"Could he... be that Spirit Plant Courtyard disciple who died unjustly over a hundred years ago?"
Lin Mo could hardly be blamed for thinking so.
The Ghost-Crying Field was simply too famous, and the legend of the disciple who had died unjustly had long since taken root in everyone's hearts.
Thus, the moment he saw the young man's phantom, that incredible thought sprang unbidden into Lin Mo's mind.
He stared at the wheat ear for a long while, caught between shock and doubt, before gradually relaxing.
The wheat ear itself was a lovely, lush green, and the golden light it radiated was pure rather than sinister. Although the young man's phantom enveloped within it was somewhat eerie, it looked utterly vacant, as if it possessed no awareness at all.
"Spirit wheat that gives off golden light... I'll call you Golden-Light Wheat from now on."
Having given his spirit wheat a new name, Lin Mo left the backyard and headed to the Ghost-Crying Field again.
It could no longer be called the Ghost-Crying Field now.
After yesterday's watering with diluted spirit spring water, the spirit field had undergone a complete transformation. Row after row of spirit wheat had sprouted tiny, tender green tips again, each hung with crystalline dewdrops that made them look especially rich in spiritual vitality.
Spirit wheat grew quickly to begin with, so sprouts emerging overnight were nothing particularly unusual. Naturally, Lin Mo did not bother pulling them up again. Instead, he sat at the edge of the field to meditate and cultivate his qi.
Before long, a rather familiar figure crept furtively toward him along the distant mountain path.
"Senior Brother Liu?"
At the late first layer of qi refining, his sea of consciousness had yet to develop spiritual sense. By rights, Lin Mo's perception should not have been so keen.
Perhaps it was because he frequently drank spirit spring water, but Lin Mo's physique was more vigorous than that of an ordinary Qi Refining Realm cultivator, and his hearing and eyesight were exceptionally sharp.
As a result, the instant Liu Xianzong entered the Ghost-Crying Field, Lin Mo opened his eyes where he sat cross-legged on the ground.
"H-hello, Junior Brother Lin."
They had not seen each other for some days, and Liu Xianzong was clearly much more reserved than before.
He hurried over to Lin Mo, glanced around the spirit field, and offered a compliment. "Just what I'd expect from Junior Brother Lin. In only a day, you've put the Ghost-Crying Field in perfect order."
"If it were anyone else, I'm afraid..."
Without waiting for him to finish, Lin Mo interrupted with a smile. "We're friends, Senior Brother Liu. Why are you treating me like a stranger? Since when did you learn to butter people up?"
"With you, I'm still the same Little Lin I always was. None of that between us."
Phew!
At Lin Mo's words, Liu Xianzong's expression immediately relaxed, and his smile became much more natural.
He looked around, making sure no outsiders were nearby, before taking a yellow paper talisman from his Storage Bag and carefully handing it to Lin Mo. "There's something deeply sinister about the Ghost-Crying Field. It's fine during the day, but nighttime worries me."
"Keep this with you. If something evil really does turn up, it might come in handy."
This is... a Buddhist Vajra Talisman?!
Looking at the yellow paper talisman in his hand, Lin Mo could not help finding it funny.
Things like this were fakes used by monks in mortal temples to swindle money, specifically to fool dimwits who had fallen on bad luck.
Liu Xianzong was a disciple of an immortal sect, and a Qi Refining Realm cultivator at that. Rather than believing in himself, he believed in Buddhism?
If word got out, people would laugh their teeth out!
"Don't dismiss it!"
Seeing Lin Mo struggle to suppress his amusement, Liu Xianzong immediately grew anxious and hurriedly said, "A fellow disciple happened to be going home to visit his family yesterday. I specifically asked him to bring this back for you."
"This talisman was drawn personally by the abbot of Spirit Spring Temple. It contains Buddhist essence. It's not one of those fraudulent things sold on the market!"
Oh?
Hearing the words "spirit spring," Lin Mo's heart stirred slightly, and he immediately thought of his Treasure Gourd.
