Gathering Ginseng

Late at night.

Below the cliff, east of the back mountain.

The towering cliffs blocked the moonlight, leaving the bottom of the ravine pitch-black. A few faint glimmers occasionally shone through cracks in the rocks, illuminating the jagged boulders.

Lin Ye crouched behind a boulder, suppressing his presence to the utmost until he blended into the surrounding shadows.

He had changed into black night clothes and covered his face with black cloth, leaving only his eyes exposed. A bulging leather pouch hung at his waist, filled with the "tools" he had prepared over the past three days.

"Scritch... scritch..."

The faint sound of footsteps approached.

Lin Ye's gaze sharpened as he looked toward the sound.

A shadow emerged from the woods like a specter, clad in black and wearing a face covering as well.

It stopped at the bottom of the cliff, scanned the area, then fixed its gaze on the boulder where Lin Ye was hiding.

"Come out. It's me."

Only then did Lin Ye slowly emerge, lowering his voice. "Senior Brother Chen."

Chen Feng glanced at him and nodded. "Did you bring everything?"

"I did." Lin Ye patted the leather pouch at his waist.

"Good." Chen Feng wasted no time, pointing to a deep cave mouth beneath the cliff. "The Green-Scaled Python's lair is in there. The entrance is three zhang high and two zhang wide. The passage twists and turns, and there's a cold pool deep inside where the Green-Scaled Python dwells."

"What about the Purple Ginseng?"

"There's a crack in the cliff face to the right of the entrance. The Purple Ginseng grows in there."

"What's the plan?" Lin Ye asked.

"I'll draw the Green-Scaled Python away, and you'll harvest the Purple Ginseng," Chen Feng said. "Once you've gathered it, wait for me at the entrance. I'll lure the python out of the cave, and we'll ambush and kill it outside."

"You're going to draw it away by yourself?" Lin Ye frowned. "It's a level-two demon beast."

"I'm confident I can handle it." Chen Feng's tone was calm, but full of confidence. "Remember, you'll have only a quarter of an hour. After that, no matter how much Purple Ginseng you've gathered, you must leave the entrance and wait for me beneath the old locust tree to the east."

"What if you don't come out after a quarter of an hour?"

"Then I'm dead. Leave at once," Chen Feng said indifferently.

Lin Ye looked at him deeply. "All right."

"This is a Miasma-Avoiding Pill. It'll protect you from the poisonous miasma inside the cave." Chen Feng tossed him a small porcelain bottle.

Lin Ye caught it and poured out a black pill about the size of a soybean.

The pill tasted bitter, but once it entered his mouth, a cool sensation spread through him. Even the foul stench wafting faintly from the cave seemed to weaken.

"Let's go."

The two approached the cave entrance, where a foul wind rushed at them.

The cave was pitch-black, its depths impossible to see. The faint sound of dripping water echoed from within.

Chen Feng drew his long sword. Its blade glimmered faintly in the darkness.

"Remember. A quarter of an hour."

With that, he darted into the cave.

Lin Ye crouched beside the entrance, holding his breath as he waited in silence.

"Hiss—!"

A moment later, a sharp hiss rang out from inside the cave, deafeningly shrill.

It was followed by the clash of a fierce fight and the ring of sword strikes.

"Here it comes!"

Lin Ye's gaze sharpened as he saw a black figure rush out of the cave at high speed. It was Chen Feng.

Close behind him was an enormous python, its body more than five zhang long and covered in green scales that gleamed in the moonlight. Two fleshy knobs sprouted from its head, its eyes were bloodred, and it spewed green poisonous mist from its mouth.

The Green-Scaled Python!

"It's so fast!"

Chen Feng was already moving at tremendous speed, but the Green-Scaled Python was faster still, nearly right on his heels as it emerged.

"Boom!"

Chen Feng burst from the cave without stopping and darted straight toward the woods to the west.

The Green-Scaled Python hissed and gave chase, its massive body grinding across the ground and leaving deep furrows in its wake.

In the blink of an eye, man and python vanished into the darkness.

"Now!"

Lin Ye burst from his hiding place and raced toward the crack in the cliff face to the right of the cave entrance.

Sure enough, several purple plants grew there, with thick leaves and roots shaped like little people. They glowed with a faint purple light beneath the moon.

Lin Ye counted seven in all.

"I'll take them all!"

Using both hands and feet, he climbed the cliff and carefully dug them out with a specially made little medicine hoe.

One, two, three...

"Scritch..."

A faint sound came from inside the cave.

Lin Ye's heart tightened, and he sped up.

The fourth, the fifth...

"Hiss!"

A low hiss came from inside the cave.

Lin Ye's expression changed.

Had the Green-Scaled Python returned? Why was it back so soon?!

He had no time to think. He yanked the last two Purple Ginseng plants out by their roots, stuffed them into his pouch, and leaped down from the cliff.

The instant he landed, a green blur shot out of the cave entrance.

It was a smaller Green-Scaled Python.

"A juvenile!"

Lin Ye understood at once.

