Lu Yin froze for a moment after catching sight of that blade of grass. A fragmented memory came to surface immediately; it was a pair of hands that stretched out to plant one of the seeds and watered it. After that, a beautiful, pale hand reached out to hand that pair of hands a piece of silk handkerchief. The cloth was rather exquisite with images of clouds on it.
Lu Yin suddenly snapped back to the present; what had that been? An illusion? No. A memory? Lu Yin carefully reviewed what he had just seen, but he could find nothing at all from before or after that brief image.
“Brother Long Qi, what’s wrong?” Nong Lie asked.
Lu Yin pointed at the small bit of grass. “What is that?”
Nong Lie’s expression changed a bit. “That’s another plant that was grown by an invited guest.”
“Who?” Lu Yin asked, as he stared at Nong Lie.
Nong Lie shook his head. “I can’t say. That matter is taboo for my Nong family.”
Lu Yin turned back and continued staring at the blade of grass. It looked perfectly ordinary, and if it were placed anywhere else, it would never attract the slightest attention. However, given it’s location in Seed Garden’s selective garden and growing close to the tree lotus vine, there was something special about this grass.
“Why can the grass survive so close to the tree lotus vine?” Lu Yin asked, as this seemed strange.
Nong Lie’s smile turned bitter. “Don’t ask me. I don’t know. Anyways, after Bai Xian’er planted that tree lotus vine, all of the nearby plants withered, even the ones that were planted by powerful Progenitors. The only exception was that bit of grass which has shown no problems and has actually thrived.”
“Thrived?” Lu Yin blinked. The blade of grass was no bigger than a person’s palm; how could that be considered thriving?
“Before the tree lotus vine started growing, the blade of grass was no bigger than a finger and it didn’t grow beyond that. After the tree lotus vine sprouted and forcibly absorbed all of the nutrients from the soil, that’s when the grass started to grow. I guess I should say that it’s stealing the lotus vine’s nutrients from the tree,” Nong Lie spoke in an odd tone.
Lu Yin found the entire situation rather amusing; a bit of what appeared to be the most common sort of grass was stealing nutrients from the overbearing tree lotus vine. This was an interesting situation.
Lu Yin felt that the image he had just seen was from his own lost memories, so could he have been the one to plant that bit of grass? Lu Yin pondered for a bit before speaking up, “Brother Nong Lie, can someone plant a second seed if they’ve already planted one before?”
Nong Lie smiled as he answered, “No one’s allowed to plant a second seed, and doing so would have no meaning since a second seed would sprout the exact same plant as the first seed.”
Lu Yin’s brows rose, and his eyes flickered as he nodded.
“Brother Long Qi, let’s go. We’re close to the place where you can grow your plant,” Nong Lie encouraged.
Lu Yin nodded again and followed Nong Lie’s lead.
They did not travel very far when Lu Yin suddenly asked, “Brother Nong Lie, do you happen to know where Chi Shui is?”
Nong Lie was caught off guard. “Brother Long Qi knows Chi Shui?”
Lu Yin smiled. “Of course. He’s the reason I’m here.”
After a moment of confusion, Nong Lie seemed to remember something. His face grew sullen as he stared at Lu Yin. “You aren’t here because of our invitation, but because of a mission.”
Lu Yin nodded. “I first wanted to plant a seed before bringing this matter up, but I’m afraid Chi Shui will escape once he receives word that I’m here, so I don’t see another choice.”
“Chi Shui is a traitor?” Nong Lie was shocked.
Lu Yin nodded. “Both Chi Shui and Master Shi are traitors.”
“Impossible! Master Shi has been part of my Seed Garden for hundreds of years. All he cares about is spending every day teaching others how to till the soil. He’s never done anything else, and he’s never even left Seed Garden! How could he be a traitor?”
Lu Yin shrugged. “Whether this is true or not, you’ll know for yourself shortly. However, I, Long Qi, am almost never wrong about those I arrest.”
Nong Lie and Lu Yin stared at each other for a moment, and then Nong Lie quickly called someone.
