Ginseng Spirit

After talking about their secrets, the two felt a little closer.

They sat in the sitting room of the space's bamboo hut and drank tea as they talked.

"What do you know about spirit roots?" Zhen Yuan suddenly asked.

"I know there are ten kinds of spirit roots-fire, water, earth, wood, metal, lightning, wind, ice, light, and dark." Shen Xu answered.

From the book, fire, water, earth, wood, and metal roots were the most common in the Canglan continent.

The lightning, wind, and ice roots were rare, but they were not nonexistent.

However, the light and dark roots were another matter.

In the original book, only one cultivator with a light root crossed paths with the protagonist.

As for dark root cultivators, the protagonist never came across one, and their existence was only mentioned by the way.

"Treasures and herbs are also categorised in the same way. However, there is an additional category referred to as 'inert'. Inert treasures and herbs are effective for any cultivator regardless of their spirit root."

"I know this." Shen Xu said.

"You can't see it, but your chaos flame space has laws which divide it into different areas. "

"What do you mean?"

"Although I don't understand the laws, I can tell their basis. If you don't mind, I can help partition the land into different fields. Planting elemental herbs in the appropriate fields will allow them to grow faster and better."

"I see, thank you." Shen Xu said and smiled.

"We are a Taoist couple." Zhen Yuan said.

When Shen Xu heard that, his smile brightened.

They were a Taoist couple and didn't need to stand on ceremony. However, they were essentially strangers.

They were just getting to know each other, and he couldn't take Zhen Yuan's help for granted.

"I don't know which seeds are for what herbs. I need to study seeds before I start planting." He continued.

Zhen Yuan frowned and sank into his thoughts before he offered a suggestion.

"There are three options." He said.

"What are they?"

"The first option is to plant the seeds in the inert area. After they grow, we will naturally discover which element they belong to. At that time, we can transplant them to the appropriate area."

"Sounds like a lot of work."

Zhen Yuan nodded in agreement.

Although he had never done farming, he knew transplanting spirit herbs was difficult.

If they used the wrong methods, the herbs would wither, and their hard work would come to nothing.

"What's the second option?"

"The second option is to study the books in the library and begin planting when we know what we are doing."

When he thought of the many jade cards in the library, Shen Xu shook his head.

If he had to wait until he studied all the jade cards on seeds and spirit herbs, it would be months before he could plant anything.

"The third option is to buy seeds when we go to town." Zhen Yuan said.

"Let's do that." Shen Xu immediately jumped on the idea.

Buying seeds was simple and would ensure they knew what they were planting.

Most importantly, Shen Xu was concerned about the seeds in his space's storage room.

He wasn't worried they were ineffective, but he worried some were rare or extinct in the Canglan continent.

If he stupidly took the herbs out and someone discovered it, he and Zhen Yuan would be in trouble.

For the time being, it was best to use the locally available seeds and then figure the rest out.

"I also think it's the best option." Zhen Yuan said and rubbed Shen Xu's hair.

"If you are not tired, let's prepare the land first."

"Good." Shen Xu said, his voice filled with anticipation.

Since there was no equipment in the space, they planned to leave to find the tools used by Zhen Yuan's mother when she was alive.

However, when Shen Xu was about to leave, random snippets of information flashed in his mind.

His body froze in place and he closed his eyes for a moment.

When he opened them, there was a flush of embarrassment on his cheeks.

"What's the matter?" Zhen Yuan asked.

"I forgot that the space has a ginseng spirit to cultivate the land and grow spirit herbs." Shen Xu said.

"It makes things easier." Zhen Yuan nodded.

Preparing one thousand acres of spirit land was not an easy matter.

Even if they were both cultivators, it would take a lot of time to prepare and partition one thousand acres of land.

"Also, since we have formed a Taoist contract, you can enter the space as you wish." Shen Xu said.

"Is it okay?"

If Shen Xu was not okay with it, Zhen Yuan would not enter the space even if he could.

