As Carter reported, overnight, Peanut Hamlet had returned to a lush green, and one peanut plant had mutated, growing a very large flower bud. The serfs were overjoyed, and Old George, forgetting about his lame leg, ran over like the wind, gasping for breath as he begged to see the lord. The numb and hopeless look in his eyes from before had already been replaced by hope.

Henry Clark had already realized what was happening, his mouth agape: “Oh, my god, Edward Thompson, could it be that in the peanut field, a... a peanut sprite is about to be born?”

Edward Thompson smiled faintly. “It’s very possible.”

“Oh, my god, Edward Thompson, you truly are a noble favored by the heavens! For a remote little town like Flower Town to nurture a sprite worm, it’s unbelievable!”

“Whether it’s unbelievable or not, we’ll know once we see it. Mr. Carter, prepare a horse for me, I’m going to Peanut Hamlet.”

“As you wish, sir.”

At the castle gate.

Edward Thompson and Henry Clark each mounted their horses. Carter asked, “Sir, your squire hasn’t arrived yet. Should we wait a moment?”

Beside them, Thomas stepped forward, wanting to say something, but didn’t dare speak.

Edward Thompson noticed, glanced briefly at Thomas and Old George, then said, “Thomas, ride and follow me. Hmm, and take Old George with you.”

As if hearing celestial music, Thomas was so excited his whole body trembled. “Thomas is at your service, sir!”

This was the first time the lord had taken him along as a personal attendant when going out. Being a personal attendant is the same as being a close servant, always by the noble’s side, a trusted follower. Many great nobles’ personal attendants are knights who have fought alongside them on the battlefield.

Four people, three horses.

The fire dragon horse led the way, galloping like the wind, arriving at Peanut Hamlet.

Looking out, the peanut field that had been yellowish yesterday was now a sea of green, with all the peanut seedlings stretching out their branches and leaves.

It was spring, not yet the flowering season.

But in the center of the field, on the largest peanut plant, on the stem above the root, there was a flower bud the size of a fist, about to bloom. Its delicate emerald green was especially pleasing.

“This really is a sprite worm’s flower bud, heaven’s blessing! Edward Thompson, Flower Town is truly a place favored by the heavens!” Henry Clark exclaimed with a touch of exaggeration.

Edward Thompson was actually very excited inside, but his face still showed the restraint and gentle smile of a noble: “The sprite worm is crucial to Flower Town’s agriculture, so this peanut field must be protected. Old George, you and the farmers must assign people to guard it every day.”

“My lord, Old George will guard it even without eating or drinking!”

“No need to go without food or drink, just take turns standing guard.” Edward Thompson said to Thomas behind him, “Go tell my squire that I need one of them stationed at Peanut Hamlet every day to watch over the sprite worm.”

“Yes, sir!”

Chapter 12: Flower Town Census

The sprite worm hadn’t been born yet, so Edward Thompson couldn’t just wait around here. After arranging for people to stand guard, he returned to the castle. Flower Town had only one road connecting it to the outside world, which crossed through Thorns Ridge, so very few people came and went.

Only when the count came to collect taxes would a merchant caravan accompany the knights.

Now that Flower Town had become Edward Thompson’s territory, no one came to collect taxes, and merchant caravans probably wouldn’t want to come either. So, no one would even think about targeting the sprite worm.

As for the residents of Flower Town, even less would anyone dare to covet the sprite worm.

The sprite worm is nature’s favorite; it will only form a master-servant contract with humans who possess magic power—maybe with magical beasts too, but magical beasts don’t have that intention.

Magic power refers to both battle qi and magic; they manifest differently but are essentially the same.

In Flower Town, those with magic power were Edward Thompson, Marcus, and Henry Clark—just these three. Marcus and Henry Clark were well-known on Coral Island; even if they stole the sprite worm, they couldn’t get away. On Coral Island, no one dared to touch anything belonging to the Tulip family, and Edward Thompson was a member of the Tulip family.

So, there was no need to worry about the safety of the peanut sprite worm.

He went to his study, closed the door, focused for a moment, and waited for the smoke to appear. After repeated experimentation, he had completely mastered the pattern of the smoke’s appearance; he only needed to calm his mind to see it.

Sure enough.

A minute later.

Twisted serpent-like script appeared before his eyes.

“Task completed. Reward: one peanut sprite worm.”

“Just as I thought, the peanut sprite is the reward for the previous task... This mysterious smoke mission doesn’t seem to conjure rewards out of thin air; the rewards all exist in reality or are about to happen... The advancement of my battle qi was probably due to my own accumulation, and the peanut worm was destined to appear.”

However, without the smoke mission, these rewards would probably have been wasted.

He figured he would still be just a trainee knight, and the peanut worm would have quietly died.

At this moment, new content appeared in the twisted smoke script.

“Task: How can a lord not even know the number of his own subjects? Please conduct a census of your territory and learn the basic situation of the residents. Reward: a new variety of tulip.”