"How did you do it?"
"That's incredible!!"
"Ah... I just matched wits with it and got lucky enough to catch it. Another hair's breadth and it would've burrowed away again. But... there's a small problem."
Li Yun sounded a little embarrassed.
Xu Ruhai froze, puzzled. "But you caught it. What problem could there be?"
Li Yun gave a sheepish smile. "This fellow really is clever, and cunning too. Once I caught it and it saw there was no escape, it actually made a Contract with me of its own accord and acknowledged me as its master."
"What?"
"It can do that?"
Xu Ruhai and Zhang Shenshu were both stunned.
Li Yun had caught the Ginseng King, and the Ginseng King had acknowledged him as its master.
So... the Ginseng King had nothing to do with them anymore?
Neither man knew what to say.
Xu Ruhai said glumly, "Since it's acknowledged you as its master, what else can I say? You might as well keep it. Something willing to accept a master is rare. We can't exactly ask you to kill it."
Zhang Shenshu nodded. "He's right. It's rare enough for a mountain ginseng to gain sentience, much less willingly accept a master. Countless people dream of such a thing. You can't pass it up."
"Besides, neither of us did much to help. Brother Li, take the Ginseng King with a clear conscience."
"We're friends. Let's not keep score. If you get the chance someday, help us find something that'll accept us as masters, and we'll call it even."
Emotion surged through Li Yun. Good grief, these two were friends worth keeping.
Honestly, he was touched.
But he had no intention of taking advantage of them.
"Wait, both of you... You've misunderstood. Let me finish."
"We agreed beforehand to split the