Chapter 236: The White and Plump Young Ginseng

　　Zhao Fengchun pointed ahead.

　　"The ginseng is under that tree. The soil here is the most suitable for its growth, and it usually moves around this area. Even if it runs far to lead people away, it will eventually come back."

　　Lu Fei and the other two followed his pointing finger.

　　In front of them, there were trees everywhere, and under the trees, there was grass everywhere.

　　"Where? I don't see anything," Hu Zi stretched his neck, looking bewildered.

　　To him, all the grass looked the same.

　　"Right there, at the foot of the tree, there are five leaves, like a human hand." Zhao Fengchun lowered his voice and pointed to the weeds under one of the big trees.

　　"Let's be careful and not wake it up. Otherwise, even when the sun sets, it won't come out to play."

　　"Okay."

　　Everyone tiptoed, carefully approaching the big tree, and finally saw the ginseng seedling that Zhao Fengchun had mentioned.

　　The leaves were small, and it was hard to spot them among the weeds.

　　At the top of one of the branches, there was a cluster of red flower buds, as small as red beans, very adorable.

　　"If you can't recognize it, just remember this cluster of red flowers," Zhao Fengchun whispered, "When the sun sets, the wild ginseng will emerge from the ground, and then we'll use the red ropes to catch it."

　　As he spoke, he took out a large bundle of red rope from his bag.

　　"Alright, leave it to us!"

　　Lu Fei used a dagger to cut the red rope into several pieces.

　　"Old Zhao, how big is that ginseng?"

　　"It's about half the length of my arm," Zhao Fengchun estimated.

　　"That small?" Lu Fei narrowed his eyes. "There's too much overgrowth here. Without specialized training, it'll be hard to catch such a small target."

　　"Not necessarily, boss. There are three of us! With three people working together, at least one of us should hit the mark, right?" Hu Zi said.

　　"You think it's like those ring toss games in the park, standing still for you to throw rings at? That ginseng can run and jump." Lu Fei thought for a moment. "I think we need to set some traps, but I don't really know much about them... Brother Jing, what about you?"

　　Jing Jian, with a look of righteousness, said, "I am a man of integrity; I've never dealt with these things."

　　"I know this one, boss! When I was a kid, I often used traps to catch sparrows, pheasants, and hares," Hu Zi said excitedly, rubbing his hands together.

　　"That's great! The traps are on you then. Set up several in this area." Lu Fei handed most of the red rope to Hu Zi.

　　"Got it! I'll set as many as I can, guaranteeing that ginseng won't escape!"

　　Hu Zi was full of enthusiasm, finally having a chance to show what he could do.

　　He went to gather some more branches and stones, and with the red rope, he made several simple traps nearby.

　　When he was almost done, the sun began to set in the west.

　　"Brother Lu, the sun is about to set. Regardless of whether we catch it or not, I'll take you to the ruined temple."

　　Zhao Fengchun grew tense and spoke earnestly.

　　"Old Brother, let's not talk about this right now. No matter what, we will do our best! You stay here, and leave the rest to us!" After saying this, Lu Fei gestured to Huzi and Jing Jian.

　　The three of them dispersed and hid around the ginseng.

　　The sun gradually set.

　　The afterglow of the sunset filtered through the dense foliage, casting dappled spots of light on the ground.

　　A breeze blew by.

　　The leaves of the ginseng seedling swayed, and the small cluster of red flower buds at the top slowly opened.

　　Then, there was movement in the soil, and a white rhizome emerged from the earth.

　　The rhizome turned left and right, and two small hands like radishes stretched out from the ground, supporting the ground and pulling its entire body out of the earth.

　　It was small, looking like a plump, white radish.

　　But it had limbs like a human, and it raised its hands high, stretching out in a big yawn. It seemed to be in a good mood, hopping and skipping among the grass.

　　"It's out!"

　　Zhao Fengchun stared intently at the small ginseng, his heart pounding. He glanced at Lu Fei and the other two.

　　The three of them remained motionless, hiding in the grass without making a sound, showing great patience.

　　Zhao Fengchun watched the small ginseng running around, feeling a bit anxious, but he still chose to trust Lu Fei and the others.

　　The sky gradually darkened.

　　The small ginseng stretched its plump little body freely, turning circles and hopping under the big tree, with the leaves and small red flowers on its head bobbing up and down.

　　It looked very happy, completely unaware that four pairs of eyes were staring at it with covetous intent.

　　With its hands behind its head, the small ginseng swaggered around leisurely, about to step into a trap.

　　Hu Tzu, in a panic, pulled the trigger line.

　　The rope moved, making a faint sound.

　　Startled, the small ginseng reacted quickly and immediately jumped up where it stood, sensing something was wrong.

　　The red rope contracted, but found nothing to catch.

　　The small ginseng landed gracefully and began to cautiously inspect its surroundings.

　　"It's been startled, let's go!"

　　Lu Fei shouted softly, no longer hiding, and swung the red rope in his hand towards the small ginseng.

　　Jing Jian and Hu Tzu followed closely behind.

　　The little ginseng, like a spring, bounced left and right, dodging the red ropes falling from the sky with ease and flexibility.

　　In fact, it even had enough spare time to make faces at the three of them while dodging.

　　Watching this, Zhao Fengchun was drenched in sweat.

　　"What the heck! This little thing is still provoking us!" Hu Zi was so surprised that his jaw almost hit the ground, and he became even more determined. "I'm going to catch you today, no matter what!"

　　He redoubled his efforts to chase after it.

　　"Don't force it! Drive it towards the trap!" Lu Fei shouted, changing their strategy.

　　But the little ginseng wouldn't fall for it. With its small size and nimble movements, it kept avoiding their attempts to drive it.

　　The three of them were drenched in sweat, but they couldn't even touch its fur.

　　This little thing was extremely pleased with itself. It patted its plump, white little bottom and ran off in one direction.

　　Zhao Fengchun quickly warned, "Don't be fooled, it's trying to lead you towards the ghost vines..."

　　"Xiao Hei, stop it!" Lu Fei shouted anxiously.

　　The small black dog darted out, running with all its might, overtaking the ginseng from the side and getting ahead.

　　The ginseng was feeling proud, when suddenly it felt the light in front of it darken.

　　Slowing down, it looked up to see a huge black dog head glaring fiercely at it, which scared it so much that it leaped up and ran off in the opposite direction.

　　Woof woof!

　　The small black dog weaved through the grass, closely chasing after it.

　　The ginseng found that no matter how it ran, it couldn't shake off this terrifying creature, and finally began to panic.

　　Lu Fei and his two companions, coordinating with the small black dog, continued the pursuit.

　　After disabling several traps, they finally surrounded the ginseng, the three people and the dog closing in.

　　In its blind rush, the ginseng crashed into the final clue.

　　"Got it!"

　　Huzi seized the opportunity and quickly pulled the trigger rope.

　　The red rope instantly tightened, looping around the small mountain ginseng's chubby little leg, lifting it up.

　　"Caught it!"

　　Once ensnared by the red rope, the small mountain ginseng struggled for a moment, as if losing its spirit and transforming into an ordinary ginseng, swaying back and forth with the rope.