"Master Zhou, you know there’s no cure for me."

"This isn’t ordinary medicine; it’s the Red Ginseng Child."

"Red Ginseng Child?"

The door opened a third of the way, and a hand covered in black fur reached out, took the child, and then the door slowly closed again.

"Thank you, Master Zhou. The Red Ginseng Child is the king of mountain treasures; it can delay the Heavenly Book Curse for a while."

...

The swaddling cloth was lifted, and in the dim light of the room, Big Child saw the face of the person in front of him, and his soul was startled right out of him.

"Wow, damn, so ugly?"

"Even though I, Big Child, was born as a medicinal plant, I can’t accept being eaten by someone like you, it’s so unfair, truly unfair."

"Kid, I’m sorry."

Yuan Buyu’s furry hand gently caressed Big Child’s face.

Outside, the Ancestor Tree seemed to sense Yuan Buyu’s compassion for Big Child, and a branch suddenly grew rapidly, snakelike, crawling through the inner courtyard and into the room through the window lattice.

...

Mingjiang Prefecture, Hui Feng Medical College, back mountain pavilion.

This small pavilion had already been made Zhou Xuan’s new home,

Now, the wish to "rebuild Mingjiang Prefecture" in the Will Heavenly Book had been activated, except "Mountain Ancestor" hadn’t been negotiated yet, Zhou Xuan had nothing else to do, so he and Lv Mingkun started doing carpentry,

Chopping bamboo, twisting straw ropes, intending to build a simple house.

"Fifth Brother, it feels like I’m in a survival show."

"It’s not really a survival show, we’ve got meat to eat, some wine to drink later, and we’re even stewing some mountain treasure soup; this is more like—A Leisurely Life Among Zhou Brothers."

Lv Mingkun chopped down another bamboo, and with the Bamboo Leaf Blade, quickly trimmed it to the desired length, carrying it to the side of the pavilion.

The pavilion was too small, too cramped for a few people to sleep, they needed a big house.

Little Fuzi wasn’t idle, he had set up a stove, stewing some mountain treasure soup, while a bucket next to him was soaking the wild hare meant for dinner.

The Third Child, who Zhou Xuan had caught, had completely lost any thought of escape and was toying with a kaleidoscope.

Childlike curiosity got the better of him, he peeked into the tube with one eye and turned it: "Wow, it’s really fun."

"Before Mingjiang Prefecture was destroyed, there was a lot of fun stuff, I even had a tin frog that could hop in the water," Little Fuzi said.

This kaleidoscope was given to him by Mu Hua, he carried it everywhere with him, and now that the Third Child wanted to play, he lent it to him for a bit.

"Let me tell you, it’s okay if you want to eat me, but before I die, I’ve got to play with the tin frog and eat some wild hare."

The Third Child plopped on the ground, starting to make wishes.

Twisting straw ropes, Zhou Xuan asked, "Third Child, you seem rather okay with life and death? So okay with it, why did you guys start running?"

"Us three brothers have one motto, living is great, dying isn’t so bad either."

"An optimistic outlook," Zhou Xuan laughed and said.

Crack!

Suddenly, the Third Child froze, and the kaleidoscope in his hand fell to the ground.

"Don’t break it," Little Fuzi worriedly checked the kaleidoscope.

"Oh no, Big Child has already been cooked."

The Third Child slapped his thigh, looking like he was about to cry, but he simply howled without shedding any tears.

Zhou Xuan hearing this, immediately stood up, seriously asking, "Say that again?"

"Big Child has been cooked, probably already served on the table."

"Are you sure?" Zhou Xuan asked.

"Of us three brothers, our minds are connected, I am the most aware of Big Child’s situation," the Third Child said.

Zhou Xuan froze in place on the spot.

Lv Mingkun, carrying the bamboo, said, "Little Junior Brother, although these three kids are cute, ultimately, they are medicinal materials, medicinal materials can’t escape being cooked, you don’t have to feel sad."

"But... The Zhou Family’s Troupe shouldn’t have cooked Big Child."

Zhou Xuan knew his sister and master too well. They were both knowledgeable and undoubtedly aware of the countless benefits of the Red Ginseng Child. Given their "frugal" lifestyle, they would definitely try to raise the Red Ginseng Child, avoiding consumption unless absolutely necessary.

And now, with no sickness or disaster befalling his sister and master, why would they suddenly cook Big Child?

"There must be something big happening with the Zhou Family’s Troupe."

Lv Mingkun only then realized.

"Fifth Brother, I’m going to the Zhou Family’s Troupe once."

Zhou Xuan’s Divine Soul left his body, and the massive soul form grabbed the Third Child, going on a day trip to the Zhou Family’s Troupe.

"I haven’t played enough with the kaleidoscope yet," the Third Child wailed.

"If I don’t take you along, you’ll run away, and the Fifth Brother might not catch you,"

Zhou Xuan said, deep in thought.

...

At the Zhou Family’s Troupe, under the Ancestor Tree,

The Fox Clan, Lord Jian, Lord Jiu, and Sister Cui gathered, chatting about everyday matters.

Hu Yunyi patted the swaddling cloth on the Fox Immortal behind him and said to everyone, "The Red Ginseng Child is rare in the world, extremely difficult to catch; only my pair of eyes have a unique ability, but even over five hundred years, I’ve only caught three."

As he loudly introduced the child, the master of the storeroom from the Zhou Family’s Troupe quietly pointed to the battlefield in front of the Ancestor Tree: "This Red Ginseng Child doesn’t seem too hard to encounter, look, our Zhou Family’s Troupe has one right here."

Hu Yunyi and the others looked over, and sure enough, on the battlefield, there was a Red Ginseng Child, suspended in the air, limbs moving as if running in mid-air.

"Can this thing grow in the Zhou Family’s Troupe too?" Lord Jiu was stunned and asked Hu Yunyi.

Hu Yunyi quickly shook his head, saying, "It’s the Great Mister."

He could see Zhou Xuan’s non-manifested Divine Soul.

Zhou Xuan, seeing he was discovered, didn’t conceal himself, manifested, and said to everyone, "Everyone, I, Zhou Xuan, have urgent matters, I’ll come back later to catch up."

He was just about to leave when the Third Child suddenly started wailing towards the back courtyard, "Big Child, oh, what a tragic death! Big Child, oh..."