4 Questioning the Hear (1/2)
”This Questioning Heart Tea, when brewed and consumed directly, already work wonders. But when complemented with the Meditative Tea Ceremony, it will boost your magical abilities!”
Fang Yuan sat up straight in front of the table, gazing at the tiny clump of tea leaves on it as he pondered.
After he considered all that he had learnt, he experimented with the tea leaves as per what he did in his dreams.
One ought to know that when brewed directly, without the sincerity and reservedness of the Tea Ceremony, the Questioning Heart Tea retains its taste and will still have a purifying effect on the soul, but its effect on boosting one's magical capabilities is lost.
This revelation further convinced Fang Yuan that Master Wenxin was a miracle worker.
The second point to consider was an even greater source of regret for Fang Yuan.
”This Questioning Heart Tea is most effective when consumed the first time, and its efficacy diminishes beyond that...there should be a limit. Could this be an issue with tolerance?”
Out of habit, Fang Yuan recorded these thoughts on paper.
Experimenting, standardising, recording, will create solid foundations that future experiments can be based on. This too, Fang Yuan learnt from one of the lives he led in his dreams.
Even though he was only 18, he lived a whole life in that dream.
It was a pity that ever since he entered adulthood, the dreams went away.
”Acquiring this extraordinary item was a matter of great luck. I should be happy.”
Fang Yuan comforted himself and began his daily work on patrolling the valley grounds.
”Hm, what should I do with the Questioning Tea Plant? Transplant it?”
As he walked on, creases lined his brows.
Although the botanic garden behind the Spirit Valley was hidden, it was not impregnable. Through his relations with Minister Lin, Fang Yuan obtained the title deed for Spirit Valley and ten miles of the surrounding land. The spiritual plants had their temptations, and Fang Yuan was not about to trust anyone to go near them.
The mutated Questioning Heart tea plant was too conspicuous, and if it were to be discovered, it would be coveted by many. Transplanting it would be for the best.
On the other hand, Fang Yuan had no need to worry about the Vermillion Jade Rice crops, for they were the least spiritual among the plants and had explainable origins.
”I wonder what the spiritual rice tastes like.”
Fang Yuan rubbed his chin and felt a rising sense of excitement. He was pleasantly surprised when he arrived at the Vermilion Jade Rice field.
In front of his eyes, fiery red shoots were springing out of the earth, and they reminded him of the lotus plant's sharp corners. This was a place full of life.
”It's really budding?”
Fang Yuan was elated.
After all, Master Wenxin taught him that the spiritual plants relied very much on blessed soil to flourish.
In other places, even the most fertile soil and idyllic landscapes would only support the growth of low-level spiritual crops.
The Spiritual Red Corn crop might be unsightly, but they were spiritual after all!
To think that Fang Yuan himself could grow these crops on normal land. If he could grow the Vermilion Jade Rice crops on more land, not even the Spirit Returning Sect would be as rich as he.
”The Spirit Returning Sect thinks very highly of themselves, but can they eat Spiritual Rice every day? Well, I can!”
Fang Yuan's lips curled up into a slight smile. His eyes gleamed. Suddenly, he let out an exclamation and ran to the edge of the field.
”This…”
What he saw before his eyes made him slack-jawed.
The blue-eyed grass patch on the borderlands of the blooming field was yellowing at the edges. Some of the greenery was clearly withering away. It was as if they had been robbed of their vitality.
And the Yellow Fruit Tree, the Grapefruit Rattan...all the plants that were close to the Vermilion field shared the same fate.
”No way...I grew these low maintenance plants to supplement the Red Corn crops. I thought they'd even make the soil more fertile…”
Fang Yuan took in the sight before him and had a sudden realisation.
”The spiritual plants are so overbearing. They actually sucked the essence out of the neighbouring plants. Well, this was bound to happen anyway. This piece of land is too common to sustain the spiritual crops with its own power.”
At this thought, Fang Yuan promptly sped towards the tea garden and carefully examined the immediate surroundings of the Questioning Heart tea plant.
As expected, the Questioning Heart tea plant was blooming fervently, but at the expense of the tea plants around it, which displayed signs of lifelessness.
”I guess the next time I grow the Spiritual crops, I have to grow them separately. Either that or I've got to make sure that the land is fertile enough to support their growth. Otherwise, they would exert a dire impact on their surroundings.”
Fang Yuan bit his lip.
”There must be a way around this. Isn't it just because the land is not high-yielding enough? I could dump more fertile soil on the crops, spray Fire liquid on them thrice a day, add some Fire fertiliser around them...I'm lacking in some of these materials though. Aha! Old Tian is the man to look for!”
Old Tian was an employee of a medical hall in the outside world and was in charge of buying and collecting herbs. Sometimes, he would go to the mountains personally to pick these herbs.
Once, he was bitten by a poisonous snake and was coincidentally rescued by Master Wenxin. Thus, a friendship was formed, and Old Tian regularly brought essential items to the master-disciple duo in exchange for herbs.
According to Master Wenxin, Old Tian gave reasonable prices for his goods and was a down-to-earth fellow. Fang Yuan had listened and therefore kept up a regular correspondence with Old Tian.
In any case, Fang Yuan had supplied premium herbs with very potent medicinal properties to Old Tian in their past few interactions. Old Tian must have made a tidy profit from them.
”Young Master! Young Master!''
Old Tian's voice broke into Fang Yuan's stream of thought.
”Ah, Old Tian, it's you. Come in!”
Fang Yuan greeted Old Tian at the valley entrance with a grin and invited him in.
Old Tian was a funny-looking specimen of a man. He had long limbs, protruding lips and sunken cheeks. He reminded Fang Yuan very much of a big ape, and he had a sly gaze that was typical of the mountain folk. He was carrying a bamboo basket on his back and placed it down breathlessly. Old Tian rubbed his hands and smiled apologetically.
”Look, Young Master. The items that you asked for the last time, I have them here.”