As Zhenzhu walked to the back of the kitchen, the sight caused her to be surprised. The vegetable garden was still flourishing, with well-tended plants. The vegetables were thriving, with lush green leaves and plump stems that looked very appetizing. “Young miss, are you lost? Where do you want to go? I can guide you,” said one of the garden caretakers, a middle-aged woman. She had heard that Lady Zhao was visiting, so this lady could be her. But this young woman didn’t resemble General Zhao and the Young General at all. “Auntie, do you take care of this garden?” Zhenzhu asked. She didn’t recognize the woman, likely a new worker hired by Brother Hao to take care of the vegetable garden. “Yes, miss. The workers and I take turns tending the garden, and the Young General also assigns soldiers to help. These vegetables are used to prepare meals for the soldiers in the army.” “The vegetables look very nice.” Though they weren’t spirit vegetables, it was clear they were well taken care of. “The soldiers help taking care of them. They are taking very good care of them. It’s as if they’ve grown vegetables before. They know exactly when to water and fertilize them,” the caretaker said. “Furthermore, over there, we also have some spirit plants.” “Oh? Really?” Zhenzhu asked, surprised. “Yes, miss. I’m new here and don’t know everything, but I’ve heard that two years ago, a Lady came here and taught the soldiers how to grow vegetables. She even managed to cultivate a whole garden of spirit vegetables. Eating those high-tier spirit vegetables helped the soldiers be able to start cultivating spirit energy. Some of them enjoyed it so much they decided to be an agricultural spirit energy cultivator. The Young General is very generous; not only did he not discharge them from military service, but he also established a special unit responsible for growing spirit vegetables to strengthen the army.” "There’s even a unit ?" Zhenzhu exclaimed in surprise. "Yes, but there aren’t many people in it, just a few hundred.” "Oh," Zhenzhu listened to the worker’s story while walking around and examining the vegetables. Brother Hao had such an unusual idea to create a vegetable planting unit within the army. Although the number of people in this unit was small, soldiers in the army received stipends from the royal court. Therefore, creating this unit must have been approved by the court and His Majesty first. The Yan Region’s court had remarkable foresight. It must be said that spirit vegetables are crucial for enhancing the abilities of the soldiers in the army. Having these vegetables would increase the number of spirit energy cultivators in the Yan army, potentially surpassing other regions’ armies. This was a great start. Zhenzhu nodded with satisfaction and continued to examine the vegetables with interest. These vegetables were thriving, with not a single weed in sight. They were exceptionally well-cared for. "This is very good. Not only does it reduce food expenses, but it also provides soldiers with spirit vegetables. Unfortunately, there are too few of these vegetables to supply the entire army," Zhenzhu said to the gardener without turning around. "Are you interested in coming back to plant vegetables for the army?" A deep voice of someone replaced the gardener’s. "Brother Hao, when did you get here?" Zhenzhu turned around in surprise. This man made her question her abilities. She was a gold-tier spirit energy cultivator, yet she couldn’t sense his breath. If he were an enemy, she would have been beheaded already. "I’ve been here for a while. So, what do you say? Want to come back and help the army with the vegetable planting?" "Is there pay?" Zhenzhu pretended to ask. "If Lady He doesn’t ask for too much, we can manage.” "Sigh, too bad my fees are very high. Can you afford it, Brother Hao?" "Don’t ask for too much. I’m almost broke," Yong Saiweihao put on a very convincing sad face. "How could the Young General of the Yan Region be broke?" Zhenzhu raised an eyebrow and chuckled. Brother Hao also had this side to him? He acted like a little boy asking his mother for candy. "I’m really almost broke." "Well, that’s unfortunate. My fees are very high. If Brother Hao is broke, you can’t hire me. I do want to help the army, but if I lower my fees, people might accuse me of being unfair." Zhenzhu crossed her arms and pretended to look troubled. Seeing her expression, the general could only smile fondly. Look at that, she really wouldn’t back down on money matters. "Only