Silverline Grass

"How is it?" Qing Weihu asked while anxiously fiddling with his fingers. "Are you able to cure her?"

Before his eyes, his beautiful daughter Qing Ting was lying unconscious on her bed while an old physician took her pulse.

It had already been more than a week since Qing Ting had been afflicted by this strange condition. During this time, she had been growing progressively weaker, eventually reaching her current state where she had become too weak to even leave her bed as she constantly drifted in and out of consciousness.

Qing Weihu had no idea what this condition was, and consulting the other villagers did not help either.

Finally, the villagers concluded that Qing Ting must have done something taboo, thereby drawing the wrath of the ancestors who were punishing her this way!

Of course, Qing Weihu refused to believe in that nonsense.

He refused to give up on his daughter!

Fortunately, a group of cultivators happened to pass by Green Seed Village at this time. Hearing that there was a physician with them, Qing Weihu desperately beseeched them to take a look at his daughter.

Since they were already here, the cultivators readily agreed to his request. After all, it was just taking a look. There were no obligations to follow through with anything else.

The physician Bei Feng was someone in his fifties. His greying hair was tied up in a neat topknot, giving him the air of a learned scholar.

After taking the pulse of the young lady, Bei Feng rubbed his chin in contemplation, then nodded knowingly.

"Brother Bei Feng, why don't you stop keeping us in suspense? Can't you see that Village Chief Qing is about to die from anxiousness?" a young man laughed from the side.

The young man's name was Sheng Huoyuan.

Despite the fact that he was only in his early twenties, Sheng Huoyuan was the leader of the group of cultivators. Though this was mainly due to his illustrious background, it would still not have been possible if he lacked the ability to back it up.

"It is not that I am trying to keep Village Chief Qing in suspense, but this condition is rather rare so I had to make sure," Bei Feng replied before turning to Qing Weihu. "Don't worry, Village Chief Qing. This is not something like a curse. Your daughter is just poisoned."

"Poisoned?" Qing Weihu widened his eyes in shock. "Who could have poisoned my Ting'er?!"

"Did the young miss offend anyone?" Sheng Huoyuan asked. He did not expect the young lady's strange condition to be due to poison either.

"It should not be from a person," Bei Feng shook his head. "This poison is from the Ravenous Dark Spitter, an uncommon beast in the form of a giant spider. Not to mention any of the villagers, even I am not confident of defeating one. And even if I do manage to take one down by luck, it will be nigh impossible to extract the poison for application. Most likely, the young miss was just unlucky enough to have run into one in the forest."

"An uncommon beast!" Qing Weihu exclaimed.

Uncommon beasts were unlike normal wild animals. They were powerful entities that could pose a serious threat to people. Just as Bei Feng said, not to mention their Green Seed Village, even the mighty cultivators could find it difficult to take down some of them!

"It is a wonder that the young miss managed to return in one piece after being targeted by a Ravenous Dark Spitter," Sheng Huoyuan said.

"Ting'er was lucky enough to be rescued by a young villager," Qing Weihu explained bitterly. How could she still be considered lucky when she was in such a state? "More importantly, is her condition curable?"

"It is not impossible to cure her," Bei Feng said. "However, the poison of the Ravenous Dark Spitter is rather complicated, and I would need quite a number of precious herbs in order to concoct the antidote..."

"I am willing to pay! No matter how much it costs, I will pay for it! Please just save my daughter!" Qing Weihu desperately pleaded.

"These precious herbs are not something that your Green Seed Village can afford," Bei Feng shook his head.

"This..." Qing Weihu's eyes shook as he was stunned for a moment. However, he quickly turned to Sheng Huoyuan. "Young Sir Sheng, please! As long as you are able to save Ting'er, I am willing to do anything in return!"

No matter what, Sheng Huoyuan was still the leader of the group of cultivators. As long as he could convince Sheng Huoyuan, everything would be fine!

"How much would the precious herbs cost?" Sheng Huoyuan asked instead of answering Qing Weihu.

"About a quarter of our total travel expenses this time," Bei Feng answered.

"I see..." Sheng Huoyuan fell silent. Bei Feng was right, a quarter of their total travel expenses was indeed quite a hefty sum.

"Please, Young Sir Sheng!" Qing Weihu pleaded once more upon seeing Sheng Huoyuan's hesitation.

"How about this?" Sheng Huoyuan said after thinking about it. "Since it is impossible for your Green Seed Village to pay for the herbs, I am willing to shoulder this cost for you."

"Thank you, Young Sir Sheng! Thank you so much!" Qing Weihu immediately bowed in gratitude.

"Don't thank me just yet," Sheng Huoyuan said. "No matter what, I still need to account for my expenses when I return, so I cannot just do this for nothing in return."

"P-Please state whatever you need. As long as it is something within my means, I will definitely agree to it!" Qing Weihu patted his chest and said.

As long as his precious daughter could be saved, there was nothing that he would not do!

"I cannot justify such high expenses if it is just to save a villager I met on my travels. But if it is my fiancee, then it is a different matter altogether," Sheng Huoyuan said with a smile. "If that's the case, I'm sure the elders will understand my actions."

"Fiancee?" Qing Weihu was startled. "Do you mean...?"

"That's right," Sheng Huoyuan said while glancing over to the beautiful young lady lying on the bed. "We can save your daughter if you betroth her to me in return!"

"This..." Qing Weihu never expected Sheng Huoyuan to ask for his daughter in marriage, so he could not help but hesitate.

