Chapter 52: Shennong Planting Technique

The lodging conditions at the Medicine Manor were naturally poor, consisting entirely of large communal bunks. Arranging this for the male laborers was easy enough, but when it came to Hua Changxi, Mao Yong found himself in a dilemma.

He had wanted to give Hua Changxi some trouble, but recalling that this girl was someone even the one-armed Guo Yu feared, he dared not act rashly.

Any punishment inflicted on Hua Changxi required a valid reason; otherwise, he would be unable to summon a Grandmaster.

After pondering for a while, Mao Yong finally led Hua Changxi to the livestock yard and, pointing to a thatched hut beside the courtyard gate, said, "You will stay in this room!"

Sancha Medicine Manor managed several thousand mu of medicinal fields along with the connected mountains and the Medicine Valley at their foothills. Since managing so much land by human labor alone was difficult, they raised several dozen oxen and more than ten hunting dogs.

Additionally, as the manor frequently needed to escort medicinal herbs to the Medical Bureau, requiring horses, they also raised several dozen of them.

The livestock yard was filled everywhere with the stench of ox and horse dung, and one had to be careful not to get bitten by the hunting dogs. Assigning Hua Changxi to live here filled Mao Yong with great satisfaction.

Seeing Hua Changxi inspecting the livestock yard without speaking, Mao Yong smiled. "What, you don't want to stay here? If you really refuse, I won't force you; you can go sleep in the communal bunks, that is, if you dare."

Hua Changxi glanced at him. "A private courtyard with its own gate; I am very satisfied. Thank you, Steward Mao."

Upon hearing this, the smile vanished from Mao Yong's face. "As long as you are satisfied," he said, then waved his hand and departed.

The smell in the courtyard was overwhelming; only after Mao Yong left did Hua Changxi raise her hand to cover her nose and step into the thatched hut.

Inside was even worse than outside: filthy and chaotic, with more than half the space occupied by stacked sundries. Only in a corner stood a bed cobbled together from several wooden planks.

The bed was covered with straw, atop which lay a tattered quilt so dirty its original color was indiscernible, riddled with holes.

Looking at the room where there was nowhere to step, Hua Changxi walked out, circled the courtyard once, and seeing no one, closed the courtyard gate.

Returning to the front of the thatched hut, Hua Changxi stood by the window, cast a Disintegration Technique, and instantly reduced the straw and tattered bedding on the wooden bed to dust.

Next, she activated the Pureness Technique; in an instant, a whirlwind swept through the room.

At the doorway, dust billowed up, but soon it was blown far away.

When Hua Changxi stepped into the thatched hut again, although it remained cluttered, it was finally clean and free of odors.

After slightly organizing the sundries to clear some living space, Hua Changxi sat on the wooden bed, took out steamed buns and pickled vegetables from her bundle, and began to eat slowly.

Once finished, she lay prone, closed her eyes, and began circulating the Little Bird Breathing and Absorption Method.

Very soon, Hua Changxi opened her eyes in surprise.

The spiritual energy here at the Medicine Manor was even denser than at the Medical Bureau.

Of course; this was the place where Primordial Spirit Grass grew. Without sufficient spiritual energy, how could Primordial Spirit Grass possibly appear?

She needed to hurry and ascertain the situation here, find the Primordial Spirit Grass as soon as possible, and then refine Primordial Spirit Pills; only thus could she rapidly advance her cultivation realm.

Devoting oneself entirely to cultivation restored physical strength and mental energy faster and better than sleep.

Having traveled for a day and a night, Hua Changxi was not overly tired, but she had indeed consumed considerable stamina; within moments, she sank deep into cultivation.

"Bang, bang, bang~"

"Open the door, open up quickly!"

"Woof, woof, woof~"

Immersed in cultivation, Hua Changxi had no perception of the passage of time; when the knocking woke her and she opened her eyes, she realized the sky had already turned dark.

