Chapter 121: Taking It All

Chapter 121: Chapter 121: Taking It All

Once sure the venomous snake was completely dead, Ling Qianjun used some nearby leaves to wipe the blood off the shovel. The snake’s blood was smeared all over the metal, and it had to be cleaned before it could be used again. Otherwise, a single misstep could lead to someone getting poisoned.

Hua Buwan and Ling Yunge stepped forward, leaning in to look at the snake that had been smashed flat as a pancake. It was then that Hua Buwan realized Ling Qianjun possessed strength far beyond that of an ordinary person.

Seeing the snake’s gruesome state, Ling Yunge couldn’t help but gag. The sight was incredibly nauseating. Hua Buwan hadn’t felt like throwing up initially, but hearing someone gag next to her triggered her own reflex. She bent over to the side and retched as well.

After cleaning the shovel, Ling Qianjun first put away his dagger but kept the small shovel in his hand. He waited for the two women to recover before saying, "I’ll take this small shovel with me. It’s got snake blood on it, so it won’t be much use to you if you take it back."

"Okay," Hua Buwan nodded in agreement. She had no objections, nor did she want to take it back anyway.

"Yunge, did you dig out the ginseng?" Ling Qianjun asked, looking at the cloth bundle in Ling Yunge’s hands.

Ling Yunge immediately snapped back to her senses, trying her best not to think about the disgusting snake. She stepped forward and unrolled the cloth, revealing a complete ginseng root with all its rootlets intact. A rich, refreshing scent of ginseng wafted into the air, soothing their senses. Breathing in the fragrance, they felt the metallic stench of the snake’s blood fade away, clearing their airways.

Hua Buwan didn’t know much about aging ginseng, so she roughly estimated based on its size. "Is this ginseng around thirty years old?"

Ling Yunge shook her head. She wasn’t entirely sure either, so she looked up at Qianjun for help.

"It should be at least thirty-five years old," Ling Qianjun replied after a moment of thought. "Ginseng usually grows deep in ancient forests, and we’re not exactly in the deepest part of the mountains right now. Running into one this old is already a stroke of massive luck."

Hua Buwan nodded in agreement. She had heard in the past that ginseng often grew near cliffs or by tiger dens—places truly deep within the wilderness. Right now, they had only walked a short distance into the woods. At best, they were in the middle section of the forest, nowhere near the heart of it. Finding this ginseng was indeed no easy feat.

She gave Ling Yunge a thumbs-up. "Yunge, you’re a little expert at finding medicinal herbs! First you found Lingzhi, and now you’ve dug up ginseng."

"Hehe, I didn’t expect to have such good luck today either." Ling Yunge’s face flushed red from Hua Buwan’s praise. "Here, Sister Wan, you take this ginseng. I know you need wild herbs." She took a brief look at the root before holding it out to Hua Buwan with both hands.

Ling Qianjun chimed in from the side. "Take this Lingzhi back to your grocery store, too."

He handed over the Lingzhi he had dug up earlier to Hua Buwan and added, "We won’t need these on our exile journey. Moreover, if someone discovers them, it might even invite fatal trouble. It’s safer if you keep them.

"Just keep a tab for us for now. Once we reach Lingnan, you can convert it into goods for us."

Ling Yunge couldn’t help but speak up as well. "Qianjun is right, Sister Wan, just keep a tab for us. When we get to Lingnan, Mother and I are going to buy a lot of those winged sanitary pads, so you can deduct the cost from this!"

"Okay." Hua Buwan smiled and accepted the items. She thought, "I definitely have to keep a tab. I’ll cover everything you need in Lingnan!"