After a moment, he looked back at Lu Yin. “Father wants to see you. He’s in a field with Master Shi.”
Lu Yin nodded. The two youths did not continue walking through the isolated garden, and Lu Yin deliberately avoided planting a seed, as he was afraid that the image of planting the grass that he had seen had been his own memory. There would be big problems if his seed grew that same grass.
It looked like Lu Yin would need to investigate on his own to discover who had planted that blade of grass, and he might even uncover his own identity.
Lu Yin had yet to gain any understanding of his true identity, so he suppressed his anxiousness and followed Nong Lie out of the garden.
“Bro, what did you grow?” Wang Dashuai spoke up as soon as he saw Lu Yin, as the fatty was very curious.
Lu Yin’s expression was somber. “Need to finish some business first.”
“Business? What business?” The fatty felt rather lost. He had not known that this trip to Seed Garden had actually had the goal of arresting traitors.
Shang Qing put his hand on his shoulder and told him not to say more.
Nong Lie had been very enthusiastic when Lu Yin had first arrived, but that excitement was gone as the group returned to the fields. Nong Lie had been informed of a traitor to humanity within his own family, and Long Qi had arrived to arrest the traitors using his position as one of Humility’s Gate’s Gate Masters. It would be odd for Nong Lie to be in a good mood. After all, he seemed to have some bit of a relationship with Master Shi.
There was a rough looking man who looked to be in his middle years outside of the fields. His back was to the youths as he was staring out at the farmland. Nong Lie saw the old man and hurried forward. “Father.”
The man turned around and gazed upon Lu Yin and the other youths, but ultimately, his eyes landed upon Lu Yin.
“Junior Long Qi greets Senior,” Lu Yin respectfully addressed the older man without saying anything about being a Gate Master from Humility’s Gate.
This man was the master of Seed Garden: Nong Ya. He stared at Lu Yin with unconcealed admiration, though he also seemed rather somber. “You’ve recently become quite famous.”
Lu Yin grew more serious as well. “I’ve merely arrested a few traitors.”
Nong Ya remained serious. “The three Guan brothers and Yun Mubai were all exposed by you. Their arrests were a great boon to both Humility’s Gate and humanity, especially for those of us who do not fear the four ruling powers’ oppression. In fact, your invitation to Seed Garden originated from me.”
“Thank you, Senior, for your care.”
Nong Ya sounded torn as he continued, “I believe your claim that Chi Shui is a traitor, but as for Master Shi, is he really a traitor?”
“That’s correct.”
“Father, that’s impossible!” Nong Lie spoke up. Nong Ya raised a hand to stop his son, and then turned to look at an old man who was diligently tilling a field. “That man is Master Shi. He has never slacked during his hundreds of years with my Nong family. Lie’er and Sanniang cannot stand the thought of him being interrogated, so if you are able to prove he’s a traitor, just do it.”
Nong Lie turned his eyes that betrayed his complicated emotions onto Lu Yin.
Lu Yin observed the old man in the distance. If Lu Yin were to be honest, the moment he saw this old man working the field, he felt like he should accuse the Semi-Progenitor of deceit. How could such a diligent old man who had spent his life tilling the earth be a traitor? It seemed impossible to believe, and Lu Yin could understand Nong Lie’s reaction.
It was clear that Nong Ya held Master Shi in high esteem, and Lu Yin would not be allowed to take the old man away. This was the same as what had occurred with Liu Ke, and Lu Yin had no intention of trying to take Master Shi away.
“What is Master Shi’s cultivation?” Lu Yin asked.
“About the same as Lie’er’s,” Nong Ya replied.
Lu Yin nodded. This should be easy enough.
The blazing sun illuminated the fields, and elders diligently cared for the crops. It was a harmonious scene.
Suddenly, the sky changed. A massive scarlet eye with a slitted pupil covered all of Seed Garden, and the place instantly collapsed. The farms and the wheat field were reduced to ashes at a visible rate.
Master Shi lifted his head and stared up at the scarlet eye in horror; was this?
