OFTLHFRO C63

Chapter 63: Spinning the Story to the End

Running away couldn’t solve anything.

So, Luo Mingchen chose to bluff.

When the Third Young Master came to visit, Luo Mingchen smiled, said nothing, and directly brought over that pot of mutated orchids.

Seeing the orchid, the Third Young Master: “…”

Master Ming was also startled, nearly dropping the teacup in his hand.

The Third Young Master looked at Luo Mingchen with complicated eyes. “You… don’t tell me you’re trying to say that this is what a Ghost Orchid looks like when it blooms?”

He had seen Ghost Orchids bloom before. Aside from being larger than normal, the flowers really were this color and shape. But those semi-transparent leaves—where had they come from?!

Unhurriedly, Luo Mingchen said, “After this Ghost Orchid mutated, this is how its flowers look.”

“Mutated?”

The Third Young Master’s brows furrowed. “What kind of mutation do you mean?”

At that, Luo Mingchen let out a heavy sigh.

Huo Yan, eyes filled with amusement, watched his spouse clearly preparing to spin nonsense. It was oddly adorable.

“To tell the truth, my family has, for generations, grown vegetables.”

When Luo Mingchen said this, seeing both the Third Young Master and Master Ming focus on him, he continued, “Not the kind of farming you’re thinking of. My family lived deep in the mountains—you should have discovered that I had no household registration before arriving in the village. That’s because, after coming down the mountain, I passed through a thick white mist and wound up in Creek Village, badly injured and unable to remember how to go back.”

His origins, these two had no doubt investigated thoroughly. There was no need to hide.

Since things had reached this point, mixing truth with lies was better than leaving himself open for interrogation later.

What mattered most now was stringing them along.

Master Ming asked in curiosity, “In your family, how did you grow vegetables?”

Luo Mingchen gave Master Ming an approving look—what a good question.

“We can sense some of the needs of plants. Quite a few of us can even hear plants ‘speak.’ In my family, I was the least gifted. But we also had an ancestral medicine powder. When dissolved in water, it can nudge plants to mutate toward what they most desire.”

Seeing the Third Young Master and Master Ming listening intently, Luo Mingchen went on weaving his tale. “Ah… before, when I touched this Ghost Orchid, I could sense its deep longing for change. So, thinking that the Young Master just wanted it to bloom, I added a tiny bit of powder. Who would have thought—it had no wish to flower at all, and instead immediately sprouted little leaves. Do you know why?”

After a moment’s thought, the Third Young Master shook his head.

Master Ming, too, was drawn in by curiosity. “Why?”

“Because this Ghost Orchid no longer wished to depend on another plant to survive. It wanted to stand on its own, even if that meant it might never bloom as an orchid again. Tell me, do you understand what it’s like to have no leaves, unable to absorb sunlight, forced to cling to another plant just to live? It’s like living under another’s roof, fated to bow your head. The Ghost Orchid didn’t bloom because it couldn’t bloom without dependence, only barely surviving. It isn’t truly parasitic—only reliant. But if given the chance to mutate, its only wish is to grow leaves.”

These words rang with conviction. Both the Third Young Master and Master Ming sank into thought.

Seeing he had really captured their attention, Luo Mingchen continued, “Young Master, this Ghost Orchid truly moved me. So to help it, I added a bit more powder, and that’s why it looks the way it does now. From here on, it no longer needs to cling to others and can bloom on its own. Of course, it still prefers rotting leaves and shadow. A little sun is enough.”

After a long silence, the Third Young Master asked, “You’re not just making excuses because you added too much powder, are you?”

Luo Mingchen had already predicted that question. Calmly, he said, “If you don’t believe me, there’s nothing I can do. You can’t sense plants’ needs the way I can, so I’d understand if you doubt me. But the truth is, I was wrong. I shouldn’t have forced the Ghost Orchid to bloom when what it truly desired was independence. Just let those two hundred gold taels fulfill its wish.”

Inside, his heart bled.

Two hundred gold!

But unbelievably, his words swayed the Young Master.

For someone so fond of wealth to give up two hundred gold so freely, the Young Master began to doubt if maybe Luo Mingchen was actually telling the truth.

“Then, in your view, does that mean the vegetables we eat have awareness too?”

Puzzled, Luo Mingchen replied, “I never said plants had consciousness. I only said I could sense their needs. It’s like chickens or ducks—when they’re hungry or tired, people who raise them can tell. Plants have no brains; they rely only on instinct. Of course, I have heard some in my homeland say that very old plants develop intentions of their own. For example, ancient trees over a hundred years old are said to understand human sentiment. But I can’t sense that myself, so I won’t make judgments.”

With that explanation, the Young Master could accept it.

Master Ming gazed at the orchid pot with deep feeling. “Who would have thought such a tiny orchid could have such spirit? In that case, Young Master, why not honor its wish? The flower has bloomed, the leaves have grown—this little brother has fulfilled both your wish and the orchid’s.”

Though he still felt something was off, the Third Young Master couldn’t pinpoint it. “So by Teacher’s reasoning, I should be thanking him?”

“Haha… This is only my perspective as a bystander. If you insist on wanting the roots to bloom, then that’s your choice. After all, the flower is yours.”

At this, Master Ming glanced at Luo Mingchen and Huo Yan. “But tell me, Young Master, why do you love orchids so much?”

This snapped something into place for the Young Master, and his lingering discomfort melted away.

What he loved about orchids was their purity and nobility, after all.

A Ghost Orchid that could only bloom while dependent on others, or one that could bloom on its own—when he thought about it, the latter appealed more.

The meaning of flowers was bestowed by people themselves. So, if Luo Mingchen said this Ghost Orchid longed not to depend on others, then stretched itself to grow leaves—that was fine. It just depended on how one chose to see it.

Having learned quite a lot, the Third Young Master nodded thoughtfully. “Teacher speaks true. I should thank this shopkeeper.”

Luo Mingchen had no idea what tales were running through his mind, only that the bluff had worked—for now. “Young Master, no need to thank me. For this Ghost Orchid to meet someone like you, who cherishes and understands it, is its good fortune.”

Those words left the Young Master a little embarrassed. “Since you’ve fulfilled both my wish and the orchid’s, those two hundred gold must, of course, be given.”

At once, a guard placed a wooden tray before Luo Mingchen.

Luo Mingchen blinked in surprise. “Young Master… you’re really this generous?”

The Young Master felt like something was odd in those words—but couldn’t grasp what. “This was what we agreed on.”

Luo Mingchen’s smile was bright. “Then I won’t decline. Thank you, Young Master.”

Because if he declined and lost it, where else would he find two hundred gold?