Shen Jiang’s gaze lingered on the thriving Cistanche deserticola plants, unable to pull away.
The “Little Pagoda”-like Cistanche deserticola stood like masters of this mountain range, each growing plump and sturdy. How long had it been since her medical clinic obtained such wild, natural Cistanche deserticola? With pure quality and rich color, their top-tier grade could be judged just from appearance alone.
Many of the Cistanche deserticola were in bloom, their spike-like inflorescences covering the stems like wheat. These flowers came in various colors – some white with blue edges, others yellow with pink edges – creating a truly beautiful sight when gathered together.
This scene would be considered a landscape view for ordinary people.
Yet it genuinely pained Shen Jiang’s heart.
She knew that after Cistanche deserticola blooms, the plants become hollow inside, losing more than half their medicinal value. She couldn’t just watch this ready-made fortune slip away. Instinctively, Shen Jiang was about to rescue those Cistanche deserticola that hadn’t bloomed yet.
Suddenly, the Great Dragon’s wicked smile flashed through her mind.
Shen Jiang barely stopped her hand from pulling out the Cistanche deserticola, breathing heavily with lingering fear.
She had almost fallen into the trap, nearly clearing away the precious medicinal herbs at the dragon’s doorstep as if they were weeds.
Truthfully, Shen Jiang remained skeptical about the dragon’s willingness to spare her. After all, when she occasionally spotted sudden appearances of cockroaches in her room, she wouldn’t hesitate to stomp them dead immediately.
To the dragon, she probably wasn’t much different from a cockroach – at most, the distinction between a mouse and a cockroach.
Neither were welcome sights in one’s home.
Shen Jiang felt she was vaguely grasping the truth – the dragon she encountered might naturally have certain restrictions preventing him from arbitrarily killing ordinary creatures. Only when these ordinary beings violated certain conditions, such as: privately picking these precious medicinal herbs at his doorstep.
Then, the Black Dragon could strike without any reservations.
Suppressing her instinctive impulses, Shen Jiang tried her best not to look at the Cistanche deserticola that had nearly made her unable to walk away.
But weeding couldn’t stop. Shen Jiang cleared away the weeds before her one by one, continuing forward without lingering.
Soon, her attention was captured by large clusters of red flower balls not far away, where a sea of scattered red blossoms appeared. Only when she approached did she realize they weren’t flowers – each plant, besides its broad basal leaves, had a single stem topped with spherical red berries, plump and vibrant.
Just from the highly distinctive appearance, Shen Jiang had already recognized these medicinal herbs.
“This quality of Sanqi must be at least ten years old, growing so well,” Shen Jiang couldn’t help but praise.
Godwin·Westzer, who was monitoring the outside movements, froze upon hearing this.
How could she know how long these weeds had been growing here?
Godwin·Westzer listened to the occasional gasps of astonishment, the excitement and delight in that tone so exaggerated it seemed she had discovered countless treasures, hardly appearing feigned.
The Great Dragon couldn’t help but wonder – were there actually countless treasures buried beneath the weeds at his doorstep that he didn’t know about?
If he came out to look now, he would marvel at how utterly foolish that human’s expression appeared.
Shen Jiang hadn’t shown such excited eyes even when seeing the numerous treasures beneath the dragon, yet now her brilliant, bright eyes shone brilliantly while fixed on the plants before her, clearly resembling a country bumpkin visiting the city and being amazed by the sights.
It was no wonder Shen Jiang was so astonished. In Huaguo where she lived, and even in other countries, the overexploitation of resources and reckless discharge of pollutants had led to a sharp decline in traditional Chinese medicinal resources. The prices of medicinal herbs had skyrocketed, increasing severalfold compared to the past.
As Shen Jiang knew, there were many traditional medicine shops in Nanze City selling counterfeit herbs. These fakes were almost indistinguishable from the real ones, and only experienced experts could tell them apart, let alone how rampant the issue was nationwide.
