The Cannon Fodder’s Inner Thoughts Were Overheard by the Villain [Transmigration Into a Book] - Chapter 19

The White-robed Monk was visibly furious. “You… how could you be so unreasonable? I discovered him first! I should never have told you!”

Pei Jingyuan scoffed. “So what? First come, first served. If you have anyone to blame, blame yourself for not finding him sooner, Mo Jing.”

The monk named Mo Jing muttered, “The Three Treasures Temple and the Cloud Sect have always maintained friendly relations. I couldn’t just demand their Chief Disciple, what if they kicked me out?”

Pei Jingyuan sneered. “Then why dare come to me demanding him? Aren’t you afraid I’ll kick you out?”

Mo Jing replied earnestly, “But he has a karmic connection to Buddhism. To you… he’s of little use. Why keep him?”

Pei Jingyuan lowered his gaze. “How do you know he’s of little use? He’s actually quite valuable. So give up on that idea.”

“Pei Huaizhan!” Mo Jing frowned. “Don’t take your anger out on others. You know perfectly well…”

“Enough,” Pei Jingyuan waved his sleeve. “This venerable one will not hand him over. Return to your Three Treasures Temple.”

Mo Jing felt a blur before his eyes. When his vision cleared, he found himself outside the Sword Pavilions’ mountain gate.

His chest heaved with anger. After standing rooted to the spot for a long moment, he abruptly turned and produced a compass-like device. Following its guidance, he set off toward Golden Goose Peak.

As he walked, he muttered, “You think hiding him will keep me from finding him? He’s the Buddha’s Son, destined to be with our Buddha.”

Meanwhile, on Golden Goose Peak, Jiang Minghuan, who was fretting over his troubles, suddenly felt his eyelid twitch.

He couldn’t resist pulling out his copper coins and tossing them, Heaven and Earth unite, all things prosper, great fortune!

Jiang Minghuan bristled. Are these coins broken? Do they only ever show “great fortune”?

He’d been reduced to living in a bamboo hut, how could things possibly be prospering?

Not only was he living in a bamboo hut, but he also had to farm. Before, he’d farmed out of fear of failing to graduate; now, he farmed to survive. Great fortune? Where’s the fortune in this?

Duan Shui floated over and asked, “What are you doing? Are those mortal copper coins?”

Jiang Minghuan pocketed the coins and replied, “Nothing, just tossing them for fun.”

After speaking, Jiang Minghuan suddenly realized something and turned to ask, “Do you know what fortune-telling is?”

“Fortune-telling?” Duan Shui looked puzzled. “What’s that?”

Jiang Minghuan remained silent. He had already begun to suspect while reading through various scrolls and bamboo slips that this world seemed to lack Daoist practices.

At least, none of the records he had examined mentioned them. If they truly existed, there would surely be some trace of them.

This suspicion briefly crossed his mind before he turned to Duan Shui and said, “Old Duan, I think we need something to help the wheat seedlings grow.”

Duan Shui’s attention immediately shifted. “What do we need?”

“Fertilizer,” Jiang Minghuan replied.

“Fertilizer? What’s that?” Duan Shui looked puzzled.

“Do you know how mortals farm?” Jiang Minghuan asked.

Duan Shui shook his head honestly. “No, how do they do it?”

Jiang Minghuan immediately began explaining the basics of farming. Unfortunately, his student proved to be a poor learner. Halfway through the explanation, Duan Shui jumped back, distancing himself and exclaiming, “How disgusting!”

Jiang Minghuan immediately bristled. “What do you mean ‘disgusting’? What’s so disgusting about it?”

Duan Shui frowned. “No wonder Mortals can’t expel the turbid qi from their bodies. They’re eating… ugh…”

Jiang Minghuan was about to retort, but then he remembered that Duan Shui was a Blade Spirit who had never experienced the Five Grains Cycle. He fell silent.

“Well, you can’t grow crops without this stuff,” he said.

Unless they could develop industrial fertilizer, which was impossible right now.

Duan Shui looked utterly repulsed. “Don’t even think about it.”

He emphasized, “The Pavilion Master would never agree, no matter how much he dotes on you.”

Jiang Minghuan stared at him, bewildered. What did this have to do with being doted on?

Besides, when had Pei Jingyuan ever doted on him?

But if Duan Shui was so vehemently opposed, Pei Jingyuan would likely disapprove as well.

He shrugged. “Then there’s nothing I can do. I can’t just make other places barren just to cultivate this tiny Spirit Field.”

“Why not?” Duan Shui asked, genuinely confused.

