Yamafu Military Affairs

Chapter 291: Ginseng Fruit Infant Pill
In the middle section of Wenyan is Fuchunji.

Next to the most dangerous beach of the Baizhuan Qujiang River, there stands quietly a gray-black hill that is neither high nor low, neither big nor small.

In the dreary rain and fog, the wall that seemed to be made of steel stretched from the foot of the mountain to the back of the mountain.

The road through the green-tiled and gray-roofed houses seems chaotic, but it conforms to a certain pattern. At the foot of the mountain, there is a huge bone-white tortoise shell with three big characters written in blood ink: Fuchunji!

On the black brick steps in front of the blood-stained words stood several guards with different appearances and ferocious eyes, collecting entrance fees from all walks of life entering Fuchun Market.

Seeing the strange Taoist driving a group of livestock up the mountain, the fat man in the lead put down the thick-backed sword on his shoulder and greeted him as usual.

"Master Ge, the harvest is not bad. We must have earned at least thirty or forty people's money today, right?"

"It's just that I'm lucky enough to have the blessing of Lord Dragon, so I can make a living. It's not a profit, it's not a profit at all!"

Taoist Ge, who was sitting cross-legged on a big blue donkey, responded and did not stay for long. Soon he drove a large number of livestock into the Fuchun Mountain Market, shaking his head.

During these few days, he traveled from the distant Yushan all the way to Wenyan Qujiang, visiting dozens of mountain villages large and small, selling many sets of three-animal sacrificial offerings, and in exchange for many young children with different destinies.

"After I finish this last deal within ten days, I can gather enough food and go to the capital to ask that great master to tailor a [Daoist offering] for me. When the food spirit returns the favor, I will have another hundred years to live. In this way, I won't have to work so hard for decades~"

Taoist Ge stared with fiery eyes at the group of livestock in front of him, which represented a large amount of wealth, and kept thinking of wonderful things in his mind.

"Instead of staying in a remote countryside for the rest of your life, it's better to become firewood to add luster to the Taoist's road to heaven. It's a blessing for you country kids to meet the Taoist~"

There was no one on the mountain road except for a group of cattle, sheep, pigs and donkeys that were only a few months old, listening to the strange Taoist mumbling and mooing miserably from time to time.
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"We'll be at Fuchun Market soon. Should we disguise ourselves and cover up, or just go in openly?"

After daybreak, Cha Qin and his companions walked for three or four hours and finally arrived at the foot of Yanling Mountain.

"Split into two groups. You have a bigger target and a higher status, so it will be safer if you stay in the open. I will be alone, so it will be easier for me to do things and I won't miss the time."

Qin Huai glanced at the three people and the tiger with distinctive features, and told everyone his plan.

"It sounds good to openly repair the plank road while secretly attacking Chencang. Chef, what do you think?"

The head of the guards nodded and shouted to Cha Xiaodao who was busy at the side.

On the fairly flat yellow dirt road, a red-hot iron pot was supported by gravel and wooden sticks. Inside was crackling boiling oil. Cha Xiaodao held a strainer in his left hand and long chopsticks in his right hand, and was concentrating on fiddling with the golden fried dough sticks that were rising and falling in the boiling hot oil.

"I'm fine with that. Fighting is your business anyway. Do whatever's convenient for you."

"It's a rough statement, but the truth is there. That's the truth."

Qin Huai picked up a bowl of tofu pudding from the small wooden table and added chopped green onions, coriander, and chili oil to it.

"This pot of tofu pudding was given by Shaohua some time ago. It has been kept in the [fresh cage] and I have never had time to eat it. Today I think I am running out of time, so I will just make a pot of fried dough sticks to make ends meet."

After Cha Xiaodao finished the work at hand, he picked up a plate of crispy yellow dough sticks and placed it on the small wooden table where everyone was sitting.

Ignoring the steaming fried dough sticks in front of him, Qin Huai first picked up the bowl of icy hot spicy tofu pudding beside him.

There is no need for a spoon. Just scoop up the tofu pudding and suck it directly into your mouth. Instantly, you will feel the cool feeling spreading from your mouth to your throat, just like drinking a bowl of sour plum soup in the hot weather.

Then, when it reaches the throat, the spiciness of the seasoning becomes apparent, and at the same time, an extremely rich bean aroma instantly bursts out from the throat into the entire mouth.

"fragrant!"

Qin Huai couldn't help but close his mouth. The aroma rushed into his nose all at once. Combined with the complex flavor of the special red oil and the cool taste, several flavors emerged in his mind together, making him couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

"Don't just drink the tofu pudding, try the fried dough sticks, they won't be crispy anymore after they've been soaked and softened."

Cha Xiaodao looked up at the heavy rain clouds that were approaching again, sighed, and hurriedly grabbed a fried dough stick and stuffed it into his mouth.

Taking into account that the soldiers accompanying him this time were all big-bellied men, Cha Xiaodao fried dozens of dough sticks at one time and piled them into a small hill, which looked very beautiful.

