Time didn’t flow the same without a calendar, and the demonic land only felt slightly colder or hotter to Qin Yan, easier or harder to grow in. He was outliving the other vegetables, they were harvested, shriveled and dried a long time ago, then Song Heqing would plant new ones that grew all over again, then died again. Then grew, then died. And all kinds of tasty—er, people walked by. Many were dragged into the interrogation room only to be carted out as a corpse.

But it didn’t matter if everything was blending together; Time would inevitably invoke change.

On a cloudy day, the firebirds cackling quieter than usual, on the vines of the eggplant was a single flower. 

It opened at daybreak in an unassuming spot around the middle of the bone lattice, partially shadowed by a leaf. A purple, star-shaped blossom with yellow stamen in the center bright as the sun. 

This sudden flower was an erratic event out of the monotonous days.

As an eggplant, Qin Yan knew this was his way of…reproduction. He never expected to become a mother, but alas, life is unpredictable, and it certainly didn’t come with the throes of labor pain. He was somewhat worried about pollination because no normal insects could survive in Wangzi’s estate, so everything had to be hand pollinated. And altogether, Qin Yan wasn’t sure that his flower was doing the same thing it did for other plants. When the petals opened his sensations became sharper. The energy within him was brimming and his entire plant began an unstoppable growth-spurt. The few nearby seedlings of cabbage and squash were entirely smothered to death by him over the morning as he grew to triple his original size.

Song Heqing’s jaw dropped when he came over.

Sure, it’d been a few years. Eggplants are perennials, they can live that long. Song Heqing tended to the other plants, nevertheless making sure to give the demon eggplant some water the whole time. He knew many servants had gone missing, and occasionally, he saw a spot of blood, a bone, a finger on a leaf or sticking up from the soil around the eggplant…

...So yes, he was aware that the eggplant was growing its power in a dreadful way. Today it probably broke through core formation stage¹This story will not have detailed stages. Technically this is a Xianxia, so it goes something like Qi Gathering Stage, Foundation Establishment, Core Refinement, Nascent Soul, Immortal Ascension. The last two are ultra OP, first two are like beginning stuffs that most people get stuck on a few hundred years., a major turning point for any cultivator. In fact, this eggplant could not be a regular demonic beast based on the unnatural speed of its improvement.

It was probably a demon.

But really… never did Song Heqing expect it to spread out to such a degree in one night. It’d grown up all the lattices, over all three plots, let alone the regular vegetables, even the garden of poisonous plants across the path were in danger of being overrun.

Song Heqing looked at the single purple flower. It was quite pretty and delicate, undoubtedly the most optimistic sight within all of Lord Wangzi’s domain…the eggplant never caused him harm. That was all that mattered. So what if it exploded in growth over one night? So what if it was a demon? It wasn't as though the eggplant would survive if it was harmless. Here, one had to be ruthless to keep living.

Just as Song Heqing was about to go about his business as usual, someone came towards him on the stone path.

“Song Heqing, you stop right there. Come and face me.”

Song Heqing turned to see a tall woman dressed in dark blue and fanciful attire, a thorn whip clipped onto her silver-rimmed belt.

“Lady Lin…” he greeted. His expression was still, and would not reveal his inner emotion.

Lin Hui’an was technically the Head Servant, or Stewardess of Lord Wangzi’s mansion, but if anyone dared call her something other than "Lady Lin" they would taste buckets of their own blood. Rumors say she was chosen as the stewardess because the Lord liked her vicious nature, but she hadn't been called to his bed chambers in a long time. As for her appearance, naturally it was voluptuous and attractive.

Lin Hui’an narrowed her eyes at Song Heqing and kicked him onto the ground. One of her eyebrows had the godly ability to raise much higher than the other.

“Little mutt. You were supposed to feed the centipedes—yet made such a mess. Tch, tch...what am I going to do with you?”

Song Heqing hesitated, then knelt.

“My apologies, Lady Lin. The centipedes will attack if I go too close. I had been throwing it inside their feeding bin, and-”

She took a step, and her shoe clacked. “And what? Don't mince words.”

“I missed.”

“That’s right,” she said, taking the thorny whip from her hip, “you missed, and left an unseemly stain on the floor. It made our Lord Wangzi feel that his eyes were sore. Consider yourself fortunate that I did not say it was you who left the stain. Although it seems the Lord is raising you up? Aha, then perhaps I can let you off with a minor scolding.”

It goes without saying that Qin Yan had been watching the entire exchange, but he was also confused about something. This 'Lady Lin' jogged his memory. She…she was the unquestionable sadist of the protagonist’s harem in Crimson Rain on Wisteria Captivates the World, only tamed onto the bed at selective times by the protagonist’s bottomless stamina! She was one of the X and Y harem members that Qin Yan remembered from the novel. He'd thought remembering X and Y harem member would be useless information, and yet here she is...

