Chapter 9

As Qi Meiwēi chased to the intersection, Lin Xiao had already disappeared.

"Hmph, ignoring me, just you wait. It’s best you don’t let me know who you are, acting all mysterious." Qi Meiwēi said angrily after seeing no one around.

It’s best not to guess a woman’s thoughts. She was clearly saved, but now she’s resentful just because he ignored her.

On the other side, Lin Xiao was also frustrated: "I was too showy just now. I wonder if that beauty will be moved to offer herself to me. Looks like I can only be a nobody, never turning into a rich and handsome guy."

After the commotion tonight, Lin Xiao had lost interest in the so-called thugs. They were too weak. He also roughly understood his current abilities; as long as he had the stamina, dealing with seventy or eighty big men wouldn’t be a problem. He just didn’t know if he could dodge bullets.

From the excitement and thrill of gaining his powers to the current calm, more than a month had passed. Time was the best seasoning.

The second level consolidation was complete, and there wouldn’t be any major breakthroughs in the short term. Lin Xiao realized that continuing to study every day wouldn’t have much effect.

Naturally, his attention shifted to the peculiar space inside his body.

The space was still the same, with black soil and a spring, nothing had changed.

The next morning, Lin Xiao excitedly ran to a seed store and bought seven or eight types of seeds, including Chinese cabbage, loofah, cabbage, and tomatoes.

After returning home and locking the door, he ran into the space, dug a small hole with his hands, planted the Chinese cabbage seeds, and covered them. He then took a cup, went to the spring, and fetched some space water to water the seeds.

A miracle happened. In just two minutes, a Chinese cabbage went through the stages of sprouting, seedling, rosette, and heading, completing a process that would normally take several months in just two minutes.

Seeing the Chinese cabbage growing wildly in the black soil, Lin Xiao’s mouth dropped open.

When Lin Xiao was about to harvest, the Chinese cabbage unexpectedly withered and disappeared into the black soil, leaving nothing behind.

Thinking it was because he was too slow, Lin Xiao dug another small hole, planted a seed, watered it, and watched intently.

The Chinese cabbage grew wildly again, and this time Lin Xiao finally pulled it out of the ground before it withered.

Looking at the intact Chinese cabbage in his hand, Lin Xiao laughed triumphantly: "Little thing, let’s see how you wither this time."

The Chinese cabbage didn’t wither but turned into powder and scattered. Lin Xiao looked at the powder in his hand with a bitter expression.

"Spit, spit, spit."

Unwilling to give up, Lin Xiao licked the powder in his hand. His taste buds were greatly stimulated by an indescribable nausea and a hint of decay that hit his brain.

It seemed he couldn’t grow Chinese cabbage. Since there was nothing else to do, Lin Xiao planted all the seeds he bought that day and found that the results were the same as with the Chinese cabbage. All of them died within two minutes, and if he picked them early, they turned into powder and scattered.

No matter how hard he thought, he couldn’t figure out why. No one could explain this to Lin Xiao.

Deciding to be open-minded, Lin Xiao stopped thinking about it. Since these seeds didn’t work, he would try others. There must be something suitable.

Day after day of experiments, he tried almost all the seeds available on the market, but found nothing that could grow in the black soil.

Although he didn’t make any progress, Lin Xiao did notice that everything he planted had a very short growth cycle, with the longest being five months.

After some consideration, he decided to give up on the current seeds.

Actually, these plants couldn’t withstand the transformation by the xirang. If they could persist, their next generation would undergo a tremendous change. Unfortunately, their genetic level was too low, and any stimulation would cause their genetic chains to collapse.

Lin Xiao didn’t know this and continued to experiment.

Since he couldn’t grow any crops or vegetables, Lin Xiao started planning to plant fruit trees. If he couldn’t eat vegetables, eating fruits would be good too.

However, fruit trees were too big to experiment with in his rented house.

Lin Xiao leaned over his computer, looking at a map of the outskirts of H City, searching for a suitable location. The first requirement was a sparsely populated area to avoid being seen. The second requirement was a hidden place.

"Here it is," Lin Xiao slapped his thigh.

The location Lin Xiao chose was at the edge of the outskirts, a small forest where no one usually went.

He found the phone number of a fruit sapling company online and ordered a dozen types of fruit trees, including apple, banana, orange, pear, and peach trees. Although he only ordered one or two of each, the price wasn’t cheap. This one call cost him 3000 yuan.

Everything was ready. The next day, he received the fruit saplings from the company in the outskirts. He walked around the forest, found a tree hollow, and took the saplings into the space.

As usual, the experienced Lin Xiao dug a hole in the black soil, pulled out an orange tree from the pile, planted it, watered it with space water, and waited quietly.

Lin Xiao watched the orange tree expectantly. Two minutes passed, five minutes passed, ten minutes passed, and nothing happened. Just as Lin Xiao was about to cheer,

The orange tree, like the others, instantly went through six growth stages and withered.

Unexpected but reasonable.

Lin Xiao didn’t lose heart or get discouraged. He continued his planting project.

He tried pear trees, apple trees, and banana trees, but the outcome was the same: they all withered.

He randomly picked a tree from the pile, repeated the familiar actions of digging a hole, planting the tree, and watering it.

"Huh, nothing happened?"

Half an hour passed, and Lin Xiao was surprised. He walked around the tree he had planted, seeing the label that identified it as a peach tree.

An hour passed, and the peach tree was still fine, standing proudly in the black soil.

"Ha ha ha, finally, something can grow in the xirang."

Lin Xiao danced with joy.

With the peach tree as a foundation, Lin Xiao, full of confidence, started a new round of planting.

Ideals are full, but reality is thin.

Reality once again reminded Lin Xiao what thin meant. Except for the peach tree, all the other trees withered.

Looking at the two peach trees still standing in the space, Lin Xiao smiled and walked around them a few more times before leaving the space.

After several twists and turns, he returned home, feeling a bit relieved. The xirang could still grow some ordinary plants. Otherwise, where would he find those legendary rare flowers and herbs in today’s society and conditions?

Actually, peach trees could also be considered rare flowers and herbs. In ancient myths, the peach banquet and the description of the peach fruit suggest that peach trees are a result of degeneration, so they can withstand the transformation by the xirang.

A wooden sword made from a thousand-year-old peach tree is used to exorcise ghosts, indicating that peach trees have a long life. As long as they avoid natural disasters and human destruction, they can live for a long time.