A Record of A Mortal's Journey to Immortality

Chapter 25: Sprouting Willows

Another night passed. Early in the morning, Han Li got up and headed toward the medicinal herb garden, wanting to check if there were any changes in those few herb plants.

Before even entering the herb field, he suddenly caught a strong scent of several kinds of herbs.

Han Li was slightly stunned, but then a thought struck him: “Could it be...?”

He quickened his pace and finally arrived in front of the few herb plants emitting the strong fragrance.

Were these the same herbs from yesterday? Han Li couldn’t believe his eyes. He slapped his still-sleepy face several times until the slight pain stopped his self-torment.

“The leaves of the Yellow Dragon Grass have turned a bit purple, the Bitter Lotus Flower has actually bloomed nine petals, and the skin of the Forget-Worry Fruit has turned black. Haha! Haha!” Han Li could no longer hold back. Even though he was usually calm as water, he burst into a loud, skyward laugh.

“I’ve hit the jackpot! These herbs that seemed to have only one or two years of medicinal potency overnight now look like they’ve been maturing for over a decade. Judging by the leaf color, the fruit shape, the flower’s fragrance—they’re exactly like those rare herbs that have aged for many years,” Han Li carefully inspected the herbs again, confirming that they matched perfectly with the descriptions in the medical books. They really were precious herbs that had aged for several years.

“If I can ripen herbs like this, won’t I have as many precious herbs as I want? And if I can’t use all the herbs myself, I can just sell them to others. This way, I could make back all the silver I invest!” Han Li's excitement was uncontrollable as he started daydreaming wildly.

The more he thought about it, the more excited he became, and the further his thoughts strayed. He felt like he had truly found a treasure this time. Suddenly, he somersaulted several times on the ground, no longer maintaining his usual calm demeanor. His excitement was just like that of a teenaged boy.

After a long time, Han Li regained his composure, his mind clearing and returning to its usual sharpness. He began considering the challenges he would face when taking advantage of this unexpected windfall.

First, although the herbs looked fine on the surface, their actual potency still needed to be tested. After all, they had only changed after absorbing that strange liquid. Who knew if some mutated substances were inside? He had personally witnessed the miserable fate of those rabbits yesterday and knew it was best to be cautious.

Second, the mysterious vial of green liquid had already been used up. He wasn’t sure if any further strange phenomena would occur to produce more of this liquid, or if it was a one-time thing. He needed to check again at night.

If these two issues presented no problems, he still had to fully grasp the specific details and steps of this herb-accelerating method, so he could completely control this incredible technique.

After deep thought, Han Li outlined these problems that needed resolving. Without solving them, this windfall would be nothing but a mirage—beautiful but unattainable.

After considering everything, Han Li began to take action.

He first went to the large kitchen outside the valley and asked the steward there to buy two gray-furred rabbits for him. The steward was both happy and puzzled by Han Li’s repeated purchases of live rabbits. Why was the boy always bringing live rabbits back? Was he planning to slaughter them himself to practice cooking?

Han Li didn’t care what others thought. This time, instead of tying the rabbits in the herb garden, he tethered them right outside his room for easy observation.

Then he carefully picked the few accelerated herbs from the field, made several batches of potent medicine good for strengthening muscles and bones, and mixed the prepared medicine into the rabbits’ favorite food. He fed the rabbits three meals a day to test if the herbs were toxic.