Chapter 180: The Great Green Worm

Qiao Mai stood up, closed her eyes, and followed the sound to the edge of the vegetable field; when she could truly feel the sound right in front of her, she opened her eyes.

W‑what is this?

My god, a huge green worm? Fat, plump, a green worm that struggles to wriggle even a little?

Oh my gosh, she stared at the green worm; it was eating her cabbage right before her eyes, and seemed quite intoxicated by it.

One cabbage, mangled beyond recognition by its gnawing; raising a green worm isn't a problem, even if it starves to death it still couldn't finish this cabbage.

The problem is, how does this huge green worm have a pair of beady black eyes?

And they're flashing with the kind of intellect only humans have? Huh? Who will explain to her how this thing came to be?

The big green worm seemed to sense being stared at, turned its plump head and locked eyes with Qiao Mai.

It took a while for it to recover, and suddenly its entire cyan body turned a pinkish cyan.

Qiao Mai swallowed, muttering under her breath, "Damn, this thing is really weird, does it even get shy?"

The green worm lifted its massive head, revealing a pair of sharp, cute little teeth.

"Damn you."

"Then just absorb Spiritual Energy, why are you eating my cabbage?"

Prime Minister Wang's household was bleak; he had three legitimate sons and five illegitimate sons, and the most promising legitimate son was unexpectedly carried back home from Mingyou Pavilion.

"Upgrade first; later I'll tell you how to ascend another level."

"Otherwise, you want me to keep a worm that only eats every day and can't do anything for me?"

Qiao Mai's face darkened as she heard the green worm speak again.

"Eat, eat, as you wish, just don't starve it to death."

"Then what's your Initial Form?"

"Master, I can metamorphose; did you forget? What does a green worm become after shedding?"

"Hehe, I'm a little girl; as long as I eat well, the larger I grow, the more beautiful the butterfly I'll become."

"Of course, I'm a Space Spirit; I can't speak, so how can I communicate with my Master?"

So it can only silently endure the bitterness of eating Coptis; consequently, Prime Minister Wang took up his brush and wrote a letter to Wang Meng.

It was the first time Qiao Mai was so helplessly angry; Heaven must have thought her life was too smooth and sent her such a dumb Space Spirit.

It seems the Emperor listened to Qiao Mai; this time he's taken drastic measures. With the treasury so empty and officials so corrupt, if he doesn't cut away the rot, the Ming Dynasty will be doomed.

Just don't know how the summer will turn out; it's truly worrisome.

The green worm shook its head, "I can't do anything; I can only eat every day now."

A muffled thunder rolled across the sky, rain droplets fell; she returned to the corridor, sat cross‑legged, and watched a bolt of lightning flash in the dark.

"I'm shocked, you can actually talk?"

"I'm not your master."

"Then why did I raise this useless thing?"

"Hehe, hehe."

"An egg underground!"

The green worm baby lowered its head to eat, and Qiao Mai opened her mouth and said.

As house after house was confiscated, the Emperor laughed; three families offset one treasury—how absurd is that?

And that's only in Jingcheng; the officials down below reportedly earn a hundred thousand snow‑flake silver a year. If you investigate them one by one, his treasury would surely be overflowing.

"Then quickly upgrade the space; at Level Seven I can become a butterfly, and once I can fly I'll help you farm, so you won't have to toil anymore and can focus on Cultivation."

The green worm baby, heads down in battle, chewed the cabbage nonstop like a silkworm munching mulberry leaves.

Oh my gosh, not angry, not angry, she slipped out of the space in a flash.

Damn, this Space Spirit is pretty fierce.

I originally wanted to vent my anger at Mingyou Tower, but after checking, it turned out to be under this Dizi's name; he's the Master there.

"Nonsense, making excuses for yourself; never mind that, tell me what you can do for me now."

Qiao Mai glared at it, daring to play tricks on the Master; I won't kill you, but I'll make you shed a layer of skin, hmph!

