At those words, all three of their eyes lit up.
"Oh? Hurry up and tell us," Zeng Mu urged.
"Here's what happened." Victor began his account. "About five days ago, a rather mysterious fellow came to the village. He wore black robes and a bamboo hat, so we could only see half his chin, not his eyes."
"Judging from his chin and what it suggested about his features, I thought he couldn't be more than a few years older than me. But his voice sounded far too mature for someone in his thirties, while his fingers and his stride were vigorous and strong. I couldn't figure out his age at all."
Hearing this, Zeng Mu suddenly had a few suspicions. "Go on," he said.
"The fellow wouldn't tell us his name, either. He went from house to house buying rare medicinal ingredients. Finally, he came to my home and bought several ingredients I'd treasured for years."
"Which ones?" Qidunston asked, seemingly picking up on the crucial point.
"Gastrodia herb, purple orchid dew, blackgreen vine, and stoneflower fruit. Those four."
"If it was those four..." A keen light flashed in Qidunston's eyes as he rapidly considered something.
Yenaier and Zeng Mu exchanged a glance. With their limited experience, neither understood what those four ingredients implied.
"Ah," Qidunston said in realization. "If this old man's memory serves, those four rare ingredients have two uses."
Victor nodded. "Yes. One is as bait for the Blackwood Spirit Ape, and the other..."
"The Three-Stripe Purple Tiger. Heh, so that fellow really was tracking it."
Qidunston chuckled. "Looks like we're in luck. We haven't found any trace of the Three-Stripe Purple Tiger yet, but we've found a mysterious man who might have tracked it down."
"Has he already left?" Yenaier asked Victor.
He nodded. "Yes. After