The Beaver's Magic, Waiting for Grain Rain

Returning with a full haul.

While Su Ya was surrounded by cultivators eager to know when the next pill auction would be held, Li Ye had already slipped two Clear Snow Spirit Pills and 4,200 Spirit Stones into his pocket and blended into the crowd as he left the Four Seasons Sect's shop.

Although Su Ya had said he could introduce him to everyone as well—an outstanding Spirit Herbalist was worthy of respect, too.

At Four Seasons Sect auctions, the names of both the alchemist and the Spirit Herbalist had to be listed.

The quality of spirit plants cultivated by a good Spirit Herbalist was guaranteed, and when they worked together with an alchemist, it was a union of the strong.

But he had refused without the slightest hesitation.

This was not yet the time for him to show off. What he needed was to build up capital for himself.

Such empty fame was useless to him now, and it would only divide his attention. The loss outweighed the gain.

Respect would come eventually—as long as he became strong enough, possessed true power and irreplaceable abilities, he would always be surrounded by a riot of flowers.

So he returned home in a very low-key manner.

At the sight of the familiar surroundings—the quiet little courtyard, though the beavers were still making a ruckus—Li Ye let out a long breath and relaxed completely.

He looked toward the wheat field.

From Jingzhe to Grain Rain was only about a month and a half. This wheat would soon be ready for harvest.

At a glance, it was lush and flourishing, each stalk arranged according to its own requirements.

So although it looked somewhat disorderly, to the wheat itself, it was the most comfortable arrangement.

Every stalk stretched its leaves and branches within the Spiritual Energy, and their joy could be felt clearly.

The Wheat Spirit, Frost Wheat, and Start of Spring Wheat had nearly formed a stable triangle, passing Spiritual Energy between one another and supporting each other.

Seeing this, he suddenly felt that this wheat really was worry-free.

There was no need to worry about pests at all. Whenever Spiritual Energy was needed, the Wheat Spirit distributed it, and every stalk grew strong and healthy.

In truth, they no longer needed much of his attention. As long as he irrigated them with an appropriate amount of Spiritual Energy and spiritual liquid, everything would fall into place naturally.

"Being too worry-free isn't necessarily a good thing."

"I should check on the beavers and Hungry Bone instead."

Li Ye walked over to the beavers' nests, which had now connected into one sprawling cluster.

Since they were all bound to Hungry Bone, naturally none of them disliked or feared the others.

They had built a ring of dams around the eye of the spirit spring, and some low-grade spirit flowers and spirit herbs grew atop them.

Amid the flowers and grass, the beavers often played and tussled atop their nests, and they even sat in meditation to cultivate.

"Chirp chirp!"

The largest beaver spotted Li Ye and crawled out of its nest.

A multicolored radiance that had yet to fully disperse still lingered around its body. A compassionate glow suffused its fur, creating an indescribable feeling.

Li Ye had gradually read the entire Lotus Heart-Saving Sutra aloud to these beavers.

The scriptures that he found somewhat obscure and difficult to understand, however, suited them remarkably well.

The lotus radiance around their bodies was visibly much more solid than it had been on the day the snow first fell.

"You were purifying Hungry Bone just now?" Li Ye held out his hand. The beaver immediately jumped onto his palm, enjoying the caress of his fingers as it chattered away.

Its general meaning was that this batch of five Hungry Bones would soon be fully purified as well.

It sounded a little proud as it chirped, lifting its head so Li Ye could stroke the fur on its neck.

Its tiny eyes narrowed blissfully.

Li Ye was also happy to enjoy the pleasure of petting a beaver. These little fellows were not only adorable, but could also help him with work, and were so worry-free...

They were simply the perfect choice for spirit pets.

"Is that so? Does it make you feel sad?" He looked at the beaver.

"You should be able to sense the Soul Essence inside these Hungry Bones, perhaps even communicate with them. Don't you feel sad when they ascend to heaven and leave?"

The beaver paused, then gave a chirp.

