Chapter 10 Ginseng

“What’s wrong?” Xiang Wentian tightened his grip on Leng You’s cold hand.

“Let’s go over there and take a look.” Leng You suppressed her racing heart. She didn’t know what force was drawing her, nor what awaited her ahead.

Xiang Wentian was very accommodating to Leng You, letting her lead him deeper into the forest, but he kept her close to his side in a protective posture.

The burning sensation became increasingly noticeable, the invisible pull leading her to a dense patch of trees.

“Gin-seng!” Her heart, once as still as a stagnant pool after the trials of her past life, was now pounded by a surge of blood, nearly robbing Leng You of her voice.

The stem is single, 30 to 60 centimeters tall, longitudinally ridged, hairless, with persistent scales at the base. The leaves are palmately compound, three to six whorls at the apex of the stem…

The umbel is solitary and terminal, about 1.5 centimeters in diameter, with 30 to 50 flowers, rarely 5 to 6, the peduncle usually longer than the leaves, 15 to 30 centimeters long, longitudinally ridged, the pedicels filiform…

The descriptions of ginseng from medical texts she had read in the past flooded her mind, word for word, matching the plant perfectly.

“It’s really ginseng?” The Xiang family, unlike ordinary families, even in their current impoverished state, possessed accumulated knowledge and insight far beyond that of average people. Seeing the mature, bright red flower cluster, Xiang Wentian immediately recognized it.

He looked at Leng You in surprise.

Since their first encounter yesterday, one wonder after another had unfolded, making coincidence a difficult explanation.

“There are several plants.” Leng You’s heart was pounding.

A dozen red flower clusters nestled beneath the damp undergrowth, striking and alarming.

“We lack tools.” Xiang Wentian looked at the small shovel in his hand.

This top-tier wild ginseng, known since ancient times as the “King of Herbs,” was notoriously difficult to harvest, a fact known even to those without much knowledge of herbal medicine, through countless legends and stories.

“Let’s mark the spot, prepare some tools, and come back tomorrow to dig them up.” Leng You quickly regained her composure.

“Good!” This suited Xiang Wentian perfectly. He took out his dagger and made a mark on the thickest tree.

Having lost interest in further exploration, they returned the way they came, collecting a large bag of edible fungi on their way.

Considering the transportation issue, Xiang Wentian temporarily forwent most of the rabbits darting around them, only catching four. Adding these to the two they had left by the stream, he strung them together and carried them on his shoulder.

Finally, they reached the area where the sweet potatoes grew and dug up a full bag.

“We seem to have a lot of stuff.” Looking at the pile at their feet, then at Xiang Wentian’s not-so-robust physique, and recalling her previous clumsy fall, Leng You felt a little worried.

“No problem.” Xiang Wentian looked into the distance, went to cut down a wrist-thick branch, trimmed the twigs, hung the two bags and six rabbits on either end, and then shouldered the load.

He looked down at Leng You.

“Oh!” Leng You understood and quickly reached out to take Xiang Wentian’s hand.

The two of them headed towards the cliff face of the valley.

“I’ll get you up first.” Xiang Wentian considered that, compared to the still-unknown valley floor, the wind and snow of the upper valley would be safer for Leng You.

“I can manage.” Leng You now had the confidence and the strength.

“Get on!” Xiang Wentian crouched down.

Leng You: “…”

Unable to resist, she obediently climbed onto his strong back.

Xiang Wentian wrapped Ange in his scarf again, tied it securely around his waist, and then, using the branches of the cliff face, climbed agilely upwards.

He could have carried the six rabbits, but he didn’t want to risk even the slightest chance of Leng You’s safety.

“Wait for me, don’t wander off.” Gently placing Leng You in a somewhat sheltered spot, wrapping her securely in the scarf, he gave her instructions before turning and disappearing into the valley like a nimble monkey.

The wind and snow raged, stinging their faces.

She remembered that in her past life, this heavy snow had lasted for a week, causing the collapse of several houses in Bei’an County, including those in Daheishan Village, resulting in casualties.

Not to mention the collapse of livestock sheds, leading to the loss of cattle, sheep, and other livestock.

This snowfall was recorded as one of the most severe snowstorms in history.

Leng You lightly shook off the thick layer of snow that had accumulated on her in a short time, and as she looked up, Daheishan Village vaguely came into view again.

When her gaze inadvertently fell upon the location of her “home,” a chill colder than the blizzard instantly filled her eyes.

She didn’t realize that her hands, encased in cotton gloves, had turned bloodless.

The heavy snow had not caused the Leng family any losses. Because Leng Tiezhu (Leng You’s grandfather) had served as village head for many years, the Leng family was the wealthiest in the village.

Their house was naturally built more solidly than others, and even their livestock shed was better built than the houses of some impoverished families.

“Good,” Leng You narrowed her eyes, shaking off the almost frozen snow from her body. “For some people, dying too easily is something even heaven can’t tolerate.”

Xiang Wentian soon reappeared from the edge of the valley, and Leng You quickly composed herself and ran towards him.

She was again struck by the boy’s superhuman strength and agility; he had carried all that stuff up in one go.

“Let’s go!” Before Leng You could express her astonishment, Xiang Wentian had everything organized, redistributed the load on his carrying pole, and bent down, extending a hand to her.

“Ah?” Leng You was stunned by Xiang Wentian’s action.

What did that mean? A hug?

No.

“Come here!” Xiang Wentian’s tone was a command.

“I… ah!” With a soft gasp from Leng You, Xiang Wentian took a step forward and lifted her into his arms.

Leng You instinctively wrapped her arms around Xiang Wentian’s neck.

“Hold on tight!” Xiang Wentian patted Leng You’s bottom lightly, then shouldered the load.

Leng You: “…”

Her face flushed instantly.

Although they were both young, her soul was mature! Yet, she obediently tightened her arms.

The wind and snow subsided, but Daheishan Village remained deserted. The villagers were paralyzed by their extreme fear of Leng You’s “reanimation.”

Many families had lit incense and burned paper money, praying to all the known and unknown gods, Yama, and immortals to protect them from the vengeful ghost.

Some even set up Leng You’s memorial tablet, burning incense and kowtowing, begging for Leng You’s spirit to forgive their coldness, ridicule, mockery, and the bullying of their children over the past few years.