Chapter 129: Departing the Team

My expression shifted slightly. I immediately reached up to touch my face, then turned and returned to my room.

A mirror sat on the nightstand. I looked into it and, sure enough, saw a mark on my face.

It was not a handprint.

The reason for my panic was that strange and eerie dream I’d had the night before, in which a chubby child had slapped me and then run away. If he were a ghost, having a mark on my face would be normal, as he had come to my bed.

But this mark looked like a strange leaf or flower—a few sharp, thin lines resembling foliage, with a small dot right in the center.

"Xie Yuan, stop worrying about it. It’s probably just something on your bed that pressed into your skin while you were asleep. Besides, we’re heading up the mountain to dig for ginseng, not going to the village to find a bride. No point in fussing over how you look."

"You’d be better off looking at what Second Uncle Wang has accomplished."

Wang Erjun walked into the room. As he spoke, he pulled a cloth bag from his person and tossed it onto my bed.

With a soft clatter and the sound of items colliding, my attention was immediately drawn to it. The bag was still slightly damp.

My eyelids twitched. "What is this?" I asked.

Wang Erjun looked excited and triumphant.

"I didn't sleep a wink last night. I followed Gama for half the night; he trekked several kilometers just to dump this stuff into the water. You have to say, the village chief doesn't know how to handle things. They don't want this gold and silver in their village, but we sure need it."

"After Gama left, I went into the water. I fished out all the jewelry and gold."

"Xie Yuan, the money we need to get you a wife is finally sorted."

As he spoke, Wang Erjun opened the bag. Sure enough, it was filled with gold and silver jewelry.

My pupils constricted. I shook my head and said, "Erjun, we can't keep these things. The watchman's death—beyond it being an accident, it definitely wasn't simple. There’s a saying: 'Retribution is swift.' There’s a reason for everything. It was because he touched something he shouldn't have that he met his end."

Wang Erjun chuckled. "That just means he didn't have the fate to handle it, but he had the greed to try. Why should we, two brothers, be afraid of ghosts? I’ve learned Taoist arts, and you can wipe them out with a single talisman. Even if there is trouble, so what? There’s enough money here to keep us set for half a lifetime."

"Xie Yuan, we’re the only sons in our families; we have to get married and carry on our lineages. You can't spend your whole life dealing with ghosts. Besides, aren't you doing all this to save your mother? Once this is done, you still have to live your life, don't you?"

"We can't stay in Baihu Village anymore; everyone is dead. Not to mention you have elders at home, and I have my mother and grandmother. We need money to live, and on top of that, there's the cost of a bride. If we don't take this opportunity to get some money now, how will we survive later?"

"Look at me, I'm selling talismans now, but I can't do that forever, and it’s not like people will come to buy them every day."

"I am building a foundation for us brothers."

Wang Erjun grew more earnest as he spoke.

I frowned. At this point, no amount of persuasion would work. Arguing would only cause a rift between us and delay our plans.

Wang Erjun packed the bag away. He added, "I’m serious, Xie Yuan. Even though learning to catch ghosts and draw talismans to become a Celestial Master is impressive, you still have to live. If you don't have money, you can't eat. You can't get by."

"Why did the villagers turn against the village chief? Because of money."

"Why was my father framed, with everyone convinced he was a murderer? Also because of money—because it was planted in our home."

"No matter what people are like, and no matter how much of a bastard money is, people are even bigger bastards when they're in front of it."

***

The bedroom door was knocked again.

Wang Erjun and I went to open it. Standing outside were Li Yue and Zhang Chang.

Wang Erjun smiled, not mentioning what we had just discussed, and said, "The sun isn't up yet. Let's head out. No one in the village will see us."

Zhang Chang nodded. "It’s not yet five o'clock. Between the first light of dawn and the early morning, there is a window of opportunity to find the Seven-Root Ginseng. The odds will be much higher. Let’s go immediately."

At this moment, Li Yue suddenly remarked, "Xie Yuan, your face..."

I forced a smile. "I don't know what it is. I only noticed it after Erjun mentioned it just now."

Zhang Chang frowned slightly. "We can talk while we walk."

We left Gama's house. The village was deathly quiet.

The sky was just beginning to brighten, glowing with a faint, ashen light; the sun was not yet visible. The air was filled with the distinct, fresh fragrance of soil and leaves from the mountains. Beside us, the Yin Dragon River flowed without a ripple.

No one could imagine that for hundreds or thousands of years, this river had been home to the corpses of countless travelers who had met their end in these parts.

