Chapter 36: Plans for Transformation

The land here was barren, the soil mixed with gravel, and a faint stench of blood hung in the air.

Looking as far as the eye could see, there was not a single sign of life for thousands of miles.

Lin Mo poured a cup of water onto the ground, but it rapidly seeped into the earth and vanished.

The soil’s water retention was abysmal, and its water supply capability was just as poor.

If she wanted to transform this type of land, the simplest method would be to replace the soil entirely.

However, when Lin Mo checked the discounted black soil in the Mall, each square meter cost 100 Shells. Her total net worth was currently 5,000 Shells, which meant she could only afford 50 square meters—nowhere near enough to cover these thousands of miles of terrain.

She needed to carefully plan her expenses and make every single Shell count.

Lin Mo quickly pondered the options in her head. The method to improve soil water retention was to plant vegetation and increase green coverage. Meanwhile, the way to enhance soil water supply was deep plowing, adding organic fertilizer, and returning straw to the field. Since both methods complemented each other, her very first step had to address the soil’s water supply issue.

When she harvested wheat earlier, a large amount of wheat straw had been left behind, which happened to be perfect for mixing into organic fertilizer. She checked the Mall and saw that 10 bags of discounted organic fertilizer cost 1,000 Shells; she could buy 20 bags first as a trial run.

As for tree species, she had to consider practical utility. Crops suited for barren land included jujube, walnut, chestnut, and pistachio trees. However, growing tree saplings into mature trees required a certain number of years and would consume more spiritual energy.

What was better suited for planting—and consumed far less spiritual energy—should be grass vegetation.

What lynxes loved to eat were rabbits. To teach them how to farm rabbits, the first thing to plant was the grass required in the rabbit-breeding process: alfalfa, timothy grass, and wheatgrass. These were all grasses that rabbits loved to eat.

Lin Mo decided to plant a portion of each. She purchased all the necessary supplies, and only then did the strange, restless feeling deep in her heart finally vanish.

Lin Mo raised her head, only to realize that Mo Jin was holding up a massive, emerald-green leaf, shielding her from the scorching summer sun. No wonder she had felt so much cooler just now.

A sweet warmth flooded Lin Mo’s heart, and a smile touched her face. “Where did you find such a big leaf?”

“Just found it in the woods back there,” Mo Jin said indifferently, silently shifting the leaf a bit closer toward Lin Mo.

Lin Mo reached out and took hold of the leaf stem. “Let me hold it for a while. You’ve been holding it for so long. Let’s go back first and have a drink of water, then come back once everything we bought arrives.”

Mo Jin nodded and let go.

The two walked back slowly together, their hands naturally holding each other’s again along the way.

By the time they reached the small wooden cottage, a thin layer of sweat had formed on both of their palms.

Lin Mo rubbed her palm, worried that her own sweat had wet Mo Jin’s hand, and quickly apologized, “I’m sorry, I got your hand all wet.”

Mo Jin tucked her hand behind her back and pursed her lips slightly. “It’s nothing.”

How could someone as clean-obsessed as Mo Jin genuinely think it was “nothing”? She was definitely just too embarrassed to say it out loud.

Lin Mo went to wash her hands first, then brought over a basin of water. “Come over and wash your hands.”

Mo Jin complied, walking over to stand beside the basin, but she kept her hands resting over it without moving.

Thinking something was wrong with the water, Lin Mo hurriedly asked, “What’s wrong?”

Mo Jin’s cold, aloof voice carried a hint of languor: “I want you to wash them for me.”

Lin Mo froze. Her gaze fell upon Mo Jin’s hands—fair, slender fingers with distinct knuckles. Under the golden sunlight, faint blue veins were clearly visible, resembling an exquisitely sculpted piece of fine art.

She had always stroked Mo Jin’s fluffy bear paws in her beast form, but she had never looked closely at Mo Jin’s human hands before.

Lin Mo walked over to Mo Jin’s side, rolled up her sleeves, and fastened her sleeve buttons. The slender wrist was delicate enough to be encircled by a single hand, pale as frost, yet feeling as warm and smooth as polished jade to the touch.

A beauty like fine jade—one would want to treasure her close to the heart for a lifetime.

