The Journey of Immortal Cultivation-Chapter 589 - 337: Bitter Herb (Pink Ticket Bonus)
As these words were spoken, the crying of the women paused for a moment. It took a while for the village chief to muster his words before he said gloomily, "They... they pay tribute to Chiming City two hundred miles away to exchange for protection. Chiming City placed an immortal’s Token in their village, which also ensures their safety. But, but the taxes demanded by Chiming City are very heavy, taking up forty percent of our harvest each year. Xinghuang Village is just a small village; we can’t afford it!"
Tu Jin shrugged his shoulders and said, "If others can bear it, why can’t you? Now you even have this great lake nearby with such rich fishing grounds. You can choose either to rely on Chiming City or perish, it’s up to you."
This choice was virtually no choice at all. Just as the old village chief’s face was clouded with frustration, Raji’s mother approached timidly and knelt before Ning Xiaoxian, saying, "My daughter has something to say to the superior immortal."
Since the mystery of the Lake God had been solved, everyone knew the recent spate of misfortunes in the village couldn’t be blamed on Raji, feeling guilty, they treated her even better than before. When Ning Xiaoxian saw Raji, a few village girls were bustling around her, chirping and chattering. Upon seeing her life-saving benefactor arrive, Raji quickly straightened her expression, shooed away the others, and hesitated before saying, "The immortal mentioned before that if I thought of anything unusual, I should tell you directly."
Ning Xiaoxian was immediately interested: "Indeed. What do you remember?" As she travelled westward, she was keenly aware that devils were hidden in the details; if she wasn’t attentive at every turn, how could she have survived to reach this place?
Raji said, "I don’t know if it counts as abnormal. When I... when I met with Kambu, we often sat on the cliff to the east of our village, taking in the surrounding views. There was a large patch of vibrant and flourishing bitter herb on the small mound below the cliff. But, but when I passed by there yesterday, the bitter herb was all gone, leaving only the bare earth."
Ning Xiaoxian wondered, "Bitter herb? Is that a flower or a medicinal herb, what’s its usual use?" Many herbs have local names that make them unrecognizable just from hearing their names.
"It has no other uses, it doesn’t taste good either, only in winter when we run out of grains and vegetables, we would pick the bitter herb to eat because it doesn’t wither in winter." Raji bit her lip, "Within a hundred miles around, only there grows bitter herb. Perhaps that patch was just picked by someone for food, it might not count... not count as anything abnormal."
"No." Ning Xiaoxian encouraged her, "This information is very useful. It’s a pity that all the bitter herb has been picked clean, I can’t see its original appearance." It couldn’t just be a coincidence that the Lake God was murdered, the plague arrived, and the bitter herb also disappeared. One accident might be explained away as coincidence, but a series of accidents indicated a premeditated scheme.
Raji lowered her head, her face flushing as she fidgeted with the hem of her clothes, "Actually, actually it wasn’t picked clean... a few days ago Kambu picked some and gave it to me, I couldn’t bear to throw it away, so I dried it and kept it at home." 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖
Ning Xiaoxian was delighted, touched her little face with her hand, and praised, "Raji, you’re truly wonderful!" Then, following her directions, she found the few stems of bitter herb in the clay jar in the corner of the wall. The plant had pale purple flowers which must have been delicate and beautiful when alive; it’s no wonder Kambu picked this flower for his beloved.
The people of the mountains were pragmatic; he dug them up root and all. Ning Xiaoxian noticed small yellow beans growing on the roots of the bitter herb, soft to the touch, as if filled with sap. Raji explained, "When we eat this plant, we cook the stems and flowers together. If you squeeze the yellow beans on the roots, a thick yellow liquid comes out, which never solidifies no matter how long it’s dried in the sun or boiled in water, and it smells foul, so we usually cut off the roots and discard them."
It smells so foul? Ning Xiaoxian tried squeezing a yellow bean. Instantly, an unbearable stench spread throughout the room, making everyone cover their noses. The odor was as repulsive as cat urine, pungent and lingering. It’s no wonder that people only resorted to eating the bitter herb when there was nothing else to pick in winter; if one accidentally squeezed a yellow bean on the root, the smell could be unbearable. In the cold winter mountains, with every household closed up and burning firewood, who knew how long it would take for the smell to dissipate.
There must be some use for this thing; they just didn’t know how to use it yet.
"Good girl, you’ve been a great help to me." Ning Xiaoxian grinned and handed her a Blackwood hairpin, "This is something I made casually; ebony can ward off illness and extend life, and the Divine Skills attached to it will prevent you from three deadly harms. Keep it well." She mused, "This object doesn’t look conspicuous on the surface, it’s fine for you to wear it on your head, but don’t tell anyone, including your mother and your beloved Kambu, or else, I fear it might bring you trouble."