The space belonged to his wife, and Zhen Yuan wanted to respect him in every way he could.

When he heard the question, Shen Xu was taken aback.

In fact, he was a little uncomfortable that the space had suddenly become shared property.

However, Zhen Yuan's consideration dissipated the hesitation in his heart.

Because Zhen Yuan treated him sincerely, Shen Xu wanted to reciprocate the sincerity.

"It's okay." He said.

Zhen Yuan looked into the other's eyes and sighed in relief when he saw no hesitation.

"Okay." He said.

"Let's find the ginseng spirit." Shen Xu took Zhen Yuan's hand and pulled him out of the hut.

They walked a distance before stopping in front of the only plant in the chaos flame space.

"Masters." A voice called.

Soon after, a dwarf came out of the ginseng tree and stood in front of the two.

The dwarf was shorter than their knees, and its body was pure white.

It had red eyes, white hair, and its lower body was wrapped by a large green leaf.

"What's your name?" Shen Xu asked.

"The previous master called me Xiaoren." The dwarf said.

Shen Xu looked at Zhen Yuan, and both were helpless.

They didn't expect the previous owner of the chaos flame space to be so lazy at naming.

However, the name wasn't bad, so they decided to keep it.

"We will also call you Xiaoren." Shen Xu said.

"Thank you, master," Xiaoren said and looked genuinely happy.

"What happened to your previous master?" Zhen Yuan suddenly asked.

When it heard that, the ginseng frowned, and its green brows tangled.

After a while, it sighed and answered.

"I don't remember."

"You don't remember?" Shen Xu asked in confusion.

"I remember my name and I know how to take care of spirit herbs. I don't remember anything else."

Shen Xu and Zhen Yuan looked at each other and didn't know what to say.

'Let's drop the matter for the time being.' Zhen Yuan thought and nodded at Shen Xu.

Shen Xu understood the nod and didn't continue asking about the previous owner of the chaos flame space.

"Can you take care of all kinds of spirit herbs?" He asked instead.

When it heard the question, Xiaoren puffed his chest proudly.

"Xiaoren knows all herbs and can take care of all."

"I see." Shen Xu said and smiled.

With Xiaoren, they didn't need to worry about growing spirit herbs.

They only needed to prepare the seeds and wait for the spirit herbs to mature.

"If that's the case, you can start growing the seeds in the storage room." Shen Xu instructed.

"Xiaoren understands."

After saying that, the ginseng disappeared in place and reappeared a moment later.

When it reappeared, it had a box of seeds, and after receiving Shen Xu's permission, it began planting them.

"Can it enter the bamboo hut at will?" Zhen Yuan asked.

"Just the storage room."

"I see."

"What are you worried about? Xiaoren can't leave the space without our permission. It won't betray our secrets." Shen Xu assured.

"We are a married couple." Zhen Yuan said, and Shen Xu caught the implication.

They had conducted the ceremony but didn't talk about sex or children.

Now that Zhen Yuan had brought it up, Shen Xu felt the need to clarify things.

"About that…" He started, and his face turned red from embarrassment.

"Don't worry about it." Zhen Yuan said and rubbed Shen Xu's hair.

"Don't worry about what?"

"Although you didn't say it explicitly, I somewhat understand how your previous world was. In your previous world, there were no doubles, and same-sex relationships were not allowed. Becoming a double and being in a same-sex marriage should be difficult for you."

"I…"

"Don't worry about it. I will wait until you are ready."

"I am most worried about children." Shen Xu muttered in a low voice.

"Having children is a choice. We can choose not to have them." Zhen Yuan said.

"Is it okay not to have them?"

"Our lifespan is long, and if we cultivate to the extreme, it is endless. We don't need children to carry on our legacy. Living in a world of two is not bad." Zhen Yuan assured.

"I see." Shen Xu smiled and continued, "I am not saying 'never'; I just need time."