Lu Xuan, still needing to prepare dinner, just had a short chat with Xu Wan before heading into the kitchen.
By the side of the Spiritual Spring.
Zhang Xiu Yuan poked his head over, staring unblinkingly at the red-bearded carp leisurely swimming in the spring water.
Occasionally, he would reach out his small hand, hesitating to touch the long red whiskers of the fish, but, ultimately, he lacked the courage and quickly drew back.
"This is a Red-bearded Carp, it isn't aggressive. Its red beard is pretty, isn't it?"
Manager He, who had appeared at his side at some point, began to explain the origins of the red-bearded carp.
"Beautiful. I didn't expect Little Uncle Lu to be raising such beautifully looking spiritual fish. He's amazing!"
The child uttered with genuine admiration.
Xu Wan, standing behind him, silently nodded.
Unlike her son, Zhang Xiu Yuan, who only cared about whether the red-bearded carp looked good, she saw and thought of much more.
She found it hard to imagine how many Spirit Stones Lu Xuan must have, given such a large Spirit Field and a Spiritual Spring.
Her interactions with Lu Xuan usually were minimal and her impressions of him were mostly from her husband Zhang Hong's occasional mentions.
From Zhang Hong, she learned that Lu Xuan was of a modest aptitude and reserved character, not fond of socializing, but was kind-hearted, hardworking in his cultivation, and tireless in his nurturing of spiritual plants.
An ordinary and kind-hearted Spirit Plant Master.
But now, seeing him helping her family exterminate pests, taking Zhang Xiu Yuan to earn Spirit Stones, his unknown struggles at night, and the wealth to rent such a home, she felt somewhat puzzled about who he really was.
"Kid Lu has changed a lot recently. I never expected such a silent, stubborn and frugal young man to silently grow to such a point."
A lean old man standing next to her also sighed with emotion, a smile of relief spreading on his face.
"Dinner time!"
From a distance, the voice of Lu Xuan rang out.
"Braised Spiny Porcupine Meat!"
"Stir-fried Bull Beef!"
"Hand-shredded Cui Ling leaves!"
One after another, dishes full of color, aroma and taste were served on the table.
"Wow! It smells so good!"
Zhang Xiu Yuan exclaimed dramatically, causing Lu Xuan to get lost in his praises.
The Manager He and Xu Wan were more restrained, yet from their occasional glances, it was clear that both were drawn to the dishes.
Lu Xuan served each of them a bowl of steaming Spirit Rice, and poured each a bowl of Orange Spirit Brew.
"Thanks to Manager He, Sister Zhang, and Little Yuan for coming over to celebrate my house warming. Cheers!"
Manager He and Xu Wan gave their blessings, and the three of them drank to the toast.
The moment the Spirit Brew traveled down their throats, an initial spicy sensation soon gave way to a warm and rich feeling that started to spread warmth throughout their bodies.
"Gurgle!"
As Zhang Xiu Yuan put down his bowl, a noise emitted from his stomach, which made Lu Xuan and the others chuckle.
"Let's start eating, everyone help yourselves."
Whether it was the Spirit Beast Meat or Spirit Rice, both lived up to their worth with excellent taste and traces of Spiritual Energy.
The four of them were heartily enjoying themselves, devouring all the food on the table as if they were a whirlwind sweeping through a desert.
After a short rest, Xu Wan and her son, along with Manager He, took their leave one after another.
Manager He, whose house was not far from here and whose strength was much greater than Xu Wan and her son, left on his own.
As for Xu Wan and Zhang Xiu Yuan, who lived on the edge of the North District, where things were chaotic, and given their low strength, Lu Xuan decided to escort them home.
When Lu Xuan returned to his house, it was already late at night.
The night had fallen, the moon was bright, but the stars were sparse.
Lu Xuan removed the charm and the Slivered Silver Blade from his sleeve, looking at the night sky, he held more anticipation for his future.
The next day, at dawn, Lu Xuan was already awake.
