Heart-Questioning (Seeking Collection)

"This Heart-Questioning Tea had incredible effects even when brewed and drunk on its own, but it seemed that only when combined with the Sitting-Forgetting Tea Ceremony did it have the miraculous effect of increasing Spirit Yuan!"

Fang Yuan sat upright at the table, gazing at the tea leaves—less than half a jin in all—as he sank into thought.

After harvesting them, he had followed the habits from his dream and experimented with the tea several times.

First, he tried brewing it directly, without the series of exercises from the Sitting-Forgetting Tea Ceremony for purifying his heart, acting with sincerity, and calming his mind. The tea's impact on his taste buds remained, and it still had some effect in cleansing the mind, but its miraculous ability to increase Spirit Yuan had vanished.

This only strengthened his conviction that his master, Heart-Questioning Hermit, had to be an extraordinary man.

The second point, however, was even more disappointing to Fang Yuan.

"This Heart-Questioning Tea works best the first time you drink it. After that, its effects diminish... There must be a limit. Could it be a matter of building up a tolerance?"

Fang Yuan habitually wrote all this down.

Experimenting, standardizing, and quantifying the results to create a basis for future reference—this was a lesson he had learned from another life in a dream.

Though he was only eighteen, in that dream he had seemed to live an entire lifetime.

Unfortunately, the dream had vanished after he came of age.

"To have obtained this Spiritual Object is already more luck than I deserve. What could I possibly be dissatisfied with?"

Fang Yuan consoled himself, then began his daily inspection.

"Hmm, what should I do with that Heart-Questioning Tea Tree? Transplant it?"

As he walked, his brows furrowed slightly.

Though the Plantation behind the Hidden Valley was secluded, it wasn't completely safe. Even though Steward Lin had helped Fang Yuan obtain the land deed for the Hidden Valley and the surrounding ten li, the temptation of a Spiritual Object was simply too great. Fang Yuan didn't want to entrust his safety to someone else's whim.

The Heart-Questioning Tea Tree's mutation was far too conspicuous. If anyone discovered it, they would inevitably covet it, so it had to be moved.

The Crimson Jade Rice Seeds, on the other hand, were the lowest grade of Spiritual Object and had an unremarkable origin, so there was little cause for concern.

"I wonder what Spirit Rice tastes like?"

Fang Yuan rubbed his chin, feeling eager to find out. When he went to look at the Crimson Jade Rice Field, he was instantly delighted and astonished.

Before him, crimson seedlings had broken through the soil one after another, like tiny lotus leaves just peeking above the water, brimming with life.

"They really sprouted?"

Fang Yuan was overjoyed.

After all, from Heart-Questioning Hermit's teachings, he knew that spirit seeds and Immortal Seeds relied heavily on blessed lands.

Elsewhere, only places with exceptionally fertile Earth Qi and outstanding natural splendor offered even a slim chance of growing them, and even then, only the lowest-grade varieties could be cultivated.

No matter how low its grade, Crimson Jade Rice was still a Spiritual Object!

He'd never expected that he could actually grow it himself. If he could spread the crop, wouldn't he be richer than even the Gui Ling Sect?

That Gui Ling Sect thinks it's so impressive, but can they eat Spirit Rice every day? I can!

A smile tugged at Fang Yuan's lips. Then, from the corner of his eye, he noticed something and cried out in dismay before running to the edge of the rice field.

"This..."

He stared at the scene before him, his expression briefly blank.

At the thriving field's edge, a patch of Blue Star Grass had once grown right up against it. Now the edges of its stems and leaves had turned yellow, and some of the leaves were withered, as if their vitality had been snatched away in an instant.

The Yellow Fruit trees, the kudzu vines... Anything growing close to the Crimson Jade Rice Field had suffered the same fate.

"No way... To make room for the spirit seeds, I planted only hardy plants nearby, ones that could also enrich the soil..."

Looking at the scene, Fang Yuan suddenly understood. "These spirit seeds are so domineering that they can even rob other plants of their vital essence... No, it's because this place isn't a blessed land. For them to grow, they have to do this!"

At the thought, Fang Yuan rushed to the tea garden, his heart in his throat, and carefully examined the area around the Heart-Questioning Tea.

Sure enough, though the Spiritual Plant was more vigorous than ever, the tea trees around it had all begun to wilt.

"It seems that from now on, when cultivating spirit seeds, I'll either have to plant them on their own or make sure the Land Strength can keep up. Otherwise, they'll have far too great an impact on their surroundings..."

Fang Yuan bit his lip. "There's a way to deal with the immediate problem. It's simply a lack of Land Strength and nutrients. First, I can apply more fertilizer and use Fire-Returning Liquid three times a day. I should also pile some Fire Fertilizer around them... I'm short on some materials, so I can trade for them with Old Man Tian!"

Old Man Tian worked for the Medicine Hall outside the valley, where he was responsible for buying Medicinal Ingredients. Sometimes, he also went into the mountains himself to gather herbs.

Once, a poisonous snake had bitten him, and Heart-Questioning Hermit had happened to save him. They'd struck up a friendship, and the old man often brought in daily necessities to trade with the master and his disciple for Medicinal Ingredients.

According to Heart-Questioning Hermit, the old man offered fair prices and was a decent fellow, so Fang Yuan had kept up the relationship.

Besides, Fang Yuan knew perfectly well that in their last few trades, he'd given the old man top-quality goods with excellent medicinal effects. The other man must have made a tidy profit.

"Little Layman! Little Layman!"

Just then, Old Man Tian's voice drifted in from outside. "I'm back again!"