"Master, we have a Blood Contract; you'd better consider the consequences—if I'm harmed, you'll be harmed too."

The Master gets injured on his own turf; who will he hold accountable?

Everyone who knew the internal truth was taken down by Qiao Mai in one swoop, and the Wang Family's wealth was completely lost at that moment.

Anyone found guilty of corruption, bribery, or exploiting the people would be executed on the spot, followed by a house confiscation.

"Can you help me farm?"

Sure enough, the immortal was right—when the treasury is empty, look for corrupt officials; they're your mobile money houses, so just go after them.

Both legs are ruined, and the person's mind has dulled; after waking up they're just dazed.

Months have passed, the weather has stayed calm, yet she never let her guard down.

"So the Master likes beautiful ones, huh?"

"So you must raise me well, treat this baby kindly; otherwise, when you farm later it'll become increasingly tedious, and without me you'll die of exhaustion."

"You're dreaming, you can't sever the bond unless I'm foolish."

He wants to dig a canal, to change the current court's state; this silver only fills the treasury, and far more is needed for the canal.

"I've seen similar novels online; I know about Space Spirits, but you're way too ugly, aren't you?"

"Now it's 116 million mu; once it reaches 150 million mu you'll reach Level Seven, then you go to the sea, collect a hundred mu of seawater, and like creating a pond, you can ascend another level."

"Master, if you stare at me like that, I'll get shy."

The rain this year has been abundant; since early spring there have been several showers, small but frequent.

"By the way, that's my Ultimate Form."

"If you want to throw me away, you must first break the contract with the space; otherwise don't even think about the door."

"Hmph, you can't even throw me away. I'm the spirit here, and I can't die. Master, stop dreaming grand spring‑autumn fantasies."

"And then?"

"Otherwise?"

"Master, you're busy every day, no one pays attention to me; what should I do while I'm idle?"

Qiao Mai glared at it, and it glared back at her; the human and the spirit stared at each other for a long time, and Qiao Mai's eyes grew tired.

In just over a month, the treasury became full, but the Emperor did not stop; privately he kept ordering the Golden Dragon Guard to investigate, from top to bottom, sparing no one, including the women of his harem and the Prince.

They were like headless flies, crashing everywhere; they wanted the Emperor to take charge, yet feared that the Wang Family's secret unsavory schemes would be exposed.

This time only the heads of the offenders were executed, and their families were all exiled to remote places to farm.

Since returning from Jingcheng, she has developed the habit of meditating in the courtyard to return to the space, fearing that assassins might come to the house and harm her family.

She poked its body with her hand and said, "So that's why you took such a body?"

At this time, Jingcheng fell into chaos; the Emperor's illness was cured, which should be a good thing, but the Emperor deployed all the Golden Dragon Guard and began covert investigations of every official.

The corner of Qiao Mai's mouth twitched, "Is I the only spirit in this space?"

Qiao Mai, who had originally intended to throw it out, stopped the action immediately.

Qiao Mai's eyes lit up, "Wow, a Butterfly?"

"What? Master, you actually want to throw away this baby?"

"Yes, yes, just me. I can be called a Butterfly, or I can be called an Exquisite spirit; the Upgrade of the space and the increase of Spiritual Energy have made me begin to metamorphose."

"Isn't it that after you become a Butterfly you will farm the land?"

"Of course. From now on I can not only help you farm, but also create ponds, mountains, seas, and build a true vast world within your space."

"From now on you will be called Xiao Qing; how much land does this space need to farm before it can Upgrade?"

"Um, then I won't throw you away!"

"Hmph, your land eats one and grows one, yet you can't finish it; why be petty?"

See if he can, as a brother, lend him a hand and loan him one hundred thousand taels of silver.

Mr. Wang, after reading the letter, let out a cold snort.

"Stolen? He keeps so many Dark Guards, could they be stolen? Perhaps he did something, offended someone."

So he summoned his two Dark Guards for protection and rushed to Jingcheng to inquire.

(End of chapter)