1: Chapter 1 The Bug Catcher

The day of Jingzhe, with a light drizzle.

Xia Shaoxin carried two sets of medicine he had prepared for his grandfather and walked briskly along the main road.

The spring breeze brushed against his face. Farmers were busy, driving oxen to harrow the fields; in a few days, it would be time to transplant rice seedlings.

A burst of rain to urge the flowers, a few rumbles of Jingzhe thunder.

Once Jingzhe passed, the farmers would have no time to rest.

Whether the farmers would have food to eat next year depended on whether they did their farm work well now.

Xia Shaoxin was not a farmer, so he did not have the worries of a farmer.

He only needed to work for one or two months each year, and he spent the rest of the time recuperating.

Because his family were hereditary "Bug Catcher".

The mountains here were filled with poisonous miasma and abounded with various Poisonous Insect and exotic snakes, which were said to be ingredients for the Alchemy of the Sect of the immortals.

The Disciple of the immortals disliked such filthy places, so the imperial court controlled them, selecting Mortal people with a special Physique to go into the mountains to catch bugs.

Only when the Yang Qi was strong in the summer could they enter the mountains; they spent the rest of the time recuperating.

If they caught enough Poisonous Insect to submit to the imperial court, they would have food for the whole year, and he could hope that his elderly grandfather would live another year.

There was no need to be like these farmers, busy all year round, yet still barely clothed and fed.

Of course, there were downsides; his father, mother, uncle, and another uncle had all been bitten to death by Poisonous Insect one after another.

In the whole family, only his grandmother died of illness, at the age of thirty-six, which could be considered dying of old age.

His grandfather's body had always been weak, but for some reason, he had a long lifespan and was likely to be the second one to die of old age.

"Uncle Liu, your ox can start working in the fields now."

"Oh, Little Xia, that's right, haha."

Xia Shaoxin greeted the villagers cheerfully along the way.

Last winter, not far from home, he accidentally discovered a fist-sized "Five-colored Scorpion", which was a top-tier Poisonous Insect.

The grandfather and grandson managed to catch it with great difficulty and kept it in a jar. This one creature could fulfill the entire year's quota; if they didn't want to earn extra income, they wouldn't have to enter the mountains this year and could live freely for the whole year.

"Oh my, isn't this that boy from the Xia family?" The most famous matchmaker from the surrounding area walked towards him, sizing up Xia Shaoxin from afar with the eyes of someone inspecting goods.

"Ahem, Auntie." Xia Shaoxin couldn't avoid her, so he had to force a smile to greet her.

After speaking, he wanted to quicken his pace, but the matchmaker grabbed him.

"A year older, and you've grown even sturdier!" The matchmaker always looked at people as if she were picking pork.

"Your grandfather asked me to find a match for you last year, but since your family are Bug Catcher, no one is willing to marry for thirty thousand copper coins; it has to be at least fifty-eight thousand. Has your grandfather saved enough money?"

Xia Shaoxin was stunned. No wonder his grandfather refused to take his medicine; it turned out he was afraid there wouldn't be enough money for him to get a wife!

Bug Catcher were usually well-off, but their flaws were too obvious: most had short lives, and having three generations living together was already a huge stroke of luck, so they were not very popular when it came to finding a wife.

"You are a good lad and the only seedling left in your family, so you must hurry; don't delay..."

The matchmaker kept talking, blocking his way. Xia Shaoxin mumbled a few words in response, pulled his hand away, and hurried home.

For three generations, the Xia family had died young in the mountains just to put food on the table. It was indeed necessary to marry and have children early to avoid leaving the career of a Bug Catcher without a successor.

However, Xia Shaoxin had never thought about getting married. He only wanted to wait until his grandfather passed away, then shed this identity as a Bug Catcher and find another path.

He had never mentioned leaving the profession, lest his grandfather get Life Qi, saying he was cursing him to die.

Today, he had gone to get medicine for his grandfather secretly as well.

His grandfather had been bitten by too many Poisonous Insect in his early years, leaving him with chronic illnesses that were hard to cure, so he relied on herbal medicine to manage them.

In recent years, he had been reluctant to take medicine and had become increasingly stingy, likely because he felt his time was near and wanted to save more money to get Xia Shaoxin a wife sooner.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but sigh, clutching the medicine in his hand and quickening his pace.

"Brother Xia, did you go to town again?"

After walking for a while, a child ran out from a side path, panting and shouting.

Xia Shaoxin stopped and said with a smile, "So it's Brother Xiao Niu."

Brother Xiao Niu was only eight years old. His father had also been a Bug Catcher, but he was bitten to death by an exotic snake in the mountains five years ago. With no men left in the family and his mother remarried, his family lost their status as Bug Catcher, and he would only be able to be a farmer in the future.