"Old Man Tian, do come in!"

Fang Yuan went to the mouth of the valley and smiled as he ushered Old Man Tian into the Spirit Cottage.

Old Man Tian had long arms and legs, a sharp chin, and a monkey-like face. His eyes held the sly glint peculiar to mountain folk. He came in carrying a huge bamboo basket on his back, set it down breathlessly, then rubbed his hands together and smiled obsequiously. "Little Layman, take a look. Everything you asked for last time is in here..."

"Mm, Old Man Tian, you've gone to a lot of trouble!"

The mountain path was long and difficult for ordinary people to climb, let alone while carrying such a heavy load.

"The Yellow Fruit from last time is ripe. Wait a moment while I fetch some!"

Fang Yuan said with a smile.

"Ah..."

Old Man Tian should have been beaming, but instead he looked hesitant. At last, he clenched his teeth. "Well... Little Layman, there's one more thing I have to tell you. This will be our last trade!"

"Oh?"

Fang Yuan raised an eyebrow. "Were you dissatisfied with the Medicinal Ingredients last time, Old Man Tian? Or did you think the price was too high? We can discuss either of those."

"No, no! The Medicinal Ingredients grown by Heart-Questioning Hermit are first-rate, and yours are even better. Even wild herbs from the Deep Mountain Old Forest don't have such potent medicinal properties. It's just..."

Old Man Tian waved both hands frantically. "It can't be helped!"

"Very well!"

Fang Yuan had asked to test the waters, and he already had a rough idea. He smiled again. "Even so, we should at least settle this trade properly, with both the goods and the money exchanged, shouldn't we? Please wait a while, Old Man Tian. It's getting late. Why not stay for a meal and some tea before you leave?"

"A meal?!"

Old Man Tian swallowed. He seemed to recall the delicious Jade Crystal Rice from last time. A flicker of hesitation crossed his face, but in the end, his craving won out. He said, "Little Layman, if you could spare this old man a couple of rice balls, I'd be more than satisfied..."

But his feet had taken root, and he didn't move an inch.

Seeing this, Fang Yuan chuckled to himself.

Even outside the valley, Jade Crystal Rice was a fine grain that only well-off families could afford. The Pearl Jade Crystal Rice he grew was the finest of the finest. He'd served the old man just one meal last time, and it had left him so enthralled that he'd asked Fang Yuan for some seeds. Unfortunately, the result was obvious without even looking.

"Old Man Tian, you're joking. You don't come by often. Would I really be so poor a host?"

Fang Yuan smiled faintly and went into the inner room. Before long, a rich aroma wafted out.

Old Man Tian stretched out his neck and sniffed hard, fidgeting like an impatient monkey. The sight was quite amusing.

"My humble home is rather simple. I hope you'll forgive the poor hospitality!"

Before long, Fang Yuan came out carrying a wooden tray. On it were two bowls of rice and two side dishes.

The vegetables were freshly picked cucumbers, tender and green. He'd simply rinsed them in spring water and sliced them up. Droplets still clung to them, and their vivid, translucent green made them almost too beautiful to eat.

The other dish was a small plate of Pickled Beans, its unusual fragrance so appetizing that one whiff made the stomach rumble.

"Wonderful! Wonderful!"

But the most dazzling sight was the round, pearl-like Jade Crystal Rice in the wooden bowls. Its aroma mingled with that of the beans, and Old Man Tian's eyes went wide.

He didn't bother with formalities. He immediately shoveled rice into his mouth, exclaiming between mouthfuls, "Delicious! Delicious... Mmm..."

He wolfed down three big bowls of rice and finished the side dishes. Only then did Old Man Tian smile sheepishly. "Little Layman, your cooking is nothing short of turning rotten wood into gold. I've eaten banquets at Fugui Tower in the city, but not a single dish there could compare with what you make here!"

"Here, please have some tea!"

Fang Yuan remained calm and brought out a cup of clear tea.

It was Heart-Questioning Tea, but he hadn't used the Sitting-Forgetting Tea Ceremony to prepare it. He'd long intended to test its effects on someone else, and Old Man Tian had delivered himself right to his door today. The timing couldn't have been better.

"What a lovely fragrance!"

Though it hadn't gone through any special preparation, the brewed tea looked like a pool of jade-green water. It gave off a rich aroma and helped with digestion and heat. Old Man Tian's hands trembled as he held the cup.

"This tea is precious. I've never seen its like. Could it be another new variety grown by you, Little Layman?"

He asked, but when he saw Fang Yuan smiling without answering, he felt guilty and didn't dare ask anything further. He simply took a sip.

Rumble!

The tea surged into his mouth like a jade dragon plunging down a waterfall. It washed through his mind, cleansing his heart, then surged upstream toward his brain. Old Man Tian suddenly thought of his entire life: his poor childhood, his struggles as a young man, and how he still scraped by through petty scheming. Sorrow welled up in him, and two streams of tears ran down his face.

Fang Yuan watched as Old Man Tian's expression shifted through all sorts of amusing changes.

"Waaah... Little Layman, I'm ashamed!"

Suddenly, Old Man Tian burst into tears and dropped to his knees. "Heart-Questioning Hermit saved my life, but I was bribed by outsiders to cut off your livelihood. I'm no better than a pig or a dog!!!"

"This..."

Fang Yuan was stunned. He hadn't expected the Heart-Questioning Tea to be so effective.

But after studying Old Man Tian closely, he shook his head. "That's right. Without the Sitting-Forgetting Tea Ceremony, it can't increase Spirit Yuan... Otherwise, he wouldn't be acting like this!"