Chapter 827: Scared Me To Death
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Wan’er dug rather hard and excitedly. If she could dig up a thirty-year-old zhu ling, her task for today would not be a problem. In a short amount of time, she dug up a hole that was nearly one meter deep. Wang Qian looked doubtfully at the ever-expanding hole. If Wan’er worked so hard and did not manage to dig up anything, that would be very disappointing.
While she was doubtful, Wang Qian also felt a sense of anticipation well up inside of her uncontrollably. Although she thought that it was not quite possible, who didn’t want such a stroke of luck?
“Aiya, I’ve found it. I’ve found it… I’ve actually dug it up!” Wan’er suddenly had a look of excitement. She threw her digging tools to one side and took out a finer medicinal herb shovel. Her entire person leaped directly into the hole. She knelt with her small backside raised into the air as she dug diligently. Digging up medicinal herbs was both hard labor and fine work. The hard labor was digging the hole; the fine work was digging up the medicinal herbs.
Wang Qian had a look of astonishment on her face. She also squatted down beside the hole to take a look. As expected, it was a brown zhu ling. The scent of medicine was rather pungent. Its age must not be too young.
Wan’er carefully dug up the entire stalk of zhu ling, holding it in her hands like a baby. She was very happy.
“How did you do it?” Wang Qian stared at Mo Wen. Right now, she also discovered that things were developing in a strange direction.
“Of course, I relied on my experience to determine where to look.” Mo Wen smiled.
“Are you really from a highly respectable medical family, and have you really gathered medicinal herbs since you were young?” Wang Qian asked, still somewhat suspicious. Could it be that Mo Wen was also an ancient martial art practitioner? Ordinary people did not have such an ability.
“Of course.” Mo Wen had been telling them since the start. It was just that they did not believe him all this while.
“That’s wonderful! Big Brother Mo, you are incredible.”
Wan’er was delighted. She immediately took Mo Wen to be an expert. Among the sect disciples, there were indeed some who were very proficient in gathering medicinal herbs. Those people did not need to worry about not being able to complete their tasks at all.
“Turn to your left, and walk another thirty meters. Hidden in the shrubbery is a hundred-year-old ginseng plant. The ginseng is growing underground. Its top branches and leaves have decayed, hence it is completely buried and is not easy to find,” Mo Wen said as he pointed to the shrubbery to one side.
There appeared to be nothing around the shrubbery, but in reality, there was indeed a hundred-year-old ginseng plant buried underground. Its branches and leaves had already decayed, but the ginseng underground had not decayed and was still growing.
Su Wan’er immediately ran over excitedly. After digging up the zhu ling, she completely believed everything Mo Wen said.
Running over to the shrubbery, Mo Wen pointed towards its exact location. Su Wan’er lifted her shovel and dug. In a short while, she had dug up a hole. As expected, a stalk of ginseng popped out of the ground. The grains on its surface was very old. It had clearly been growing for a very long time.
“Wah, there really is some hundred-year-old ginseng. Fantastic!” Wan’er was elated. It was as though she had stumbled across a treasure. She carefully dug up the ginseng. Wild hundred-year-old ginseng was rather rare. With this stalk of ginseng, she could almost complete today’s task.
Wang Qian looked at Mo Wen in a somewhat horrified manner. She suddenly felt a chill down her back. She was not as innocent as Wan’er. Mo Wen had not been here before. How could he know that there was a stalk of hundred-year-old ginseng here? No matter how experienced he was at gathering medicinal herbs, it was impossible for him to know what was there without even looking.
Something seemed sketchy. It did not make sense at all. Right now, when she looked at Mo Wen, a sense of horror welled up uncontrollably inside of her. Humans were always afraid of the unknown. She even suspected that Mo Wen was a ghost.
Wasn’t there a legend from before? A woodcutter saved someone in the mountains and brought them home. That person stayed in the woodcutter’s house for a month. One day when the woodcutter once again went to collect firewood, he stumbled upon a decaying corpse.
To his astonishment, the woodcutter discovered that the corpse was none other than the person he had saved and brought back home. Only then did the woodcutter suddenly realize that he had brought home not a person, but a ghost.
Recalling this story, Wang Qian immediately looked uneasily at Mo Wen. Could it be that he was already dead and Wan’er had brought home a ghost?
Wan’er was delighted. She placed the ginseng in her bamboo basket. She discovered somewhat surreally, that the day’s task was actually already completed. Hundred-year-old ginseng very rarely appeared. A single stalk could make up a day’s quota.
“Sister Wang Qian, what’s up with you?” Wan’er had yet to express her joy when she noticed that something was off with Wang Qian. Her face was pale and cold sweat kept flowing from her forehead. She gave Wan’er a scare.
Mo Wen also looked curiously at Wang Qian. He could tell at a glance that there was nothing wrong with Wang Qian. It was just that she had a fright. But what had given her such a fright? No matter how incredible Mo Wen was, he could not read Wang Qian’s thoughts right now. If he knew, he would most likely not know whether to laugh or cry.
“Wan’er… let’s go back… after all, you have completed your task,” Wang Qian said in a low voice as she grabbed Wan’er’s sleeve tightly. She did not want to spend another moment with Mo Wen. This person was too bizarre.
