Chapter 185

Little sparrow: "!!!"

It stared in shock at Ling Yue who was asking; its tiny head finally caught on, as if it had found a human who understands animal speech!

Little Sesame nodded without hesitation, flying and telling Ling Yue the whole story; when she heard someone wanted to play a prank on Doctor Lin, her brow furrowed involuntarily.

The matter doesn't seem that serious.

But Little Sesame was so nervous it kept calling out, urging her: "It's very serious, very serious!"

"She will definitely harm Doctor Lin, good human, come with me quickly to stop her!"

Ling Yue was annoyed by its constant chirping and asked directly: "Do you know what she intends to do?"

Before Little Sesame could answer, a flapping sound came from behind; Ling Yue turned, and a fluffy gray little sparrow flew toward them. Seeing the sparrow, they chuckled and said: "Little Sesame, have you found that miraculous human?"

"You definitely haven't found her, otherwise why aren't you speaking?"

Little Sesame trembled with anger, its small eyes involuntarily fixed on Ling Yue: "Who says I haven't found her!"

It flapped its wings: "She's the one!"

Ling Yue pondered for a moment, then suddenly raised her hand and waved at the flock of sparrows: "You… okay?"

"Pfft—"

Jun Jun beside her couldn't help laughing, for Ling Yue's action resembled the beckoning cat on a counter.

Ling Yue couldn't help but glare fiercely at him, as if saying, "What are you laughing at?"

Jun Jun shook his head, daring not to look at her again.

Only then did Ling Yue turn to look at the flock of sparrows; it goes without saying how sensitive these small creatures are— not only Ling Yue, but even Jun Jun beside her made them feel a strong oppressive presence.

Many sparrows clutched their chests, mouths open: "I—I suddenly feel nervous!"

"Me too QAQ"

A few clever sparrows huddled together, chirping: "Little Sesame definitely wouldn't lie to us; she must be telling the truth!"

"I also think it's true, I agree!"

Soon, the dozen or so sparrows reached a conclusion, trusting Ling Yue and Little Sesame.

With their addition, Ling Yue's clues became more numerous and detailed.

Because this flock of sparrows differs from Little Sesame, they often gather at the hospital entrance to watch the commotion; when Little Sesame was adopted by Doctor Lin, they basically observed all of the woman's actions.

A cacophony of voices clamored into Ling Yue's ears.

"Want to know what she plans to do? Come ask us—we know best!"

"And me—I was the first to notice this clever little sparrow; this human is especially strange!"

"Goo-goo, you talk too slow and love to keep secrets; let me speak—I know what she intends! She's going to fake illness to harm Doctor Lin!"

Upon hearing this, Ling Yue furrowed her brow: "Feign illness to harm someone?"

In an instant, various news she had seen earlier flooded her mind; Ling Yue had to question the informed sparrow more seriously.

"How does she plan to harm someone?"

The sparrow tilted its head, recalling what it had seen: "I saw her stuff a big red balloon into her belly, saying Doctor Lin ruined her life, so she wants to ruin his life in return!"

"A balloon?"

"What can a balloon do?"

Such brief words couldn't let Ling Yue deduce anything; she pressed her lips and decided: "Let's first go to the scene to have a look."

Doctor Lin had been away for a while; Ling Yue decided to check the situation first. As for the department where Doctor Lin works, Little Sesame proudly patted her chest, saying: "I know, I know—I'll lead the way!"

The other dozen or so sparrows followed, flying after them.

Because they are tiny and fly in a scattered manner, they don't attract attention as much as Ling Yue does.

Soon she arrived at Doctor Lin's duty office; it was already evening, the outside sky dark and heavy, warm yellow lanterns hung in the corridor, quietly shedding light.

Ling Yue suddenly stopped; from the half-open door came a woman's voice: "Doctor Lin."

Doctor Lin dully lifted his head from a stack of papers, unaware that his sluggish move, in the eyes of certain schemers, was like adding fuel to the fire.