have myself left. Can I use that as payment?" He leaned in close, his high bridged nose almost touching hers, causing Zhenzhu to lean back hastily. "..." At that, the small one was at a loss for words, her beautiful face turning a faint shade of red. Wait, did someone just offer themselves? "Uh... well... um... well..." "What do you say? Just me, would you be interested, Lady He?" Yong Saiweihao continued to tease her. The more her face blushed, the more he wanted to tease her. "Ah... um... I’m not talking to you anymore. I’m tired from the journey, I need to go back to sleep!" Zhenzhu said, turning around and running off hastily. "Where are you going?" Yong Saiweihao asked. Zhenzhu halted. "G... Going back to the residence." Her face was still burning. How embarrassing! Brother Hao, you’re too much. Just wait, when I get myself together, I’ll come back and get my revenge. "Your residence is this way," he pointed behind him. The direction she was running towards led up the mountain. "Ugh!" Zhenzhu ran back the way she came, but just as she was about to pass by him, a misfortunate rock was right in her path. She stumbled over it and fell forward quickly. But before she could steady herself, she flew straight into the arms of the Young General. Oh, Creator of Heavens, do you have any other scenes? I’ve seen this scene in countless dramas in my past life. It’s so boring. Please think of a new plot, Zhenzhu thought to herself. "Why the rush?" A whisper came by her ear, giving Zhenzhu goosebumps. Before she could push herself away from his embrace, she heard a familiar voice she had longed to hear in her head. "Foolish A’Zhu, you’re back! Have you already been courted by a man?" Baihu! Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs 𝗇𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗅•𝖿𝗂𝗋𝖾•𝗇𝖾𝗍 "Baihu! Baihu, is that you? Where are you?" Zhenzhu quickly pushed herself out of Yong Saiweihao’s strong embrace. The shyness from before vanished in an instant. She wasn’t imagining it; she had really heard Baihu’s voice. "Hmm, what did you say?" Yong Saiweihao asked, puzzled. "I heard Baihu’s voice!" Zhenzhu replied, looking around as if searching for something. "Where is Baihu?" The young man looked around as well. Was she missing Baihu so much that she was hearing his voice? He started to feel jealous of Baihu. "Brother Hao, I really heard him," Zhenzhu continued to search excitedly. She wasn’t imagining things earlier. However, no matter how she searched, she couldn’t find him. Without wasting time, Zhenzhu sat down on the ground, closed her eyes, and used her own soul to search for Baihu’s. It had to be around here somewhere. Zhenzhu searched for Baihu’s soul for a long time before opening her eyes in disappointment. She couldn’t find him. Why couldn’t I find him? "Did you find him?" Yong Saiweihao knelt on one knee to ask her, but he was taken aback when the young woman threw herself into his arms, hugging him tightly. "Brother Hao, let me hug you for a moment," she said, wrapping her small arms tightly around him, causing the young man to frown in confusion. "A’Zhu, A’Zhu, you even asked to hug a man. How shameless of you!" Baihu’s voice immediately rang in Zhenzhu’s head the moment she embraced Yong Saiweihao. "Baihu. Baihu, is that really you? Where are you? I can’t find you," she cried out, her eyes welling up with tears. It was really Baihu. She wasn’t imagining things. The excitement and joy made her forget that she was currently hugging a man. "I’m in Yong Saiweihao’s soul." "How did you get in there? Why won’t you come out? And why didn’t you tell me? I thought you were dead. Come out," she said, her voice muffled as tears began to stain the Young General’s shirt. Sniff! And not just wiping tears, she also had to wipe her nose. "..." The person receiving her tears could only raise an eyebrow before chuckling fondly. If it were another woman, would she dare use his shirt to wipe her nose? Only she would dare to do that. "I got stuck in his soul when I split my soul to ask for help. Once my physical body was gone, my soul became extremely weak, so it was drawn to the safest place. At that time, I hadn’t awakened from my slumber. When I became aware again, I was already trapped in his soul." "Then why didn’t you communicate with Brother Hao?" "I can only communicate with you. I thought I would be stuck here until Yong Saiweihao died. Luckily, you came back," Baihu explained gloomily. Reflecting back to two years ago, when