The Fantastic Little Farmer

Zhang Yun was just asking in passing; he didn’t actually expect an answer.

Song Tie looked like he had just returned from a grave-robbing trip. Call it hypocrisy or just personal principles, but while Zhang Yun would never personally dig up a grave, he had no qualms about paying for artifacts that someone else had unearthed.

“Well…” Song Tie glanced at the 88,000 yuan that had just hit his account and hesitated for only a fraction of a second. “Ah, what the hell! Boss Zhang, you’ve been so straightforward with me, I’d feel bad keeping it from you. Over there, do you see it?”

Zhang Yun followed his pointing finger toward a distant peak where a tower stood.

“They’re from inside that tower?”

Song Tie nodded. “That tower is ancient, but it’s completely dilapidated. Several villages claim it belongs to them. If anyone tries to take it over, the other villages cause a stink. Besides, repairing it would cost a fortune, and none of the villages around here are wealthy. So, in the end, it was abandoned by everyone.”

“Tell me about it.” Zhang Yun gestured for him to sit down and take his time. “It’s my first time in this area, so I don’t know much about the local history.”

“We just call it the Ancient Tower. Its real name has been lost to time, and whatever words were carved into it have completely worn away. When we were kids, we used to run up there to play all the time. The floors inside were completely empty. There was nothing left.

“But on the very top floor, there’s a surviving hidden compartment. I climbed up there when I was little and found some Divine Master Cards inside.

“There might have been other things in there in the past, but they were likely snatched up long ago. These cards are considered bad luck, so no one touched them.

“When I went into the city a while back, I heard people saying you were buying old antiques. I was strapped for cash and wanted some pocket money, so I went back home and dug around. But the oldest stuff I had was bought when I was just a kid.

“Heh heh, I’m a loyal guy, I couldn’t rip you off. Plus, I knew you’d definitely appraise anything I brought. Tianxin Village is pretty far away, so it wouldn’t be worth the trip if I brought something worthless. That’s when I remembered those things in the tower. I went back up there and brought two of them out.”

After hearing this, Zhang Yun pointed at the Ancient Tower. “It must be a quick trip from your village, right? Why didn’t you tell me earlier? Did you drag it out to make them seem rarer?”

“Not at all!” Song Tie quickly defended himself. “Sure, it looks close from this peak, but it actually takes a long time to walk there. We can get up this ridge quickly from our village because there’s a road and we can ride motorcycles. But there’s no road going to the tower. You have to literally hike up and down the mountain. It’s quite a trek. Unless you’re a bored kid, nobody really goes up there.” He stood up to emphasize his point. “Look at me! I got covered in dust crawling up there. I only had time to dust myself off with a towel; I didn’t even get a chance to change my clothes.”

Zhang Yun laughed. “It’s fine. What’s valuable is the item itself, not the legwork. If it were just an ordinary rock, it would still be a rock even if you hauled it across twenty miles of mountain trails.”

“Exactly!” Seizing the moment, Song Tie extended an invitation. “Boss Zhang, you must be interested in archaeology and stuff, right? How about I take you over to have a look? Though there aren’t any Divine Master Cards left up there—I grabbed all the remaining ones this time. The rest were probably swiped by kids playing around over the years.”

No wonder he was so generous with this information; he had already completely emptied the place!

Zhang Yun was indeed a bit curious. His recent harvest from the great banyan tree made him eager to test if ancient structures also contained Spiritual Qi.

The Divine Master Cards from the Ancient Tower possessed a decent amount of Spiritual Qi, which meant the Ancient Tower itself was definitely extraordinary. Perched on a desolate mountain peak without any external interference, it had likely accumulated an immense amount of Spiritual Qi over the years.

“I don’t mind taking a look, but…”

Seeing Zhang Yun’s hesitation, Song Tie chuckled. “It’s definitely not safe to leave your bike here. It’s a brand-new motorcycle, so anyone walking past will definitely eye it. It’s easy money if they flip it. Don’t fall for the myth that mountain folks are purely innocent, hahaha! But you can park it at my place!”

“Would that be an inconvenience?” Zhang Yun casually hefted the bundle of Divine Master Cards in his hand. “Never mind your family; anyone in the village who sees these will probably think it’s incredibly bad luck.”

