To Raise a Soul 31.2

It took Yu Zhen more than twenty days to advance to the next stage of cultivation, which was between two to three days to the outside world. 

Fortunately, Yin Yan was prepared this time and had reported to Qiu Feiqian in advance. He gave his family the excuse that Yu Zhen was secretly preparing New Year’s gifts for them and successfully prevented their unnecessary worrying. 

When Yu Zhen left the tower, it was noon. Compared to his hesitation and uncertainty during his entry, his exit was much calmer. 

Standing outside the tower, Yin Yan didn’t say much when he came out. He just motioned to his side and said, “Wash your hands, it’s time to eat.”

Yu Zhen heard his words but didn’t move immediately. Instead, he turned back towards the black tower, which had begun to fade away. He called out, “Xu Wu.”

The black tower completely disappeared and the white cat appeared in its place. Running over, it flicked its tail and rubbed against him.

Yu Zhen crouched down to its level, then reached out… to hold its head. 

“You scoundrel.” He rubbed the cat’s little head hard, with an eerily friendly smile on his face while his other hand reached for Xu Wu’s back leg. “How dare you make Grandpa so miserable… I’ve been wondering for a while, but since your real body is a tower, do you have a gender after turning into a cat? Come on, don’t move, let me check.”

Xu Wu froze, then turned to run. 

However, Yu Zhen was no longer the former version of himself. He had been cultivating and leveled up a rank in his progression. The quality of his body had also had a leap in improvement, so he had no difficulty catching the little cat. He laughed maliciously as he pried apart its legs. 

“Meow? Meow! Meow! Meow!” The cat struggled towards Yin Yan, who stood motionlessly by the door, as it begged for help. 

Aware of its intention, Yu Zhen hesitated, then looked in the direction of the door. 

As the old saying went, to beat a dog, you had to look at the owner. Similarly, to tease a cat, you also have to consider its owner’s thoughts.

“You can play for a little while, I’ll go plate up lunch.” Yin Yan ignored the wordless cry for help and turned away. 

Yu Zhen contentedly looked back at Xu Wu and reached out his evil hand to the poor kitten. 

Xu Wu stared in wide-eyed shock, struggling helplessly. “Meow~ow~ow~ow~”

After harassing Xu Wu and eating a full meal, Yu Zhen was completely satisfied. He rushed to the dimensional pot to feed his orchids and seedlings, then ran out again, dragging Yin Yan out the door. 

“I know how to deal with the meritorious plants now. We don’t need to make fully grown plants. The seeds will do.”

The shopping mall wasn’t far away. When they walked out the door, Yu Zhen’s spirit bubbled with excitement, his complexion glowing. As they walked, he explained what he’d realized while he was in his meditative state. “As for the meritorious plants, they’ll grow if there are merits. Plants are grown from seeds, which means we would only need to use merits to nourish the seeds. Later, when they germinate naturally, we can find people with merits to plant them. Wouldn’t that count as a meritorious plant?

“By the way, didn’t you say that a school was next to the construction site? Can we find a way to organize an activity for the children to adopt a plant for free to borrow their vitality? Of course, there is a prerequisite that the children’s safety must be guaranteed.

“I’ve already thought it through. The Bodhi lotus is of high quality, and with their youthful and pure energy, children would be the most suitable to raise the seeds. But, you still need to help with this matter. For the leisure center, some matters need to be decided beforehand, such as, how many plants are needed, what types are needed, and how big the plants need to be. According to that list, I’ll buy some plants and prepare them in advance.”

As he rambled on, Yu Zhen grew embarrassed. His voice fell as he added, “Also, we will probably need the Yin family’s network to look for the labor force to do the planting and to organize the activities…”

Yin Yan listened to him silently and when he finally opened his mouth, he stated, “This is the Yin family’s project. You’re helping me, so you don’t need to feel burdened by this.”

Though it was he who uttered those words, at the end of the day, the one who was busiest was him and the one being taken advantage of was also him. 

Yu Zhen looked at his calm face and somehow saw a hint of indulgence and pampering. His heartbeat sped up and he quickly tore away his gaze. “Would my method work? Is this useful for transforming the evil energy?”

“It’s beneficial.”

