The Cannon Fodder’s Inner Thoughts Were Overheard by the Villain [Transmigration Into a Book] - Chapter 23

Pei Jingyuan’s attention wasn’t drawn to the faintly visible wheat seedlings, but rather to Jiang Minghuan’s sparkling eyes.

To be fair, Jiang Minghuan’s eyes were truly beautiful, with a classic almond shape that was slightly round, framed by large, bright pupils.

However, Jiang Minghuan was usually so laid-back and rarely met his gaze head-on, making it rare for Pei Jingyuan to see him like this.

At that moment, Jiang Minghuan seemed to glow.

Blinking under his intense gaze, Jiang Minghuan asked, “What is it?”

‘Look at the wheat seedlings, not me. There’s no wheat growing on my face!’

Pei Jingyuan averted his gaze.

Hmm, still the same Jiang Minghuan. I must have been imagining things.

He didn’t need to bend down. With his current cultivation level, his eyesight far surpassed Jiang Minghuan’s. A casual glance was enough to spot the faint sprouts of tender green.

Pei Jingyuan nodded. “Well done.”

Jiang Minghuan couldn’t see his expression, but he heard the smile in his voice.

“Of course,” Jiang Minghuan said proudly. “I’m a professional at this kind of thing.”

“Hmm?” Pei Jingyuan turned to look at him. “A professional?”

Jiang Minghuan instantly tensed up.

‘Oh no, I slipped up. Ah, you really can’t let yourself get too carried away.’

He quickly corrected himself, “I have a natural talent for Wood Attribute Spells, so of course it comes more easily to me.”

Pei Jingyuan replied succinctly, “If you need anything, just ask Duan Shui.”

With that, he turned and left. Jiang Minghuan didn’t even need to ask; he knew Pei Jingyuan had gone back to cultivate.

Ah, I wonder why Pei Jingyuan works so tirelessly every day. Could it be that he hasn’t settled all his scores yet?

The thought flashed through Jiang Minghuan’s mind but quickly vanished. His attention returned to the wheat seedling.

If only all bosses were like Pei Jingyuan, he mused. No interference, no pressure to speed things up, gives you everything you need, and doesn’t call pointless team meetings.

Duan Shui, observing Jiang Minghuan’s thoughtful expression, asked eagerly, “Do you need anything else?”

Jiang Minghuan snapped out of his reverie and reached down to feel the soil’s nutrient levels. “We need more fertilizer,” he said. “They’ve depleted it too quickly. The previous supply wasn’t enough.”

“I’ve already arranged for someone to get a lot of it,” Duan Shui said immediately. “It’s at the same place as before. Let’s go.”

He grabbed Jiang Minghuan and flew off, leaving Jiang Minghuan caught off guard and helpless as he was carried away by the clouds. “The fertilizer in the soil can still hold out for a while,” he protested. “Why the rush?”

Duan Shui’s small face was solemn. “What if not? This… fertilizer is crucial. We can’t run out, and won’t more fertilizer make them grow faster?”

“How is that possible? Too much fertilizer will burn the wheat seedlings…” Jiang Minghuan trailed off, suddenly remembering something.

In the notes left by the senior cultivators, they had indeed mentioned methods to accelerate plant growth.

In other words, this was the core skill of Wood-Attribute cultivators. If they could only perform simple tasks like watering and weeding, there would be little special about them.

Moreover, one of the major combat systems of Wood-Attribute cultivators involved carrying seeds of attack-capable plants, then rapidly growing these seeds to attack enemies.

Without the ability to accelerate growth, what use would there be for Wood-Attribute cultivators?

Jiang Minghuan reviewed the Wood-attribute Techniques he had learned, many of which could accelerate plant growth.

The handbooks recorded that these Techniques would overdraw a plant’s vitality. While the plants would grow rapidly, they would quickly wither and die.

Jiang Minghuan suspected this was due to insufficient nutrients. As spiritual plants matured, they required more nourishment. If the soil couldn’t support them, they would inevitably die quickly.

He looked at the glowing orb in his hand and decided to conduct an experiment.

After setting up the seedbed, he directed most of the “fertilizer” to the wheat seedlings, conveniently eliminating the secretly growing weeds in the process.

Although he had weeded before, the weeds were far more tenacious than the spiritual plants. Animals and birds carried weed seeds, making it impossible to eradicate them completely. He could only periodically suppress them.

Jiang Minghuan realized that spiritual plants were far more delicate than ordinary wheat.

Back in his days tending experimental fields, he hadn’t been this meticulous. He usually only weeded when the weeds reached a certain scale, relying primarily on pesticides. Only when pesticides failed would manual labor be necessary.

