Chapter 84

What is a coffin cricket? Why is Mr. Yan considered unscrupulous?

Although Xiaohai Ai learned a lot about cricket fighting from his grandfather, he was not an expert in this field.

And looking at the people around him, it seemed that most of them were also not very clear.

The old man sighed and then recounted the story of the coffin cricket.

During the late Qing Dynasty, the northern region was deeply engrossed in cricket fighting, with some enthusiasts losing all their wealth in a single night. In the capital, there was a young man surnamed Ou, who came from a family of great wealth but was obsessed with cricket fighting from a young age. His parents were killed by bandits on their way back to their hometown. Without anyone to discipline him, Ou spent a fortune on crickets and fought with others, betting huge sums each time, but mostly losing.

His family's wealth was gradually squandered, and he eventually found himself in financial distress. He sold his possessions and spent a large sum to buy a fierce crab-shell golden-headed general, which won him several consecutive battles, earning him the title of "First Cricket of the Capital." This made him overconfident, believing he was invincible.

Later, a prince named Daiqi came to challenge him. Young and arrogant, Ou did not fear the prince and won three consecutive battles with his golden-headed general, earning 30,000 taels of silver.

The prince, more concerned with his reputation than money, was furious to see Ou and his golden-headed general outshine him in front of everyone. He proposed one more battle, offering 200,000 taels of silver if he lost, but if Ou lost, he would lose not only his golden-headed general and all his wealth but also be forced to leave the capital.

Ou, confident in his golden-headed general, readily agreed.

At this point, the old man's voice grew somber: "Daiqi brought out his cricket, the large black green-toothed red dot!"

Everyone finally understood that although the crab-shell golden-headed general was fierce, it was not in the same league as the red dot.

Unsurprisingly, Ou lost. The prince stomped on the injured golden-headed general in front of everyone and had Ou expelled from the capital.

Later, the Qing Dynasty was overthrown, and more than twenty years passed. Daiqi was no longer a prince but still enjoyed cricket fighting. He invited many cricket experts to study and care for his crickets, and they managed to breed the red dot, making each generation even more fierce.

Daiqi's red dot became invincible in the north and was known as the "Cricket King."

"That year, Cao Kun was bribing for the presidency..." the old man said slowly. "One day, in a teahouse, Daiqi's red dot won several consecutive battles. Just as Daiqi was celebrating, a beggar walked in, saying he had a cricket and wanted to challenge Daiqi's."

How could Daiqi fight a beggar? He was about to have him driven out when the beggar said that if he lost, his life would belong to Daiqi, and he would do whatever Daiqi asked.

Daiqi, who was looking for someone to assassinate an enemy, was intrigued and asked what would happen if he lost.

"Kneel three times and leave the capital," the beggar replied calmly.

At this point, everyone knew the beggar must be Ou. No one interrupted the old man as he continued.

Although Daiqi was angry, his red dot had been undefeated for over twenty years. This generation of red dots was even more fierce due to the addition of Western drugs to their diet. Without much ado, he found a mediator and agreed to a single decisive battle.

Daiqi confidently placed the red dot in the fighting pot, while the beggar took out a dilapidated wooden box...

"It's just like that wooden box," the old man pointed to the wooden box Mr. Yan used to store the coffin cricket...

The beggar's cricket was small, and everyone thought the red dot would win. However, the red dot was completely helpless against the small cricket and was defeated in one round. More shockingly, the small cricket ate the red dot!

No one had ever seen such a fierce cricket, and everyone was stunned. Regardless, Daiqi had lost.

With a gray face, he knelt three times in front of the beggar, who said slowly, "Prince, you have your day too. Do you know who I am? I am Ou Shan, whom you expelled twenty years ago."

Ou Shan was the young man Ou. Everyone finally understood.

Daiqi left the capital and died a few years later. Ou, who was already ill, collapsed after avenging himself. His loyal butler, hearing that his master had returned, found him and brought him home.

But the doctors said there was no hope. Ou was not concerned and told his butler about his experiences over the past twenty years.