Yin Yan looked at him with eyes full of vigor and vitality. He held Yu Zhen’s hand and said, “You’ve thought about it very thoroughly. If you only keep seeds, you will consume fewer merits, and you can also use the Sacred Soil and Boundless Water. Let people with merits plant the seedlings. It will provide work for those people and strengthen the effect of the merits. We’ll kill two birds with one stone. The idea of allowing children to adopt plants is ingenious. You can rest assured that it is a good thing to reduce the evil energy, and the children will benefit as well.”

Stunned, Yu Zhen looked up at him and met his direct and focused gaze, then hurriedly turned his eyes away again. “It’s good that it’s beneficial… Umm, it’s getting late. We need to buy Dad and Xiao Le’s gifts. Let’s go.”

Considering the melodramatic excuse that he was not returning home due to secretly preparing gifts for the family, the gifts definitely needed to be prepared.

Qiu Feiqian’s gift was easy. He’d already prepared the essential oil for her, and the perfume would be made in no time. However, the gifts for Yin Hexiang and Yin Le would be a little more difficult to prepare. He didn’t have many gift ideas for men, so he had to go shopping to look for suitable gifts. 

In the end, even after they’d walked around a little, they still left empty-handed. 

The Yin family was too rich, Yu Zhen’s funds were too limited, and Yin Hexiang and Yin Le would never use, or like, what he could afford. And the ones that were suitable were very expensive. 

Yin Yan offered to swipe his card, but Yu Zhen refused. 

How could I offer gifts bought using someone else’s money? No. No. No. 

“The intention is the most important part of the gift,” Yin Yan tried to reason with him.

Yu Zhen looked at him, and though he was exhausted, he asked, “Are you unwilling to accompany me to the mall?”

Although he was an antique, and his understanding of the world was not fully comprehensive, Yin Yan still had the desire to survive without another moment spent shopping. After two seconds of silence, he stood up decisively and said, “There is something you can absolutely afford and that my father will definitely use.”

“What is it?” Yu Zhen eagerly asked.

Yin Yan matter-of-factly replied, “Ginseng.”

“…”

Yu Zhen calculated the amount in his savings and recalled the price of ginseng in the market. He concluded that Yin Yan was really reluctant to accompany him to the mall. 

That night, Yu Zhen was woken up by Yin Yan. Heading out into the darkness, they went straight to the biggest mountain in the suburb. 

Yu Zhen’s sleepy eyes were hazy. “Are we going to practice?”

“No.” Yin Yan turned the steering wheel and stepped on the accelerator. “We’re going to buy ginseng.”

Buy ginseng?

Yu Zhen immediately perked up, completely energized. 

An hour later, the car stopped at the foot of a mountain. Yin Yan and Yu Zhen trekked up the mountain, then finally stopped before an ancient tree that was halfway to the summit. 

“Tell the mountain god that you are willing to exchange merits for ginseng.”

It was dark all around, with only wind blowing past them. Yu Zhen looked at Yin Yan’s confident expression, then walked forwards and repeated the words to the ancient tree. 

The old tree didn’t respond. Only the wind blew. 

Yu Zhen turned his head, giving him a skeptical look. 

Yin Yan looked at the ancient tree, then reached out and patted its trunk. Drawing back his hand, he said, “Try again.”

Though he was unsure if it was an illusion, the ancient tree seemed to have quivered. 

Yu Zhen thought that what they were doing must look funny to outsiders. Clearing his throat, he repeated the words again, putting a little golden light on his fingertips. Then he touched the trunk. 

A warm, cozy feeling reached him, and the ancient tree absorbed the golden light. With a ‘pa’ sound, a tree branch fell, transformed into ginseng in midair, and landed squarely in Yin Yan’s palm. 

Yu Zhen: “…”

It worked. 

On the way home, Yu Zhen began to feel sleepy again. Blearily, he asked, “What’s the best gift for Xiao Le?”

Turning up the temperature knob in the car, Yin Yan lowered his voice and replied, “He’s going to take the college entrance examinations next year, so he must pay close attention to his studies.”

“Huh?” Yu Zhen gave him a ‘please bestow me with knowledge’ look. 

Reaching out a hand to cover Yu Zhen’s eyes, the corners of Yin Yan’s mouth curled upwards. “Knowledge is priceless.”

A warm feeling passed through his palm onto Yu Zhen’s skin. Suddenly, his exhaustion became overwhelming. Yu Zhen slowly closed his eyes and fell asleep. 

