20: Chapter 20: The Second Reward, Reunion of Mother and Daughter.

One hour later.

Ji Boxiao, sprawled on the cold tabletop, was still snoring like a dead pig, completely oblivious to everything in the outside world.

He didn't even react when his head slid halfway off the edge of the table, nearly falling to the floor.

Wu Mengmeng lazily straightened the wrinkles in her dress, her pretty Face full of smiles.

"Little Feng... come over and give your sister-in-Law a hand; help me toss this good-for-nothing inside."

Wu Mengmeng sighed, her tone filled with deep disdain and helplessness.

"Otherwise, if he wakes up in the courtyard like this tomorrow and starts throwing a drunken tantrum, my life won't be easy."

Qin Feng paused slightly, ready to refuse offhandedly; after all, he had no interest in hauling a bastard around.

Just then, a long-lost and wonderful mechanical prompt suddenly sounded in his mind without warning!

[Ding! A qualified request for help has been detected — Wu Mengmeng.]

[System quest triggered: Help her carry Ji Boxiao into the room.]

[Quest reward: Mutation Potion for Spirit Seeds. (The host can select 100 seeds and soak them in the potion to induce a beneficial mutation.)]

Hearing the prompt in his mind, Qin Feng's eyes lit up instantly.

There's such a good thing?

Just moving a dead pig could trigger a System quest, and the reward was the extremely rare "Mutation Potion for Spirit Seeds"!

He was genuinely curious about what kind of things the System's mutation could produce.

"Fine, considering how hard you worked just now, sister-in-Law, I'll help you out."

A smile curled the corners of Qin Feng's mouth, and he walked forward without hesitation.

Without even bending his waist much, he grabbed the back collar of Ji Boxiao's long robe with one hand.

With a slight circulation of his Mortal Fourth Stage Qi, he effortlessly lifted the hundred-plus-pound Ji Boxiao into mid-air, as if he were picking up a scrawny, sick chicken.

"Hiss..."

Seeing this, Wu Mengmeng's eyes were full of smiles, and her gaze became increasingly seductive.

Qin Feng strode into the inner room, dragging him like a dead dog, and casually tossed him aside.

"Bang!"

Ji Boxiao slammed heavily onto the hard wooden bed. Due to the violent impact, he mumbled a few incoherent words, turned over, and continued snoring at the top of his lungs.

"Good-for-nothing," Qin Feng sneered, clapping his hands.

At this moment, he had no mood to stay any longer; his mind was filled with thoughts of the mutated seeds and what would happen.

"It's getting late, sister-in-Law. Rest early; I'm heading back."

Qin Feng strode out of the inner room and walked toward the courtyard gate without looking back.

"Little Feng... come over and visit more often when you're free..."

Wu Mengmeng leaned against the doorframe, her voice lowered, her tone filled with tenderness.

"Hmm."

Qin Feng didn't look back; he simply waved his hand casually, pushed open the courtyard gate, and strode into the night.

...

That night, inside the main room of Ding-zi District Courtyard No. 77.

Bai Yuhe had long since fallen into a deep sleep on the soft large bed.

Meanwhile, Qin Feng, draped in a thin garment, sat alone at the eight-immortal table in the main hall, his eyes burning with excitement.

"Extract, Mutation Potion for Spirit Seeds!"

He thought to himself.

With a flash of light, a palm-sized, translucent jade vial appeared out of thin air in his palm.

Pulling out the stopper, a strange, indescribable fragrance that seemed capable of awakening the vitality of all things instantly permeated the room.

"Good stuff!"

Qin Feng didn't hesitate at all and found a clean porcelain basin.

He poured the last 100 blood ginseng seeds he had collected from the Management Hall during the day, which he hadn't had time to sow yet, into the basin.

Afterward, he carefully poured the mutation potion from the jade vial over them, leaving not a single drop behind.

"Sss, sss, sss—"

As soon as the potion touched those shriveled, dark red seeds, it emitted a faint sound like melting ice and snow.

Visibly, the light green potion transformed into wisps of fluorescence, burrowing into the skins of the seeds as if they were living things.

The originally dull and wrinkled blood ginseng seeds, after absorbing the potion, began to become plump and round at a speed visible to the naked eye!

In less than the time it takes to burn an incense stick, all the potion had been absorbed.

