As the morning light just crept over the eaves of the Servant Area, Wei Changsheng paused, his foot hovering as he pushed open the door.
A furry head poked out from the crack in the door, its glass-like eyes looking up at him.
Its tail gave a gentle flick, bringing with it a faint blue glow, almost imperceptible.
The light flashed and then vanished, like dew evaporating on a stone slab.
He didn't move or speak, simply pushed the door open by half a foot, stepping aside to make way.
The small fox crept out, hugging the wall, sticking close to his pant leg, not falling a single step behind.
"Aren't you afraid I'll stew you for wine?" he asked, looking down, his tone as if speaking to a stone.
The cub looked up and whined, as if saying, "You wouldn't dare."
Wei Changsheng's mouth twitched, and he started walking forward.
He walked slowly, occasionally glancing back to confirm whether this little creature was a Puppet Beast controlled by someone.
But all along the way, it only followed, not cutting in front, not sniffing around, not even touching an extra blade of grass, behaving unbelievably well.
Upon reaching the outer perimeter of the Medicine Garden, he stopped, squatted down, and lightly tapped its nose with his finger: "I have no food here, nor any Spiritual Plant.
If you keep following, you'll have to find your own food."
The small fox blinked, then suddenly turned, pawed at the ground twice, and retrieved half a withered leaf, placing it at his feet.
Wei Changsheng: "...Are you paying me 'rent'?"
It tilted its head, its ears twitching.
He couldn't help but laugh aloud, and just as he was about to speak, the soft sound of cloth boots treading on earth came from a distance.
Unhurried, with a steady rhythm, as if every step had been calculated.
Looking up, a young man in a moon-white long gown was walking along the field path, a jade slip belt hanging from his cuff, a black glove on his left hand.
His gaze swept over the Medicine Garden as if reading an open ledger.
Wei Changsheng immediately lowered his head, his shoulders slumping, reverting to the demeanor of a Servant—submissive, with his aura reined in, as if that hint of a smile had never appeared.
The man walked closer, but his gaze did not fall on him; instead, it paused on the silver ring at the tip of the small fox's tail.
He narrowed his eyes for a moment, his left hand moving slightly, and a red light seemed to flash beneath his glove.
"This cub, did you save it?"
His voice was as cold as well water.
Wei Changsheng lowered his hands: "Reporting to the Steward, I picked it up from the pile of medicinal dregs last night, half-dead, so I just casually fed it some herbal medicine."
"What herbal medicine?"
"A Pill Formula passed down from my ancestors, crushed and applied to wounds," he rubbed his hands, feigning some trepidation, "It's not valuable, just some rotten roots and leaves."
Su Jin's brow didn't relax: "You're at Qi Refinement second layer; you can save a Spirit Fox corroded by toxic miasma?
The Yin Qi remaining in its body would make anyone below Foundation Establishment dizzy just by approaching."
"I... I just got lucky," Wei Changsheng scratched his head, "Last night, according to the method I remembered from a dream, at Yin Shi San Ke, three turns and nine pounds, I dug out a green leaf from the ground, chewed it up and fed it to it, and as a result... it started breathing."
Su Jin's gaze sharpened.
"Yin Shi San Ke, three turns and nine pounds?" he repeated, as if calculating something.
Wei Changsheng's heart sank—this lie was one he had concocted to deal with the grain depot registration last time, and he hadn't expected this person to actually remember it.
"You certainly know how to dream," Su Jin snorted coldly, "But if Spirit Medicine could come from dreams, then all the Sect Disciples should just go to sleep."
"This lowly one wouldn't dare!" Wei Changsheng immediately lowered his head, "I just made it up, truly no other meaning."
Su Jin stared at him for three breaths, then suddenly raised his hand, his fingertips tracing half a Talisman in the air.
A faint Spiritual Light swept over the small fox; its ears twitched, but it didn't resist.
"Spiritual Pressure residual match is over seventy percent," Su Jin murmured to himself, as if confirming data, "Not a Puppet, nor an illusion, but rather... as if it had been 'nurtured' by something."
Wei Changsheng's heart tightened, but his face showed even more timidity: "Steward, you think too highly of me.
