Don't Go With Him!

Having experienced the wonder of Rainfall Listens to All Things, Ji Yuan was now very confident in his hearing. Although he hadn't been entirely free of distracting thoughts just now, at such a close distance, there was no way he would miss a person's footsteps.

Recalling what Jin Shunfu had said earlier made Ji Yuan's heart turn cold.

On a gloomy and cold night in the desolate mountains, a scholar appearing out of nowhere—no matter how he thought about it, it wasn't normal.

But this scholar's demeanor and movements were spot-on, and combined with his identity as a scholar and his seemingly helpless appearance, it seemed he had already succeeded in initially gaining the trust of the traveling merchants.

To be honest, this Mountain God Temple wasn't the private property of the traveling merchants either. Anyone had the right to come in and rest. Since they weren't vicious or unreasonable people, even if they still had their guard up against the scholar, they couldn't drive him away.

Of course, the traveling merchants weren't completely without caution. Although they politely invited the scholar to sit down, they still had to ask about his situation.

"May I ask your name, sir, where you live, and where you study?"

Zhang Shilin had read some books after all, so when he asked the scholar, his words carried a fair bit of Scholarly Qi, making even the youngest, Wang Dong, steal several glances at him.

The scholar dared not be negligent upon hearing this. He cupped his hands and bowed to Zhang Shilin.

"This Humble One's surname is Lu, given name Xing, single character. I live at Paimenfang in Shuixian Town and am a student of the Green Pine Academy in Desheng Prefecture. This time, I traveled with friends from the academy to study and returned to the mountains together..."

Perhaps because of the way Zhang Shilin had asked, the scholar took him for a half-educated man and changed his self-reference from "I" to "This Humble One."

The scholar was both reminiscing and frightened. He recounted in full detail which friends he had gone up the mountain with, how he had accidentally gotten separated from them, where he lived, and which academy he studied at. Occasionally, he would even spit out a flowery line of poetry. His words were all clear and logical, in no way sounding like random fabrications.

The scholar's manner was completely unpretentious, and his speech was polite and proper.

Especially when they heard that the scholar was from a proper academy, it immediately earned him deep respect from all the traveling merchants. Compared to scholars who studied alone at home, academy students were far superior in status, family background, and learning—in common parlance, they had higher "gold content."

Scholars were always held in high esteem, let alone a disciple of the Green Pine Academy.

Gradually, even Zhang Shilin let down his guard. Not only that, but everyone began treating Scholar Lu with great deference.

And the scholar wasn't arrogant either. Whenever he received water or food, he would repeatedly thank them, only saying he wasn't hungry and wouldn't eat for now.

Ji Yuan's heart had sunk to the bottom. This so-called scholar was far too good at acting. If Ji Yuan hadn't already been certain in his heart that this thing was definitely not human, he would have believed him too.

This was too terrifying, too terrifying!

If there were an option right now for Ji Yuan to choose between staying in this transmigration or going home immediately, he would unhesitatingly pick the latter. Unfortunately, he had no such choice.

For now, Ji Yuan still clung to a sliver of hope. Since this scholar needed to put on such an act, it meant this thing probably wasn't capable of slaughtering everyone in sight. Moreover, it seemed he hadn't yet noticed the beggar lying behind the Mountain God Statue.

Scholar Lu was already chatting and laughing with the traveling merchants. It was rare for a student from a major academy to have no prejudice against peddlers like them, so the conversation flowed naturally.

As if suddenly remembering something, the scholar slapped his forehead and said mysteriously to Zhang Shilin and the others.

"Oh, right! This Humble One doesn't have much money on him, so naturally I can't repay your kindness in helping me. But on my way to the Mountain God Temple, I saw something good that should bring you all some profit!"

That certainly piqued everyone's interest.

"What good thing might that be?"

The scholar lowered his voice and said.

"A fully aged Mountain King Ginseng!"

Ginseng was a precious medicinal herb, and adding the word "Mountain King" before "ginseng" often referred to the finest of the finest.