The fried dough sticks are as long as chopsticks, more than two inches wide, and can be split into two in the middle. They are fried crispy with a small knife and you can hear a crackling sound when you pinch them slightly.

Click~
Qin Huai broke the fried dough sticks into two pieces with his hands. The crispy fried dough sticks broke instantly, revealing the fluffy inside.

The inside of the fried dough sticks is hollow, and the white dough is fried into honeycomb holes. A mixture of wheat and flour aromas, the aroma of oil, rushes straight to everyone's nose from the broken place.

“Isn’t this flour special?”

After Qin Huai looked at it, he bent his forearm and put it directly into his mouth.

"Soft, crispy and sweet. Yes, Knife."

"Don't worry about whether it's soft, crispy, or sweet. Just eat it quickly. I don't want to be soaked again later."

Cha Xiaodao chewed the fried dough sticks with a bulging mouth, clapped his hands, and began to tidy up the pots, pans, chopping board and earthen stove beside him with swift movements.

Soon, Qin Huai finished his breakfast and took out a black robe from his backpack.

"I'm a fast runner, so I'll go ahead and wait for you at Fuchun Market."

"Okay, be careful."
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"The entrance fee is ten taels of silver, and twenty taels of silver for those who hide their identities. If you have money, pay up. If you don't have money, get out. Don't break the rules of Fuchun Fair!"

The sun was approaching noon, and an awning had been erected under the huge blood-stained tortoise shell. The gatekeepers were sitting around a large wooden table inside, playing finger-guessing games and drinking wine with great interest.

"Boss, it's already noon and not many people are coming to the market. Why don't you go back and rest? We'll just watch over here."

A scoundrel with a pointed chin and monkey cheeks filled the tall and fat chief guard's cup with good wine, his words full of flattery.

"That won't do. There's an order from above that these few days are the critical days of the Sanjiang Dharma Assembly, and we must strictly guard it to prevent any trouble. Brother, as the leader of the gatekeepers, how can I leave my post without permission?"

The fat man drank the wine in the bowl happily, and glanced at the ruffian with his bloodshot eyes: "Behave yourself recently. If you lose money in the gambling house, just tell us directly. Don't try to make money from those people in a roundabout way. If you provoke a strong man with unknown origins, losing your life is a small matter, but it will ruin the master's plan. Humph~"

Hearing the big man's veiled warning, the rascal subconsciously shrank his body as if he was bitten by a poisonous snake, and the jar of wine in his hand almost shook.

Wow!
The big man put down his wine bowl, took out a handful of silver from his waist, threw it on the wooden table, and let his men fight over it.

"Hey, man, twenty taels of silver, come here and pay!"

Qin Huai stopped and looked around, but he couldn't find any notice about the entrance fee. "Is this twenty taels the entrance ticket to the Sanjiang Dharma Assembly?"

Qin Huai spoke in a low key, hoarse voice, like a vicious owl.

"If you only take in and never take out, then it will be twenty taels, but if you take in and take out, then it will be far more than that."

The fat man narrowed his eyes and his five fingers unconsciously clenched the big knife in his hand.

"Fuchun Market is doing good business!"

Qin Huai pretended to be pretentious and snorted coldly. He threw out a twenty-liang silver ingot from his black robe, leaving a silver-gray shadow in the air and hitting the fat man directly.

clang!
The scabbard knocked the silver ingot flying. The big man drew out his knife, suppressed his trembling and numb arms, and shouted at Qin Huai: "How dare you, a scoundrel, be so presumptuous here!"

"They've got a bunch of useless people guarding the gate. Is this Sanjiang Dharma Assembly just a scam?"

Qin Huai glanced at the shed. He didn't want to waste any more words with this group of minions. After making a sarcastic remark, he flashed and disappeared on the spot.

"Boss, aren't we going to chase them?"

"If you want to die, go ahead and report it to your superiors first."

The fat man grasped his still trembling right arm with his left hand and gritted his teeth: "Just say that he is a warrior at the [Heavenly Man] level. He has great hidden dangers and must be guarded against!"

Following the stone steps along the mountain road, when Qin Huai finally entered this "ghost market", he found that the Sanjiang Dharma Assembly had already siphoned in a lot of people.

Fuchunji has specially opened up a huge courtyard on the side of the mountain with gardens, rockery, streams, and pavilions nested in layers, and placed hundreds of eucalyptus trees among the flowers and plants that shade each other.

In the yard, the familiar bandits were whispering in twos and threes, planning some robbery or murder; some were grabbing the free wine and drinking it, fearing that if they drank too slowly, they would be taken advantage of by others; some took advantage of the crowds to set up stalls, looking like profiteers.
Seeing the street stalls selling all kinds of food ingredients everywhere, Qin Huai could understand the thoughts of these low-class rats.

