The Soul of Farming, Golden Apple

Xuan Zi got up awkwardly and swore viciously.

"Smack!!"

"I haven't gone far yet! Such a filthy mouth—then you can forget about keeping those teeth!"

A crisp slap rang out in the alley, and the teeth in Xuan Zi's mouth fell to the ground in a scattered shower.

As decisively as rain leaving the clouds, those teeth ruthlessly abandoned their master, not a single one remaining.

The one who had struck was Di Tian, who had returned after leaving.

"I'll be taking this brat from the Mysterious Underworld Sect. Also, tell Mu En that the name Dragon God is not his to defile. Within three days, I want to hear a public clarification. Otherwise, don't blame me for leading the beast horde to Shrek."

He came and went in a hurry. By the time Xuan Zi recovered from the pain of losing his beloved teeth, Di Tian was nowhere to be seen.

"Yoo! ... Hmph! Jus' you wait!"

He had just wanted to curse, but feared that Di Tian might return again. He picked up the teeth from the ground and slunk away in disgrace.

Before leaving, seemingly to vent his anger, he did not forget to curse Zhang Lexuan and the others, who were lying on the ground like corpses, as useless trash.

He did not care in the slightest whether they would catch a chill sleeping on the ground.

"The hibernation holiday has just ended, and I'm still a little muddled!"

"Birds wake the forest above our heads, and the spring air makes me feel so good!"

"Ba-la ba-ba!"

"The grass smells sweet, the berries are sweet, hmm hmm hmm, hmm hmm, hmm..."

After leaving Heaven Dou City, farmers in the rice fields along the country roads were busy with spring plowing.

It was no different from Fang Le's original world.

The only difference might have been the farm tools the farmers summoned from their hands—the harrows and plows.

Hmm... and those sturdy young men whose martial souls were oxen and horses, pulling plows through the fields?

It should have been much better than ancient times in his original world. At the very least, villages within dozens of miles did not have to crowd together and fight over a single ox.

Animal labor had been greatly liberated.

It also made buying livestock far more convenient. An ox cost one gold and thirteen silver coins; pay the money, and you could lead it away. He just did not know whether that was expensive or cheap.

But the little ones sitting on the ox cart were quite cheerful.

An old ox pulled a widened flatbed cart down the country road. It should have been an ordinary sight, yet the people sitting atop it added a touch of wonder.

Driving the cart was a dignified middle-aged man dressed in luxurious black robes, with a few strands of golden hair at his forehead.

The flatbed behind him was covered in straw, providing negligible cushioning.

A beautiful woman sat upright within it, holding an adorable little girl in her arms. They appeared to be a mother and daughter.

The mother possessed a gentle, refined temperament, but an air of illness lingered around her, making all who saw her feel pity.

Though the daughter had not yet fully grown, she was clearly born with the makings of a beauty and would surely become a stunning woman in the future. Nestled in her mother's arms, she watched Fang Le and the beast across from her teasing each other while looking out at the fields, her face full of smiles.

Ever since her mother had fallen ill, Jiang Nannan had either spent every day rushing about doing odd jobs to support the household—

—or cultivating desperately, hoping that once she became a soul master, she could take her mother to a better clinic for treatment.

She wished she could split each day's twelve double-hours in half. Even at the academy, surrounded by peers her own age, she did not really have any friends.

Yet who would have thought that a single soul hunt would not only bring her a suitable soul ring, but also reveal a way to cure her mother's illness?

Though there had been occasional twists and turns, the childlike nature she had kept suppressed in her heart was finally somewhat set free.

The future would get better. The light of hope shone upon this girl who had taken on the burden of her family at such a young age, like spring sunlight driving away the bitter cold brought by winter.

For some reason, Jiang Nannan had a faint feeling in the depths of her heart that her fate had changed.

Hmm... changed for the better.

"Fang Le, what's wrong with you humans? Even when marking territory, you don't need to smear it everywhere, do you? And you're not even using your own.

"We Soul Beasts don't... uh... I'm not even that... unhygienic!"

Rui'er leaned over the railing, watching a farming family fertilizing the fields in the distance. One paw covered her nose, her whole posture full of disgust.

As she pointed and commented, she did not forget to complain to Fang Le, who was leaning against her.

"That's fertilizing. It's done to make crops grow better and produce bigger harvests, not to mark territory.

"But honestly, this smell really isn't pleasant! Their compost heap is terribly made."

Fang Le wore a nostalgic expression as he explained to Rui'er. Ever since moving to the city at the age of four, he had never truly seen farming again.

But there was one thing he knew: the fertilizer his grandfather had piled up back then had definitely not smelled this strong.

Then again, in this world with soul masters and Soul Beasts, would compost be more nutritious than what they had made in his previous life?

What did a compost pile need again? Hmm... leaves, manure, plant ash? What else had Grandpa put in it?

As Fang Le explained, his thoughts could not help but suddenly wander.

Composting, plowing, raising seedlings, sowing... cutting his fingers on a sickle... the knowledge his grandfather had taught him in the fields resurfaced from the deepest recesses of his mind, scene after scene.

Once he became invincible, he would try planting a couple of acres himself.

The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well should be pretty good for farming, right? The soil there was fertile enough, but could rice grow in soil that fertile? Rice by the spring?

It felt worth trying, Fang Le thought.

All one could say was that the greatness of farmers needed no explanation. Their dedication to farming was rooted in their genes and souls.

"A-Le, A-Le! What are you thinking about again?"

He had become so engrossed in his thoughts that he forgot himself. Only when Rui'er reached out and shook him did Fang Le snap out of his farming fantasies.

"Nothing. I was just thinking about when I should plant a couple of acres myself! Do you think rice would be better, or wheat?"

He could not go three sentences without mentioning farming, leaving Rui'er rather confused.

"What are rice and wheat? And crops? Was what they were doing just now farming crops? Will steamed buns and buns grow here afterward?

"I heard Uncle Di Tian and the others say that your humans' rice, noodles, steamed buns, and stuffed buns are all grown from the soil.

"But I've buried meat in the soil before, and it never grew into new meat. Why is that?"

Like a curious child, Rui'er voiced every question she had.

"Farming is a profound field of knowledge. I can't explain it clearly to you in a short time.

"But there's one thing I can tell you for sure.

"Burying meat in the ground might increase the soil's fertility, but it won't grow new meat.

"Farming refers to planting edible plants. Meat needs to be hunted or raised; that's a completely different system.

"And you can't directly grow rice, noodles, buns, or steamed buns either.

"Those are foods made by processing the grains that have been grown in different ways."

Although Fang Le himself only had a superficial understanding of farming, he still explained it to Rui'er in a serious manner.

"So that's how it is? I was wondering why Uncle Ten Thousand Demon King could grow delicious fruit, while I couldn't grow delicious meat.

"Oh, right, A-Le, I'm really thirsty now. I want another apple! Just one more! Only one!"

"No! How many have you eaten already?! I'm saving the rest to make Golden Apples to treat Aunt Jiang's illness. I can't give you any more!"