Ye Qiu looked in the direction Master Longbrow pointed, his face full of joy.
“A hundred-year-old ginseng!”
At the base of the ancient tree grew a ginseng plant.
Its stem resembled a small tree, with dense leaves and bright red berries.
From Ye Qiu’s knowledge, ginseng stems were usually thirty to sixty centimetres tall, but this one was over a metre high.
“Little brat, I wasn’t wrong, was I? Where tigers dwell, there’s bound to be treasure,” Master Longbrow said smugly.
“You got lucky this time,” Ye Qiu said, preparing to dig up the ginseng.
Unexpectedly, Master Longbrow stepped forward, blocking Ye Qiu’s path.
“Old man, what are you up to?” Ye Qiu asked, his expression darkening.
Master Longbrow grinned, “I found this ginseng, so technically, it’s mine.”
“But since you like it, I’ll do you a favour and let you have it.”
“However, little brat, you’d better not fight me for that white jade coffin.”
Master Longbrow was still thinking about the top-grade white jade coffin.
“Stop yapping and get out of my way.”
Ye Qiu pushed Master Longbrow aside and started digging up the ginseng.
The Northeast was full of black soil, soft and easy to dig, but even so, it took Ye Qiu over ten minutes to unearth the ginseng.
When the entire plant was revealed, Ye Qiu couldn’t hide his excitement, his face beaming with delight.
“Who’d have thought, a five-hundred-year-old ginseng! I’ve really struck gold this time!”
Master Longbrow looked at the ginseng, thicker than Ye Qiu’s arm, and felt a pang of regret.
He’d known it was at least a hundred years old, but never imagined it was five hundred.
“At today’s market price, a five-hundred-year-old ginseng is worth over a hundred million. I just gave it away. What an idiot I am.”
Master Longbrow’s regret was so deep he wanted to slap himself.
Ye Qiu stored the ginseng and looked at the glum Master Longbrow, smiling, “Old man, next time you spot treasure, let me dig it up again.”
That comment made Master Longbrow’s face turn green with anger.
“Damn it, you got a bargain and still act smug. Shameless.”
Master Longbrow cursed and kept walking.
They’d only gone a few dozen steps when a shrill scream echoed from the forest ahead.
“Screech—”
Master Longbrow paused, “Sounds like something’s happening up there.”
“Let’s check it out,” Ye Qiu said, vanishing in a flash.
Master Longbrow followed close behind.
Soon, they saw the same Northeast tiger from before.
But now, it was tearing into a baby monkey. The monkey was tiny, likely only a few months old, unable to resist the adult tiger’s attack.
Nearby, a dozen or so monkeys were frantically circling, too scared to approach.
Ye Qiu was about to rush in to save the baby monkey, but Master Longbrow stopped him.
“Survival of the fittest, the law of nature. Don’t interfere,” Master Longbrow said.
Ye Qiu retorted, “Law or no law, I only know that if I don’t act, that baby monkey’s done for.”
Master Longbrow countered, “Little brat, you can save it once, but can you save it twice?”
“I don’t care about that. Since I’m here, it means its life isn’t over yet,” Ye Qiu said, raising his hand to release a sword qi.
Swoosh!
The sword qi grazed the tiger’s head.
Startled, the tiger let go of the baby monkey and glared at Ye Qiu.
“What are you staring at? Scram!”
Ye Qiu’s deep shout rumbled like thunder.
But the Northeast tiger, king of the forest, seemed enraged by Ye Qiu.
“Roar—”
It let out a bellow, shaking the forest.
Its eyes locked on Ye Qiu, pacing back and forth, filled with fierce intent.
“Didn’t hear me? If you don’t leave, don’t blame me for getting rough.”
Ye Qiu raised his hand, sword qi swirling at his fingertips.
The tiger leapt away, disappearing into the forest.
Master Longbrow scoffed, “King of the forest, my foot. Scared off twice, what a disgrace.”
“It’s a beast, not a fool. It knows it’ll get hurt if it stays,” Ye Qiu said, walking toward the baby monkey.
The dozen or so monkeys nearby watched Ye Qiu, chattering “screech screech,” their eyes wary.
Ye Qiu could tell they were worried he’d harm the baby monkey.
“I mean it no harm, don’t worry.”
Ye Qiu reached the baby monkey and saw it was badly injured from the tiger’s bites, bleeding from multiple wounds.
The monkey was weak, lying motionless on the ground, its eyes looking at Ye Qiu with both pity and fear.
“You’re lucky you ran into me, or you’d be dead.”
Ye Qiu crouched down, placed his palm on the monkey’s head, and channelled a wisp of innate true qi into it.
Instantly, the monkey’s spirits lifted, and it looked at Ye Qiu with gratitude.
“Don’t move. I’ll treat your wounds.”
Ye Qiu took out golden needles, inserted a few into the monkey’s body, and drew several blood-stopping talismans.
About three minutes later,
The monkey’s wounds had healed.
“Your injuries are gone.”
Ye Qiu withdrew the needles and stood up.
The baby monkey quickly got up, hopped a few times, as if checking its injuries.
Moments later,
It suddenly knelt before Ye Qiu, clasping its paws and bowing, as if thanking him.
Ye Qiu was stunned, then sighed, “All things have spirits. Who’d have thought a monkey would know gratitude?”
Master Longbrow said, “Monkeys are among the smartest beasts.”
Ye Qiu patted the baby monkey’s head, advising, “The forest is full of predators. You got lucky meeting me today, but you might not be so lucky next time. Be careful and don’t end up as food.”
The monkey seemed to understand, nodding its little head repeatedly.
“Go back!” Ye Qiu waved.
The baby monkey reluctantly returned to its troop, and in a flash, the group vanished into the forest.
Only Ye Qiu and Master Longbrow remained.
“Old man, which way now?” Ye Qiu asked.
“Keep going forward,” Master Longbrow said, but then a chorus of “screech screech” came from the forest.
Soon, the same troop of monkeys returned.
The baby monkey, holding a bamboo tube, respectfully offered it to Ye Qiu.
“For me?” Ye Qiu asked.
The monkey nodded vigorously.
Ye Qiu took the bamboo tube and found it stuffed tightly with bamboo leaves.
He pulled the leaves out, and his face lit up with shock, “This is…”
