Chapter 9

At that moment, Jiang Yuan no longer paid attention to the yellow bark tree in front of him. Although the yellow bark tree was somewhat rare in these mountains, it was not a precious or urgently needed medicine. There should still be half a drawer of it in the medicine cabinet at home, and that half drawer was worth at most ten to twenty yuan. It wasn't worth the already well-known Doctor Xiao Jiang in the village to waste so much time and effort on it.

Like a child who had discovered a new toy, Doctor Xiao Jiang was very excited, frequently twitching his prominent nose, completely disregarding that this action somewhat resembled the loyal companions of old hunters tracking prey. He was only focused on using this seemingly powerful special ability to find today's target.

However, after walking a long distance and occasionally using this newly discovered nose's magical function, he found two or three new herbs or medicines. Each of these herbs and medicines was found in several places, but none of them were the mountain ginseng or wild notoginseng he was looking for.

Jiang Yuan looked back at the path he had walked, puzzled. He had walked a very long way, already crossing one or two mountains. Could it be that there was no mountain ginseng or wild notoginseng nearby? Or could it be that his nose couldn't detect the smell of mountain ginseng or wild notoginseng?

It shouldn't be... Although both mountain ginseng and wild notoginseng are used for their roots, the seedlings of both have some special smells, which shouldn't be hard for the nose to distinguish, right?

Jiang Yuan, doubtful, stroked his chin, feeling that he couldn't completely rely on this thing. Who knew if it was reliable? After all, he had only found four or five types of medicines after walking so far. It was more reliable to search carefully himself.

Based on his experience, every time he passed a cool, shady slope, Jiang Yuan would carefully search through the weeds or low shrubs, as such places were generally where mountain ginseng grew the most.

After searching a few places like this, Jiang Yuan finally found a mountain ginseng on a slope, as he had expected. When he found this mountain ginseng, his nose didn't seem to play any special role.

This made Jiang Yuan's heart sink. If his nose could only detect a small part of the medicines, then this special ability would be greatly reduced in effectiveness.

However, this didn't depress him for long. He soon realized that since this ability to find medicines had appeared out of nowhere, being able to help find some medicines was already a significant benefit. One shouldn't be too greedy.

And then a sudden change occurred. When he cleared away all the weeds and saw the mountain ginseng clearly, and then sniffed its smell, a row of information quickly and mysteriously flashed in his mind:

"Ginseng... Nature and flavor: Neutral, sweet, slightly bitter, slightly warm. Efficacy: Greatly replenishes vital energy, restores pulse and prevents collapse, tonifies the spleen and benefits the lungs, generates body fluids and quenches thirst, calms the mind and enhances wisdom. Treats: Fatigue and weakness, poor appetite, fatigue, vomiting, diarrhea, shortness of breath, spontaneous sweating, sudden collapse, palpitations, forgetfulness, dizziness, headache, impotence, frequent urination, diabetes, excessive menstrual bleeding, slow convulsions in children, and all conditions of insufficient qi, blood, and body fluids."

Feeling the information about ginseng flooding his mind, Jiang Yuan let out a light breath. He was already getting used to it. His brain seemed to be like a storage device for Chinese herbal medicine information, and whenever he saw a medicine, the complete information about it would pop up habitually.

This time, his luck seemed to be good. According to Xu Ze's judgment, the mountain ginseng he found should be about twenty years old. Finding this was quite good and should be barely sufficient. With a sense of relief, Jiang Yuan carefully dug out the mountain ginseng with a bamboo spear.

However, when he held the roots of the dug-out mountain ginseng in both hands and happily examined this somewhat aged mountain ginseng, another sudden change occurred. A row of information quickly and mysteriously flashed in his mind:

"Judgment: One twenty-two-year-old mountain ginseng... Main body intact, some root damage, high-quality..."

With the sudden appearance of this information in his mind, Jiang Yuan stared blankly at the mountain ginseng in his hands, completely stunned. After a long while, he finally managed to say with a mix of joy and worry: "What the hell is going on?"

Jiang Yuan was dazed for a while, unable to figure out what was happening. However, after a brief shock, he didn't find it too strange. Since he had suddenly traveled thousands of miles back home after a mysterious explosion, strange things had been happening in his body one after another, but fortunately, they were mostly good things.

Moreover, apart from his skin becoming better and whiter, and all his old scars disappearing as if he had undergone plastic surgery in South Korea, there were no other abnormalities. His body felt even more powerful and smooth when he moved, and his morning erections were as strong as ever, with no abnormalities.

