Lord blessed by the elves

Chapter 30 Huang Deng
As soon as the dark brown, plump stem segment with obvious buds appeared, the energy ball in his palm seemed to encounter iron filings from a magnet, and suddenly burst out with a strong earthy yellow light!

Om-!
A faint hum, perceptible only to Kruse, rang out.

The sphere of light flowed like liquid, quickly enveloping one section of the cassava seedling stem.

The soft light seeped in, and the originally ordinary seedling stem became increasingly translucent and lustrous at a speed visible to the naked eye. Subtle and mysterious natural patterns appeared on the surface, as if it had been infused with a brand new life force.

The ball of light in the air quickly contracted and shaped, eventually transforming into an adorable little elf insect that was pale yellowish-brown, chubby, and lazily holding the transformed "Cordyceps"!
It yawned and looked at Kruze curiously with its big, round eyes, conveying a childlike emotion of dependence, satisfaction, and a little greed.

A cassava fairy worm has been born!

"It's a success!" Kruse was overjoyed.

He suppressed the urge to cheer and carefully picked up the precious insect and its cordyceps, which were crucial to future food security.

For absolute safety, he decided to plant the cordyceps and the remaining nine stems in the most conspicuous and easiest-to-guard small flowerbed in the inner courtyard of the castle, so that they could be neighbors with Elena's precious herbs.

He personally rolled up his sleeves and, using his authority as lord, ordered two soldiers to thoroughly turn over, break up, and rake the soil in the small flowerbed.

He even went so far as to order his steward, Buffet, to fetch a small batch of the finest compost and spread it evenly on the lower layer of the soil as base fertilizer, ensuring that this small "experimental field" had the most fertile soil in the entire Lion Tooth Territory.

Watching the ten sections of cassava seedlings being carefully planted into the soil at the optimal spacing, and the pale yellowish-brown cassava worm curling contentedly on its cordyceps leaves, instinctively drawing nutrients and giving back to the soil, Kruze felt a great sense of accomplishment.

"Big brother, what did you secretly plant here?" Elena, carrying a small bucket that was barely bigger than her forearm, hopped over and tilted her head curiously, examining the ten bare, brown "sticks" in the flowerbed that looked like they had been casually stuck in.

Suddenly, her big, bright blue eyes widened, her mouth opened into an "O" shape, and she pointed at one of the "sticks" and screamed, "Oh! Look! It, it's sprouted! So fast! And... on those leaves... those are... fairy bugs!"

She knows the fairy insects too well!
The pea fairy insect, Qingcui, is now kept in the castle's study. She goes to check on it almost every day and feeds it a small piece of the tenderest pea leaf. She is very familiar with that unique life form that contains the magic of nature!
The little thing in front of me is perched on the newly sprouted, tender green cassava leaves, although its color is not quite as vibrant as the green.

It's a lovely tan, chubby, but that unique spiritual glow is absolutely right!
Kruse was startled by his sister's exclamation. He quickly squatted down, put a finger to his lips, and made a "shh" gesture, his eyes filled with a hint of tension and mystery.

"Keep your voice down, my little Elena!" He lowered his voice, pulled his sister closer, and pointed to the cassava sprite that seemed startled and lazily raised its head. "You're not mistaken, this is a new sprite that your brother just... well, you could say 'luckily' made a contract with."

He carefully considered his words, unable to explain the existence of the system for the time being.

“It’s different from Greenie. It’s a spirit insect belonging to the ‘purple root potato’ family, the kind of crop we grow on the hillside that fills our stomachs. This is one of our biggest secret weapons right now, understand?” Kruze’s expression turned serious. “Until our purple root potatoes cover the hillside and enough people know they’re edible, we absolutely cannot let anyone else know about its existence! That would cause a lot of trouble! This is a secret between the two of us, okay?”

Elena immediately covered her mouth tightly with her free little hand, so hard she almost suffocated. Her little head bobbed vigorously like a chick pecking at rice, her eyes wide and excited, filled with expressions of "I understand," "I promise I won't tell," and "A super amazing secret!" Her gaze was fixed on the chubby cassava fairy worm, unblinking, filled with incredulous wonder and a longing to reach out and touch it, yet also with a fear of daring to do so.

After a long while, she finally managed to whisper excitedly through her fingers, "Big brother... what... what's its name?"

Seeing his sister's adorable yet earnest expression, Kruze breathed a sigh of relief and chuckled as he ruffled her hair. "A name... I haven't thought of one yet. How about my little Elena helps me come up with one?"

Hearing her brother's praise, Elena puffed out her chest even more, her face beaming with the proud light of "I'm a naming expert."

“Of course!” she replied crisply, then rested her chin on her hand, furrowed her brows, and examined the plump, yellowish-brown worm that was nibbling on tender leaves with utmost seriousness.

A moment later, her eyes lit up, as if she had thought of a brilliant name. In a tone as if announcing important news, she said, word by word, "Then—it—will—be—called—Huang—Deng—from—the—time—!"

"Huang...Huang Deng?" Kruse's smile froze instantly, and the corner of his mouth twitched uncontrollably.

The name "Qingcui" is quite refreshing and elegant, but what the heck is this "Huangdeng"?

It sounds like some kind of whole-grain biscuit, or... calluses on the soles of the feet?

Looking at his sister's expectant expression that seemed to say, "Praise me for being a naming genius," he swallowed back all his complaints and forced a smile: "Uh...not bad, a very, very unique name...hmm, very energetic."

He simply couldn't find a better compliment.

Elena was very satisfied with the evaluation and nodded vigorously with pride, as if she had accomplished something extraordinary.

As evening fell, Rezal returned to the castle, covered in dust and exuding a gloomy aura. His hunting bow, which he always carried on his shoulder, was still there, but not a single arrow was missing from his quiver, and there was no sign of any prey.

Even more unusually, he was completely absent-minded, his eyes darted around while eating, and he almost put the wooden spoon in his nose several times. He also found the pea soup tasteless.

At the dining table, Elena pouted and grumbled, "Second brother is so stupid! He used to be able to hunt rabbits and pheasants, but today he came back empty-handed! My roast meat is ruined again! I can only drink this rotten bean soup..."

She complained for a while before belatedly realizing that her second brother not only didn't glare at her or argue back as usual, but instead frowned, looking preoccupied.

The eldest brother, sitting in the main seat, seemed to be eating his bread calmly, but his eyes were unusually deep, glancing at his second brother from time to time, as if he had already seen through something.

(End of this chapter)