Snow Ginseng

"Is this... Snow Ginseng?" Fang Yuan's breath caught sharply!

He carefully brushed aside the surrounding soil with his hands, growing more alarmed the deeper he dug.

The main body of this ginseng was even thicker than he had imagined, its roots lush and intact. Judging by its size and the density of its reed bowls,

it had to be several decades old, perhaps even older! In this season when heavy snow sealed the mountains, its leaves were still so emerald green and its berries so vivid red. It was no ordinary specimen!

The Purple Sable stood upright nearby, gesturing at the ginseng with its little paws, then at itself, before making a fleeing motion. Its black eyes gazed pleadingly at Fang Yuan.

Its meaning was obvious: Trade this treasure for my life, all right?

Fang Yuan looked at the little creature, clever almost to an absurd degree, then at the Old Mountain Ginseng in his hands, likely worth far more than that sable pelt. For a moment, his feelings were a tangled mess.

In the end, he nodded, carefully wrapped the ginseng in soft cloth, and tucked it into his chest.

As though granted a pardon, the Purple Sable let out a squeak. In an instant, it turned into a streak of violet, leaped onto a nearby branch, and vanished without a trace after a few flickers.

Fang Yuan stood where he was, touching the heavy Old Mountain Ginseng in his chest, faintly fragrant with medicinal scent.

Then he looked toward where the Purple Sable had disappeared and felt that this trip into the mountains had truly been worth it.

An Old Mountain Ginseng in perfect condition, over fifty years old.

Its value varied greatly depending on its condition, age, medicinal efficacy, and buyer demand, but it was worth at least a dozen taels of silver, perhaps even dozens.

In this world, one tael of silver was roughly one thousand Copper Coins. The exchange rate was even higher in the Black Market, and silver was hard currency.

In these times, ordinary households mostly bartered. Copper Coins and broken silver circulated, but were scarce.

Fang Yuan estimated that one dou of millet, around twelve or thirteen jin, cost roughly thirty to fifty Copper Coins. In famine years, the price doubled or rose even higher.

Liu Wanwan earned only two Copper Coins a day washing clothes for others, and such work was not available every day!

Treasures like Snow Ginseng were often priceless and unavailable. They were life-saving or cultivation items eagerly sought by local gentry, wealthy households, martial artists, and apothecaries—far beyond anything ordinary farming families could imagine.

Fang Yuan carefully held the Snow Ginseng in his hands. It resembled an infant in shape, with plump roots and a rich ginseng fragrance. His heart thudded wildly.

Though he could not precisely judge its age, its condition and the abundant earth energy he had sensed while digging it up proved that it was absolutely far older than a mere few decades!

The value of this thing... even selling himself would not amount to a fraction of it.

"If I traded it for silver, forget exemption silver—I could probably even buy a small shop in the city..."

The thought flashed through his mind, only to be replaced at once by an even stronger one.

"No, I can't sell it!" His gaze hardened.

"The greatest use of Snow Ginseng is replenishing qi and blood, strengthening the foundation and nurturing the source! To my martial training, it's an enormous aid!

With it, perhaps I can break through faster and truly gain the strength to protect myself and my family!"

Money was dead; strength was the foundation! In this world bristling with danger, raising his strength as quickly as possible mattered more than anything.

He hesitated no longer. With extreme care, he wrapped the Snow Ginseng layer upon layer in the soft cloth he had brought and concealed it securely against his body.

Feeling its heavy weight against his chest and the faintly cool medicinal aura it gave off, his heart finally settled.

With such a great treasure on him, he did not dare linger in the mountains. He planned to casually catch a couple of rabbits as cover, then immediately head down the mountain.

Just then, that violet shadow returned!

The Purple Sable scampered back and perched on a branch not far away.

It held several pinecones in its little paws, their shells exceptionally hard and covered in sharp spines. They resembled pinecones from his previous life, but were even harder to crack open.

