The old man said mournfully, "You know how harsh the world is—why must you make things difficult for this old man?"
Yang Kai turned to look around, then swept his hand in a wide circle. "Even if this place of yours isn't seventy or eighty mu, it's got to be fifty or sixty, hasn't it?"
The sudden change of topic caught the old man off guard. He didn't know what Yang Kai was getting at and didn't dare respond rashly, only watching him warily.
"A fifty- or sixty-mu orchard and you can tend to it easily enough, so what's the fuss over my three mu? For you, it'd be nothing more than a lift of the hand. And if you won't even do that much to help, then if something happens later, don't blame me."
The old man glowered. "You want me to tend your three mu as well?"
Yang Kai flashed a grin. "Of course not. I just need you to teach me for a while, get me started, and I certainly won't bother you again after that." He paused briefly. "Relax, I'm a fast learner. It probably won't take more than a few days before I've got it."
The old man wore an expression of utter helplessness. "Teaching you is one thing—remember what you said. If you come around pestering me again in the future, don't blame me for getting unpleasant."
"Wouldn't dream of it!"
The old man huffed indignantly for a moment longer before raising his hand. "Let's go."
"Take it easy, now…" Yang Kai hurried over to help support him.
The old man flicked his sleeve with a cold snort. "Save the flattery. I knew from the start you were no good—I couldn't be bothered to give you any helpful advice."
Yang Kai laughed. "But didn't you just say yourself that you're a kind-hearted man? Seeing a young man in trouble, how could you not offer a word of warning?" Words of praise cost nothing, after all, and they didn't cost him a single piece of flesh.
He walked alongside the old man, smiling and chatting the whole way, and before long they arrived back at the three mu of land.
Though the old man had agreed to teach Yang Kai hand in hand only because he had been cornered into it, once he had given his word, he had no intention of doing a sloppy job. His main fear was that if he half-assed things, Yang Kai's shameless, rascal-like attitude might lead him to actually come over one day and wreak havoc on his own territory if a single tree happened to die on his plot.
Even if it was purely for self-preservation, the old man had to teach him properly.
Standing before a Fire Spirit Fruit tree, the old man's expression turned solemn. "We may be mere servants in this Fire Spirit Ground, but doing this kind of service work well is no simple matter. There are many subtleties and tricks to it—especially when it comes to tending these fruit trees. The details you need to pay attention to are countless; without three to five years of immersion, or even longer, it's nearly impossible to grasp the proper touch. I'll tell you upfront: I'll only teach you for one month. How much you learn in that month depends on your own ability. After that month is up, don't come bothering me again."
"That'll be plenty!" Yang Kai nodded seriously.
The old man let out a derisive snort, clearly thinking Yang Kai's confidence outstripped his ability. But since Yang Kai had agreed, that was exactly what he wanted to hear. He pointed to a fruit tree ahead. "Take a look for yourself. What does this tree need?"
Yang Kai studied the tree from top to bottom, his spiritual sense flickering out in a show of focused concentration. After a long moment he said, "No idea!"
The old man said, "Place your hand on it and sense more carefully."
Yang Kai obeyed, pressing his palm against the trunk and probing carefully. After a moment he tilted his head. "Does it need fertilizer?"
The old man rolled his eyes. "This is a perfectly healthy tree. Nothing needs to be done."
Yang Kai was exasperated. "If it's healthy, why did you ask me what it needed?"
The old man stroked his beard with an air of inscrutable wisdom. "I simply wanted you to remember what a healthy tree looks and feels like. Use that as your baseline, and when you compare it against other trees, you'll know what needs doing."
Yang Kai thought about it and had to admit the man had a point. There was clearly an element of messing with him, but he could only swallow it—after all, his own attitude toward the old man hadn't exactly been great either.
"I've got it," Yang Kai nodded.
"Then on to the next one!" The old man beckoned.
Shortly after, they stood before another fruit tree. Yang Kai sensed it for a while before venturing, with some uncertainty, "Compared to the previous one, this tree is lacking moisture—does it need watering?"
The old man glanced at him and nodded. "Not bad."
Yang Kai grinned. "Good teaching, old sir. Right, watering… let me see how it's done." He produced his command token, channeled his power, and connected to the grand formation spanning the entire orchard. In no time, a mass of cloud gathered above the tree.
"Too little, too little—keep going!" the old man called from the side. "The Fire Spirit energy here is dense and the heat is fierce. If the moisture you summon is too little, it'll just evaporate on contact. You won't be able to water anything at all."
Yang Kai said nothing and increased his output. The cloud above the tree grew larger and thicker.
"That's about right," the old man nodded.
Hearing this, Yang Kai immediately pointed a finger, and the cloud descended over the tree. It was plain to the naked eye—the entire tree seemed to grow more vibrant and refreshed.
Yang Kai looked enormously pleased with himself. "How was that?"
"Middling," the old man said, naturally unwilling to offer praise, and led him onward.
Tending the fruit trees was delicate and exhausting work, especially for a newcomer like Yang Kai, where even the slightest carelessness could ruin things. One tree after another was inspected—those needing water were watered, those needing fertilizer were fertilized, and where more Fire Spirit energy needed to be drawn, more was drawn.
The three seedlings were the highest priority. Young saplings were the hardest to look after, but under the old man's guidance, Yang Kai managed a decent showing. Seeing him perform so, the old man seemed reasonably satisfied, and his attitude softened somewhat.