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墨書 Inktalez
"Absurd!" the County Magistrate suddenly interrupted sharply. "The 'Wang Zhen Nong Shu' states, 'Beans and wheat cannot be sown together!'" He clenched a handful of bean sprouts with his mangled right hand, the veins bulging like worms.
Lin Dahe's heart skipped a beat. The authoritative tone echoed that of the Counselor from last year's glass case investigation. Just as he hesitated over whether to bring up the ancient texts provided by the system as false evidence, Cui Xiaoman suddenly exclaimed, "Oh no!"
"Sir, be careful!" She rushed forward and swatted the bean sprouts from the County Magistrate's hand. "These sprouts have just been treated with chemicals!"
The County Magistrate recoiled as if scalded, and Cui Xiaoman quickly fetched some clean water. While rinsing, Lin Dahe caught a glimpse of her discreetly crushing a few root nodules into the Magistrate's sleeve—milky fluid seeped into the satin, quickly turning a light brown, resembling a stain from medicine.
"What kind of medicine?" The County Magistrate sniffed suspiciously at his sleeve.
"Realgar mixed with mugwort juice," Lin Dahe quickly replied. "It's specifically to prevent the earth tiger from gnawing at the roots."
The County Magistrate's expression gradually softened. He walked to the edge of the field to inspect the zoning markers Lin Dahe had set up—symbols drawn with charcoal on wooden signs, which were actually simplified experimental records. Just as he bent down for a closer look, a heart-wrenching scream erupted from the soybean field.
"Snake! There's a snake demon!"
Aunt Ma tumbled out of the rows of crops, her silver chopsticks in her hair skewed to one side. She was waving a three-foot-long "green snake," which glimmered with an eerie fluorescence in the sunlight.
The crowd scattered in a wide circle. Lin Dahe squinted and nearly laughed out loud—it was clearly an ordinary grass snake dyed green with indigo. Two fingerprints were still visible on its neck, indicating someone had just pinched it there for a photo.
"Sir, help me!" Aunt Ma collapsed at the County Magistrate's feet. "This demon snake crawled out from among the bean plants..."
"Wait." Lin Dahe pulled out a coarse cloth bag from his waist. "Take a look at this."
He opened the bag to reveal dried realgar powder mixed with sulfur—the very insect repellent he had scattered along the edge of the field that morning. As soon as the dyed grass snake approached the powder, it began to thrash violently, causing Aunt Ma to drop it in fright. Instead of fleeing, the snake writhed painfully on the ground.
"Strange." Lin Dahe used a stick to poke at the snake's corpse. "Why would a real snake fear realgar? Unless..." He suddenly tore open its belly, and several yellow beans tumbled out—revealing it was stuffed with beans!
Aunt Ma's face turned greener than the snake itself. The County Magistrate let out a cold laugh and traced his severed finger across her trembling temple. "According to Article 320 of the Great Ming Code, false accusation leads to countercharges."
"Sir, please listen!" Aunt Ma suddenly pointed at Lin Dahe. "There really is something strange in his field! Last night I saw with my own eyes..." Her voice abruptly cut off as Cui Xiaoman was playing with one of her silver chopsticks—having somehow taken it from her hair.
After an awkward silence, the Counselor suddenly pointed at the edge of the field. "Sir, look!"
Everyone turned to see several clusters of tender shoots emerging from the soil beside the zoning markers. These were neither soybeans nor wheat; their leaves were uniquely pinnate and their stems tinged with light purple—exactly what Lin Dahe had secretly attempted to cultivate: a hybrid variety.
"What is this?" The County Magistrate squinted.
"Ziyunying," Peddler Zhang interjected unexpectedly. "Brought by people from Nanyang for feeding livestock."
Lin Dahe secretly sighed in relief. This was indeed a leguminous plant; it was a product of his hybridization between purple-flowered alfalfa provided by the system and local wild peas. The County Magistrate squatted down and snapped off a tender leaf, which immediately oozed milky juice from its cut end.
"The 'Jiu Huang Ben Cao' states..." The County Magistrate's tone suddenly shifted oddly, "Ziyunying can indeed stave off hunger."
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