CHAPTER 50: CHAPTER 050 THE GHOST FAN MOUNTAIN (ADDED MORE FOR FOLLOW-UP READING)

Dragon Cypress controlled the Dominating Throne to descend, hovering around three meters above the ground.

Ink Orchid lifted the spider silk bag filled with Source Stones, flapped her wings hard to take off, and then glided down to land.

"It’s too heavy."

Ink Orchid stood up a bit awkwardly, placed the spider silk bag in front of Ghost Fan, and said:

"Ghost Fan, the 600 Source Stones you borrowed from us—now you owe us 800, alright?"

Dragon Cypress had said the interest was outrageously high.

Ink Orchid added guiltily, "Don’t worry, if you use the Source Stones to improve the quality of your Divine-Given Seeds, you can sell them for an even higher price. You definitely won’t lose out."

"I understand! Thank you..."

Ghost Fan opened the spider silk bag and took out a Source Stone to examine it.

This was its first time seeing a Source Stone up close.

A neat, white dodecahedral crystal, filled with pure and dense Origin Force.

Ghost Fan looked into the bag, scanning it with spiritual power.

More than half a bagful!

Ink Orchid flew back to the Dominating Throne, carrying a small spider silk bag and landed. "These are Stone Orchid Seeds from my territory, I’ve set aside 200 for you, counting as 100 Source Stones. The spider silk bag is a gift for our first trade."

"Thank you!"

Ghost Fan rejoiced.

Ink Orchid flew back to the Dominating Throne, and made no further moves.

Ghost Fan froze for a few seconds before realizing, then carried the spider silk bag and ran back to its home cave, soon returning with the large spider silk bag that had been given as a gift last time.

The spider silk bag contained 18 hollow wooden sticks.

"Dragon Cypress Ant King, Ink Orchid, only these are left of the ordinary Life Seed Plant Ghost Fan sticks..."

"414 Source Stones."

Dragon Cypress quoted, then asked, "Ghost Fan, do you want to exchange these for Origin Force Food?"

Ghost Fan: "Of course!"

Dragon Cypress: "Which kinds do you need?"

"I need..."

Ghost Fan hesitated, then said, "Dragon Cypress Ant King, I’ll let you decide. Give me more if you can."

"That won’t do. In official trades, every account must be settled clearly, so there won’t be disputes and the trade can last long. How do you feel about that, Ghost Fan?"

Ghost Fan: "..."

Ghost Fan: "You’re right..."

Dragon Cypress: "I’ll quote the prices, and you pick, how’s that?"

Ghost Fan: "Alright."

Dragon Cypress: "Mid-Level Insect Clan Warrior territory product, Large Fruit Hemlock Pine Nuts, 1 Source Stone for 2 nuts. Ghost Fan, how many do you want?"

"I want..."

Ghost Fan was confused, staying silent for a long while, then said, "Dragon Cypress Ant King, I need so many. Would you be able to..."

Ink Orchid asked, "Lend you some, like the Source Stones?"

Ghost Fan: "Yes! My Ghost Fan Divine-Given Seed has matured, I’ll pay you back with Ghost Fan sticks."

Ink Orchid: "That’s fine, but we have to charge interest. But we can give you a discount: for every 1,000 Source Stones you borrow, it’s 100 Source Stones interest per year. Fractions of a year count as a whole year."

Ghost Fan: "Deal!"

Ink Orchid: "We can lend you at most Origin Force Food worth 3,000 Source Stones."

Ghost Fan: "How much is that?"

Ink Orchid: "..."

Ink Orchid turned to look at Dragon Cypress.

Dragon Cypress: "I’ll count it out for you..."

Dragon Cypress pulled out three portions, each worth 1,000 Source Stones, of Origin Force Food.

...

"Ghost Fan, you possess a Divine-Given Seed—a distinguished big client. I’ll also give you a carefully prepared gift."

"I’ll give you one Large Fruit Hemlock Seed and one Black Emperor Peach Seed. Both are top-level plant seeds on the continent."

Dragon Cypress opened a petite spider silk bag and took out a finely polished bamboo tube.

Ink Orchid carried it and placed it in front of Ghost Fan.

"Thank you!"

Ghost Fan thanked them, then asked, "Dragon Cypress, last time you said you could get even better Ghost Fan Tree Seeds?"

Dragon Cypress: "Yes. But it’ll have to wait until spring next year."

Dragon Cypress: "I’ll also give you a can of my own blended Origin Force Ant Honey."

