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

In the valley, sunlight filtered through the gaps overhead, illuminating the lush, green herb field like a layer of scattered gold.

The butterflies were still flitting among the flowers, the bees were still buzzing, and everything was just as it had been when we first entered—quiet, secluded, and isolated from the world.

The chubby baby led Aro to the innermost part and stopped in front of a stone wall.

The stone wall was covered with moss, damp and dripping water.

The chubby baby squatted down, parted the ferns at the bottom of the stone wall, and revealed a small mound of earth.

A few leaves grew on the mound, their green color almost black, with fine serrations along their edges.

The shape of its leaves is different from the surrounding ginseng leaves; they are thicker, harder, and have deeper veins.

A Luo squatted down, took a closer look, and her heart suddenly started racing.

She has been harvesting ginseng for so many years and has seen countless ginseng plants, but she has never seen leaves like these.

The color, the thickness, the texture.

She reached out and gently touched the leaf with her fingertips. The leaf didn't move at all; it was as thick as a small piece of leather.

"Baby, this is..." Her voice trembled slightly.

The chubby baby squatted beside him, resting his chin on his hands, and smiled broadly: "Five hundred years. I counted."

Aro withdrew her hand.

Five hundred years.

She had only ever seen it once before, at a grand ceremony.

But it has never been dug up.

As for the thousand-year-old ginseng that has been passed down for generations in the village, it is the village's treasure. No one has ever seen its true form; they only know that it was eaten by Lin Wusheng.

Besides that one, the oldest ginseng ever found in the village was 800 years old, which was from her grandfather's generation.

Nowadays, 500-year-old ginseng is already very rare.

Ginseng reaches a major milestone after 500 years, at which point its medicinal properties increase several times over.

She thought that when she came out this time, the doll would take her to find a 400-year-old one.

Who would have thought it would be five hundred years old?

She took a deep breath, took out a small shovel from her basket, and began to dig.

One shovel, two shovels, three shovels.

The soil is loose, as if it's been turned over frequently.

She knew it was the chubby baby helping her, often coming to loosen the soil so that the ginseng could grow better.

She dug very carefully, afraid of damaging the ginseng roots. After an incense stick's time, the entire ginseng plant was revealed.

Very big.

It was thicker than her arm and longer than her face.

The bark is pale yellow and covered with fine horizontal lines, one after another, like the annual rings of a tree.

The ginseng whiskers are very long and dense, and each one is intact.

A Luo held the ginseng in both hands and felt its weight; it was as if she were holding a stone.

No, it's heavier than a stone.

That's hundreds of years of history, so heavy it's hard to hold.

She carefully placed the ginseng into her basket, wrapped it with moss and leaves, stood up, and let out a long sigh of relief.

"Thank you, doll."

The chubby baby said with a grin.

"It's alright. This used to be where I often went to the toilet. If you want, I'll just pee a few more times."

A Luo smiled gently and patted the chubby baby's head with her little hand. The chubby baby seemed to enjoy it, and his eyes were squinted.

Miao Gui was still studying the herbs when he saw them return. He stood up, brushed the dirt off his knees, and asked, "Found them?"

A Luo nodded and pointed to the basket on her back.

Miao Gui peeked out and his pupils suddenly contracted.

He had traveled through the Ten Thousand Mountains for three years and had seen many ginseng trees, but he had never seen anything like this.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but then closed it again.

This kind of ginseng is something that cannot be measured in money.

"Where is Young Master Lü?" A'Luo asked.

Miao Gui then remembered and looked around, but there was no sign of Lü Yang.

"I was just taking a walk over there." He pointed deep into the valley and called out a few more times, "Lü Yang! Lü Yang!"

no respond.

Miao Gui frowned and walked in that direction.

The valley is not large; a walk around it takes only the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

He walked around and around again, but couldn't find anyone.

"This guy," Miao Gui muttered, "is really unreliable."

A'Luo also got anxious, so she put her basket on the ground and went off with Miao Gui to search separately.

The chubby baby also helped search; he burrowed in and out of the dirt quickly, but he couldn't find it either.

Half an hour later, the three met up at the same spot, but neither of them had found it.

A'Luo's eyes reddened with worry: "Could something have happened to him?"