"Liu Zijuan?"

He held the documents and questioned the woman; after speaking, he felt a flicker of familiarity, his handsome brows slightly furrowed, landing in the woman's eyes, where a faint light sparked.

But the next moment he began normal questioning, showing no trace of abnormality.

"Did he really forget me?"

"How could he just forget me so lightly!"

The woman plopped onto the stool, glaring angrily at him: "Doctor Lin, you don't remember me?"

Doctor Lin only felt bewildered: "What's going on?"

The next moment he met a pair of eyes bloodshot and glaring; at first glance it startled him, especially in this quiet setting where the office held only him and a certain female patient whose mental state seemed off.

"Are you here for a physical check?"

He couldn't help but ask again; actually, he had already begun to be wary, for her appearance really didn't look like someone seeking a checkup.

The female patient's strange demeanor gave him goosebumps; even with the indoor heating on, he felt a chill, so his expression grew more solemn and meticulous—befitting a top graduate from a prestigious university.

Originally, she too had a chance to graduate there.

It's all because of him!

The female patient rubbed her belly; even if she were wary, what could she do? Could he really guess? What had she done wrong? She just wanted to play a prank.

Thus she looked at Doctor Lin, her expression suddenly shifting: "Doctor Lin, sorry, I just mistook you for someone else; could you first examine me? I feel a bit uncomfortable in my belly."

She spoke, furrowing her brow, the exposed hand trembling involuntarily, looking as if she were truly in distress.

Doctor Lin was half‑believing, half‑doubting; he could not and would not refuse, after all, she is his patient.

So he kindly nodded, picked up the stethoscope from the drawer, and said: "Is your belly uncomfortable? Let me listen to your heart."

This is merely the simplest and most basic examination; before doing all this, he never imagined what cost he would incur, while the woman opposite him suddenly burst into laughter.

She deftly opened the outer coat, stroked her big belly, lowered her head; in profile, it seemed as if she were truly carrying a fetus.

Actually, inside there was only a big red balloon.

She wasn't pregnant at all; registering was just a pretense.

She moved her fingers; from Little Sesame's perspective, one could see she was pinching a thin, long pushpin—what she intended to do was obvious.

Little Sesame: "She, she's faking pregnancy!"

Hearing Little Sesame's words, Ling Yue instantly realized that a stethoscope can amplify sound dozens of times; if Doctor Lin examined her and she suddenly punctured the balloon, the amplified volume would cause irreparable severe damage to Doctor Lin's hearing.

She did this to destroy Doctor Lin!

Ling Yue came to her senses, a chill ran down her back; she never imagined there could be such a vicious person in the world.

She rushed straight in; the huge impact startled the two people inside.

Doctor Lin instinctively looked up, and upon seeing her, he couldn't help but stare: "Miss Ling?"

He remembered Ling Yue vividly, but at this time she should have already gone home; why was she still lingering in the hospital?

Ling Yue stared fixedly at the female patient, then suddenly grabbed her wrist; the woman's heart jumped: "What are you doing? What are you doing? Let go of me!"

Events unfolded suddenly; she had no time to react before Ling Yue forcefully hauled her up from the chair; seeing her treat a pregnant woman so roughly, Doctor Lin jumped—this was a pregnant woman!

He immediately rose, but before he could call security, during the tussle between Ling Yue and the woman, Ling Yue snatched the pushpin from her hand and viciously stabbed.

The woman's big belly suddenly burst with a bang.

Doctor Lin's eyelid twitched; right before his eyes, the woman's exaggerated belly vanished completely.

Doctor Lin shook his body, his mind a bit unable to turn, and asked hoarsely: "What's going on?"

What's going on?

Little Sesame flew around its master in circles, now nearly frantic: "Stupid master, she's trying to harm you—haven't you noticed yet?"

