Chapter 17: I Owe You a Kiss, I’ve Decided to Give It Back.
Hu Liena covered her mouth and chuckled, "Then I have to go in and take a good look."
Ye Tian crossed his arms and said leisurely, "When we go in, no sneaking bites."
"Hmph, I wouldn't be so shameless!" Hu Liena puffed her cheeks.
As the future Saintess of the Spirit Hall, what delicacies hasn't she seen?
Every year, the various branches of the Spirit Hall would tribute numerous rare and exotic fruits to the main city.
These priceless fruits were rarely seen, even in the courts of the two great empires.
But for her, she could eat them at will.
In fact, there were so many that she couldn't even finish them all.
How could she be greedy?
What a joke.
Her real reason for going in was simply curiosity. A house made of glass? Now that's something interesting.
Hu Liena stuck out her tongue at Ye Tian and ignored him, moving lightly toward the greenhouse.
Ye Tian watched her back, shook his head, and smiled softly.
Beside him, Bibi Dong gracefully took long strides and followed behind.
Before the group even reached the door, they heard Hu Liena's astonished voice.
"Wow, wow, wow! The plants inside are so vibrant!"
Following Hu Liena's gaze, Bibi Dong looked in curiously.
Inside the greenhouse, a lush green scene unfolded.
It was different from the green of the valley; inside the greenhouse, the greenery was vivid, strikingly so.
All the plants seemed as if they had just sprouted fresh buds.
The collection of greens, clustered together, created a powerful visual impact.
Not to mention the brightly colored and incredibly tempting fruits that stood out against the green backdrop.
Even someone as accustomed to seeing all sorts of treasures and exquisite bonsai as Bibi Dong couldn't help but find the sight unique.
This wasn't just a place to cultivate plants; it was a grand treasure trove of art.
As night gradually fell, the supplementary lights in the greenhouse silently turned on.
In the tranquil valley, the soft white light made people feel particularly comfortable.
Chen Jian looked at Bibi Dong kindly and introduced, "Miss, you may not know, but all the plants in this greenhouse were bought by the young master from a distant island. They have never been seen on the Douluo Continent before. Each one is extremely precious."
"Oh?" Bibi Dong glanced at Ye Tian in mild surprise.
Ye Tian smiled, "They're just some fruits and vegetables. Nothing particularly special. The reason they're planted in the greenhouse is simply to yield more seeds and eventually spread them around."
In fact, the seeds of these fruits and vegetables were gifts from the system during various holidays over the past two years.
They weren't actually bought from a distant island. He said that only to keep the system's secret.
Chen Jian's latter half of the statement wasn't false, though.
These fruit and vegetable seeds had never appeared on the continent.
In reality, the Douluo Continent had always prioritized soul master cultivation, and aside from farmers growing crops, almost no one paid attention to agriculture.
On the continent, the variety of vegetables was pitifully small.
Even cooking only involved adding a bit of salt—there weren't any other seasonings.
As for fruits, they were mostly unrefined varieties, sour and pulpy, often nearly inedible.
When Ye Tian first arrived on the Douluo Continent, he found this extremely difficult to get used to.
But later, with the system's rewards of many vegetable and fruit seeds, and after his relentless efforts in farming, the variety of food he had to eat gradually expanded.
Ahead, Hu Liena impatiently pushed open the greenhouse's glass door.
As soon as she stepped in, she immediately felt a wave of warmth.
The subtle difference caught her attention.
She turned her head and asked, "Brother Ye Tian, does temperature affect plant growth?"
Ye Tian nodded lightly, "Of course. I didn't expect that you, little Nana, would notice this."
"Hehe." Hu Liena showed her white teeth, smiling, "Staying by Brother's side, I naturally get smarter."
Soon, she was attracted to the rod-shaped, deep purple grapes hanging from the top of the door.
"These grapes look so strange! Why aren't they round, and why are they so long and such a deep purple?"
Chen Jian, familiar with these plants, explained, "These are seedless gem grapes."
"Seedless gem grapes?" Hu Liena instinctively repeated, craning her neck.