"Is the person inside dead? Someone, break this door down for me!"

Just as Mao Wei was shouting for his men to ram the door, it creaked open.

Seeing Hua Changxi emerge from within, Mao Wei was dumbfounded; he retreated several steps in fear, pointing at her. "You... how are you in here?"

Hua Changxi glanced at Mao Wei, then looked at the more than ten people behind him.

Each person held a leash attached to a majestic hunting dog.

"I am here to help harvest and plant medicinal herbs."

Female laborers coming to the Medicine Manor were usually being punished; although Mao Wei knew this, he dared not say anything at this moment. There was no help for it; he could not defeat her. He could only signal his subordinates to quickly lead the hunting dogs into the courtyard.

"Woof, woof, woof~"

Seeing the newcomer, the hunting dogs barked incessantly.

Most young women would be frightened by so many hunting dogs. Watching Hua Changxi, whose expression had not changed in the slightest, Mao Wei cursed inwardly that she was no woman.

Noticing his subordinates staring at Hua Changxi with gleaming eyes, he made no move to remind them. After leading the dogs back to the kennel, he hurried away.

The others also rushed off to eat, but not before casting ambiguous glances at Hua Changxi for a moment, then following suit.

Frowning, Hua Changxi closed the courtyard gate, returned to the thatched hut, closed her eyes, and continued cultivating. She had only circulated her spiritual energy a few cycles when the courtyard gate was knocked upon again.

This time, the arrivals were leading oxen; as several dozen oxen were led into the courtyard, the air instantly became suffocating with their odor.

Like those who had brought the hunting dogs, these people also regarded Hua Changxi with strange looks for a while.

With a gloomy face, Hua Changxi patiently waited for them to leave. Just as the last person departed and she was about to close the courtyard gate, a youth thin as a matchstick emerged from the gateway.

"You... is there something you need?"

The youth pointed to the thatched hut. "I want to retrieve my bedding."

Hua Changxi paused in surprise. "You lived here before?"

The youth nodded.

Recalling the tattered quilt she had disintegrated earlier, Hua Changxi felt deeply apologetic. "Um... I'm sorry. I cleaned the room earlier and accidentally burned your bedding."

The youth's expression turned anxious; he seemed about to speak, but finally lowered his head, turned around dejectedly, and prepared to leave.

"Wait a moment."

Hua Changxi called out to the youth, dashed quickly back into the thatched hut, retrieved a piece of fragmented silver from her bundle, and came back out to hand it to him. "I am truly sorry; I thought no one was staying in this room anymore."

"Is there a place nearby the Medicine Manor where goods are bought and sold? Take this silver and buy yourself a new quilt."

Looking at the silver in Hua Changxi's hand, the youth shook his head. "My bedding wasn't worth much."

Seeing this, Hua Changxi directly stuffed the silver into the youth's hand. "I burned your bedding without your permission; I ought to compensate you. Furthermore, this will trouble you to spend time buying a new quilt, delaying your schedule. Please take the silver; otherwise, I will feel uneasy."

The youth looked at Hua Changxi, holding the silver, appearing somewhat awkward.

Hua Changxi fell silent for a moment. "Do you... have anything else? I am quite tired. If there is nothing else, I need to rest."

The youth shook his head. "I have nothing else."

Hua Changxi: "Then... I'll close the door."

Watching the tightly shut gate, the youth clenched the silver in his hand, stood for a moment, then turned and left.

Hearing the sound of footsteps fading away, Hua Changxi breathed a sigh of relief, but upon seeing the messy courtyard, she frowned again.

"Woof woof woof~"

"Moo~"

"Neigh~"

In the livestock yard, the horse stables were to the north, the cow sheds to the east, and the dog kennels to the west; barking, lowing, and neighing drifted endlessly above the courtyard.

The thatched cottage was located in the south, right next to the gate; whoever lived here was clearly a gatekeeper.

