Night came early to the valley. As the last trace of sunset was swallowed by the mountaintops, only a single bean-oil lamp remained in the bamboo shed, its dim yellow glow casting a long, thin shadow of the figure hunched over the desk.
After watching the refugees clear the land during the day, Shen Yu had sent Shen Da into the city to buy books on agriculture. He was now holding a yellowed volume, completely absorbed in his reading.
The stream outside gurgled softly, and the occasional chirp of insects rose in the air. Far from being a disturbance, it lent the night an indescribable sense of tranquility.
“Young Master Shen.”
A soft call came from outside the bamboo curtain, the voice kept low as if afraid of disturbing someone.
Shen Yu set down the book and stood up to lift the curtain.
Under the moonlight, a woman with graying hair stood in the clearing, head bowed, holding the hand of a small, thin girl.
“Young Master Shen, I heard from Auntie Zhou next door that San Ya goaded her second brother into stealing your opportunity today. Children are young and don't know better, but as her mother, I cannot be so ignorant. You have been as kind to us as a mountain is high, yet we repaid you with such ingratitude. I simply couldn't live with myself.”
The woman lowered her head in shame and offered a basket to Shen Yu. “We have nothing of value, only this basket of wild vegetables dug this morning. I hope you will accept them.”
Because there wasn't enough space in front of the Divine Lady Temple, they had to take turns kneeling and praying to the Divine Lady.
She never imagined that in the one day she wasn't watching them, the siblings would cause such a huge mess.
The Divine Seed Erlang received had already been planted in the soil, so there was no way to dig it back up. But San Ya...
Nobles like this usually had short tempers. If they incurred his resentment, their family would meet a grim end.
“Young Master, please rest assured.”
“As soon as it’s light tomorrow, I will take San Ya to beg the Divine Lady to take back this blessing and give it to you instead.”
She said this only as a gamble, betting that Young Master Shen wouldn't dare let them ask the Divine Lady to rescind a gift.
Shen Yu looked at the mother and daughter, his gaze gentle.
Standing before the bamboo shed, he gave a faint smile. “Auntie Wang, you’ve misunderstood. It wasn't Erlang and San Ya who stole my opportunity. Rather, the Divine Lady said that I was not destined for the Divine Seed.”
“What?” Wang Chuntao was stunned.
“Since the Divine Lady bestowed the Divine Seed and the method of planting upon Erlang and San Ya, it shows they are the ones meant for it.”
Shen Yu’s voice was calm and steady, like the night breeze rustling through the bamboo. “Auntie Wang, do not scold San Ya any further. If she hadn't bravely stepped forward today, none of us might have received the Divine Seed or the knowledge of how to grow it.”
“I absolutely cannot accept these vegetables.”
He glanced at the sky and added, “Auntie Wang, you should take San Ya back to rest.”
Wang Chuntao’s eyes suddenly turned red. She pulled Cui San Ya down to kneel before Shen Yu. “Young Master Shen, San Ya has been bright since she was a babe, but she wasn't born into a good life. Her father passed early, and I’m just a crude woman who knows nothing.”
“I’m afraid I won't teach her well and will only hold her back.” She looked at Shen Yu with a face full of hope. “Young Master Shen, you are a man of great learning. I don't ask for San Ya to become someone prominent in the future; I only hope you can let her stay by your side to learn even just the basics.”
Shen Yu did not answer immediately. His gaze fell on the little girl, who had remained silent the whole time.
“San Ya, do you want to learn to read?”
Cui San Ya was startled.
She looked at her mother, then back at Shen Yu, before nodding firmly.
“I do.”
“Then from now on, you shall call me Teacher.”
Shen Yu pondered for a moment. “San Ya is just a name based on your birth order; it’s fine as a nickname. But for your education, you should have a proper name.”
“He refers to fine grain. It sprouts in spring and matures in autumn. Though it does not compete with a hundred flowers in beauty, it sustains the masses and aids the world.”
“From this day forward, you shall be called Cui He.”
...
Shen Jue was jolted awake by a piercing ray of sunlight.
His brow furrowed, his consciousness heavy and sluggish. His eyelids struggled several times before he managed to open them just a crack.
What met his eyes were fragmented spots of light filtering through the leaves, so bright they made him instinctively squint again.
“Eldest Young Master, you’re finally awake!” A familiar voice reached his ears, carrying an irrepressible sense of anxiety.
Shen Jue turned his head, bracing himself with his arms to sit up.
Seeing this, Shen Er hurried forward to support him.
Shen Jue leaned back against the tree trunk behind him.
Then, he looked down at himself.
His clothes were shredded and stained with blood, a shocking sight.
Yet, the wounds that should have been gruesome and terrifying were now nothing but faint pink scars.
It looked as if he had been recovering for ten days or even half a month.
He froze for a second.
Seeing the strange look on Shen Jue’s face, Shen Er hesitated for a moment before tentatively calling out, “Eldest Young Master?”