Unfortunately Doctor Lin couldn't understand its words, so he could only look at Ling Yue; Ling Yue got straight to the point: "She pretended to be pregnant to get you to examine her; you're a doctor, you should know a stethoscope amplifies sound—if such a large balloon were suddenly detonated, what do you think the consequences would be?"

After she spoke, she saw Doctor Lin's face turn pale; his body suddenly trembled, and he dropped the stethoscope he was still clutching.

As if discarding a hot potato.

"Who are you? Why do you want to harm me?"

Upon hearing his words, the woman seemed struck by a great shock and suddenly wailed shrilly: "Who am I? Who am I? You don't remember?"

"You ruined me so badly—what right do you have to such a bright future? What right do you have to live so well? Unfair! Unfair!"

She screamed hysterically; her voice quickly drew a crowd of doctors, and upon seeing the situation, the burly guards rushed in with electric batons: "What's going on? What on earth is happening?"

Doctor Lin shook his head, then paused, incredulously staring at the woman before him: "Liu Zijuan?"

The patient gave a grim smile: "You finally remember?"

Doctor Lin: "……"

In front of everyone, he finally couldn't help blurting out a curse: "Why can't you let me go?"

He never expected to run into her here—this… lunatic!

At that moment, his classmates who had entered the central hospital with him also pushed in; hearing him say her name, they stared at the woman in shock and disbelief: "Holy shit!"

"Big sis, what are you up to again?"

But the woman, as if provoked by that shout, yelled: "Lin Ye! Lin Ye, you lied to me! You said you'd marry me—you're not human!"

The classmate, hearing this, widened his eyes in agitation: "Big sis, you're talking nonsense! Don't slander people!"

Obviously, this classmate knew the whole story; seeing the crowd grow, various strange glances were cast their way.

The classmate cut straight to the chase: "I've never seen anyone as crazy as you; our Lin clan never liked you; in college we barely spoke a few words to you—it's you clinging desperately, delusional."

As it turned out, the woman was indeed their former classmate; but for some reason, she believed Doctor Lin liked her, triggering a relentless pursuit that even affected his studies.

Doctor Lin's family was poor; putting him through college was no easy feat, so he directly refused her. Later, the girl's family fortunes plummeted for unknown reasons, and she suddenly dropped out of school.

After that, whenever they met, it was just like now.

Doctor Lin gazed at her with lingering fear, yet somehow retained a bit of calm: "We have nothing to do with each other."

He was utterly baffled, even more doubtful; as someone solely focused on healing, he obviously couldn't comprehend the girl's thought process.

Yet she was provoked by his calm demeanor, suddenly lunging at him with a relentless, "I won't stop until I achieve my goal" attitude, making a crowd nearly pop their eyes out.

"What is this girl doing? Isn't she crazy?"

"Holy crap, this is a crime—quick, someone restrain her!"

Security had already noticed her state, subdued her with weapons, and waited for the police; meanwhile, many learned the full story, and sympathetic glances involuntarily turned toward Doctor Lin—he truly was unlucky to the extreme!

By the time Ling Yue returned, the incident had spread throughout the hospital; many elderly folks heard it and felt pity beyond measure, and Doctor Lin hadn't planned to just let her off—if not for Ling Yue discovering and stopping her, he could scarcely imagine what would happen if that lunatic succeeded…

As for the woman whose anger had addled her brain, she seemed to finally realize and pleaded repeatedly; yet even the police scoffed at her excuses—claims of a hot head or impulsiveness rang hollow when the preparations were so thorough; any observant officer could see it was definitely premeditated.

Ling Yue didn't follow the aftermath, but she knew with a thought that the other party would certainly pay for her actions.

As she departed, Little Sesame leading the sparrows perched on the utility poles, escorting her for several li; Ling Yue waved from the car, watching those plump little sparrows fly back one by one, and she couldn't help but feel moved—sometimes small creatures are far purer than humans.

Suddenly, a head poked beside her: "Yueyue, what about me?"

