Chapter 110: The Rare Purple-Leaf Golden Epiphyllum

Only when Shoucheng walked closer did he hear clearly what this old man and young girl were whispering about.

"Is this thing truly useful?" Lingxiang asked, half-believing and half-doubting.

"Bah! Look at you, when has this old fellow ever swindled you?" Hearing Lingxiang ask this, Zhuzhang Laoren immediately replied to her, "Just you wait. Once the moonlight falls, I fear you won't even be able to bear plucking it."

Shoucheng did not know what the two were talking about, so he gave a light cough, stepped forward, and performed a bow.

"Oh, Shoucheng is here." Lingxiang turned her head to look at him, then turned back again, "You've come at just the right time. Come quickly, this Purple-Leaf Golden Epiphyllum is about to bloom."

Purple-Leaf Golden Epiphyllum? He had never heard of it.

Shoucheng stepped forward in confusion, only then seeing that this old man and young girl were squatting and guarding a potted plant. It was just that the plant had purple stems and leaves, and there were two white buds on it, looking like epiphyllum flowers.

Could it be that Junior Aunt had woken him up in the middle of the night just to watch this fleeting epiphyllum bloom?

No! Epiphyllum are plants of summer and autumn; now that spring is about to arrive, how could it be an epiphyllum?

Just as Shoucheng was full of questions, he saw a beam of clear moonlight fall, landing squarely on the potted plant. The two buds seemed to be constantly absorbing the Spirit Power within the moonlight, and they actually began to show signs of opening.

"Hey, hey! Look, look! I, the old man, didn't lie to you, did I!" Zhuzhang Laoren said, his face full of smugness.

Lingxiang seemed to have no time to pay him any mind, only holding her breath and focusing her gaze on the Purple-Leaf Golden Epiphyllum, as if the flower bud would become shy and refuse to bloom if she were to lose focus for even a moment.

One could see the petals opening layer by layer as they were bathed in the moonlight. The originally white buds slowly turned golden as they bloomed. The petals seemed to be plated with a layer of golden light, and strands of pure Spirit Qi were actually lingering within them.

Shoucheng had never seen such a sight and was stunned for a moment.

Just then, Zhuzhang Laoren suddenly spoke: "Can't take your eyes off it already? This is merely the outer petals opening. Wait until the flower bud fully opens and you see the stamen; that is the truly exquisite part!"

Indeed, what had opened so far were only some of the outer filaments, while the buds inside were still closed, yet it was already remarkably eye-catching.

"If this treasure is to fully bloom, it will take another hour or two!" The smug look on Zhuzhang Laoren's face grew even more pronounced, as if he were showing off.

This...

Isn't this just an epiphyllum?

As Shoucheng thought this to himself, he asked it aloud. Zhuzhang Laoren, upon hearing this, smacked his lips and cast a sidelong glance at him.

"Calling it an epiphyllum is not wrong, but there are a hundred kinds of flowers. This one took thirty years to sprout, thirty years to grow branches, thirty years to form a cage, and after forming the cage, one had to wait another ten years to reach today. I put a great deal of effort into this; how could it be compared to an ordinary epiphyllum?"

"Let's just call it a hundred years then; you insist on saying it like that, as if you're afraid I'll take advantage of you for nothing," Lingxiang said, staring fixedly at the flower cage.

"Aiya, you little girl, you truly... having not lived a hundred years, how would you know the hundred years of enduring humiliation and bearing heavy burdens," Zhuzhang Laoren complained.

Lingxiang laughed upon hearing this: "I truly don't know what humiliation you, old man, have endured, or what heavy burden you have borne."

Zhuzhang Laoren curled his lips and muttered: "Truly ignorant of romance, a wooden-headed person."

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the Spirit Qi of the Purple-Leaf Golden Epiphyllum flower suddenly burst, like sparks flying from a flame on a wax candle. At this very moment, the flower cage opened up, and the filaments and stamens within could be vaguely seen. Because of this, the Spirit Qi around the flower cage became even denser, faintly shimmering with golden light; even the gibbous moon in the sky could not compare to half of this brilliance.

"How about it? My Purple-Leaf Golden Epiphyllum is indeed a treasure, isn't it!" Zhuzhang Laoren laughed and stroked his beard, and even the tips of his beard seemed to become smug.

Another half hour passed, and the closed petals opened even wider. The filaments and stamens within stood upright, constantly emitting Spirit Qi, while its outer petals actually became transparent, thin as cicada wings, with the veins within clearly visible.

"It really is a rare thing. Old man, where did you get it, and why is there only this one plant?" Lingxiang stared fixedly, her eyes full of envy.

"Bah! 'Only this one plant,' you little girl speak so lightly. To cultivate this treasure, I spent a great deal of effort; only one out of ten pots succeeded." Zhuzhang Laoren's beard flew up, and he thought to himself that Lingxiang was truly speaking without feeling the pain.

"Aiya, what a pity, what a pity. Otherwise, I would have begged for one to take to Xianyun Abode; it would be much more convenient for Spirit-Refining and making medicine," Lingxiang said with a look of regret.

Zhuzhang Laoren immediately became alert upon hearing this. This little bandit was capable of outright robbery; many of his good items had been snatched away by her in previous years, and he had nowhere to cry even if he wanted to. His guts were truly green with regret.

Yet he had the nature of wanting to show off whenever he had something good, and he liked Lingxiang dearly, so she had benefited from many of his things.

The Purple-Leaf Golden Epiphyllum finally bloomed fully. The receptacle was blue-purple, the outer petals were translucent, the inner petals were pure white, the stamen was golden-yellow, and the smooth filaments and pistil were all snow-white. The flower, which looked pure white, constantly emitted golden Spirit Qi, making anyone who saw it feel admiration and marvel at its beauty.

Lingxiang was lost in the elegance and purity of the flower, but Zhuzhang Laoren spoke up in a hurry.

"Girl, what are you waiting for! This flower only blooms for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. If you miss it, you'll have to wait another forty years!"

Lingxiang immediately came to her senses upon hearing this. She took a pair of scissors from the side and, with a "swish," cut off one of the flowers, then carefully scraped all the pollen from the stamen into an inkstone she had prepared at some unknown time.

Just as she finished scraping the pollen, the Purple-Leaf Golden Epiphyllum showed signs of wilting. Even the flower still on the stem had its emitted Spirit Qi gradually weaken.

Even so, neither Lingxiang nor Zhuzhang Laoren asked about it; they simply took some water and slowly ground the ink stick.

Just as Shoucheng was wondering what the two were doing, he saw the flower on the stem slowly close its cage. Before long, it became a bud again, and its head drooped down.

Only then did Zhuzhang Laoren pick up the scissors and carefully cut it off, placing it together with the one from which the pollen had been scraped into a handkerchief, wrapping it up gently and handing it to Lingxiang.

"Don't you forget my share."

Lingxiang did not even raise her head, focusing only on grinding the ink, saying "I know, I know" with her mouth.

Only then did Shoucheng see that the ink ground in the inkstone was lingering with golden Spirit Qi, and the black ink seemed to shimmer with golden light.

Just as he was puzzled, he heard Zhuzhang Laoren instruct him to pick up the Purple-Leaf Golden Epiphyllum that no longer had flowers and follow him out.

"This little girl has no time to look after us two right now. You carry my treasure carefully and follow me. This Purple-Leaf Golden Epiphyllum has just used up all its strength and needs to be well-nourished now." After finishing, he actually hummed a little tune, which was quite comical.

Shoucheng had no choice but to obey, carefully picking up the Purple-Leaf Golden Epiphyllum and following Zhuzhang Laoren back to the small courtyard among the bamboos.