“Ruizhi, over there! There’s a purple reishi mushroom!” A clear and melodious voice sounded in the deep thickets. It startled all of the nearby birds, causing them to flee into the air.
Zhu Junyang raised his head and followed the little golden kitten as it jumped around. He was light on his feet as he leapt onto a tree that had a trunk thick enough for several people to put their arms around it. There were plenty of old and majestic trees like this one in the forest. Towards the top of the tree, he could see a giant hole in the tree at the top. He couldn’t tell if it appeared because the tree had gotten hit by lightning before or for some other reason.
The little golden kitten stopped right outside that hole and lazily looked back at him. It used its paw to point at a stalk of purple reishi mushroom that was growing out of the hole in the tree. They had already been in the mountains for three days now and Zhu Junyang had gotten used to this little kitten surprising him from time to time. He inspected the reishi mushroom. It had a dense purple color and seemed to have an inner glow. Even someone like him, who didn’t know much about medicinal materials, could tell that it wasn’t a common object.
He took out a dagger from his boot and carefully cut out the reishi mushroom along with a small portion of wood from the tree.
Once he came down from the tree, Xiaocao impatiently came over and carefully took the purple reishi mushroom from his hands. She inspected it with a face full of happy greed.
Su Ran also sidled over to take a glance as he calmly said, “This purple reishi mushroom must be at least a few hundred years old. Such a rare and old herb is invaluable.”
Yu Xiaocao gleefully put the reishi mushroom away and then spoke to him, “With this, the Grand Tutor’s diabetes, the matriarch of Count Boyang’s residence dizziness, and my tonic to resist aging will all have one of its main ingredients!! Little Glutinous Dumpling, good job ah!”
[Stop calling this divine stone by the name Little Glutinous Dumpling. This name is too lowly and not worthy of my divine status!!] The little divine stone once again protested the name given to it by Xiaocao. Despite its resistance, it was never able to break away from it and it was really annoyed that it had such an inglorious nickname.
“Little Glutinous Dumpling has a nice ring to it! Furthermore, it has a great meaning! Round and smooth, which hints at you reuniting with Goddess Nuwa in a smooth and happy manner!” Yu Xiaocao placated the little divine stone, who was about to explode in a temper tantrum, with a half truth. This treasure mountain truly had quite a number of rare ingredients around, so she still needed the divine stone to keep searching them for her!
The little divine stone jumped on her shoulders and angrily scratched at her pigtails, making them messy. It only felt better after her hair had become a rat’s nest.
Su Ran stared at the little kitten who was wreaking havoc on Xiaocao’s hair. He was very puzzled by all of this. How could a seemingly ordinarily little cat, not much different than a newborn kitten, do such incredible things? Truly, it looked like what Xiaocao said was right. This cat had an uncanny ability to find precious medicinal herbs!
They had been in the mountains for three days. Other than the Asiatic grass frog on the first day, they also obtained two stalks of hundred year old ginseng on the second day. Now, today, they managed to get a few hundred year old purple reishi mushroom! If any one of these herbs got taken out, it would cause a ruckus, with people rushing to grab them.
“Lass, when you leave, you need to hide your little kitten well! It’s like the goose that lays the golden eggs and is a true treasure!” Even Su Ran himself, who always thought no amount of money could move him, couldn’t help but feel tempted by this little fellow’s abilities.
[You’re the female goose; your whole family are female geese!] The little golden kitten became infuriated again and rushed towards Su Ran like a bullet. Its paws whooshed as it attempted to make the odious fellow in front of him get a new ‘beggar’s outfit’.
Fortunately, Su Ran was skilled at martial arts and was able to block the cat’s attacks with difficulty before Xiaocao hurriedly rushed over and called the cat back, hugging it close to her body. His clothes were therefore spared ravagement. This little fellow’s speed was truly too quick. It was harder to stop him than all of the concealed weapons he had encountered in this lifetime.
Su Ran felt some lingering fear as he gazed at the little kitten, who was currently brandishing its claws at him from Xiaocao’s arms. He really didn’t know how he had offended the little fellow. Earlier, he was clearly complimenting it for its abilities!
“This fellow is quite smart and has an intelligence to rival a teenager. Earlier, when you said that it was like the goose that lays the golden eggs, it became angry at being compared to a goose…” Zhu Junyang grinned happily from the side, taking pleasure in the other man’s misfortune. Earlier, when Little Glutinous Dumpling was having its temper tantrum, he didn’t lift a single finger to help the other man despite being close by. It was worth having this eyesore along as he finally got to see Chief Steward Su in a less than flattering situation.
Su Ran shook his head in bemus.e.m.e.nt and said, “Just what type of breed is this cat? It not only has a very keen nose but can also understand what humans say! If it wasn't the pet of the little lass, I would want to grab it for myself so I could inspect it more!”
“Sir Su, if you like it, then you can borrow it for the next few days! Little Glutinous Dumpling is very easy to take care and it can hunt for itself. You don’t need to do much. However, it loves to play and can sometimes run off for a dozen days to half a month. It’s quite wild ah!” Yu Xiaocao kept her two hands around the little kitten as she presented it towards Su Ran.
The little divine had a look of disdain on its face as it bared its fangs in protest, [Strike! This divine stone proclaims a strike!! Ahead of us, not very far, is a stalk of ginseng that is over a thousand years old. I originally wanted to find it for you. Now…hmph hmph! I can save myself the trouble now!]
“Aiya! Don’t be so petty! Sir Su isn’t someone who has a greedy and dark heart. He’s only a bit curious about you, that’s all! He won’t do anything to you!” Yu Xiaocao placed its furry little body next to her cheek and gently rubbed herself against it. She talked to the little divine stone in a flattering manner through their mind to mind link.
