Chapter 9: Windfall! White Jade Ginseng King!

He arrived at the spot where the ginseng digger had collapsed.

Qin Shuo turned the corpse over and discovered that the man was tightly clutching a long, wrapped bundle in his arms.

The bundle appeared to be something the ginseng digger had hastily wrapped in his own clothing; the material and color were identical.

"What kind of treasure could make this ginseng digger risk his life and refuse to let go even in death?"

Qin Shuo wondered.

From the clothing of the several people, it was easy to infer that the three murderers were hunters from down the mountain, who had unintentionally stumbled upon the ginseng digger's discovery of a mountain treasure, leading to the subsequent pursuit.

Under those circumstances, a normal person's reaction would surely be to abandon the mountain treasure and prioritize saving his life.

Yet this ginseng digger clung to the bundle until death, showing how great the temptation of its contents must be.

He lifted the wrapping, and a faint, fresh fragrance assailed his nostrils.

"Ginseng?"

Qin Shuo's heart stirred, and his hands moved a bit faster.

When the entire bundle was opened and its contents revealed, Qin Shuo froze, rooted to the spot.

Before his eyes lay a ginseng as thick as an arm, about a foot long, with luxuriant rootlets.

But this was not what shocked Qin Shuo the most.

What truly made his breath quicken was that the ginseng's whole body was crystal‑clear like white jade, its surface emanating a misty halo, just like the legendary immortal ginseng of myth—truly extraordinary.

"White Jade Ginseng King!"

Qin Shuo exclaimed, his heart pounding wildly.

"No wonder! No wonder those three hunters would risk killing to rob this ginseng, and why the digger would rather die than surrender it."

White jade ginseng—a miraculous mountain treasure said to exist only in ancient records.

It is rumored to possess the divine power to raise the dead and restore flesh to white bones.

Of course, Qin Shuo, as a college graduate who had received nine years of compulsory education, could not possibly believe that anything could raise the dead and restore flesh to white bones.

Even in this world where martial arts flourish, no one has ever been heard of returning from death or achieving immortality.

Even those martial saints who, like legends, possess the power to move mountains and split rivers ultimately return to a handful of yellow earth, unable to escape the fate of life and death.

However, there is another saying about this white jade ginseng,

namely, "One tael of gold, one tael of ginseng!"

This saying is not an exaggeration; it is real, and even more so.

Because in the early years of Heishui City, a ginseng digger once unearthed a white jade ginseng that sold for thirty taels of gold—equivalent to three hundred sixty taels of silver.

According to the predecessor's memories, that white jade ginseng was only thumb‑thick and weighed less than three taels—very small.

In other words, the true value of white jade ginseng is actually one tael worth ten taels of gold, or a hundred taels of silver, and it is priceless despite having a price.

The reason that white jade ginseng caused a sensation back then was that the buyer was none other than the current lord of Heishui City, a martial artist who had achieved great accomplishment in the Pulse‑Passing realm.

The white jade ginseng before him is about a foot long and as thick as an arm.

Qin Shuo hefted it; it weighed at least two or three catties, truly a ginseng king.

Three catties of white jade ginseng king equals three hundred taels of gold, or three thousand six hundred taels of silver!

Such a windfall would tempt not only those three hunters, but Qin Shuo himself.

Know that an ordinary household in Heishui City earns roughly a hundred wen per day, at most thirty‑six taels of silver a year.

That figure does not yet subtract various taxes, lodging fees, and other miscellaneous expenses.

Three thousand six hundred taels of silver would be enough to turn a commoner into a wealthy merchant and gentry overnight.

Such temptation is something few can resist.

"I've struck it rich! I've struck it rich!"

Qin Shuo's heart pounded like a drum; he was excited beyond measure.

But he soon calmed, his gaze sweeping over the four corpses lying on the ground, and he silently warned himself.

These four are a warning; he must not repeat their mistake.

With his current strength, he is still not strong enough to openly take such a windfall.

If it became known that he possessed a white jade ginseng king worth hundreds of taels of gold, he would surely invite disaster.

Not to mention far off—just the Stone of the Flying Bear Gang, who would squeeze three taels of oil from a stone,

would certainly come knocking if he learned Qin Shuo carried the white jade ginseng king.

By then, the ginseng king would surely be lost, and might even draw the attention of the authorities.

After all, three hunters and one ginseng digger have gone missing; their families will surely file a report, and if Qin Shuo now moves the white jade ginseng king, it will be too conspicuous.

"Can't sell! Hide it first, tell no one!" Qin Shuo made up his mind.

Although he also wanted to quickly earn enough silver to study martial arts at the martial hall, this white jade ginseng king is too eye‑catching; it would easily attract attention, and he cannot take the risk.

But where should he hide it?

Bury it in the soil?

What if snakes, insects, rats, or ants eat it? Then he would surely feel heartbroken.

