Chapter 1: An Ordinary Radish

“Healing?”

“I don’t know how to heal anyone!”

Can He muttered to himself, casually snapping off a fine root from the timid ginseng spirit beside him. He tossed it into his mouth and crunched down with a loud crackle, barely soothing the hunger that had gnawed at him for days.

Chewing as he spoke, he mumbled, “Who’s about to die?”

Why was everyone making such a fuss?

Just before dawn, Can He had been comfortably buried in his earthen pit, waiting for the first rays of sunlight to warm him.

Then a whole bunch of ginseng spirits had suddenly panicked, chirping and chattering as they surrounded him, urging him to go save someone on the brink of death.

He was born in the Longevity Ruins, a place at the edge of the Three Realms, rich in Spiritual Power.

The entire Longevity Ruins was nourished by this energy, producing ginseng with life-extending properties. Can He was no exception—he too was a ginseng spirit.

The ginseng whose root had been plucked dared not speak out, casting a resentful glance at the plump ginseng before quietly scooting away.

The other ginsengs lowered their voices, whispering all at once, “It’s the Ghost King! Word is that Qi Jiangyuan doesn’t have long to live. He’s leading a whole army of ghost soldiers, slowly sweeping through the outskirts of the Longevity Ruins like he’s searching for something. He must be trying to catch one of us to cure him!”

This place, rich in Spiritual Power, often attracted uninvited guests seeking ginseng to prolong their lives.

As for how exactly the ginseng healed people, Can He had no idea. All he knew was that those who left never came back.

He figured the ones that could heal must have been treated like royalty by those people, right?

That said, whenever something like this happened in the Longevity Ruins, the ginsengs always competed to see who could run the fastest. Who would willingly offer themselves up to heal someone?

Besides…

“That’s Qi Jiangyuan we’re talking about!” Can He’s eyes went wide as he stared at them in disbelief. “Are you trying to help me, or send me to my death?”

An older ginseng said, “How could it be sending you to your death?”

“We spirits cultivate both virtue and power. While we train diligently, we must also do good deeds and accumulate merit. If you help the Ghost King through this trial, the merit you gain will be immeasurable!”

Can He: …

Can He said, “I don’t get it. Speak plainly.”

The elder ginseng choked for a moment, then said bluntly, “It’s a great chance to earn a ton of merit. And honestly, in the entire Longevity Ruins, only you have what it takes. You’re the strongest among us!”

Can He was a little flattered by the praise. “Well, yeah. Who among you can compare to me?”

Even the green leaves on his head fluttered proudly, despite the absence of wind…

Doing good deeds and earning merit sounded way easier than the endless grind of cultivation.

That said, Qi Jiangyuan was terrifying!

Born with an extremely yin constitution, he had brought death to all his blood relatives as a child. Anyone who got close to him supposedly met a grim end.

If Can He walked right up to him, wouldn’t he end up as ginseng paste?!

The elder ginseng saw his hesitation and said, “Sure, his constitution is a bit sinister, but it only harms mortals. What’s that got to do with us ginseng spirits?”

Can He thought it over. That… actually made sense.

Still uneasy, he asked curiously, “Isn’t he a ghost? How can a ghost die?”

The elder ginseng put on a mysterious air. “Of course ghosts can die. When a person dies, they become a ghost. When a ghost dies, they become a jian¹.”

What?! A jian?

Can He was horrified. “That sounds really serious!”

How could a ghost die and become a jian ghost?!

The other ginsengs looked at Can He with hopeful eyes, clearly expecting him to pack up and offer himself up right then and there.

Can He fell silent for a moment.

Suddenly, his gaze swept over the ginsengs in front of him, turning sharp and menacing. “If you want to go, go yourselves. If you don’t, then move fast and don’t get caught. And if any of you dare try to talk me into it again, I’ll tie you all up and ship you straight into the Ghost Realm!”

Don’t think I can’t see through you!

These ginsengs were clearly just eager to get rid of him!

The others instantly fell silent, cowed by this wicked ginseng’s threat. One by one, they made excuses and scattered like frightened animals.

Once the noisy bunch had gone, Can He basked in the sun for a while, deep in thought, before slowly pulling himself out of the ground and heading to the river to wash up.

The river was clear, reflecting his image—a plump, snow-white ginseng with a full, healthy form.

Can He had always looked different from the others.

Normal ginsengs were shriveled and scrawny, but he was tender and fair.

