133: work?

The other few families couldn't do anything; they were pretty much the same as the Zhuang family. If the Zhuang family didn't have it, they probably wouldn't either.

Among all the forces, only the Talisman Master Bai family could easily deal with Qi Induction Realm attacks. There was a ninety percent chance they had what he wanted. Next, he had to figure out a way to solve this problem first.

At Tianyuan Residence, the lotus seed soup also had a calming effect, but it was very weak.

If he wanted to exchange some truly substantial books from the Bai family, he either had to find a way to trick the little girl, or he had to honestly put effort into the lotus seeds.

Compared to the former, which was inhumane, the latter, though more troublesome, was also a form of accumulation and could earn money. Two words: hardcore grind!

During the day, he would brew tea to earn money and Cultivate the Divine Breath True Scripture. In the evening, he would research lotus flowers. At night, he would re-Cultivate Spells, hoping to reach a higher level.

If there was a new Cultivation Technique, he would practice it; if not, he would continue his research. Jiang Hanwen's days were quite regular.

What was different from before was that Li Minzhong, that old fella, came less and less often, while Bai Youlan came almost every three to five days, becoming increasingly frequent.

After half a year, Jiang Hanwen finally cultivated the black-shelled poisonous lotus, which could be used as medicine, from seven types of lotus flowers.

The black-shelled poisonous lotus is a first-grade Spiritual Plant. It usually likes to grow by the water's edge where there are corpses. Its leaves are green, its stamens are white, and it also has a floral fragrance—all normal in appearance.

Only when it matures after autumn do its lotus seeds turn black. If ordinary people eat them, their Qi and blood will become blocked, and they will suffocate to death.

Therefore, the fragrant black-shelled poisonous lotus is often used to make poisonous wine.

In Jiang Hanwen's courtyard, in half a zhang deep water, the black-shelled poisonous lotus he cultivated bloomed leisurely, basking in the sun, growing exceptionally well.

The round leaves with a missing corner floated on the water, like unworked pieces of jade.

Under the pond water, no corpses were buried. Instead, Jiang Hanwen used other Spiritual Plants, crushed them, and spent two thousand taels of silver to make nutrient balls as a substitute.

This pond of lotus flowers was not easy to come by. It had broken free from the original limitations of the black-shelled poisonous lotus, just like the transition from qi gathering grass to spirit gathering grass; it was a completely new species.

After observing the growth of the poisonous lotus and knowing it was poisonous, Jiang Hanwen's first thought was not to avoid it, but to delve into why it was poisonous.

Other parts were not poisonous; only the seeds were, and they were hidden so tightly?

From the perspective of protecting the seeds, it made sense.

But why wasn't the entire plant poisonous? That way, it wouldn't be picked before blooming. This was a bit strange.

It's like attending the same class, but not all students fully absorb the teacher's knowledge.

Insufficient absorption, but there's an exam, what to do?

Then take remedial classes.

Remedial classes, naturally, contain things not part of the regular curriculum.

The poisonous lotus gave Jiang Hanwen the feeling that its toxicity was a last resort.

It was more like a Spiritual Plant that absorbed insufficient Spiritual Qi. For its own growth and the continuation of its species, it had no choice but to rely on corpses, drawing decaying nutrients to grow.

Following his previous experience with qi gathering grass, after Jiang Hanwen grew the poisonous lotus, he frantically used the Spirit Rain Technique to rapidly mature and iterate it. Even before it was fully ripe, he forcefully pulled out the poisonous lotus seeds and then immediately treated it with the Gathering Life Technique.

After repeating this process, almost every five days, a new batch was replaced. The newly formed small lotus seeds in the lotus pod faded in color after thousands of Gathering Life Techniques.

Finally, the last batch of lotus seeds was non-poisonous, completely pure white lotus seeds, emitting a clear fragrance and tasting sweet.

It's just that this thing was so sticky that his mother could eat it. It needed three doses of the Spirit Rain Technique every day, each dose needing to be saturated for two hundred breaths, filling the pond water until it overflowed. Otherwise, it would look like it had been bullied, shriveling and wilting.

Damn it, it's just bullying me because I don't know Formations. Otherwise, a Spirit Locking Formation would solve it perfectly.

“Dong dong ~”

The door was knocked.

“Shopkeeper Jiang, Miss Bai is here. She said she has something to discuss with you.” The speaker's tone was indifferent, with clear displeasure.

Jiang Hanwen opened the door, wearing the mask he bought. A graceful figure stood at the doorway.

He didn't know if Bai Youlan had offended Zheng Yunxu, but the two seemed to be at odds.

Whenever the little girl came, Zheng Yunxu would adopt this attitude.

Upstairs, a figure in a pure white long dress sat at the table. Today, she unusually wasn't wearing a veil, or perhaps had just removed it.

In front of Bai Youlan lay a thick stack of brand new books.

“What tea would you like?” Jiang Hanwen asked skillfully.

“Can I work here?” Bai Youlan said.

“Ah?” Jiang Hanwen looked bewildered.

Work?

Your father would probably come knocking on the door at midnight with a big saber, more likely.

“Miss Bai, are you joking?” Jiang Hanwen took out the tea set and began to brew tea.

If this girl, who was so beautiful, were to live here, it would probably spread outside by tomorrow if she moved in today.

“I want to change my environment, change my face, help out at the shop, and drink tea when I'm free.” Their eyes met, and Bai Youlan's face was filled with seriousness and decisiveness.

“Miss Bai, leaving aside what you told your family, even if you disguise yourself and work as a helper in the shop.

If you come here, what will you eat, where will you sleep, can you get used to it? If something accidentally goes wrong, will it be your fault or mine?”

Speaking frankly upfront, Jiang Hanwen naturally wished Bai Youlan well. After all, he had witnessed the little girl's weakness these past few days.

But he couldn't be too deliberate; he couldn't even guide her with any force. Otherwise, even his place, the last place where she could relax, would be gone, and Bai Youlan would collapse even further.

For depression, the hardest step is to come out.

But coming out is definitely not moving from one cage into another, continuing to live cautiously under others' gaze.

Coming out, besides a change in living environment, is more about accepting one thing—no matter how hard you try, there will always be people, things, and events you dislike in this world!

Accepting the imperfections of the world, to some extent, is accepting one's own imperfections.

Just like that saying:

The you in others' eyes is not you; the sentient beings in your eyes are you.