Chapter 236 The Art of Controlling Insects
Jiang Anning looked at the thumb-sized porcelain bottle, with a strange feeling lingering in her heart.
She couldn't help but probe and asked: "Could this thing be one of the powerful methods handed down from your Imperial Master's Office?"
"That's natural!"
Xie Lan was a little proud: "This is a top-secret formula not disclosed by the Imperial Prefect's Office! The ninety-nine and eighty-one ingredients used in it are difficult to find easily, and it makes such a small bottle even more precious!"
Jiang Anning:......
There seems to be a lot of this ingredient in the woods near her home.
"If it weren't for the fact that I wanted to come out and find an embroiderer who could restore the hundreds of years of embroidery patterns passed down by the Imperial Master's Mansion, I wouldn't have asked for such a bottle!"
"I really treat you as a friend, so I will give this to you."
Xie Lan's face became more serious: "You have to promise me not to use this thing to hurt innocent people, otherwise, I will be punished by God!"
"Condemned by God?"
Jiang Anning frowned slightly: "Will you be punished by God if you use this thing?"
If that's the case, wouldn't she... No, no, I can't say for sure. It just has the same effect as the zombie powder recorded in A Niang's handbook. In fact, it is not the same thing. .
What's more, she is also seeking revenge for herself!
Why should God condemn her?
Jiang Anning took a deep breath, not wanting to scare herself anymore.
Xie Lan said ‘huh’.
"How can it be that if you use it, you will be punished by God? What are you thinking in your little head?"
She reached out and poked Jiang Anning's head.
"The law of heaven is not some unreasonable thing. How could it punish people indiscriminately?"
Jiang Anning pursed her lips, noncommittal.
If God is reasonable, how can there be so many injustices in this world?
"It's just that this thing is harmful to Tianhe. Once a person is injured by this thing, the wounds caused are irreversible and irreparable."
Xie Lan sighed: "In the words of my ancestors, once this thing is used, it will only give you time to regret it, but not the chance to go back on it."
"That's why our ancestors warned us repeatedly not to use this kind of thing on people."
"Especially when you are extremely angry and emotionally unstable, you must never use this thing on someone impulsively."
"Otherwise, if you really calm down and find that you have regretted or misunderstood, there will be no chance of recovery."
"By then, I'm afraid I will have to live with regrets for the rest of my life."
Jiang Anning nodded with deep approval.
Indeed it is!
When she dreamed about it at midnight recently, she would always remember that she had been too impulsive!
It really shouldn't be possible to just slash Zhao Hai's body 360 times, leaving him covered in blood drops, and then pour the corpse powder on top of him.
You should keep people around and pour a little up every day.
Now that he's in a good mood, let him watch his left leg disappear with his own eyes!
I'm in a bad mood today, so let him watch his right leg disappear with his own eyes!
The more Jiang Anning thought about it, the more she felt regretful.
It's easier for him!
"Don't take it seriously!" Xie Lan looked at the person who was obviously not paying attention to the situation, and was even a little distracted, with a serious face.
She stretched out her hand and muttered a few words. After a while, a green katydid jumped out from the weeds squeezed out from the cracks in the rocks next to it. It flapped its wings and flew to The human hand squeaked.
Jiang Anning's eyes widened in surprise.
Xie Lan took off the ear-picking golden and silver hairpin that was used for decoration on his head. With a serious look on his face, he took the thumb-sized bottle from Jiang Anning's hand and gently pulled it open.
"Go!"
Xie Lan scolded lightly, and the katydid, which was flapping its wings and chirping happily, followed the direction of her finger and flew into the tea cup. It was extremely well-behaved.
She then used an ear pick to dig out a few drops of medicinal powder from the bottle, and sprinkled it on the katydid's back.
The green katydid fluttered its wings.
Not only was the powder not shaken off, but it was shaken off more evenly.
Xie Lan picked up the already cold teapot next to him and filled the katydid with water.
Zila~Zila~
The katydid, which was still fluttering its wings happily, suddenly seemed to have been plunged into a hot pot of suet. It sizzled a few times and condensed into a small ball.
The water in the cup is a little more green.
Jiang Anning stared in disbelief.
This...
Isn't this the corpse powder left behind in her mother's handbook? ! !
However, this bottle didn't seem to be as effective as the one she mixed according to Grandma's notes.
The color of the medicinal powder seems to be darker.
When she mixed the powder in equal proportions according to the method left in her mother's note, the color of the corpse powder was emerald green.
