Little Money-grubber

Little Money-grubber

A quarter of an hour later, the yellow glow around Shi Yue's hands faded, and he pulled them back.

Without even wiping the sweat from his face, he reached into his Storage Bag with one hand. Two emerald-green beads, each about the size of a fist, appeared in his palm.

Shi Yue tossed the two emerald-green beads into the air above the Spirit Field, where they hovered.

He formed a Hand Seal with both hands, sending a spell toward each bead.

A flash of green light, and a huge surge of pure plant essence swept out, rushing down toward the Spirit Field below.

The seedlings that absorbed the plant essence grew several inches taller, their colors growing more vivid. Some withered, yellowing seedlings absorbed the essence and regained their healthy green hue, brimming with vitality.

Shi Yue murmured an incantation, and before long, a white cloud, more than a dozen zhang across, suddenly appeared above the Spirit Field.

"Fall." Shi Yue gave a low shout and sent a spell into the white cloud.

The cloud churned and rolled, then raindrops as large as beans began falling from it, pelting the Spirit Field.

An astonishing sight unfolded: one seedling after another broke through the soil, rising up across the Spirit Field. The plot, once bare and empty, suddenly grew crowded.

Seeing seedlings emerge from the ground one after another, the Blue-skirted Woman's face lit up with delight.

"Impossible. This..." The middle-aged man stared at the sight, disbelief written all over his face.

Chen Xing'er was equally shocked. To be honest, what she was seeing was beyond anything she'd expected. She had thought Shi Yue might save a few dozen Spirit Herbs at most. She hadn't expected him to revive an entire acre of Spirit Field.

"Junior Brother Shi, how did you do that?" The dark, thin young man asked in disbelief, looking at the lush, verdant Spirit Field. His attitude toward Shi Yue had improved considerably; capable people earned respect wherever they went.

"I told you, Senior Sister Zhou planted old seeds, and they weren't vigorous enough. They only needed to absorb some plant essence. Actually, if the seeds had been treated with the Blaze Art before planting, their vitality would have improved, and things would have gone much better." Shi Yue hesitated briefly before explaining.

"I've learned something today." The dark, thin young man cupped his fist, his expression solemn.

"Hmph. We're not as skilled, so there's nothing to say. Junior Brother Li, let's go!" The middle-aged man left those words behind and walked away with the dark, thin young man, his face full of reluctance.

"Junior Brother Shi, thank you for helping me. If I'd sown the seeds again, I'm afraid the result would have been the same. By the way, here are twelve Spirit Stones. You can keep the extra two as a reward." The Blue-skirted Woman spoke gratefully, then took out twelve Spirit Stones and handed them to Shi Yue.

"Senior Sister Zhou, there's no need to thank me. We're fellow disciples, so helping each other is only right." Shi Yue spoke with a straight face, but swiftly accepted the twelve Spirit Stones, delight shining in his eyes.

Seeing this, Chen Xing'er couldn't help rolling her eyes. Money-grubber.

Still, she knew that although Shi Yue was greedy, he took his work seriously.

"By the way, I have something to do. If you two Senior Sisters don't need anything else, I'll take my leave. Come find me at Green Cloud Peak if you need me." Shi Yue suddenly remembered something and hurried off after leaving those words behind.

"Junior Sister Chen, do you know why Junior Brother Shi left in such a hurry?" The Blue-skirted Woman gazed after Shi Yue and asked casually.

"How would I know? It's not like I'm anything to him." Chen Xing'er pursed her lips, unconcerned.

"Is that so? I think you and Junior Brother Shi have a rather unusual relationship. Otherwise, why would he come here with you? With your looks, Junior Sister Chen, all you'd have to do is crook a finger, and Junior Brother Shi would come running." The Blue-skirted Woman chuckled and teased her.

"Him? He's just a little money-grubber, with nothing but Spirit Stones in his eyes. If I hadn't promised him ten Spirit Stones as payment, he wouldn't have come." Chen Xing'er pouted, sounding displeased.

The Blue-skirted Woman chuckled at that and said no more.

"Steward Wang, is there any planting work today?" Shi Yue asked Steward Wang with a smile.

"No. Come back tomorrow. There might be some then," Steward Wang said flatly.

At that, Shi Yue's expression fell.

Unable to find work, he returned to Uncle-Master Zhou's residence at Green Cloud Peak.

Shi Yue sat cross-legged on his cushion, intending to cultivate. Just then, a familiar yet terrifying voice rang out. "Brat, you've had all these days to think it over. Have you made up your mind?"

Shi Yue's heart lurched at the words, and his face changed dramatically. He hurriedly took out the Pale Green Bead the Mysterious Soul had called the Heaven Controlling Bead.

Shi Yue stared at the bead in his hand, his brows tightly furrowed.

"Brat, you didn't think you could avoid hearing me just by staying out of here, did you?" The same voice rang out again, full of mockery.

"What exactly do you want?" Shi Yue raised an eyebrow and asked in a low voice.

"What do I want? Nothing. I just want to help you cultivate. If I'd known you were such a coward, I wouldn't have shown myself." The man's voice was full of disdain.

"Hmph. Do you take me for a three-year-old? You think I'll believe a pie fell from the sky?" Shi Yue snorted, his expression scornful.

"Believe me or don't, I'm right here beside you. Unless you bury the bead deep underground—but would you really be willing to?"

Shi Yue fell silent. Of course he wasn't willing to bury the bead. It was a hen that laid golden eggs; he'd never do something like that!

"I told you before: if I wanted to harm you, I would've done it already. Besides, if I wanted to hurt you, there'd be no need to show myself and put you on your guard. And the terms I offered aren't harsh, are they? I help you improve your cultivation, and you give me Spirit Stones." The man's voice rang out again.

Shi Yue looked somewhat moved. He thought it over carefully and realized the other party did have a point. If the other party wanted to harm him, there'd be no need to show himself. He could simply wait until Shi Yue went into the stone chamber to rest before making a move.

Of course, Shi Yue wouldn't believe everything the other party said. But after thinking it over, he guessed that the other party needed a great deal of spiritual energy to break the seal, and could only absorb it from Spirit Stones. He couldn't absorb the spiritual energy in the Mysterious Space. Otherwise, he wouldn't have insisted on working with Shi Yue.

"Even if you won't harm me, how do I know you can really help me improve my cultivation?" Shi Yue was silent for a long while before asking.

"Heh heh. Do you want to become an alchemist? With my help, you'll avoid plenty of wrong turns. Once you become an alchemist, you can grow Spirit Herbs inside the Heaven Controlling Bead, refine them into pills, and take them. With the power of those pills, even if your aptitude is terrible, reaching the Nascent Soul stage within a hundred years won't be difficult." The man's voice brimmed with confidence.