The city magistrate still seemed to be in shock at the nature of the news he bore as he chattered, “Brother, the mere threat of your presence here has resulted in something marvelous. You see, a local official had become wrapped up in taking bribes, and was even embezzling military resources. However, he got so scared by you that he turned himself in, and ended up forfeiting all of his personal property in exchange for his life. I went over to inspect the confiscated materials personally, and was shocked to find that he was incredibly rich!

“Most spectacular of all was a ginseng root that was more than 9,000 years old! I doubt you’ve ever seen anything like it. The rootlets are as transparent as crystal, and the buds all look like spirit pearls. It’s virtually priceless, and in fact, is probably worth more than all of the man’s other assets combined.” 

“More than 9,000 years old?!” Bai Xiaochun exclaimed, his eyes going wide with shock. “You’re right, I’ve never seen anything like that....”

If he used a ginseng root like that in a...