Spatial Harvests

After wandering around the outskirts of Cangyun Mountain for several days, he had seen all kinds of herbs and transplanted one or two into the space. He had also casually moved a raspberry bush into the space—it was his little brother's favorite.

Whenever Wang Hong had time, he would wander around the space, looking at this and touching that. He would measure how much taller they had grown today. Unfortunately, there were no weeds to pull, no soil to loosen, and no watering needed in the space. There was simply no work to do.

Only five days after the wheat and rice had been planted, they were already ripe. The ears of grain hung low, each kernel plump and full.

Harvesting that half-fen plot of land gave Wang Hong quite a headache. He tossed about in the space for a long time before finally finishing the harvest.

What he had in the space was an Astral Body, and every movement was controlled by his thoughts. To pick up an object, he had to focus his thoughts on his hand; otherwise, the object would pass right through his body.

He rarely did much work inside, so he had never noticed. At first, he had found it quite fun, directly controlling the sickle as it danced through the air. But after harvesting barely a dozen plants, he felt mentally drained, as though someone had tortured him for days on end.

He collapsed in the space and slept with his head buried for several hours before recovering. After that, he obediently held the sickle in his hand to harvest. Even then, he had to rest after cutting a little over thirty plants.

Once he had finished harvesting everything, he went back outside and slept again before the exhaustion finally eased.

"Hmm! Why have they grown back again? Does that mean I don't need to sow them anymore?" Wang Hong stared blankly at the sight before him. The wheat and rice he had cut down yesterday had sprouted again from their roots, already growing over five inches tall.

"I was planning to dig them up and plant them again. Looks like there's no need."

In the days that followed, with the pressure gone from his life, he lived rather leisurely.

He harvested rice and wheat every five days. Whenever he had time, he took a stroll up the mountain. The space gained another Purple Ganoderma and several other Medicinal Herbs. Occasionally, he took his little brother along to dig wild vegetables. His little brother finally got to eat chicken legs.

The Qingyun Mountain Range was the third-largest mountain range in the State of Chu. It wound and sprawled for hundreds of miles, with countless savage beasts in its depths. It was even said that Demonic Beasts roamed there, though no one had ever seen one. Or perhaps everyone who had seen one had died. Cangyun Mountain, where Wang Hong lived, was one of its branches. It was shrouded in clouds and mist all year round, hence the name Qingyun Mountain.

The south of a mountain and the north of a river were called yang. Qingyang County lay south of Qingyun Mountain, hence its name.

At this moment, Qingyang City was bustling beyond measure. Wang Hong had arrived in Qingyang City two days earlier. The two brothers were already different from how they had been a few months ago. Their previously skinny bodies had filled out a little, their faces had gained some color, and they had grown noticeably taller.

At the moment, Wang Hong was nervous as a cat on a hot tin roof, his eyes darting everywhere and his gaze evasive, not daring to meet anyone's eyes. He grew tense if someone looked at him twice. Anyone who did not know better would think he had done something shameful, or that he was a thief scouting the area and waiting for a chance to strike.

In truth, Wang Hong simply felt guilty. After all, he was carrying a huge sum of money in his clothes—more than thirty taels of gleaming silver. Wang Hong had never seen such a large fortune in his life.

Earlier, he had taken eight ten-year-old Ginseng roots from the space and sold them separately at eight different medicine shops, earning thirty-two taels of silver. With so many eyes around, he had not dared to put the silver into the space.

The Ginseng planted earliest in the space had already reached ten years of age. The seeds from the unharvested Ginseng had sprouted into many young seedlings. Whenever Wang Hong saw that patch of precious Medicinal Herbs, he became so excited that he rolled through the air and turned somersaults.

Compared to the Ginseng, the rice and wheat from that half-fen plot were worth much less, but Wang Hong was still reluctant to pull them out.

The rice and wheat were undergoing a mutation. Their growing period had lengthened by a day, the plants had grown taller, and their grains were twice the size of ordinary rice and wheat. They also tasted better, and after eating them, one felt as though one had strength that could never run dry. Wang Hong decided to keep them for now and see what happened.

Back at the inn, he shut the doors and windows tight, took the silver from his clothes, and laid it out on the table. His little brother crowded around, green light practically shining from his eyes. He weighed one silver ingot, then bit another with his teeth.