Unable to bear the stench in the courtyard any longer, Hua Changxi waved her hand; a gust of wind swept through, instantly freshening the air, after which she turned back into the thatched cottage to continue her cultivation.

Once Hua Changxi began practicing the Little Bird Breathing Technique, the hunting dogs, horses, and cows that had been making noise in the courtyard all fell silent simultaneously; upon closer observation, one would find the dogs, horses, and cows all assumed the exact same posture, kneeling prostrate on the ground.

"Brother, do you know that Hua Changxi has come to the Medicine Manor?"

Mao Yong looked at his younger brother, who had rushed into the room shouting loudly, and felt a headache: "I was the one who went to receive her; how could I not know?"

Mao Wei rubbed his cheeks; having lost his molars, his face had become smaller: "Brother, now that Hua Changxi has come to our territory, you must seek revenge for me."

Mao Yong glanced at him: "Rest assured, Brother won't let her have an easy time. But remember, you are not allowed to provoke her."

Thinking of Hua Changxi's martial prowess, Mao Wei naturally would not seek trouble for himself: "Brother, how do you plan to deal with Hua Changxi?"

Mao Yong smiled faintly: "A woman has arrived at the Medicine Manor, and she is quite good-looking; do you think the male laborers in the manor can still sit still?"

"I have already assigned Ah Niu's duty of feeding the livestock to others; we just need to sit back and watch the show. As long as Hua Changxi dares to hurt anyone, I will go invite Elder You to make the decision."

Mao Wei's face lit up with joy: "Brother, you really have a way."

Mao Yong looked at his brother: "Bullying a young lady ultimately lacks masculine honor; fortunately, we are not scheming against Hua Changxi in secret. We are using an open strategy against her; it remains to be seen whether she will take the bait."

The next day, as soon as dawn broke, Hua Changxi opened her eyes; there was a well in the courtyard, and after drawing water to wash up, she prepared to eat breakfast. Just as she opened the courtyard gate, she saw two male laborers with faces full of horizontal flesh walking over.

"Oh, sister, you're up so early; we were just about to come wake you up."

"Did sister sleep well last night? The weather is still a bit cold these days; isn't it cold sleeping alone? Do you want us brothers to come keep you company tonight?"

Seeing the two approaching her, Hua Changxi took several quick steps, sidestepped them to create distance, did not respond, and directly hurried away.

Seeing this, the two male laborers dared not openly chase after her and could only curse as they entered the yard to feed the livestock.

After watching the two enter the yard, Hua Changxi turned back, stood at the courtyard entrance, waved out a surge of spiritual energy, and then hurried away once more.

The next moment, frantic barking erupted within the yard, and not long after, screams followed.

Hua Changxi entered the dining courtyard, ignoring the gazes of those around her, went to the kitchen to fetch her meal, and seeing that all the tables in the yard were occupied, she simply sat on the stone steps under the eaves to eat.

Seeing her act this way, Zhu Yu raised an eyebrow, Mao Yong and Mao Wei silently exchanged glances, while the others whispered among themselves.

Just then, someone rushed into the courtyard.

"Steward Mao, it's bad news! The hunting dogs in the livestock yard have gone mad and are relentlessly biting Ah Guang and Ah Bing."

Hearing this, Mao Yong and Mao Wei looked at Hua Changxi in unison; even Zhu Yu turned to look.

Hua Changxi remained unmoved and continued eating her meal.

Mao Yong glanced at Hua Changxi, then led Mao Wei and the others to the livestock yard.

Upon learning that the two laborers' underlings had been bitten by the hunting dogs and that their future usability was uncertain, Mao Yong and Mao Wei simultaneously clenched their legs tight.

Mao Yong questioned the two men but could find no evidence that Hua Changxi was responsible for the dogs going mad, so he could only treat the incident as an accident.

After breakfast, it was time to assign duties.

