"Candles?"
Everyone looked at each other, feeling that Sun Shijie's request was quite odd.
Although Jiangcheng wasn't a major city, it had a reliable electricity supply, with only a few power outages in the whole year, accumulating just a few hours total.
In such circumstances, few people kept candles at ho.
Of course, except for those with special hobbies.
"If you don't have candles, honey will do." Sun Shijie compromised.
"I do have honey." Xue Nuofu responded, went to his room, and ca out with a jar of honey.
Sun Shijie instructed, "Put a little on the table."
"Okay." Xue Nuofu took out a small spoon and scooped a spoonful of honey onto the table.
After doing so, everyone present gathered around, their eyes fixated on Sun Shijie, eager to see what he would do next.
Under everyone's gaze, Sun Shijie maneuvered his thumb and forefinger, approaching the honey on the table.
Then...
He touched the honey lightly before moving away.
Everyone leaned in to inspect, noticing a tiny flying insect struggling to free itself from the sticky honey. It was about the size of a fly but looked more like a moth.
Xiao Feng took out his phone, snapped a close-up photo, and zood in for a closer look, but still couldn't make out what it was.
The others were in the sa boat, suggesting what it might be, but no one dared to confidently identify the insect trapped in the honey.
Xiao Feng, being the curious type, asked, "Sir, stop keeping us in suspense. Just tell us what this thing is."
"I don't know the na of this thing either. I heard about it from Old Miao years ago. It's a kind of insect cultivated using a secret thod, primarily used for eavesdropping.
If I hadn't knocked my smoking pipe on the steps just before entering, I wouldn't have discovered it."
Lone Wolf crossed his arms, puzzled, "How can such a tiny thing be used for eavesdropping?"
The rest looked at Sun Shijie, obviously sharing the sa curiosity.
Sun Shijie smiled, picked up a nearby cup, turned it upside down, trapping the honey and insect under it: "Put your ear to the cup and you'll hear it."
"Let go first, let go first!" The young girl, who's always fond of quirky things, raised her hand eagerly to be first.
She crouched down, pressed her ear to the bottom of the cup, listened intently for a few seconds, then widened her eyes in disbelief, "There's actually sound!"
"What sound?" Lin Jiaxuan asked.
The young girl stood up slowly and replied, "It's the conversation we just had."
Her words piqued everyone's interest, and they all wanted a turn to listen.
"Line up, one by one!" Xiao Feng grumbled at the chaos.
Once the line was in order, Old Ha rubbed his hands together, "Boss, can I go first?"
Xiao Feng shook his head, "Ladies and leaders first."
He then gestured for Du Qingyue and the others to listen first.
After the ladies finished, it was Xiao Feng and Xue Nuofu's turn, and finally Old Ha and the others.
From everyone's feedback, the further down the line, the fainter the sound beca.
But at least it confird that the insect could indeed be used for eavesdropping.
"What's the principle behind this?" Lv Ziming asked.
"I'm not sure." Sun Shijie shook his head, "Perhaps the insect's wings play a role, first storing sound, then releasing it through vibrations.
In an open space, you can't hear it, but when trapped under a cup, the closed space allows human ears to catch it."
Xiao Feng remained silent, but in his mind, he was already planning to acquire the thod to cultivate these insects if possible.
In specific situations, this could be more effective than high-tech devices.
At this mont, Lu Yao said, "Earlier, while they weren't paying attention, I planted a miniature bug in Pang Tong's duster, and now several recordings have been transmitted over. Want to listen?"
"Of course!" Xiao Feng's eyes lit up.
Lu Yao brought over a computer, hit enter, and a few seconds later, Pang Tong's voice ca from the speakers: "Why haven't they returned yet?"
"Could it have been stepped on by soone, or blown away by the wind?" This was Cao Siyuan's voice.
"Calm down and wait a bit longer." This was Tan Qizhi's voice.
This recording, though none of the three explicitly ntioned what they were waiting for,
it wasn't hard to deduce from the content that they were waiting for the insect currently trapped under the cup.
Moreover, the three seed very confident, never considering whether it would be exposed.
Xiao Feng pondered for a mont, placed his ear to the cup, listened for a while, and upon confirming no more sound, signaled everyone to remain silent before lifting the cup.
He cleared his throat and shouted at the insect, "That old bastard Pang Tong, he's nothing!
With feathers up its bat wings, what kind of bird does he think he is?
Rock inside an egg, one hell of a bastard..."
He continued this tirade for five minutes, leaving everyone dumbfounded.
It's truly the first ti anyone had seen soone curse with such flair!
In reality, Xiao Feng wasn't entirely sure if cursing Pang Tong like this would be heard on the other end.
But what if it could be?
...
Ten minutes later, on the roadside, Pang Tong and the others finally waited for the insect to return.
Tan Qizhi took out a clay pot from his pocket, trapped the insect inside, and then took out three stethoscope-like devices, one end affixed to the pot, the other end in their ears.
It wasn't long before Xiao Feng's voice entered their ears.
"That old bastard Pang Tong, he's nothing..."
Five minutes later, Pang Tong was trembling with rage, lifting his hand to smash the pot.
But just then, he heard Xiao Feng's voice stop the insults and instead say, "Let's discuss the next plan..."
Ten seconds passed...
Twenty seconds passed...
Half a minute passed...
Pang Tong and his two companions stared at each other, was that it?
Just as they were thinking this, the loop started over.
"That old bastard Pang Tong..."
"Bang!"
Pang Tong smashed the pot to pieces with his palm, and still unsatisfied, stood up, stomping on the shards.
Tan Qizhi pushed him aside, angrily shouting, "Do you know how hard it is to cultivate such a treasure?!"
Gently prying apart the shards, they found the insect already mangled, beyond saving.
"You!" Tan Qizhi's eyes blazed with fury.
But before he could erupt, Pang Tong spoke, "Don't worry, as long as we kill that scumbag Xiao Feng, the benefits you'll gain are beyond anything you can imagine."
Cao Siyuan said in a deep voice, "You've said this more than once or twice. Now that the enemy is at our doorstep, shouldn't you fill us in?"
"Knowing too much does you no good." Pang Tong sneered, "In front of that behemoth, we're all like ants.
So, we just need to get the job done, collect our reward, and it'll be enough."
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