He absorbed Spiritual Power several times faster than the rest, which was why he had been the first to take human form. Now, no one in the Longevity Ruins could rival him.

Even the green leaves on his head looked lusher and more upright than anyone else’s.

Using the river’s surface as a mirror, Can He examined himself from every angle, very pleased with what he saw.

The only flaw was that the leafy greens on his head were drooping slightly from Spiritual Power depletion.

Not majestic at all!

Can He had incredible talent, but he was lazy and loved to eat.

His cultivation was always half-hearted—one day determined to work hard, the next day burying himself in the dirt to nap the day away.

Any bit of cultivation he managed to gather would soon end up in his stomach.

Cultivation was like water in a pouch—eventually, it ran dry.

At the moment, Can He’s spiritual energy was completely depleted. He could barely maintain human form and had to revert to his Dao body² to conserve energy wherever possible.

Cultivation was exhausting. He didn’t want to do it anymore.

But not cultivating… didn’t seem like an option either.

What if he healed the Ghost King… and used the merit to exchange for cultivation? That might be enough to let him laze around eating and drinking for a few hundred years, right?

Maybe… he should go big just this once?

No, no, that wouldn’t work—he had no idea how to heal anyone!

Still, Can He couldn’t help but feel a little tempted…

Two conflicting thoughts clashed violently in his small head.

After a long while, Can He shuffled his little legs—formed from root tendrils—and quietly crept in the direction of Qi Jiangyuan.

He was just going to take a look. Definitely not going to heal him.

Can He quickly found the place.

The Longevity Ruins had once been the source of all vitality, lush and teeming with life. But now, a stretch of sky in the distance was shrouded in thick ghostly energy, black clouds blotting out the sun.

Below, plants withered and died, the air thick with death.

A group of ferocious-looking evil spirits were combing the ground with magical tools, searching meticulously.

The local spirits and beasts had long since fled in terror, leaving only a withered wasteland—an unprecedented sight of decay in the Longevity Ruins.

Can He hid behind a large boulder, cautiously peeking out.

One glance, and his legs gave out. He collapsed to the ground in fright.

Too terrifying!

A ghost’s appearance reflected the way they died, and these vengeful spirits had died in ways more gruesome than he could imagine.

One had half its skull missing, brain matter clearly visible; another held its own severed head in its hands, neck a gaping void… there was no end to the horrors.

Can He pressed his back to the rock, heart pounding like a drum. He wanted to run, but his legs had gone weak with fear and wouldn’t move.

After a moment, he managed to calm himself slightly. He covered his eyes with a small hand, leaving a tiny slit to peek through as he squinted around, searching for any sign of Qi Jiangyuan.

He had no idea how Qi Jiangyuan had died, but judging by these ghosts, it probably wasn’t pretty.

Can He scanned the area and didn’t spot anyone who looked like Qi Jiangyuan. He let out a long breath of relief.

Of course, the mighty ruler of the Ghost Realm wouldn’t stoop to digging up ginseng himself.

He was just about to turn and sneak away when he suddenly came face-to-face with a gray-blue ghostly face. His blood froze on the spot.

A Long-tongued Ghost had somehow crept up silently behind him, its stench of blood slamming into him like a wave.

Can He’s expression froze. His eyes flicked over the ghost’s grotesque, tragic face, the iron chains wrapped tightly around its neck… and that long, long crimson tongue.

The Long-tongued Ghost bared its teeth in a twisted grin. “Bleeegh—”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…” Can He’s voice trembled, nearly in tears.

He felt something soft and squishy underfoot. Looking down in a daze—

He had somehow stepped on the ghost’s slimy tongue.

Can He scrambled to move his foot, frantically wiping it off on a nearby dirt mound.

So scary.

So disgusting!!

Aaaaahhh—!

The Long-tongued Ghost swung its iron chains, clearly about to bind him.

Can He screamed uncontrollably, his delicate little hand smacking the chain in panic as he turned to flee. “I really didn’t mean to, waaaah!!”

With a crisp “clack,” the chain shattered at the end.

The Long-tongued Ghost: ?

My magical tool?!

Can He ran blindly, tears streaming down his face as the surrounding evil spirits, drawn by the noise, began drifting toward him.

He wiped his eyes, glancing back while his short legs pumped furiously.

Bang!

Can He slammed into a “pillar.”

The little spirit clutched his aching forehead, eyes brimming with tears as he looked up—only to see a ghost standing in a dense, impenetrable black mist, gazing down at him with lowered eyes.