So, Jiang Yuan didn't bother to worry. After all, his life was saved, and since everything was good, although a bit strange, he would reluctantly accept it.

Feeling quite broad-minded, Doctor Xiao Jiang wrapped the mountain ginseng in a few large leaves, put it in his basket, and continued climbing the slope. As he climbed, he estimated that since he could find a twenty-year-old mountain ginseng here, there might be more nearby...

Just as he was thinking this, he suddenly caught a faint, fragrant scent. Then a thought suddenly popped into his mind: "Ginseng... should be within ten meters in the three o'clock direction..."

Feeling this thought, Jiang Yuan's body stiffened, and he remained silent for a long time. Finally, his eyes sparkled, and he said slowly, "Hmm... Not bad, it seems I'm still in luck. I'll try to find some other medicines..."

Yes... Jiang Yuan really hit the jackpot this time. Although the mountain ginseng he found was a bit young, he carefully searched several small streams and finally found another target, two wild notoginsengs, as he had expected.

After seeing the wild notoginseng clearly and the detailed information about it popping up in his mind, he followed the stream for several hundred meters and finally smelled the slightly pungent scent of wild notoginseng, receiving several prompts.

Following the direction and range of the prompts, he carefully searched in several hidden areas by the mountain stream and finally found a few wild notoginsengs. Including the first two he had collected, he had a total of ten high-quality wild notoginsengs, enough to make three or four doses of medicine for Uncle Li.

With these ten wild notoginsengs and one twenty-year-old mountain ginseng, he had completed a large part of today's goal. Jiang Yuan patted his slightly growling stomach and looked up at the sky. The sunlight was shining directly through the branches of the trees overhead, indicating it was noon. He still had the afternoon to find more suitable medicines.

He peeled a few boiled eggs from the basket and ate them, then drank two handfuls of cool spring water from the mountain stream, patted his stomach contentedly, and continued searching for medicines. Judging by today's situation, he estimated that he could gather enough medicine for Uncle Li for a few days.

With the magical ability of his nose to determine the general range of medicines, finding them became much easier and simpler, no longer relying solely on experience and luck.

By the time the sun was setting, with the help of fairly good luck and the mysterious special ability of his nose, Jiang Yuan had already found three twenty-year-old mountain ginsengs and over fifteen wild notoginsengs.

Along the way, he also encountered a few mountain chickens and wild rabbits. For such food, Doctor Xiao Jiang always adhered to the principle of "better to kill by mistake than to let go," and threw a bamboo spear at each one.

As a result, when he went down the mountain, there weren't many medicines in his basket, but the mountain chickens and wild rabbits on his shoulder weighed about twenty to thirty pounds.

Finding three old mountain ginsengs, so many wild notoginsengs, and catching so much game in one day, Jiang Yuan was in a great mood. At least according to this situation, as long as he worked hard for a few more days, he could gather all the medicines Uncle Li needed.

Humming a tune, carrying the game, he followed a mountain stream and quickly walked down the mountain. He was really quite hungry after only eating a few boiled eggs at noon. The sooner he got down the mountain, the sooner he could prepare the game, and he could eat a few more bowls of dinner tonight.

However, as he was walking, a gentle breeze suddenly blew, and he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Because he suddenly smelled a very special, faint fragrance, and a prompt popped up in his mind: "Ginseng... should be within twenty meters in the eleven o'clock direction."

"Hmm?" Jiang Yuan raised an eyebrow, not expecting to encounter mountain ginseng just before going down the mountain.

Jiang Yuan hesitated for a moment but then put down the game on his shoulder and started searching in the eleven o'clock direction. Although today's harvest was already beyond his expectations, and this time it was likely a young mountain ginseng, he couldn't resist the urge to try his luck.

By the mountain stream and in the eleven o'clock direction, within twenty meters, it shouldn't be too difficult to find, so Jiang Yuan determined the direction and carefully searched.

However, after searching for a while, he couldn't see any sign of ginseng, which made him somewhat puzzled.

But Jiang Yuan still trusted the prompt in his mind. If it said within twenty meters, there should definitely be something. This only increased his curiosity. Where was this mountain ginseng hiding?

Jiang Yuan searched again carefully, and his nose kept sniffing. Finally, he smelled the faint fragrance again at the position of a large rock by the stream, and the source of the fragrance seemed to be behind the rock.

Jiang Yuan moved to the back of the rock and carefully searched forward. Finally, in the gap between the rock and the mountain, he saw a sprout leaf extending out.

{Piaotian Literature}