For some reason, her mind drifted back to the morning she woke from her dream: Mo Jin had been wearing only thin sleepwear, her black hair flowing down, resting her head on Lin Mo’s lap like an ethereal immortal, exceptionally enchanting. At that time, Lin Mo had been too busy blushing and heart-pounding to do anything. Holding her hand now, she suddenly wondered if the skin on Mo Jin’s body was just as warm and smooth as her wrists.

Lin Mo placed Mo Jin’s hands into the basin. The cool water enveloped both pairs of hands, gradually cooling down the intense, fire-like romantic thoughts in her heart.

Lin Mo’s ears felt a bit warm. She scooped up clean water, poured it over the back of Mo Jin’s hands, took a towel, and quietly and meticulously wiped Mo Jin’s hands dry.

Once the heat on her face subsided, Lin Mo released Mo Jin’s hands, hung up the towel, and bowed her head. “Wiped clean.”

Mo Jin looked down at her hands; the skin had been rubbed slightly red, but it proved that Lin Mo had wiped them clean and thoroughly.

How wonderful. She was finally a bear who had someone to wipe her hands for her.

Walking up behind Lin Mo, she gently wrapped her arms around Lin Mo’s slender waist, resting her chin on Lin Mo’s soft, fluffy head with a tender expression.

Lin Mo’s body went stiff, then slowly relaxed, allowing herself to sink into Mo Jin’s embrace. She asked softly, “What’s wrong?”

Mo Jin closed her eyes, her voice soft and gentle. “Lin Mo, will you always wash them for me?”

Lin Mo smiled faintly and turned around in her arms. “Of course I will. How could I not?”

She felt that Mo Jin was acting like a little silly goose. Of course she was willing to wash her hands for her—she would gladly wash her paws, too!

Mo Jin gently pressed a kiss onto Lin Mo’s forehead.

Lin Mo stood frozen, clutching her glowing face. Why did she suddenly kiss her off guard again? She hadn’t been prepared at all!

Fortunately, right at that moment, the paper crane delivering the parcel arrived. Lin Mo lowered her head and stammered, “I—I’m going to unpack the parcel.”

Mo Jin nodded, but she didn’t let go immediately.

“Why aren’t you letting go yet?”

Lin Mo looked up, only to be kissed once more.

Lin Mo hurriedly covered her forehead, her face flushing red like a cooked crab. “Why did you kiss me again?”

The corners of Mo Jin’s lips curled up. She realized she enjoyed seeing Lin Mo flustered and confused, so she softened her voice coaxingly, “Because I think you’re cute.”

“Why do you think I’m cute?”

In her fluster, Lin Mo realized she had spoken another foolish sentence as soon as the words left her mouth, and she hastily broke free from Mo Jin’s embrace.

She wasn’t cute at all! How could she be that cute? Stinky Mo Jin was just making up excuses to tease her!

Yet she couldn’t bring herself to feel angry at all. Lin Mo kept her head down, her movements as she untied the parcel becoming noticeably larger.

However, the parcel seemed to be picking a fight with her. Parcels that used to be super easy to open felt as though they were stubborn and knotted tight this time, refusing to open no matter what she tried.

This parcel was different from previous ones. Before, the items inside were few, so the parcel looked large on the outside. This time, perhaps because the items bought were too heavy, it had been swapped for a new type of packaging—it was actually smaller than before, yet proved far harder to open.

Lin Mo struggled with it for a long while. In the end, Mo Jin took the initiative to step forward. With a gentle swipe of her finger, a flash of pale purple light passed through, and the contents inside the parcel fell out onto the ground with a loud, clattering crash.

Lin Mo stared, dumbfounded, at the mountain of items. With this much stuff, how was she supposed to transport it all down the cliff?

Seeming to sense Lin Mo’s thoughts, Mo Jin raised a finger, wrapping all the items inside spheres of spiritual energy, causing them to float silently in midair.

“Let’s go. I’ll help you transport them over.”

Mo Jin turned around, and all the spiritual energy spheres followed behind her, swaying gently as they moved forward.

Lin Mo’s eyes caught sight of the wheat straw stack piled up earlier, and she called out, “There’s still the wheat straw stack that hasn’t been brought along!”