It tilted its little head at Fang Yuan, then squeaked and tossed one of the pinecones down.

It landed in the snow by Fang Yuan's feet. Then it looked at him with expectant little eyes and mimed an opening motion with its paws.

Fang Yuan froze for a moment, then laughed.

Well, well. Had it taken him for a tool to crack nuts?

He picked up the hard pinecone. It was heavy in his hand, and sure enough, it contained plump pine nuts.

He lightly tapped it with the back of his axe. The hard shell cracked open at once, revealing the glossy pine nut kernels inside.

At the sight, the Purple Sable squeaked excitedly twice, darted down from the tree, and snatched up several of the largest kernels.

It swallowed them in a few bites, eating with great relish.

After finishing, it seemed to find this two-legged beast tool exceedingly useful and squeaked at Fang Yuan several more times.

Then it turned and ran in another direction, looking back after a few steps to signal for him to follow.

Fang Yuan did not know whether to laugh or cry, but he followed it anyway.

This little fellow was highly intelligent. It might lead him to more benefits.

Sure enough, the Purple Sable led him beneath a gigantic old pine tree, where quite a few pinecones lay piled beneath the snow.

The Purple Sable pawed out several particularly huge pinecones, their shells purplish-black and clearly extremely difficult to open.

It stacked them together, then gazed at Fang Yuan eagerly. Its meaning could not have been clearer: Crack them open for me!

Watching the little creature order him around as though it were only natural, Fang Yuan felt both irritated and amused.

He crouched down but did not immediately begin. Instead, he held up one finger and wagged it at the Purple Sable, then pointed at himself and made a trading gesture.

The Purple Sable tilted its little head, seemingly understanding Fang Yuan's meaning. But it immediately shook its head like a rattle drum.

It spread its two little paws to indicate: Nothing left! I already gave you the precious ginseng!

Fang Yuan thought for a moment and changed his approach.

He mimed drawing a bow and shooting an arrow, then a wild rabbit running. Looking at the Purple Sable, he pointed around them, meaning: Are there any other prey animals nearby?

The Purple Sable's black eyes rolled about, and it seemed to understand.

Its little nose sniffed the air. Then it suddenly raised one paw and pointed toward a dense patch of forest to the northeast.

It squeaked twice, then made a curled-up gesture that seemed to mean "very big" and "sleeping" or "not moving."

A big fellow? Resting?

With the help of Basic Beast Language, Fang Yuan easily understood what the Purple Sable meant.

Fang Yuan's heart stirred, and he immediately stood up.

He quickly used the back of his axe to split open the hardest pinecones for the Purple Sable, then signaled for it to lead the way.

Having gotten its pine nuts, the Purple Sable was thoroughly satisfied. It kept its word and immediately darted in the direction it had pointed.

Fang Yuan followed close behind, raising his guard.

After passing through a dense thicket, the sight before him made Fang Yuan's pupils constrict!

In a sheltered hollow lay an enormous Black-furred Wild Boar, sprawled on its side in the snow and wheezing heavily, its breath extremely faint.

Its body was covered in wounds. Most terrifying of all was a massive gash across its flank, so deep its organs were nearly visible. Blood had stained a vast stretch of snow red.

Though much of the wound had frozen shut, it was clearly not going to live much longer.

Broken arrow shafts and signs of a chaotic struggle lay nearby.

This beast had fled all the way here, only to be left at death's door from excessive blood loss and grievous injuries.

Sensing someone's approach, the wild boar struggled to rise and let out a threatening growl. But it was simply too weak.

It only kicked its legs futilely and could not even raise its head.

Fang Yuan looked at this huge creature, weighing at least two or three hundred jin, then at the unmistakable wounds inflicted by a hunter's weapons. He immediately understood.

When the snipe and clam fight, the fisherman reaps the profit!

The wild boar had escaped the hunter's pursuit, only for him to pick up the bargain now.