Chapter Nine: Flowers and Birds

Saturday morning, Zishan Flower and Bird Market.

After locking his Phoenix-brand bicycle, Li Cheng clapped his hands and glanced up at the market’s archway sign.

At this time in the past, he would have been working at the dessert shop. Now that the shop was gone and he didn’t want to waste time idly, he decided to stroll through the flower and bird market.

He was on the lookout for any insects that could serve as his next target for genetic absorption—just in case the dreaded "genetic hunger" suddenly flared up and caught him off guard.

The genes of the prairie pavement ant enhanced muscle explosiveness.

The genes of the Chinese giant mantis bestowed freely extendable bone blades.

So which insect should he choose next? The Orthoptera cricket, known for its exceptional jumping ability? The beetles of the Coleoptera order, with their tough exoskeletons? Or maybe the resilient cockroach from the Blattodea order?

Lost in thought, Li Cheng suddenly spotted a somewhat familiar figure. “Shao?”

Shao Wangshu, dressed in a white sundress and a wide-brimmed straw hat, was sitting outside a café at the flower and bird market, sipping an iced Americano. She looked surprised to see Li Cheng. “Li Cheng? What a coincidence.”

“Yeah, quite a coincidence.”

Li Cheng scratched his head. The city of Yin was huge; if Shao Wangshu hadn’t been sitting there in advance, he might have suspected she was following him. “You’re here at the flower and bird market too? Alone?”

“No, my housekeeper is here with me.”

Shao Wangshu pointed behind her. Not far off, a female housekeeper was leafing through a fashion magazine. She noticed the gaze and waved.

Well… being able to afford a full-time housekeeper proved that Han Letian was right—Shao Wangshu’s family was indeed wealthy.

But as they say in "House of Cards," proximity to power sometimes deceives people into thinking they have power; proximity to wealth sometimes tricks people into believing they are wealthy. No matter how rich others are, it has nothing to do with him.

Li Cheng remained calm and casually asked, “Are you here to buy flowers?”

“Mm,” Shao Wangshu nodded. “The garden... uh, I mean, my family just moved here. It’s a bit empty. I want to buy some flowers to fill it up.”

Her tone faltered slightly, tinged with sadness as she added, “My mother used to like growing flowers.”

Used to, not still.

Li Cheng keenly caught the subtle difference in wording, but since Shao Wangshu didn’t elaborate, he didn’t press further. Instead, he casually offered, “Want to browse together?”

As future classmates sharing a desk, they would be spending some time together. Besides, since Shao Wangshu had just moved to Yin City, it made sense for him, a local, to show her around.

Ah, speaking of guiding someone around, Li Cheng recalled Officer Wang from the community police station—every year during the anti-prostitution campaign, the experienced officer would mark all illegal shops on a city map.

“Sure.”

Shao Wangshu’s eyes lit up. After sipping her coffee, she hurriedly set the cup down, grabbed her bag, and followed Li Cheng without even paying the bill.

Nearby, the housekeeper sighed, lightly tapping her forehead with a newspaper while grumbling, “Wei Caiyan, Wei Caiyan, why did you get a job like this…”

She then stood, scanned her own and Shao Wangshu’s purchases, and leisurely followed the two as they left.

Tulips, peonies, chrysanthemums, roses, azaleas, hydrangeas, forget-me-nots...

Taking in the colorful blossoms and their intoxicating fragrance, their spirits naturally lifted.

At Shao Wangshu’s request, Li Cheng used her phone to take many photos—thanks to his photography skills and her good looks, the results were quite nice.

---

“Do you like photography?”

Noticing her phone was filled with pictures, Li Cheng asked casually.

“Yeah.” Shao Wangshu took back her phone, walking ahead with a shy smile. “I think photos are like snapshots of life. Everyone dies three times: the first is physical death, when the heart stops beating and the brain ceases to function.

The second is social death, when the funeral is over and the deceased’s social roles and relationships end.

The third is when people forget you. When the last person who remembers you passes away, that’s when you truly cease to exist.”

She bounced ahead of Li Cheng, then turned with a bright smile. “So I like taking photos and painting. That way, even after I die, my life’s snapshots will still exist. Even if no one remembers me.”

For a spirited high school student, it was strange to hear the word “death” so often.

Li Cheng blinked, unsure how to respond, and just went along, sharing some local specialty foods and some hidden fly-by-night eateries with decent flavors.

After turning several corners and buying some flowers, they finally reached the destination of their trip to the flower and bird market—a reptile and exotic pet shop called “Cute Exotic Pets.”

“I’ll go in and look at the reptiles. Do you want to wait outside for a bit?”