“Uh… as long as they stay in the bag, no one will know. But… it is indeed a bit…”

Song Tie looked a little embarrassed. He had used black plastic bags both times specifically to avoid being seen. If his family found them repulsive and burned them as firewood, it would have been a catastrophic loss!

It was fine when he was carrying them himself, but if he left them at his house while he and Zhang Yun went to the Ancient Tower, what if they disappeared by the time they returned? Having to cough up that 88,000 yuan would break his heart! Even worse, what if Boss Zhang thought it was an intentional scam? Taking him to the Ancient Tower was a minor favor; he didn’t want to invite trouble over it.

“Give me a second. I’ll find a place to stash them, and we can just grab them on our way back.”

“Sure!” Song Tie breathed a sigh of relief, figuring that if Zhang Yun hid them himself, any potential loss would be entirely his own problem.

Zhang Yun got up immediately and walked toward the wooded slope. Glancing back up to ensure Song Tie hadn’t followed him, he instantly entered the Peach Blossom Spring Space and stored the bag of Divine Master Cards inside.

He ducked in and out of the space in a flash. Not wanting to return suspiciously fast, he took a quick piss before heading back up to the ridge.

“Let’s go! I’ll give Boss Zhang a tour of Ancient Tree Back Village. Though it can’t hold a candle to your Tianxin Village.”

“Haha, it’s the pot calling the kettle black. We’re just at the foot of the mountain ourselves.”

The two men hopped onto their respective motorcycles and rode along the mountain road, heading over the ridge and down into the hollow where Ancient Tree Back Village was nestled.

Tianxin Village was situated at the foot of the mountains and still boasted a stretch of flat farmland. Ancient Tree Back, however, relied entirely on reclaimed mountain plots and terraced fields, making for a much harsher agricultural environment. The hillsides were covered in oil-seed camellia trees, suggesting that camellia oil was likely the primary agricultural export for Ancient Tree Back.

Following Song Tie’s motorcycle, Zhang Yun pulled into a yard enclosed by a thorny briar fence.

“Boss Zhang, let’s have a pot of tea first.”

“No need, don’t worry about hosting me. Let’s just head up the mountain. I still have a long ride back later.” Zhang Yun smiled, not wanting to impose.

“Ah! But we’re already at my door… Well, you’re the boss, so you must be busy. Let’s go!” Aware that his home was rather shabby and that he didn’t have any decent tea to offer anyway, Song Tie didn’t press the issue.

This village was even deeper in the mountains than Tianxin Village. The arrival of a strange outsider drew curious stares from the locals, who watched them from afar.

Song Tie led Zhang Yun down a narrow trail toward the mountain where the Ancient Tower stood. Thanks to the dense canopy of trees, the hike through the mountains wasn’t overly hot. While the sun beat down on the peaks, the strong winds up there provided ample relief.

Even though this was a one-and-done deal—now that the Divine Master Cards were sold, Song Tie and Zhang Yun were unlikely to ever cross paths again—Zhang Yun’s straightforward payment of nearly a hundred thousand yuan ensured that Song Tie didn’t half-ass the excursion. He remained incredibly enthusiastic the entire way, happily explaining the village’s current situation and detailing the local history.

“Um… Boss Zhang, do you want some water? The water in this ditch is perfectly safe to drink.”

“I’ll have a sip.”

The two men crouched down, cupped their hands, and drank. While a more elegant writer might call it a “stream,” out here in the countryside, it was simply known as a ditch. Nevertheless, the water was crystal clear and completely unpolluted, tasting incredibly cool and refreshing.

However, while Song Tie and Zhang Yun could drink it without an issue, someone from a big city like Ouyang Mingruo was better off avoiding it. Even though mountain streams were composed of flowing water, they could still harbor an abundance of microorganisms or boast excessive levels of heavy metals. Anyone with a sensitive stomach who was accustomed to drinking purified water would end up suffering.

Song Tie scratched his head, unable to hold back his curiosity. “Boss Zhang, I don’t get it. How come you don’t look the least bit tired? I figured you’d struggle to keep up, but you seem even more relaxed than I am!”