Walking over to the edge of the medicinal field, Gu Yanqing saw the Scarlet Leaf Grass standing upright once more, then shifted his gaze to Lin Zhixue, who was still squatting on the ground and hadn't yet stood up.
He didn't even have the heart to mock how quickly that artifact spirit changed its tune.
Just moments ago, it had been making faces and calling him an idiot right in front of him; in the blink of an eye, it was circling its master and showering her with praise—a seamless transition pulled off without a shred of shame.
Fortunately, he didn't have to endure it any longer; he had come to speak with Lin Zhixue anyway.
Taking a coin pouch from his waist that was slightly larger than usual, he held it out to her.
“An extra reward for helping out this time.”
Lin Zhixue stood up, but made no move to take it.
Her gaze swept over the pouch, and she shook her head slightly, looking up into his eyes.
“I only did what I was supposed to do.”
Gu Yanqing's hand remained extended before her, not pulling back. He watched her quietly for a long moment before speaking.
“You think you were just doing chores?”
He paused.
A breeze blew from across the medicinal field, rustling the leaves of the Scarlet Leaf Grass.
The spirit herb, newly pulled back from the brink of death, stood tall and straight against the wind.
“I don't think so.”
Lin Zhixue froze slightly and instinctively pressed her lips together, her throat tightening as if something were lodged in it, unable to utter a single word.
“This Scarlet Leaf Grass isn't anything rare, but it's not something just anyone could save, either.”
Gu Yanqing looked away from her face, shifting his gaze toward the spirit herb.
“You're more capable than you give yourself credit for.”
“How would you feel about taking care of this entire medicinal field from now on?”
Lin Zhixue stood quietly for a long while, her eyes drifting over the entire medicinal field.
She had loosened the soil around every row of spirit herbs with her own hands, plucked the withered leaves from each plant one by one, and before her now stood the Scarlet Leaf Grass she had just brought back to life.
All these days, she had spent her time here, squatting in the dirt to weed, turn the soil, and water the plants.
She had always thought of it as merely part of her job, no different from any other chore he assigned.
Yet there was a difference.
The difference was that every time she saw a spirit herb sprout a new leaf or grow a little more vibrant than the day before, a quiet thread of joy would well up in her heart—a delicate feeling she had never mentioned to anyone.
“I...”
She spoke, her voice hesitant at first, before gradually turning firm.
“I can try.”
Gu Yanqing nodded. Setting the extra coin pouch onto the ridge of the field, he said nothing more, turned, and walked away.
Floating beside her shoulder, Xiaoyu watched Gu Yanqing's receding back, surprisingly without pulling a face.
It drifted around in front of Lin Zhixue, its tone turning slightly more earnest.
“Zhixue, you'll definitely take great care of this field! They're just spirit herbs—with me watching over them with you, I can see clearly which ones need water and which ones lack spiritual energy! I guarantee they'll grow even better than before!”
Lin Zhixue pressed her lips together and said nothing.
Tucking the pouch safely away, she squatted down again to check the Scarlet Leaf Grass's formation. Only after confirming that it was running properly did she dust the dirt from her hands, stand up, and leave.
On the way back, she turned the recent exchange over and over in her mind, his words “I don't think so” echoing repeatedly, unable to fathom why she had agreed so readily.
She didn't know what had compelled her to say yes in that moment, but she hoped she could do a good job.
On the way to the market, Xiaoyu resumed its usual chatterbox mode, buzzing incessantly in her ear.
Passing a pastry stall, it floated over in curiosity, examined the wares for a long while, and came back to ask what they were.
Passing an artifact shop, it asked what that sparkling trinket was.
Lin Zhixue answered in a low voice as she walked, keeping her tone hushed so passersby wouldn't hear her talking to herself.
“This looks so delicious, and that smells so good! Zhixue, why aren't you trying any?”
Xiaoyu floated beside her, gazing longingly at the sugar-roasted spirit chestnuts by the roadside, its golden hair tips swaying gently with the rhythm of its flight.
“I need to save my spirit stones to buy cultivation materials.”
Xiaoyu drifted back in front of her, straightening its expression and adopting the tone of a mature adult.
