"Impossible," Mr. Gong said, his voice firm as iron. "No matter what, your grandson still has An Yiliang’s blood in his veins. The An Family and I have been on opposing sides for a long, long time. The fact that I’m treating you all as mere strangers is already a great show of generosity on my part."

"Cousin!" Old Mrs. An tried to persuade him further. Of all her grandsons, she felt she owed An Zhihan the most. That was why she wanted to convince Mr. Gong to examine his legs. She couldn’t bear the thought of An Zhihan spending the rest of his life confined to a wheelchair.

"Say no more," Mr. Gong said, waving his hand dismissively. "This matter is not up for discussion. If you insist on bringing it up, then please leave. We are cousins, and seeing you today is fate enough. Let’s not meet again in the future."

Seeing how resolute Mr. Gong was, Old Mrs. An sighed and dropped the subject. "Fine," she said. "Today, let’s just catch up as cousins."

At her words, Mr. Gong gave a silent nod. "We haven’t seen each other in many years," he said softly. "Let’s have a simple meal together tonight."

"Alright."

After several days of travel, Su Qing arrived back in Xiyuan County. With the Lunar New Year just a few days away, her return coincided with the Little New Year festival. The whole of Xiyuan County was bustling with excitement. The faces of people on the streets were beaming with happy, festive smiles, and their infectious joy brought a smile to Su Qing’s own face, making her eyes crinkle. ’Even though it’s the Little New Year,’ she thought, ’I wonder if Hongji Hall is open. If it is, I can give the century-old Chicken Blood Vine to Mr. Gong.’

And so, Su Qing headed to Hongji Hall first.

"That young woman..." Seeing Su Qing enter Hongji Hall from a distance, Old Mrs. An narrowed her eyes. She had previously tasked Mrs. Lin with looking into Su Qing and was already aware of the conflict between her and An Zhiwei in Laxian. The investigation had even revealed that An Zhiwei had secretly deployed the An Family’s bodyguards to ambush and kill Su Qing in the mountains. Old Mrs. An had been furious, punishing An Zhiwei according to their family’s disciplinary rules and strictly ordering An Lizheng to ground her.

And while she had never seen a photograph of Su Qing, the scar on the young woman’s left cheek was too distinct. The moment Old Mrs. An saw her, she knew instinctively that this must be the one who had clashed with An Zhiwei.

"That must be Su Qing," Mrs. Lin whispered to Old Mrs. An. The informant had described Su Qing’s appearance and mentioned she lived in a village just outside Xiyuan County.

It was highly unlikely for there to be a second person in the same place with such a similar description, right down to the scar on her left cheek.

"Alright, let’s head back for now. We can come back later." Old Mrs. An had intended to spend the Little New Year with Mr. Gong today. But upon seeing Su Qing, she decided to return later to avoid an awkward encounter. Su Qing didn’t know who she was, but Mr. Gong was still treating her rather coolly, and for some reason, she didn’t want Su Qing to witness her being slighted. "By the way, how is the investigation into that other matter coming along?"

"There’s no concrete news yet."

"I see. There’s no rush. Keep digging."

"Yes, ma’am."

"Well now, little lady, what brings you here today?" Even though it was the Little New Year, Mr. Gong was minding the shop by himself, having given the rest of his staff the day off for the holiday. He greeted Su Qing with a smile as she walked in. Then, noticing the large crate she was carrying, he raised an eyebrow. "Just get back in town?"

"I did," Su Qing said, beaming at Mr. Gong. "I just got off the bus and came straight here. I’m surprised to see you haven’t closed up for the holiday. Mr. Gong, Happy Little New Year!"

"Hahaha, Happy Little New Year to you, too!" Mr. Gong chuckled. "Rushing back to celebrate, are we?"

Su Qing smiled and nodded. "That’s right. And as it happens, I’ve brought you the century-old Chicken Blood Vine."

Hearing this, Mr. Gong shot to his feet, his voice trembling. "What? You actually found the century-old Chicken Blood Vine?"

Su Qing nodded, opened the large crate, and took out three pieces of the vine. The original century-old Chicken Blood Vine had been incredibly thick, about fifteen to sixteen centimeters in diameter and six to seven meters long. Su Qing had cut it into ten segments, each about sixty to seventy centimeters in length.

"Mr. Gong, please take a look. Is this it? The century-old Chicken Blood Vine?" Su Qing placed the three segments on the counter.

Mr. Gong excitedly picked up one of the segments and examined it closely, nodding eagerly. "Yes, yes! It’s really it! This is genuinely a century-old Chicken Blood Vine!"

With that, he looked at Su Qing, his voice thick with emotion. "My dear girl, I can’t believe it. You actually managed to find this treasure."

Su Qing couldn’t help but smile. "I’m glad it is. It makes wandering the deep mountains for over a month worthwhile."

"You silly girl, you’re far too bold," Mr. Gong sighed. "You can’t find a century-old Chicken Blood Vine in any ordinary place. You have to go deep into the remote, untrodden parts of the mountains. And you actually went in there? Did you run into any trouble?"

"Nope," Su Qing said with a grin. ’Not only did I not run into trouble, I even picked up a few new followers,’ she thought. The memory of A Jin and the three large black bears brought another smile to her face.

"You’re really something else, you know that?" Mr. Gong couldn’t help but shake his head again. "Don’t go risking your life in the deep mountains like that again. You were lucky this time, but those places are fraught with danger. Your luck won’t hold out forever."

"Alright," Su Qing agreed with a cheerful nod. She then took out the Century-old Purple Danshen and handed it to him. "Mr. Gong, I’ll have to trouble you with this."

"Haha!" Mr. Gong’s spirits couldn’t have been higher as he gazed at the century-old Chicken Blood Vine and the Century-old Purple Danshen. To have seen both of these hundred-year-old specimens with his own eyes in his lifetime... he could die with no regrets. "I’ll start preparing the medicine for you right away. You can come back to pick it up the day after tomorrow."

"Okay, thank you so much, Mr. Gong," Su Qing said with a smile.

"Hehe," Mr. Gong said, rubbing his hands together gleefully. "My dear girl, you remember what we discussed last time, don’t you? About selling the leftover Chicken Blood Vine and Purple Danshen to this old man after the medicine is prepared."

Su Qing smiled. "Of course I remember, Mr. Gong. We’ll do it exactly as you said."

"Excellent!" At her words, Mr. Gong was so overjoyed he looked as if his eyebrows and beard might take flight. It wasn’t money he lacked; it was precious medicinal herbs like these. "Then come back the day after tomorrow, and we can discuss the price."

"Alright," Su Qing said with a smiling nod. She then took out some pastries she had brought for him. "Mr. Gong, these are some local specialties from Chuncheng. I brought them for you to try."

"Wonderful. In that case, I won’t stand on ceremony," Mr. Gong said, accepting the gift without any fuss. "Come to think of it, it’s been a long time since I’ve had pastries from Chuncheng."

After chatting for a few more moments with Mr. Gong, Su Qing said her goodbyes and headed back to Lihua Village. Just as she was entering the village, she ran into Zhao Youcai. "Hey, Su Qing, you’re back!" he called out when he saw her. "There’s a letter for you at the brigade office."