My sister broke off her engagement to marry someone richer? My older sister married me and became in

Lu Qingshan looked at the dark path hidden by vines.

He didn't move immediately.

The Tiger King nudged him again with its head, making a urging gurgling sound in its throat. In its golden eyes, there was no command, only an invitation that could not be missed.

This fierce tiger is going to take him somewhere.

The thought popped into Lu Qingshan's mind, and he himself found it somewhat absurd.

He turned around and glanced at the direction of the dense forest in the distance.

Zhang Chen and Liu Dong were still waiting there.

He simply raised his hand in that direction, making a gesture to stay put and not follow.

Then, he took a deep breath, no longer hesitated, and followed the tiger that had turned and disappeared into the path.

One man and one tiger ventured into the deepest and most pristine heart of Tiger King Ridge.

The Tiger King walked ahead, his steps steady.

It didn't walk very fast; every now and then, it would stop, look back at Lu Qingshan, and make sure he was keeping up.

The surrounding trees grew taller and taller, almost blocking out all the sunlight.

The forest was dim, and the smell of damp, decaying leaves mingled with the scent of unknown wild animals, filling the air.

Lu Qingshan could sense that countless eyes were watching from the shadows.

It could be a wolf, a wild boar, or even a bear.

But these lords of the mountains and forests all chose to retreat after smelling the Tiger King's unique scent.

The commotion they caused was not a provocation, but fear.

The king of beasts surveys his territory, and all things must submit to him.

This feeling is very strange.

Lu Qingshan followed behind, as if walking on an absolutely safe imperial road.

All dangers were kept at bay a hundred meters away by the aura of this mountain lord.

It took about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

The Tiger King stopped at the foot of an inconspicuous cliff.

This is a steep stone wall, with the bottom piled high with fallen leaves and boulders accumulated over the years.

The Tiger King did not approach.

It stood just ten meters away, facing a lush patch of grass at the foot of the cliff, and let out a low roar.

"roar--"

The sound wasn't loud, but it was like a muffled thunderclap.

The grass began to shake violently.

The next second, a brightly colored, triangular snake head suddenly emerged from the grass.

Viper.

Moreover, judging from its size, it must be quite poisonous.

The viper was clearly startled by the tiger king's roar; it flicked its tongue, coiled up warily, and assumed an attack posture.

But when it saw the owner of the roar, all its aggression turned into pure fear.

It hastily turned its head around, like a colorful lightning bolt, and hurriedly darted into the crevice of the rock, disappearing without a trace.

The area has been cleared.

The Tiger King let out another low growl at Lu Qingshan.

This time, the voice was much softer.

It stepped back a few paces, squatted down on a large rock in the distance, and then nodded with its chin toward the patch of grass where the venomous snake had just been coiled.

The meaning couldn't be clearer.

Go ahead, that thing is yours now.

Lu Qingshan's heart began to pound uncontrollably.

He strode forward, taking three steps at a time, and reached out to push aside the clump of weeds that were half a person tall.

Behind the bushes, in the crevice of the stone wall.

A plant is growing there quietly.

Its plant stands tall and straight, with a palmate compound leaf stretching out in the dim forest, exuding a vibrant vitality.

The leaves are thick and glossy green, with fine serrations along the edges.

At the very top, a cluster of fruit, consisting of dozens of small berries, is so red it looks like it's about to bleed.

Wild ginseng!

Lu Qingshan stared intently at the part where the ginseng root connects to the main root, where the segments of the rhizome were clearly and closely arranged.

He roughly counted them, and just looking at the parts exposed above the soil, there were no fewer than thirty or forty sections.

There's a saying in the trade: "One reed a year, and it never falls for decades."

This ginseng is at least eighty years old!

Lu Qingshan's breath caught in his throat.

This is no ordinary wild ginseng; it is clearly a ginseng king on the verge of becoming a spirit!

In his previous life, he had heard from older ginseng harvesters that treasures of this caliber possessed spirituality and were guarded by precious wild beasts.

