My words have become law; I truly have no desire to display my divine power before others.

He slid off the rocking chair, stood on the ground, patted the dust off his undergarment, and was about to pour himself another cup when he suddenly heard voices outside the courtyard wall.

"Have you searched this area yet?"

"We've looked, but it's not there."

"Shall we walk a little further ahead?"

"Let's go, let's go."

Footsteps passed by outside the wall; several people walked with heavy footsteps, carrying something.

A'Luo heard it too, and walked to the courtyard gate to look outside.

People from several villages were carrying shovels and baskets, passing by on the path in front of their houses.

Walking at the front was Uncle Liu, who had been harvesting ginseng all his life. His face was deeply lined with wrinkles, like the bark of an old tree.

"Uncle Liu!" A Luo called out.

Uncle Liu stopped, turned around and saw A Luo, and smiled: "A Luo, are you home?"

Aro walked to the door, looked at the equipment they were carrying, and asked, "Where are you going?"

Uncle Liu sighed: "It's all because of the grand ceremony tomorrow. The clan elders said that the ginseng they chose this year is only three hundred years old and not presentable enough."

In previous years, we could at least find some that were 500 years old, but this year we can't even find one that's 400 years old. So, let's go back into the mountains and look again, see if we can find a good one.

A man next to him chimed in, "We've been searching for ages, but haven't found a single ginseng root. These days, good ginseng is getting harder and harder to find."

I reckon that if things continue like this, in a few years, we won't even be able to find any that are a hundred years old.

Uncle Liu waved his hand: "Don't be discouraged, keep walking. Maybe there's one hidden in some nook or cranny. This mountain is so big, there must be some that have slipped through the net."

Several people carried shovels and walked along the path.

A Luo stood at the door, watching their backs as they walked away, her heart heavy.

She remembered when she was a child, her father would take her up the mountain, and they would always be able to dig up a few good ginseng plants.

Once, they even dug up a century-old tree and sold it for twenty taels of silver, enough to feed the family for half a year.

Back then, which family in the village didn't have a few good ginseng plants hidden away?

Nowadays, even things that are a hundred years old are treated like treasures.

She turned around and went back into the yard, walked to the chubby baby, and squatted down.

The chubby baby was happily sipping her fourth cup of tea when she saw A-Luo squat down and tilt her head to look at her: "What's wrong?"

A'Luo looked at him, hesitated for a moment, and whispered, "Wawa, can you do me a favor?"

The chubby baby blinked: "What kind of help?"

A Luo recounted the story of the grand ceremony and then told the story of Uncle Liu and his group going into the mountains to find ginseng.

As the chubby baby listened, he slowed down his tea-drinking, placed the cup on the table, put his hands on his knees, and sat up straight.

"You want me to go find ginseng?" he asked.

A'Luo nodded: "You know many roads and many places. If there were good ginseng, you would definitely know where it is."

The chubby baby did not answer immediately.

He lowered his head and drew circles on the ground with his feet.

He was just leaning back in his rocking chair, drinking tea, legs crossed, looking very comfortable.

Now that A'Luo wants him to go find ginseng, he doesn't really want to go.

The sun was so strong outside, and the mountain path was so difficult to walk on. It must have been so tiring for this little radish spirit to crawl around like that.

But Aro looked at him.

His eyes were bright, with a hint of pleading.

She never asks for help from anyone, lives alone, and never tells anyone how tough things are.

But now she's begging him.

The chubby baby looked up at A Luo, then at the pile of melon seeds and peanuts on the table, and then at the pot of tea that was still steaming.

He thought for a moment, jumped off the chair, and patted his undergarment: "Alright. I'll go take a look."

Aro smiled, her eyes crinkling with laughter: "Thank you, doll."

The chubby baby waved his hand, with a "what's the big deal?" expression, but the corners of his mouth were turned up really high.

He took two steps, then turned back and pointed to the teapot on the table: "Leave me a cup. Drink it when I come back."

Aro nodded quickly.

Lu Yang had been listening for a long time and couldn't sit still any longer.

He stood up, dusted himself off, and leaned closer: "Looking for ginseng? I'll go too! I've never seen ginseng dug before!"

Miao Gui also stood up: "I'll go too. I've heard that the ginseng in these Hundred Thousand Mountains grows in special places and requires someone to guide you to find it. I'd like to see it for myself."

The chubby boy looked at Lü Yang, then at Miao Gui, and frowned.

"You can follow me," said the chubby baby, "but don't run around. Don't shout. Don't disobey me."

Lü Yang nodded repeatedly: "Okay, okay, I'll do whatever you say."

Miao Gui nodded.

The chubby baby looked at Shen Zhaoyue again.

Shen Zhaoyue leaned back in her chair, holding the knife, and shook her head: "I'm not going."

The chubby baby breathed a sigh of relief.

He was a little afraid of this woman, after all, he had never seen a woman who carried a knife in her arms all day long!

Before he could look at Ye Qingfeng again, someone spoke up.

"You guys go ahead, I'll just stay here and enjoy the sun."

He then squinted his eyes, enjoying this pleasant day.

A'Luo went inside and got a small basket and a small shovel.

The chubby baby walked in front, out of the courtyard gate, and along the path up the mountain.

Lü Yang followed behind, and Miao Gui followed behind Lü Yang.

A Luo walked at the back, glancing back at the courtyard.

Ye Qingfeng was still sitting in the rocking chair, holding a teacup, squinting at the jujube tree above his head.

Sunlight fell on him, giving his bluish-gray Taoist robe a faint warm hue.

The teapot spout was still emitting thin, white smoke, rising as high as the jujube branch, before being blown away by the wind.

Aro withdrew her gaze, turned around, and followed the chubby baby.

At the end of the path, the ginseng harvesters carrying shovels had already gone far away.

The chubby baby's short legs moved incredibly fast, while Lü Yang chased after him, panting heavily.

"Slow down! Your legs are so short, how can you walk so fast!"

The chubby baby didn't even turn his head: "It's because your legs are too slow."

Miao Gui laughed from behind. A Luo laughed along with him.

When the chubby baby saw everyone laughing, he laughed along with them.

The ginseng hunters walking ahead heard laughter coming from behind and looked over curiously.

But what they saw was that Aro was followed by two young men.

"Hey, aren't those two people following A-Luo the companions of that Taoist priest from last time?"

"It seems so!"

"That's strange. In previous years, our village always had Martial Saint Lin presiding over the grand ceremony. Why are we inviting an outsider this year?"

"I don't know. Although this Taoist priest is indeed very skilled, he shouldn't be as powerful as our Martial Saint Lin. I personally saw him carry back a snake that was over thirty meters long!"

"That's not all! Do you know about that ten-meter-tall monument in the middle of our village? Lin Wusheng carried it back!"

......

A'Luo and the others couldn't hear the conversation between the ginseng gatherers.

Lu Yang, noticing the chubby baby had suddenly disappeared, also asked curiously.

"Ah Luo, where's this doll? It just suddenly disappeared?"

Aro knew the chubby baby's personality well.

"Don't let his joking and laughing face fool you, he's actually quite timid. He usually doesn't show himself in front of outsiders, so it's already quite rare that he's shown up in front of you on his own initiative."

"Right now, I reckon he's gone ahead to help us find our way. Don't worry, he'll leave us a mark, just follow him."

......