A cold wind carrying the fishy smell of water swept in from the reed beds.
The billhook in Lin He's hand stopped dead.
After his second body tempering, his five senses had become terrifyingly sharp.
In that instant just now, he had distinctly heard a rustling deep within the reeds.
It sounded as though something heavy was rolling across the muddy bank.
"What's wrong?" Sitting in the back room, Su Qiuran keenly noticed Lin He's tension.
"Shh." Lin He reversed his grip on the billhook and gestured to her.
The reed beds lay just outside the backyard, beyond a low bamboo fence.
Lin He softened his footsteps and approached the bamboo fence without a sound.
His muscles tensed slightly, the explosive strength lying dormant within his body ready to erupt at any moment.
"Quack?" Not understanding what was happening, Goudan started after him on short little legs to join the fun.
"Get lost." Lin He swore under his breath.
Goudan wagged its tail aggrievedly and plopped down in the mud.
Lin He reached the bamboo fence and peered through the gaps in the dense reeds.
"Rustle... patter..."
The sound drew closer, accompanied by the noise of dried reeds being pushed aside.
Lin He held his breath and tightened his right hand, his billhook poised to strike.
Whatever demon or monster it was, he would give it a "physical deliverance" first.
The reeds ahead suddenly parted, and a large, dark creature poked out its head.
Lin He took a closer look.
Well, damn.
A turtle the size of a washbasin was slowly crawling out of the mud.
Its shell was covered in high, angular ridges, making it look like a little mountain, and there were even barbs beneath its chin.
"A snapping turtle?" The corner of Lin He's mouth twitched, and his taut muscles instantly relaxed.
He climbed over the bamboo fence, stepped into the mud, grabbed the big snapping turtle by its tail, and lifted it straight up, upside down.
The snapping turtle had quite a temper. Its four claws thrashed wildly in midair as it opened its tooth-lined maw, viciously trying to bite him.
"Oh-ho, quite the temper." Lin He chuckled and flicked a finger against its shell.
Clang!
The dull impact left Lin He's finger tingling. That shell was actually as hard as a lump of iron.
"What is it?" Su Qiuran asked, craning her neck from behind him.
"A turtle." Carrying the snapping turtle to the water's edge, Lin He swung his arm and hurled the big creature out like a hammer throw.
Splash!
An enormous spray erupted from the water. The snapping turtle flipped over in the lake, quickly dove to the bottom, and disappeared.
"Just a false alarm." Lin He clapped the mud off his hands and climbed back over the bamboo fence into the yard. "I thought someone had discovered we were growing spirit rice."
"Don't go cawing like a crow." Su Qiuran rolled her eyes at him. Her gaze returned to the lush green spirit rice, and her eyes immediately grew fervent.
"Forget the turtle. Hurry up and harvest! Isn't the quality of these second-generation seeds a little too outrageous?"
Lin He turned to look, his heart filling with delight as well.
The spirit rice growing on those two-tenths of a mu looked nothing like ordinary rice.
The stalks were as thick as little fingers, their heavy ears drooping low. Every grain shone with a lustrous azure glow through its husk, and a refreshing fragrance that soothed the heart and mind filled the air.
"Coming!"
Lin He swung his billhook, raising his hand and bringing the blade down.
With a few swishes, a small patch of spirit rice fell in neat rows.
Goudan ran excitedly back and forth nearby, trampling the straw one moment and digging a hole off to the side the next, happily keeping busy and occasionally letting out ducklike quacks.
In less than half an incense stick's time, all the spirit rice on the two-tenths of a mu had been harvested.
Next came threshing.
Lin He found a large, flat slab of bluestone, grabbed a handful of rice ears, and slammed them against it.
Plump grains pattered down, every one translucent and gleaming.
"Good grief, there must be ten jin here, right?" Looking at the second-generation spirit grain filling nearly half a small vat, Lin He estimated the yield and rubbed his hands excitedly. "If we cooked all this for you to eat, it should last you until the second level of Qi Refinement, right?"