"Brother! Where did we get so much silver? You didn't steal it, did you?"

"Pah! Your brother has always been upright and honest, respectful of the old and caring toward the young. I have never done things like stealing chickens or pilfering dogs." Wang Hong thumped his little chest until it smacked loudly. Then he leaned mysteriously close to his little brother's ear. "Only the two of us know about this. Don't tell anyone. Actually, I found dozens of old mountain Ginseng roots in the mountains last time, and I sold a few of them today."

"Remember, you absolutely must keep it secret!"

His little brother's face turned solemn as he nodded gravely. "Whoever tells anyone is a puppy!"

You already are a puppy, Si Gouzi. Wang Hong thought. Being young really does make people easy to fool.

Qingyang Academy was not inside the city, but in a valley outside it. Mountains surrounded it on three sides, with only one valley entrance for access.

At that moment, the entrance was packed so tightly that not even water could pass through. A black mass of heads filled the area. Wang Hong and his little brother were squeezed into the crowd so completely that they could not even raise their heads. They could only drift with the tide, slowly inching forward with the crowd.

Squeezed among the masses, wave after wave of sweat stink mixed with body odor, foot odor, the smell of chopped scallions, and the scent of roasted meat, all drilling straight into their nostrils.

Even worse was a fellow beside them. His stomach rumbled and gurgled. His right hand clutched his belly tightly, his left hand was balled into a fist, his teeth clenched, and his face had turned the color of purple sauce. From time to time, he exhaled deeply, hoping to relieve the pressure in his stomach. He was about to have diarrhea.

The people nearby were terrified that he might suddenly fail to hold it in, so they desperately squeezed outward. Those around them who did not know what was happening were shoved right next to the diarrhea-stricken fellow.

"Ah! Ah! Ah!"

"Don't step on me!"

"Don't step on me!"

"..."

Suddenly, waves of miserable howls rose from the distance. Unfortunately, in a line of over ten thousand people, how could a few people stop it simply because they wanted to?

"Ahhhhhh!"

The screams gradually grew weaker.

A burst of panic spread through the crowd. If things got out of control and the people trampled one another, the consequences would be too dreadful to contemplate.

"Silence!"

"Silence!"

From the high platform at the valley entrance came a voice like a great bell and a mighty drum. It carried for miles, drowning out every noisy clamor. Everyone was momentarily cowed by the sound.

"Father! Is that martial arts too?" A boy of thirteen or fourteen beside them asked his father.

"Of course it is. That is a Lion's Roar Technique, mainly used in battle formations. It can shake the enemy's courage. Just imagine it—when two armies face each other, dozens or hundreds of men roar at once, and then ten thousand arrows are fired together. Heh heh heh!"

"Of course, even ordinary martial artists who practice the Lion's Roar Technique cannot wield such power. That man is a Xiantian Stage expert. He was once a great general in the army and is now the chief instructor of the Martial Arts Academy."

"Ah? Qingyang County actually has such an extraordinary expert?"

"Sigh! It is only because he was injured. Otherwise, he would never have come to our poor backwater."

Wang Hong finally shuffled with the crowd to the valley entrance. There, he saw a youth in fitted martial clothes waving a small red flag and shouting loudly, "Those entering the Martial Arts Academy, come this way!"

In another direction, a youth dressed like a scholar was also shouting, "Those entering the Civil Arts Academy, come this way!"

Wang Hong followed the stream of people on the left to a huge training ground. A high platform stood in the center, with more than a dozen people seated atop it. Before the platform, more than a dozen tables stood in a row, each with a person seated behind it and a bamboo pole planted beside it. Those who had entered earlier were lining up before the tables, so the two brothers joined the queue as well.

Only when they neared the front did Wang Hong understand. Everyone had to receive a sandbag here, then stand before the bamboo pole to be measured. Those taller than the pole received a fifty-jin sandbag, while those shorter than it received a thirty-jin sandbag. From time to time, people could be heard shouting.

"Stand straight! Your back is bent like a shrimp. Are you disabled? Our Martial Arts Academy does not accept disabled people."

"And you, are your legs bowed? Stand properly."

Wang Hong had rotten luck. He was just a little taller than the bamboo pole, so he received a fifty-jin sandbag. His little brother, meanwhile, received a thirty-jin one.