Of course, spirit spring water was merely the name he had given the water inside the gourd, and it had no connection to Spirit Spring Temple. Even so, it gave him a slight sense of affinity.
"That was thoughtful of you, Senior Brother Liu."
Lin Mo thanked Liu Xianzong earnestly, then made to put the yellow paper talisman into his Storage Bag.
Just then, he caught sight of the inked scriptural characters on the talisman, whose meaning he did not understand, and his eyes brightened slightly.
Golden light!
A faint layer of golden light shimmered over the scriptures. It looked tranquil and peaceful, exactly like the golden light radiating from the spirit wheat in his backyard.
Only, the spirit wheat's golden light was richer, and contained a young man's phantom.
By comparison, the golden light emanating from the scriptures was much fainter, so faint that it was difficult to notice without looking closely.
Could... Golden-Light Wheat have the same power as the Vajra Talisman to draw good fortune, ward off calamity, and dispel evil?
Lin Mo speculated inwardly, but his expression betrayed nothing as he put the Vajra Talisman into the Storage Bag issued by the Spirit Plant Courtyard.
He now had quite a few Storage Bags.
Aside from this one, the black-robed man surnamed Du had given him one, and later, Steward Wang had included another two when delivering spirit stones, making four in total.
Of these, the Storage Bag given to him by the black-robed Du had the largest interior, about five meters across. Lin Mo did not know what it was worth.
The other three were only a meter across inside and could be bought for a single spirit stone each. They were hardly precious.
"All right, I'll be off."
Liu Xianzong had come solely to give Lin Mo the Vajra Talisman. He still had work to do in his spirit field, so he said goodbye and prepared to leave.
But Lin Mo would not let him go. Catching Liu Xianzong by the arm, he took a small Storage Bag from inside his robe and smiled. "It would be discourteous not to return a kindness. Since you've given me a Vajra Talisman, Senior Brother Liu, I must give you something in return."
"There's a small token of my appreciation in the bag. I didn't refuse your Vajra Talisman, so you can't refuse my gift either. Take it."
Liu Xianzong froze for a moment, then his face filled with emotion.
Lin Mo possessed a special constitution and was now the Spirit Plant Courtyard's rising star. Not only had he been willing to accept his Vajra Talisman, but he was actually giving him a gift in return?
A friendship forged in humble beginnings was the most precious of all. Clearly, Junior Brother Lin had not forgotten his old friend just because his status had changed!
"Since you've put it that way, refusing would only make me seem fussy... Holy shit!"
As he spoke, Liu Xianzong casually opened the Storage Bag. His eyes suddenly lit up, and he blurted out a curse.
So many!
Inside the bag lay a dazzling array of spirit stones in various colors, no fewer than a hundred in total.
In all the years since becoming an outer sect disciple, he had only managed to save thirty-odd spirit stones. Lin Mo's lavish generosity truly gave Liu Xianzong a fright.
"They all came from Steward Wang."
Lin Mo smiled. "You work hard tending spirit plants, Senior Brother Liu, and normally have little time to cultivate. I hope these spirit stones will help you advance your cultivation another step."
"I still have work to do in the Ghost-Crying Field, so I won't see you off. Take care, Senior Brother Liu."
Liu Xianzong's lips moved. The words of refusal were already on the tip of his tongue, but he forcibly swallowed them back down.
After a moment's silence, he stared straight into Lin Mo's eyes and said, word by word, "From this day on, whenever you have any use for me, Junior Brother Lin, you need only say the word."
"I, Liu Xianzong, will climb a mountain of blades or plunge into a cauldron of boiling oil without so much as furrowing my brow!"
That was a weighty vow.
Lin Mo merely smiled without saying anything. After waving goodbye to Liu Xianzong, he took out the Vajra Talisman for another close examination and quietly made up his mind.
Once his Golden-Light Rice ripened, he had to visit the Black Market again.
He would have the black-robed man take a look and find out just what was going on with the golden light radiating from the rice grains and the phantoms within them!
Before you continue