Chapter 11: The Ancient Herb

"I can't take that much. I'll just choose a few." Qin Haodong took a bag from the stall. He put the hundred-year-old polygonum multiflorum and other needed medicinal materials into the bag. "I’m sorry — I was too ignorant to recognize your ability." The vendor scratched his head with embarrassment. "It's nothing." Qin Haodong waved his hand and then went ahead to the wholesale market. He looked at the bag in his hand; it wasn’t too heavy, but still awkward to carry. If only he had a Storage Ring. He once had a ring big enough to accommodate a mountain in the Divine World, but unfortunately, the ring was reduced to dust by Thunder of Nine Heavens. Qin Haodong sighed and walked into the medicinal materials wholesale market with the bag. The shops here were very large, far larger than the retail stalls outside, but the hundred-year-old ginseng was a rare material. He went to more than a dozen shops and did not find it. A kind-hearted shopkeeper said to him, "My friend, if you want to buy rare medicines, you should go to Shennong Pavilion. They sell wild medicinal materials, among which many are vintages. If they don’t have it, then it probably can’t be found at the market." After expressing his thanks, Qin Haodong made his way to the biggest shop in the market, according to the instruction of the shopkeeper. Coming to the front of Shennong Pavilion, he couldn't help but stare in admiration. It was, indeed, the largest shop in the market. The strong aroma of herbs greeted him as he went through the door. Above the broad gate of the shop hung a huge gold-plated plaque with two large words — Shennong Pavilion — which looked like dragons flying and phoenixes dancing. The shop was very busy with people coming and going. Qin Haodong walked around and found that medicinal herbs here had indeed more Spiritual Qi than those in other shops. They were obviously picked in the wild, not artificially cultivated. He was just about to ask the salesman if there were any ginseng medicines older than a hundred years when several people entered the shop. At the front was a tall old man. Although his hair and beard were grey, he had an intense demeanor and the unmistakable aura of the battlefield. Qin Haodong felt strongly that the old man was a soldier in the past, and not an ordinary one. Next to the old man was a tall young woman with ponytail braids. Her appearance was comparable to that of Lin Momo, and her whole body was full of heroic spirit. Behind the old man and the beautiful woman stood two tall young men with the same former-soldier body language, who seemed to be acting as bodyguards. Qin Haodong felt a slight movement in his heart. He sensed the fluctuation of internal Qi keenly from the old man and young woman — this was the first time he had felt the warrior's aura after his rebirth, and he could not help paying more attention. Hardly had the old man entered when the employee who had been assisting Qin Haodong rushed to meet him and politely said, "Your Honor, here you are!" The old man nodded and said, "Has the medicine I ordered arrived yet?" "Yes, please go to the VIP lounge and have a rest while I get it for you!" The employee led the group to the VIP room, then turned to the warehouse, and quickly came out with a big red brocade box. Qin Haodong's pupils shrank sharply at the sight of the big red brocade box. He felt a rich sense of Spiritual Qi which was much stronger than the hundred-year-old polygonum multiflorum in his pocket. This was an ancient medicine; it looked like it should be four or five hundred years old. After deliberating for a moment, Qin Haodong followed the employee to the door of the VIP room to see what treasures were in the box. The employee approached the old man with the big red brocade box and said, "Your Honor, it took all of our resources to locate this vintage medicine. It's a genuine 500-year-old treasure. You can't buy it anywhere else. Please have a careful look." Then he opened the lid of the brocade box to reveal a blood ginseng. As strong Spiritual Qi emanated from the medicine, Qin Haodong marveled at this blood ginseng, whose age was absolutely over 500 years. Although it was inferior to the best treasures in the Divine World, it was exceptionally rare on Earth and very difficult to acquire, even with large amounts of money. The old man put on a pair of white gloves and carefully picked up the ginseng in the brocade box. After examining it for a long time, he exclaimed, "Treasure! Real treasure!" The woman next to him said, "Grandpa, does it mean your illness can be cured?" "It should work!" The old man nodded satisfactorily, and his eyes revealed an irrepressible joy. The salesman said, "Your Honor, you can rest assured, this ginseng can save lives. Legend has it that it can even cure death!" The old man said, "Did your boss give you a price?" "Yes, yes. Before going out to conduct business, he specifically told me that because you're