Unlike the others, this ghost wasn’t grotesque. In fact, he was even more handsome than the cultivators of the immortal sects.

But those downward-slanting eyes, with white showing beneath the irises³, were chilling in the gloom. His pupils gleamed with a cold, metallic sheen, and his gaze oozed over Can He like something sticky and poisonous. The oppressive aura froze Can He’s spine and stole the breath from his lungs.

The aura was both unfamiliar and eerily familiar.

It was Qi Jiangyuan.

Can He’s eyes instantly turned red.

How had he just escaped from a horde of evil spirits only to run straight into the Ghost King himself?!

Qi Jiangyuan’s pale fingers lifted slightly, and several faint black Soul Threads unfurled from his fingertips, drifting toward Can He.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Can He yelped, frantically digging into the dirt and fleeing.

However, the Soul Threads were even faster. They shot out and precisely wrapped around the few wilted green leaves on top of Can He’s head, hoisting the entire ginseng plant into the air.

They even gave him a little shake, knocking the dirt off his body.

Can He dangled helplessly in front of Qi Jiangyuan, forced into a face-to-face confrontation. His limbs flailed in the air, twitching in panic, on the verge of passing out from sheer terror.

The Long-tongued Ghost floated over and reported respectfully, “Your Highness, this little thing was sneaking around just now, spying on us—and it even smashed my chains!”

The little thing, Can He, scrambled to explain, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to break them! And I wasn’t sneaking around, I was just curious! You’re a magnanimous person, surely you won’t hold it against a humble ginseng⁴ like me, right? Could you let me go…?”

“Ginseng?”

Qi Jiangyuan seemed intrigued. He manipulated the Soul Threads to pull Can He closer for a better look.

The icy aura closed in even more, and Can He’s root tendrils were nearly frozen stiff.

A few other Soul Threads floated nearby, gliding through the air like predators, ready to strike him down at any moment.

“Yes! I’m a ginseng!” Can He mustered his courage. “I heard you were gravely ill, so I came to offer myself as a cure. I was just curious and wanted to take a look!”

Qi Jiangyuan raised an eyebrow. “You? Cure illness?”

That tone was dripping with disdain.

Can He cautiously lifted his eyes to study Qi Jiangyuan.

His complexion was normal, his movements fluid, and he could control Soul Threads with ease.

“I mean… you don’t really seem sick?” Can He said tearfully. “So maybe you could let me go?”

Not only did Qi Jiangyuan refuse to release him, the Soul Threads tightened their grip on his leafy top. “You think I’m not sick?”

“Then you are sick!” Can He immediately changed his tune, utterly submissive.

“If I am sick, then I definitely can’t let you go,” Qi Jiangyuan said, eyes fixed on him. “Didn’t you claim to be a ginseng?”

So if he’s not sick, he won’t let him go. If he is sick, he still won’t let him go.

Can He: “Then what do you want from me?”

Qi Jiangyuan: “What do you think?”

Can He: …

Coming here today was the most regrettable decision of his entire life.

“Well, in that case,” Can He threw caution to the wind, “that’s right! I’m the very ginseng you’re looking for—the millennia-old miracle ginseng that can cure any illness!”

Either way, he was dead. After death, he could become a ginseng ghost and haunt Qi Jiangyuan every day!

Might as well gamble everything for a chance at survival.

“I heard Your Highness is on the brink of death and urgently needs a ginseng like me to save your life. So out of the goodness of my heart, I came to help!”

As he spoke, he kept glancing at Qi Jiangyuan. “In the entire Longevity Ruins, I’m the top dog! Letting me treat you is your good fortune, and you dare to hang me up like this!”

The surrounding ghosts began to exchange strange looks.

Can He remained oblivious. “Of course, I’m not offering my services for free. We ginsengs are delicate by nature. You’ll need to nourish me with the finest soil and water, and I’ll need sunlight every day. Maybe, if I’m in a good mood, I’ll even let you nibble on a root.”

Qi Jiangyuan hadn’t expected his attitude to change so quickly. He remained unmoved, his gaze deep and unreadable, as if watching something amusing unfold.

Can He swung his body with all his might, trying to kick him, but his legs didn’t reach. Frustrated, he shouted loudly, “Hey! Are you even listening?!”

The air around them turned oppressively still.

The Long-tongued Ghost stared at the little thing His Highness had caught, eyes round as saucers.

This… what kind of ginseng was this?

It was clearly just an ordinary white radish⁵.

Translator’s Notes