Teacher by day, Farmer by passion

For a moment, Ruby simply stared, as if trying to process the child's innocent kindness.

Then, like sunlight breaking through a storm, laughter bubbled out of her—half-choked, half-genuine.

"Your disciple is so cute, Brother!" she grinned, wiping her face.

"Can I keep her?"

Ace rolled his eyes. "They're not stray kittens, Ruby."

With newfound energy, Ruby let out a playful "Heave-ho!" and effortlessly lifted Liu Mei into the air.

"You take the boy, I take the girl—one each!" she declared, grinning.

Ace pinched the bridge of his nose, exhaling slowly.

"Ruby, that's never going to happen."

But she just giggled and bolted out the door with Liu Mei in tow. The little girl, instead of protesting, cheered excitedly as if she were on the greatest ride of her life.

Ace shook his head, watching them disappear. "So is this what having a sister feels like?" he mused.

Then, reality hit him like a cold splash of water. No, that wasn't true.

He had a younger sister in his past life, and their relationship was nothing like this.

Sure, they could joke when needed, but they could also fight over the most absurd things. Case in point—the endless battles over a TV remote.

Meanwhile, inside the kitchen, Shan Yifeng, who had been diligently stirring the wok of fried chicken, suddenly turned to Liu Hong with a dramatic huff.

"Aunty, Liu Mei is so bad!"

Liu Hong, amused, played along. "Oh? And why's that?"

Yifeng put down the spoon and struck a series of exaggerated martial arts poses, punching the air for emphasis.

"One moment, she can go 'Hyaa!' and break rocks—" he spun on his heels and dramatically pointed toward the door where Liu Mei and Ruby had vanished. "And the next moment, she's acting like a little kid—on demand!" he exclaimed, as if revealing a great conspiracy.

Liu Hong chuckled. "And yet, aren't you acting like a child right now?"

Yifeng stood, mouth open but no words coming out. Then, as if accepting his fate, he sighed, picked up the spoon again, and resumed stirring.

After a beat of silence, he glanced at Liu Hong.

"Aunty… can I take a bite while cooking?"

Taking advantage of his rare moment of peace, Ace slipped into his system space once again.

Host Profile:

Level: 20

Talent: uncommon Talent [note: don't stop chomping those spirit apples!]

Rank: Major Silver

Assets:

Plot of Lands: 70

Tree-Grow Plots: 30

Gold Credits: 1.3m

Farm Animals:

Spirit Chicken: 100 (level 3)

Spirit pig: 100 (level 3)

Spirit cow: 100 (level 3)

Technique learned:

Drunk Man cultivation technique (Heaven Grade), revised soul burning cultivation technique (Mortal grade), Verdant dao: The Path of Eternal Harvest (Divine grade)

As he finished reading, his eyes immediately darted toward his gold credits balance—or rather, the remains of it.

Just this morning, he had 4.6 million gold credits.

Now?

1.3 million.

"…Huh?"

Ace blinked. Rubbed his eyes. Blinked again.

Where the hell did all his money go?!

With growing suspicion, he scanned the area until he spotted Lily, happily chatting away with Rei.

His eyes narrowed.

"Hoh… Where did all the gold credits go, L I L Y?"

Lily visibly jumped and spun around.

"M-Master! You scared me!" she stammered, clutching her chest.

Before Ace could press further, a system interface popped up in front of him.

[Race: Spirit Human]

Name: Lily (Owned)

Rank: ???

System Determined Value: Level 3

Inner thoughts: I wonder what Master is thinking… Does he even miss me? Am I just a slave?

---

Ace: "…"

Ace: "…"

Ace: "…This…"

Well, okay.

Without hesitation, Ace walked straight up to Lily and hugged her.

"H-Huh?! W-What—?!" Lily instantly turned red as she flailed her arms.

At least, it looked like she was trying to push him away.

But Ace wasn't fooled.

She wasn't exerting any strength at all.

In truth, he needed this just as much as she did.

Back when Ruby hugged him, something had stirred inside him.

A warmth—something foreign yet familiar.

Something he could barely recall ever having before.

Ace tightened his hold slightly before pulling away.

"You did a good job, Lily."

Lily stared at him, eyes wide, face pink.

Before she could respond, Rei—the tiny fairy—squealed happily and twirled around them, leaving a trail of stardust in her wake.

Then, with a graceful dive, she latched onto Ace's finger in a tiny hug.

Ace sighed.

"…Now where's my money?"

"What money?"

Lily tilted her head innocently, her golden eyes blinking up at him.

Ace exhaled slowly. "Gold credits, Lily."

At the mention of gold, Lily's face lit up.

"Oh! Ah, yes, those leftover datas! Master, I used it all to purchase the necessities!"

She clasped her hands behind her back, beaming with undeniable pride.

Above her, Rei twirled playfully, tiny wings fluttering like shimmering gossamer. The small fairy circled Lily's head, her soft giggles like chimes in the wind.

"And yes, yes!" Lily continued enthusiastically, "Rei helped upgrade everything too! We both did an amazing job!"

Rei puffed up her tiny chest in agreement.

"So... can we finally take a vacation outside?" Lily asked, eyes sparkling with anticipation.

Ace raised a brow. "A vacation, huh?"

Lily nodded furiously. Rei twirled again, chiming in silent support.

Ace let out a short chuckle. "I was just curious since the gold credits dropped by a huge margin… but alright. I'll think about it."

Lily grinned triumphantly, but before she could celebrate further, her expression shifted.

"Oh, by the way, Master… what are you going to do about that hoe?"

Ace blinked.

"…What?"

Lily pointed toward the spiritual hoe, which was still casually floating around the farm, lazily drifting in circles as if it had a mind of its own.

Ace sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "I'll take it outside tomorrow... along with you two as well."

Lily had no objections—she simply nodded in understanding.

"Right, right! Also, Master, about the new buildings—do you want to inspect them now, or—"

Before she could finish, a voice called out from outside the system space.

"Dinner's ready!"

Ace glanced up. Ah.

His time here was up.

Lily, realizing it as well, offered him a bright smile—this time, a genuine one.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow then, Master."

Ace gave her a small nod before stepping out of the system space, leaving behind two satisfied spirits and a very questionable floating hoe.