Chapter 288: The Wonders of the Celestial Seeds and a Letter from the Temple

The weather on the grasslands could change in the blink of an eye.

The morning had been pleasant, with clear skies and sunlight. By noon, however, the distant horizon was covered by a mass of dark clouds, heavy and oppressive, as though they hung just above one’s head, casting vast shadows across the land. By afternoon, fierce winds swept through, bending the wild grass outside the city and sending yellow dust swirling through the streets within.

Song You stood atop the city wall, gazing into the distance.

The vastness of the heavens and earth stretched before him. The wind swept unhindered across the plains, and even the tattered scraps of cloth carried aloft seemed carefree and unbound.

A sight one could never witness in the south.

The Daoist stood watching for a long time.

It wasn’t until the calico cat’s voice came from beside him, “The clouds over there look like they’re about to fall.”

“They do.”

“Why are the clouds so low here?”

“Perhaps because the land here is so vast, flat, and open, it makes the clouds seem lower,” the Daoist replied, withdrawing his gaze from the distance.

He turned to meet the eyes of the calico cat, who was perched on the city wall and staring at him intently. He answered patiently, “It could also be due to the terrain and geography, which cause clouds to form lower. Or it might be because those clouds over there are cumulonimbus clouds. They’re large and thick, with tops that reach high and bases that hang low.”

The calico cat stared at him with an expression of pure, clueless innocence.

𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

“I don’t understand...”

“It’s perfectly normal for you to not understand,” Song You said patiently. “Even the smartest people often can’t grasp something unfamiliar on their first encounter. The same goes for cats.”

Turning his gaze back to the distance, he continued, “All you need to know is that you’ve seen yet another unique and different kind of scenery.”

“Unique scenery!”

“Yes.”

“Cumulonimbus clouds!”

“Yes.”

“Will they fall down?”

“If they do, they’ll turn into rain or snow.”

“Why not fur?”

“I’d like to know that too.”

“Why...”

Lady Calico asked a flurry of “whys.”

Song You patiently answered each one while keeping his gaze fixed on the distance.

Amid the shadows cast by the clouds, the demons' assault seemed to be taking shape.

Then, a muffled rumble—

“

Boom

!”

A deep thunderclap rolled in from afar.

For newly ascended demons or freshly born wicked creatures, just hearing such a sound would have been enough to frighten them half to death.

Only then did Song You shift his attention back and say to Lady Calico. “It’s about to rain. Let’s head back.”

“Oh...”

The cat leapt down from the city wall and followed behind him.

As soon as they returned, the rain began to fall.

Large droplets of rain pounded relentlessly on the military town, thousands of li away from Changjing, their splashes echoing sharply. As the storm arrived, the grass and trees were tossed about with no place to take shelter. The sky and earth turned dark, and even standing under the eaves left one drenched.

“

Boom

!”

Peals of thunder followed one after another, briefly illuminating the dim world.

Song You borrowed a book from Advisor Zhang and sat by the window, calmly reading. Immersed in its pages, he seemed unaffected by the storm, as if the sound of wind and rain had vanished entirely.

The rain poured relentlessly.

In less than half an hour, water began pooling on the ground. Within two hours, some old houses had already had their roofs shattered by wind and rain. Officers and soldiers scrambled through the downpour, wading through the water to make repairs, shouting instructions as they worked.

Fortunately, although Yuanzhi City was not built on a mountain, it wasn’t in a low-lying area either. The buildings were elevated slightly, so the water only reached the doorsteps, flooding the streets to about knee depth before stabilizing. When the rain lightened, the water outside quickly drained away, revealing the ground beneath.

Song You remained undisturbed, focused on his reading.

Lady Calico played with her newly acquired flag indoors. Occasionally, she practiced writing, and at times, she transformed into her feline form to perch by the window, watching the rain and the people rushing about outside.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

Knock, knock...

The sound of knocking came from outside the door.

Song You put down his book and went to open it. Standing outside was a junior officer, clad in a raincoat and covered in mud from head to toe.

“Mr. Song, the advisor requests your presence!”

“Wait a moment.”

Song You turned back into the room, grabbed an umbrella, and followed the officer without hesitation. “Lead the way.”

After three days of rain, the downpour had eased somewhat.

Outside, the streets and alleys were coated in wet mud and crisscrossed with footprints.

Man and cat followed the junior officer briskly, quickly arriving at the familiar room.

Inside, the ten or so generals were still lying on their beds. General Chen, Advisor Zhang, Big Belly Jiang, and several other advisors and officers were also present, looking as though they had just arrived. Likely, their concern for the situation had also drawn them to witness the marvel firsthand.

Next to the group stood a table, upon which sat a large chest.

The chest wasn’t overly large, just big enough for one person to carry. It was simple yet elegant, exuding a faint aura of spiritual light.

“Mr. Song, you’ve arrived?”

As soon as Advisor Zhang saw Song You enter, he quickly said, “The small chest has returned, but we haven’t opened it yet. We were waiting for you, Mr. Song.”

“Open it,” Song You said as he stepped in.

“Alright!”

Big Belly Jiang immediately opened the large chest.

Inside was a small box about a chi long and a palm wide, resembling the type of chest wealthy families used to store valuables like gold or jewelry.

He then opened the small box.

Inside were an envelope and a large bamboo tube. The bamboo tube was filled with many black seeds, resembling pumpkin seeds in appearance.

“Sir...” Big Belly Jiang glanced at Song You.

“...” Song You remained silent as he picked up the envelope.

He gave it a light squeeze—it felt thin.