Su Qiuran was not as optimistic as he was.
She wheeled herself over to the rice vat and scooped up a handful of spirit grain. Feeling the rich Spiritual Qi upon it, she frowned slightly.
"What's wrong? Is the quality bad?" Lin He asked in confusion.
"The quality is far too good." Su Qiuran sighed and scattered the spirit grain back into the vat. "But, Lin He, we're facing a very practical problem."
"What problem?"
"We're broke," Su Qiuran stated expressionlessly.
Lin He froze. "What do you mean?"
Su Qiuran held up three fingers. "Count them. How many low-grade spirit stones do you have left in your pocket?"
Lin He instinctively felt inside his robe. "Three. Why?"
"That means we can grow one more crop at most."
The smile froze on Lin He's face.
He had been so busy calculating the yield that he had forgotten about the cost.
"Once those three spirit stones are used up, we'll have no base fertilizer left. Without base fertilizer, even if the Jade Gourd speeds up growth, this land won't produce spirit rice."
"Fuck." Lin He could not help swearing. "This damned cultivation is a beast that devours gold."
He plopped down on the millstone and found a blade of grass to hold between his lips. "In other words, we have to find a way to earn spirit stones again."
"But how? Go back to Green Mountain to catch Fanged Rabbits? That place is full of ruthless cultivators now. Going there would just be serving ourselves up on a platter."
Su Qiuran looked at the vat of superb spirit grain, her eyes narrowing slightly as a sharp glint flashed through her peach-blossom eyes.
"Actually, there's a way to earn spirit stones right in front of us," she said softly.
Lin He followed her gaze to the rice vat and suddenly caught on. "You mean... sell the seeds?"
"Yes." Su Qiuran nodded. "The seeds you renewed with the essence of the moon are far better than the low-grade Azure Jade Spirit Seeds on the market. Especially these second-generation seeds."
"If we took them to Cultivator Street, they would definitely fetch a good price."
"Even that shriveled rubbish you brought back cost two spirit stones per liang. Ours should sell for at least seven or eight spirit stones per liang, shouldn't they?"
Lin He's heart warmed at her words, but he quickly calmed down again.
"No." He shook his head and spat out the grass stem. "It's too risky."
"Afraid we'll be targeted?" Su Qiuran asked.
"No shit." Lin He lowered his voice. "Have you forgotten what we are now? Two mortals kicked out of our lineage!"
"You're disabled, and I'm useless trash without a spirit root."
"If we pull out spirit seeds of such superb quality on Cultivator Street, do you believe we'd barely have left the shop before someone stuffed us into sacks and sank us in Golden Lake?"
In the cultivation world, the strong devoured the weak. Lin He still understood the principle that an innocent man became guilty by possessing a precious jade.
Those rogue cultivators would even rifle through corpses at the Mass Grave. How could they not covet the precious treasure carried by two mortals?
Su Qiuran fell silent.
Of course she knew the risks.
But without spirit stones, her cultivation would stagnate, and they would forever remain mortals in Golden Lake Village, unable even to protect themselves.
"But if we don't sell spirit seeds, we won't have spirit stones. Without spirit stones, this becomes a dead end." Su Qiuran bit her lower lip. "Can we really do nothing but sit here wasting time?"
The yard fell quiet, with only the rustling of wind through the reed beds.
Goudan seemed to sense the heavy atmosphere too and obediently lay at Lin He's feet, not daring to make a sound.
Lin He scratched his head in frustration.
Selling meant courting death. Not selling meant having their path of cultivation blocked off.
He stood and paced back and forth across the yard. Countless webnovel tropes he had read in his previous life flashed through his mind as he tried to find a solution from his transmigrator predecessors.
Suddenly, he stopped and turned to Su Qiuran.
"Wife, tell me..." Lin He narrowed his eyes and rubbed his chin. "Would a disguise work?"