Tricks like using mulberry twigs to replace Huangqi, platycodon root to substitute for American ginseng, or cheap duhuo impersonating danggui had been perfected by unscrupulous herb dealers with endless schemes that were hard to guard against.
What had troubled her and Grandma the most was how to outsmart these people and sift out the genuine medicinal herbs they needed.
Sometimes they couldn’t even be picky about quality—as long as it was real medicine, they would take it all back to the clinic first.
Now, outside the Great Dragon’s lair, the mountains and fields were covered with medicinal herbs within Shen Jiang’s reach.
Remembering that their owner was not someone to be trifled with, Shen Jiang swallowed hard, daring only to look from afar without touching.
Yet, nothing untoward happened during this time.
After pulling weeds bare-handed for over three hours, Shen Jiang had also patrolled the area within a few hundred meters. Besides Cistanche deserticola and Sanqi, there were also Bai Zhu, Huangqi, Yuanzhi, Huanglian, and many other herbs that exceeded her expectations.
The Great Dragon’s claim that his doorstep was full of weeds was completely deceptive—it was more like a mountain of “auspicious treasures.”
This patrol yielded immense gains, but the cost Shen Jiang paid was equally painful. Despite her habit of handling medicinal herbs year-round, the thin calluses on her palms were still torn to shreds by the sharp edges of the weeds.
She held up both hands to examine them—her reddened palms were covered in blisters of all sizes, faint bloodstains mixed with the distinctive green sap of plants, and her fingernails were filthy, completely obscuring their original slender, fair appearance.
“Tsk.”
Shen Jiang gently blew on her palms, the cool air providing slight relief from the pain.
She decided to stop working and sat down in the shade of a tree. If she kept pulling weeds, her hands would likely swell into pig’s trotters—she simply couldn’t manage to uproot another blade of grass on this mountain.
The variety of medicinal herbs on this mountain was abundant, each thriving splendidly, but it was like seeing money in a bank—she could only look, not take.
How frustrating.
Shen Jiang stared at her already red and swollen hands, then glanced at the herbs covering the mountainside, unable to hold back a long, deep sigh.
“Ah.”
She now had the heart to become a follower of the Great Dragon.
Unfortunately, when you try to grow flowers, they don’t bloom; when you care not for willows, they shade you.
The idea of pretending to be a powerless, useless follower had long been discarded by Shen Jiang. After all, as a modern person who had enjoyed 28 years of comfort brought by technological conveniences, she was utterly useless in terms of physical labor on this mountain.
She gave up. Since she couldn’t take these herbs with her anyway, failing to become the Great Dragon’s follower wasn’t such a discouraging thing.
As time passed, the noises outside gradually faded into faint rustling. Godwin Xize eventually emerged from the dragon lair.
The scenery outside the cave was as unremarkable as ever, with only one difference from usual—that fervent human follower.
The unknown, lively melodies reached Godwin Caesar’s ears, clearer and more resonant than what he had heard in the cave.
He didn’t realize his own mood had been infected, his tail sweeping lightly behind him. Bathed in the warm afternoon sun, today’s breeze felt exceptionally pleasant against his skin.
These were merely the most worthless weeds at the doorstep of the great Fire Dragon Godwin Caesar, yet they could make this ordinary human so happy. If she were to see his real treasures… wouldn’t she be utterly dumbstruck?
Godwin Caesar gazed with slight pity at the uncultured human not far away. It wasn’t until a soft sigh drifted over that he noticed the sun had long since begun its western descent.
Godwin Caesar never expected the other party to persist for so long.
After all, the dragon-slaying knights and Magicians who came before could only last about ten minutes at most, yet she had persisted for several hours.
Godwin Caesar approached near the tree trunk and spoke coldly: “Who gave you permission to pick and choose, only clearing the weeds you like?”
Shen Jiang, tired and thirsty after working all afternoon, had been relaxing to the distant chirping of birds. Startled by the thunderous voice behind her, she nearly jumped up from the ground.
“Go… Lord Godwin, I was just taking a short break. Please rest assured, I’ll immediately clear all the other weeds as well.”