As we walked through the village, none of us spoke, fearing we might wake the villagers. Being discovered while heading up the mountain now would certainly not be a wise move.

Once we finally cleared the village and entered the mountain path of Zhenyin Mountain, the three of us followed behind Zhang Chang.

He kept moving forward. After taking a side path, he soon led us into a stretch of forest where there was no trail.

There were faint sounds of insects and birds, and the rustling of shrubs as we pushed through. In the silent surroundings, we were like stones breaking the calm surface of a pond.

Suddenly, Wang Erjun let out a startled cry.

"Damn it! Whose grave is this, completely overgrown with grass? Hell, I thought it was just a dirt mound and almost crushed it with one step."

Zhang Chang explained that Zhenyin Mountain was different from Yalong Mountain; the ancestors were buried here as a way to return to their roots. Graves like this, covered in weeds, belonged to ordinary people whose descendants were either dead or had no one left to care for them.

Wang Erjun spat on the ground.

Li Yue said softly, "Even if there are no ghosts here, you should show respect for the dead. Be careful that the corpse inside doesn't jump out and drag you down to take your place."

Wang Erjun waved the talisman in his hand. "Second Uncle Wang isn't afraid of corpses."

Li Yue bit her lower lip. "I don't know why Master values you so much. You're a treacherous, greedy man with nothing good in your head."

Seeing that the two were about to argue again, I quickly changed the subject and asked Zhang Chang how to find the Seven-Root Ginseng.

Zhang Chang handed me a piece of cloth and told me to cover my face.

I was stunned and didn't react immediately. Just as I was about to ask why, he began explaining the process of finding the Seven-Root Ginseng.

Zhang Chang instructed Li Yue to use the Feng Shui technique of observing celestial phenomena and reading the earth's veins to find the spots on Zhenyin Mountain where the Feng Shui energy was strongest and the vital essence was most concentrated.

He told Wang Erjun to keep the Immobilization Talisman ready at all times.

When we found the Seven-Root Ginseng, it might look like ginseng, or it might not. We were to follow his lead, and the moment it was discovered, we had to use the Immobilization Talisman to seize it.

The Seven-Root Ginseng was cunning beyond measure. If it escaped once, we would never have a second chance to catch it. Furthermore, all the ginseng on Zhenyin Mountain was notoriously difficult to capture.

Li Yue's expression was grave.

Wang Erjun asked Zhang Chang, "If ginseng isn't ginseng, then what could it be? Does it grow two legs and run away?"

Zhang Chang replied, "Ginseng doesn't have to be just ginseng; it can also be a person. Don't people have two legs?"

Hearing this, I froze.

Could it be that the Seven-Root Ginseng could absorb so much of heaven and earth's essence that it could transform into a spirit?

Li Yue had already taken out her compass and the other items needed for Feng Shui observation.

"Shut it, fatty. Don't talk so much. This involves Xie Yuan's mother, and it all depends on us. We can't afford any mistakes."

Wang Erjun patted his chest, nodded at me, and didn't say anything else.

I had covered my face, but just then, Zhang Chang suddenly turned to me. "Xie Yuan, this is as far as you can go with us. You cannot follow us any further."

"Just wander around nearby. See if you can find any collapsed areas or the group of people who might have killed the watchman. If you find them, go notify the village down the mountain."

I was dumbfounded. Wang Erjun spoke up first. "Why can't Xie Yuan come with us?"

I also stared at Zhang Chang, frowning.

Zhang Chang looked at the cloth covering my face. "The mark on Xie Yuan's face is no ordinary mark. It is a 'Ginseng Seal.' Though I don't know how he got it, it has already alerted the ginseng spirit. If he follows us, we will never find the Seven-Root Ginseng. Let him wander the mountain path; even if the Seven-Root Ginseng tries to escape, it won't dare head down the mountain, which will make things easier for us."

My expression changed. The mark on my face... was a Ginseng Seal?

Could it be that the dream I had wasn't about a person or a ghost, but the Seven-Root Ginseng itself?

Just then, Li Yue muttered, "Spiritual treasures of this nature can sense danger in advance. They discovered Xie Yuan, which is why they left a mark. He truly cannot come with us."

I stopped arguing.

Zhang Chang, Li Yue, and Wang Erjun departed. Before leaving, Wang Erjun told me not to worry and that he definitely wouldn't let me down.

I remained on the path, but what left me deeply puzzled was this: Why did the Seven-Root Ginseng discover me in advance?

We hadn't told anyone about this, and I had never been up Zhenyin Mountain before.