Ling Yue glanced over, startled by his appearance, and slapped him: "You scared me to death! Hurry up and change back!"

As it turned out, Jun Jun was actually a human body with a tiger's head on top, and he himself was quite proud of it, scaring Ling Yue quite a bit.

Jun Jun, after being slapped: QWQ

All the way back, he still couldn't figure out what he'd done wrong.

Meanwhile, Bai Ze, driving in the front seat, curled the corner of his mouth slightly: idiot.

The Changbai Mountain affair was more or less settled; Ling Yue still had a few little loose ends to tie up, so she lay in bed calculating tomorrow's visit to Little Yellow Fairy and the Ginseng Doll, when at midnight the window was knocked on.

The Ginseng Doll with little bunches and a red dudou, and the Little Yellow Fairy, lay eyes‑wide on the windowsill; although she knew the house stayed warm at over twenty degrees thanks to the sun fruit, Ling Yue still couldn't help but frown.

The Little Yellow Fairy gazed at her pleadingly: "Milady, milady, I've finally found you!"

Ling Yue: "Then… come in."

She opened the window, and two little critters slipped in; the ginseng doll also brought several pieces of forest-floor ginseng.

That night, Ling Yue sat cross-legged on the earthen bed; opposite her were the little yellow immortal and the ginseng doll lounging on the fruit tray, the two little ones sitting obediently across from her, their watery eyes fixed on her.

Ling Yue: "……"

Are you trying to moe her to death?

She lowered her hand to her forehead, unwilling to admit it, but had to say it really was quite effective; as for their purpose, Ling Yue recalled the recent incident and vaguely guessed a bit.

Sure enough, after the little yellow immortal steadied itself, it suddenly plopped down in front of Ling Yue: "Master, just take me in! Look, aren't I super cute?"

To act cute, it pulled out all stops, just short of flopping directly onto Ling Yue's lap.

Ling Yue knew they were uneasy; after all, the mountain had seen huge changes these past days—though these little creatures claimed to have become spirits, their actual power was weak, like the ginseng doll, which had once been chased by Qiao Ershu, a human, and the little yellow immortal had almost become a weapon in his hand.

Under the lamp light, Ling Yue looked at the two little ones: "I'm already preparing to go home; do you want to come with me, or stay here and help me look after things?"

What do you mean?

The little yellow immortal and the ginseng doll exchanged glances; after Ling Yue's explanation, they finally understood her meaning—they were originally just cute creatures seeking shelter, so being able to stay in their homeland was naturally the best!

Thus, the two little ones made their choice without hesitation.

"I want to stay here/I will help Master guard the mountain!"

Ling Yue nodded: "Alright, it's settled then—come over, give me your hand."

As she spoke, she extended her palm; the ginseng doll froze, not yet grasping her meaning, while the little yellow immortal's dark eyes rolled—it was so clever, the adult's meaning was clearly to bump fists!

It had seen people make agreements like this—three fist bumps—this was the pact between the adult and a little sprite like it.

The little yellow immortal slipped up, its soft little paws patting Ling Yue's hand; the ginseng doll naturally didn't want to be left out, so it also patted.

In the following time, although Ling Yue was preparing to return to Jing Shi, she still had a lot to do, the most typical being the plot of land she had contracted in the village.

With Qiao Qiao enthusiastically helping, she basically didn't have to show her face, but that didn't mean she could be a hands-off manager.

Under Qiao Qiao's hesitant gaze, Ling Yue took out the prepared plan.

After glancing at it roughly, Qiao Qiao stared at her in shock: "Plant fruit trees?!"

She wondered if she was seeing things—this was the great Dongbei, where temperatures plunge below zero; what kind of fruit trees could possibly grow here?

At that moment, Ling Yue produced the sun-fruit tree seeds she had hired the ginseng doll and little yellow immortal to split apart; seeing them, Qiao Qiao's breathing quickened and her words stumbled: "Th-this isn't that sun fruit, is it?"