As she spoke, Shen Jiang stood up and directly bypassed the Huanglian nearby, walking toward a Niubiancao further away. Her hands trembled slightly as she grasped the stems, and she bit her lip, ignoring the sharp sting in her palms as she pulled with all her might.
Godwin Caesar pointed incredulously at the Huanglian plants right before them. “You dare deceive the great Fire Dragon Godwin to his face? Why aren’t you pulling these weeds?”
Hearing this, Shen Jiang immediately released the Niubiancao in her hands. Looking up, she saw the massive triangular claw pointing at several lush Huanglian plants.
Not quite understanding the situation, Shen Jiang cautiously asked: “Such precious medicinal herbs need to be removed too?”
Huanglian is quite famous in traditional Chinese medicine as an extremely bitter but effective remedy. In China, Huanglian, as one of the commonly used precious medicinal materials, has long been listed as a national second-level protected medicinal resource.
Godwin Caesar rolled his eyes dramatically: “Enough, are you out of your mind? Can’t you see these weeds don’t contain even a trace of magic power?”
In that moment, like lightning flashing across the night sky, something clicked in Shen Jiang’s mind.
Never expecting such a fortunate turn of events, Shen Jiang immediately erupted with enthusiasm:
“Respected Lord Godwin Caesar, I guarantee I can clear all these weeds completely!” I just need some time. Please rest assured, with me here, these weeds will absolutely not offend your sight!”
Godwin now felt certain that this human had truly lost her mind.
Why did she look so delighted after being scolded? When he first approached, she had appeared listless and utterly miserable.
“Respected Lord Godwin Caesar, after I finish clearing these weeds, I’ll immediately transport them away so they won’t bother you at all.”” Seeing the favorable atmosphere, Shen Jiang seized the opportunity to propose more considerate service.
Godwin gazed deeply at the human whose face was brimming with excitement, his heart filled with complexity: This foolish, peculiar human—does she truly care so little for her dignity as a Magician just to become my follower?
“This is simply part of the cleaning duties. Was there any need to mention it?” Godwin coldly tossed out these words before turning and walking away.
It was far too difficult to drive this follower away.
Godwin couldn’t comprehend her sudden shifts in mood at all—sometimes genuine, sometimes feigned.
But Godwin·Westzer knew there was a way to resolve this issue.
The surprise had come too abruptly, leaving Shen Jiang momentarily troubled.
She was torn between digging up Cistanche deserticola, unearthing Sanqi, or gathering some angelica—all seemed like excellent choices.
Adults shouldn’t have to choose, Shen Jiang decided. Today, every household would receive her visit.
If not for the severe condition of her hands, Shen Jiang felt she could gather all these medicinal herbs overnight.
Most medicinal herbs’ useful parts lay in their roots, making it impossible to rely on brute force alone. Yanking them out carelessly would not only likely fail but also damage the herbs. Shen Jiang found a wooden stick nearby, planning to use it to dig them out.
With just a slight exertion, a piercing, bone-deep pain shot through her palm.
Shen Jiang glanced at her clothing, detached the sleeves from her shirt, and used one sleeve to tightly bind her palm. Gritting her teeth, she continued digging.
Just as Shen Jiang was executing her ambitious plan, she looked up and saw the Black Dragon emerge from the Dragon lair. Without sparing a glance in her direction, it spread its wings and soared into the sky—movements crisp and decisive. Against the vast expanse of the heavens, it hovered arrogantly, its demeanor lofty.
Shen Jiang: Honestly, that moment when the Black Dragon took flight was genuinely dashing and spectacular.
If only she could fly too—ideally all the way back to Nanze City to check on Grandma.
At this thought, Shen Jiang suddenly realized: The dragon had flown away. Why should she remain alone on this mountain?
Quickening her movements, she selected the herbs she currently needed most, used a branch to dig them from the soil, then tied them together with knotted weeds. Choosing the most accessible route, Shen Jiang briskly descended the mountain.