How come she was tormenting Song Heqing now, yet survived to join the harem later? Shouldn’t Song Heqing have killed her in revenge?

The present situation ripped him away from these doubts.

Lin Hui’an had raised her thorn whip at Song Heqing, his head bowed low on the ground. Each of the black spikes on the whip were hooked at the end, sharp enough to tear through clothes and flesh. 

She coldly said, “It’s time to accept your punishment,” 

The whip flew downwards.

Before Lin Hui’an could finish striking, a long vine slashed out in blur of speed and wrapped her arm with a snap.

“Ouch!” her eyes widened in a frenzy, and she clawed at the vines with pursed red lips. “A beast? Unhand me!”

Thankfully, despite being the Stewardess, Lin Hui’an wasn’t powerful. At least not as powerful as Qin Yan. No amount of clawing could destroy the increasing number of vines that covered her limbs. Which, in this regard, Qin Yan did not know why she was weak…is this the dreaded misogyny system S mentioned? 

Suddenly, his instincts twitched as his vines recognized the squirming body within grasp. She was weak, but her spiritual veins were deeply saturated with demonic energy.

"Should I kill her?" 

Only a moment passed before Qin Yan decided to spare her. Song Heqing was right in front of him, and if he learned the dreadful manner in which he killed others, maybe he’d be afraid of him. This time he would only teach Lin Hui’an a small lesson.

Lin Hui’an shouted as Qin Yan exerted a little force and pulled her down onto her butt, dragging her across the garden like a broken toy. She dropped her whip and let out grunts as her head smacked the ground repeatedly.

By the time Lin Hui’an was dragged across the garden, her pretty face was covered in muck, hair a wreck, black make-up smeared like a raccoon, but Qin Yan was still dissatisfied.

“Where are my anger points! Stallion characters only?”

Or…could it be she isn’t angry?

Taking a glance at Lin Hui’an, Qin Yan saw cold, calculative hatred. Wow...she must have jumped from anger to vengeance so fast he didn't even get the anger points. This woman had a terrifying amount of grit! It was though she was already plotting his demise. There was no helping it, Qin Yan supposed, so at last he released her.

Lin Hui’an staggered upright and retreated with a wide leap, then wiped mud from her face.

“Rotten beast! The Great Lord will be rid of you. And you, Song Heqing...you little brat. You didn’t even report such a creature growing here like rot,” she almost seemed to smile at him, but it was very twisted and unbecoming. 

The eggplant vines seemed close to shuddering to life again, and Lin Hui’an knew her limits. She stalked away with clenched hands into the inner residence of Wangzi...but surely, Lin Hui’an would clean off all that mud and fix her makeup before going to tattle to Lord Wangzi?

Qin Yan believed he should at least have a little time before the Lord Wangzi came to destroy him.

As for Song Heqing, he was still sitting on the path. His head was tilted up and staring at Qin Yan. He’d forgotten to breathe and was now extremely fidgety.

"He must be afraid Lin Hui'an will get revenge on him later..." thought Qin Yan.

Slowly, quietly, he wrapped a single tendril over the stunned Song Heqing’s hand.

The boy froze.

Qin Yan really wanted to convey his good intentions, so he tried to speak into his mind…

“Don't worry. Who can bully you, except I?”

Song Heqing gasped, then gave a long look at Qin Yan. It seemed that he was incapable of forming a reply as his lips moved wordlessly. Qin Yan realized the awkwardness in the air and called himself stupid a hundred times in his head. He told Song Heqing such a cheesy line as his first words, what a social blunder...Qin Yan could only think of himself as a failure of a human-eggplant being and was too self conscious to say anything else. 

After the longest time, Song Heqing put on a thin frown. His expression was severe as ice as he said,

“What have you done?”

Once again, Qin Yan couldn’t quite grasp his meaning. It was as though Song Heqing was scolding him for something, each word very firm and solemn, the same as how an exasperated parent would do when their child ate a whole box of cookies or secretly cut their hair with scissors in the bathroom. Was Song Heqing mad he harmed his future harem member? But he should be glad; Now that Qin Yan took the attention from Lin Hui’an he won't have to worry about getting in trouble.

In the end, Qin Yan also knew he put himself at risk by revealing himself to Lin Hui'an impulsively, but he just couldn’t watch Song Heqing get bullied in front of him…

Song Heqing removed his hand from Qin Yan’s tendril, stood and paced away. He seemed to be in a great hurry, and without a single 'thank you'! Qin Yan thought he'd at least ask him some questions...

An eggplant was left in the garden, feeling lonesome. 

Qin Yan ruffled his leaves in annoyance…he should have eaten that Lin Hui’an!

Amarathia

So with the prior poll..."First recorded in 1763, the word "eggplant" was originally applied to white cultivars, which look very much like hen's eggs..." -Wikipedia. However, names are still arbitrary! Below you will find that the eggplant is camouflaged impeccably.