Ye Tian smiled broadly, bending his middle finger slightly as his golden martial spirit, the Taiyi Divine Needle, appeared.
He flicked his finger, and the Taiyi Divine Needle flew out swiftly, precisely hitting the connection between a bunch of grapes and the vine.
With a soft "snap," the bunch of gem grapes fell neatly into Ye Tian's hand.
Hu Liena licked her rosy lips, her eyes gleaming, like a fox ready to pounce on its prey.
"Thank you, Brother!" She grinned and dashed toward Ye Tian in one quick step.
Ye Tian skillfully sidestepped and raised the gem grapes high.
"Hey, hey, hey, little girl, what are you trying to do?"
"Didn't you say you were giving it to me to eat?" Hu Liena put her hands on her hips, wrinkling her delicate nose and tilting her head.
Ye Tian looked disdainful, "I never said that."
He plucked a single grape from the high bunch, and handed it to the eagerly watching Hu Liena. "Here, just one. No more."
"Ahhhh!" Hu Liena put on a pained expression, glaring at Ye Tian.
"Half, no more than that." Ye Tian laughed, breaking the grape in half. "Didn't someone say just now, 'I wouldn't be so shameless…'"
Being called out, Hu Liena's face flushed, but her hands were honest as she took the grape Ye Tian offered.
She popped it into her mouth as if venting her frustration.
As soon as the grape touched her tongue, she was stunned by its flavor.
Sweet and soft.
A faint milky aroma.
An extreme sweetness.
"Mmm, mmm!" Hu Liena's eyes widened as she was too excited to speak, quickly popping another grape into her mouth.
She had never tasted such delicious fruit before.
Compared to the fruits tributed to the Spirit Hall, they were as sour and bitter as wild hawthorn berries from the countryside!
Soon, Hu Liena began to dance around the greenhouse like a bird in the sky or a fish diving into the sea.
One moment she was picking a crystal-clear red strawberry, the next she had her eyes on the smooth and fleshy snake fruit.
She even wanted to taste the slightly under-ripe cherry tomatoes and the crisp green lettuce.
Ye Tian only glanced at Hu Liena once before turning his gaze back and stepping toward his elder sister, handing her half of the gem grapes.
Bibi Dong stood gracefully in the greenhouse, similarly captivated.
But what caught her attention wasn't the delicious fruits and vegetables, but the greenhouse's lighting system.
As she absentmindedly took the gem grapes from Ye Tian, her eyes remained fixed on the incandescent lights above. "They're not luminous pearls or gems, so why do they glow at night?"
Ye Tian smiled. This was a topic that involved advanced science.
But he couldn't just say that it was the energy released as light waves during electron transitions, right?
The more specialized something is, the harder it is to explain.
After thinking for a moment, he offered a suitable analogy:
"Sis, you know that when soul masters use soul power in battle, it often produces light."
"If we can harness this relationship between 'releasing soul power' and 'emitting light,' and use soul power just to produce light without any destructive force, the end product is this kind of lighting tool."
Upon hearing this, Bibi Dong bowed her head, deep in thought, trying to grasp the principle.
Ye Tian smiled and shook his head. Though the analogy was simple, understanding it was still difficult without solid theoretical knowledge.
Just then, Hu Liena approached with a gust of wind, her expression sour.
Seeing her displeased face, Ye Tian was puzzled. "Little Nana, what's wrong?"
Hu Liena's bright red lips moved, but instead of answering his question, she said angrily, "Brother, didn't I owe you a kiss earlier? I've decided to give it back now."
"Huh?" Ye Tian was momentarily stunned, his lips twitching.
What was wrong with little Nana?
She wanted to kiss him?
Had she lost her mind?
That bet earlier was just a joke. He wasn't going to force anything.
Before he could react, Hu Liena's rosy lips pressed against his.
Suddenly, a burning sensation hit him.
Ye Tian couldn't feel anything else on his lips.
Forget about the soft, tender feeling of a girl's kiss; all he felt was heat.
Intense heat!
Ye Tian's pupils shrank. This little fox—did she just eat a ghost pepper?
(T/N; Damn…)
(End of Chapter)