Before long, Cui Jiuyang crouched down in front of a somewhat out-of-the-way stall.
The stallholder was an old woman with a head of silver hair. Wrinkles creased her face, but her eyes were clear and bright.
When she saw Cui Jiuyang crouch down, she neither eagerly solicited his business like the other stallholders nor coldly ignored him. She merely nodded casually and said at a leisurely pace, "Young man, feel free to look around. If there's something you want that isn't on display, I might have it tucked away in my bundle. Just ask."
Cui Jiuyang nodded. Rather than immediately examining her wares, he said with a cheerful smile, "You're too kind, ma'am. I'm just browsing and broadening my horizons. If any other customers come along, see to them first. Don't trouble yourself over me."
At first glance, the wares on the little stall were indeed a bewildering, disorganized assortment.
There were rusty copper coins, chipped porcelain bowls, an ancient zither with broken strings, and several scraps of cloth of indeterminate material.
The largest and most conspicuous item among them was a twisted length of tree root over three feet long.
As thick as a child's arm, the root had a knobbly surface covered in tumor-like growths of varying sizes. Some had burst, oozing thick yellow pus that gave off a faint earthy smell.
As soon as Cui Jiuyang's gaze fell on the root, he gave a slight nod.
He happened to recognize it. It really was a fine treasure.
Though unremarkable in appearance and even somewhat disgusting, with enough lumps to make one's skin crawl, it had a very pleasant name: "Shennong Root."
This Shennong Root was neither a top-grade ingredient for pill refinement nor a rare treasure for crafting magical implements. Instead, it was an unsurpassed essential for