The bottle Xie Lan gave her was a little dark in color.
Could it be that the color represents the effect?
Jiang Anning took a look into the cup. The dark green water exuded a stench like mud.
There was also a bunch of brown irregular condensation floating in the cup.
It's like lard fat dropped into a hot pan, instantly condensed into a lump of oil, and more oil came out of the pan.
But when she sprinkled the corpse powder on Zhao Hai, there was only a burst of smoke and not even a foul smell.
Are these two the same thing?
Jiang Anning was a little unsure.
They look quite similar...
"Did you see it? I'm not trying to trick you or scare you. This thing is really powerful!"
Xie Lan looked serious, fearing that Jiang Anning would not take it seriously.
Unexpectedly, Jiang Anning was even more interested in Xie Lan asking the katydid to obey her words: "Sister, is this an insect control technique?"
"That katydid can actually understand what my sister is saying!"
Her eyes shone brightly, as if they were filled with stars: "It's so magical and so powerful!"
Xie Lan suddenly felt a little arrogant: "That's natural! I am a descendant of the Imperial Master's Office!"
"Is this also a method inherited from the Imperial Preceptor's Office?"
Jiang Anning is full of yearning.
If she could also learn this method, wouldn't she be able to kill people invisible?
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but ask: "Sister's insect control method can only be effective on katydids, or can it also be effective on other insects?"
Such as cockroaches, centipedes, spiders...
The best thing to kill is probably a spider, right?
It seems that foreign spicy food can also be used?
Jiang Anning began to think about all kinds of insects suitable for killing people.
From wasps to mosquitoes, from dragonflies to crickets.
"According to the records handed down from our ancestors, if you practice properly, you can control hundreds of insects and even hundreds of beasts."
Xie Lan sighed: "But I am relatively untalented. I can only control this kind of gadget...it is still an ugly gadget."
She had read it in her storybook, and the heroines would attract butterflies and flowers... They were all very pretty, pretty, and beautiful.
But as for her, all she attracts are ants, praying mantises, katydids and the like.
Bugs!
How scary. Not only did Jiang Anning not feel scared, but her eyes were bright and she was even more interested.
Xie Lan raised her eyebrows: "Do you like this thing?"
She fastened the cork on the bottle, locked it again, approached the person, and asked in a persuasive manner: "Want to learn?"
Jiang Anning straightened her body and spoke righteously: "This is the skill passed down from your family. How can I, an outsider, learn so easily?"
She waved her hands repeatedly: "No, no, no."
"I just think it's quite magical, and I have no intention of prying into the secrets of your National Master's Office." She seemed to want to refuse and welcome, denying her desire to learn.
Xie Lan chuckled: "What's the matter? If you really want to learn, I'll just teach you."
"What secret is not secret?"
"Now that the heirs of the Imperial Prefecture are withering away, the old diehards in my family are afraid that no one will inherit the mantle. In a hundred years, the lineage of the Imperial Preceptor's House will be cut off."
"If you want to learn and are willing to learn, I'm afraid it's too late for them to be happy."
Xie Lan leaned forward again, his voice full of confusion: "Do you want to learn?"
Jiang Anning blinked and asked instead: "Sister, you really want me to learn?"
She hid back, with a frightened look on her face: "You don't want to capture me and take me back to be a young man, do you?"
"I, I didn't!"
Xie Lan was like a cat whose tail had been caught. He jumped away guiltily and did not dare to look at anyone.
"Oh~"
Jiang Anning lengthened her voice and showed her refusal: "As the old saying goes, a quarter of an hour on stage requires ten years of hard work off stage. Anyone who learns skills will have to endure hardships."
"Take me learning embroidery as an example. I didn't know how many times my fingers were pricked by needle points."
"Ten fingers connected to the heart, it hurts so much!"
"My sister is so capable. She must have put in more effort and suffered more."
Xie Lan recalled that when he was learning the art of insect control, he was so frightened by the densely packed ugly insects that he cried.
Jiang Anning said, "Sure enough, I knew it." Then she looked like she was afraid of hardship and declined: "I think I'd better forget it."
"Now this Suzhou embroidery skill is enough for me to make ends meet, and I don't want to work hard anymore."
She made an honest choice to show off.
Xie Lan couldn't help but become a little anxious: "No! Even if you don't want to learn this insect control technique, don't you want to learn that, that, those other skills?"
Jiang Anning blinked, as if asking again: Is there anything else besides this?
"Aren't you curious about this barrier method?"