Jiang Minghuan paused, refraining from uttering any sanctimonious remarks about defying the natural order.

This was the Cultivation World, a realm where the strong preyed on the weak. Every cultivator defied the heavens, and certain actions were considered perfectly normal in their eyes.

He waved his hand dismissively. “I’m not arguing with you. I’d never do something so morally reprehensible anyway.”

Even if he didn’t consider himself a great philanthropist, he couldn’t bring himself to commit such a heinous act.

Duan Shui flew closer. “Then think of another way.”

Jiang Minghuan clicked his tongue. “If generations of Wood Attribute cultivators couldn’t solve this, what makes you think I can? You’re giving me too much credit.”

Duan Shui tilted his head, studying him. “But the Pavilion Master said if anyone could take that step, it would be you.”

Jiang Minghuan immediately straightened his posture, feigning nonchalance as he asked, “When did he say that? I never heard about it.”

Duan Shui replied casually, “When I was helping you find the Wood-type Cultivation Method. The Pavilion Master sent me a telepathic message telling me where it was. Otherwise, how would I know so much about the Book Pavilion?”

He wasn’t even human, and his cultivation didn’t rely on manuals. How could he possibly know the layout of the Cheng Huai Study so well?

Jiang Minghuan nodded, cleared his throat, and asked, “Did he really say that?”

“Of course! Did you think just anyone could casually access those manuals?” Duan Shui gave him a look as if he were an idiot. “Do you even realize the value of the cultivation manuals in the Cheng Huai Study?”

Jiang Minghuan, “….”

He genuinely didn’t know. After all, he wasn’t from the Cultivation World. But he was well aware of Pei Jingyuan’s status within it.

The most outstanding cultivator of the new generation, the human race’s foremost prodigy, the youngest Nascent Soul cultivator—these titles all testified to Pei Jingyuan’s unparalleled talent and cultivation. Such a person typically held himself above others.

It was said that even those older than him would be overjoyed to receive a single word of praise from him.

Jiang Minghuan found such vanity distasteful, yet he couldn’t help feeling a little smug.

After all, even Yun Ning, the protagonist of the original novel, had never been praised for his talent by Pei Jingyuan.

Seeing Jiang Minghuan softening, Duan Shui quickly added, “The Pavilion Master also said that he opened the Cheng Huai Study to you because he couldn’t bear to see a pearl buried in dust. And yet you… sigh…”

Jiang Minghuan clicked his tongue. “Doesn’t this feel like you’re trying to manipulate me?”

“Huh?” Duan Shui blinked, confused. “What are you talking about?”

Jiang Minghuan glanced at him. “Everyone has their own talents, whether they choose to use them or not is their own decision. I’m flattered you think so highly of me, but some things can’t be achieved through talent alone.”

He was naturally pleased that even Pei Jingyuan acknowledged his talent, but that didn’t mean he’d become a workhorse just because they praised him.

He’d already been a corporate slave in his past life, and he’d grown up being manipulated like this. Every teacher had earnestly told him, “You’re so smart! If you just work hard, you can get into XXX university!”

Now he was in a new world, and they were still pulling the same tricks? No way!

Duan Shui fell silent for a long moment. This… this wasn’t what the Pavilion Master had agreed to.

What do I do now?

Duan Shui sat on his little cloud, frowning in deep thought. After a long pause, he sighed. “I don’t know why, but do you really want to live as a Mortal?”

Jiang Minghuan countered, “What’s wrong with living as a Mortal?”

Duan Shui looked at him expressionlessly. “In the Cultivation World, at least your strength can keep you alive. But in the Mortal world, you need power. With your personality, would you really fight for power and influence?”

Jiang Minghuan looked at Duan Shui in surprise. “You actually know about the mortal world?”

Duan Shui harrumphed. “Well, I’ve only learned about it recently.”

It wasn’t his fault. Pei Jingyuan had made a point of researching the mortal world after hearing Jiang Minghuan mention returning there to inherit his family’s wealth. Duan Shui had picked up some knowledge along the way.

Still, he couldn’t fathom what Jiang Minghuan found so appealing about that seemingly pointless mortal realm.

Lying on the ground, feeling the slivers of sunlight filtering through the leaves, Jiang Minghuan murmured, “Maybe the mortal world isn’t so great after all.”

But it couldn’t be worse than the Cultivation World. At least he understood the rules of engagement among mortals, something he couldn’t say about the Cultivation World.

For example, if he got into a fight here, while he was still deciding whether to use Tai Chi or Bagua Palm, his opponent would simply obliterate him with a Flying Sword.

