Great Zhou Wensheng

Chapter 36 of the Book of Songs: Mayfly!
Jiang Xingzhou cast a [Dragon-Attracting Insect] rune, which transformed into a ball of firefly-colored light, flew out of the hall of the Duke of Xue's mansion, passed through the corridor, and arrived near a waterside pavilion in the backyard.

As we passed the waterside pavilion, the bells hanging from its eaves swayed in the wind.

It hovered beside a winding, moon-reflecting pool.

Aquatic plants grow abundantly along the pond's edge.

The [Dragon-Attracting Insect] rune floated above a wild ear of grain, then exploded with a "pop!" turning into a brilliant cloud of firework ash, which then sank into the water and vanished.

Jiang Xingzhou was surprised to see this.

There were no insects, but instead a wild rice stalk by the pond, lush and green, with a single, translucent drop of dew on its tip.

"This is a dragon-summoning worm rune, not a script-finding herb. Could it be..."

Jiang Xingzhou pondered for a moment, then lifted the back of the rice ear.
Immediately, on the back of the rice ears and leaves, there was a cluster of hundreds of insect eggs—one golden, ten silver, thirty yellow, and the remaining dozens were all mixed colors.

The hundred insect eggs are extremely small and arranged neatly, resembling a wall of insect eggs.

"Wow~, they're worm eggs!"

Xue Lingqi's face flushed with excitement.

"So many top-grade literary insect eggs! Look at their golden shimmer and silver brilliance, these must be excellent literary insects!"

"But what kind of insect eggs are these?"

"Those that grow near the waterside pavilion and pond are probably aquatic insects, right?"

Xue Fu, Xue Gui, their younger siblings, and the maids all exclaimed in surprise.

"There really are silkworm eggs here!"

Jiang Xingzhou touched the silkworm eggs with his fingertips; they were all alive, with no empty shells.

He breathed a sigh of relief. Yesterday, there was a surge of talent in Jiangyin County, with insects feeding on the talent, and indeed, some top-quality literary insects were born.

and,

The Xue State Duke's Mansion is located in the center of Jiangyin County, in an excellent location. The mansion also houses the largest library in Jiangyin County, the Langhuan Pavilion, a place where talented people gather.

He didn't believe that the vast Duke Xue's mansion couldn't contain top-quality literary insects.

These insect eggs are born after the mother insect has consumed energy. The larvae that are born naturally possess energy even before the owner has infused them with energy, making them top-quality!
Jiang Xingzhou picked out the only golden insect egg from the string of hundreds of insect eggs on the rice stalk.

Its quality is vastly different from insect eggs of other colors.

Within his sea of ​​consciousness, a bronze bamboo slip immediately displayed a string of data characters:
Jiang Xingzhou released the [Dragon-Attracting Insect] rune and found a golden, top-grade insect egg.

[Mayfly]
Name: Morning May (a type of insect with a time-varying growth pattern)

Morphology: Eggs awaiting hatching. Adult mayflies have a body that is bluish-green and glassy, ​​with six slender legs like ink lines hanging from needles. They are covered with two transparent wings with veins resembling cursive calligraphy, and the tips of their antennae shimmer with light.

Origin: Wild rice ears on the back of leaves in the waterside pavilion of the Duke of Xue's mansion. On that day, three sounds rang out at the Confucian Temple in Jiangyin County, causing a surge of talent. A female mayfly absorbed a large amount of talent and was born in accordance with the season; it is a supreme spiritual insect.

Allusion: From the Book of Songs, Cao Feng, "Mayfly": "The wings of the mayfly, its garments are elegant. My heart is filled with sorrow, where shall I go?"

Grade: Gold Top Grade.

Talent: (Time Flow)
1. Morning and Evening Dew – Mayflies consume morning and evening dew daily, which can condense into a single drop of "morning and evening dew." Consuming this dew can accelerate the release of literary arts.

2. **Morning Enlightenment:** When the master recites scriptures, the three characters "[Morning Enlightenment]" will appear on the wings of a mayfly. The master will greatly enhance their enlightenment, and their cultivation speed will increase by 50%.

Note:

The morning mayfly feeds daily on a mixture of morning dew and the ashes of the Book of Songs. Its wings can reveal the three characters "朝闻道" (meaning "to hear the Way in the morning"). If it encounters an authentic copy of the Book of Songs, it will frantically flap its wings, becoming completely absorbed and its enlightenment will surge.

"This is a batch of eggs that an adult mayfly laid yesterday after consuming a large amount of energy!"
Named Chaoxi Fu, it is a mayfly recorded in a single poem in the Great Zhou Dynasty's sacred classic, the Book of Songs!
It is one of the top-tier literary insect species, and it would be the first choice for scholars of the Great Zhou Dynasty if they were to raise literary insects. The next best choices are silkworms and crickets.

But they are also delicate and the hardest to raise!
I'll keep it!

Jiang Xingzhou was surprised to learn that they were mayfly eggs and told the others.

He left behind a golden egg.

