Chapter 119: Ginseng and the Venomous Snake

Chapter 119: Chapter 119: Ginseng and the Venomous Snake

Ling Yunge gave a sheepish, silly smile. "I just happened to see it just now."

However, even after they finished digging up the Lingzhi, Hua Buwan still hadn’t discovered any valuable medicinal herbs, finding only some wild fruits. She felt completely frustrated, wondering if this wasn’t supposed to be an untrodden wild forest. Why hadn’t she found anything besides Astragalus propinquus?!

Hua Buwan stood up and wiped the sweat from her forehead, only to hear Ling Yunge’s exclamation. "Qianjun, come look quickly! Is this ginseng growing here? The little red flower on top looks just like the one on a ginseng plant."

Ling Qianjun and Hua Buwan exchanged a glance before turning and hurrying over to Ling Yunge’s side. They leaned in for a closer look and, sure enough, found a little red flower swaying leisurely in the breeze.

"It’s ginseng!" Hua Buwan and Ling Qianjun shouted almost simultaneously.

Having gone through a crash course on the subject last night, Hua Buwan had a deep impression of ginseng—a highly prized medicinal herb commonly featured in novels. After a couple of careful looks, she was absolutely certain that the plant in front of her was indeed ginseng!

Ling Qianjun had also heard others talk about it. Coupled with the educational videos on medicinal herbs that Hua Buwan had downloaded for him, he had a clear image of it in his mind. Therefore, he was very confident as well.

Hearing both Ling Qianjun and Hua Buwan confirm it, Ling Yunge trembled with excitement. She dropped straight to her knees in front of the plant, leaning over as she carefully began to scrape away the soil around its base.

Hua Buwan quickly snapped out of her daze. She hurriedly pulled out ginseng-digging tools from her bag and handed them over one by one. She had never dug up ginseng before and wasn’t sure if her hands would be steady enough. Seeing that Ling Qianjun and Ling Yunge were far more experienced and had steady hands, she decided not to get in the way.

She observed and learned quietly from the sidelines while keeping a close watch on their surroundings, just in case anyone else stumbled upon them, or a wild beast decided to charge. According to the educational material she had read, venomous snakes usually guarded wild ginseng. She had just scanned the area and hadn’t spotted any snakes nearby for the time being.

Even so, Hua Buwan didn’t dare delay. She immediately took out some Realgar Powder and sprinkled it in a circle around them. At the same time, she pulled out a small bottle of Realgar Wine and smeared it on the cuffs of all three of their pants. Only after doing all this did Hua Buwan feel a bit more at ease.

Digging up ginseng was a task that truly tested one’s patience. The roots were incredibly thin, fanning out deep into the soil. If one was even slightly careless or impatient, the delicate root hairs would snap. All three of them had enough life experience to know that a fresh ginseng root with its hairs completely intact would fetch a vastly different price than one with broken pieces. Because of this, they held their breath in deep concentration, not daring to slack off in the slightest.

While Ling Qianjun and Ling Yunge each crouched on one side, carefully digging, Hua Buwan didn’t stay idle either. Aside from observing her surroundings, she took the opportunity to forage for nearby wild fruits and vegetables. Even if she couldn’t find any good medicinal herbs, gathering more forage provided her with a bit of comfort.

Just as Ling Qianjun and Ling Yunge were about to fully unearth the ginseng, a blood-curdling sound suddenly came from above their heads. HISS, HISS, HISS!

The moment she heard that noise, the blood in Hua Buwan’s veins ran cold, as if it had frozen solid. It was a snake! It was here!

Hua Buwan looked up in panic, only to see a black-and-white banded snake flicking its tongue and lunging straight at them! The snake was as thick as her wrist and appeared to be about three meters long, its body currently coiled tightly around a tree branch.

She had been guarding their surroundings this entire time, but she never expected that the venomous snake had been hiding in the tree all along! It had just been staring down at them from its high perch, waiting for the perfect moment to deliver a fatal strike!