"You have become a physical entity?"
Moonlight spilled down through the sparse tree shadows, landing on the Spirit. Jiang Tang vaguely saw that it was no longer the semi-transparent phantom from before, and the silhouette under its hat brim was clear.
"Mm!" The Spirit puffed out its chest proudly, its voice full of joy. "This is all thanks to Master. When you used the Banknote to exchange for Space functions, I absorbed the Energy within the coins and finally regained a physical form."
It raised its hands and shook them; its little arms and calves all possessed a solid, tangible texture.
"Because I hadn't absorbed Energy for so long, my body had slowly turned into a phantom, and I almost fell into slumber completely." The Spirit's voice lowered, carrying a hint of lingering fear. "I had already fallen into slumber, and it was that drop of your blood that woke me up. When I first saw you, I didn't actually hold much hope."
It paused, then lifted its little face again: "But I still wanted to take a gamble, so I used my last bit of strength to secretly open up that small Space for you, allowing you to take a look at the modern times. I didn't expect you to be so capable, Master; it hasn't been long and you've already earned the money for an expansion."
Jiang Tang frowned. She hadn't expected things to be like this, and she cleared up the cause and effect: "So you were urging me to spend money all along just to absorb the power of the coins?"
"That's right!" The Spirit nodded, not hiding anything. "When coins circulate, they become tainted with people's thoughts. Whether they are earned or spent, they carry a certain force. Once I absorb it, I can recover my strength."
"Then the money spent before..." Jiang Tang remembered the ten thousand taels in Banknotes and asked casually.
The Spirit spread its little hands, smiling somewhat slyly: "It's gone. After the Energy was absorbed by me, it turned into waste paper."
Jiang Tang wasn't surprised; anyway, that money had been exchanged for the Space and the Preservation Function, which was already well worth it.
"I must hurry back; Lianxue is still waiting." Jiang Tang was thinking about Su Lianxue being alone at the seaside and feared she might be scared, so she lifted her feet and walked quickly toward the beach.
"Wait, Master!" The Spirit suddenly floated in front of her to block her path, its little eyes shining like two stars. "You can exchange five thousand taels for a pond of living water. Once you put the Seafood you picked up inside, I guarantee they will stay fresh and lively, and you will never have to worry about having nowhere to put them again. Now that I have a physical form, I can open up a larger one for you!"
Jiang Tang's steps paused, thinking that this indeed made sense. Before, the Space had been piled up in a mess, with shrimp and crabs squeezed together, which looked stifling. She nodded readily: "Alright, then open a pond."
As soon as she finished speaking, a slight vibration came from the Space.
Jiang Tang probed inside with her thoughts and was instantly stunned; the pond was actually ten to twenty square meters large.
The clear pool water shimmered with ripples, and a few tender green lotus leaves floated on the surface. A pink and white lotus flower was quietly blooming, looking elegant and fresh and lively.
"Is Master satisfied with this pond?" The Spirit's voice carried a hint of pride as if asking for credit.
"Satisfied, very satisfied." Jiang Tang praised it sincerely, then asked with doubt, "But how can this pond be so big for five thousand taels this time? Before, ten thousand taels only exchanged for twelve square meters of Space."
"That's because I didn't have a physical form before, and my strength hadn't recovered yet." The Spirit shook its body and explained, "Now that I have a physical form, I can help Master open up the Space with all my might. However, I just consumed quite a bit of energy, so I need to go back and absorb Banknotes to replenish it."
"Then go ahead." Jiang Tang watched as the Spirit's figure began to take on a faint transparency again, thinking it must have exhausted all its energy.
Just as she was about to walk away, she suddenly remembered something and asked with her thoughts: "By the way, the pool water is very deep. How am I supposed to catch the Seafood inside? I can't just jump in to scoop them up, right?"
"Just use your thoughts to control it. Think about which one you want, and it will float up by itself." After the Spirit finished speaking, it went silent, presumably having closed its eyes to absorb Energy.
Jiang Tang felt a surge of joy and quickly used her thoughts to dump all the Seafood piled up in the Space into the new pond.
The shrimp and crabs seemed to have found a new home, swimming happily in the water, arching their shrimp bodies to jump, and occasionally touching their companions with their antennae.
The swimming crab held up its two large pincers, moving sideways through the pebbles at the bottom of the pond as if patrolling.
Even the two King crabs that were "dating" yesterday plunged into the water with their pincers held together. Their huge crab claws cut through the water, splashing up fine water droplets, looking as if they were playing.
The most eye-catching one was the Large Grouper, wearing its brown-patterned outer clothing, currently wagging its fan-like tail and swimming back and forth in the center of the pond.
Jiang Tang withdrew her consciousness from the Space, picked up an empty Wooden bucket, and headed toward Su Lianxue, leaving the other one in the Space to use for loading goods later.
From afar, she could see Su Lianxue bending over, focused on digging for razor clams in the Fine sand.
On the beach behind her, the Bamboo basket was already full to the brim, and a bulging Hessian sack was being dragged beside it, presumably because she had picked too much and the basket couldn't hold it anymore.
Jiang Tang took out three apples she had picked in the modern times yesterday from the Space.
Yesterday, she had left some with the vegetables in the Kitchen and washed a few to put into the Space, keeping them to eat when she was hungry.
She really felt hungry now, so it was the perfect time to take them out and share them with everyone.
"Lianxue, I'm back." She walked quickly to the edge of the Tidal Flats and called out loudly.
Su Lianxue was burying her head in digging for razor clams; she only straightened her back when she heard the sound. The loose hair on her forehead was blown into a mess by the sea breeze, and her cheeks were stained with Fine sand. Seeing it was Jiang Tang, a smile immediately rippled in her eyes.
"Are you afraid being here all by yourself? If you are, go to the Reef and stay with Jiuxi and the others; it's livelier with more people."
Su Lianxue shook her head: "I'm not afraid. It's very quiet here, and there are many razor clams. I'll have a full basket in a while."
She pointed to the Bamboo basket behind her: "What about you? You went back quite quickly."
She didn't want to go to the Reef; Jiang Yi and Song Jiuxi were arguing so loudly that her ears were buzzing and her head ached. It was better to stay on this beach and quietly dig for razor clams; she could save up more for grain and enjoy the freedom.
"I got these fruits from the Foreigners. They look ugly but are very sweet."
Jiang Tang handed two to Su Lianxue and ate one herself.
Su Lianxue stopped her work and took the apple.
Looking at the red, rough, cracked skin, it was indeed not very good-looking.
She tentatively took a bite, and the sweet juice instantly flowed along her teeth to the tip of her tongue. The crisp fruit flesh carried a refreshing fragrance, much better than the bitter wild fruits in the mountains.
Her eyes brightened. She finished one in a few bites and carefully tucked the other into her Lapel; her Younger brother loved sweets the most, so she would save one for him.
Jiang Tang saw this and understood in her heart.
Su Lianxue's Younger brother was two years younger than Jiang Yi, with a weak constitution; he couldn't stand the wind and had been bedridden for years.
She smiled without pointing it out, then changed the subject: "Lianxue, I'll take these Seafood to sell later. I'll come back and distribute the Silver Coins to you all. Does that sound okay?"
Jiang Tang felt it was necessary to ask; after all, Su Lianxue was different from Jiang Yi. Jiang Yi was her Younger brother, and no matter what, Jiang Yi wouldn't mind.
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