After a day of cultivation on the bed, he washed and, in the faint fog, arrived in the Spirit Field.
In the Spiritual Spring, three Red-bearded Carps were swimming around in the shape of "品".
Lu Xuan focused on them.
A thought came into his mind.
"Drinking water yesterday, drinking water today, drinking water every day, how can one grow this way?"
"It's not satisfying enough to have Spiritual Spring water to drink?"
Lu Xuan retorted, ran back to the room, and grabbed a handful of Spirit Rice.
Apparently sensing the faint Spiritual Power emanating from the Spirit Rice, the three Red-bearded Carps noticeably quickened their swimming, moving along with Lu Xuan's movement.
Lu Xuan scattered half of the Spirit Rice, and instantly, the water surface churned and rippled. Six thin, red whiskers appeared and disappeared like thin threads.
A few breaths later, the water returned to calm, and the three Red-bearded Carp swam slowly, but their heads kept turning in Lu Xuan's direction.
Lu Xuan focused his mind on the bodies of the Red-bearded Carp.
"Please, give us some more rice!"
A thought flashed in his mind, and then he scattered another half of the Spirit Rice.
The surface of the Spiritual Spring water stirred again.
Lu Xuan scattered all the Spirit Rice into the spring, and the Red-bearded Carp ate all of it.
After getting their fill, the Red-bearded Carp no longer moved around Lu Xuan, they turned indifferent, as if they no longer cared about anyone.
Lu Xuan then went to inspect the many spiritual plants in the Spirit Field.
He adjusted the position of the out-of-place Blood Jade Ginseng Spirit Seed, and then supplied each Spirit Firefly Grass with a targeted and measured supply of Spirit Rain, enabling them to gain maximum nourishment.
Afterwards, Lu Xuan expanded his Spiritual Sense to the greatest extent, carefully searching each piece of Spirit Soil.
"Found you."
Using the Earth Pulling Technique, the spirit soil underwent slight changes, and a grey-white tiny worm was pushed out.
He continued his search, finding several other different tiny worms, and even turned up a vibrant and vividly colored, tiny strange worm from the spirit soil.
These small worms hide in the spirit soil, waiting to emerge. Once they do, the larvae feed on the leaves of the spirit plants, affecting the plants' normal growth.
These small worms have many sources. Some are eggs buried in the spirit soil, some are accidentally brought into the Spirit Field, while some other strange worms have secretive movements and an extremely strong camouflage ability. They can penetrate the Protective Array and invade the Spirit Field.
As a Spirit Plant Master, one must frequently inspect the Spirit Soil in his Spirit Field. He needs to act first to eliminate the harmful worms before they can harm the spiritual plants in the Spirit Field.
Because the new Spirit Field had just been moved and was quite busy, it was not until today that he started to search for and remove worms on a large scale.
His Spiritual Sense ploughed the entire Spirit Field, and Lu Xuan finally unearthed seven larvae in total.
He took the larvae to the edge of the Spiritual Spring, pinched a plump white worm, and tossed it towards the center of the spring.
A thin red whisker flashed out like lightning, winding tightly around the worm before delivering it into the mouth of the fish.
"Wow, that was quick!"
Lu Xuan was amused, watching the Red-bearded Carp that was still savoring the taste of the larvae.
The other two further away red-bearded carps also swam over, following the movements of Lu Xuan's hand.
Another larvae fell.
Six thin, red whiskers shot out at the same time, vying for ownership of the larvae.
They then pulled back almost simultaneously to the sides of the carp's head, one of them, luckily, had the larvae entangled in its whiskers and delivered it into its mouth.
Lu Xuan was suddenly in a playful mood. He threw a larvae high into the air, or made a fake move, enticing the thin red whiskers of the Red-bearded Carp.
It was only after the last strange worm was eaten that he felt somewhat reluctant to stop.
"Haha, the long whiskers on the sides of the Red-bearded Carp's head looks like fishing lines. So, it seems like while people fish for fish, the fish are in turn fishing for worms, that's an amusing thought."