“Don't worry! With me around, your cultivation speed will definitely leave everyone else in the dust. I have at least that much confidence.”
Lin Zhixue nodded, walked up to a spiritual material shop, and squatted down to pick out materials for her cultivation.
With Xiaoyu's assistance, she could tell which spirit herbs held richer spiritual energy and which batches of Spirit Gathering Powder were of superior quality. In the past, she had to rely on intuition and the shopkeeper's verbal pitch, but now she had an extra set of eyes that could see right through spiritual energy fluctuations.
She carefully inspected each selected material one by one, bargained several rounds with the shopkeeper, and paid with her saved spirit stones.
She had brought more spirit stones today than usual.
Her daily wages, combined with that extra payment just now, were enough to cover several days' worth of cultivation supplies.
Storing the items into her storage bag one by one, she stood up, patted the dust from her hem, and prepared to head home.
Suddenly, her steps faltered.
A gaze seemed glued to her back, as if someone were hiding in the shadows, staring at her.
That stare clung tightly to her, carrying an indescribable sense of scrutiny.
She whirled around, her gaze sweeping rapidly across the crowd and stalls behind her.
An old man selling spirit fruits was busy attending to customers, two cultivators in front of the artifact shop were haggling, and a few passersby sat chatting at the corner tea stall.
Everyone was occupied with their own affairs; not a single person was looking at her.
“Zhixue? What's wrong?” Xiaoyu noticed her reaction and looked behind following her gaze, but found nothing.
“...Nothing.” Lin Zhixue withdrew her gaze and quickened her pace out of the market.
“What's that red fruit called? It smells sweet and sour.”
“Spirit Haw Fruit.”
“And that yellow cake?”
“Millet cake.”
“Is it tasty?”
“It's all right.”
Xiaoyu drifted before her, floating backward to face her. “Zhixue, how do you know everything?”
“When I can eat food in the future, will you buy some for me?”
“Okay.”
Lin Zhixue's reply was simple, yet Xiaoyu was thrilled enough to do a midair somersault, continuing its chatter as it plotted to eat its way through every pastry stall in the city.
The sounds of its babbling blended into the evening breeze, drifting all the way toward the west of the city.
In the clearing of the rear courtyard, after Lin Zhixue departed, Gu Yanqing drew his sword once more.
Today's sword forms were significantly more fluid than in previous days, the blade cutting through the air with clean, crisp slashes rather than the clumsy, muffled sounds from before.
Executing the basic sword forms from start to finish, he only paused twice.
Each transition between forms flowed smoother than the last.
The face reflected in the flat of the blade was beaded with sweat on the brow, yet his gaze had grown noticeably more composed than when he had first transmigrated.
At least now, he looked like a genuine mid Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Yet he knew it was not enough.
Even at mid Foundation Establishment, facing a jade-eyed wolf of the same rank had required an ambush to succeed; in a direct clash, he wouldn't even have a thirty percent chance of victory.
With Xiaoyu helping Lin Zhixue accelerate her cultivation, once her realm started shooting up, being left in the dust wouldn't be a joke.
No matter how high her favorability was, it meant nothing without the strength to back it up.
Sheathing his sword, he brought up the system map and glanced at it.
The red dot was in the direction of the market, moving slowly—likely shopping.
By now, he could guess her daily routine with near certainty:
Leave the Gu manor, turn toward the market, buy cultivation materials, and return to the Lin family in the western district.
Her attitude toward him had indeed been changing over the past few days. From initially keeping her head down and not daring to look at him, to answering normally, to agreeing today to take charge of the medicinal field—at the very least, she no longer treated him as a threat.
It was smooth sailing for now, but who knew what the future held?
Once her cultivation skyrocketed, once the artifact spirit's abilities fully awakened, once she ventured into the wider world...
When that time came, no one could say how she would view him in her heart.
Placing his sword on the stone table, he turned and walked toward the Gu manor's Scripture Pavilion.
He needed to find some cultivation techniques that suited him.
The Gu clan was, after all, one of the premier families in Canglan City; their Scripture Pavilion was bound to hold a few hidden gems.
The original host had been an idle slacker who squandered his family's resources without a second thought. Now that he was in charge, none of these assets could go to waste.
Rate on N.U.
