Chapter 612: Come Try This

I get walking a cat or a dog, or even a panda. But walking a turtle? What in the world is that about? With its sluggish pace, can it even keep up with you? I doubt you’d make it a quarter of a mile in an hour. Wen Yuan looked at the Turtle Immortal, at a bit of a loss for words. “Alright, you two go have fun. I’ll find you when you’re back and tell you all about my time in Sokovia. The assessment is complete, and Princess Sylvie has made her decision.”

“As long as she likes it, that’s what matters. It’s your business; no need to report to me,” Shen Yibin said with a wave. “Oh, right, bring your wife and kid, and Bald Qiang, over for dinner later. I’ve learned a few specialty dishes this time. I guarantee you’ll love them.” ‘If the Turtle Immortal manages to find some potent herbs today, Wen Yuan’s family is in for a real treat.’

“Deal, no problem! My mouth is watering already! We’ll definitely be there.” Wen Yuan and Bald Qiang cheerfully headed back. Shen Yibin continued onward with the Turtle Immortal. Finding its pace a little too slow, Shen Yibin simply picked it up and carried it to the edge of the forest before setting it down and letting it search the area.

Once on the ground, the Turtle Immortal stretched its neck out as far as it could, looking left and right. It wasn’t long before it made a new discovery. It scurried on its short little legs into a patch of grass, and Shen Yibin quickly followed. Soon, he saw it digging with its claws at the base of a wild plant. After a moment of digging, the plant’s translucent, crystalline root was exposed. The Turtle Immortal stretched out its head, bit off the transparent root, then turned and presented it to Shen Yibin.

It felt cool to the touch. ‘Looks like this root is something special,’ he thought with relief. Shen Yibin clutched the root and scanned the area. There were plenty of these plants around—it looked like they would last him for a while. The Turtle Immortal nodded, gesturing for Shen Yibin to put the root away, then crawled over to another plant and began to dig.

“You wait here, I’m going back to get something.” ‘I can’t just stand here and watch while the Turtle Immortal does all the work. That doesn’t seem right.’ Spurred into action, Shen Yibin sprinted back to the house, grabbed a shovel and a bag from the storage room, and ran back just as quickly.

Hah’Er and Maphario were still resting in the bedroom and didn’t notice. Xiaoliu, however, sensed something was up. It hobbled after Shen Yibin, planning to see what all the excitement was about.

With the help of the shovel, the speed of digging up the transparent roots increased significantly. In about ten minutes, Shen Yibin had dug up a small bowl’s worth. There were still plenty more nearby, and just as Shen Yibin was about to continue digging, the Turtle Immortal bit his pant cuff.

“What do you mean? No more digging?” ‘What’s going on? Does it want to save these for later?’ “This whole mountainside is covered with these plants! We don’t need to save any; there’s more than enough for us to eat!” ‘Even if everyone in my house ate this every day, we’d never run out!’

The Turtle Immortal didn’t respond and just kept crawling forward. Reluctantly, Shen Yibin took one last look at the densest patch of plants, then picked up his shovel, clutched the mouth of the bag, and trudged after the Turtle Immortal up the mountain. At that moment, he thought he understood. It probably wasn’t about running out of the transparent roots. It was more likely that eating the root alone was a bad idea and that it needed to be balanced with other ingredients. After all, traditional Chinese medicine emphasizes combining ingredients in a balanced formula. Plus, every time before, whether it was by Dongting Lake or on the road home, the Turtle Immortal had always gathered a mixture of various leaves and roots, never just one thing.

Sure enough, they hadn’t gone far before the Turtle Immortal stopped beneath a dead tree stump. It placed its two front claws on the base of the stump, as if trying to climb up. Shen Yibin quickly lifted it onto the top. Once there, the Turtle Immortal stretched out its neck, bit off a mushroom, and passed it to Shen Yibin.

“Oh, so you want me to stew this mushroom with the root?” Shen Yibin now understood completely. Seeing a few more identical mushrooms on the stump, he quickly plucked them and put them in his bag. The Turtle Immortal, however, seemed to think that wasn’t enough mushrooms. It lay on top of the stump, craning its neck to look around.

Shen Yibin also stood on his tiptoes, searching the surrounding area for any sign of mushrooms. Unfortunately, the area was thick with trees, and his line of sight was too obstructed. It was proving difficult to find any right away.

But no matter. Just because he and the Turtle Immortal couldn’t see clearly didn’t mean another companion couldn’t. At that moment, Xiaoliu, who had been squatting in a tree watching the whole affair, came through in the clutch. It let out a few squeaks—SQUEAK! SQUEAK!—stretched out a long arm, and pointed toward the front-left. Shen Yibin quickly carried the Turtle Immortal over and saw a fallen tree lying on the ground, its trunk covered in those same mushrooms.

“How much do we need this time?” This time, Shen Yibin didn’t rush forward to gather them. Instead, he asked the Turtle Immortal. The turtle slowly waddled to a point about a quarter of the way down the log, used a claw to scratch a line on the trunk, and then pointed to the section behind it.

“Got it. You want me to pick all the mushrooms on the back half of the log?” Shen Yibin quickly understood the Turtle Immortal’s meaning. He carefully picked one whole mushroom after another and placed them in the bag as well.

But just those two ingredients weren’t enough. The Turtle Immortal then led Shen Yibin to collect two more items: a type of aquatic plant with yellow-spotted leaves, and some kind of unknown dried fruit. Only then did it seem satisfied and call it a day.

“Alright, let’s go back and make some soup! Xiaoliu, you’d better drink a big bowl later. This stuff is the real deal!” By now, Shen Yibin had complete faith in the Turtle Immortal. He immediately gathered everything and headed home.

He deftly stir-fried a few Dongting Lake dishes, like the Junshan Silver Needle Chicken Slices, before carefully washing the new ingredients, finding a clean pot, and setting them to simmer slowly.

“Mmmm~” Perhaps drawn by the aroma of the food, Hah’Er woke from its nap. It lay by the kitchen doorway, drooling. At the same time, the voices of Wen Yuan and his wife could be heard outside the front door. They had arrived for their free meal.

“Whoa, Bin, what’s this dish? Why are there tea leaves in it?” As the food was served, Wen Yuan was immediately drawn to the Junshan Silver Needle Chicken Slices. He sniffed. “And it seems to be good tea, too. Aren’t you being a bit wasteful, Bin?”

“The real deal, genuine Junshan Silver Needle Tea. If you like it, take some home with you later!” Shen Yibin hadn’t forgotten to buy some when he visited Jun Mountain, and it was perfect for cooking.

“Using authentic Junshan Silver Needle Tea for cooking?” Wen Yuan was a little stunned. Wasn’t that a bit too extravagant?

“Come, try this. *This* is the real treasure!” Shen Yibin announced, bringing out the basin of herbal congee.