Most powerful crickets came from the north, and it was impossible to find one that could defeat the red dot. Determined to take revenge, Ou went to the south. With no special skills and his meager savings depleted, he became a beggar.

Once, he helped a dying old beggar, who told him that he had a secret formula for breeding an invincible cricket.

After burying the old beggar, Ou secretly began the journey to breed the invincible cricket.

He went to a grave!

The most invincible and cruel crickets lived in coffins!

When someone was buried, a high-quality general cricket and a large three-tailed female cricket were placed in the coffin, sealed with a small air hole, and buried with a ventilation hole in the soil.

The male and female crickets mated in the coffin, and the eggs, which normally would be laid in the soil, were laid in the coffin. Out of 200 eggs, only about one-tenth survived. The larvae fed on the body fluids, and the male crickets fought and bit each other, leaving only one survivor. After six molts, the surviving cricket would kill its parents and mate with the surviving female, repeating the cycle.

Feeding on body fluids made the crickets cruel and aggressive. With limited space and food, they had to kill as many of their companions as possible to survive. As the body fluids decreased, the crickets resorted to eating their companions, and often the female would become food for the male after laying eggs.

"The old beggar told Ou the secret formula. Ou secretly found a newly buried grave, opened the coffin, and placed the general cricket and the three-tailed cricket inside. He remembered the old beggar's words: to be invincible, one must wait twenty years. Once it was released, there would be no opponent," the old man said solemnly. "A cricket's lifespan is 200 days. After twenty years, it would be the 36th generation! Think about it, these crickets have been living on body fluids and their companions for generations. How terrifying would they be by the 36th generation? Ou waited twenty years to take revenge. How could Daiqi's red dot be a match for the coffin cricket? This is the origin of the coffin cricket."

Everyone finally understood the origin of the coffin cricket.

It was terrifying that someone could spend twenty years breeding such a fearsome cricket!

"After telling his butler his strange story, Ou sighed and said, 'I dug up graves to take revenge, violating the laws of heaven and earth. Heaven will not forgive me.' He then swallowed the coffin cricket and died," the old man said coldly. "This story later spread. First, the coffin cricket would bite and eat its companions, which was too cruel. Second, digging up graves, as Ou said, was against the laws of heaven and earth. The cricket fighting community banned the use of coffin crickets. Gradually, no one knew about them anymore."

Xiaohai couldn't help but ask, "Not everyone follows the rules. Over such a long time, hasn't anyone tried to breed coffin crickets?"

The old man glanced at him. "Breeding coffin crickets is not as simple as I described. There are many secrets, but they were lost after the old beggar and Ou died. Even if you could breed a coffin cricket, you would face widespread condemnation. Who would willingly fight and lose? So, there's little point in breeding them."

He suddenly sneered. "Mr. Yan, do you think no one would recognize a coffin cricket after so many years? I don't fight crickets, but I know the origins of every cricket. You have a coffin cricket, and you know what you've done. Aren't you afraid of losing your virtue? People believe in peace in death, but you don't even let them rest in peace?"

"Nonsense, nonsense," Mr. Yan forced a smile. "This is not a coffin cricket."

The old man snorted. "Not a coffin cricket? Where is there such a small and cruel fighting cricket in the world? The small space in the coffin makes the coffin cricket increasingly fierce but smaller in size. And what is the wooden box you use to store the cricket made of? Coffin wood! The coffin cricket is familiar with this smell! If you still deny it, put your hand in front of your cricket and see if it bites you. If it does, will you have any medicine to save you?"

Mr. Yan tried to defend himself, refusing to admit it, but he was angry, thinking no one would recognize a coffin cricket. He didn't expect an old man to recognize it at first glance.

Yes, his cricket was a coffin cricket. Mr. Yan found a secret formula for breeding coffin crickets among his father's belongings and started breeding twenty years ago. Of course, he didn't use his family's graves but others'.

The coffin cricket was extremely poisonous, and he used a special method to make it even more fierce and poisonous. A bite from it was fatal.

This was not his only secret. There was one thing even the old man didn't know:

He had an even more brutal coffin cricket!