The abandoned mine was eventually taken over by officials from the Cultivator Alliance. Zhou Jin and Little Eight's gang were arrested, their spiritual energy was sealed, and they were imprisoned.
Although spiritual energy has revived, the laws still exist, so there is no torture or interrogation. However, interrogation is still necessary.
After all, it's necessary to get rid of some parasites that disturb public morale and social order in order to stabilize and maintain a stable society. However, these things are no longer Shang Shujue's concern. He has done what he needed to do, and the rest can be left to others.
He'll get tired if he has to do everything by himself. Besides, there are many talented people in his country who need opportunities, and he doesn't want to be someone who lives in isolation.
Shang Shujue wouldn't pay attention to these things for the time being. He was sitting under the camellia tree in the courtyard, looking up at the lush green camellia tree. The moonlight shone down, casting dappled shadows on the ground, and the surroundings were desolate.
Tangyuan and Xingyun, the two little ones, had gone off to cultivate somewhere, hand in hand. Only Shang Shujue sat alone, holding a cup of tea, gazing at the crescent moon in the sky, his deep eyes lost in thought.
The moonlight shone on him, adding a touch of vivid, cool elegance to his already unparalleled handsome face. Just one glance was enough to make one want to get closer to him.
"Squeak..."
A black and white fancy mouse carrying a corn cob suddenly appeared at Shang Shujue's feet. It wasn't afraid of people at all. The corn cob it was carrying only had a few kernels of corn on it, and they had all sprouted tender shoots and true leaves.
I don't know if it was reluctant to eat them, or if it had almost eaten them all, and the remaining ones sprouted only by chance when they came into contact with water. But even the sprouted corn leaves were so tender that it should have been edible, but it didn't eat them.
"Squeak..."
The fancy mouse put the corn cob in its mouth at its feet, tilted its head back and squeaked twice, then licked its paws and washed its face. Its chubby little appearance was quite cute.
"You little rascal, you're quite clever."
Looking at its adorable appearance, Shang Shujue couldn't help but smile. She bent down slightly, reached out, picked up the corn cob, and carefully examined the new sprouts growing on it.
Discovering they were imbued with spiritual energy, and knowing they would taste delicious if fully grown, he quickly understood the little fellow's meaning. He bent down again, offering his palm, "Come..."
"Squeak~"
The little guy stopped washing his face and climbed onto Shang Shujue's palm. As if sensing the rich aura of immortality, he lazily lay in his palm, his cries becoming much softer.
It was bolder than the other small animals that were secretly observing Shang Shujue, mainly because it had been raised by humans before and knew a little about human nature.
Humans especially love cute and cuddly pets. Although it's black and white, it's still quite adorable, ahem...
If its owner hadn't died, forcing it to escape to survive, it would probably still be a carefree little lazy mouse, enjoying eating and sleeping in its cage.
Earning a living on its own is too difficult. The local wild rats are too strong; it almost lost. Luckily, it's not really useless.
"It seems these sprouted corn seeds are what you wanted to give me. So, let's barter. Here, take this spirit stone. Whether it brings you good fortune is up to you."
Looking at the cow-shaped rat lying so naturally in his palm, Shang Shujue couldn't help but smile. He then placed it on the table and gave it a small spirit stone.
"Go."
"Squeak..."
After squeaking twice, the cow-rat rubbed its lip against Shang Shujue's finger while carrying the spirit stone, then jumped off the table and ran away.
Shang Shujue raised her eyebrows slightly, smiled, and then looked away, holding the corn cob. There were ten sprouted seeds on it. She separated them and planted them in the plot of land in the backyard. It shouldn't be long before she could eat fresh corn.
"Corn seeds imbued with spiritual energy... emmm... when planting them, perhaps bury a spirit stone in the ground; maybe the corn will taste even better..."
Without hesitation, Shang Shujue downed the tea in his cup, grabbed the seeds, and headed to the vegetable garden in the backyard.
Not long after he walked over, Song Yanqing, who had been sleeping soundly in bed, woke up. He opened his eyes and saw a familiar yet unfamiliar environment. It took him a while to realize that he was drunk.
However, he showed no signs of drunkenness whatsoever, and there wasn't even a trace of alcohol on him, clearly indicating that Shang Shujue had cleaned him up.
Although Shang Shujue most likely used the Dust-Cleansing Art, Song Yanqing still blushed. It was too embarrassing to show such a drunken state in front of his beloved.
" A-Jue..."
Song Yanqing sat on the bed feeling ashamed for a while before realizing that Shang Shujue wasn't there. He called out but received no response, so he came out of the room.
He looked up and saw a teapot and untidy cups on the stone table under the camellia tree. He instantly understood what was going on. He closed his eyes and carefully sensed the flow of energy around him. He discovered that Shang Shujue had gone to the vegetable garden in the backyard, so he turned around and followed him.
At that moment, Shang Shujue had just finished planting ten corn kernels and was about to dig a hole to bury the spirit stone when he heard footsteps. He was a little surprised, but when he sensed the familiar aura of the person approaching, he instantly knew who it was and stopped what he was doing.
"You've woken up just in time. Come help me dig the hole, then bury this spirit stone. Once these ten corn seeds grow and bear fruit, I'll treat you to a corn feast."
Song Yanqing was surprised that Shang Shujue would stay up so late at night to come here and plant corn. He looked at the corn in the field, which was faintly glowing.
They were clearly imbued with spiritual energy and were considered spiritual plants. If they were cultivated using spirit stones as waste material, and then consumed after they grew and bore fruit, it would greatly benefit one's cultivation.
"Where did A-Jue get these spiritual plant seeds?"
Song Yanqing walked quickly to Shang Shujue's side, casually breaking off a branch on the way. He squatted down to help dig the hole, his gaze falling on the lush green corn leaves. He couldn't help but ask where they came from.
"Oh~ it was given to me by a little fancy mouse. I thought it was quite intelligent, so I gave it a spirit stone, and it took the spirit stone to the mountains to cultivate."
"..." Song Yanqing seemed surprised that the corn seeds came from such a place. He paused for a moment, then nodded, "Oh."
"Your backyard is quite big. I came over earlier and saw a patch of weeds. I had to clear it by hand for a while to get this small patch. Let's come together tomorrow morning to loosen the soil and fertilize it..."
Shang Shujue is truly getting used to doing things without using spiritual power. To be an ordinary person, one cannot use spiritual energy casually; as the saying goes, when in Rome, do as the Romans do.
"Good."
Song Yanqing listened to Shang Shujue's plans for living here in the future, and discovered his own existence in his plans, he was overjoyed. He couldn't suppress the smile on his face, and after burying the original spirit stone in the ground, he even patted it firmly.
When Xingyun and Tangyuan returned, they found their owners digging in the field. They couldn't help but perch on a tree and watch for a while before they realized what they were doing.
" Tangyuan, why do I feel like the more Brother Jue orders my master around, the happier he is?" Xingyun, puzzled.
"Are you happy when I order you around?" Tangyuan asked, turning her head.
"Great! I understand now, Tangyuan, you're amazing." Xingyun instantly understood its master and clung to Tangyuan, being incredibly affectionate.
"... clingy." Tangyuan snorted, but still didn't push away the clingy person beside him who occasionally annoyed him.