Chapter 21

"Uncle Zhao, I just saw some wild polygonum multiflorum."

"Hmm, I saw it too. That one is truly wild polygonum multiflorum, a good thing indeed."

"Aren't you looking for it everywhere? Why don't we buy it from him?"

"That one won't come cheap, at least ten thousand. Uncle Zhao has spent all his money on your aunt's medical treatment over the years. His son is still in college, and he has a lot of debt. How can he afford it?"

"I still have some money, you can take it first."

"Come on, girl, do you think your family has money? I know Old Yin's condition; he's also a medicine pot. Your internship salary has all gone to your family."

"Then, why don't we talk to the young man and see if we can get a discount?"

"Girl, Uncle Zhao may be poor, but he has always been upright. I can't do such things, even if others do. I'm still wearing this uniform, so I can't do such things."

...

After the two police officers left, Ai Xiaohai closed the door. It was just a small incident. Since he hadn't done anything wrong, what was there to fear?

He put away the herbs, thinking about going out to find a pharmacy to see if they would buy them, so he could get some more living expenses.

It was only noon, so he lay down for a nap. When he woke up, it was already 5 PM.

He had slept for so long, and he was really exhausted these past two days. It seemed he wouldn't be able to sell the herbs today.

His stomach was growling, and Xiao Qi must be hungry too. He took Xiao Qi out and found a small restaurant, ordered two dishes, and since he was in a good mood, he also ordered a bottle of beer and a portion of bones for Xiao Qi.

Xiao Qi gnawed on the bones under the table, while Ai Xiaohai sipped the cold beer, feeling completely relaxed, even his pores opened up.

At the next table, a few elderly locals were drinking and chatting. Ai Xiaohai's hearing was so sharp that no one could match him. Every word of their conversation entered his ears.

They were speaking in the local dialect, which was hard to understand, but Ai Xiaohai could still make out a few words: "bandits, treasure, forest."

Ai Xiaohai's heart stirred. When he had heard about the forest monster during the morning tea, the people at the next table had mentioned, "Over a hundred years ago, a group of bandits entered the primeval forest and never came out. Could they have been eaten by the forest monster..." He hadn't paid much attention to it at the time.

He then thought about the "toy" of the thylacine. Could it be related to the bandits? The origin of that incense burner had always been troubling him.

After some thought, he asked the boss to prepare two more meat dishes and a bottle of local wine, and sent them to the table of the elderly men.

The old men were in the middle of a lively conversation. Suddenly, someone sent them food, and they were all at a loss. At this moment, Ai Xiaohai brought his own food and drink over and said, "Uncle, I'm treating you."

"Oh, young man, how can we accept this?" one of the old men said in heavily accented Mandarin.

"It's fine, Uncle, I like listening to stories," Ai Xiaohai said with a smile. "I'm a college student, here to play. I heard you talking about bandits and treasure. Could you tell me more about it?"

When they heard it was about this, the simple and honest old men laughed and told Ai Xiaohai the story.

It turned out that during the Qing Dynasty's Xianfeng period, a group of bandits from another province suddenly appeared in Huyan Naxi, numbering about thirty. They were known to be fierce bandits, led by a man called Ba Lazi, whom the authorities could never catch.

Later, Ba Lazi boldly robbed a batch of treasure that a prince was sending back to his hometown, thoroughly angering the prince.

The prince, without showing any emotion, sent a large number of spies to secretly search for them. Eventually, they successfully captured the second-in-command, who, under threat and temptation, betrayed and led the soldiers to Ba Lazi's hideout.

Ba Lazi was no ordinary character. When the soldiers broke into his hideout, he escaped with a group of trusted men through a secret passage known only to him, taking the treasure with him.

How could the prince let this go? He sent his trusted men with the soldiers to chase Ba Lazi to Huyan Naxi, vowing to recover the treasure and execute Ba Lazi.

With no way out, Ba Lazi made up his mind and entered the primeval forest, which no one dared to enter.

"Since then, they never came out," one of the old men sighed. "The forest is not easy to enter. It's full of venomous snakes and fierce beasts. Even the most experienced old hunters dare not go to the center of the forest. But to save his life, Ba Lazi had to go through the forest. They probably all died in there."

Ai Xiaohai blinked. "What if they made it through the forest?"

"Impossible!" another old man said. "It's said that the prince had people guarding the forest day and night, searching everywhere. After more than ten days, they finally caught a bandit who had escaped from the forest. He was not only insane but also on the verge of death, muttering, 'Snakes eat people, tigers eat people, all dead, all dead...' The bandit died within half a day. Think about it, young man, could Ba Lazi and his men have survived?"

Ai Xiaohai nodded slightly. The primeval forest was indeed full of fierce beasts. Even if it wasn't the thylacine, encountering a black bear would likely result in their deaths.

"Uncle, what kind of treasure was it worth for Ba Lazi to take such a big risk, and for the prince to mobilize so many people?"

"That's a long story," the first old man said, taking a sip of wine. "Besides the prince's accumulated wealth over the years, there was also a batch of Nian Army treasure. When the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was about to fall, Zhang Zongyu was made the King of Liang, and Ren Zhu was made the King of Lu. Zhang Zongyu and Ren Zhu, along with Taiping generals Chen Decai and Lai Wenguang, joined forces to try to rescue the capital of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Tianjing, but were blocked by the Qing army led by Senggelinqin."

He paused, as if to create suspense. "To rescue Tianjing, Zhang Zongyu and Ren Zhu carried all the Nian Army's wealth with them for emergencies. Chen Decai and Lai Wenguang also brought their accumulated treasures. When they were defeated by Senggelinqin, they fled in a hurry and couldn't carry the treasures, so they all fell into Senggelinqin's hands."

Ai Xiaohai's heart stirred. "Was that prince Senggelinqin?"

The old man nodded frequently. "Yes, it was him. He defeated the Nian Army and the Taiping Army, and took their treasures. But what happened? The treasures were stolen by bandits, and he himself died at the hands of the Nian Army's remnants a few years later. It's all karma."

Ai Xiaohai didn't care about the Nian Army or Senggelinqin. It seemed this story was true. The incense burner might be one of the treasures, and somehow it ended up in the thylacine's possession.

"Young man, don't even think about the treasure," the old man advised kindly. "For over a hundred years, countless people have risked entering the primeval forest to find the treasure, but most never came out alive. Those who survived found nothing and wouldn't dare to go in again, even if you begged them."

They are them, and I am me.

Ai Xiaohai's mind raced. It seemed he would have to enter the primeval forest again.

Even without the thylacine and the wolf clan's vanguard, he could handle any danger on his own.