Now he inspected the fields three times a day, ruthlessly pulling out any trace of weeds he found. If he was even a moment too late, the weeds would snatch most of the fertilizer.

After Jiang Minghuan finished tending the fields, he deliberately saved a small portion of the fertilizer. He then carefully dug up a wheat seedling that wasn’t very large using Earth Essence control.

Duan Shui paced anxiously before him, too afraid to raise his voice. He stomped his feet on the cloud and whispered, “What are you planning to do?”

Jiang Minghuan replied, “I have an idea I want to try.”

Duan Shui didn’t dare stop him, but he suggested, “Then… then find a sturdier one. This one is so weak, it’s likely to fail, right?”

Jiang Minghuan turned to Duan Shui and said, “Bring me a flower pot.”

Duan Shui casually molded a flower pot from mud. Watching his skillful manipulation of Earth and Water Essence, Jiang Minghuan even saw him briefly fire-harden it with Fire Essence, quickly forming a sturdy clay pot.

After a long pause, Jiang Minghuan asked, “Is this flower pot… sturdy?”

Though he’d never fired ceramics before, he knew the process was complex. Can we really use this?

Duan Shui immediately replied, “It’s fine, I reinforced it with Earth Essence. Don’t worry.”

Well, the Cultivation World isn’t exactly governed by scientific principles.

Holding the flower pot, Duan Shui asked curiously, “Are you really going to use this? It seems too fragile.”

Jiang Minghuan explained, “Precisely because this seedling is so weak, it’s unlikely to grow as well as the others. That’s why we’re testing it on this one. Why disturb the healthy, robust seedlings?”

Still feeling a twinge of regret, Duan Shui asked, “What exactly are you testing?”

“I want to see if those old Techniques still work,” Jiang Minghuan replied.

He tossed the remaining fertilizer into the bamboo tube. The already frail seedling instantly withered further.

Just as Jiang Minghuan had said, too much fertilizer was detrimental to spiritual plants.

He clumsily formed a hand seal and applied one of the Techniques he’d learned from the manual. These Techniques were meant to help spiritual plants regulate their internal Spirit, allowing them to absorb it more efficiently and grow.

Although he had switched from spirit to fertilizer, the effect seemed just as remarkable.

The previously wilted wheat seedling grew visibly before his eyes, its rapid transformation resembling a real-time time-lapse sequence.

As the seedling grew taller, the spirit it emitted grew denser. It only stopped growing after absorbing all the fertilizer.

Jiang Minghuan looked at the seedling, now over a meter tall, with some hesitation. Isn’t this a bit too tall?

Just as he was wondering, Duan Shui, standing beside him, exclaimed in astonishment, “Can Spirit Wheat really grow this tall?”

Jiang Minghuan murmured, “I don’t know either.”

Based on the Spirit Wheat he had seen in the Rear Mountain Spirit Field, it shouldn’t grow this tall.

However, the soil in that field wasn’t particularly fertile, so the stunted growth was understandable.

Plants adapt flexibly to their environment. If they detect a lack of conditions to support further growth, they will automatically stop growing and quickly produce seeds to ensure the survival of the next generation.

Jiang Minghuan examined the spirit wheat seedling and said, “So far, it shows no signs of heading. It probably still needs fertilizer to grow.”

Duan Shui replied, “Don’t worry, there’s plenty of it. It’s not some rare thing; more will arrive tomorrow.”

He glanced at Jiang Minghuan and added, “By the way… could you change its name? ‘Fertilizer’ sounds so… unrefined.”

Jiang Minghuan looked at him, bewildered. As long as it works, what’s the problem? Are you that picky? If you knew fertilizer also goes by the name ‘urea,’ would you be pinching your nose right now?

But facing Duan Shui’s expectant gaze, he sighed and relented. “Fine, fine. Let’s just call it… nutrient solution, then.”

Besides, those glowing orbs aren’t liquid anyway. That’s not important!

Though still not entirely satisfied, Duan Shui nodded, conceding that “nutrient solution” sounded much better.

Meanwhile, Jiang Minghuan was already considering whether he could start selling this nutrient solution in the future.

He carefully cupped the spirit wheat seedling in his hands and returned to his room.

When Pei Jingyuan returned, he found Jiang Minghuan intently examining a plant.

He quickly realized this wasn’t ordinary grass; ordinary grass didn’t possess such dense spiritual energy.

Approaching for a closer look, he asked, “Is this spirit wheat?”

Jiang Minghuan looked at him happily and replied, “Yes, isn’t it different?”

Pei Jingyuan nodded. “Indeed. This spirit wheat is taller and sturdier than ordinary wheat.”