“I’m fine. I’m not scared.”

Shao Wangshu’s curiosity was evident as she followed Li Cheng inside. The shop was medium-sized, with several rows of glass display cases.

One row housed corn snakes, kingsnakes, and hog-nosed snakes.

Another displayed bearded dragons and leopard geckos.

A third featured orange baboon spiders, golden orb-weavers, Solomon spiders, and others.

And finally, the row that interested Li Cheng most—various insects.

“That’s so cute!”

Shao Wangshu’s attention was drawn to a plump blue-tongued skink. Her eyes sparkled as the clerk nodded approval and she reached out to pet it.

The blue tongue looked silly—chubby, short-legged, often sticking out its blue tongue with a dazed, faraway expression.

The slender shop owner noticed Li Cheng lingering by the insect cases and approached. “What kind are you looking for, handsome? We have impressive ones like the giant rhinoceros beetle, the Chinese flat-headed beetle, and the giraffe stag beetle.

Pretty ones like the rainbow stag beetle, two-spotted red stag beetle, striped green flower beetle, Ugandan flower beetle, and the king flower beetle.

Also, there’s the Metalliophorus slender red stag beetle—both handsome and striking.”

The owner opened a glass case and took out a beetle to show him.

This insect came from Sulawesi Island and surrounding areas in Indonesia. It had a slender body with a metallic blue-purple shell.

Most eye-catching were its mandibles, longer than its body and armed with spikes, like a pair of strange weapons—very beautiful.

Li Cheng resisted the urge to stroke the beetle and rubbed his palms, asking, “Do you have the Hercules beetle? Or the Southeast Asian rhinoceros beetle?”

The Southeast Asian rhinoceros beetle, also called the Atlas beetle, belongs to the Scarabaeidae family of the Coleoptera order, mainly found in tropical rainforests of Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

It has three sturdy, elongated antennae on its head, can grow up to 140.63 millimeters, feeds on tree sap, and is extremely aggressive—truly the king of beetles.

The Hercules beetle, also known as Heracles, is the emperor of beetles, reaching an exaggerated maximum length of 184 millimeters.

---

“We have the Hercules,” the owner nodded. “But customs are very strict about beetles; they don’t allow imports. However, some domestic insect clubs have special breeding permits for raising them.”

He asked, “Do you want L1, L2, or L3?”

“Adult is okay?”

Beetles undergo several stages from egg to adult: egg, first instar larva (L1), second instar (L2), third instar (L3), pupa, then adult.

The process is long, and the greatest joy lies in raising the fat larvae until they pupate and emerge as adults. It feels like breeding Pokémon.

After adults emerge, they can be bred artificially to pursue bigger, stronger, and more handsome offspring.

Only a few, like Li Cheng, buy adults directly—not just because it lacks breeding fun, but because adults are more expensive. Some top-quality specimens nearing maximum size can cost tens of thousands.

“You came at a bad time. We just don’t have any adults now. The Hercules beetle has a long growth period, and adults live only six months to a year.”

The owner asked, “I have pupae at most. Do you want one?”

“That works.”

Li Cheng nodded. The pupal stage lasts about 40 to 60 days. Since he had just completed a cycle of genetic hunger absorption, he wasn’t in a rush. Besides, he wanted to test something.

“I’ll get one for you.”

The beetle community was small. Meeting a fellow enthusiast, the owner enthusiastically fetched a nearly 16-centimeter pupa from an artificial pupal chamber in the back.

While packing wood shavings, he enthusiastically detailed the noble lineage of this particular Hercules beetle.

Just as Li Cheng was about to pay, he saw Shao Wangshu approaching with two skinks. One was an eastern Queensland variety, priced at eight thousand; the other a northern variety, priced at four thousand.

Together, twelve thousand—that was big business!

The owner’s eyes gleamed as he enthusiastically advised Shao Wangshu on caring for the blue-tongued skinks. It wasn’t complicated—the species was so silly it was basically a walking compost bin, eating dog and cat food alike.

At checkout, the cheerful owner waved his hand and waived the fee for Li Cheng’s pupa.

Outside, Li Cheng scratched his head, holding the box. “Uh, thanks for the favor this time.”

“Hee hee, just buy me a bubble tea next time,” Shao Wangshu said, carrying two plastic boxes. She whispered, “Or maybe we can go explore other places together sometime?”

“Like where?”

“What do you think? The zoo? The cinema? Disneyland? Or even a cruise ship.”

Shao Wangshu bounced ahead, unaware that Li Cheng suddenly twisted his head sharply, staring down an alleyway.

He caught a familiar scent.

The scent of the Lord of Insects.