“Thank you...”

Song You sincerely expressed his gratitude to Big Belly Jiang, tucking the envelope into his robe. He then reached into the small chest, grabbed a handful of seeds, examined them briefly, and returned all but one to the chest.

Turning to the gathered officers, he asked, “Can one of you dig a hole for me in the ground?”

“I’ll do it!”

A burly general with a saber immediately stepped forward. With a sharp

shing

, he drew his weapon and, with minimal effort, plunged it into the compacted yellow dirt floor.

A quick pry, and a small hole appeared.

“Thank you.” Song You casually tossed the seed into the hole.

The general, understanding his intent, promptly filled the hole back in with dirt.

Song You then picked up a nearby teapot and poured a bit of water onto the freshly covered soil. Looking down, he said:

“Celestial seed, do you understand human words? If you do, grow quickly.”

Under the watchful eyes of everyone present, something miraculous happened—a speck of black appeared in the yellow soil. In the blink of an eye, the black speck pushed through the dirt, revealing a green, tender sprout.

The seed, just planted moments ago, had already taken root. It pushed through the soil with its original black seed shell still attached. Soon, the shell fell off, revealing delicate leaves that quickly unfurled.

The young sprout began to grow rapidly.

This plant seemed to possess boundless vitality. Without any urging or visible spellcasting from Song You, it continued to grow swiftly on its own.

Everyone present was awestruck.

Within the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, the room now held a vine taller than half a person. Vibrantly green, it resembled a pea plant, adorned with blue-purple blossoms.

“Celestial seed, do you understand human words?” Song You spoke, pointing to the afflicted general lying nearby. “If you understand, remove the demonic spell from this man’s body.”

All eyes widened in astonishment.

Even the soldiers guarding the door couldn’t resist poking their heads in to see.

The general lying on the bed also turned his head, staring intently at the vine that now stood over half his height.

What had only ever been heard in storytellers’ tales or seen in legends was now unfolding right before their eyes—how could it not captivate them?

The vine trembled slightly. In a matter of moments, its blossoms withered and fell. At the base of the vine, a fruit the size of a pea began to form. Slowly, it grew, its transformation visible to the naked eye.

Amidst gasps and murmurs of awe, it continued to expand. Within another stick of incense’s time, the fruit had grown to the size of a watermelon, black and oval-shaped, with faint patterns visible on its surface.

“Ah!” Advisor Zhang’s exclamation startled everyone.

Following his cry, the crowd turned to look and realized that all their attention had been focused on the vine growing in the room and the steadily maturing fruit. Even the afflicted general himself had been watching intently.

What none of them had noticed—neither the general nor anyone else—was that as the fruit grew and ripened, the swollen lump on the general’s back had gradually disappeared.

Except for a faint red mark, his back had almost completely returned to normal. Even that slight redness faded quickly before their very eyes.

Turning back to the vine, they saw its leaves drying up and withering one by one. The stem attached to the fruit shriveled and hardened, indicating the fruit had fully ripened.

“This is incredible!”

“A miracle!”

“Immortal magic!”

“General Luo, the lump on your back is gone! Quick, touch it—see if it still hurts!”

General Luo, startled by their words, instinctively reached a hand behind his back.

Alas, he was too muscular—he couldn’t reach it.

One of the generals, a close comrade of General Luo’s, immediately stepped forward and carefully touched the afflicted area on his back. Both men exclaimed in surprise. The standing general then laughed heartily and gave General Luo a slap on the back, producing a loud

smack

.

It was indeed completely healed.

From the front of the room, the Daoist’s voice rang out, “The fruit must still be cut open.”

He then asked one of the generals to slice the fruit. When it was split, the inside was nearly all liquid—dark red and foul-smelling.

The prone general was now entirely recovered and even stood up.

Everyone present was overcome with excitement.

“There are far too many officers afflicted by this demonic spell. If I were to handle it all by myself, it would take days, and I still might not finish,” Song You said calmly after the commotion settled. “Fortunately, this celestial seed understands human speech. With the proper incantations, even an ordinary person can make it work.”

He continued, “The incantations are as I recited earlier. Plant the seed, cover it with soil, and water it. Then recite the first part of the incantation to make it grow. I only said it once, but you will need to chant it continuously without pause until it blooms.

“Next, recite the second part to have it extract the demonic spell and produce the fruit. Again, keep chanting until the fruit ripens. Finally, cut the fruit with a blade to complete the process.”

“We’ll remember it well,” the general replied.

Song You glanced at the small chest again.

There appeared to be about 300 seeds inside.

The crested myna back at the temple, with its compulsive tendencies, had most likely ensured exactly 300.

“If there are any leftover seeds, you must return them to me.”

“Of course!”

“I’ll take my leave now.”

“Safe travels, sir...”

Song You cupped his hands in a gesture of respect toward the group, then left with the letter, returning to his quarters.

Sitting down at the table, Lady Calico eagerly jumped onto it as well. Song You paid her no attention, instead opening the envelope and taking out the letter.

Inside was a single sheet of paper. It contained just a few short sentences.

The writing wasn’t in brush strokes but looked like it had been written with a feather dipped in ink. The handwriting was ordinary, and the letter was written in plain language, “We’ve received both of your letters. Last time, Master wrote a reply for you but said it would be given to you next time. Master and I are both well—don’t worry about us while you’re away.”

Without a doubt, it was written by the old crested myna at the temple.

“Master” was how the crested myna addressed Song You’s master, imitating Song You’s tone.

Song You wasn’t disappointed. This outcome was exactly what he had expected.