Shen Jue ignored him, instead raising his hand to slightly flex his shoulder and arm.
The bones and muscles were perfectly intact.
If not for the dried blood on his body, he would have almost thought that brush with death had been nothing but a nightmare.
“These injuries... did you find a doctor?”
Shen Er blinked, shaking his head. “When I found you, your wounds had already mostly healed.”
Shen Jue suddenly fell silent.
He knew better than anyone how badly he had been hurt. With injuries that severe, even the best physicians in the Imperial Academy of Medicine couldn't have gotten him out of bed for at least a fortnight.
And yet, he could move freely now.
In the middle of the wilderness, was there really someone with such medical skill?
Could it be a hidden master?
“Did you see a young lady?”
Shen Er answered straightforwardly, “I checked within a hundred paces when I arrived, but there was no one else.”
Shen Jue’s brow knitted slightly.
He clearly remembered smelling the faint, fresh scent of grain on the lady’s sleeves before he passed out.
After a moment of thought, he set the matter aside for now and continued to ask Shen Er, “Why is it only you? Where is Fuyan?”
Shen Yu was his biological brother.
Hearing that he had been exiled from the capital, Shen Yu definitely wouldn't have been able to sit still.
“Second Young Master is...” Shen Er hesitated for a moment, seemingly choosing his words carefully. “On our way to find you, we encountered an omnipotent Divine Lady by the stream.”
“Divine Lady?” Shen Jue repeated the words. His tone was flat, yet it somehow made a chill run down Shen Er’s spine.
“Sorcerers disrupt the court and delude the Emperor's ears, leaving the government in shambles and the people in misery.”
“Shen Er, you are a retainer of the Shen family. You’ve been with Fuyan and me since childhood. Do you not know what I hate most?”
Meeting Shen Jue’s gaze, Shen Er’s heart pounded, but he steeled himself to continue. “Eldest Young Master, the Divine Lady is different from those sorcerers. That day, the Second Young Master and I saw her perform divine feats with our own eyes—creating things out of thin air, and even making the mindless carp in the stream worship her and offer treasures...”
Shen Jue barked a harsh reprimand, “Enough!”
“How can there be such things as ghosts and gods in this world? They are all just wicked people who deceive and swindle. They learn a few cheap tricks and dare to call themselves immortals or Divine Ladies?”
One day...
He would surely kill all these charlatans who made fools of the people!
“Yes, Eldest Young Master.” Scared by the blatant killing intent in Shen Jue’s eyes, Shen Er didn't dare say another word.
Shen Jue stood up. “Where is Fuyan?”
Shen Er spoke in a voice as faint as a mosquito. “Eldest Young Master, the Second Young Master is just ahead. He...”
“Why are you hesitating?” Shen Jue’s brows were tightly knit.
Shen Er lowered his head, fine beads of sweat breaking out on his forehead. “The Second Young Master has now become a believer of the Divine Lady. He is leading a group of refugees to build a temple for her.”
Shen Jue’s face was as cold as still water. “Absurd!”
“Take me to Fuyan. I want to see for myself exactly what 'divine' powers this Divine Lady possesses!”
And the Divine Lady he was so concerned about was currently sitting cross-legged by a campfire, sipping white porridge.
“Host, I have good news for you.” The system was beaming. “My previous hosts spent their whole lives being warm and caring to the male lead, and the highest favorability they ever reached was 50. But just now, the male lead’s favorability toward you jumped by 20 points!”
“Oh, that’s good.”
“I knew you could do it, Host!” The little fox grew more excited as it spoke. “The reason you didn't save the male lead immediately must have been because you were waiting until he was at death's door to act. That way, he would remember your life-saving grace for the rest of his life!”
“And then, you left before he even woke up,” it clapped its paws, having a sudden realization. “That must have been to keep him thinking about you. After all, what one cannot have is always the best!”
Yun Shu: “...”
Was this what they called filling in the blanks?
It truly was.
Once you were successful, people would naturally find ways to justify your actions.
“Host, you’re just too amazing!”
The system was still marveling.
Suddenly, it caught a glimpse of the system panel and turned pale with shock. “Oh no! The male lead’s favorability dropped!”
“Damn it! We finally got 20 points, but it just dropped by 40 all at once! It’s at negative 20 now!”
“What’s the panic?” Yun Shu thought for a moment. “The book mentioned that the male lead despises the occult. He probably heard about me manifesting before the people and took me for a fraud.”
The system was jumping in anxiety. “Then what do we do?”
Yun Shu remained composed. “Don't worry. Hearing is deceiving, but seeing is believing. Once he seeks me out and realizes I’m not what he thinks, the favorability will naturally go back up.”
The system was worried. “What if the male lead doesn't come?”
“Have you forgotten? Shen Yu is still in my hands. Do you think Shen Jue would just abandon his own brother?”
“Host, you really are calculating...”
“If you don't know how to use idioms, don't use them.”
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