Jiang Chen looked at the man before him. The raw agony etched into Lin An’s features told a clear story: the last two years had been a living hell.

Deciding to postpone his visit to Senior Brother Zhu, Jiang Chen guided the broken man straight back to his own territory.

Moments later, they stepped inside the stone house.

Lin An sat down gingerly, his eyes darting around the interior. “When I first walked up, I thought I’d taken a wrong turn. I never expected your place to change this much in just two years.”

Jiang Chen waved a hand dismissively. “It’s nothing special.”

Lin An couldn’t hold back his curiosity. “Why do you have three mu of Spirit Farm?”

Jiang Chen poured a cup of water and answered calmly. “Because… I am now a Foundation Establishment Spirit Farmer.”

Clatter.

Lin An knocked his cup over as he scrambled to his feet, his eyes wide with disbelief.

He did the math furiously in his head.

It had been less than four years since their group of four had joined the core Spirit Farm division.

Of the others, Zhao Ying was at the mid-stage of Qi Condensation. Zhao Ziyao was at the late stage.

Yet the man standing before him had already broken through to Foundation Establishment?

Then, a terrifying realization struck him. Lin An’s face went pale, and his voice trembled. “Three mu… does that mean you’ve already reached the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment?”

Jiang Chen shook his head. “No. Just the early stage.”

Lin An let out a breath, but then he froze again. “Wait. That doesn’t add up. Early-stage Foundation Establishment disciples are only allocated two mu of land. You have three.”

Jiang Chen offered a faint, cryptic smile. “Senior Brother Wang Ze arranged it.”

“Senior Brother Wang Ze?” Lin An’s jaw dropped.

His mind spun. He had only been gone for two years, yet looking at Jiang Chen, it felt like he had missed two decades of history.

Jiang Chen retrieved his tea set and began to brew a pot. “Actually, I have you to thank for that. If you hadn’t introduced me to Senior Brother Wang back then, I never would have built a relationship with him. And naturally, I wouldn’t have been gifted this extra land.”

Lin An’s expression grew complicated. Bitterness mixed with awe. “Back in the outer sect, we both failed twice before passing the third assessment together. I never imagined… you are no longer the person you were, while I am still stuck as the person I was.”

Jiang Chen took out his stash of high-grade Orchid Mist Tea and poured a cup for his guest. “Since you’ve managed to return alive, just keep your head down and farm honestly from now on.”

Lin An smiled awkwardly. “You know me. I’m not a farmer.”

Jiang Chen rolled his eyes. “You’ve already suffered for two years because of that attitude. Haven’t you learned your lesson?”

Lin An leaned across the table, lowering his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “I have an idea. One you might be interested in.”

Jiang Chen placed the lid on the teapot, the ceramic clinking softly. He locked eyes with Lin An. “What idea?”

Lin An’s face turned serious. “You probably wouldn’t mind farming one extra mu of land, right?”

Jiang Chen raised an eyebrow, genuinely surprised. “You want to give your Spirit Farm to me?”

In truth, Lin An’s original target had been Wang Ze. Wang Ze’s capability was known to all. As for his old peers, Zhao Ziyao and Zhao Ying, Lin An hadn’t even considered them.

But seeing that Jiang Chen was already managing three mu of high-grade land with ease, Lin An immediately shifted his target.

“You’re giving up on farming entirely?” Jiang Chen asked.

Lin An let out a self-deprecating chuckle. “Let’s be real. I have zero talent for agriculture. The only reason I passed the promotion exam was because my Earth and Water Spirit Roots carried me. I can’t maximize the yield.”

Jiang Chen nodded slowly.

It made sense. The reason Lin An had been arrested and forced to act as a human incubator for spirit roots was precisely because he had breached his contract by failing to meet the quota.

A single mu of second-grade Spirit Farm yielded vastly different results depending on the farmer. In Lin An’s hands, it would produce maybe two thousand jin of rice, barely scraping by.

In Jiang Chen’s hands? He could push it to the theoretical limit of four thousand jin.

“Here is my proposal,” Lin An said, his eyes burning with a desperate ambition. “I give you the land. In exchange, I get a sum of startup capital from you. The formal disciple competition is coming up. I want to use that event to buy low and sell high—trading goods, food, and resources.”

Jiang Chen leaned back, intrigued. “Go on.”

“Think about it,” Lin An pressed. “During the competition, the sect will be packed. People will be hungry, injured, or looking for an edge. If we sell Spirit Rice, food, or pills at that time, the profit margins will be massive compared to usual.”

Jiang Chen scrutinized the man he hadn’t seen in two years. “I didn’t realize you had such a knack for business.”

Encouraged by the praise, Lin An excitedly continued. “For example, roasted meat has been exploding in popularity lately! Especially the stalls using that ‘Secret Barbecue Seasoning.’ The flavor is incredible, people are going crazy for it.”

Jiang Chen asked with a half-smile, “Do you happen to know who invented that seasoning?”

Lin An shook his head. “Rumors are flying. Some say a disciple named Jin, others say someone named Zhao.”

Jiang Chen leaned back in his chair, taking a slow sip of tea. “It was me.”

Lin An froze.

Jiang Chen refilled Lin An’s cup. “Since our thoughts happen to align, I am open to cooperation. But… are you trustworthy?”

If Lin An didn’t catch the hint now, he would be a fool. He slammed his hand on the table, his face flushed with determination. “We can sign a Blood Oath Contract! If I breach the terms or betray you, my life is yours to extinguish instantly!”

Spirit Contracts came in two varieties.

The first was the ordinary Spirit Oath. It carried penalties for breaking promises, but rarely anything lethal.

The Blood Oath Contract was different. It was essentially slavery. It handed one’s life and soul over to the other party. If they signed this, a single thought from Jiang Chen could cause Lin An to drop dead.

Jiang Chen had originally only intended to ask for a standard Spirit Oath—a threat that betrayal would send Lin An back to the fiery pits of the punishment zone.

He hadn’t expected the kid to go all in.

Even if Lin An eventually became a Nascent Soul ancestor, as long as this contract existed, Jiang Chen would hold the kill switch. There was no loophole.

Misinterpreting Jiang Chen’s silence as hesitation, Lin An gritted his teeth and raised the stakes. “I’ll go further! I don’t even want the land anymore. I’ll gift the deed to you entirely. I just ask that you help me fulfill the annual tax quota of five thousand jin of Spirit Rice. The rest of the profit is yours.”

Jiang Chen considered it. He did need a runner—someone trustworthy to handle logistics so he could focus on cultivation.

Jin Fugui was too focused on the Beast Mountain. Mo Yu was obsessed with fishing. Asking them to run errands constantly would eventually breed resentment; they were wealthy scions with their own paths.

Lin An was different. He had no retreat. No family, no backing, and no farming skills. He was desperate.

And more importantly, Jiang Chen really did want that extra acre of second-grade land.

“Deal,” Jiang Chen said.

They signed the Blood Oath Contract immediately.

Jiang Chen left a simple spiritual imprint on the parchment.

Lin An, however, had to impress it with a fragment of his soul and a drop of his heart’s blood.

In every sense that mattered, this was now a master-servant relationship.

Jiang Chen held the deed to the new Spirit Farm in one hand and the blood-stained talisman in the other, a thoughtful expression on his face.

He had secured a loyal dog. A desperate, hungry dog that would hunt for him.

Lin An wiped the sweat from his forehead, looking not defeated, but ecstatic. He bowed deeply, his voice trembling with relief. “Senior Brother Jiang… Master… Shopkeeper… ah, whatever you prefer! From this day forward, your wish is my command!”