Xie Lan pointed at the invisible barrier lingering around.
Jiang Anning blinked: "Can I learn this too?"
"Of course!"
Xie Lan confirmed anxiously, fearing that Jiang Anning wouldn't be interested.
Unexpectedly, Jiang Anning just thought about it, shook her head, and declined again: "Let's forget it."
"This thing doesn't seem to be of much use?"
“It’s just about preventing others from eavesdropping when you’re talking to someone.”
"Yes..."
Jiang Anning showed a confused expression: "I am just an ordinary person, and there are no secrets that cannot be known to others."
"Not to mention that I usually can't say a few words. Even if I do say it, it's just gossip about the rich and the poor. It's not worth using such a powerful method."
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"Of course it's not worth the trouble and hardship."
Jiang Anning made it clear: refuse to endure hardship, refuse to be burdened, long live the show!
Xie Lan was anxious.
"Then, even if you're not interested in this, I, I have something else!"
She racked her brains and thought for a long time, but she really couldn't think of any other inheritance from the Imperial Master's Palace that could be powerful without having to endure hardships in practice.
Jiang Anning looked at the person with starry eyes, seeming to be aroused by the person: "What else?"
"Well, there is..." Xie Lan suddenly had an idea: "There are too many powerful ones! If I told you one by one, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to finish them all in three days and three nights!"
"How about this, you follow me back to the Imperial Preceptor's Mansion, and I will let you enter the Sutra Library of the Imperial Preceptor's Mansion. You can check out all kinds of magical powers and abilities at your will. As long as you can learn it, you can learn whatever it is. How about that? ?”
Xie Lan approached the person again: "Are you moved or not?"
The heart is moved, naturally the heart is moved.
It’s just...
Jiang Anning showed a troubled expression: "Sister A Lan, you look like an old witch who is kidnapping a beautiful little girl."
Xie Lan:......
Here comes the knife! She's going to chop this little girl up and feed it to the dogs!
"People of the bright side don't tell secret words!"
Xie Lan was also confused: "I just want to trick you into going to the Imperial Preceptor's Mansion and help me repair the embroidery of the Imperial Preceptor's Mansion."
"As long as you agree, even if your skills are not perfect and the repair cannot be completed, I promise to let you learn the same inheritance from the Imperial Master's Office!"
"If you succeed in repairing it, you can learn whatever you want from the inheritance of the Imperial Master's Office."
"Even the door of the Imperial Preceptor's Mansion can be opened to you in the future. You can come anytime."
As if sensing someone's rejection, Xie Lan said before Jiang Anning could speak: "Don't underestimate the inheritance of the Imperial Master's Office."
"What I know now is just superficial."
"The true inheritance of the Imperial Master's Office can connect the past and present, as well as ghosts and gods!"
"As long as you have the ability, it is not impossible to travel through time and space."
"Not to mention such trivial matters as calling for wind and rain."
Xie Lan looked serious and proud: "Moreover, not just anyone can step through the gate of our teacher's palace."
"But once you become a guest of the Imperial Prefecture, no matter what happens to you in the future, even if you are ordered to be killed by the most powerful person in the Dajing Emperor, as long as you can run to the Imperial Prefecture alive, the Imperial Preceptor's Office will protect you. One life!”
"Moreover, in the future, even Emperor Dajing will no longer be able to pursue the crimes of the people protected by our division."
Xie Lan moved closer and whispered: "This is equivalent to a gold medal for avoiding death!"
"Are you really not moved?"
"There are so many powerful people in the imperial capital who want to be protected, appreciated and supported by the Imperial Prefect's Palace, but they can't even touch the threshold of the Imperial Prefect's Palace... If you can be a guest of the Imperial Prefect's Palace, not only will the dignitaries in the imperial capital not dare to offend. You, even a member of the royal family, must be respectful to you.”
"From now on, when you are in the imperial capital, you will be walking sideways!"
Xie Lan folded his hands and sat back down safely: "You don't have to rush to give me an answer. Think about it more."
"Anyway, you have to go to the capital sooner or later, and we will always meet in the capital."
"By then, when you have enjoyed the benefits brought by your rights, you will naturally no longer abandon the Imperial Preceptor's Office like a worn-out shoe."
There was still a sense of grievance in Xie Lan's voice, as if Jiang Anning had looked down upon the Imperial Master's Mansion, which made her sad.
"I have not abandoned the National Preceptor's Office like a worn-out shoe."
Jiang Anning felt a little helpless: "I just..."