That answer truly caught Li Ye by surprise—it said it was a good thing, so of course it would not be sad. Being trapped inside Hungry Bone was agonizing, agonizing beyond measure, like... this agonizing.

The beaver suddenly hugged one of his fingers.

"Zzt zzt zzt!"

A wisp of black aura suddenly surged from the beaver's sleek, glossy fur and, in an instant, passed into Li Ye's body through their contact.

In that single instant, Li Ye felt an indescribably terrifying sensation—

Hunger!

Endless, boundless hunger.

The horrifying sensation of being unable to eat anything, of only being able to endure hunger's endless torment until one died of starvation—then being trapped inside Hungry Bone, forever continuing to experience the unceasing, unending agony brought by hunger.

The warm sunlight and the vibrant courtyard around him were both steeped in pitch-black darkness. Li Ye's body swayed once before finally returning to normal.

He gasped for breath, his eyes still somewhat dazed.

"Ugh."

"What was that?"

That span of less than a breath had seemed to stretch into eternity. The terrifying hunger took Li Ye a long while to recover from, and his expression was extremely grim. "Was that what the Soul Essence within Hungry Bone felt?"

If that was the case, then he truly understood why even the Four Seasons Sect treated it so seriously.

Before and after transmigrating, he had experienced hardship and helplessness.

But he had never experienced hunger like that before. Only by going through it himself could he understand just how terrifying it was.

The suffering of life could not be erased; after death, that suffering endured alongside one's existence.

"Truly terrifying."

"Chirp chirp." The beaver nodded firmly. It rummaged through its round, fluffy fur, pulled out a flower petal that was pitch-black with faint golden gleams, and handed it to Li Ye.

"There's nothing wrong with this, right?"

That sudden sensation from earlier had truly left Li Ye feeling uncomfortable.

Only after confirming there was nothing wrong with it did he take it with his other hand and hold it before his eyes for a careful inspection.

It looked like a lotus petal. The material was likely Aura of Golden Fortune, and it bore some extremely faint engravings, barely visible even when swept with Divine Sense.

Its function was...

A spell!

A spell that could transfer the pain one suffered onto someone else, just as the beaver had transmitted it to him earlier—and what this piece of black metal contained was the pain left behind by Hungry Bone.

"..."

Just how many surprises are you hiding from me? You can actually produce spells now? Where did a spell like this come from?

He had far too many questions, but the beaver had no way to answer them clearly. It merely held its head high, looking immensely proud.

Left with no choice, Li Ye praised it a few times.

"Not bad."

"You did very well. Keep up the good work."

Yet as he looked at the black lotus petal in his hand, he still felt a vague sense of unease and fear.

If this leaked out by accident, his Dao Heart would probably crack on the spot. This was no joke.

"Thank you very much. You should keep it and play with it." Li Ye stuffed the lotus petal back to the beaver. "I'll ask you for it if I need it."

In his view, this thing would certainly be useful in a battle of spells.

But he stayed at home every day and had no chance to use it at all. It was better off with the beaver.

The latter gave two unconcerned chirps and stuffed the tiny petal back into its fur. Who knew how it managed to hide it away again.

"Now that this batch has been dealt with, I'll keep asking Spirit Vine for more.

"While I'm at it, I was thinking of finding a few more companions for you. What do you think?"

He and Su Ya could now be considered friends. Buying a few more Micro-Stream Beavers through his channels would not be troublesome, and if their numbers increased, he could complete the task more quickly.

But the beaver in his palm immediately shook its little head.

Its fluffy face was full of refusal.

From what it meant, it seemed unwilling to have more companions, and its disdain was unmistakable. It and the other beavers had all eaten Purple Oil Spring Rain and drunk Aura of Golden Fortune.

Their intelligence was astonishing.

It was perfectly normal for them to look down on newly arrived companions.

Since that was the case, Li Ye did not bring it up again.

For the next while, he remained at home refining his Spiritual Energy and reading ancient texts, waiting until Grain Rain arrived.

The day when the wheat ripened.