EBE Chapter 144 An Expected Failure
Chapter 144 An Expected Failure
"Okay, I understand what you mean. I will prepare myself mentally in advance and do what I can. I won't be discouraged by failure, so don't worry."
With Lezhi's repeated assurances, Lei Xiu finally ended the talk about persuading him to study. It was another busy day. After finishing her day of work at the stall, Lezhi still had to go and treat the patients with the Shadow Disease who were waiting.
By the time he had time to think about induced labor, it was already evening. Lei Xiu had already said goodnight to him and gone back to his room to rest. Le Zhi sat cross-legged on the bed, holding the furry ball that had just been bathed and dried, stroking the furry ball's body absentmindedly, his mind constantly pondering what Lei Xiu had told him during the day.
From what Lei Xiu mentioned, Le Zhi had already formed a general guess about the origin of the small sprout growing between his eyebrows. But... this thing is actually the physical manifestation of the energy within his body? It seems a bit...
Seemingly sensing that Lezhi was secretly thinking about crickets, the seedling that had been standing quietly suddenly swayed on its own without any wind, and the branches and leaves trembled quite noticeably. Startled, Lezhi immediately stopped her boundless thoughts and focused her mind on observing the movement of the seedling.
From Maoqiu's perspective, Lezhi was spacing out, then suddenly looked startled for a moment, before slowly relaxing again. Strangely, throughout the entire process, Lezhi's eyes were unfocused, as if he was lost in thought, leaving Maoqiu completely baffled.
However, Maoqiu is not the kind of bird that will delve into things. Its pursuit in life is quite simple: eating, drinking, and having fun. As long as it has these three things, Maoqiu is very satisfied.
Because Lezhi was in a daze, his hand stroking the fur ball remained in the same direction and posture. However, the fur ball was able to do it on its own and gently moved its body to change its position in Lezhi's arms. Smelling the increasingly rich fragrance of herbs and trees on Lezhi's body, the fur ball closed its eyes in enjoyment.
The scent of herbs and trees came out so quickly today; usually it only comes out in the middle of the night. This thought flashed through the little head of the fluffy ball, and then it calmed its mind and stopped thinking about it.
The movement of the fur ball in his arms awakened Lezhi. He and Xiaomiao were locked in a stalemate for a while. After noticing nothing amiss, he began to feel restless again.
The collection of kola nuts is urgent; the hunting competition starts tomorrow, and the supply of goods must keep up. Most importantly, Lezhi has a hidden hoarding habit, and a shortage of supplies will bring him a huge sense of insecurity, keeping him in a state of anxiety that can only be eliminated once the situation is properly resolved.
He's always been a man of action; Lezhi is known for his strong drive. If it fails, it just proves that the forced ripening method isn't working, and he'll quickly come up with another solution. Leaving it like this is just too frustrating for him.
Holding the fluffy ball with one hand, he took out a cola nut seed that he had specially saved from his spatial storage with the other. Remembering the key points Lei Xiu had mentioned about ripening plants, Lezhi held his breath and stared intently at the seed in his palm. After a long while, nothing happened.
Somewhat bewildered, Lezhi had always communicated with plants spontaneously. He had done so without realizing that he was communicating with plants, which gave him the illusion that it was easy.
But now, even with his brain working, there was no reaction at all, which made Lezhi somewhat disheartened. Clenching his fists, Lezhi closed his eyes, trying to enter a meditative state, while simultaneously channeling energy tentatively towards the seed.
Unfortunately, his usually invincible energy encountered a setback this time. He could clearly feel the seed's vitality reaching its peak under the impact of his energy, and then... nothing more.
The excess energy dissipated, but the seed remained completely still.
Reluctantly opening his eyes, Lezhi looked down at the seeds in his palm, unsure of what to do. The family garden had been thriving; from the beginning, almost every seed he planted had germinated. But now, separated from its growing medium, the seeds were behaving uncontrollably. Did he still need the help of vines?
Once a direction came to mind, Lezhi immediately began preparations. The furry ball, which had been nestled peacefully in Lezhi's arms, was suddenly placed on the bed. It opened its little black bean eyes and watched Lezhi squatting there making a fuss late at night.
Because they were only staying temporarily, Lezhi, who was very mindful of boundaries, did not graft the ground vine directly onto the wisteria as she would at home. Instead, she took out a dried ground vine branch that she had prepared beforehand, made a suitable incision on the ground vine with a tool, and carefully put the seed in.
After watering the seeds with an appropriate amount of water and watching the moisture being quickly absorbed by the vines, Lezhi began to carefully observe the condition of the seeds.
Excellent. Based on the seed's reaction, it seems to have sensed that it has reached a suitable environment and has begun to show signs of awakening. It seems that the Cola Fruit really does sprout as soon as it touches the ground, and Lezhi was overjoyed.
But what happened next left him dumbfounded. The seeds did show signs of germination, and the roots had begun to grow, but the speed was incredibly slow. At this rate, wasn't this just regular planting? What did it have to do with the accelerated ripening that Lezhi had envisioned?
Unwilling to give up, Lezhi relentlessly channeled his energy to cover the seeds, but just like before, his energy only made the seeds stronger, without significantly accelerating their growth.
Furthermore, because the seeds are too small to absorb much energy, most of the energy cannot be absorbed by the seeds and instead dissipates, allowing the vines in the house where Rakuchi lives to absorb it all.
Unexpectedly fed, the leaves of the vine trembled merrily twice, unseen by Lezhi. Despite the unsuitable season, it kept sprouting new buds with a "poof" sound and then growing rapidly. Because it was already lush and leafy, this change was not very obvious, and only the vine itself noticed something unusual.
The tree spirits, who have a unique way of communicating in the plant kingdom, cannot detect this. Only those among them who have a deeper connection with their own house vines vaguely sense that the house vines seem unusually excited today, but they do not know that the source is actually just a side effect of the failed attempt to accelerate the ripening of the young tree vine.
As night deepened, Lezhi collapsed onto the bed in despair. The unchanging vines on the floor beside the bed silently proclaimed his defeat.
"Ugh, is it that hard?" Lezhi complained softly, rolling around on the bed with her eyes closed in frustration, burying her forehead in the furry belly of her furry friend in an attempt to escape the cruel reality.
"Chirp chirp~" The fluffy ball thoughtfully spread its wings and gently covered the edges of Lezhi's eye sockets, shielding him from the relatively bright light source in the room, indicating with its action that it was time for Lezhi to rest.
Lezhi, who was on the same wavelength as Maoqiu, instantly understood what Maoqiu meant. Since his attempt had basically failed anyway, Lezhi, who was good at giving up, did not resist. Instead, he kicked off the rattan slippers that Leju had specially made for him and slowly moved his body to the middle of the bed.
Without looking up, Lezhi reached out and touched the wooden vine wall by the bedside. After sending the message to turn off the light, the vines on the previously open window began to move and close, and the light source on the wall was covered layer by layer. The room immediately darkened, becoming a space very suitable for falling asleep.