Hua Changxi was assigned to the medicinal fields near the foot of the mountain; the soil in these fields was relatively hard and dry, making planting medicinal herbs difficult, and watering and fertilizing required running far distances, making them the fields the people of the Medicine Manor least wanted to manage.

Knowing that Mao Yong was intentionally making things difficult for her, Hua Changxi did not complain; she accepted the farming tools and seedlings and went to work.

[Shennong Planting Technique (Entry Level): Planting Mortal Plants 1/10]

When Hua Changxi planted a medicinal seedling into the field, the familiar data appeared once again in her vision.

After planting ten plants, her mind was filled with various knowledge regarding the planting of mortal plants; these mortal plants included not only medicinal herbs but also grains and other foods.

"This..."

Recalling that Shennong was both the ancestor of medicine and the ancestor of agriculture, Hua Changxi felt relieved.

Originally, she had come here only to search for the Yuanling Grass, but she hadn't expected this extra gain; this made Hua Changxi very happy, and in order to upgrade her data, she worked with exceptional diligence.

Mao Wei led the hunting dogs to patrol the medicinal fields, intending to see if Hua Changxi was slacking off, but upon reaching the foot of the mountain, he discovered that Hua Changxi was actually the most efficient worker.

Wanting to nitpick that she wasn't working seriously was impossible; the seedlings she planted fully complied with regulations, and were even better than those planted by many veterans in the Medicine Manor.

Unable to find any fault, Mao Wei could only leave in indignation.

[Shennong Planting Technique (Minor Achievement): Planting Mortal Plants 100/100]

Upon planting one hundred medicinal seedlings, Hua Changxi received various knowledge and related techniques on how to plant spiritual plants and spiritual grains.

The techniques included: Soil Turning Technique, Pest Removal Technique, Pest Repelling Technique, Fertilizing Technique, Spiritual Rain Technique, Temperature and Humidity Control Technique, as well as how to arrange Spirit Gathering Formations and Spiritual Energy Shields.

Having learned so many spells, Hua Changxi was truly overjoyed.

[Shennong Planting Technique (Great Achievement): Planting Mortal Plants 1000/1000]

Upon planting one thousand medicinal seedlings, Hua Changxi received knowledge on how to plant divine plants.

Although she wanted to quickly master the entire Shennong Planting Technique, Hua Changxi intentionally slowed her pace; she had not forgotten that she came to the Sanfork Medicine Manor to find the Yuanling Grass, and she did not want to finish her work too early and be sent back to the Laborer Hall.

Knowing that Mao Yong and Mao Wei would watch her closely for the first few days, what Hua Changxi needed to do was ensure they could find no fault, giving them no opportunity to go to the Grandmaster.

Unless absolutely necessary, she did not wish to incur the enmity of a Grandmaster.

Even though she did not fear a Grandmaster, if one turned their attention to her, finding the Yuanling Grass would likely not be so easy.

Adhering to this principle, Hua Changxi endured all manner of harassment from the male laborers, only secretly returning the favors in the shadows.

A female laborer had arrived at the Medicine Manor, and all the male laborers wanted to take advantage of her.

It was just that this female laborer was somewhat uncanny.

On the second day after her arrival, two male laborers used the pretext of feeding the livestock to take advantage of her, only to have their groins bitten by hunting dogs.

On the third day after her arrival, two more male laborers attempted to take advantage of her under the guise of feeding the animals, but accidentally fell into a pit of steaming hot cow dung, swallowing a massive mouthful of it.

On the fourth day after her arrival, four male laborers went to the livestock yard simultaneously, only to encounter a stampeding herd of horses that broke all their legs.

On the fifth day after her arrival, the male laborers dared not enter the deep livestock yard; instead, they planned to ambush Hua Changxi at the foot of the mountain and drag her into the forest, but while in the woods, they encountered a wild boar, and in their flight, fell into traps set for hunting beasts, killing two of them on the spot.

After this, even those with the most lecherous intentions dared not approach Hua Changxi.