The next day, early in the morning, I asked Nabeel to lend me his ride for a walk outside the town. He gave me a suspicious look but did not question me much. "Just don't get lost in the dunes," he warned before handing me the reins of his old donkey.
I returned to the same isolated place I had found the day before. The land was dry and lifeless, covered with scattered cactus and thorny bushes. Hardly anyone came this far from Sous, which made it perfect for my plan.
After making sure nobody was nearby, I quickly began planting the Embernut and Moonclove seeds I had bought from the market. I divided them into two groups. Some were planted using direct blood, while the others were planted using water mixed with blood.
The reason was simple. If my plan failed, at least part of the crop might still survive naturally.
Using direct blood would make the plants grow much faster, but it also carried more risk. The plants could end up looking unnatural if they developed too quickly. The watered-down mixture was slower, but safer and harder to notice. Even in barren soil, my blood could force life into the land, though the process still took time.
Once I finished, I covered the disturbed soil carefully and scattered dry sand over it to hide any signs of digging. After that, I sat silently beneath a large cactus, staring across the empty desert.
If this worked, I would finally have a stable source of income without relying too much on dangerous methods. I could slowly build something of my own here in Sous.