On the fifth day, the mutated plant remained a mere seedling. Xia Chen couldn’t resist and decided to draw prizes first.

Tongban had informed him that a longer maturation time implied a mutated plant. However, based on the soil and water Xu Helai had provided, Xia Chen doubted it would be anything as outlandish as the Stinky Fruit.

The anticipation was too much to bear, so Xia Chen drew a prize first.

Previously, during a ten-draw from the gold pool, Tongban had explained the rewards. This time, for the gem pool, Xia Chen sought clarification as well.

Upon hearing Tongban’s explanation, Xia Chen realized the gem pool was indeed high-level and remarkably generous!

Every pool should contain filler items. In the gold pool, these were the abundant and easily drawn Magical Land seeds. The gem pool, however, was in a league of its own—its filler was gold.

Tongban explained that rewards in the gem pool included, but weren’t limited to: varying amounts of gold, skill points, various items, and titles. A ten-draw guaranteed at least one skill point.

It could even directly yield titles!

Xia Chen only had one title and didn’t even know how to level it up, which showed how generous the gem pool was.

The moment he heard about the rewards, Xia Chen felt a flicker of hesitation, fearing his notorious bad luck hadn’t vanished and would ruin this hard-earned ten-draw.

After some internal struggle, he finally took the plunge. The mutated plant with an extremely low probability still grew in his field, suggesting his luck might have recently improved. What if it worsened next time?

Besides, with such rewards in this pool, how bad could it really be?

Xia Chen mentally prepared to draw gold nine times. In fact, he reasoned, nine draws of varying gold amounts would be quite fortunate. Even drawing one gold each time would still yield nine gold, right? It definitely wasn’t a loss at all.

It seemed his luck had really turned around. After the flashy prize interface, the first thing Xia Chen saw was a pile of gold ingots that dazzled his eyes.

It was literally a pile—more than the twenty received as a reward for completing the random task. He was quite lucky, drawing gold seven times. The most he got in a single draw was eight gold, and the least was two gold, totaling twenty-eight gold.

Xia Chen originally had a little over twenty-five gold. Now, his wealth had more than doubled. This amount was equivalent to the land price of his family’s hundred mu of fields. Regrettably, if he withdrew it, Tongban would instantly halve it. He also couldn’t explain its source, so it could only be saved for the time being.

Xia Chen added the guaranteed skill point to the Gathering Technique, upgrading it to level 4, allowing six gatherings a day with a 40% success rate.

Speaking of skills, Xia Chen had three. The Gathering Technique was the most useful. The Appraisal Technique had been used more during the early manual farming stages, but rarely after automation.

Completing the random task had granted him the Flower Whisperer skill. Upon testing it, Xia Chen heard a dogbane flower praise his looks…

Xia Chen swore this was the skill’s effect, definitely not him being narcissistic!

This skill, usable only once daily, worked on most flowers, but some meanings weren’t always clear. Xia Chen couldn’t determine which flowers could talk beforehand, making the skill somewhat gimmicky.

Returning to the topic, Xia Chen planned to focus on maxing out the Gathering Technique. A 100% gathering success rate would be ideal.

Aside from the gold and guaranteed skill point, Xia Chen also drew two items: a slingshot and a small night lamp.

The slingshot was described as unbreakable and had twice the range of an ordinary one.

Never having played with such an affordable toy in his youth, Xia Chen was quite intrigued. He decided to practice his aim. This world wasn’t as peaceful as his previous life; the slingshot could even serve as self-defense during his imperial examinations in the future.

The small night lamp had a Western palace style. Palm-sized, it was exquisite with a black iron frame twisted into vines and a milky white lampshade. The light was soft yet bright, functioning permanently without charging.

Both items were ordinary, practical but not overpowered. Xia Chen was satisfied, knowing Tongban wouldn’t bestow treasures or money trees.

On the seventh day, the mutated plant finally matured. It happened to be a rest day. Xia Chen received Tongban’s notification just past the shen hour (3-5 PM). The golden sun was setting in the west, painting the sky a beautiful crimson.

Making an excuse, Xia Chen returned to his room and entered the space, only to see on the white sand a single blooming…  trumpet flower?

It was a trumpet flower, but slightly different. Its shape was more elongated, like a rounded lily. The milky-white petals were half-open, half-closed, faintly revealing tender yellow stamens within.

“Wow, this one seems pretty good.” Based on appearance alone, it was far superior to the Stinky Fruit. Xia Chen squatted down, cautiously poking a petal. The flower swayed without wind, as if avoiding his touch.

“Should I pick it directly?” Xia Chen hesitated as the flower looked very delicate.

[It is recommended that the host digs it up with the roots and transplants it elsewhere.]

This kind of technical guidance had to be followed. Xia Chen didn’t have a flowerpot, so he could only use a cup noodle box, poking a hole at the bottom to serve as a makeshift flowerpot.

Fortunately, the root system of the solitary trumpet flower was also slender. It didn’t look cramped in the noodle box.

After transplanting, Xia Chen brushed the dirt off his hands and curiously used an Appraisal Technique. He then stared at the displayed information in confusion.

[Mutated Plant: Unnamed.

Description: Search, search, search for a friend, find a good friend. After use, randomly connect to another flower. Bind after the first connection. Store a certain amount of energy to enable instant communication.]

Xia Chen reread the description several times, muttering, “Which flower is the other one?”

The trumpet flower remained silent. Tongban helpfully annotated: [Random.]

Xia Chen frowned. If it weren’t random, he could find a flower and bind it himself, essentially having a one-way flower telephone without call charges. Unfortunately, random connections meant this was just a voice version of a message in a bottle.

