By the time daylight fully broke, the medicinal gardens were louder than they'd ever been at midnight.
The news had spread faster than the wind itself—
Jiang Muchen had drawn in the Seven-Star King Ladybug.
In a single night, three full acres of Spirit Devouring Insects had been wiped clean—eggs included. On the spot, Senior Sister Lin Yueyao of Danding Peak personally bestowed upon him a Medicinal Field Steward Token, along with a monthly stipend of ten spirit stones and ten contribution points.
The menial quarters exploded.
Some eyes burned purple with envy.
Some ground their teeth in bitter jealousy.
Most simply refused to believe it.
A mere menial at Qi Refinement Level Three, commanding a King Ladybug?
Absurd.
Jiang Muchen paid none of it any mind.
With the still-warm jade token tucked against his chest, he went straight to the Danding Peak herb storage vault. Using his newly granted authority, he requisitioned thirty jin of Bone-Rot Flowers, ten jin of sulfur powder, ten jin of realgar, and a small pouch of Nightglow Vine dust—standard base materials for insect-attracting incense.
All of it billed to public accounts.
Not a single spirit stone spent.
The storekeeper—a doughy, round old man—nearly dropped the token when he saw it.
"Medicinal Field Steward?" he stammered. "You? Personally appointed by Senior Sister Lin?"
"Yes," Jiang Muchen replied with a slight nod. "I'll trouble you, Senior."
The old man studied him carefully, his expression tangled with disbelief and calculation. In the end, he asked no questions. He moved quickly to prepare the materials—and even slipped in an extra box of dried Morning Dew Petals.
"These pile up in storage," he said with a chuckle. "Good for blending incense."
"Much appreciated," Jiang Muchen said.
He understood immediately.
This wasn't generosity—it was investment.
A Medicinal Field Steward, even a temporary one, held authority over thirty acres of herb fields. From this day forward, dealings with the storage vault were inevitable.
Leaving the vault, Jiang Muchen didn't return to the menial quarters.
He went straight to the Refining Hall.
Earthfire Chamber C-3.
Wang Duobao and Zheng Xiaoqi were already waiting. On the table lay the leftover residue from last night's insect incense, along with several freshly carved bamboo tubes.
"Brother Jiang!" Wang Duobao's eyes shone like a spirit-stone-hungry beast. "Guess what? Sun Hao came looking for me!"
Sun Hao—the Danding Peak disciple who usually ran with Lin Tianying?
Jiang Muchen raised an eyebrow. "For what purpose?"
"He wants to partner up," Wang Duobao whispered excitedly. "He's got thirty jin of Bone-Corrosion Flower. Selling dirt cheap—three fragment stones per jin! Market price is five! But he wants thirty percent of the profits from our incense."
Bone-Corrosion Flower was a core ingredient in poison pills. But according to a fragment of The Classic of Flora, when ground and added to insect incense, it dramatically amplified attraction toward King Ladybugs.
That Sun Hao had access wasn't strange.
That he sought them out was.
"Lin Tianying's idea?" Jiang Muchen asked.
"Doesn't seem like it," Wang Duobao shook his head. "Sun Hao came in secret. Kept glancing around like a rat. I think he's trying to cut Lin Tianying out and eat the profits himself."
Jiang Muchen considered briefly. "Agree—but with conditions. Delivery in batches. We inspect each batch before payment. And profit-sharing must be written, signed, and thumb-printed."
"Perfect!" Wang Duobao grinned. "I'll handle it."
As he turned to leave, Jiang Muchen called after him. "One more thing. Check on Zhao Xiaoliu. See what he's been doing these past few days."
Wang Duobao froze. "That bastard again?"
"He had two lookouts watching the fields last night," Jiang Muchen said calmly. "I don't like coincidences."
Wang Duobao sobered. "Understood."
He hurried out.
Only Jiang Muchen and Zheng Xiaoqi remained.
Zheng Xiaoqi continued shaving bamboo tubes with steady precision. The walls were thin as cicada wings, flawless and unbroken.