I even save my rations; where would I get Spirit Medicine to nurture a beast?"
Su Jin withdrew his hand and suddenly asked, "What is your name?"
"Wei Changsheng."
"Wei Changsheng," he repeated the name, as if to input it into some computational model, "Why did you save it last night?"
"For peace of mind," Wei Changsheng gave a bitter smile, "If it had died in front of me, I would surely have nightmares tonight."
Su Jin was silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "There are three acres of barren land in the west corner of the Medicine Garden; no one has planted there for three years, and the soil is compacted.
The previous two stewards tried seven kinds of spiritual fertilizer, but nothing survived for more than three days."
Wei Changsheng was startled, but didn't respond.
"If you truly understand 'three turns and nine pounds'," Su Jin stared at him, "then go and try it there.
If it survives for seven days, the land will be yours to manage.
If it dies for even one day, you'll be punished with three days of Servant duty."
Wei Changsheng's heart beat half a beat faster.
Three acres of land? That was three times the System's initial area!
Although it was only "borrowed," as long as he could plant, with the System's one year equaling one day in the outside world, he would be able to roll out the first wave of planting points!
But his face only showed apprehension: "This lowly one... how would this lowly one dare to touch the main land of the Medicine Garden?
If it's ruined, I can't afford to compensate."
"I permit you to compensate," Su Jin's tone remained unchanged, "If you can't afford to compensate, then you pay with your life.
The Southern Shao Sect's rules, you should know."
Wei Changsheng swallowed, lowered his head, and rubbed his hands: "Then... then this lowly one will try."
"Tomorrow at Chen Shi, I'll wait for you in the west corner," Su Jin turned, his jade slip belt swaying lightly in the wind, and a stream of data seemed to flash within his sleeve.
After he left, the small fox rubbed against Wei Changsheng's leg and looked up.
"Did you hear that?" He squatted down and poked its forehead, "We have land now.
Although it's a bit broken, it's at least a 'school district house'—right next to the Medicine Garden, so the Spiritual Qi is definitely stronger than the Servant Area."
The small fox whined, then suddenly turned, its tail flicking, the silver ring tracing an arc in the sunlight.
At the end of that arc, a faint blue light appeared again.
It was exactly the same as the light from the Ninglu Grass residue last night.
Wei Changsheng's pupils constricted slightly; he scooped it up and whispered, "Tell me honestly, did you eat something you shouldn't have?"
The small fox blinked and spat out half a blade of grass.
The edges of the leaf glowed faintly blue, its veins clear, as if it had been infused with some kind of energy.
He recognized it—these were the Ninglu Grass fragments he had fed it last night, which should have been fully digested.
How were they expelled again?
And this light... it was clearly the residual spiritual essence of a System crop!
He suddenly realized something, his face changing: "You weren't saved to live... you were 'nurtured' to live.
The System's herbal medicine entered your stomach, and instead formed a 'slow-release cycle' within you?"
The small fox tilted its head, looking innocent.
Wei Changsheng took a deep breath, suppressing the frantic pounding in his heart.
This wasn't just picking up a pet; this was picking up a walking "System cache"!
It was equivalent to a living medicine jar, capable of slowly releasing the medicinal effects produced by the System, without leaving any external traces.
No wonder its Spiritual Pressure was stable and its recovery ability astonishing.
"Good heavens, did I pick up a 'cheat USB drive'?" he muttered, "No need to carry medicine with me anymore; you're the mobile medicine cabinet."
The small fox didn't understand, but hearing his affectionate tone, its tail wagged like a rattle drum.
Wei Changsheng stood up, patted his pant legs: "Let's go, let's go check out the terrain of the barren land first.
Three acres of land, starting with spiritual rice, then trying two basic medicinal herbs, accumulating some planting points.
All those Cultivation Techniques and Pill Formulas in the mall are waiting for me to splurge on them."
He stepped forward, the small fox following closely behind.
Upon reaching the west corner of the Medicine Garden, the sight before him made him frown.
The three acres of land were completely barren, with wild grass half a person tall, and the soil surface cracked, feeling like dry biscuits when stepped on.
