Chapter 576: Chapter 440: Killer Wild Boar, Leafless Ginseng
A phoenix only lands where there is treasure, and ginseng only grows amidst scenic mountains and clear streams.
The places that produce prime Ginseng always have a water source nearby.
To put it in more mystical terms, wherever ginseng grows, every blade of grass and every tree is unique.
Many people thought this was just a legend. But in his past life, Zhao Jun had spent many years digging up Ginseng, and he had a feeling that the grass around a Ginseng plant was always glossier than grass elsewhere.
As Zhao Jun walked, he used his rope-pulling stick to part the green grass. He used the dappled light filtering through the canopy above to observe the sheen on the blades.
Jie Chen and Zhang Yuanmin followed closely behind him. Unlike Zhang Yuanmin, who was completely clueless about ginseng hunting, Jie Chen had learned a bit from his family, and he watched Zhao Jun’s movements with surprise.
As a trio, they were supposedly hunting for Ginseng, yet they weren’t laying out their guide sticks or advancing in a line. But if they weren’t on a hunt, why were they still looking for Ginseng?
But Jie Chen, being honest and good-natured, didn’t say anything. He just used his rope-pulling stick to idly bat away the wild grass to his left and right.
Suddenly, Zhao Jun froze. He thrust his rope-pulling stick into the ground before him and shouted, “Ginseng! Ginseng!”
Jie Chen: “…”
“What grade leaves?” Zhang Yuanmin, standing nearby, snapped to his senses and shouted. “What grade leaves?”
Zhao Jun’s voice boomed in response, “Fourth-grade leaves!”
Zhang Yuanmin’s heart pounded with excitement. He asked again, “How many stalks?”
“They’re all over the mountain!” Zhao Jun shouted, voicing the fondest hope of every Mountain Man.
Jie Chen hurried forward a couple of steps and peeked over Zhao Jun’s shoulder. It really was a Ginseng plant, and it really did have fourth-grade leaves!
‘This is incredible!’
No search patterns, no stick formations… just a few steps and he finds a Ginseng. Jie Chen’s gaze toward Zhao Jun was filled with doubt. ‘Was that just blind luck?’ he wondered.
Zhao Jun happened to turn and meet Jie Chen’s peculiar stare. He just smiled slightly without saying anything. But then, an idea struck him. Recalling how Jie Chen had played a trick on him earlier, he turned back, pointed to the Pine Tree with Elder Zhao’s mark, and said to Jie Chen, “It’s all thanks to the blessings of our elders.”
At these words, Jie Chen looked toward the Elder Zhao mark on the Pine Tree, his heart filled with reverence.
Zhao Jun chuckled to himself. Leaning on his rope-pulling stick with one hand, he raised the other and pointed at the Elder Zhao mark a couple of times. He asked Jie Chen, “Brother, when you kowtowed just now, were you really sincere?”
“Huh?” Jie Chen turned to look at Zhao Jun and shook his head slightly.
Zhao Jun pointed at the Elder Zhao mark. “Quick, go apologize to our predecessor.”
“Right!” Jie Chen replied. He grabbed his rope-pulling stick and ran over to the Elder Zhao mark, where he dropped to his knees and began to kowtow.
When Zhao Jun turned back, he saw Zhang Yuanmin trying to stifle a laugh. He reached into his pocket, pulled out two Deer Antler Keys, and handed one to him.
“Brother, take it slow.”
“Alright,” Zhang Yuanmin replied. He took the Deer Antler Key, hurried over to the fourth-grade leaves, and crouched down. “Brother,” he asked Zhao Jun, “do we just dig it up like this?”
“Yeah!” Zhao Jun blinked at Zhang Yuanmin, confused. “If not like this, how else would you dig it?”
“Shouldn’t we tie it up first?” Jie Chen, having finished his kowtowing, had returned and now asked with a puzzled expression.
According to the old rules, when a Mountain Man digs up Ginseng, he must first tie it with a red string. The lore says this is to keep the Ginseng from running away.
But Zhao Jun just waved his hand dismissively. “No need,” he said casually. “As long as I’m here, it’s not going anywhere.”
With that, Zhao Jun stuffed the other Deer Antler Key into Jie Chen’s hand. “You and Brother Zhang dig it up together,” he said. “Go slow, and don’t break the Ginseng Roots.”
“You got it!” Jie Chen rolled up his sleeves, took the Deer Antler Key, and squatted down opposite Zhang Yuanmin in front of the fourth-grade Ginseng. They began digging at it simultaneously from both sides.
Meanwhile, Zhao Jun held his rope-pulling stick at the ready and continued walking forward.
Behind him, after digging a couple of times with the Deer Antler Key, Jie Chen suddenly held up the tool. “Brother Zhang,” he said, “this thing works way better than a Deer Bone Awl.”
Compared to a Deer Bone Awl, the Deer Antler Key was just as its name suggested. It had a long handle, a small, round spoon-like tip, and was polished perfectly smooth so it wouldn’t easily break the fine Ginseng Root.
“Of course it does,” Zhang Yuanmin said with a laugh. “I’m the one who polished it.”
…
While the three were reveling in the joy of finding the Ginseng, a different scene was unfolding on a gentle slope fifty or sixty li away.
Zhao Qingzhu and Niu Guoliang were creeping forward.
Any place suitable for setting a wild boar trap was bound to be rugged terrain, filled with small trees and undergrowth, a dense tangle of branches and trunks.
Moving through a place like this, the sound of your body brushing against branches was unavoidable.
An experienced Mountain Runner would use their hands to push branches down, pass through, and then slowly release them, letting them return to their original position.
This method minimized any sound.
But those two, Zhao Qingzhu and Niu Guoliang, knew nothing of such techniques. They threw caution to the wind, with Niu Guoliang in the lead, simply bulldozing his way forward.
Just as they were nearing their destination, they heard grunting sounds from up ahead. “GRUNT… GRUNT…”
Niu Guoliang flinched. He turned to Zhao Qingzhu and said, “Brother-in-law, that Big Cannon Egg is right up ahead. You go straight at it.”
As he spoke, Niu Guoliang pointed to the left. “I’ll circle around from this side. You distract it from the front. Once you’ve worn it out, I’ll go in for the kill.”
“Alright… I guess,” Zhao Qingzhu said, his heart trembling. But after a moment’s thought, he gritted his teeth. He watched Niu Guoliang take the long way around, then forced himself to move forward.
SNORT!
About thirty meters ahead of Zhao Qingzhu, a large wild boar was lying in the tall grass. A loop of Steel Wire Rope was cinched tight across its body like a satchel strap, running diagonally from its left shoulder to under its right foreleg.
The other end of the rope was tied to a felled Painted Maple, a log about two meters long and as thick as a grown man’s thigh.
When Niu Guoliang had found the great boar yesterday, it had already been here gnawing on grass roots. Including today, it must have been trapped for at least three days.