Chapter 40: Kneeling in Supplication

  The sudden voice made Zhang Yi's face change slightly, and he looked up to see an old man standing in front of him, wearing a gray cheongsam, with a full head of white hair and glasses, looking like a poor and pedantic old scholar.

  "Little brother, five million, how about selling this Blood Spirit Mushroom to me?"

  Hou Tian's eyes were filled with longing, and his heart was surging with irrepressible excitement. He had been searching for the Blood Spirit Mushroom for twelve years, traveling to every corner of the land, spending almost all of his vast fortune, but unfortunately, the number of Blood Spirit Mushrooms was as rare as a phoenix feather or a unicorn horn, and in the entire twelve years, he had not found any.

  I heard that there is a medicinal material conference in Chuzhou City recently. He, who was almost desperate, came here from Haishang City with a try-on mentality, but unexpectedly saw a young man holding a blood spirit mushroom as soon as he arrived.

  His heart was trembling in mad screams:

  "My dear, I've found it! I really have found the Blood Spirit Mushroom. Wait for me, wait for me to bring it back and cure you with it, no matter what the cost is, no matter what method I use, I will bring it back."

  A faint tear welled up in his eyes and he took a step forward towards Zhang Yi, as if involuntarily.

  Zhang Yi looked at the old man with a excited face and secretly sneered in his heart:

  50 million?

  Five million just to buy this Blood Spirit Mushroom? This old guy must be dreaming!

  This Blood Ganoderma is worth a city, let alone 50 million, even if it's 500 million, in the traditional Chinese medicine community, there are probably countless people scrambling to buy it.

  "Not for sale!"

  Zhang Yi gave Hou Tianfang a cold look, put the Blood Spirit Mushroom into his shopping bag and was about to leave.

  The middle-aged stall owner stared blankly at the scene in front of him, his body violently trembling for a moment, with an expression of utter incredulity in his eyes.

  Am I dreaming?

  50 million?

  Is this old thing out of his mind due to a high fever or was he originally mentally ill?

  What's with this "Blood Lingzhi", and you want to spend 5 million on it? With that 5 million, I'd rather sell all the medicinal herbs at my stall!

  The middle-aged stall owner took a deep breath and gave Hou Tianfang a big white eye, feeling very disdainful in his heart.

  However!

  When he heard Zhang Yi say "don't buy" two words, suddenly there was a sense of absurdity, this old guy's brain is not normal, and this young man is also an idiot?

  Five hundred and ninety-nine yuan can buy something, but if someone offers five million, they won't sell? Isn't this a case of a madman meeting two fools?

  Hou Tianfang looked at Zhang Yi's intention to leave and suddenly stretched out his arms, blocking Zhang Yi's way. He begged bitterly: "Little brother, please. Now my entire family fortune is left with only 5 million, can you sell this Blood Lingzhi to me?"

  Suddenly, he seemed to have thought of something and hurriedly said again: "Right, I remembered that I still have a villa in the coastal city district. At today's market value, it should be worth around 30-40 million. If you're willing to sell me this Blood Spirit Mushroom, I can also transfer ownership of that villa to you."

  The middle-aged stall owner next to him couldn't help but shake his head and muttered to himself, "This old guy is seriously ill."

  Zhang Yi's eyebrows furrowed deeply, looking at Hou Tianfang in front of him who was begging bitterly. After hesitating for a moment, he shook his head and said, "Sorry, I won't sell."

  "Whoosh..."

  Hou Tian knelt down in front of Zhang Yi, his eyes brimming with tears as he begged again: "Little brother, I'm begging you. The 5 million and the house on Haishang Street are all I have left, my entire family's fortune! I need this Blood Spirit Mushroom to save my wife's life! For 12 years, I've traveled all over the country, spending all my wealth, and finally found it today. Please, please sell it to me!"

  Although it was noon, there were not many people in the medicinal material market stalls area, but the scene in front of me still attracted a lot of attention, and soon, the surrounding crowd rushed over.

  Gu Xinyue was also nearby, and the anomaly around her was soon discovered. Turning her head to look, through the gaps in the crowd, she vaguely saw that familiar face kneeling on the ground.

  Is it Hou Tianfang or Old Hou?

  Gu Xinyue's heart skipped a beat as she quickly rushed towards the crowd.

  Zhang Yi looked at Hou Tianfang, who was kneeling in front of him with tears streaming down his face. His heart skipped a beat as he quickly reached out to grab Hou's arm and said with a bitter smile: "Old man, don't do this, get up quickly, we have things to talk about."

  Hou Tian dropped two lines of tears, struggled free from Zhang Yi's hands and said stubbornly: "If you don't agree to sell the Blood Lingzhi to me, I will never get up. This is my last hope, if I don't have this Blood Lingzhi, my old partner can't hold on for a few more years. Please, sell it to me. If you sell it to me, I am willing to be your servant and do anything for you."

  Zhang Yi hesitated.

  He didn't know whether what the old man in front of him was saying was true or false?

  In today's society where scams are rampant, although he has never encountered a scammer himself, he has heard of numerous scams and knows that countless people use various tactics such as pretending to be injured or using emotional manipulation to deceive others.

  What's wrong?

  In case this old man is telling the truth, if he doesn't sell it to him, just because of this one kneel, he will probably regret it for the rest of his life.

  But what if it's a scam...

  "Is it you, Old Hou? How did you..."

  A middle-aged man with a neat and tidy appearance, holding shopping bags, squeezed in from the crowd, his square face filled with an expression of utter incredulity.

  His name is Zhong Haitao, the big boss of Jingnan City Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.