Since there are always subtle differences in the cooking techniques and ingredients used in each cuisine, and the mountain and sea world produces thousands of ingredients and spices with different effects, hunters will always be left with some unsold and unused scraps and foreign objects with unknown effects.

Over time, these things would fall into the hands of other people, be digested by gatherings like this one, and be provided to all kinds of people who have a need for exotic beasts from the mountains and seas but cannot enter the gate between the two worlds.

The special environment creates a special behavioral logic, and it is the instinct of many individual investors not to miss any trading opportunity.

Stalls of all sizes also fill the gathering with a lively atmosphere.

Except for the last time he attended the Lanshan Fair on the 33rd of Bingshen year, this was Qinhuai's first time to participate in such a barter gathering.

The feedback from the quick glance caused black ripples to surge endlessly, and he saw several people from all walks of life at the level of Ten Cities and Nine Stars walking past him.

As for the [Heaven and Man] and [All Things] representing the Eight Extremes, there is not a single one.

Obviously, in Jiuzhou, strong men with Baji strength are not easy to find everywhere.

"Young layman, I see that you have a pointed mouth and shrunk cheeks, and you are thin and yellow-faced, like a consumptive ghost. Could it be that when you broke through the barrier before, you damaged your origin foundation? Come, come, come, come, look at this treasure. Whether your origin foundation is damaged or not, and your life span is shortened, as long as you eat a [Ginseng Fruit Infant Pill], you can add ten years of life and rebuild your foundation. This kind of rare treasure that can knock on the door of heaven is a great fate to encounter once in a lifetime, and you must not miss it!"

Qin Huai turned his head and looked. At a small stall next to him, a young man in a round-necked robe and a black scarf was selling treasures to a middle-aged man with a pale face and gorgeous clothes.

There was a [fresh basket] on the stall, and next to it were two ginseng fruits as big as full-term babies placed in a rosewood box.

This ginseng fruit is jade white all over, with complete hands, feet, beard and hair. Even its eyebrows and eyes look like a smiling sleeping baby. It looks and feels very similar to a real person.

Not to mention eating it, just looking at Qin Huai is creepy.

"Is this...pirated ginseng fruit?"

Qin Huai stopped here and took a curious look.

[Ginseng Fruit Infant Pill·Three Transformations]: A complex of infants formed by the ginseng fungus parasitizing on primates. It must undergo nine transformations, each lasting ten years. After the nine transformations are complete, it matures into a legendary ingredient and can be the raw material for certain [Heavenly Feasts] and [Daoist Offerings].

Note: Cordyceps sinensis, yes, Cordyceps sinensis.

"One [Ginseng Fruit Infant Pill] costs a thousand taels of gold, why don't you go and rob it?"

The middle-aged man was quite tempted, but the price the young man asked was too high, which was beyond his psychological expectations.

"Look at what you said, how can robbery make more money than selling drugs~"

The young man was very smooth-talking, and seeing that the middle-aged man was still hesitating, he took out a small box from the [fresh cage].

[Ginseng Seed]: It absorbs the vitality and blood of primates to grow rapidly, and takes the four pillars of gods and special fates as nutrients. It takes ten months to hatch, and each subsequent transformation takes ten years.

Note: The body, soul, and mind of the parasitic object will gradually decay while it is raising ginseng, and all its life essence will be put into the ginseng seeds.

"If you are short of money, you can buy [Ginseng Seeds] and cultivate them yourself. It is quite simple to cultivate [Ginseng Seeds]. You only need to feed them to people whose year, month, and day pillars in their horoscopes are the same as yours, or to people with unusual horoscopes. After they have been nourished for ten months, you can cut open their chests and take them out, and you will get this [Ginseng Fruit Infant Pill]."

"how much is it?"

"The price is not expensive, only one hundred taels of gold, and it comes with a message."

The young stall owner stretched out his index finger and waved it at the middle-aged man: "If you can't find someone to raise ginseng, you can go to Ge Laodao's cattle and horse market. I heard that he just received a batch of human silver today. I think it will meet your needs."

"You are very thoughtful. Here, this is the bill of exchange from Fuchun Bank."

"The payment and goods have been paid, please leave."

Seeing the two of them completing the transaction, Qin Huai's brain was working rapidly and he began to murmur in his heart.

"What is this? Dark cuisine? Can a normal person eat a dish made with such cruel and bloody ingredients?"

However, Qin Huai had no time to think about it at this moment. After the frail middle-aged man put away the [Ginseng Seed], he hurriedly left, as if he was planning to visit the cattle and horse market of Taoist Ge.

Glancing at the young stall owner who was still shouting hard, Qin Huai quietly stretched out two fingers hidden in his black robe, and with a strong flick, two thunder and fire talismans that were glued together were attached to the bottom of the [Fresh Cage] and slowly burned in the blind spot where the stall owner could not see.

After leaving behind a huge gift that was waiting to be detonated, Qin Huai immediately took big steps and chased after the middle-aged man.

(End of this chapter)