he split part of his soul to seek help from Yong Saiweihao, he was about to return to A’Zhu. Unfortunately, his fragments of soul and physical body were destroyed, leaving him extremely weak. So, he fell into a deep sleep to preserve his final soul. His soul was instinctively drawn to the safest place, which happened to be the soul of the strongest person he last communicated with—Yong Saiweihao. He slept for several months. When he woke up again, he found himself trapped in Yong Saiweihao’s soul. Sadly, he couldn’t get out or communicate with anyone else except his bonded human. He hid in Yong Saiweihao’s soul, aware of everything this man did—eating, sleeping, and even being on the battlefield. Yong Saiweihao was quite capable. Baihu tried to find a way out of his soul, but this man’s soul was too strong. He couldn’t escape or ask for help from anyone. After more than a year, he resigned to being stuck there until Yong Saiweihao died, hoping his soul would weaken enough for him to get out. Baihu could only think of the little girl who must be crying her heart out, with a runny nose, thinking he was dead. "Sob, Baihu, you’re so mean. I’ve been searching for you for so long." "I’m here now. Don’t cry. It’s been so long, and you’ve grown up, yet you still cry . You’re hopeless," Baihu complained like a father lecturing his child, but his voice couldn’t hide his concern and care. Seeing the young woman crying so hard, Yong Saiweihao didn’t know what to do. He gently patted her back. "How will you get out?" Zhenzhu asked Baihu. "That’s your job—to help me get out." "How should I know how to do that? Can Brother Hao expel you from his soul?" she asked. Wasn’t it strange for Yong Saiweihao to have a divine beast’s soul hiding in his own for two years? "Originally, I should cultivate my spirit energy to strengthen my soul enough to leave on my own, but that would take hundreds of years. It’s not good to stay here. I want to get out now. Help me, A’Zhu." "Alright, alright. You stay in there for now. I’ll go ask Yongxian if there’s a way to get you out." Zhenzhu talked and shared her story with Baihu for a while before reluctantly pulling away from Yong Saiweihao’s embrace. Others had work to do, after all. How could she keep holding on to him? The Young General’s time was as valuable as gold. "Enough already? If not, you can hug me some more. I’m not stingy. I won’t charge you for it," Yong Saiweihao leaned in closer to the young woman, who was muttering to herself against his chest. Yet, he didn’t ask who she was talking to. From her demeanor, she must have found Baihu’s soul. “N... No more,” Zhenzhu pouted. Brother Hao, are you trying to embarrass me until I must dig the ground to escape from the embarrassment? “Oh, if you want to hug me again, you can, but this outfit is dirty now. What should we do?” Yong Saiweihao said with a mock serious tone. His shirt was now stained with her tears and snot. Hearing this, Zhenzhu’s eyes widened as she looked at his outfit. It was exactly as he said. Now, she wished she could escape. “Um, Brother Hao, shall I wash it for you?” “Why not? Your shirt is dirty, so it needs washing. I’ll wash it myself until it’s spotless, not a single stain left.” “Isn’t Lady He the owner of a fabric shop and weaving factory that’s so popular people must book orders years in advance? Can’t you a shirt to a poor general?” Yong Saiweihao asked. “Alright, alright. Hmph!” She had only gotten his shirt wet; why did she have to give him a new one? These shirts were very expensive. Luckily, she had brought several men’s outfits from the factory, planning to sell them to the generals and commanders in the army. “Make sure it’s a shirt you embroidered yourself.” “Why do I have to embroider it myself?” Couldn’t someone else do it? All the shirts she brought were embroidered by the workers. Why was he being so picky? “As an apology,” Yong Saiweihao smiled, seeing the pouty face of a small woman. “It’s settled then. I must get back to work now.” “I found Baihu. It’s in your soul. Can you get it out, Brother Hao?” “Yes.” Zhenzhu decided to tell him everything about Baihu. Yong Saiweihao was quite surprised. Baihu had hidden in his soul? How did he not know? It was unexpected. He had intended to help her find Baihu, but it turned out to be in his soul all along. Her crying and talking to herself earlier was her talking to Baihu in his soul? Yong Saiweihao closed his eyes, trying to explore his own soul again, but no matter what, he couldn’t