts everywhere make Constable Xu feel at home?” Chunyan asked half-jokingly.
I can’t help but want to gather them all for a group dance… Li Qian’an smiled and said, “Indeed, it makes one reluctant to leave and feels quite familiar.”
This simple exchange seemed to close the distance between them.
Ripples flickered in Chunyan’s almond eyes as she sighed, “But being too close to beasts can make one lose oneself in them.”
You mean losing oneself in intimate activities with beasts… Li Qian’an’s face showed a smile completely free of prejudice: “That’s their personal choice.”
Chunyan gazed at him steadily and seeing his genuine lack of prejudice, her smile grew gentler as she said, “Our clan rules state that those who have crossed boundaries with beasts may never marry. This serves both as a deterrent and as respect for their choices.”
Li Qian’an continued, “Resisting the urges from one’s bound insect helps temper willpower while surrendering to instinct benefits Heart Insect cultivation. I must say, it’s a double-edged sword.”
He privately resolved not to let his little mare out of the Pagoda Tower during his stay in the Southern Borderlands.
He worried the Heart Insect Clan might steal her, or the Force Insect Clan might eat her.
Seeing the conversation was pleasant, Li Qian’an stated his purpose and offered the Heart Insect Clan the same terms as the Shadow Insect Clan.
Chunyan thought for a moment and said, “The Heart Insect Clan doesn’t lack grain. I hope to exchange the grain for cloth, tea, porcelain, salt, and iron.”
For Heart Insect Masters, obtaining meat was no problem, and for farming, they could command beasts as draft animals.
“No problem,” Li Qian’an agreed.
With the deal struck Chunyan’s smile widened as she asked, “So, what type of troops does Constable Xu want? Heart Insect Masters excel at beast control. The Central Plains lacks powerful beasts, and they’re scattered, making direct deployment difficult. The reasonable approach would be direct recruitment from our Heart Insect Clan.”
Li Qian’an strongly agreed: “What does Chief Chunyan suggest?”
The Central Plains wasn’t like the Southern Borderlands with its abundance of venomous creatures and fierce beasts. Cities only had cats and dogs, and while mountains had various beasts, it was hard to guarantee rich beast populations near battlefields.
Ordinary beasts weren’t very useful, as their combat ability wasn’t on the same level as Southern Borderlands magical beasts.
Chunyan said, “The Heart Insect Clan has two main military branches: the Magical Beast Cavalry and the Flying Beast Army. I recommend the Flying Beast Army. The Magical Beast Cavalry moves slowly—it would take at least a month to reach Qingzhou in formation.”
“Food would be a major issue along the way, with both humans and beasts to feed. It would remain a problem in Qingzhou. Great Zhou is suffering from a cold disaster and already lacks grain, while the Magical Beast Cavalry only eats meat, not grain.”
“Though the Flying Beast Army also only eats meat, they travel quickly—taking at most six days to reach Qingzhou. Clan members can hunt for food along the way, which is trivial for our Heart Insect Masters.”
“In terms of combat capability, Great Zhou doesn’t lack cavalry, but flying beast units are rare, with only the Red-tailed Fierce Eagles that distinguished themselves in the Shanhai Pass battle.”
However, due to declining national power, they couldn’t afford to maintain the Red-tailed Fierce Eagles, so the court sold them to local merchant associations and prestigious families in Leizhou, keeping only a minimal flying beast force… Li Qian’an sighed inwardly.
“How many can the Heart Insect Clan provide?”
“The clan has only twelve hundred flying beasts—we can give Great Zhou five hundred at most.”
“Deal!”
Knowing Li Qian’an had other business, Chunyan didn’t try to keep him longer and saw him out of the pavilion.
…
Li Qian’an’s next stop was the Corpse Insect Clan. Among the seven Insect Clans, the Sky Insect Clan wasn’t skilled in combat—eliminated; the Poison Insect Clan’s hatred for Great Zhou ran too deep—eliminated; the Emotion Insect Clan’s arousal gas affected friend and foe alike, and they deeply hated Great Zhou—eliminated.
