Chapter 187: Taixu? The Elixir of Immortality That Even Emperor Qin Shi Huang Strongly Recommended?

Gu Shengsheng was speechless. ’Advertising really is everywhere.’

Still, she was genuinely curious to see this Taixu for herself.

Gu Shengsheng and Li Bai moved closer for a look.

Li Bai said with a smile, "This is the first time I’ve seen Taixu for sale at the Ghost Market."

Yang Jiao asked curiously, "What is Taixu?"

"Taixu is a type of fleshy Ganoderma, I suppose. It’s a fungus, but it has some characteristics of a living organism. I’ve heard it can even ’breathe’ in water, yet its physical structure is very simple."

Gu Shengsheng smiled and continued, "Its most famous supposed effect is immortality. Of course, that’s just a legend."

The stall owner immediately chimed in, "You know your stuff, young lady! But it’s no legend."

"I’ll be honest with you! This has been in my family for generations. Do you know how old my grandpa got from drinking water soaked with this Taixu?"

Before anyone could answer, he declared excitedly, "A hundred years old! He’s a centenarian now. This Taixu is a mystical thing. It can let you live to a ripe old age."

The viewers in Gu Shengsheng’s livestream chat also grew curious:

"Streamer, does Taixu really work that well? I’ve seen tons of it for sale on those cheap online shopping apps. Should I buy one and try it?"

"I just don’t know if it’s the real deal. If it is, I heard you can live to be a hundred. Didn’t Emperor Qin Shi Huang eat it back in the day?"

"To the person above, Emperor Qin Shi Huang didn’t live a long life either..."

"..."

Hearing the stall owner’s spiel, Gu Shengsheng asked curiously, "Pardon my asking, but if your grandfather drinks this water, isn’t it a bit unhygienic for you to be sticking your hands in it? That’s a lot of germs. He’d probably get an upset stomach."

Gu Shengsheng was just being practical.

’She couldn’t care less about the Taixu. If the owner wanted to boast, let him boast!’

’It didn’t matter if it was real or fake, since there was plenty of Taixu around these days.’

’The stuff sold on those shopping apps could even be real. After all, you can just slice off a piece of Taixu, and it can grow into a whole new organism by itself.’

’If something like that could really grant long life, then everyone would just buy some to eat.’

’But how could it be that simple? It might be unusual, but it was still just a strange fungus.’

’It had nothing to do with lifespan.’

The only reason Gu Shengsheng stood there listening to his tall tales was that she had spotted a dark, unassuming root next to the Taixu. It looked like ginseng.

When Gu Shengsheng "accidentally" brushed it with her hand, she felt something was different. She recalled the treasure box they’d found in the basement. Gao Liu had bought it, and when he opened it, it was full of traditional medicinal herbs.

A three-hundred-year-old ginseng from that box hadn’t felt as dense or looked as ancient as this one. ’Even if she wasn’t an expert, she could still make a comparison!’

’This had to be a ginseng over three hundred years old. If she sold it, it would surely fetch tens of millions.’

She asked nonchalantly, "Sir, how much for this ginseng?"

But the stall owner, busy hyping his Taixu, dismissed her with a wave of his hand. "That’s not ginseng, little lady. It’s just a common root that looks like one. I dug it up on the mountain. Look, I’ve got plenty more."

Gu Shengsheng glanced at his basket; the roots in it were indeed not ginseng, just lookalikes.

But she didn’t argue. "I just want this one. I feel a connection to it."

"A hundred bucks, take it. I can’t be bothered to weigh it. A single large mushroom from Yun Province costs about the same. How’s that?"

"Done." Gu Shengsheng was decisive, paying him on the spot.

Then, her eyes fell on the lit lanterns at the owner’s stall.

[System]:

Item: Paper-Pasted Palace-Pattern Cloisonné Lantern

Period: Late Ming to Early Qing Dynasty

Description: Fine craftsmanship, exquisite cloisonné, well-preserved. The paper was added in a later-period modification, making it look crude as it was just done three days ago. The entire frame is an antique. Recommended for collection.

Market Value: 30 million.

Gu Shengsheng assessed the five strange-looking lanterns on display. They were all in the same state—and they were all genuine.

’Doesn’t that add up to 150 million?’

’No wonder people say the Ghost Market is full of opportunities. This is incredible.’

Gu Shengsheng said, "Sir, your lanterns are quite pretty too."

The stall owner was starting to look down on Gu Shengsheng.

"You young girls are all the same, wanting whatever catches your eye. Let me tell you, these are a bit more expensive!"

"The most valuable part of this lantern is the paper. This paper is from the Western Han Dynasty. Do you have any idea how expensive that is?"

"So I won’t overcharge you. How about five hundred thousand for one?"

"Deal." Gu Shengsheng didn’t even haggle. ’The owner didn’t even know the real selling point. He must have come across these items by sheer luck.’

Gu Shengsheng offered a "helpful" reminder, "They didn’t have this kind of paper during the Western Han Dynasty. They did have it three days ago, though."

The owner wasn’t embarrassed in the slightest. "You’re the one who wanted it! The deal is done, no backing out now!"

"Right." Gu Shengsheng nodded and proceeded to buy all his lanterns. "I’ll use them to decorate my house," she said.

The owner, naturally, was beaming. He’d sold all his stock so effortlessly!

Gu Shengsheng was also quite pleased. She had thought she wouldn’t find anything good tonight, but she had stumbled upon so many treasures in one go.

Li Bai whispered, "You don’t have to pay that much for lanterns! You didn’t even haggle. They’re just trying to rip you off."

"It’s fine," Gu Shengsheng said with a smile. "Don’t worry, I’m not taking a loss on this."

Li Bai thought to himself that he was worrying for nothing. ’Ever since this journey began, Shengsheng hasn’t run into a single bad situation.’

’She was always the one swindling others; no one ever managed to swindle her.’

After Gu Shengsheng had gathered all her purchases, the stall owner was still trying to make a sale. "This Taixu is our main attraction! Young lady, why don’t you take it too?"

Gu Shengsheng just smiled. "No, thank you."

"If I take the Taixu, what will your grandfather drink?"

"..." The stall owner was at a loss for words. "You don’t think it’s fake, do you? I’m telling you, it’s real! What if Emperor Qin Shi Huang is actually still alive today?"

Gu Shengsheng was speechless. ’Is everyone losing their minds lately?’

"Then why don’t you wire Emperor Qin Shi Huang fifty bucks to help him reconquer his empire?"

The viewers:

"LMAO! I just got a scam text like that recently! Said he was Emperor Qin Shi Huang and needed me to send him money!"

"I remember the streamer ran into this last time, too. It’s hilarious how people just bring up Emperor Qin Shi Huang for everything these days."

"That makes the Taixu story even less believable."

Gu Shengsheng glanced at her stream’s chat and nodded in agreement.

She said, "There’s really no need to buy Taixu. It doesn’t even fall into the category of superstition."

"Taixu is a large slime mold complex. It’s hard to say if it’s ’alive’ in the traditional sense. It’s mentioned in the *Compendium of Materia Medica*. We don’t know if it can extend a person’s life, but the organism itself can live for several thousand years."

"But *it’s* the one with the long life, not us." Most of the marketing for it is just a commercial scam.