That explained why the Green-Scaled Python Chen Feng had lured away had returned so quickly.

"Hiss!"

The juvenile's bloodred eyes fixed on Lin Ye, and it lunged at him.

Lin Ye moved forward instead of retreating. He pushed off the ground and shot forward like an arrow, narrowly dodging the snake's head as he slammed a fist into the seventh inch of its body.

"Thud!"

His punch exploded with force. The juvenile hissed in pain, its body writhing.

"I can't get bogged down here!"

The mother python could return at any moment.

Without hesitation, he grabbed a handful of white powder from his pouch and threw it at the juvenile.

"Psssh!"

The powder hit the juvenile and immediately gave off white smoke, releasing a pungent smell.

It was one of the "little tricks" Lin Ye had prepared.

The juvenile's eyes burned with pain as it writhed wildly.

Lin Ye seized the chance to turn and race toward the old locust tree to the east.

"Hiss—!"

The mother python's furious hiss sounded behind him, growing closer by the second. It was moving incredibly fast.

Lin Ye's scalp prickled as he pushed his speed to the limit.

"This way!"

Chen Feng's voice came from the side.

Lin Ye turned and saw Chen Feng burst out of the woods. His clothes were torn, and blood stained the corner of his mouth. He was clearly badly injured.

"The mother python's catching up!" Lin Ye cried.

"Follow me!"

Chen Feng turned and ran in another direction.

Lin Ye followed close behind.

The two raced through the woods, one behind the other.

Behind them, the mother python's hisses drew closer and closer. Trees toppled in its wake, the commotion terrifying.

"There's a cliff ahead!" Lin Ye shouted.

"Jump!" Chen Feng said without hesitation.

"What?!"

"There's a pool below. We'll survive!"

As he spoke, Chen Feng leaped down.

Lin Ye gritted his teeth and followed.

"Splash!"

The icy pool swallowed them whole.

Lin Ye held his breath and let his body sink.

"Boom!"

A thunderous crash sounded above. The Green-Scaled Python had reached the cliff's edge and was furiously battering the rock face.

The pool was deep. Lin Ye sank five or six zhang before he reached the bottom.

When he surfaced, he saw Chen Feng already on the bank, clutching his chest and coughing. Each cough brought up blood-flecked phlegm.

"You're badly hurt." Lin Ye swam to shore.

"I'll live." Chen Feng wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. "Did you get the Purple Ginseng?"

"Seven plants. They're all here." Lin Ye patted his pouch.

"Good." Chen Feng nodded. "As agreed, whoever gathered it gets to keep it. All seven plants are yours."

"What about the Green-Scaled Python's materials?" Lin Ye asked.

"We didn't kill it." Chen Feng gave a bitter smile. "I underestimated it. As expected, a level-two demon beast is beyond someone in the Body Tempering Realm. If I hadn't run fast enough, I'd be dead now."

Compared with a level-one demon beast, a level-two one was on a completely different level.

"What about its core...?"

"Another time." Chen Feng shook his head. "Let's get out of here first. The Green-Scaled Python might not give up easily."

The two followed the pool downstream. After walking for about half an hour and confirming that the Green-Scaled Python wasn't pursuing them, they stopped to rest.

"Here's some medicine for your wounds." Lin Ye took a small bottle from his pouch and handed it to Chen Feng.

Chen Feng took it, poured out two pills, and swallowed them. His complexion improved slightly.

"What was that powder you used?" Chen Feng asked suddenly.

"Lime powder and chili powder, mixed with a little poisonous-weed juice," Lin Ye said. "It's somewhat useful against low-level demon beasts."

"You're good at this sort of thing." Chen Feng glanced at him. "You don't seem like an ordinary outer sect disciple."

"Aren't you the same, Senior Brother Chen?" Lin Ye countered. "At the fifth level of Body Tempering, you dared to lure a level-two demon beast away. That's not something an ordinary disciple would do."

They looked at each other and smiled.

"This went fairly smoothly," Chen Feng said. "We didn't get the Green-Scaled Python's materials, but seven Purple Ginseng plants are worth one hundred and forty points. You made a profit."

"Is there anything I can do to make it up to you, Senior Brother Chen?" Lin Ye asked.

"No need." Chen Feng waved a hand. "We agreed that whoever gathered it gets to keep it."

"What are your plans now, Senior Brother Chen?" Lin Ye asked.

"I'll recover from my injuries, then take a mission and leave the sect for a while," Chen Feng said.

After resting for a while, the eastern sky had begun to pale like a fish's belly.

"It's time to head back." Chen Feng stood. "Remember, don't tell anyone about what happened tonight."

"Understood."

"Until we meet again."

Chen Feng cupped his fists, turned, and left. He soon disappeared into the morning mist.

Lin Ye watched in the direction he had gone, deep in thought.

Chen Feng had more secrets than Lin Ye had imagined.

Lin Ye looked away and put it out of his mind.

All he wanted now was to gather enough contribution points as quickly as possible and exchange them for a stronger cultivation method.