Ink Orchid returned to the throne, holding a metal can, glided down and set it in front of Ghost Fan.

The honey and yellow peaches inside had been eaten by Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid, replaced with ant honey brewed by Blue Ants, mixed with a small amount of cheap Origin Force Food that tasted bad and had average enhancement effects.

Without a resin seal, Ink Orchid grabbed the pull tab, and with a little force opened the lid, allowing a unique aroma infused with Origin Force to overflow.

"Smells so good!"

"Ant honey?"

Ghost Fan exclaimed, searching inherited memory, but found nothing about ants being able to brew honey.

"Here, use your tentacle to eat it."

Ink Orchid leaned in, dabbed the tentacle in the can, then held the tentacle with both claws to lick it.

"If your claws are flexible, you can also hold a stick to dip and eat. Don’t Wooden Darkling Beetles eat wood? You can eat the stick with the honey, it’ll definitely be delicious."

"Oh right, Ghost Fan, if you can’t finish it, remember to put the lid back on, or else the Origin Force will leak out."

Ink Orchid explained and demonstrated, placing the lid back on the can.

The lid and the can’s rim were both wrapped in spider silk, crafted with precision so it fit tightly, sealing in the Origin Force very well.

"Got it! Thank you, Ink Orchid!"

"Dragon Cypress Ant King...this gift is really too valuable, isn’t it?"

Ghost Fan was delighted, yet felt a little embarrassed.

Dragon Cypress: "The ant honey is homemade, it’s nothing special. The can is the valuable part..."

Dragon Cypress: "After you finish, return the can to me."

Ghost Fan: "Okay..."

Dragon Cypress added, "When we get more of these cans, we can give you one as a gift."

Ghost Fan: "Thank you."

After one round of trading, Ghost Fan lost count of how many times it had said thank you. Dragon Cypress the Little Ant King just spoke so nicely: gentle, thoughtful, steady yet generous.

Ghost Fan’s goodwill towards Dragon Cypress was maxed out, only regretting not having any gifts to give in return.

The trade ended.

Dragon Cypress politely asked, "Ghost Fan, are you in a hurry to eat the Origin Force Food? There’s still time. If you’re not in a hurry, maybe we could chat a while."

Ghost Fan: "No hurry. No hurry."

Dragon Cypress: "Ink Orchid and I spend most of our time managing our territory on Xianglan Mountain; there aren’t any other insects to talk with."

Ghost Fan was deeply envious.

You two are at least together—and free to fly wherever you want. I’m all alone, can’t go anywhere.

Dragon Cypress just sighed casually, then asked, "Ghost Fan, you dug a wide river channel in the mountain hollow. I noticed it before and wondered—was that for water storage?"

Ghost Fan: "Whenever there’s heavy rain, my territory floods terribly. It spreads everywhere, so I widened the old stream for flood drainage."

"Oh——"

Dragon Cypress asked, "Your climate here—there’s no dry season?"

Ghost Fan: "Dry season? Nope. Just many days of continuous heavy rain."

Ink Orchid: "Even so, you should dig a reservoir, or it’ll be a problem if a drought hits. All around your territory are mountains, no big rivers or lakes—nowhere to fetch water. And you’ve planted so many Life Seed Plants, you’ll need lots of water for them in a drought..."

Ghost Fan: "Really?"

Ink Orchid: "Yes. I’ve had many droughts. Two years ago, Dragon Cypress and I ran into a bad one. Water infrastructure is a must—to be prepared for emergencies."

Ghost Fan: "So, what should I do?"

Ink Orchid: "You can...you can ask Dragon Cypress, he knows a lot..."

Between Insect Clan members, the leading topics were always territory management, rainfall and weather, soil and geology, best plant species, cultivation techniques, and Life Seed harvests...

Once they started chatting, they couldn’t stop—it lasted deep into the night.

With Ghost Fan’s approval, this Origin Force-rich mountain hollow was named ’Ghost Fan Mountain.’

Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid spent the night resting in the hollow.

The next morning, Ghost Fan took Ink Orchid and Dragon Cypress on a tour, and bade farewell late in the morning.

Ghost Fan stood atop the mountain, watching the Dominating Throne until it disappeared from view, standing for a long, long time before going down the mountain.

After meeting Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid, not only did Ghost Fan have someone to talk to, but also saw many impressive new things, and heard a wealth of fascinating stories.

Can’t wait for autumn to come!

PS: Last bonus Chapter during the new book period. Working hard to build up drafts—extra updates will come after it’s on the shelves.