sense another soul. “Brother Hao, can you drive it out?” Zhenzhu asked, blinking with hope. “Can’t find it,” the young man replied with a deadpan expression. If he could drive it out but didn’t, what would she do? “Then what should we do?” “I don’t know,” he said before standing up and walking away as if he had just won a war between regions, leaving the young woman sitting there alone with swollen eyes, pondering how to get Baihu out. However, at this moment, Zhenzhu felt at ease. At least she knew Baihu’s soul hadn’t vanished. She decided to consult Yongxian, since he might have good ideas to propose. Without delay, Zhenzhu hurried back to her guest residence and retrieved the small turtle from her dimensional bracelet. “Yongxian, I found Baihu’s soul!” “You found it? Where was it?” It lazily poked its head out of its shell. “It’s in Brother Hao’s soul.” “Hm, it’s in a human’s soul?” he asked, surprised. Was there still a human soul strong enough to house the soul of a semi-divine creature? The human soul was generally weaker than that of a semi-divine creature. Yong Saiweihao must be quite extraordinary for Baihu’s soul to be able to reside there. “Do you know what to do, Yongxian?” Zhenzhu asked hopefully. “There are two ways. The first is for it to train within that soul until it can come out on its own. The second is for the semi-divine creature’s bond partner to pull it out, but the bond partner must have a spirit energy tier equal to or higher than A’Hao’s. His soul is very strong; otherwise, it can’t be pulled out.” Zhenzhu was deeply troubled upon listening. It meant either she or Baihu had to train until they reached a high enough tier of spirit energy for him to come out. She was close to reaching the white-tier, but she wasn’t sure how long it would take to break through to it. Cultivating to the white-tier of spirit energy was no easy task. The higher the tier, the harder it became. How many months or years would it take her to advance her spirit energy? “A’Hao is not ordinary. Do you think you can train to match his tier?” Yongxian said. “I’ll reach the white-tier. If I dedicate myself to cultivating, I can advance.” Don’t underestimate me. “Do you think someone like A’Hao will stop at the white-tier? How foolish,” Yongxian said. “What? Isn’t the white-tier the highest tier of spirit energy?” Zhenzhu asked, puzzled. “How could it only reach the white-tier? There’s a higher tier than that.” “Really?!” Zhenzhu exclaimed, astonished. She had always thought the white-tier was the highest tier of spirit energy. She didn’t realize there was an even higher tier. “Of course. The tier above white is called Formless Spirit Energy. Most humans never reach this tier, so it has been forgotten over time. But A’Hao is about to advance from the white-tier to the formless-tier. Once he advances, you can forget about catching up to him.” Zhenzhu’s eyes widened in shock. This new knowledge expanded her horizon. She had always thought the white-tier was the pinnacle of spirit energy, believing that reaching this tier made one as mighty as a mountain, nearly invincible. But that was only her small world. There was a greater power beyond that, and Brother Hao was on the brink of reaching it. "Is there no other way to bring Baihu out?" She began to lose hope. If that were the case, how could she ever catch up to him? "Quick, tell me!" Zhenzhu said excitedly. She had thought she didn’t have any hope. "A’Hao would need to lower his tier to match yours." "Normally, it can’t." "What?" This little turtle was getting on her nerves. Should she throw it out the window? "But if the situation is unusual, there might be a way. You should consult A’Hao. I’m not very knowledgeable about human powers." "Oh, thank you." Zhenzhu considered what Yongxian said. If Brother Hao could really lower his spirit energy tier, that would make things easier. It seemed like the most feasible solution. Zhenzhu compared it to her golden fish scale, which could lower its energy tier to soak in lower-tier spiritual energized water. So human spirit energy should be able to decrease as well. Feeling a bit more at ease, she decided to discuss this with him again the next morning. Zhenzhu hummed a song in a good mood as she went to take a bath before going to bed early. Today was the happiest day she had been in the past two years. Zhenzhu went to bed happily. Read ‘Rebirth: This Farmgirl Has Spirit Fish Scales’ before anyone else with more Chapters at https://www.jinovel.com/en