Chapter Nineteen: The Century-Old Ginseng

After Lin Doudou left for school, Lin Yi tidied up the dining table.

Knock, knock, knock.

At that moment, someone knocked on the door. When Lin Yi opened it, he found Angel standing outside.

“What brings you here?” Lin Yi asked.

“Mr. Lin, aren’t you going to invite me in?” Angel replied with a radiant smile.

Lin Yi stepped aside slightly to make room for her.

As Angel entered, she glanced around Lin Yi’s home.

“Mr. Lin, why don’t you move somewhere else? Isn’t this place a bit too plain?” Angel asked with puzzlement.

Considering Lin Yi was the true owner behind Linda Group, she wouldn’t have been surprised if he had bought an entire villa compound for his residence. Yet, Lin Yi’s current home was completely beyond her expectations—he didn’t look the part of a wealthy boss at all.

“A house is simply a shelter; does the size really matter?” Lin Yi replied with a light laugh.

Angel was taken aback. His words made sense, but people generally enjoyed comfort—herself included. After all, Angel owned three apartments in Magic City and lived with nothing but the best.

She couldn’t help but doubt if Lin Yi was really so young, considering his unusual attitude for a big boss.

Seeing the expression on her face, Lin Yi smiled faintly. “I have a property certificate for Villa No. 8. Why don’t you help me clean it up?”

“Wait, hold on…” Angel was a bit stunned.

“Is there a problem?” Lin Yi asked.

Angel thought to herself that there was a big problem. She had a degree from Harvard and had traveled all over the world with Wu Da since she was young. Now he wanted a talent like her to handle such trivial tasks? But thinking of Lin Yi’s identity, Angel forced a smile. “No problem at all, Mr. Lin.”

Lin Yi nodded, then asked, “Did you come for something in particular?”

“Oh, yes. Mr. Wu Da sent me to ask when you plan to visit Magic City,” Angel replied.

“When I have time,” Lin Yi answered casually.

It was the first time Angel had met someone as nonchalant as Lin Yi. Wu Da was an influential figure in Linda Group, someone countless people tried to curry favor with. Yet, with Lin Yi, the dynamic was entirely reversed. Well, it was only natural for someone who pulled the strings from behind the scenes.

“Anything else?” Lin Yi asked again.

“No, that’s all,” Angel replied, blinking.

“Alright, I’m heading out,” Lin Yi said, stepping out before her.

Angel stood there for a few seconds, wondering if she’d just been shown the door.

“Mr. Lin, can I come with you?” Angel moved a bit closer to him. Oddly enough, there was an inexplicable sense of clarity and freshness around Lin Yi, as if he carried a world of his own.

“No, I prefer being alone.”

Lin Yi refused without hesitation, locked the door, and left without another glance at Angel.

Angel stomped her foot in frustration, grumbling to herself, “Has my charm faded?”

She was well aware of her own allure—a simple smile from her could keep wealthy heirs swooning all day. Yet here, with Lin Yi, she hit a solid wall.

After leaving the residential complex, Lin Yi headed straight for the nearby herbal medicine market.

He intended to refine some elixirs to assist Doudou in her cultivation.

Baizhen Hall, an old Chinese medicine shop with over a century of history.

As soon as Lin Yi entered, a slim male clerk approached. “Sir, what are you looking for?”

“Do you have any herbs over a hundred years old?” Lin Yi asked.

“Yes, of course! Sir, you’re in luck. Just recently, someone brought in three wild ginseng roots, each over a hundred years old,” the clerk replied eagerly.

Once medicinal herbs reached a century in age, their prices soared.

“Let me see them,” Lin Yi said.

The clerk opened a nearby drawer and pulled out a pale ginseng root—about twenty centimeters long, as thick as a thumb, weighing just over forty grams.

Lin Yi glanced at it. It was indeed a century-old ginseng, but its potency lagged behind others of similar age.

“Bring out the other two as well,” Lin Yi said.

The clerk fetched the other two; their size was much the same, and their medicinal strength was equally lackluster.

“Sir, do any of them interest you?” The clerk was already feeling disheartened. He suspected Lin Yi had only come to look, not to buy. This wasn’t uncommon, but customers couldn’t be turned away.

“The potency is lacking, but it’s better than nothing,” Lin Yi considered.

He nodded. “I’ll take all three. How much?”

“Wait, all three?” the clerk stammered.

For three century-old ginseng roots, the deal would be worth at least a million. He had thought Lin Yi might buy one at most—selling all three at once was beyond his expectations.

“Yes. Is there a problem?” Lin Yi frowned slightly. To refine his pills, the main ingredients needed to be at least a hundred years old to withstand the alchemical process.