[You’re just a sell out looking for honor! Although that fellow has quite a bit of power and is skilled at martial arts, in front of this divine stone, it’s not enough! With this divine being’s current level of cultivation, I just need to extend a small finger to subdue that fellow. You don’t need to lower yourself in front of him to beg for favor!] The little divine stone’s dark golden eyes flashed with an evil light.
Su Ran felt the little golden kitten’s ‘malice’ emanating towards him and felt a large sense of danger approaching him. He hurriedly retreated a few steps and cautiously stared at the kitten’s eyes that were shining with ill will. He revealed a small bitter smile and shook his head at Xiaocao, “Forget about it ah! I don’t think I can enjoy this kind of glory! I’m pretty sure that it only does this for you. If anyone else tried, it would rebel and be untamable! Royal Prince Yang, do you want to try?”
“This prince is not as honored as Chief Steward Su. Even you have been rebuffed by the cat, so this prince will not bother even trying!” Zhu Junyang glanced at the fierce little cat that was in Xiaocao’s arms and revealed a scared expression.
[Looks like you know some tact!] The little divine stone’s voice suddenly appeared in his mind and ended up shocking Zhu Junyang to his bones. When he sensed Su Ran looking over in his direction, he hurriedly adjusted his expression, pretending as if nothing had happened.
“Awoooooo——” A familiar howl could be heard. Before long, Little Black’s large and sturdy body suddenly appeared before the group of humans. This fellow instantly began to act like a large black dog as soon as it saw its owner. Its fluffy black tail was raised high and it waved back and forth in excitement. It had spent a lot of time with the other dogs in Dongshan Village in the past, so it also had picked up some dog-like habits from them.
Little Black proudly presented the object in its mouth by carefully placing it in front of Xiaocao. Everyone stared at the object. Surprisingly, it wasn’t some prey the wolf had caught and was instead a stalk of ginseng that was about the size of a person’s thumb. The ginseng still had a layer of fresh dirt on it!
Apparently, when this fellow saw the little cat, who it had determined to be something it couldn’t offend, being praised by everyone for finding old ginseng, it became envious and jealous. It decided to stop hunting game and began to dig around for herbs. Unexpectedly, it had actually ended up finding a stalk of ginseng!
Although this ginseng wasn’t very old, it was still an authentic stalk of northeast ginseng from the mountains. Furthermore, this fellow was quite observant and didn’t break a single part of the herb. However, this fellow’s nose and mouth now had a thick layer of soil on it. Paired with its fawning attitude, it looked quite foolish.
Little White, who was holding a large hazel grouse in its mouth, had a look of pure disdain on its face, as if it didn’t want to acknowledge that this foolish fellow was its own younger brother.
Yu Xiaocao stifled her urge to laugh and helped Little Black wipe off all of the dirt from its face. She rubbed its large head and generously complimented the wolf, “Little Black is truly too talented. You were able to learn how to find ginseng so quickly. Tonight, I’ll make sure to add an extra chicken leg to your food!”
Little Black cracked open its large mouth, which made it look like it was grinning broadly. It used its claws to gently push at the ginseng it had dug up, telling its master to quickly put the ginseng away. Following that, it sent a look full of pride at Little White as if it was saying, “Aren’t you always showing off how capable you are ah? Being able to catch a hazel grouse! But look here, the master already said that tonight I’m going to get an extra chicken leg. None will be going to you!”
Su Ran could apparently tell what the wolf was thinking from its expressions and couldn't help but laugh, “Lass, I feel like all of the pets you raise are like you. Hardworking and very interesting!”
“I don’t actually want to receive a compliment like that, alright ah?” Yu Xiaocao packed the ginseng away. Although she couldn't sell it for a sky high price, she could still use it to make some ginseng shampoo, conditioner, or add its essence to some skincare products. It was quite useful after all.
[Not even a bit like a wolf! So shameful ah!!] The little divine stone truly disdained Little Black’s actions, so it huffed at the animal. Then it remarked arrogantly, [This divine being won’t quibble with these silly mortals. Let’s go, I’m going to bring you to that ginseng that’s over a thousand years old!]
Yu Xiaocao couldn’t restrain herself from cheering in glee. Her eyes shifted a bit under the flabbergasted looks of Su Ran and Zhu Junyang as she smiled somewhat unnaturally. She pointed at the little golden kitten in her arms and stated in embarrassment, “It looks like Little Glutinous Dumpling has sniffed out another herb. It’s struggling so hard in my arms to get out ah!”
“Then let it out and have it bring us to it!” Zhu Junyang knew that the little divine stone had said something to her which caused the little lass to react impolitely. Thus, he helped her hide this situation.
“Lass, this time when we came out, we originally planned on hunting. Looks like it’s turned into a trip to help you find medicinal ingredients. You’ve made quite a haul already, so don’t forget to give us some spoils when we’re done!” Su Ran looked back and forth between the two people as he quipped.
Although Yu Xiaocao did love money, she wasn’t a petty person. She generously said, “Don’t worry ah, when I get back, I’ll personally make some nourishing and beautifying medicine. You will definitely get a good share!” Su Ran’s expression changed for a brief second before it returned back to its usual tranquility, “I’ll happily take the nourishing medicine. As for the beautifying tonics, it’s probably better if you give it to other people, right?”
“Mhm! You’re right! With your appearance and demeanor, you’re truly one of the most handsome people in the capital. How could you possibly need…” Yu Xiaocao stuck out her tongue, acting like the mischievous kitten in her arms. She occasionally also liked to show her claws.