  He knew Hou Tianfang, and when Hou Tianfang was in power and extremely wealthy, he had helped him. He also knew about Hou Tianfang's situation; twelve years ago his wife had contracted leukemia, and he had spared no expense, inviting several renowned traditional Chinese medicine doctors to treat her, but they all concluded that unless the Blood Lingzhi mushroom could be found, there was no one in this world who could cure her.

  Reishi mushroom!

  No matter if it was Hou Tianfang, or his old friends, or even the person who had once received kindness from Hou Tianfang, they were all quietly searching for the whereabouts of Xue Lingshi.

  But heaven does not fulfill one's wishes.

  Hou Tianfang's partner, with the help of those few national medical saints, suppressed the illness with special means, and it was twelve years in a flash!

  At this time, Gu Xinyue also squeezed in from the crowd and quickly squatted beside Hou Tianpeng, trying to pull him up: "Hou Lao, what are you doing? Is this guy bullying you?"

  She had also heard about Hou Tianfang's affairs, and her grandfather was an old friend of Hou Tianfang for many years. Seeing the situation at this moment, her impression of Zhang Yi became even worse.

  Hou Tianfang stubbornly shook off Zhong Haitao and Gu Xin Yue's hands, which were supporting him, and begged bitterly: "Little brother, please, I beg of you, sell it to me! Whatever price you want me to pay, I'm willing to pay it, even if you want the old man's life in exchange, I'll give it to you."

  Zhang Yi's gaze swept over Zhong Haitao and Gu Xin Yue.

  He didn't know Zhong Haitao, but he knew Gu Xinyue. Although they weren't very familiar with each other, she was so rich that she shouldn't have joined forces with this old man to cheat him.

  "Gu Xinyue, do you know him?" Zhang Yi asked.

  Gu Xinyue was shocked by Hou Tianpeng's words, and the name "Blood Lingzhi" involuntarily emerged in her mind.

  Does Zhang Yi have Blood Lingzhi in his hands?

  Her gaze swept over the shopping bag Zhang Yi was carrying, and then she said seriously: "That's right, Old Hou is my grandfather's old friend for many years. What does he want to buy from you? Blood Lingzhi? Do you have Blood Lingzhi?"

  Zhang Yi did not answer Gu Xin Yue's question, his gaze fell on Hou Tian Fang's face again, which was covered in tears and filled with a pleading expression. He said straightforwardly: "Old Hou, please get up first and then talk. I promise you, if what you say is true, your wife needs this Blood Lingzhi to be cured, I will only charge you 50 million. I don't want the villa on Haitian City. If what you say is false, I won't hand over the Blood Lingzhi to you. Since you can identify the Blood Lingzhi, I believe you should also know its value. It's worth several tens of millions, and it can't be bought."

  Hou Tianfang lifted his sleeve, wiped away the tears on his face, and with the support of Yu Guixin and Zhong Haitao, he stood up, saying excitedly: "Good, good, if you don't believe me, little brother, I can take you to Haishang City. My wife is there, and I can let you see for yourself. Please ask the top Chinese medicine masters in the country to treat my wife with Blood Lingzhi."

  It seems it's true!

  Zhang Yi let out a silent sigh in his heart.

  However, should I follow them on a trip to the Ocean City?

  After a moment of hesitation, he made up his mind and said: "Old Hou, I'll take the Blood Lingzhi first, but I'll go with you to Haishang City for a trip. Hearing is believing, seeing is believing, just in case, I hope you won't blame me for being cautious."

  Hou Tianfang said excitedly: "Good good good, let's go to Haishang City immediately, let's go now."

  Zhang Yi smiled bitterly and said, "Old Hou, I'm afraid I still can't go to Haishang City with you now. I have some unfinished business, let me finish it first, then we'll talk about going to Haishang City, okay?"

  Hou Tianfang said with a puzzled expression: "Is there something else? What is it? Do you need my help? I can do anything for you now."

  Zhang Yi glanced at Gu Xin Yue and shook his head, saying: "Hou Lao, I can handle my own affairs."

  Gu Xinyue keenly sensed Zhang Yi's glance at her and immediately said in a bad tone: "Hou Lao, I know what he wants! He wants to buy that golden-tailed wisteria, but he doesn't have enough money, so he ran here to pick up bargains, hoping to find treasures by picking up bargains, sell them for money, and then go buy that golden-tailed wisteria. We two are having a bet, competing in this medicinal material market to see who can find more precious medicinal materials within the specified time and earn more!"

  What?

  Hou Tianfang's face stiffened, and a strange color floated in his eyes. Even Zhong Haitao beside him had a dull expression on his face.

  A murmur of surprise rippled through the crowd of onlookers:

  "Is this for real? They actually ran to the booth area to pick up scraps? What kind of international joke is this? How old are they? Are they still competing? This isn't a game of house for little kids, is it?"

  "The forest is big and there are all kinds of birds, do you really think it's that easy to pick up a bargain? If it were that easy, the many people who have been struggling in this medicinal material market would have made a fortune long ago."

  "You're too idealistic! People need to face reality instead of relying on fantasies to get by!"

  "Do they really think they are that fairy-like girl in a white dress from the previous segment? Seeing how awesome she is, it's like they're learning from her?"

  "What you're saying is all wrong, just now this young man bought the Blood Lingzhi, it was dug up right in front of this stall, look at the price tag on the stall... 599..."

  "Is it really true?"

  “……”

  The middle-aged stall owner was completely stunned at this moment. Even if he had a pig brain, he thoroughly understood that he had sold the blood spirit mushroom worth tens of thousands for a super cheap price of 599.

  Five million!

  A villa worth tens of millions on the sea!

  The taste of regret made his heart feel like it was being soaked in bitter water, convulsing and suffocating with frustration. Under the gaze of everyone around him, he rolled up his eyes and fell to the ground, fainting away.