Take it home?

That risk is too high; if officials ever came to search his house, it would be exposed.

For such contraband, it's better not to keep it near you—too dangerous.

But if he doesn't keep it on him, what if he loses it?

For a moment, Qin Shuo was torn, unsure how to handle this white jade ginseng king.

He stared at the white jade ginseng king in his hand, his thoughts racing, trying to devise a flawless plan.

Suddenly, his inner Taotie Ding trembled, and a string of characters appeared before his eyes:

【Discovered ingredient: White Jade Ginseng King】

【Can be refined!】

【Refine it?】

「Huh? Can the Taotie Cauldron also refine ginseng? 」

Qin Shuo was both surprised and delighted.

All along, Qin Shuo had thought that the Taotie Cauldron could only refine items imbued with spiritual will.

For example, the ox horn great bow used by Qin Lao Tou, and the Zhang family's ancestral iron fetal bow.

These had been used for a long time by predecessors, leaving spiritual imprints, so the Taotie Cauldron could extract them.

But now it seems I still underestimated the wonderful uses of my own Golden Finger.

「Refine! 」

Qin Shuo issued the command in his heart.

Swish!

Almost as soon as his thought moved, the White Jade Ginseng King in his hand vanished into thin air and appeared inside the Taotie Cauldron.

「Being able to directly store the ingredient in the Taotie Cauldron is wonderful! 」

Qin Shuo was overjoyed.

This way, he no longer needs to worry about the White Jade Ginseng King being discovered outside or gnawed by snakes, insects, rats, and ants, solving a major problem for him.

「Good, good, good! This way there are no more worries! 」

Qin Shuo felt excited and hurried to check the refining conditions for the White Jade Ginseng King.

According to past experience, the Taotie Cauldron's refining conditions are related to the ingredient's properties.

For example, the basic archery mastery inside the ox horn great bow, the refining condition is to pull the bow ten thousand times.

And the Zhang family's ancestral iron fetal bow, because its efficacy is stronger, the refining difficulty also increases, requiring two conditions: basic archery mastery and pulling the bow ten thousand times.

That is to say, different ingredients for refining have different conditions.

Qin Shuo carefully examined the hints related to the White Jade Ginseng King.

But after looking over it several times, he saw no information about the refining conditions for the White Jade Ginseng King.

「Huh? No refining conditions? 」 Qin Shuo exclaimed in surprise.

「Could it be that ingredients without spiritual imprints don't need refining conditions? 」

He made this guess, feeling it wasn't impossible.

After all, the spiritual imprints left on ginseng and bows differ; ginseng can be eaten directly, absorbed by his body as food, so it's reasonable that no refining conditions are needed.

「Forget it, just treat it as temporarily stored in the Taotie Cauldron; anyway, I'm not in a hurry to use it. 」

Qin Shuo isn't one to dwell; he quickly adjusted his mood and began cleaning up the scene.

He threw the four corpses into a dark hole beneath Old Ginseng Mountain.

It was a large fissure, like a ground collapse formed underground, very deep.

After the corpses were thrown in, after a while, Qin Shuo heard the landing sound.

Both sides of the fissure are overgrown with weeds and shrubs; ordinary ginseng pickers and hunters wouldn't come here, as one misstep could send them falling into the pit.

Until the sun was about to set.

Only then did Qin Shuo clean up the scene, confirming nothing seemed amiss, shouldering his basket and heading down the mountain.

By the time he got home, it was already late at night.

Qin Lan was already anxious like ants on a hot pan; seeing Qin Shuo, she immediately burst into tears and rushed over to hug him tightly.

「Brother! Where did you go? Why are you back so late? I thought something happened to you! 」

Qin Lan cried with tears like pear blossoms in rain; Qin Shuo comforted her for a while before she stopped.

「I got lost midway, wasting a lot of time. Have you cooked? I'm about to starve. 」

Qin Shuo casually found an excuse to brush it off, then quickly changed the subject.

「I made it; I'll go bring it to you right now. 」

Qin Lan was very obedient; knowing her brother must be starving, she hurried to the kitchen to bring him his meal.

After finishing the meal, Qin Shuo began continuing to refine the iron fetal bow.

Last night he pulled the bow three hundred times, progress at three percent; to fully refine it after ten thousand pulls, there's still a long way, cannot slack off.

Hum!

The twang of the bowstring echoed throughout the courtyard.

Qin Shuo felt as if he had once again become that armored ancestor of the Zhang family, drawing the strong bow and shooting down a formidable foe.

After drawing the bow a hundred times in a row, Qin Shuo only felt his arms sore and numb, his back also aching severely.

Suddenly, a warm current flowed from the Taotie Cauldron, quickly spreading throughout his entire body,

making him feel as if he were in a hot spring, wiping away the fatigue from today's hunting and bow practice.