Chapter Twenty-Two: A Lesson for Wen Yue

The winged horse lived up to its reputation; it brought Wen straight to a house and signaled for her to wait, letting out a sharp "neigh." Before Wen could understand what was happening, a middle-aged man emerged from the house. "Stop calling! I'm out, aren't I? Go on back; I’ve got it."

The winged horse neighed twice more before flapping its wings and flying away.

"You're the one assigned to the planting duty?" the man asked.

"Yes. May I ask where my field is?" Wen replied.

The man let out a hearty laugh. "I oversee thousands of acres of spirit fields here. I decide which plot goes to whom. So, which one do you want?"

It was a blatant demand for a bribe. He likely knew new disciples were given a stash of spirit stones, and he probably assumed things wouldn't go smoothly if she didn't pay up. Besides, Wen didn't want to establish herself as a troublemaker. She took out her small storage pouch and poured out all the spirit stones inside. That should be sincere enough, right?

The man looked at the ten measly stones on the table with disdain. "Why are there so few?"

"The sect gave me one hundred. I bought some rice, flour, utensils, and a manual on planting techniques. This is all that's left," Wen explained, feeling confused.

"Hmph! Old Tu is getting greedier by the day. He’s already got one foot in the grave; why does he need so many stones?" the man grumbled, sounding annoyed. Wen remained silent and stood there obediently.

After grumbling a bit more, he turned to her. "Come here. Do you want a plot in the center or on the edge? The edge plots are larger, but the soil is a bit worse. The center plots have better soil, but they aren't as big."

It was amazing how much more straightforward he became once money changed hands.

"Steward, I'll take one on the edge. I’m small, so I don't want to waste a good spot," Wen said.

"My surname is Feng," the man noted.

"Steward Feng, is that alright? My assignment is for six acres," Wen asked cautiously.

Wen chose the edge for two reasons: it likely bordered fewer neighbors, meaning less social friction, and the edges were more likely to have trees—and any spirit tree would be perfect for Little Gold Thread to wrap itself around.

Steward Feng looked at her with a hint of appreciation. He hadn't expected her to be so sensible. The central fields were better, but they were also hotbeds of conflict. What could a tiny thing like her hope to contest there?

"Steward Feng, are there houses by the fields? Can I live on the land?" Wen truly didn't know.

"Don't worry about that. Both houses and protective arrays are provided. They were only added after the current Sect Master took office. They say there were no arrays before, and people would often sabotage the crops. We’re lucky this time; as long as you're within your field, you're safe under the protection of the array."

"Then I’ll trouble you, Steward Feng. Please just find me a spot with a large tree or a bamboo grove," Wen said, hoping to make things comfortable for Little Gold Thread.

"Follow me." Steward Feng led her to an increasingly remote area, which suited Wen just fine. Finally, he stopped beside a massive tree. "How about this?"

Wen was instantly taken with it. It was a colossal tree, so wide that it would take over a dozen people to encircle it. Its leaves showed no signs of age; instead, they were lush and gleaming with vitality.

"This is the one. Thank you, Steward Feng." The spirit stones were well spent.

Steward Feng gave her the incantation to operate the array and left without even stepping inside the perimeter. As he walked away, he called out, "Regardless of the state of the field, don't forget your six-acre quota!"

"I understand, Steward Feng," Wen replied.

As soon as he was gone, Little Gold Thread poked its head out of her sleeve. "Wow! Such a big tree! I’m so happy!" it chirped, circling her arm.

"I suspect there's something wrong with this land," Wen analyzed. "Steward Feng left in such a hurry without even checking the array—he was probably afraid I’d change my mind—and he specifically emphasized the quota."

"What should we do? Should we ask to switch?" Little Gold Thread asked, worried.

"No need. It might be a bit of a hassle, but let's take a look first." She used the incantation to open the array.

"Is this a spirit field? I've never seen one, but it definitely shouldn't look like this," Little Gold Thread fretted.

"Don't panic. Let's look closer. It’s just been abandoned for a long time and needs some serious weeding. The soil itself is fine." Wen wasn't disappointed; it would just take some effort. Plus, there were a few spirit herbs hidden among the weeds.

Fortunately, the Sky Demon Sect wasn't entirely stingy; they had provided a spirit hoe and a sickle, which would come in handy now.

"Master, what are you doing? Let me help," Little Gold Thread offered.

"We're going treasure hunting first," Wen said with a mysterious smile.

"Where is the treasure?" Little Gold Thread asked, looking at nothing but weeds.

In truth, it wasn't anything incredibly valuable, but following the principle of not wasting anything, she wanted to salvage what she could—mostly seedlings of spirit herbs or other useful plants.

"Hunting" didn't mean digging through everything; she channeled the *Myriad Things Technique*, using pure wood-attribute spirit energy to sense which plants were absorbing more, indicating higher potential. It was an accurate way to find valuable sprouts.

Six acres was quite a lot—roughly half the size of a soccer field—so it was a major project.

Little Gold Thread looked at the basket of mismatched seedlings. "Are these worth anything? They're all different."

"They aren't worth much, especially as seedlings, but getting them for free is great. If we had to buy these, it would cost over a dozen spirit stones!" Wen said.

"Speaking of which, Master, why did you give those spirit stones to that annoying man? And you offered them voluntarily!" Little Gold Thread had learned the value of spirit stones and felt a pang of regret.

"They were worth it. If not for him, where would we find such a large spirit tree for you?"

"But the field is in such bad shape!"

"It’s fine. We'll have it cleared in two days, and we'll even make a little profit."

"With the stuff in that basket?"

"And these weeds, too."

"These can be sold?" Little Gold Thread didn't understand what value weeds could possibly have.

"You'll see. Come on, let's work hard and get all the seedlings out before dark."

"Master, I'll help!" Little Gold Thread had already learned to recognize a few spirit plants from what Wen had taught it. Before Wen could even reach a spot, it was already waving its vines to pull up seedlings.

It pulled a bit too hard, and a purple-leafed herb snapped in half. "Ah! Master, this purple-leaf is too weak! It broke as soon as I touched it."

"Oh dear, you're right! It's all its fault for not growing sturdier. It’s all the plant's fault for breaking when our Little Gold Thread touched it," Wen scolded the plant with a serious face.