Teacher by day, Farmer by passion

"Take me out of here."

Ace pushed himself up from the bed and walked toward the door, ignoring Shan Yifeng's frantic protests.

"Master, you need to rest!" Shan Yifeng practically begged, trying to hold him back.

Ace waved him off. "I've rested enough."

The moment he stepped outside, he took a deep breath, letting the fresh air fill his lungs. A sigh of relief escaped him.

Finally!

Even though he still couldn't walk properly, even though every step sent a dull ache through his body, it was still better than lying in that damn stone house.

"Master?" Shan Yifeng called out hesitantly.

Ace gave him a brief nod before shifting his gaze toward the horizon.

He had left the house for three very simple—very important—reasons.

One: The roof might not be falling, but his paranoia had officially won.

Two: This one was a bit of a stretch—more of a made-up excuse to make sure no one labeled him a scaredy cat—but still, it worked.

Liu Mei had tried to cut down the spirit apple trees.

That was essentially the same as slaughtering the hen that laid golden eggs!

If someone had told him Shan Yifeng was trying to cut them down, Ace might have believed it was for the greater good.

Maybe some strange, tactical, formation-master nonsense.

But Liu Mei?

Deep down, Ace knew the horrifying truth.

She won't be cutting them down for any noble reason.

She would, and definitely would try to cut them down just to see which tree burned the best.

So his second reason being, to stop liu mei from doing anything more reckless.

And three—by far the most tempting of them all was that Xie Ninger had already woken up from her unconscious state.

What's more, it's been a week since they arrived inside the system space.

It was finally time to collect what was due.

A slow, menacing smirk crept onto Ace's lips.

"Take me out of here. Somewhere where I don't see any more stones and rocks", Ace said.

Shan Yifeng simply sighed. His master was truly hopeless.

With Shan Yifeng's support, Ace slowly walked away from the village of stones, each step feeling heavier than it should.

His gaze swept across the unfamiliar structures, taking in the crude yet sturdy homes built from stone.

So this is where the crystal humans decided to settle down... Ace made a mental note.

Not far ahead, a particular house caught his attention.

A very bad premonition crept up his spine.

"Master, that's Aunt Hong's new house," Shan Yifeng said with a grin.

Ace sighed. "So we're neighbors with the walking crystals now."

"Yep!" Shan Yifeng nodded. "Oh, and just yesterday, thirty of them died, and four produced soul stones."

Ace raised a brow. "Four of them?"

"Yeah, but there's something else," Shan Yifeng added, his tone shifting slightly.

"Did Elder Lily not tell you about the blue stones?"

Ace frowned. "Blue stones?"

"Yes, Master. There are tons of them lying around. Some lucky ones turn into soul stones, but most of them just remain as blue stones."

Ace was about to ask more when Shan Yifeng suddenly brightened, as if recalling something exciting.

"Oh, I remember seeing a bunch of them when I was representing the Hua family in the tournament!"

He grinned. "Spirit beasts love to eat them."

Ace narrowed his eyes. "And?"

Shan Yifeng's expression turned smug as he reminisced. "I got extremely lucky when I lured out the Spirit Sovereign Ancient Wolf. I then used blue stones as an offering, and after it ate them all, it just casually signed a contract with me!"

He chuckled as he recalled that scene.

Ace stared at him.

And then continued to stare.

"Shan Yifeng," Ace said slowly, "what exactly do these blue stones do?"

"Ahem." Shan Yifeng cleared his throat, finally getting back on track.

"Right. Master, I heard they're the best treats for spirit beasts. Like, the ultimate delicacy."

Ace's expression shifted.

Finally, the Beast Feed Something factory could get back to use.

Ace opened the system tab, his fingers moving instinctively toward a certain building.

A building that, in his mind, had long since collected cobwebs.

[Spirit Beast Feed Facility]

Effect: Produces the highest-grade feed possible from the given ingredients. Your spirit beasts and soul beasts will never be the same after a taste.

Ace's eyebrow twitched.

Never be the same after a taste?

What, did the system evolve into some divine-level pet chef while he wasn't looking?

Next thing he knew, his beasts would start demanding gourmet plating.

His thoughts spiraled, his mind completely occupied—so much so that he didn't even notice the way Shan Yifeng was watching him.

The young man tilted his head, confused.

"Master?" Shan Yifeng called out hesitantly.

Ace didn't react.

He had been standing there, staring into space. Not even making an effort to approach the house ahead.

Shan Yifeng rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Is Master feeling shy?

Well… considering that this was the girl his master had spent quite some effort trying to win over back then, it wouldn't be impossible.

The signs had been obvious—even before.

For months, we were human punching bags. Then she showed up, and suddenly, Master discovered the word 'mercy.' Suspicious, right?

That wasn't a coincidence.

No, no, Ace might as well have had the words pathetic but persistent suitor written on his forehead.

Besides, back then, Ace hadn't even cared about their well-being.

Liu Mei, on the other hand?

She was dumb and stupid back then.

Imagine tasting rocks. Tasting. Rocks.

And her mother was the village doctor.

Shan Yifeng sighed, clearing his thoughts before speaking again.

"Master, Liu Mei is turning eleven next week," he said casually. "They're preparing for it—in secret, of course."

Ace nodded. "Good, good. Let's go pay them a visit."

As they started walking, Ace glanced at him.

"And what about you?" he asked. "When's your birthday?"

Shan Yifeng paused.

For a moment, his face remained neutral, but then, very subtly, his fingers curled slightly.

"…I don't have one," he said, almost too casually. Then, after a pause, so soft it almost wasn't there, "Not one that matters."

Ace didn't press further.

Instead, he simply kept walking, nodding to himself.

"Alright," he said lightly. "Then we'll just have to fix that."