What Was Going On?

The situation was rather awkward.

In the bedroom, Lin Mo was sticky all over, his skin coated in a layer of sludge-like impurities that gave off a pungent, rank stench.

Even his clothes clearly couldn't contain the spreading odor, which made Lin Xiaohe clamp a hand over her nose.

"S-Senior Brother Lin broke through?!"

Outside the door, Qin Sang Sang froze briefly, then her face lit up with delight. "Congratulations on advancing your cultivation, Senior Brother Lin! You're amazing."

With that, she immediately turned and ran out of the main room. Soon, she brought in a large wooden tub from a side room, then made several more trips to heat enough water to fill it more than halfway.

Lin Xiaohe hadn't understood what was happening at first. Once she figured it out, she wanted to help, but Lin Mo quietly stopped her with a look.

He wasn't deliberately making Qin Sang Sang do all the hard work alone. She was eager for more chores to do; otherwise, she felt uneasy.

When she used to tend Lin Mo's spirit field, her days had been full and satisfying. Now that Lin Mo had gone to the Ghost-Crying Field, she had nothing to do and could only stay home to keep Lin Xiaohe company.

Lin Xiaohe was Lin Mo's own younger sister and had a Clan Kin Token issued by the Sect Affairs Hall, so naturally, no one said anything about her.

But what did she, Qin Sang Sang, amount to?

A mere servant disciple living a life of leisure that even outer sect disciples couldn't enjoy was bound to draw gossip and wagging tongues.

Only by working harder and taking good care of Senior Brother Lin Mo could she shut those people's mouths.

Lin Mo understood these little calculations of hers even better than she did herself, so he was naturally happy to let her have her way.

"Brother, you take your bath. I'm heading out."

Once the tub of warm water was ready, Lin Xiaohe winked at Lin Mo, then turned and walked out.

Who knew what that little girl was thinking? Qin Sang Sang had intended to follow her out, but Lin Xiaohe gave her a gentle push and shut the door with a giggle.

"Ah!"

Qin Sang Sang stumbled and couldn't help crying out. Then she turned to look at the filthy Lin Mo, two rosy clouds rising on her pretty face. "Um, I... I'll help you bathe, Senior Brother Lin."

As she spoke, she carefully approached Lin Mo, preparing to help him remove his filthy clothes. Her outstretched hands trembled slightly despite herself.

Xiao He, you little rascal...

Lin Mo smiled inwardly in resignation and waved a hand. "I can wash myself. Help me change the water in a bit, then wash my clothes. And run an errand for me while you're at it-go collect a new set from Steward Wang."

Qin Sang Sang stopped in her tracks. Relief washed over her, along with an inexplicable twinge of disappointment. She murmured an assent, then turned and walked out.

A little while later.

After Lin Mo finished washing once, Qin Sang Sang came back in with her head lowered. Seeing his bare feet on the floor and his taut, muscular calves, she couldn't keep her heart from pounding.

She didn't dare raise her head, fumbling about as she changed the water in the tub, all flustered hands and awkward movements.

Lin Xiaohe hid outside the door, giggling nonstop. "What are you so shy about? It's just a bare bottom! I've seen it all my life. We even bathed together when we were little!"

"Sang Sang, look up! If you don't look now, you'll miss your chance! Hehe!"

Qin Sang Sang's face turned blood-red. She fled through the door as though running for her life, then huddled by the wall with her hands over her face, not daring to say a word.

Inside the bedroom, Lin Mo had already climbed into the tub. As he recalled Qin Sang Sang's bashful expression, a smile crept onto his face without him realizing it.

News that Lin Mo had reached the late first layer of Qi Refining soon reached Wang Qiuru's ears.

There had been no need to alert Wang Qiuru when Qin Sang Sang went to collect outer sect disciple robes for Lin Mo. But Wang Qiuru had left specific instructions earlier, so the people at the Spirit Plant Courtyard naturally paid special attention to anything concerning him.

Just after breakfast, Wang Qiuru personally brought over a new set of clothes, her face wreathed in smiles. "As expected of someone with a special constitution. Your cultivation is advancing quite quickly."

"Don't worry about the Ghost-Crying Field. Gou Fengying is deliberately making things difficult, but our Spirit Plant Courtyard isn't some toothless pushover. Even if all the spirit wheat withers, he wants to pin it on you."

Lin Mo had been about to bring this up himself. He immediately shook his head. "The sect has placed great hopes in me. Naturally, I can't let it down."

He thanked her for what had happened yesterday, then gave her a rough account of the night's events. Of course, he said nothing at all about irrigating with the Gourd Spirit Spring water or the Venomous Thorn Bee.

Wang Qiuru's face filled with astonishment.

After a long silence, she sighed. "Those strange auras were probably the resentment of that outer sect disciple from a hundred years ago. As long as his resentment lingered, the spirit field remained barren and nothing could be grown there."

"If the resentment suddenly vanished afterward, your special constitution must have taken effect. He didn't dare oppose you and could only give up... Ah, he was a pitiable man, too."

Resentment?

Did the spirit spring water in the Treasure Gourd disperse the resentment, or did the Venomous Thorn Bee eat it?

Lin Mo pondered this silently for a moment, finally concluding that both were possible.

He still remembered how the resentment had noticeably faded after the Venomous Thorn Bee flew a circuit around the Ghost-Crying Field. After he irrigated it with spirit spring water, the resentment had vanished completely.

As for which had played the greater role, that was difficult to judge.

Still, whatever the case, the resentment in the Ghost-Crying Field had been dealt with for good. Once the spirit wheat ripened, Gou Fengying's scheme would be declared a complete failure!

"Keep up the good work."

Wang Qiuru stood up, took a Storage Bag from inside her robes, and tipped out a white jade bottle half a foot tall. Her smile deepened. "You've reached the late first layer of Qi Refining, so you deserve a reward. Take it."

Without waiting for Lin Mo to refuse, she turned and left.

Lin Mo opened his mouth, but seeing that Wang Qiuru was already far away, he shook his head with a rueful smile. Then he picked up the bottle, pulled out the stopper, and peered inside.

So much!

Spiritual light shimmered inside the bottle, and the spirit liquid within was richly concentrated. Merely taking a whiff made the spiritual energy in his body stir faintly.

Lin Mo estimated that such a large bottle held at least five hundred drops of spirit liquid, perhaps even more!

"Someone brings me a pillow just as I'm getting sleepy..."

Without hesitation, he poured all the spirit liquid into the Treasure Gourd, then put both the gourd and the jade bottle into his Storage Bag, his heart brimming with delight.

It was still early, and his visit to the Ghost-Crying Field would be little more than going through the motions. Lin Mo wasn't in a hurry to leave. Instead, while Qin Sang Sang and Lin Xiaohe were airing the bedding in the courtyard, he quietly slipped into the backyard again.

In truth, even if Lin Mo had gone into the backyard right in front of them, they wouldn't have followed.

Without Lin Mo's permission, the backyard was forbidden ground within the residence. Neither girl would ever wander in.

"Th-this... what's going on?"

When he reached the backyard, Lin Mo was stunned by the sight before him.

The hundred spirit wheat seedlings he had planted early that morning had already grown over half a meter tall. Newly sprouted tips of wheat heads hung from their stalks, each about the size of a soybean.

Rapid growth and early ears were both within Lin Mo's expectations.

What shocked him was that these newly sprouted wheat heads actually gave off a faint golden glow. Within that glow appeared a human silhouette, looking like a young man in his twenties!