She could pat her chest and guarantee that in her twenty-plus years, she had never felt as comfortable as this year, with indoor and outdoor warmth like spring, all thanks to the sun fruit.

Ling Yue nodded: "These are sun-fruit trees; I plan to build a plantation here—what do you think of this plan?"

What else could it be? It's simply a one-of-a-kind business under heaven!

So much time had passed that Qiao Qiao thought she had merely hallucinated hearing it before; now Ling Yue's firm word made her face flush with excitement. But before that, Ling Yue had already set the rules.

She would hire workers to tend the trees, but how and when to do it were already stipulated; moreover, the land she had contracted was not entirely for planting sun fruit.

"The other part, I plan to plant ginseng."

Hearing her words, Qiao Qiao couldn't help but frown: "Don't let them fool you—though our great Dongbei produces ginseng, in recent years, artificially cultivated ginseng hasn't been very profitable."

No sooner had she finished speaking than Ling Yue produced a plump ginseng root, its fine rootlets intact, its perfect appearance leaving Qiao Qiao stunned and eyes wide.

Yet Ling Yue gave a mysterious smile: "Don't worry, I've hired professional technicians at great expense—they're old hands at this!"

Beside them, the ginseng doll hiding quietly in the soil puffed out its chest proudly: "Yes, that's right—I'm the expert the adult hired!"

The ginseng doll could proudly proclaim that in this world, no one understands ginseng better than it, a few-hundred-year-old ginseng doll!

Beside it, the little yellow immortal snorted: "I'm an expert too!"

It too had been summoned by the adult to guard the sun fruit; with the little yellow immortal on duty, no one could smuggle the sun fruit out of the plantation!

According to Ling Yue's plan, they had originally intended to start selling next year, but the plan couldn't keep up with changes; although the sun fruit is a spirit fruit, its only stringent requirement is spirit energy, and with the spirit-gathering formation Ling Yue prepared, one could say the sun fruit thrives year-round and bears even more fruit.

Thanks to the Qiao family's promotion, as soon as it launched, it instantly caused a public frenzy.

Compared to that, ginseng is less conspicuous, after all, its maturation period is long; even with the ginseng doll's help, it still takes at least a dozen years.

As for that batch of forest-floor ginseng meticulously tended by the ginseng doll, Ling Yue actually found its true owners—the Qiao patriarch's family.

In fact, Qiao Papa had also guessed at first, but later he gave up.

Ling Yue wondered: "Why did you give up?"

Qiao Papa sighed, his face twisting into a wry smile: "Because I simply don't know where Grandpa planted the ginseng."

"I've known about this for twenty or so years."

It was a snowy night with howling winds; Qiao Grandpa had been in poor health, bedridden for years, his mind muddled, when suddenly that midnight he woke up lucid.

Qiao Papa, who knew of this, wasn't pleased at all; instead his eyes reddened, for he knew, according to what he understood, Grandpa was experiencing a terminal lucidity, likely only a few days left.

He wept bitterly before Grandpa passed, never expecting to learn a secret.

Qiao Grandpa mysteriously tugged at his ear and told him: "You little brat, I've left you some ginseng, up in the mountains."

That news hit like a bombshell; before Qiao Papa could ask for details, Grandpa had already launched into his explanation on his own.

It turned out that decades ago, he had by chance obtained a packet of ginseng seeds; on a whim he scattered them to plant forest-floor ginseng, and he dared not tell anyone else, guarding the secret alone for decades.

Until today, he felt his time was near, and only had this little bit left to leave to his descendants; but when he told Qiao Papa the proverb for finding ginseng, he never imagined his own son had inherited not a shred of his talent.

Qiao Papa would never know how to look for ginseng.

On the contrary, the slippery Qiao Ershu, that very night, shivered as he crouched half the night by the wall base, secretly overhearing this news.