Therefore, he needed the Force, Shadow, Heart, and Corpse Insect Clans.
Among them, the Corpse Insect Clan was the most vital. Although they needed child insects to control corpses and couldn’t command armies of corpses like wizards’ necromancy, their walking corpses made up for it with high quality and combat strength.
A squad of powerful suicide troops could have a considerable impact on the battlefield.
The Corpse Insect Clan’s situation differed from Li Qian’an’s expectations. He had thought their headquarters would resemble the legendary Ghost City of the Netherworld.
But actually, their headquarters was the most magnificent among all the clans, rivaling the Sky Insect Clan.
It was practically a small city.
Stone blocks formed high square walls. The buildings within followed a style similar to Great Zhou’s, combining bricks and wood.
People bustled about, and trade flourished.
The only eerie aspect was that all the sedan chair bearers had white pupils and living people were invariably accompanied by one or two walking corpses serving as attendants and laborers.
Two-thirds of the marketplace crowd were animated corpses.
That was quite horrifying.
Who would have thought that the iron-headed Force Insect Clan would have the most normal appearance among the Insect Clans, second only to the Sky Insect Clan… Li Qian’an marveled silently.
Having deliberately exposed his presence, he quickly drew Yu Shi’s attention and was invited into the three-courtyard mansion at the city center.
Servants moved about the courtyard doing their tasks, while patrolling guards all had white pupils.
The living and the dead coexisted harmoniously.
After entering the inner courtyard, Li Qian’an saw many scantily clad servant girls who seemed accustomed to their state, showing no shame.
Li Qian’an waited briefly in the reception hall before Yu Shi arrived unhurriedly and said flatly, “State your terms directly.”
He hadn’t come in person but controlled a walking corpse to meet with Li Qian’an.
Li Qian’an examined him and smiled, “Did I interrupt your pleasure?”
With his current cultivation level, he could hear Yu Shi’s main body enjoying the servant girls inside.
“Yu Shi,” said flatly, “This is the best way to suppress the Corpse Insect’s side effects. When you can’t resist certain urges toward corpses, having several scantily clad servant girls nearby effectively diverts attention.”
“After you’ve vented your desires on them, you won’t be interested in corpses for quite a while.”
Cleverly using post-coital clarity to resist the Corpse Insect’s side effects… Li Qian’an nodded slightly.
The Corpse Insect Clan was relatively wealthy, so they didn’t inflate prices like the Shadow Insect Clan, but Yu Shi added one condition: during Li Qian’an’s stay in the Southern Borderlands, he must leave that ancient corpse with the Corpse Insect Clan.
He could retrieve it when leaving the Insect Clans.
Hearing Yu Shi’s forcefully calm but desperate tone, Li Qian’an pondered and said, “Alright, but I have a condition as well.”
“Please speak freely,” Yu Shi immediately replied.
“I once traveled to Xiangzhou, where there was a Chai family that had learned the Corpse Insect Clan’s secret arts and could forge iron corpses…” Li Qian’an told Yu Shi about the Chai family’s situation. “Do you remember them?”
The Chai family’s ancestors lived over a hundred years ago.
Yu Shi thought for a moment and nodded, “Yes, there was such a slave. This was during my father’s leadership. If I remember correctly, he exchanged his freedom for half a map.”
The map Xu Pingfeng deliberately collected must be extraordinary… Li Qian’an said, “I need that half map.”
Yu Shi pondered briefly: “Fine, but I have a request.”
Please, no more nested conditions… Li Qian’an nodded: “Speak freely.”
“If you ever uncover the map’s secrets, I hope you’ll tell me.”
After Li Qian’an nodded in agreement, Yu Shi said, “Please wait!”
A dozen minutes later, a white-pupil walking corpse entered the reception hall, carrying a black wooden box.