"Going to the fields again tonight?" he asked without looking up.
"Yes," Jiang Muchen replied. "But not for pest control."
He placed the jade token on the table. "Three months of authority. Thirty acres under our responsibility. We can't focus only on insects—soil fertility, moisture balance, crop rotation. If it thrives, the credit is ours. If it fails, we carry the blame."
"I don't know herbs," Zheng Xiaoqi said.
"You won't need to," Jiang Muchen replied. "Zhou Xiaohuan is copying the cultivation chapters from The Hundred Herbs Codex. Wang Duobao handles materials and manpower."
He turned toward the wall map of the gardens.
"You'll watch the water."
"The water?"
"All thirty acres draw from the same spirit spring diverted from the rear mountain," Jiang Muchen said. "But over the last three months, the C-Zone fields have consistently withered. Insects surge where vitality drops. I suspect the source."
Zheng Xiaoqi's gaze followed the winding water channels on the map. "You want me to inspect the waterways?"
"Yes. Every branch, every hidden channel." Jiang Muchen paused. "Especially near the burial grounds."
Zheng Xiaoqi's eyes sharpened.
The burial grounds lay west of the gardens, beyond a ravine—but an upstream tributary did feed into the same spring system.
"You think Zhao Xiaoliu tampered with it?" he asked.
"I don't know," Jiang Muchen replied. "But he raises yin creatures. Dead plants leak death energy. Death energy breeds yin."
Zheng Xiaoqi nodded. He understood.
"I'll go now."
"Be careful," Jiang Muchen said. "Don't alert anyone."
Zheng Xiaoqi left.
Alone again, Jiang Muchen sat cross-legged by the earthfire pit and drew out the jade flute.
Under the dim firelight, it glowed with a soft emerald warmth. He didn't play—only rested his fingers on the holes, letting the calming chill seep through his meridians.
His thoughts returned to the moment the Seven-Star King Ladybug had departed the night before.
That gaze hadn't been the look of a beast.
The Art of Myriad Spirit Resonance circulated gently. His spiritual sense extended like silk, brushing the jade flute—
And suddenly—
Fragments flooded his mind.
White Gui's fading sigh.
Ancestors of the merchant path wandering countless realms.
The endless cycle of grass and decay.
And then—
A golden ladybug, translucent as glass, sleeping in eternal darkness—until a trace of warm jade energy stirred it awake.
Jiang Muchen's eyes snapped open.
He understood.
The Seven-Star King Ladybug was no ordinary spirit insect.
Within it dwelled a faint Jade Soul—born from warm jade veins over countless ages. It shared the same origin as the jade flute.
That was why it responded to the incense.
Why it looked back at him.
This was an opportunity.
If he could establish a bond—perhaps even enlist it—the threat of pests would vanish entirely. Not just these fields, but anywhere within the Crimson Pavilion's domain.
But how?
The Art of Myriad Spirit Resonance contained spirit-binding methods—but those required Qi Refinement Level Six at minimum.
He was only Level Three.
Unless…
Not domination.
Resonance.
Not master and beast—but equals.
All things had needs.
What did the King Ladybug seek?
Warm jade energy?
A safe haven?
Or something else?
Footsteps thundered outside.
Wang Duobao burst in, drenched in sweat, clutching a crumpled note.
"Brother Jiang—something's wrong!"
"Speak."
"Sun Hao… Sun Hao is dead!" Wang Duobao's voice trembled. "Found in his own pill chamber. Body pitch-black, poisoned. Enforcement Hall sealed all of Danding Peak!"
Jiang Muchen's pupils shrank.
"How?"
"No one knows—but he was refining Bone-Corrosion Pills when he died." Wang Duobao swallowed hard. "Using the same batch of Bone-Corrosion Flowers he was going to sell us."
Jiang Muchen stood abruptly.
Bone-Corrosion Flower.
Zhao Xiaoliu.
Yin cultivation.
The invisible thread snapped tight.
Tongue of the Path Truth:
When you admire the elegance of the net you've woven, always look back—
You may already be standing inside a far larger one.