“Children of my Nong family! Listen to me and obey! Take away the core of Seed Farm! Our ancestors have already sacrificed themselves, but the core of this place cannot be lost!” Nong Ya rushed towards the scarlet eye, only to be instantly consumed. The ground nearby shattered, and zombies poured out of the void and attacked Seed Garden. The blood of Seed Garden’s powerhouses soon painted the sky.
Master Shi quickly found a place to hide, but Nong Lie suddenly approached from behind the old man. Half of Nong Lie’s body had already been destroyed, and he grabbed hold of Master Shi’s clothes in a miserable manner and gave the older man a cosmic ring. “Take this to the Liu family! Run away! Flee!”
Nong Lie’s voice fell silent, and another pair of slitted, scarlet eyes suddenly appeared. The figure tore Nong Lie to pieces and then seized Master Shi.
Master Shi’s pupils shrank to pinpricks, and he quickly shouted, “I’m one of you! I’m one of you! I’m a traitor who hid within the Nong family!”
Instantly, his vision changed once again, and the blood-splattered sky became clear and clean. The shattered earth returned to normal, and a frog-like creature was underfoot and releasing a cry as the wind blew by. Master Shi’s back was drenched with sweat, and his head snapped around to see Nong Ya and the others staring at him with glacial glares.
At that moment, Master Shi remembered everything that had just happened. Had that been an illusion? He had been set up!
Lu Yin smiled. “Senior, this junior will take away this person.”
At Lu Yin’s words, Shang Qing deliberately walked towards Master Shi.
Nong Lie’s face betrayed his utter disappointment. He had refused to believe that Master Shi could be a traitor.
Master Shi quickly spoke up, “Patriarch, someone put me under an illusion just now! I only spoke out of self-protection! I was ordered to protect the core of Seed Garden.”
Nong Ya and the others were all taken aback; what was the core of Seed Garden?
Lu Yin pursed his lips. He had made the core up, as it did not exist. It had merely been used to distract Master Shi, and the name sounded important.
“Father, what’s Seed Garden’s core?” Nong Lie wondered.
Nong Ya shot a strange look towards Lu Yin.
Lu Yin coughed. “Take him away.”
“Wait a minute,” Nong Ya said. Shang Qing paused and turned back to look.
Lu Yin arched a brow and turned towards Nong Ya. “What do you mean, Senior?”
Nong Ya and Lu Yin both stared at each other. “Gate Master Long, could we talk a moment?”
Lu Yin had been waiting for this moment. “Given Senior’s position, I don’t dare refuse.”
“Patriarch, I’m being framed! I’ve been with Seed Garden for hundreds of years! I’m one of you, Patriarch,” Master Shi shouted, but no one paid any attention to him. “Little Lie! Little Lie, I’m being framed! It’s me, Master Shi! Please help me. Talk to me, Little Lie.”
Nong Lie frowned and looked at Master Shi. The youth wanted to say something, but could not bring himself to say it.
Nong Ya led Lu Yin to a small gully on the other side of the field. He looked down into the crystal clear water that ran through the gully and spoke in a solemn tone, “Everyone wishes for my Nong family to be open and aboveboard, easy to see through like the water here. If we really were that way, we cannot survive till this money.”
Lu Yin said, “Senior, say whatever it is you need to say.”
Nong Ya nodded. “Very well, I’ll be blunt: you can’t take Master Shi or Chi Shui away, nor can you even make public the matter of exposing traitors within my Nong family.”
Lu Yin frowned. “Senior, you’re making things difficult for me. I’m not here on a mission from Huaiyuan Gate, but on behalf of the Fourteenth Gate.”
Nong Ya said, “I don’t care who you’re representing. Gate Master Long, it doesn’t make much difference to you whether you arrest one more or one less traitor, but could it be that you’re trying to use this matter to suppress my Nong family?”
Lu Yin smiled. “Senior certainly regards a junior like me very highly. Ignoring the fact that this junior has no motivation to suppress the Nong family, how could I suppress your family by arresting a few traitors?”
