Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 415: Chapter 411: Start Fighting

Huo Sining was stunned, ”Hey, isn’t it the bigger, the more powerful?”

Huang Xiaoyi was speechless for a moment, ”Being big doesn’t necessarily mean they can fight. If they’re too bulky, their coordination isn’t enough, and they’re not agile. It’s very easy for a smaller cricket to take them down.”

Hearing this, Huo Sining suddenly felt a bit embarrassed, ”I see.”

Huang Xiaoyi nodded, ”However, this cricket’s color is quite pure. It’s really surprising that a black species could grow this big.”

Dark head, dark body, dark wings, it resembled a glossy black pearl. If it were judged by human standards of beauty, this fella would be the so-called broad-shouldered and stout-waisted.

But this thing was a cricket. Though it looked pretty, it seemed to be all show and no go.

Although she was somewhat disdainful, it was better than nothing. Huang Xiaoyi unthinkingly picked up the cricket teaser and prodded in the jar, teasing the cricket a few times.

All he did was to randomly fiddle with it a bit, and the cricket actually got angry, emitting an extremely loud chirp.

”Eh?”

Perceiving something unusual in the voice of the cricket, a hint of doubt appeared in Huang Xiaoyi’s eyes.

He wondered if he had misheard, and couldn’t help but continue to tease with the probe. This time, the grasshopper became thoroughly enraged. Pushing off with its legs, it made a violent leap, and actually jumped out of the cricket jar, hurtling straight towards Huang Xiaoyi’s face.

”Ouch—”

Recoiling from the hit to his face, Huang Xiaoyi instinctively stepped back. The cricket had succeeded in its sneak attack, quickly flipping and hopping away from the table, growing faster with each leap until it reached a high spot—the couch.

His face had been kicked by the cricket, but Huang Xiaoyi wasn’t angry. Instead, his eyes shone as he stared intently at the creature on the couch, brandishing its limbs.

To judge whether a cricket is good or not, appearance alone is not enough; one must also listen to its voice to discern its temperament.

Usually, those with voices thin, flimsy, and weak, or sharp and grating, are often not good crickets. A truly good insect has a deep, resonant call, resembling the sound of a bell.

As for temperament, since it is to be a warrior in battle, it should have a fierce disposition with calmness; not rash nor timid, the best are those with both courage and strategy.

Judging by the call and temperament of the cricket just now, Huang Xiaoyi had a feeling he might have been mistaken. This guy was probably the best insect he had ever encountered.

”A Ning, where did you buy this grasshopper?”

Huang Xiaoyi carefully approached the big fella while not forgetting to ask.

Huo Sining didn’t keep it a secret and replied, ”Over on Chang’an Street, there’s a Flower, Bird, Insect, and Fish Market. I picked it out from there.”

As Huang Xiaoyi nabbed the cricket and put it back into the jar, he was startled by what Huo Sining said, ”That street? The goods on that street are all from the capital, not pure breeds like this. I thought what you had was from Shandong.”

The enthusiasm on Huang Xiaoyi’s face faded a bit, and he looked at the cricket jar in his hand with some skepticism, subconsciously frowning.

Huo Sining was puzzled, ”What’s the difference between Shandong’s and the Imperial Capital’s?”

Huang Xiaoyi explained, ”There used to be plenty of good crickets in the Imperial Capital, especially in places like the Eight Great Sites in Xishan, Yongding River Yungang, and Thirteen Tombs of Changping.”

”But in recent years, as more people got into the hobby, overharvesting has become a serious problem, and the overall quality of crickets in the Imperial Capital has declined. It’s now quite difficult to find ones with decent appearances.”

”Therefore, the crickets sold on the market now are mostly from Shandong, particularly those near Mount Tai. The pure wild species there are known for their strong fighting spirits and are most famous.”

Huo Sining nodded in agreement. Huang Xiaoyi’s grandmother lived in Shandong, so no wonder this kid would go to his grandmother’s place to catch crickets.

”However, this cricket seems a bit different. We’ll only know the specifics after some experimentation.”

After the scene of the cricket’s escape just now, Huang Xiaoyi didn’t immediately write off the cricket. He felt there was something different about this cricket compared to the usual ones he saw in the Imperial Capital, so he wanted to test it out.

”Experiment? How?” Huo Sining asked curiously.

Huang Xiaoyi smiled and made a few calls. Before long, several kids arrived at the Huang family’s place.

Huo Sining took a good look and hey, weren’t these the kids who fought with Huang Xiaoyi a few days ago? Why were they here?

Hearing that Huang Xiaoyi had gotten hold of another cricket, these kids came over to join the excitement, each taking out their own cricket containers. Even the kid who had a falling out with Huang Xiaoyi did not want to be left out and pulled out his container, eager to compete with Huang Xiaoyi.

As for Huo Sining, he found the whole thing quite amusing. These kids really do forget their fights in an instant, huh? Their bruises hadn’t even faded yet, and here they were, all buddy-buddy again.

When Huang Xiaoyi tossed his cricket onto the table, the kids burst into laughter:

”Are you just filling in numbers with this thing? It’s so big, it’s going to flip over in no time!”

Huang Xiaoyi’s face darkened, and he retorted defiantly, ”All this yapping, are we going to fight or not? This is an authentic Shandong cricket, black head, black body, absolutely top quality. So what if it’s a bit large? Being bigger just makes it easier to crush the opponent. It’s not certain who will win or lose yet.”

At this, the kids immediately became fired up for a battle, ”Let’s do it, but if yours gets crippled, don’t get angry, we’re not fighting today!”

Huang Xiaoyi snorted coldly, ”Whoever throws a punch is a puppy!”

With that statement from Huang Xiaoyi, the kids all pulled out their containers eagerly.

The kid who fought with Huang Xiaoyi a few days ago was the first to open his container, used a probing straw to tease the beard of his cricket, and soon a clear chirping sound came from inside. He glanced at Huang Xiaoyi’s cricket and bragged proudly:

”This is my brother’s Marshal, seven-point-four, and it has beaten many old crickets from Shandong!”

Huang Xiaoyi was taken aback when he saw the cricket. Zhao Zheng’s cricket had been crippled by one of his previous crickets, and he thought the kid would only be able to bring out an ordinary cricket at best. Who knew this little tricky guy would bring over his brother’s Marshal.

Huang Xiaoyi had seen the Marshal’s track record, which could definitely be described as ferocious. Suddenly seeing this cricket, Huang Xiaoyi’s face stiffened, and he felt a bit insecure, swallowing instinctively.

But soon he regained his composure. The Huang family’s classic saying was, ”You can lose the match but never the momentum.” Huang Xiaoyi understood this well; regardless of winning or losing, he couldn’t be outdone in terms of spirit.

Thinking this, he cast a sidelong glance at the kid’s cricket jar and said disdainfully:

”Your little thing dares to claim it’s a Marshal? Mine’s at least eight points, shouldn’t it be called a General or King?”