And the 100 seeds had undergone a complete transformation!

Their original dark red color had become as crystal clear as the finest red agate, and mysterious golden patterns, resembling human meridians, had even appeared on the surface of the seeds.

Even just sitting in the porcelain basin, one could feel a heart-palpitating, immense vitality contained within them!

"It's a success. What exactly will happen when they are planted?!"

Qin Feng suppressed the wild joy in his heart and carefully put away these mutated seeds.

...

The next morning. The sky was just beginning to brighten, and the thin mist in the Servant District had not yet dissipated.

Qin Feng didn't even eat breakfast; he impatiently took five mutated seeds and headed straight for his Spirit Field, carrying a hoe.

Although he knew the seeds were no longer ordinary, he had to plant them himself to see what kind of shocking things would grow.

He was also afraid of it being too shocking, so he could only try a little bit first.

Arriving at his own two acres of Spirit Field.

Qin Feng specifically cleared out a small area in the very center, where the soil was most fertile.

He carefully loosened the soil, dug five holes, and then buried the five mutated blood ginseng seeds, covered in golden patterns, with great care.

He watered them with clear water and covered them with a thin layer of soil.

"Now, I'll just wait for you to sprout."

Qin Feng patted the dirt off his hands with satisfaction and took a deep breath of the cool morning air.

Just then, a somewhat chaotic sound of footsteps broke the tranquility around the Spirit Field.

Qin Feng looked up, following the sound.

He saw that mother and daughter pair who made countless Middle-tier Servants drool—Su Yourong and Su Aili—slowly walking toward him along the path on the ridge of the field.

Today, the two of them completely lacked their usual aloofness and arrogance, as if they were inspecting their territory.

Especially the usually unruly Young Miss Su Aili.

Her hair appeared somewhat disheveled, and what was most striking was that her originally bright, sparkling eyes were now red and swollen, clearly having cried all night, her eyes filled with panic and unease.

And following beside her, Su Yourong's mature and beautiful Face was filled with deep exhaustion and despair.

Her plump, sizzling figure was still alluring, but as she walked now, there was a sense of fragility, as if she might collapse at any moment, as if a gust of wind could blow her over.

Both of their complexions were not very good, like two frightened quails.

Qin Feng stood on the ridge, watching the mother and daughter approach, and greeted them casually.

"Miss Su, Auntie Yourong, out to inspect the Spirit Field so early? You both look a bit pale; what's wrong, did you run into some trouble?"

If he were the Menial Laborer he was before, he would never have dared to speak to them in this tone.

But the recent tempering and the surge in his strength had allowed a sense of composure, characteristic of a strong person, to permeate Qin Feng's very bones.

Su Aili, who was on the verge of an emotional breakdown, exploded the moment she heard the inquiry, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on!

"None of your business!"

Su Aili raised her head abruptly, her red, swollen eyes glaring fiercely at Qin Feng like a small beast baring its fangs and brandishing its claws, yet possessing zero intimidation, and screamed hysterically,

"Who do you think you are to ask us?! Put away your hypocritical Face, you inferior person!!"

As she cursed, tears uncontrollably fell in large drops.

Extreme panic needed an outlet, and Qin Feng just happened to be in the line of fire.

After cursing, Su Aili violently shook off Su Yourong's hand, covered her Face, and stumbled toward the distant Spirit Field, seemingly unwilling to Face everything before her.

"Aili... slow down..."

Su Yourong reached out, wanting to grab her stepdaughter, but only grasped a handful of air.

She stood in place, watching Su Aili's retreating figure, and in the end, did not chase after her.

Turning around, Su Yourong looked at Qin Feng, squeezing out a bitter smile that was even uglier than crying on her ripe, beautiful Face.

"Little brother... excuse the embarrassment."

Su Yourong's voice was terribly hoarse, as if her throat were stuck with a handful of sand. "Aili, this girl, has been spoiled since she was young and has a hot temper. She... she is actually just afraid in her heart. Please don't hold it against her."

Qin Feng shrugged indifferently and asked in a calm tone:

"Afraid? Auntie Yourong, that doesn't sound like the Su Family's style. Big Brother Su Shanhe is a person of status in our Ding District, controlling ten acres of Spirit Field. Who else could make you afraid? Could it be that you've provoked the guards?!"