When people have a choice, they naturally prefer places with familiar rules.

Duan Shui was still racking his brain for ways to persuade Jiang Minghuan when Jiang Minghuan suddenly said, “Alright, let me think about how to make this land suitable for cultivation.”

Duan Shui froze, utterly astonished. “You… you’ve changed your mind already?”

Jiang Minghuan remained silent.

Though he genuinely longed to laze around and escape the Cultivation World, the ancestral Chinese genes etched into his DNA were stirring restlessly.

Even if he weren’t an agricultural student, any Chinese person transported to this situation would likely feel compelled to find a solution.

Jiang Minghuan had been wavering between indolence and effort until just now, when he realized how needlessly stubborn he’d been.

His Master often said that clarity of mind allows one to follow the natural course, while clinging too tightly to desires can lead one astray. His insistence on leaving the Cultivation World and his determination to laze around were, in their own way, another form of stubborn attachment.

Once this realization struck him, Jiang Minghuan began brainstorming how to enrich the soil.

Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium were essential fertilizers. If he didn’t want to deplete the land’s existing reserves, he’d have to source them elsewhere.

Fortunately, this wasn’t too difficult. All three elements could be obtained from natural sources: soybean cake or peanut bran were rich in nitrogen, bone meal was rich in phosphorus, and wood ash was rich in potassium.

However, spiritual plants in the Cultivation World required far greater quantities of these nutrients than ordinary crops.

He turned to Duan Shui and said, “Since you find manure too filthy, I’ll need large quantities of peanut bran, wood ash, and bone meal. Can you acquire them?”

Duan Shui hesitated for a moment. “Peanut bran and wood ash are fine, but bone meal… that’ll be tricky.”

Jiang Minghuan frowned. “Bone meal contains essential nutrients for spiritual plants. Without it, the wheat seedlings will struggle to grow.”

Duan Shui scratched his head. “Then we’ll have to kill some now. I’ll instruct the Sword Pavilion Disciples to bring back as many bones as possible when they kill.”

Jiang Minghuan stared at him in shock. “What ‘kill now’? What ‘killing’? Who authorized you to kill people?”

Duan Shui shrugged. “Where else are we going to get bones?”

“Animal bones are still bones, aren’t they?” Jiang Minghuan felt his heart skip a beat.

If this wasn’t clarified immediately, the Sword Pavilion Disciples might start slaughtering people for the Spirit Field. This wasn’t just a matter of committing sins, it was a catastrophe waiting to happen.

Duan Shui immediately relaxed. “Oh, animal bones work too? You should have said so earlier! Hey, can we use spiritual plants for the peanut bran and wood ash as well?”

Jiang Minghuan replied instantly, “Of course! Spiritual plants are best, but ordinary ones should work fine too.”

As long as the initial quantity was large enough, he could always extract the amount he needed.

Duan Shui instructed him, “Alright, I’ll go give the orders. Don’t wander around here while I’m gone.”

Jiang Minghuan nodded cheerfully and immediately began examining the Spirit Wheat seeds Pei Jingyuan had given him.

The first step before planting was usually sun-drying and selecting the seeds, but that was a Mortal method. He wasn’t sure if Spirit Wheat required it.

When he sensed the seeds with his Dao Essence, each one contained a substantial amount of spiritual energy.

That made sense. If the seeds were subpar, Pei Jingyuan wouldn’t have kept them.

Skipping the selection and sun-drying saved Jiang Minghuan a significant amount of time.

While waiting for Duan Shui to gather the necessary materials, his priority was to prepare the land.

The plot was barren wasteland. Without proper treatment, planting would be impossible—or rather, all land in the Cultivation World was currently wasteland.

With this thought, Jiang Minghuan suddenly realized that agriculture in the Cultivation World was a vast, untapped blue ocean. He wondered if controlling the Cultivation World’s agricultural lifeline could help him stay far away from the plot.

As long as he avoided any entanglement with the protagonist group or any other characters from the novel, he should be safe from dying so easily.

Jiang Minghuan pondered this as he used Earth Essence to prepare the land.

Ah, if only preparing experimental fields during my graduate studies had been this easy.

For some reason, he suddenly felt a wave of dizziness.

Jiang Minghuan rubbed his forehead, when he heard someone call out from behind, “Buddha’s Son! I’ve finally found you!”

Huh?

Why is there someone else’s voice here?

Am I hallucinating?

Jiang Minghuan turned his head in confusion, but the movement only made him dizzier. His vision went black, and he collapsed.

Before losing consciousness, he thought he heard Pei Jingyuan’s voice, “What did you do to him?”