Today, he saw it with his own eyes.

He did not act immediately.

After the initial euphoria, he forced himself to calm down.

He took three steps back and straightened his tattered clothes.

Then, he solemnly bowed three times to the wild ginseng.

"Mountain God, you are merciful. I, Lu Qingshan, thank you for your blessing."

This is a rule passed down from the older generation.

Digging for ginseng is called "lifting ginseng" or "inviting ginseng".

The word "dig" should not be used to describe such a spiritual treasure; that would be extremely disrespectful.

After bowing, Lu Qingshan carefully took out his tools from his backpack.

A red rope, a few deer bone skewers, and a specially made small shovel.

He first used a red string to gently tie it to the stem of the ginseng.

In the trade, it's called "protecting the treasure," because the fear is that this spiritual treasure will run away on its own.

Then, using a deer bone pick, he carefully peeled away the surrounding soil and pebbles little by little, following the direction of the main root.

Throughout the entire process, he held his breath and concentrated, not daring to be careless in the slightest.

Having learned from his previous experience of digging up the six-leafed plant, he was much more adept this time.

He dared not use iron tools, fearing that they would damage the ginseng roots; even breaking just one would greatly reduce its medicinal properties.

Time passed by, second by second.

He knelt on the ground, like a most devout believer, and little by little, he carefully brought this treasure, buried deep underground, out of the ground.

When the last handful of soil was removed.

A wild ginseng with intact roots, a beautiful shape, and a main root as thick as a baby's arm was presented perfectly before his eyes.

Become!

As Lu Qingshan held the heavy ginseng, he felt a strange spiritual energy, mixed with the fragrance of earth, seep into his body through his palm.

Even the burning wound on my shoulder seemed to have eased a lot.

He found clean moss and soft tree bark, carefully wrapped the ginseng layer by layer, and then solemnly placed it close to his body in his bosom.

After doing all this, he stood up and turned to look into the distance.

The tiger king remained quietly seated on the large rock, like a majestic guardian deity.

Lu Qingshan stepped forward and bowed deeply to it.

Thank you.

The Tiger King looked at him and let out a low groan, as if to say, "We're even."

It stood up and looked at Lu Qingshan again, its gaze filled with a complex emotion that Lu Qingshan could not understand.

Then it turned around and led him back the way he came.

When Tiger King saw the dense forest where the team members were waiting again, he stopped.

It did not go any further.

In the woods, the rescued tiger cub staggered towards its mother, nuzzling her leg with its little head.

Its spirits seem much better.

The tiger king lowered his head and licked the cub's forehead with his tongue.

Then, it took one last look at Lu Qingshan, turned around, and with its child, disappeared silently into the endless depths of the dense forest of Tiger King Ridge.

The king of the mountains and forests, retired after achieving his goal.

Lu Qingshan touched the still-warm ginseng in his arms, but began to make plans in his mind.

How should I explain all this to Zhang Chen and Liu Dong?

I can't exactly say that the tiger gave it to me, can I?

As he thought about it, he made up an excuse: "I accidentally got lost and was found at the bottom of a cliff."

Although it's full of loopholes, that's all we can say for now.

He composed himself and prepared to turn around and walk back into the dense forest.

Just as he turned around...

Out of the corner of my eye, I inadvertently caught sight of a thousand-year-old pine tree not far away, which required three people to encircle it.

There seemed to be something on that rough tree trunk.

He took a few steps closer and looked more closely.

That was a newly engraved mark.

The marks were deep, as if they had been made with some kind of sharp bone tool.

It's neither a knife nor an axe.

When Lu Qingshan saw the shape of the mark, he froze on the spot.

It was a unique symbol consisting of three horizontal lines.

There is a long line at the top, a broken line in the middle, and another long line at the bottom.

The Li hexagram!

He recognizes this symbol!

This is a secret communication code, unique to their lineage, that the mysterious herb-gathering old man taught him in his past life!

The unique marks can only be made by using a bone skewer made from the shoulder blade of a deer!

Why would he leave a mark here?