The two returned to the villa on the eve of the Lunar New Year. Qiu Feiqian grumbled a couple of times but remembered that they had been delayed buying gifts for them. So, she didn’t complain as much as she could have. She only said two comments before inviting them to eat. 

After the celebratory reunion dinner that night, Yu Zhen finally took out the gifts they’d prepared. Qiu Feiqian and the others immediately became spirited as they eyed the boxes he drew out. 

Yu Zhen grew embarrassed under their attention. He blushed, then handed the first box to Qiu Feiqian. “This is for Mom. I made the essential oil and perfume myself. If you don’t like them, I’ll change them for something else.”

“You made them yourself?”

Qiu Feiqian was surprised. She couldn’t wait to receive the box. 

When Yin Yan said that Yu Zhen was preparing New Year’s gifts for them, she had considered his artless personality and expected the gifts wouldn’t be too eye-catching. She’d decided that even if the gifts weren’t satisfactory, she would pretend to be surprised and satisfied to make the child happy. 

But, when she actually got the present, she didn’t have to pretend to be surprised. 

It’s hand-made essential oil and perfume!

She had her own cosmetics company and certainly knew that those items could be homemade, but didn’t expect that Yu Zhen, a man, would so carefully make them for her. 

Her heart was warmed and she decided that even if his essential oil and perfume weren’t good, she would exaggerate, praise them, and offer the best acting of her life to express her love for the gift. 

With such a script in mind, she opened the box and saw two exquisite bottles inside. Smiling, she met Yu Zhen’s eyes. She first took out the bottle of perfume and sprayed a little on her wrist. 

A fresh and elegant, but obviously rose-based fragrance filled the air. It even masked the scent of the food. From the nose to the brain, the fragrance filled the space, spreading a feeling of relaxation over everyone. 

Qiu Feiqian couldn’t help but sigh. She wasn’t just surprised, she was shocked to the core!

It was fantastic. The delicate fragrance didn’t seem homemade at all!

Her professional zeal reared its head and she quickly twisted the cap on the essential oil and smelled it. 

Another stronger scent permeated the air, wave by wave, with each wave smelling more attractive than the last. It was like a rose was blooming right before them. It was so beautiful that it would leave anyone dazzled. 

Opening her eyes, she looked at the small bottle of rose essential oil in her hand, speechless. 

The craft was on par with the technicians she hired with a high salary. 

After the surprise and shock, her very heart was moved. 

As everyone knew, rose essential oil was difficult to process since it often wasted raw materials and energy. 

No wonder it took Yu Zhen so long to prepare the gifts. Even if he just made a small bottle of essential oil, it would have taken a very long time.

“Mom likes it very much. Xiao Zhen has worked hard.” She treasured the essential oil and perfume and wanted to hug Yu Zhen. But, she restrained herself due to her ‘elder’ status. She lowered her head and took out a red envelope¹ from her pocket. Placing it in his hand, she said, “Have a good and safe life this new year.”

“Thank you, Mom.”

Seeing that she liked it, Yu Zhen sighed with relief and looked at Yin Hexiang next. Handing over the medium-sized box, he said, “Dad, Happy New Year.” 

“En, very good.” Yin Hexiang accepted the gift in a reserved manner. Keeping a serious expression, he opened it, only to have his eyes open wide. Quickly closing it again, he said, “This gift is good. Xiao Zhen is very thoughtful.”

Yin Hexiang also took out a red envelope and handed it to him. He still wore a serious expression, so whether he was satisfied or dissatisfied with the gift was hard to tell.

Thanking him for the red envelope, Yu Zhen was unsure about his feelings towards the gift. On the other hand, Yin Le excitedly made his way over and touched the last box in front of him, saying, “Yu Ge, this is for me, right? I knew that Yu Ge was the best. Hey, what have you prepared for me? Is it the latest model I talked about a while ago…” 

The box was opened, and a set of exam papers lay inside it, thick and full of the ‘fragrance of knowledge’. 

Yin Yan aptly began talking. His voice was so calm that he deserved a beating. “Xiao Le, next year’s college entrance examinations will take place soon, so you have to hold on tight to this opportunity.”

“Hahaha,” Qiu Feiqian couldn’t help but laugh.