“Sister Wang Qian, we’ve just come out. Since it is still early, we should gather up more medicinal herbs. We might even complete the tasks for the next two days in one go.”
Wan’er was a hardworking little girl. She would not stop just because today’s task had been completed. She was still concerned about whether she could complete tomorrow’s task.
“Wan’er, come over here. I have something to tell you.”
Wang Qian dragged Wan’er and walked over to a denser part of the forest. She clearly did not want Mo Wen to know what she had to say. Wan’er was curious, but she did not refuse. She looked at Mo Wen apologetically and followed Wang Qian over.
“What? You say Big Brother Mo is not a person, but a ghost?” Wan’er said in astonishment. Her eyes were wide open, and she wore a look of disbelief.
“If he is not a ghost, how do you explain what happened just now? You’ve been gathering herbs for so many years. You know that no matter how incredible someone is, it is impossible for them to know the exact position of medicinal herbs without looking. Just now, the stalk of ginseng that you dug up was thirty meters away. We did not go over at all. How could Mo Wen possibly know that there was ginseng there? Could it be that he knew it from birth?” Wang Qian said with an ugly expression. It was the first time she had encountered such a bizarre incident.
“That’s true. However, that does not mean that Big Brother Mo is a ghost. He might be using some method that we do not know about.” Wan’er did not believe that Mo Wen was a ghost.
“Aside from being a ghost, what other methods allow you to see what cannot be seen? Even the sect leader cannot do such a thing. Rumor has it that ghosts can see things underground that we cannot see. How could the others be unable to dig up that zhu ling and ginseng, but he knew so clearly where they were? He must have seen it with his own eyes. You tell me, aside from ghosts, who else can see what is underground?”
“Even if Big Brother Mo is a ghost, he is a friendly ghost.” Wan’er seemed less sure of herself. It was as though there was really such a thing. However, she still stood her ground. Big Brother Mo had not harmed anyone.
“Wan’er, don’t be foolish. Will a ghost tell you whether he will harm humans or not? You might have already fallen into his trap.”
Wang Qian usually liked to read ghost stories. Recalling that ghosts enjoyed drinking the blood of young women and consuming their souls, her face turned pale.
Mo Wen stood below a large tree. His head was slightly raised as he looked at the sky. He had a helpless look on his face. How could Wang Qian and Wan’er’s “whispers” slip past his ears? They actually suspected that he was a ghost. The imagination of these women was truly…
After a while, both Wang Qian and Wan’er returned. However, the looks on their faces were not too good. Wan’er looked at Mo Wen with a gaze that was somewhat curious and frightened. She had a fearful look on her face.
“Big Brother Mo, today’s task has been completed. Should we head back now?” Wan’er suggested softly. This was Sister Wang Qian’s idea. They would return home first, then discuss it. Then, they would find a way to exorcise Mo Wen. All in all, they did not want this ghost following them.
“Both of you seem to be afraid of me?” Mo Wen said unsmiling.
“No… no… why would I… be afraid of you?” Wang Qian said stuttering. But her body subconsciously took a step back.
“Then, why are you stepping backward? Are you afraid that I will become a ghost and eat you?” Mo Wen said amused.
“You… you… a ghost!” Wang Qian screamed and directly leaped off the ground. She grabbed Wan’er and ran. From Mo Wen’s tone and expression, she realized that he had heard what she and Wan’er had been talking about. He could hear them from so far away. As expected, he was a ghost, and he wanted to eat them.
Mo Wen was helpless. How was it that he came across such a woman?
Wang Qian unleashed her Qinggong. In an instant, she ran over a hundred meters. Mo Wen thought for a while and did not give chase. Right now, they suspected that he was a ghost, so the more he chased them, the more afraid they would be. They could talk once they went back.
However, just as Mo Wen turned to leave, he suddenly stopped in his tracks. He raised his eyebrows as he turned to look in the direction that Wan’er and Wang Qian had gone in.
Wan’er ran behind Wang Qian in a daze. However, they had not run far before they were blocked by someone.
“Sisters, where are you rushing to? Are you rushing to meet your lovers?” A slightly sleazy voice sounded in the forest suddenly. It was followed by a silhouette appearing in front of Wan’er and Wang Qian, stopping them in their tracks.
The youth was dressed in green. His clothes were new and were made from top quality silk. It formed a bright contrast with the plain and rough clothes worn by Wan’er and Wang Qian. He stood in front of them. His look was hideous and he had a gigantic mole on his brow. He gave out a lewd vibe.
“Sisters, what a coincidence for us to be able to meet each other in this wilderness,” the nasty youth laughed lewdly.
“What are you planning to do?” Wang Qian’s face turned cold. She blocked Wan’er. She could tell in a glance that this guy was not a good person.
“I plan to do nothing, of course. I just want to invite you to my house for a drink. Will the two beauties accept my invitation?” The nasty youth laughed in a low voice.
“In your dreams. Get out of our way,” Wang Qian said sternly.
“Humph. You refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit. Do you know who I am?” The youth snorted coldly. His expression changed instantly.
“We are from the Five Tigers Sect. Wan’er’s father is an elder in the sect. You’d better not mess with us.”
Even though there were many ancient martial arts sects in the Taihang Mountains, their management was systematic. Different sects had different attire too. They could tell that the youth was from the Baili Sect based on his attire. Besides, his position in the sect would most likely not be low.