"Is there even any reason to think about this?" Bei Feng chimed in from the side after hearing what Sheng Huoyuan suggested. "My young master is talented and good looking, not to mention that he is from the influential Sheng Clan as well. It will be your daughter's good fortune to marry him! Moreover, he is even willing to save your daughter from her current illness. Without his help, I'm afraid your daughter will not be able to live past the end of the month!"

As someone who had served by Sheng Huoyuan's side for a while, Bei Feng naturally understood what his young master wanted to hear. In the end, he was the only physician here, so who would be able to verify whatever he said?

"The end of the month?!" Qing Weihu was shocked to hear that. "Her condition is that serious?"

"A physician does not lie about the condition of his patients," Bei Feng shrugged. "If you don't agree to this, you will not only be hindering your daughter's good fortune, but also taking away her chance to live!"

"Of course, I won't force you," Sheng Huoyuan said. "I simply wish to help your daughter. But if it is not possible, then just treat it as though I have never said that."

Qing Weihu clenched his fists and he tried to come up with a decision. He knew that his daughter already had someone she loved, which was the reason for his hesitation.

However, the physician was right.

If Ting'er were to lose her life here, then what use was love?

In any case, love can always be nurtured.

Who knows?

Since Sheng Huoyuan was more excellent in every aspect, his daughter might just end up falling in love with Sheng Huoyuan instead!

"All right, I agree!" Qing Weihu said after a few moments of deliberation. "As long as you can save my daughter, I will betroth Ting'er to you!"

"That's a wise decision, Village Chief Qing," Sheng Huoyuan nodded. "Don't worry, years down the road, you will be thankful that you made this decision. Brother Bei Feng, please go ahead with the treatment."

"Understood, Young Master," Bei Feng let out a helpless sigh. "Even though I do not have the antidote on hand, I do have most of the precious herbs needed to concoct it. Now, all I need is just a handful of Silverline Grass. Is there any in the village?"

"Silverline Grass? I've never heard of it..." Qing Weihu frowned. "Why don't we head down to the market? Perhaps the other villagers would have some."

"Let's do that then," Bei Feng agreed.

With that, the three of them headed to Green Seed Village's market. The village was not big, so they arrived after a short ten minutes walk.

Green Seed Village was considered quite a rural village, and its market was essentially just a large pavilion made of a combination of wood, grass and mud. There were no walls, and the huge ceiling was held up by a few wooden pillars made with sloppy worksmanship.

The space within was divided into individual lots, and any villager with something to sell could just use one of these lots to put their wares on display.

Most of the time, villagers would either be putting up the haul they got from hunting or farming, or trying to sell some simple tools that they made.

When the three of them arrived, there were around a dozen people within who had set up stores in the market.

"Old Lu!" Qing Weihu called out to a man in his fifties who was sitting by the side of the pavilion.

"Village Chief!" Old Lu exclaimed in surprise. "What are you doing here with Young Sir Sheng?"

When Sheng Huoyuan and his band of travellers arrived at the village, almost all the villagers had gone out to take a look, so Old Lu naturally recognised them as well.

"We are here to look for Silverline Grass. Do you have any?" Qing Weihu cut to the chase.

Old Lu might not be setting up shop at the market, but Qing Weihu knew that he always hung out there. Because of that, he also knew just about all of the items that were on sale.

Rather than going through the shops one by one, he might as well just ask Old Lu instead.

"Silverline Grass?" Old Lu frowned. "I've never heard of that before."

Hearing that, Qing Weihu could not help but feel disappointed. If Old Lu had never heard of it, that definitely means none of the villagers were selling it.

If there was no Silverline Grass in the village, then didn't that mean there was no more hope for his daughter?

"It is not surprising either," Bei Feng said with a sigh. "The Silverline Grass is a precious herb that is usually found near the territory of a Ravenous Dark Spitter. It will be difficult to have collected any without alerting the beast."

"Ravenous Dark Spitter?" Old Lu had no idea what it was.

"It's not important," Qing Weihu shook his head before turning to Bei Feng. "Since Ting'er had encountered a Ravenous Dark Spitter, that means its territory should not be too far from the village. Please let me know what this Silverline Grass looks like. I will go seek it out at once!"

"How are you going to do so?" Sheng Huoyuan stopped him immediately. "Not to mention the fact that you don't know where it is. Even if you somehow managed to find it, how are you going to avoid the Ravenous Dark Spitter? By going out without a plan, you will just be endangering yourself for no reason!"

"But we have no other choice! My Ting'er's life is at stake!" Qing Weihu grabbed his own hair in frustration.

"I am not quite sure what this is about. But before doing anything dangerous, why don't you try asking the young merchant?" Old Lu interjected.

"The young merchant?" Qing Weihu looked at him in confusion.

"Oh, you probably haven't seen him yet," Old Lu replied. "A young merchant arrived at the village just earlier today. He should be done setting up his shop in the market by now, so you might want to try your luck with him first. It wouldn't be too late to think about your next steps after that."

Inside the market, a young man who looked to be in his mid twenties sat alone in an empty lot, casually chatting with the other villagers who had set up their stores. Unlike the others, the young man had not put up any of his wares for display despite having a huge chest behind him.

However, that was about to change.

Halfway through chatting with the other villagers, the young man suddenly turned around and took out a piece of paper.

With a meaningful smile, he carefully wrote on the piece of paper with exquisite calligraphy skills – Silverline Grass for sale.