Father dead, mother remarried—there was nothing more miserable than this.

Xiao Niu did not have a good life in his new home; his clothes were tattered, he ate poorly, and he had to help look after the ox every day. Today, the ox had gone to harrow the fields, so he had come out to gather firewood.

Xia Shaoxin reached out and patted Brother Xiao Niu's head. Brother Xiao Niu, feeling indignant, stood on tiptoe and pushed back.

"I've grown taller, I'm not a little kid anymore!"

He was as thin as a rail and malnourished.

Xia Shaoxin chuckled, took a piece of maltose from his pocket, and shoved it into Brother Xiao Niu's hand.

"No, my mom said not to take things from others."

"I am not others."

Brother Xiao Niu stared intently at the maltose. In the end, unable to resist the temptation, he accepted it with ecstasy and stuffed it into his mouth.

"Brother Xia, it's very sweet!" Brother Xiao Niu's eyes narrowed, and he smiled so brightly.

"Of course it's sweet, it's the most delicious thing in town."

His grandfather had mentioned several times that he hadn't eaten maltose for many years.

The speaker had no intention, and his grandfather didn't necessarily have to eat sugar, but Xia Shaoxin took it to heart and specially bought two pieces when he went to town today.

"Brother Xia, thank you, I have to go to work now."

"Alright, off you go."

Watching Brother Xiao Niu's figure leave, Xia Shaoxin felt very emotional.

Like Brother Xiao Niu, being able to grow into an adult was good enough.

Fortunately, his own father hadn't died so early; he had been able to develop for a few more years, was already able to stand on his own feet, and hadn't suffered as much.

His grandfather often said that everyone had their own fate.

Thinking carefully, the so-called fate was actually "father".

Life was given by the father.

Destiny was also bestowed by the father.

Xia Shaoxin walked quickly home. Today, no matter what, he would personally brew the medicine and make that stubborn old man drink it.

Their house was at the end of the village, far away from the other villagers.

Bug Catcher brought bad luck, so no one wanted to be their neighbor.

It was fine to say hello occasionally, but living next door was uncomfortable in every way.

Pushing open the fence, he entered a small courtyard with three rooms facing him, but he saw his grandfather's door was ajar.

Usually, as soon as he returned, his grandfather would push the door open and shout in a gruff voice: "Where have you been? Only back now!"

Today, there was no sound; he must have discovered the money was missing and was Life Qi.

Xia Shaoxin went straight to the kitchen, put the medicine on the stove, and after lighting the fire, the rain gradually became heavier, and he went to his grandfather's door.

"Grandfather, ahem, I have something to tell you."

"I've prepared two sets of medicine for you, specifically for the rheumatism that we Bug Catcher get."

"That's right, I took the money, and the medicine is already brewing. You have to drink it whether you want to or not."

"Oh, and there's a piece of maltose, your favorite."

There was still no sound in the room.

Xia Shaoxin suddenly felt something was wrong and reached out to push the door.

The door creaked, blending with the sound of the rustling rain.

On the dark and damp floor, his grandfather was lying face down.

"Grandfather—"

Xia Shaoxin was horrified, and the maltose in his hand fell to the ground.

Just as he was about to jump into the room, he suddenly realized the danger, quickly pulled his foot back, stood at the doorway, and looked inside vigilantly.

His grandfather was lying face down, his hands stretched forward, clearly wanting to crawl out, but he didn't even have the strength to crawl to the doorway.

The vigilance against poisoning was etched into the bones of a Bug Catcher.

He saw that his grandfather's hands had already turned black, and his head buzzed instantly. This was the state of dying from the venom after being bitten by a Poisonous Insect!

His heart was filled with shock and grief, but he quickly calmed down.

From the state of his grandfather's poisoning, the culprit was clearly the Five-colored Scorpion that had been raised for a whole winter.

Poisonous Insect were very precious, and for fear of being stolen, they were all kept in the bedroom.

The villagers would never enter the home of a Bug Catcher; doing so was just a long-standing habit, the same as how other people hid their money in their bedrooms.

He didn't know why this damned scorpion had escaped. That jar was drawn with a Talisman and was indestructible.

There was a partition inside, and it was impossible for it to run out when opening the lid to feed it. His grandfather had been feeding it for a whole winter and had never made a mistake.

He stood at the doorway, his eyes wide with fury.

He really wanted to cry, but now was not the time to cry.

Perhaps that Five-colored Scorpion hadn't left yet. His grandfather could not die in vain. This damned Five-colored Scorpion must be handed over alive!