On a computer, messages in bottles always got picked up. If his message was bound to a flower deep in the mountains, it would be pointless. Even if bound to someone’s flower, the flower could talk, but wouldn’t they think him a monster?

No matter how he looked at it, this was another gimmicky mutation. However, the first sentence of the description made Xia Chen wonder if this mutation was related to the little Taoist priest.

This thought softened his heart. “Forget it, let’s give it a try. At worst, I can use it as a tree hole in the future.”

He gently rubbed the petals with his thumb and index finger. Three seconds later, the half-open trumpet flower fully bloomed, its petals turning a deep red, and its stamens becoming a vivid, dripping red.

***

Imperial Capital, Baocheng Temple.

The sunset glow filled the sky, its lingering light intertwining with the chanting of monks to create a peculiar harmony.

Behind the temple, near the back mountain, nestled a few small courtyards.  Originally intended for visiting monks or scholars, these courtyards were now mysteriously sealed off. Claims of full occupancy were made, yet no human voices could be heard within or without, their occupants an enigma.

The tranquility was broken by the varied cadence of footsteps. A young novice monk led a group to the door of the most secluded courtyard. He pressed his palms together, chanted a Buddha’s name, then turned and fled as if pursued by demons.

The leader of the remaining group was a man in his forties. He was of average height, and his clothes seemed ordinary at a glance. Closer inspection, however, revealed the exquisite craftsmanship and fine silk. Five burly men followed, their movements restricted by bound legs and sleeves, yet radiating a fierce aura.

The leader approached the tightly closed courtyard door and gently knocked. After a moment, a youth of eighteen opened it, his face expressionless. “Young Master said no visitors,” he stated then attempted to close the door.

The leading man quickly said, “This humble one has come under the orders of Old Master Lin to bring Young Master home. Please inform him of my arrival. Regardless of the outcome, allow Young Master to see me, so Old Master can rest easy.”

“Wait,” the youth said, closing the door. Before long, it reopened. “Only you may enter.”

The followers remained outside the courtyard as the man followed the youth inside. They passed a screen wall, revealing an open expanse.

The small courtyard overflowed with red flowers. It was a mystery where so many vibrantly blooming flowers had come from at this time of year. The entire courtyard was ablaze with color, as if on the verge of bursting into flames.

The oppressive redness made the man hesitant to even look up as he trailed the youth into the flower bushes.

“Young Master, the person has been brought,” the youth said respectfully.

“Raise your head and speak,” a voice commanded. It should have been clear and bright, yet it held a strangely alluring tone, its quality cold as if steeped in ice water.

The man inwardly cursed his own atypical behavior and lack of composure. He hastily raised his head, “Young Master, this humble one…”

Upon seeing the youth, the man’s pupils contracted, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. His voice caught in his throat.

Standing amidst the flower bushes was a youth of merely twelve, clad in a loose red robe. His skin was as cold and white as jade, a stark contrast to his raven-black hair. Sword-like eyebrows framed starry eyes, his lips the color of blood.

These contrasting colors converged on a single person. The exquisite youth stood with lowered eyes, the hem of his robe entangled with the surrounding flower bushes. The red light of the sunset painted his face, his dark pupils seeming to be stained with blood. He resembled a mountain spirit, devoid of any human aura.

The man vaguely recalled the last time he had seen his family’s Young Master. It had been just last year, and the youth had been a gentle, refined young nobleman. How could he have transformed so drastically in half a year?

Could the rumors in the Dingguo Duke’s (Duke of State Stability) Mansion be true? Had their Young Master truly gone mad?

The man’s back was drenched in cold sweat. He stammered, relaying his master’s message, “Old Master asked me to bring you back to the Lin family for a temporary stay. He said that no matter what, you are the only legitimate son of the Duke’s Mansion. Those concubine-born sons are nothing but…”

“I won’t go,” the youth interrupted, his voice laced with impatience. He instructed the indifferent youth beside him, “Zheliu, see the guest out.”

The man dared not speak further. He lowered his head and followed Zheliu out of the courtyard. Upon exiting, he fled just as the novice monk had.

Zheliu closed the courtyard door with force and returned. His indifferent face now held a hint of anger, “Young Master, these servants…”

“You also think I should go back and be the Dingguo Duke’s Mansion’s heir?” The youth muttered to himself, not waiting for an answer, “Dingguo Duke’s Mansion…hah, ridiculous…”

In another ten years, where would the Dingguo Duke’s Mansion be? Even in his previous life, if he hadn’t restrained the household guards and fiercely defended the mansion’s gate until the imperial clan’s divine power erupted, the entire Dingguo Duke’s Mansion would likely have been wiped out.

The thought of his previous life deepened the blood color in the youth’s eyes. “Zheliu, you may leave first.”

Zheliu bowed and departed. 

The youth’s hands clenched tightly within his sleeves. He had to endure. He couldn’t eat them. The blood of those people must be foul-smelling and difficult to swallow.

The youth endured for a moment before venting his frustration, kicking and crushing a large patch of flowers. His hands became stained with bright red flower juice. Just as he was about to crush the most vibrantly blooming camellia, the flower suddenly lost its red hue, turning pure white.

The next second, a timid, milky voice came from the flower, “H-hello?”

---

Author’s Note: 

Loudly declaring: The male lead does not eat people!

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Translator’s Note: 

Our ML is here~ 🤭 Hehe…

Sorry guys. I’ve been really busy so releases will be sporadic for a while. Thank you for your patience.

🌻🌻🌻


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