As traveling merchants who spent years crossing mountains and rivers, if they came across suitable medicinal herbs, they would carefully dig them up and take them away—all considerable gains.

Hearing "Mountain King Ginseng," their expressions grew excited.

Zhang Shilin frowned at this and looked at Scholar Lu.

"Young Master Lu, you're a scholar. Do you even recognize what a Mountain King Ginseng looks like?"

"Haha, Brother Zhang is quite right. Although I have indeed seen the characteristics of ginseng in the miscellaneous book Essentials of Flora, I certainly can't identify a Mountain King Ginseng at a glance. But even if I can't, others can!"

Scholar Lu glanced around cautiously as he spoke, then lowered his voice.

"I'm from Shuixian Town. I know that occasionally a group of Mountain Harvesters come to town to sell mountain goods and herbs. I've chatted with them a few times and know a bit of inside information."

"That Mountain King Ginseng has nine palm-shaped leaves and tall red seed flowers. The most important thing..."

By this point, including Zhang Shilin, all the traveling merchants had unconsciously leaned in.

"The most important thing is that tied around the ginseng stalk are three small red ropes. This is a crude method used by skilled Mountain Harvester leaders to prevent the Mountain King Ginseng from escaping!"

This claim opened the eyes of many traveling merchants and excited them greatly.

"Yes, I've heard old folks say that aged ginseng can burrow into the ground and escape. Only the most skilled Mountain Harvesters can catch them!"

Jin Shunfu repeated what he had heard before.

"Exactly, exactly! Brother Jin speaks the truth!"

Scholar Lu lightly clapped his hands and nodded in agreement.

"The Mountain Harvesters tied the red ropes but didn't dig it up. They must be waiting for the Mountain King Ginseng to reach its peak maturity. But you all don't need to wait. If you can get this Mountain King Ginseng, it should be a considerable profit. If I hadn't been so terrified at the time and afraid of damaging the herb, I might have dug it up myself."

"Yes, yes!"

"Brother Shilin, let's go dig it up!"

"Scholar, where is this Mountain King Ginseng?"

The traveling merchants were bursting with excitement, eager to go dig up the Mountain King Ginseng immediately.

Wealth stirs the heart, and driven by profit, their trust in Scholar Lu's words only deepened.

The chill in Ji Yuan's heart grew sharper, leaving only one thought—this is going to go wrong!

Faced with the Traveling Merchants' eagerness, the scholar took a moment to think before replying.

"That place isn't far from where This Humble One took shelter from the rain—less than two incense sticks' time to go and return. If you truly want it, it's best to follow me before dawn."

"Why is that? The road's dark and slippery now—wouldn't it be too dangerous?"

Zhang Shilin asked in confusion.

"Brother Zhang, you may not know this, but Mountain Harvesters always head into the hills just before dawn. I saw the Mountain King Ginseng's red blossom already standing. If the Harvesters come to dig it within a day or two, and we don't go tonight, won't we miss our chance?"

"That's right!"

"Makes sense!"

"Brother Shilin, I'm quick on my feet—I'll go!"

"Yeah, let's hurry and dig it up!"

In these times, feeding one's family was the biggest concern. Besides, the Mountain King Ginseng grew from heaven and earth—just because the Harvesters tied a Red Rope on it didn't mean it was definitely theirs. As long as they didn't run into them, it was fine.

"No need for everyone to go. A few nimble ones will do; the rest stay here and watch the goods."

Zhang Shilin didn't hesitate further and began pulling out torches and oilcloth from the baskets.

"Old Jin, Little Dong, Liu Quan, and Li Gui—the four of you go with Young Master Lu. The mountain paths are slippery, so make sure to keep Young Master Lu safe!"

"Leave it to me!"

"Don't worry, Brother Shilin—I won't let Young Master Lu fall!"

"Much obliged, much obliged!"

Scholar Lu cupped his hands in thanks. On the side of the firelight no one noticed, his smile stretched into a pale, eerie arc...

Ji Yuan felt a chill dart straight up his scalp, screaming inside.

'Don't go! Don't go with him!'