As he spoke, he couldn’t help but glance at Jiang Minghuan. He never would have imagined that his earlier criticism of Jiang Minghuan’s laziness would actually lead to good news for the Sword Pavilion of the Years.

Feeling a little self-conscious under Pei Jingyuan’s gaze, Jiang Minghuan said, “This is the only successful spirit wheat plant so far. The others still need to be observed. Besides… growing too tall isn’t ideal. If all the nutrients go into the stalk, there will be fewer grains.”

Pei Jingyuan understood little of such things. By the time he was born, the Cultivation World had long since lost its Wood-Attribute cultivators, so he naturally knew nothing of cultivation practices.

He quietly studied the spirit wheat for a moment, then casually tossed something to Jiang Minghuan. “Take this and use it.”

Flustered, Jiang Minghuan caught the object and discovered it was a jade hairpin.

He touched the wooden hairpin on his head and glanced at Pei Jingyuan.

‘Is he embarrassed to be seen with me wearing a wooden hairpin? Hmph, what does he know? I’d be worried about a jade pin breaking, I couldn’t afford to replace it.’

‘Huh? Wait a minute… Is this a Storage Pouch?’

‘Holy crap, boss, I was wrong! This hairpin is amazing!’

This wasn’t just any ordinary Storage Pouch, it was filled with Dao Essence Stones!

Jiang Minghuan roughly counted and discovered there were at least three hundred thousand Dao Essence Stones. Three hundred thousand! In the tens of thousands!

‘This is way more than Yun Heming ever gave me. And he had the nerve to ask me for evidence that Pei Jingyuan was colluding with demons. Ugh!’

‘Eh? Why would Pei Jingyuan give me so many Dao Essence Stones? Is this a salary? No, he’s already providing my food, clothes, shelter, and expenses. Even if it were a salary, it wouldn’t be this generous.’

‘Wait a minute. Is he trying to get me to do something utterly reprehensible? I need to get to the bottom of this.’

Pei Jingyuan sat down, sipping his tea while “listening” to Jiang Minghuan’s internal monologue.

Excellent. Without a single word from me, Jiang Minghuan has already written an entire drama in his head.

By the end of the “listening,” Pei Jingyuan was quite satisfied. At least Jiang Minghuan now considered Yun Heming utterly despicable.

It seemed his soul possession had been remarkably successful, leaving him completely unaffected by the original owner’s influence.

Most soul possessions, aside from the risk of backlash, often resulted in the original owner’s personality influencing the possessor. It was unclear how this individual had managed to retain his entire original personality so completely.

Jiang Minghuan carefully cradled the jade hairpin and asked, “Pavilion Master, why are you giving me this?”

Pei Jingyuan glanced at him and replied, “Use it when necessary. Overdrawing your body’s Dao Essence is never wise.”

Unable to resist, Jiang Minghuan blurted out, “Boss, you’re so generous!”

Pei Jingyuan, holding his teacup, stared at him calmly. Jiang Minghuan immediately covered his mouth and stammered, “Wrong, wrong! I meant, Pavilion Master, you’re so generous.”

Pei Jingyuan didn’t press the matter. After changing his clothes, he simply said, “Rest.”

Jiang Minghuan carefully stored the jade hairpin, then obediently climbed into bed. For the first time, he didn’t fall asleep immediately after closing his eyes, instead feeling strangely excited.

Earlier that day, he hadn’t dared to collect more nutrient solution for fear of overdrawing his Dao Essence. Now, with these Dao Essence Stones, he no longer needed to worry about that.

In the Cultivation World, Dao Essence Stones serve not only as currency but also as “batteries” that provide cultivators with the “fuel” they need to cultivate.

With enough Dao Essence Stones, a cultivator’s internal Dao Essence would never run dry.

Of course, Dao Essence Stones aren’t something to be used recklessly. Beyond their high cost, the main reason is that the Dao Essence contained within them must be transformed by the cultivator into a form suitable for their own use.

And a cultivator’s ability to transform Dao Essence varies depending on their cultivation level.

Regardless, three hundred thousand Dao Essence Stones represent an enormous sum of money, no matter where you go.

Even someone as favored as Yun Ning might not have three hundred thousand Dao Essence Stones.

Jiang Minghuan didn’t even realize when he fell asleep. In his half-awake state, he faintly heard the sound of thunder.

Hmm? Thunder? Is it raining?

Oh no, the drainage ditch!

The instincts of a farmer immediately kicked in. Jiang Minghuan instantly woke up and sprang off the bed with a perfect fisherman’s flip.

Just as he grabbed his clothes and was about to dash out, he suddenly noticed something. Where had Pei Jingyuan gone?