Hearing the words "Su Shanhe" and "ten acres of Spirit Field."

Su Yourong's body trembled violently, her eyes instantly turned red, and large tears could no longer be held back, sliding down her pale cheeks.

She stretched out her trembling hands to cover her Face, choking back her sobs as she said:

"It's gone... everything is going to be gone..."

Su Yourong raised her head, looking with hollow eyes at the ten acres of Spirit Field in the distance that were growing lushly.

That was the capital their mother and daughter were proud of, and the guarantee that they could live a comfortable life in the Servant District.

"We came over today to walk around... to cherish these fields one last time..."

Su Yourong's expression was grim to the extreme, every word seeming to be squeezed out from between her teeth, filled with endless sorrow.

"What does Auntie mean by that?"

Qin Feng's eyes narrowed slightly; his inner guess had already been confirmed by eight or nine parts, but he still seized the opportunity to ask, "Has something major happened?"

"Yes."

Su Yourong nodded weakly, her body seemingly drained of all strength, and she slumped onto the pile of withered grass by the ridge.

Her stunning hip line and waist-to-hip ratio were displayed vividly at this moment, but it carried a tragic beauty, like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.

"The head of the house... has been seriously injured."

Su Yourong twisted the silk handkerchief in her hands tightly, her knuckles turning white from the force.

She seemed to have held it in for too long; those Middle-tier Servants around who used to fawn over them were now all avoiding them like the plague.

Facing Qin Feng, this "newcomer" who had just moved in, she subconsciously found an outlet to vent.

"He encountered a Seventh-Stage Vicious Beast in the Luanzang Mountain Range, and almost the entire team was wiped out."

Su Yourong's voice was trembling. "The head of the house escaped back with his life, but his internal organs were mostly shattered. He is currently being treated at the Management Hall..."

"The people there said that if we want to save his life, he must be soaked in Spirit Liquid, which costs 3000 servant coins every day... Although we have some savings, how could it last for a few days..."

Su Yourong raised her head, looking at Qin Feng in despair.

"The point is, if he can be cured, that would be fine. Even if he's not as powerful as before, at least he's still here. With our past Face, perhaps we could still barely scrape by."

"But... if he can't be cured..."

Speaking of this, Su Yourong seemed to think of some extremely terrifying scene, and her whole body shuddered violently.

"According to the rules of our Servant District... once the head of the house draws his last breath, our future days as mother and daughter... will be completely difficult..."

Qin Feng stood there without speaking, just quietly watching the weak, helpless, and voluptuous woman in front of him.

He, of course, knew what the "rules" Su Yourong was talking about were!

The rules of the Servant District were the naked Law of the Jungle!

Any Menial Laborer, regardless of whether they were Upper-tier, Middle-tier, or Lower-tier, once they died!

All the property they possessed during their lifetime—courtyards, Spirit Fields, and even hoarded Spirit Stones and servant coins—would be forcibly recovered by the Management Hall without reservation!

To the Sect, Menial Laborers were just consumables; once you died, your things naturally belonged to the Sect.

Then, the Management Hall would auction them off collectively, with the highest bidder winning. Or, they would be directly redistributed to those newly promoted Menial Laborers who had contributed to the Management Hall or had oil to squeeze.

Therefore, once Su Shanhe drew his last breath.

Then his spacious courtyard and the ten acres of extremely fertile Spirit Field before them would be ruthlessly recovered by the Management Hall in the first instance!

Su Yourong and Su Aili, this delicate mother and daughter pair, would instantly become penniless, with not even a place to live.

The only things awaiting them were two extremely cruel paths.

Either the mother and daughter had the ability themselves to reconfirm a head of household, pass the Middle-tier Servant assessment, and produce a large amount of servant coins to repurchase the courtyard and Spirit Field from the Management Hall.

Or, they could only choose to attach themselves to someone else.

Go and seek refuge with other influential Middle-tier Servants, using their own bodies to exchange for a full meal and a bed to sleep on.

Even more terrifying was that if no one was willing to take them in, or if they were unwilling to submit.

According to the rules, Middle-tier Servants who lost their property would be directly demoted to Menial Laborers!

To be expelled to the peripheral shed area where sewage flowed...

With Su Yourong's ripe figure and Su Aili's sparkling appearance, once they lost protection, their beauty would be their biggest trouble...