Raising crickets requires a lot of effort; one should not be greedy and should only select the best golden egg.

The remaining inferior insect eggs, which were of little use, were distributed to the children of the Xue family for play.

The children of the Xue family cheered immediately, each taking a few grains and putting them into jars to feed the animals. They didn't really know how to raise them; they were just playing with them, and it was estimated that they would all die within a few days.

Jiang Xingzhou captured a mayfly larva and obtained a golden, top-quality mayfly egg, marking a "first victory."

Subsequently, Xue Lingqi, Xue Fu, and Xue Gui, along with others, also carried dragon-attracting talismans and searched for writing insects in the Xue family courtyard.

"[The locust ant dreams of the golden palace at dawn, the smartweed worm suffers bitterness in the jade pot of ice]!"

Xue Lingqi softly chanted an incantation and commanded, throwing out a [Dragon-Attracting Insect] talisman held in her jade hand.

The runes burned like fireflies, flying to a spot not far from the waterside pavilion. Parting the craggy rocks beneath the withered peony, they discovered a small string of insect eggs.

The insect eggs looked almost identical, some were bright red, some were milky white, and some were distinctly black and gray. The group searched the large courtyard of the Xue residence.

Grasshopper eggs were found under the leaves of the lush green grass.

The sword tassel pried open the hole in the ancient locust tree and discovered a pink paper worm, the Qingfu.

In the crevices of the artificial rockery, the sleeping red-eyed cricket larvae suddenly emitted a sound like metal clashing.

A string of information quickly appeared from Jiang Xingzhou's bronze bamboo slips.

[Xue Lingqi discovered [Golden Low-Grade Insect: Grasshopper]]

[Xue Gui has discovered [Golden-grade superior literary insect: Qingfu]]

[Xue Fu, discovered [Golden-colored medium-grade grasshopper: Red-eyed cricket larva]]

"Young Master Jiang, what kind of worm eggs are these?"

Xue Lingqi couldn't tell what kind of insect eggs they were either. Holding the eggs, she asked Jiang Xingzhou.

"Miss Xue."

This is the grasshopper, another auspicious insect recorded in the Book of Songs, known for its prolific reproduction. Reciting the Book of Songs to it will excite it, causing its wings to vibrate with the sound of offspring, thus accelerating its reproduction!

Jiang Xingzhou offered an explanation.

[The grasshopper]
Name: Grasshopper.

Morphology: Golden-winged singing insect, resembling a grasshopper.

The allusion comes from the Book of Songs: "The grasshoppers' wings are so numerous. May your offspring be plentiful." A great Confucian scholar of the previous dynasty commented in the Commentary on the Book of Songs: "If the grasshoppers are not jealous, then their offspring will be numerous."

Grade: Low-grade Gold

talent:

1. Fluent Recitation – Reciting "The Hoof of the Unicorn" will cause it to flap its wings and sing. This triggers the "Prosperous Descendants" special effect, increasing the efficiency of children's memorization.

2. Ascending to Poetry Through Ascension – Letting grasshoppers listen to the classic texts of the *Book of Music* can "ascend to poetry through ascension," greatly enhancing their poetic talent.

"Do you want to keep it?"

After Jiang Xingzhou finished speaking, he asked with a meaningful smile.

Upon hearing the saying, "If grasshoppers are not jealous, they will have many offspring," Xue Lingqi's cheeks flushed crimson. She didn't dare to look up and spat lightly, "Hmph, I don't want that!"

"Oh, this grasshopper is great! It can improve the efficiency of children memorizing texts!"
Very good!
I hate memorizing things the most, give it to me!

Xue Gui was overjoyed and quickly took the katydid eggs, putting them into a jar.

He then gave Xue Lingqi a pink green caterpillar that he had found.

[[Wenchong Qingfu]]
Name: Qingfu.

Appearance: Resembling a cicada, this young cicada is entirely green with coin-like patterns on its wings.

The story goes that "the green catfish returned the money" as recorded in the "In Search of the Supernatural".

Grade: Superior Gold.

talent:

1. Fortune Coin – A fortune coin is formed by spinning silk. Using this fortune coin can temporarily boost the owner's fortune.

Note: This insect needs to be fed with fragments of the book "The Ode to the God of Money." Once mature, it will spin silk to form "Fortune-Bringing Coins," which can enhance one's fortune.

"This Qingfu is also quite good. It's the Qingfu recorded in the *In Search of the Supernatural*, which can spin silk to form lucky coins."
Miss Xue, why don't you keep this cricket?

It can spin silk and bring you lucky coins.

Jiang Xingzhou nodded and smiled approvingly.

"Qingfu?"

This is good, give it to me!

Xue Lingqi held a small jar and carefully put the pink green caterpillars into it, her face beaming with joy.

She didn't need to memorize texts or take the imperial examinations, so she didn't need grasshoppers.

This green cicada-like creature is quite pleasing to the eye, and it can even spin silk to produce "fortune coins," making it far superior to the grasshopper.

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Asking for a monthly ticket! !

(End of this chapter)