Later, Qiao Papa became a cook and also wanted to go look for that batch of forest-floor ginseng, but he helplessly realized he truly couldn't do it, and didn't dare tell anyone else, so he kept it buried in his gut all this time.

Only when Qiao Ershu appeared this time did he recall that old sesame and mildewed grain matter.

As for that batch of forest-floor ginseng, he couldn't possibly not be tempted—but a person ought to know their limits; without Ling Yue, even if he had the mnemonic, once he entered the mountains he'd just wander about in circles, never finding the spot.

Let alone making a fortune from ginseng.

Hearing her father's words, Qiao Qiao felt her shame level explode; she thought, "Turns out when I was little, I secretly opened my eyes and saw Dad heading out with some weird gadget—not a dream, but real."

But isn't that too embarrassing?

Having markers and a mnemonic yet still unable to find it?

Qiao Qiao couldn't help muttering aloud; hearing this, Qiao's dad instantly flew into a rage out of embarrassment: "Qiao Qiao!"

Qiao Qiao dashed out; Ling Yue almost couldn't hold back her laughter, but this batch of wild ginseng, she intends to return to the Qiao family.

As soon as Ling Yue said that, the little ginseng doll became a bit unhappy; humans only scattered the seeds, yet it is the little ginseng she painstakingly tended!

Ling Yue pinched its little tuft: "Even if the ginseng is gone, it can grow again; little ginseng, you are my treasure!"

As for the ownership of the ginseng, Ling Yue slowly said the remaining half: "Actually, it was someone who told me, and then I knew there was ginseng there."

Hearing her words, the Qiao family froze for a moment, then immediately said: "I understand."

"If I were to say it myself, we only scattered the seeds; it would be better to split this batch of wild ginseng into two parts, giving the smaller ones to us and the larger ones to the ginseng cultivator."

Saying this, he himself felt ashamed; after all, they really gave nothing but the seeds, nothing else at all.

Ling Yue nodded, and the little ginseng doll finally broke into a hehe laugh.

Exactly, cultivating ginseng is really hard work!

Later, it raised its rosy little face, hands on hips, surveying the land, and said in a childish voice: "You gotta be spirited! You must be bigger and fatter than the last batch! Got it!"

Land: "⊙﹏⊙"

Ling Yue didn't know how to handle the little ginseng here; she had just stepped off the plane and returned home, still dusty and unsteady, when a dark, shadowy mass came flying at her.

"Finally willing to come back!"

Even the usually slow-moving Feng Shui turtle master crawled down from upstairs, his head against the doorstep to welcome her.

Ling Yue caught the Xuan Cat Queen in one steady hold, took a deep breath: "I'm back!"

She also brought plenty of Dongbei specialties; that night, because the sun fruit made the courtyard warm and cozy, she set up a big iron pot.

The fragrant aroma wafted out of the courtyard; fortunately, Ling Yue's place is a detached villa, with neighbors far away, otherwise they'd likely have been overcome by the scent.

After Ling Yue rested for a few days, news from the Special Safety Bureau kept coming to her; regarding the movements of the Mystic Gate Association over the years, thanks to her report, the state thoroughly investigated everything, and indeed uncovered quite a bit.

However, that was all self-inflicted misfortune on their part; they had it coming.

Ling Yue led a leisurely life; winter had arrived, and the year's end was approaching fast.

During this time, she ate and drank with the little animals at home, did some decorating; as for the pet consultancy shop's business, Ling Yue hadn't been able to attend to it much, unaware that many people in her group were tagging her.

By the time she noticed, people were almost crying themselves sick.

As soon as Ling Yue opened the door, she immediately placed two sun fruits inside; the indoor temperature began to rise, staying around twenty-three or twenty-four degrees.

Immediately after, the wind chimes outside clanged loudly.

Ling Yue looked surprised at the visitor; before she could speak, the other looked as if about to burst into tears: "Boss, you finally opened the door! If we can't wait for you any longer, our whole compound will be ruined!" ，，.