There weren’t many herbal shops in Lancheng. If he missed this chance, finding such herbs again wouldn’t be easy.

“No problem, sir. The price for these three…” The clerk was trying to warn Lin Yi.

“How much?” Lin Yi asked. If money could solve it, it was no issue for him.

“At least a million. But I can’t authorize a sale like this. I’ll need my manager to come,” the clerk replied, excitement in his voice.

“Very well.” Lin Yi nodded, unhurried. After all, he was never short of money or time.

The clerk was delighted. Lin Yi’s calm demeanor made him believe the deal would go through. If so, he’d be credited for the transaction, possibly earning a raise.

Without further ado, the clerk pulled out his phone and made the call.

Shortly after, he hung up and said, “Sir, my manager will be here shortly. Please have a seat and rest.”

“No need.” Lin Yi wandered around the shop, but found nothing else remarkable—just ordinary herbs.

About ten minutes later, a young woman in her mid-twenties walked in. She was elegant, with flowing long hair and the refined air of an aristocratic lady from olden times—a truly striking presence.

Lin Yi looked at her a few times, not because of her beauty, but because he sensed a faint trace of inner force within her.

By modern martial arts standards, she would be considered at the “hidden strength” level. Even Wang Ke, the Wang family’s prodigy, couldn’t compare to her.

Of course, this was partly because of the physical cultivation method Wang Ke practiced.

As soon as the clerk saw the elegant woman, he greeted her respectfully. “Manager, this is the gentleman interested in the century-old ginseng.”

“Oh?” Liu Qianqian regarded Lin Yi with slight surprise. The way he was dressed, he hardly looked like someone who could spend a million.

“Can we proceed with the transaction now?” Lin Yi asked.

“Of course, sir. These three ginseng roots are all about the same age. Individually, they’re 350,000 each—three for an even million,” Liu Qianqian replied.

Lin Yi nodded, appreciating the discount.

Seeing his agreement, Liu Qianqian smiled—a clean, dimpled smile that left a great first impression.

“Xiao San, bring the POS machine,” she ordered the clerk.

“Manager, my nickname is Xiao Shan, not Xiao San,” the clerk protested. Being called “Little Three” sounded odd.

“All right, Xiao San, hurry up,” Liu Qianqian teased.

The clerk could only sigh. His manager was so ethereal, but she loved making fun of his nickname.

Soon, the POS machine was brought over, and Lin Yi swiped his card to pay.

Before leaving, Lin Yi reminded them, “If you get any more herbs over a hundred years old, no matter what kind, I’ll buy them directly. Money’s not an issue.”

“Understood.” Liu Qianqian wisely refrained from asking more.

After Lin Yi left, Liu Qianqian pondered for a moment.

“Manager, which rich family does he belong to? He’s really generous,” the clerk asked, ingratiating himself.

“I know most of the rich young men in Lancheng, if not all. But I have no impression of him,” Liu Qianqian replied, shaking her head.

Lin Yi then visited several more herbal shops, but the oldest herbs he found were only fifty years old.

“Good medicine is hard to find,” Lin Yi thought with some regret. Without a hundred-year-old herb as the main ingredient, it would be hard to successfully refine pills.

Back home, Lin Yi took out a century-old ginseng root.

He formed a grasp in the air, and a faint purple flame rose in his palm.

With the solid foundation of nine golden cores, he could refine pills in the void. This method was convenient—no need to carry a furnace everywhere. It also allowed him to remove impurities and fully extract the herbal essence.

However, refining pills this way had a drawback, much like the art of energy harmonization: it consumed a great deal of true essence.

Lin Yi placed the ginseng in his palm, the purple flame roasting it. It shrank visibly by the second.

He then flicked his fingers, and several more herbs appeared, which he tossed into the fire in his palm.

After about ten minutes, Lin Yi’s eyes sharpened. He exhaled softly, “Done!”

With that, the whole room was filled with a rich medicinal fragrance.

Lin Yi looked at the eight red pills in his palm and shook his head gently. “The herbs just weren’t potent enough. Otherwise, I’d have at least twenty pills. Still, these Vitality Pills are enough for Doudou’s first stage of cultivation.”

Practicing the physical strengthening technique required immense energy. Doudou, being such a big eater, could hardly get enough energy from food alone.

Yet a single Vitality Pill would allow her to train for a whole day without feeling hungry.

Lin Yi placed the pills in a glass bottle at hand. If other cultivators saw this, they’d call him reckless.

The art of pill refining had long vanished; even if it existed, it was closely guarded by powerful clans. Should a pill be successfully refined, it would be stored with utmost care in a jade bottle, not something as ordinary as glass.