Miao Gui thought for a moment and shook his head: "Probably not. This valley is so secluded, those wild beasts couldn't possibly get in. He probably walked out on his own."

He glanced at the sky; the sun was already beginning to set.

"Alright, I'll continue the search with the baby. You take the ginseng back first. The grand ceremony starts tomorrow, and the village is waiting for the ginseng."

A'Luo hesitated for a moment. She didn't want to go back alone, but this ginseng was too important and had to be delivered to the clan elder as soon as possible.

She gritted her teeth, slung the basket over her shoulder, and looked at the chubby baby: "Baby, you must find him."

The chubby baby nodded and patted his chest: "Leave it to me."

A Luo looked at Miao Gui again, and Miao Gui waved to her.

She turned and walked out of the valley.

As she stepped out of the narrow gap, she glanced back.

The chubby baby had already disappeared into the soil, while Miao Gui was still looking around.

She withdrew her gaze, quickened her pace, and headed towards the village.

The entrance to Caishenzhai Village.

Several women chatting at the village entrance saw A-Luo coming down from the mountain and greeted her with smiles: "A-Luo's back? What good stuff did you pick today?"

A'Luo smiled but didn't answer, and walked into the village with her head down.

As she walked to the big locust tree at the village entrance, the leaves of the ginseng plant in her basket peeked out from the moss.

A sharp-eyed woman noticed it, paused for a moment, and pointed at the leaves: "A-Luo, what's in your basket?"

Before A'Luo could speak, another woman came over for a look, her expression changing: "That...that's ginseng leaf?"

Several women gathered around.

A Luo put down her basket, parted the moss, and revealed a corner of the ginseng plant.

Its pale yellow skin is covered with dense horizontal lines, and its body is as thick as a baby's arm.

"Oh my god!"

"How many years has this been?"

"I've lived for fifty years and I've never seen anything this big!"

"Ah Luo! Where did you dig this up from?"

The sound grew louder, attracting even more people.

Aunt Wang, who sells tofu, ran out of her house, squeezed into the crowd, and saw the ginseng. She didn't even notice that the tofu in her hand fell to the ground.

Uncle Li, who sells vegetables, passed by with an empty carrying pole. He put down his pole, squatted down, and stared at the ginseng for a long time, his lips trembling.

"This is...this is from five hundred years ago...exactly the same as the one from last year's grand festival!"

The news spread like wildfire throughout the village.

"A'Luo has dug up a 500-year-old ginseng!"

"What, five hundred years? I heard it's a thousand years!"

"Not a thousand years, but five thousand years! I saw it with my own eyes!"

"Quick, go look! It's at the village entrance!"

The clan elder was having dinner at home when he heard the commotion outside. He put down his chopsticks, leaned on his cane, and went out.

A young man came running up, panting: "Elder! A'Luo dug up a giant ginseng! They say it's five hundred years old!"

The elder almost dropped his cane.

He quickened his pace and headed towards the village entrance.

The cane pounded against the bluestone slab, making a thud, much faster than usual.

A large crowd had already gathered at the village entrance.

Upon seeing the clan elder arrive, they automatically made way for him.

A Luo stood in the middle of the crowd, carrying a basket on her back, looking somewhat lost.

The elder walked up to her, glanced at her, then lowered his head and brushed away the moss in his basket.

His hands began to tremble.

The ginseng lay quietly in the basket, its skin pale yellow with fine horizontal lines and intact rootlets.

Hundreds of years have been condensed into this small body.

The elder watched for a long time, then straightened up, looked at A'Luo, and his eyes were a little red.

"Good boy," his voice was a little hoarse, "good boy. You've worked hard."

A'Luo shook her head: "Elder, this is ginseng from the village. You can decide what to do with it."

The elder took a deep breath, turned around, and raised his voice to the villagers who had gathered to watch: "Everyone! Tomorrow's grand ceremony will use this ginseng!"

The crowd erupted in cheers.

Some cheered, some applauded, and some wiped away tears.

Five-hundred-year-old ginseng is not uncommon in the history of ginseng-picking villages.

But for the ginseng-collecting village today, this has a very special significance.

Others might think it's just a simple prayer for blessings, believing that the better the ginseng, the better the luck will be next year.

But the clan elders knew that it wasn't just that.

Because he had seen the Ginseng Master come back to life!

He hasn't told anyone about this!