a distinguished guest of Shennong Pavilion, this ginseng should be charged at the lowest price. At 10,000 yuan per year, that comes to five million yuan." Five million yuan was a high price for a medicinal herb, but the old man didn't even frown a bit. He turned his head to the woman and said, "Wushuang, pay the money!" The woman with the ponytail took out a checkbook, scribbled in it for a moment, and handed the check to the employee. The employee glanced at the check then politely said to the old man, "Your Honor, thanks for your patronage. You are welcome here any time!" "Deal!" The old man carefully put the ginseng back into the brocade box and was about to leave when he heard a voice coming from the door, "Sir, that ginseng is superb. How about giving it to me?" A little stunned, the old man looked up at the door and saw a young man in his 20s enter the room. The ponytailed woman's face hardened, and glared at Qin Haodong as she said, "Who are you? Who let you in?" Qin Haodong smiled and said, "It doesn't matter who I am. What matters is that this ginseng should be given to me!" The ponytail woman replied indignantly, "Are you out of your mind? Get out of here!" The salesman also figured that this strange person was insane. "This gentleman just paid five million yuan for this ginseng! Why would he give it to you? If you want to buy medicine, please go outside and don't disturb our distinguished guests!" Qin Haodong ignored the salesman and said directly to the old man, "Sir, if you give me this ginseng, I can save your life. Otherwise, you should go home and prepare for your funeral!" Everyone was stunned. Wushuang shouted furiously, "Get out of here!" and stepped forward, clearly intending to punch Qin Haodong in the face. Qin Haodong dodged the punch with a light smile, saying, "It's not good for girls to use violence." Then he said to the old man, "Sir, if you are willing to listen to me for just a moment, I promise it will be worth your time." The old man raised his hand to stop his granddaughter from attacking again. He said to Qin Haodong with great interest, "Young man, why should I give you such rare medicine?" Qin Haodong answered, "Because if you don't give me this ginseng, your life will be in danger." The old man's face changed slightly. "Young man, are you threatening me?" As he spoke, a burst of Qi energy surged out of the old man, and Qin Haodong could feel the intense aura of decisiveness and fierce superiority. But Qin Haodong still didn't care. He said with a relaxed face, "Threat is out of the question. I believe your lungs have been injured, and you bought this blood ginseng for treatment." The old man looked suspiciously at Qin Haodong and asked, "How did you know that?" Qin Haodong smiled and said, "I am a doctor and I can see it naturally." The ponytail girl said, "Grandpa, don't listen to this liar's nonsense. He must have heard us just now." The old man nodded; his granddaughter was right. Qin Haodong did not take it seriously at all. With two steps forward, he said, "Your lungs were once shot, but the treatment was timely, and the recovery was good. It would be nothing if you lived a normal life. "But because you’re a warrior, you constantly channel your Yin Qi. The injury to your lung caused a blockage of Yang Qi, and the imbalance is what’s causing you to remain ill. An excess of destructive Yin Qi is deteriorating your body." "Er..." The old man's face suddenly changed greatly. The young man in front of him was right that the injury had grown more serious over time. He did not get any better, although he’d gone everywhere for treatment. The girl snapped at Qin Haodong, "Who on Earth are you? Who sent you here?" The two young men behind her became nervous, their hands moving to rest on slight bulges at their waists. "Don't be so nervous, I said I'm just a doctor." Qin Haodong laughed at Wushuang, then continued to say to the old man, "Your injury has been more serious recently. When it gets cold at night, especially midnight, you cough a lot, sometimes with bloody sputum, and you can't sleep well. That’s because Yin Qi is strongest at night and causes even further imbalance. You tend to feel better at noon, when Yang Qi is at its peak.” The old man raised his hand to stop his granddaughter and bodyguards. "Let the young man speak." Qin Haodong continued with a severe expression. "After decades of having this injury, coupled with harnessing Yin Qi during your daily combat training, the blockage of meridians has become very serious, and ordinary medicine can't treat your illness." "Blood ginseng this ancient is full of medicinal Qi power. If consumed while the meridian in your lung is still blocked, the added Qi will cause tremendous pressure on your other meridians, and the first one to be hit will be your heart. "I was not trying to threaten you, sir. I just want to bring home the fact that if you take this ginseng as planned, you will be dead within an hour."