Xi Mufu knew nothing of the events unfolding in the Otherworld, nor did she realize that her note had become the greatest encouragement for the players. She had merely written it on a whim, tucking it into the Incense Paper Money without considering whether Otherworld Guests also celebrated the New Year. She simply wanted to offer her blessings to them in her own way.
Now she was attempting to draw an Evil-Expelling Talisman—and succeeded on her first try!
Shan Qu picked up the Fu Paper to examine it: “The golden light flows seamlessly, more powerful than the Protection Talismans you drew before.” He sighed wistfully, “Your talent is truly terrifying. Good thing I’m past fifty and long past the age of competing fiercely, or my Dao heart would surely be shaken.”
After finishing the talisman, possibly from expending too much Gong De, Xi Mufu felt even drowsier but deliberately smiled back: “I’m just ordinary, really.”
Shan Qu: “…You should go sleep now!”
Xi Mufu laughed heartily.
Ji Jiu, standing nearby, also curved his lips into a smile.
After the laughter subsided, drowsiness overwhelmed her. Xi Mufu could no longer hold on and stumbled sleepily toward her room: “I’ll go rest for a while.”
But halfway there, her body swayed as if she might collapse to the ground at any moment.
Ji Jiu stepped forward to support her, guiding her into her room.
Of course, Shan Qu couldn’t follow inside, but the Special Administration Bureau had assigned a female Cultivator to care for Xi Mufu, who usually stayed in the rear courtyard’s side room. He immediately summoned her to watch over Xi Mufu, ensuring any abnormalities could be reported promptly.
·
Xi Mufu slept for over ten hours straight. When she woke the next day, she was ravenous, nearly fainting from hunger again.
Fortunately, Ji Jiu had already arranged for food to be prepared. Seeing her awake, he immediately had it brought to her.
After finishing two bowls of porridge, Xi Mufu finally felt fully alert.
After freshening up and leaving her room, she discovered that both Elders had returned to the Incense Shop. The professors from the farm were also there, making the courtyard exceptionally lively.
“Xiao Fu, Happy New Year.” The two Elders greeted her cheerfully, presenting pre-prepared red envelopes. “This is a small token of our appreciation—you must accept it.”
With both elders insisting, Xi Mufu couldn’t refuse.
“I just checked—18888. An auspicious number,” Shan Qu said with a grin.
Zhang San Elder remained jovial: “When giving red envelopes, of course we choose lucky numbers. I hear young people nowadays give 520 and 1314 for holidays.”
He wasn’t outdated—having recently binge-watched short videos, he knew plenty about modern youth customs!
Ji Jiu, standing nearby, paused momentarily. His New Year’s gift to Xi Mufu had been a 100g gold bar—he hadn’t considered whether the numbers were auspicious at all.
Unaware of Ji Jiu’s reaction, Xi Mufu asked the Elders curiously: “Why have you returned to Jingning Town so early?”
It was only the fourth day of the new year—she remembered the Elders saying they wouldn’t return until after the Lantern Festival.
“We made a new discovery and came back early,” Longhu Mountain’s Zhang San Elder explained with a smile.
Maoshan Sect’s Fifth Elder Ge Wu nodded: “Jingning Town is still more peaceful anyway.”
Their return to the Sect had been busy—besides discussing matters with their peers, they also had to mentor junior disciples throughout the holiday.
“Seems to me you two just want to slack off like me,” Shan Qu bluntly exposed them.
Zhang San Elder shot him a sidelong glance: “We genuinely have important business.”
Not long ago, he and Elder Ge Wu had volunteered as subjects for the professors, willing to test the effects of the rice grains. Within just two days of returning to the sect, they discovered they had broken through their cultivation bottlenecks.
After comparing notes, they hurried back to report their findings to the professors.
Xi Mufu asked, “Was it a cultivation breakthrough?”
Elder Zhang San couldn’t conceal his joy: “Yes, my cultivation had been stagnant for twenty years, yet this time I actually broke through.”
It was important to understand that in this age of declining spiritual arts, where spiritual energy was thin, achieving a single level of breakthrough was no easy feat. Some people trained arduously for decades, only to remain stuck at the first level.
A cultivation breakthrough meant his lifespan would also increase, so naturally, he was overjoyed.
Elder Ge Wu’s situation was quite similar to his.
The professors were also discussing the matter: “No wonder it enhanced the physique when fed to animals. The effects are likely the same for ordinary people as well.”
Of course, whether for animals or ordinary people, they had processed the rice by turning it into a paste that needed to be diluted with water before consumption. In retrospect, this method was very prudent, as ordinary people couldn’t directly consume food infused with spiritual energy—it would cause their bodies to explode.
Only Xuanmen practitioners like Elder Zhang San and Elder Ge Wu could eat the rice directly.
“Xiao Fu, your Planting Skill is truly remarkable,” Elder Zhang San said with a solemn expression. “I wonder if you’d be willing to sell some to us?”
Everything Xiao Fu grew had significant uses, and the authorities surely valued it highly—they might not permit her to sell it. But if she were willing, he wanted to purchase some on behalf of the sect. Whether it was rice or other crops, they would undoubtedly aid in cultivation. He believed other sects would scramble to acquire them once they learned of this.
Elder Ge Wu immediately expressed his desire to buy as well.
Xi Mufu: “…”
Over the past few days, she had cultivated a batch of lingzhi mushrooms and ginseng, along with a batch of soybeans. The lingzhi and ginseng were intended for the Otherworld Guests, while the soybeans were meant to help the country address import dependency issues. She hadn’t considered selling any of these items at all.
She instinctively glanced toward Ji Jiu.
Ji Jiu said, “We agreed earlier that you have the final say over the produce from your farm. If the authorities wish to purchase any, they will pay for it.”
Of course, there was one condition: items were to be prioritized for sale to the country.
Xi Mufu quickly waved her hands. “I don’t want money.”
The country had already given her so much—she now had gold bars, savings, and she was naturally a person with few material desires. She didn’t need that much money; she wanted to donate these items to the country for free.
Ji Jiu didn’t say anything further, but the appropriate payment would still be made. As for whether to sell to Elder Zhang San and the others, that was entirely her decision.
After thinking for a moment, Xi Mufu said to the two elders, “Could we wait a little while?”
Currently, all the produce was allocated for research, with no surplus available for sale.
Perhaps once her Planting Skill leveled up, she would be able to grow more.
Elder Zhang San replied, “Of course, there’s no rush. We can wait.”
·
While the group was chatting, someone suddenly called from outside: “Xiao Fu, my child seems to be possessed by evil! Please come take a look!”
Recognizing the voice as Sister Sun from the snack shop on the front street, Xi Mufu hurried out.
Sister Sun stood at the door, holding her ten-year-old son’s hand. As soon as she saw Xi Mufu, she anxiously pleaded, “Xiao Fu, please help drive the evil spirits out of my son.”
“Xiao Fu, don’t listen to my mom’s nonsense. I’m not possessed,” her son said clearly, indeed not looking like there was anything wrong.
Xi Mufu showed a skeptical expression.
“There must be something wrong!” Sister Sun said excitedly. “He usually hates doing homework, always leaving his winter vacation assignments until the last day to finish. But these past few days, he’s been waking up at 7 AM, going to bed at 9 PM, and doing homework all day except when eating. After finishing his winter vacation assignments, he even went to the bookstore himself to buy several workbooks… He must be possessed by something unclean! There’s no way he could love studying this much!”
Xi Mufu: ???