Mo Jin flicked her hand lightly toward the back right. The stack of wheat straw shrank down, was packed into a spiritual energy sphere, and followed behind Mo Jin.

Lin Mo picked up her pace, quickly jogging to catch up and walk beside Mo Jin, side by side.

When they reached the bottom of the cliff, they happened to run into the old Lynx Patriarch returning from a hunt, leading a group of his lynx clansmen. Today, they had finally hunted a sturdy elk with about 500 catties of meat, as well as a few small animals. It appeared to be a bountiful harvest.

The old Lynx Patriarch had been grinning ear to ear all along the way. Seeing Lin Mo from afar, he enthusiastically led his clansmen over to greet her. He personally used a stone knife to slice off a piece of the elk’s hind leg meat, pulled out the internal organs, and carried it over to offer to Lin Mo: “What a coincidence today! Running into you right after coming back from hunting. This is the elk we caught; we’d like to gift a piece of meat to you.”

The meat the old Lynx Patriarch brought over weighed a full fifty catties, along with a large piece of internal organs containing the elk’s heart. Seeing that Lin Mo hadn’t accepted it, he nudged the animal organs forward a bit more: “Eating this is wonderful! When the children in the clan eat this, it strengthens their health and bodies. You helped us so much before, and we’ve never had a chance to properly thank you.”

The lynx clansmen had honest, simple faces. To them, the elk heart and internal organs were the best nourishing tonic available. Giving it to Lin Mo and her companion didn’t cause them a shred of heartache. After all, Lin Mo had helped them dig a well, solving their water source problem. They no longer had to worry about drinking water, and the clan finally had hope for surviving the coming winter.

Lin Mo couldn’t stand such a strong, pungent stench of blood. If the old Lynx Patriarch took two more steps forward, she felt like she would throw up.

Lin Mo hurriedly waved her hands. “No need, I don’t like eating internal organs. We also have food at home, and with this much elk meat, I wouldn’t be able to finish it anyway.”

The old Lynx Patriarch hesitated with his outstretched hand. This was his first time hearing a demon say they didn’t like eating internal organs.

Seeing Lin Mo’s firm stance, the old Lynx Patriarch had no choice but to put the organs back and set down the leg meat. Feeling embarrassed about giving so little, he rubbed his hands together awkwardly: “It’s fine if you don’t eat this elk meat right now! You can cure it with salt and preserve it for a long time. See if there’s anything else you want, and I’ll use my knife to cut it off for you.”

Lin Mo had originally intended to refuse, but her gaze fell upon the filthy elk head hanging down, its pair of velvet antlers still completely intact. An idea sparked in her mind—if she could sell a complete elk skull, she would have money to buy more fertilizer to improve the soil!

Lin Mo asked tentatively, “Can you give me this elk head?”

A strange expression flickered across the old Lynx Patriarch’s face. Tucking his hands behind his back, he asked, “There isn’t much meat on this elk head; it’s mostly bones and hard to gnaw on. What use would you have for it? In the past, elk heads were always presented to the High Priest. If you want it, I’ll go speak to the High Priest later.”

A wave of joy washed over Lin Mo’s heart. The old Lynx Patriarch’s words meant that the High Priest had plenty of elk heads over there!

Lin Mo explained her plan to the old Lynx Patriarch, hoping to gain his support. That way, she would have access to more labor resources for improving the land in the future. Furthermore, the Lynx Clan would become her loyal customer base, forming a healthy, virtuous cycle.

Lin Mo pointed toward the small mountain of supplies stacked nearby. “I plan to improve this piece of barren land, which requires a lot of funds. If you’re willing to sell the elk heads to me, I can teach you how to raise young rabbits, and you can buy the pasture grass the rabbits need from me. If you want fully grown rabbits, we can also convert them into an equivalent value of rabbits for you.”

A glint of shrewdness flashed through the old Lynx Patriarch’s eyes. Naturally, he would choose to raise young rabbits; that way, the Lynx Clan would never have to worry about food again!

However, he did not dare to agree too hastily. After all, the island was arid with little rainfall and lacked water sources. Whether Lin Mo could successfully transform the barren land was still uncertain.

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