Chapter 48: Top-Grade Ginseng and a Fluffy White Ball

Chirp chirp.

Chirp chirp chirp.

Leng Xiao’s expression tightened slightly as he quickly looked up to locate the source.

Once he spotted it, he immediately quickened his pace to follow!

Leng Tian was close behind him.

Along the way, they nearly lost track of the sound several times and were scratched by countless branches before finally following the chirping to a deep valley.

Remarkably, this valley was flat and open, with a relatively large river flowing through it, winding around the valley.

The plants, flowers, and trees along both sides of the river grew exceptionally well, far more lush and verdant than elsewhere!

“Eldest Brother, the plants here are the healthiest I’ve seen since entering the mountains!”

Leng Xiao gave a faint “hmm,” his phoenix-like eyes fixed on the bird making the sound in the distance.

Leng Tian also looked over. When he saw that it was indeed a bird with red eyes, yellow eye rings, and spotted tail feathers, his blood seemed to boil, and his heart pounded rapidly in his chest.

He pressed a hand against his chest, afraid that the sound of his heartbeat might scare away the beautiful bird!

The beautiful bird observed its surroundings for a while before finally flying to a spot and pecking at some fruits to eat.

They were ginseng fruits!

Leng Tian was itching to move forward but was stopped by Leng Xiao’s outstretched hand.

Knowing that his eldest brother wouldn’t stop him without reason, Leng Tian suppressed his excitement and continued to wait patiently.

The satisfied little bird remained completely unaware as something resembling a dry twitch slowly moved nearby.

The twig-like object moved again…

Suddenly, a venomous snake leaped up, its mouth stretched wide, and swallowed the happily eating bird in one gulp.

Leng Tian shuddered at the thought: if he had gone over earlier to scare the bird away, would he have been the one bitten?

“Eldest Brother, so it’s true that ginseng is guarded by venomous snakes! When we dug it up before, there weren’t any, so I thought it was just a rumor.” And rumors couldn’t be trusted.

“It’s not that the snake guards the ginseng. The snake knows this type of bird loves to eat ginseng fruits, so it waits by the ginseng to catch the bird.”

“Huh?” So that’s how it was?

They waited quietly for a while until the twig-like snake slithered away with a hissing sound. Only then did Leng Xiao speak: “Go ahead.”

Judging by the area his eldest brother marked for digging, Leng Tian guessed that this ginseng must be quite old!

Possibly even a century old!

His blood boiled with excitement again. Not daring to be careless, Leng Tian knelt beside the ginseng, focusing intently as he carefully dug it up bit by bit.

Leng Xiao also watched intently, occasionally offering guidance.

Completely absorbed in the ginseng, neither of them noticed a white ball slowly and silently approaching…

When Leng Xiao felt something tugging at his pant leg, he reflexively raised his iron spike to strike!

Only when he saw what it was did he manage to stop just in time!

“Eldest Brother, look—holy crap! What is this?!” Leng Tian turned around and was instantly stunned by the sight of a fluffy white ball!

This white ball was still biting his eldest brother’s pant leg!

Leng Xiao stretched out his leg to nudge the white ball away, but it soon latched onto him again, as if thinking it was playing a game.

What was this?

Leng Tian’s face was full of confusion.

Suddenly remembering something, Leng Xiao’s expression changed slightly. He spoke in a low voice: “Eldest Brother, dig faster.”

Leng Tian set aside his curiosity and focused on digging up the ginseng.

From a nearby mountain stream, a deafening roar suddenly echoed!

Strangely, the little white ball, which had been impossible to shoo away earlier, reluctantly but quickly dashed toward the opposite bank after the roar.

Its speed was astonishing!

Leng Tian had stood up since the roar, watching the opposite bank all along. He saw the white ball swim across the narrow stream with great skill, its movements even carrying a touch of elegant beauty.

“Eldest Brother, what is this thing? It’s so amusing!” Leng Tian marveled as he watched.

If he could keep one, his sister-in-law would surely love it!

“Amusing? If I told you it’s a white tiger, would you still find it amusing?” Leng Xiao’s expression grew even colder.

What? A white tiger?

This was actually a white tiger cub?

Then that roar just now!

“Climb the tree! Tigers can’t climb trees.” Leng Xiao commanded in a low voice.

“Oh! Right!” Leng Tian had long abandoned the idea of keeping one for his sister-in-law to play with. Hearing his eldest brother speak, he quickly scrambled up a sturdy tree and settled on a branch.

Looking again, he saw his eldest brother had also climbed an even sturdier tree, but he was standing, gazing down at the situation on the opposite bank from a commanding height.

It dawned on Leng Tian belatedly—no wonder this flat terrain with a water source could grow century-old ginseng.

It was because the white tiger was here; no humans or grazing beasts dared to approach!

This entire area was the white tiger’s territory!

If he could think of this, his eldest brother naturally could as well.

Was his eldest brother now thinking about how to escape the range of this fierce tiger?

But could they escape?

The speed of that cub, which seemed to have just been weaned, was already astonishing, let alone a fully grown, ferocious white tiger!

Leng Tian’s heart sank.