Several withered vines wrapped around broken wooden stakes, like markers left by previous cultivators.
He squatted down, grabbed a handful of soil, and rubbed it between his fingers.
"This soil is harder than brick," he shook his head, "Planting spiritual rice? It would dry out and die in three days."
The small fox suddenly broke free from his embrace, darted to the center of the field, pawed at the ground twice, and retrieved a dark brown clod of earth.
Wei Changsheng took it and saw half a withered leaf embedded in the soil, its veins radiating outwards, like the remnants of the root System of some ancient herbal medicine.
His heart stirred: "This soil... did it used to grow 'Star-Patterned Ground Yellow'? This stuff has deep roots, drains the soil's vitality, no wonder it's compacted."
Just as he was speaking, a light chuckle came from behind him.
"Oh, a Servant also understands Star-Patterned Ground Yellow?"
Wei Changsheng turned around to see an Outer Sect Disciple in indigo short clothes standing on the field path, holding a water bucket, his face full of mockery.
"Isn't this Wang San, Li Mang's follower?" He sneered inwardly, but feigned ignorance on his face, "Just a wild guess, it looks like it from the soil color."
Wang San took a few steps closer and placed the water bucket at the edge of the field: "Don't waste your effort, this land is cursed.
Whatever the previous two stewards planted died, and the last one even went crazy, hacking at his own leg with a hoe in the middle of the night."
"Oh?" Wei Changsheng raised an eyebrow, "Then they didn't try 'turning the soil three times and sunning it for seven days'?"
"Sun it? This soil would be dead soil even if it were sunned for ten years," Wang San sneered, "I advise you to get lost quickly, don't wait until you really die here, with no one even to collect your corpse."
Wei Changsheng wasn't angered; instead, he smiled: "How about we make a bet? If I can make spiritual seedlings grow in this land within seven days, you'll call me 'Dad' in public?"
Wang San's face darkened: "You're asking for death!"
"If you don't dare to bet, then forget it," Wei Changsheng shrugged, "I thought you had some guts."
Wang San was furious and raised his hand to push him, but as his fingertips touched his shoulder, the small fox suddenly darted out and bit his wrist.
"Ouch!" Wang San shook his hand, only to see a hole torn in his sleeve, revealing a dark red Talisman on the inner lining.
The Talisman flashed and then vanished, as if it had been scorched by something.
His face changed dramatically; he abruptly took two steps back, staring intently at the small fox: "This beast... how did it break my tracking Talisman?"
Wei Changsheng was startled, then understood—this Wang San was also here to spy!
Li Mang hadn't come himself but had sent a subordinate to place a Talisman for surveillance.
And the small fox had instinctively detected and destroyed the Talisman!
"So you have this ability?" He looked down at the fox, "Alright, moonlighting as 'anti-detection' works too; I'll pay you in spiritual rice."
The small fox raised its head, its tail wagging, as if saying, "Leave it to me."
Wang San clutched his sleeve, his expression fluctuating between dark and light, finally letting out a cold snort and quickly leaving with the water bucket.
Wei Changsheng watched his retreating back, narrowing his eyes: "Li Mang is determined to investigate me... but what is he investigating?
Just because I handed in a bit more spiritual rice?"
He suddenly thought of something, lowered his head, and looked at the small fox: "Unless... what he's investigating isn't the spiritual rice at all, but you?"
The small fox blinked, not understanding.
Wei Changsheng squatted down, his finger gently stroking the silver ring at the tip of its tail: "What exactly is your origin?
A Spirit Beast lost by the Sect? Or... someone deliberately released to test the waters?"
He didn't wait for an answer, stood up, pulled a Ninglu Grass seed from his embrace, and gently pressed it into the soil.
"No matter who sent you, now—" He clapped his hands and grinned, "You're mine."
Sunlight spilled down, the small fox curled at his feet, its silver ring flashing faintly.
And on the stone steps of the Medicine Garden in the distance, Su Jin turned and walked away, a line of new data flashing across the jade slip belt in his sleeve:
"Spiritual Pressure resonance continues to strengthen, match percentage risen to 81%."