Chapter Ninety-Three: Precious Medicine, Gold

"Brother Yushu, come with me."

After returning, Xiao Yin hurried to Chen Yushu’s side, reached out to take his hand, and her voice came through at once.

"Hm? What is it?"

Chen Yushu was startled, but his body still followed the direction she led him without resistance.

"I may have found the black bear demon’s den. There are some things in there, but I can’t carry them."

Xiao Yin’s voice came again at once.

"Things? What things?"

Chen Yushu asked.

"Silver. I saw silver. Sister said silver can buy incense, and I want to buy lots and lots of incense, so I won’t go hungry anymore."

Xiao Yin answered with great seriousness.

"You’ve been hungry before?"

Chen Yushu was a little puzzled. Sister Qiao’s abilities were so great that she ought not to have been short of money.

How much could one stick of incense even cost?

"Yes. My sister is often busy outside, and sometimes she’s gone for several days at a time. When the old woman can’t see me, she often forgets to burn incense for me, so I can only go hungry.

Sometimes I was so hungry that I ran to the village gate to snatch food from people. Those people were awful. They all ganged up to beat me and still wouldn’t let me eat.

So, Brother Yushu, when we get the silver later, will you help me buy incense?

I want to buy, one, three, two... five sticks of incense."

At first Xiao Yin nodded. Since she was holding Chen Yushu’s hand, she could only lift her other hand and count on her fingers. In the end, she quickly announced the number, her face bright with excitement.

"All right, I’ll buy them for you."

Chen Yushu could not help laughing and nodded in agreement.

Only then did he finally understand why Sister Qiao had sent Xiao Yin to stay with him.

If she were left at home and Mrs. Liu forgot again, she might go hungry for several more days in a row.

As they spoke, they soon reached the woods.

It was still early, and the sky remained dim. Some people had not rested well to begin with, and after the black bear demon’s disturbance, they were even sleepier. They settled back down to rest. A few who were still awake saw Chen Yushu slip out, but they only assumed he had gone out to relieve himself and said nothing.

Meanwhile, Chen Yushu followed Xiao Yin deeper into the dense forest.

Even though the light was still faint, it made no difference to his present eyesight. In his eyes, night was no different from day.

No poisonous insect or wild beast hidden in the undergrowth could escape his keen gaze.

Even if some lingering spirits were drawn over by the blood and vitality about him, he did not need to lift a finger.

Xiao Yin would instantly turn into a fierce little tyrant, rushing in with fists and kicks flying.

Only then did Chen Yushu discover that Xiao Yin was unexpectedly quite strong.

At the very least, ordinary wandering ghosts were no match for her.

Soon, they came to the side of a stone hollow.

It was called a stone hollow, but upon closer inspection, Chen Yushu realized it was actually the stump of a giant tree. Because the interior had rotted away, it had formed a sunken nest.

The stump was enormous.

It looked like a little house.

And the hollow within was just as large; three people could stand side by side inside without feeling cramped. It was not deep either, and one could see the bottom at a glance. On the ground, there were black tufts of fur shed by the black bear demon.

Most important of all were the various garments strewn around it.

That alone was enough for Chen Yushu to be certain that this was indeed the bear demon’s den.

Ordinary beasts did not collect old human clothing.

Chen Yushu carefully stepped inside, but the first thing he saw was not the silver Xiao Yin had mentioned. Instead, it was a lingzhi mushroom growing in a corner of the hollow.

It was a vivid orange-red all over, like a blossom in full bloom.

"A treasured herb? Red Cloud Reishi?"

Chen Yushu froze slightly, his face full of surprise.

Red Cloud Reishi, also known as Fire Reishi.

It was a genuine treasured herb.

And among treasured herbs, it was relatively valuable.

In the medical texts he had read, there was a record stating that this Red Cloud Reishi was a sacred tonic for blood and vitality. Even a tiny sliver could restore life to a person on the brink of death and make their blood and qi flourish like that of a vigorous young man.

The one before his eyes was as broad as a basin and divided into three layers. The higher the layer, the larger the cap.

The only pity was that most of the top layer had already been gnawed away, and not all at once either. It had been bitten off in many separate places, leaving all sorts of irregular marks around it.

In other words, only two and a half layers remained of the whole treasure herb, and that half was itself only a small fragment.

"Red Cloud Reishi grows for a hundred years before becoming a treasure herb. For every additional hundred years, it produces another layer. This one has three layers, so it must be at least a three-hundred-year treasure herb... What a pity. What a pity."

Chen Yushu sighed over and over. Though delighted, he could not help feeling a little regretful.

The top layer of this Red Cloud Reishi had undoubtedly been eaten by the black bear demon. Perhaps that was even how it had become enlightened in the first place.

"Brother Yushu, look. Is that silver?"

Seeing that Chen Yushu had not moved, Xiao Yin quickly took hold of him again and pointed to another corner.

Chen Yushu hurriedly looked over, and sure enough, beside a piece of clothing were several scattered pieces of silver.

They were all of small denominations: one-tael pieces, two-tael pieces, and a few tiny fragments worth only a few mace each. Altogether, they should amount to seven or eight taels of silver.

It was probably loot the black bear demon had taken while harming people.

Perhaps it did not know the value of the silver and had simply brought it back because it looked shiny.

Of course, the black bear demon had also been able to bewitch people and lure those inside to open the door for it, so it might have understood a little of human affairs and known what silver was for.

At any rate, the thing was dead now, so he did not dwell on it.

Seven or eight taels of silver was not much, but it was still decent.

By Xiao Yin’s standard, it would at least buy the incense she needed for two years.

Chen Yushu was very satisfied as well.

After all, besides the silver, he had also gained a Red Cloud Reishi.

Even in its diminished state, with only two and a half layers left, it was worth more than a hundred taels of silver.

So Chen Yushu hurried forward to pick up the silver pieces. Because one of them was half-covered by a garment, he flipped the cloth aside, and then his whole body suddenly froze.

"Gold?"

Chen Yushu was stunned. He had not expected that beneath the clothes there would actually be a lump of gold.

Although it was not large, only about five taels, at the rate of one tael of gold for ten taels of silver, that still made fifty taels of silver. Not to mention that gold often commanded a premium; sometimes one tael of gold could even be exchanged for eleven taels of silver.

Then he was energized and quickly searched through the pile of tattered clothing.

Unfortunately, there was only this much gold and silver. He did find a dozen or so copper coins, which was better than nothing.

"Not a bad haul. Over fifty taels of silver is enough to buy incense for you for more than ten years."

Chen Yushu held Xiao Yin’s hand and said with a smile.

"Really? Then can I eat five... three sticks of incense a day?"

Xiao Yin immediately brightened, then lowered her head a little shyly.

"Two sticks still aren’t quite enough to fill me up."

"Of course you can. From now on, let alone three sticks of incense—five or even ten sticks, I can afford them all."

Chen Yushu said with grand generosity.

Then he walked over to the Red Cloud Reishi, dug it out carefully, and finally wrapped it entirely in an old garment that was still fairly clean before putting it into his bag.

...

I’m exhausted today. I’ve been running around all day, so tonight’s chapter will be updated tomorrow during the day.