The Little Ginseng is Super Sticky - 1

The top of Baiyun Mountain is covered in snow all year round, but the foot of the mountain remains lush green, with several villages built along a stream there.

Sitting on a rock in a remote place by the stream was a young man wearing thin clothes. Not fearing the cold water, he had his trousers rolled and teased the little yellow ducks raised by nearby households in the stream. With a carefree laugh, he shouted, “Catching duckies~.”

The little chubby sparrow squatting on his shoulder stuck next to his ear, “Catch a few more.”

Ah Yuan shrank his neck back from the tickling sensation, “I’ll catch five.”

The little sparrow flapped its wings, “Catch them!”

Ah Yuan waddled into the water, “Quack.”

“Chirp—”

“Quack.”

“Chirp—”

Suddenly, they heard the sound of a car engine approaching and stopping at the base of the mountain.

Shocked, Ah Yuan immediately withdrew his legs from the water and crouched behind a rock. He peeked at the two men who got out of the car and saw them take out various climbing equipment from the car trunk.

“Quick! Tell the clan members that people are going up the mountain.” Ah Yuan anxiously held the little sparrow, telling him to quickly rush back to report the news.

Wild ginseng has high nutritional value and is scarce in quantity, so the market value for it far exceeds that of gold. Those artificially cultivated ginsengs are nowhere near comparable. Two years ago, a member of the Ginseng Clan was accidentally discovered by a villager on a stroll and it soon quickly spread that there are thousand-year-old ginsengs hidden in Baiyun Mountain. For these past two years, many ginseng seekers have come here to search for a holy ginseng, no matter whether it’s to make huge profits or to treat a chronic illness.

It has been miserable for the Ginseng Clan.

And as for Ah Yuan who is the only little Ginseng Spirit in the entire clan that could transform into a human for the past thousand years, he naturally took up the important task of guarding the mountain base and warding off any disasters for the clan.

Ah Yuan nervously peeked at the two men, especially the tall one wearing a peaked cap. He feels that man will be hard to handle, and soon, he’ll have to create some “obstacles” for them along the way.

·

The entire mountain road was filled with the sound of Tang Jiefan complaining.

“No way…how is this stupid mountain different from the one shown on the map? There’s a fallen tree blocking the way every few steps and even after going around so much, we still haven’t reached the campsite! I’m exhausted! ”

“I’m never climbing an unpaved mountain again in the future. Isn’t this just punishing myself?”

“I must be going crazy! I thought I saw a snake just now, a snake ah! I’m at my wits’ end! Isn’t it better to lie down comfortably at home with the heater on and eat hot pot?”

Tang Jiefan has a slightly fat physique and his legs are relatively short. He was already out of breath and panting from the hike up. He complained endlessly but never got a response. From the corner of his eye, he saw the other man go in the opposite direction, so he quickly shouted, “Ah Qi! You’re going the wrong way! Look at the mark on this tree, it should be this way!”

The mountaineering enthusiasts who came to this mountain before made a mark on the tree for the convenience of themselves and future visitors.

Mu Qi scanned the surrounding environment, and touched the scratches on the tree next to him. He found that there were two layers, with the outermost layer having relatively new traces. Obviously, it was added recently. He thought for a moment, then lifted the brim of his hat, “There’s a problem with the mark, it should be this way.”

“What?” Tang Jiefan looked at the map, then trees. He shivered, and quickly followed, “Hey, wait for me!”

They finally reached the camp site before the sun went down. Tang Jiefan patted Mu Qi on the shoulder, “Luckily we have you, otherwise we would’ve suffered tonight.”

This kind of remote mountainous area is the most dangerous at night.

Mu Qi didn’t speak. He took out a flashlight and patrolled around the camping site.

The site is on a piece of flat land halfway up the mountain. It’s close to the stream and has a wide view, making it fairly convenient and safe.

However, the weather has been unstable recently, making it unlikely for climbers to come, so it’s only the two of them tonight. The forest at night is quiet and dark, with only the occasional strange cries of frogs and birds.

They quickly set up two tents. Mu Qi sprayed mosquito repellent spray inside, while Tang Jiefan went to pick up some branches to start a campfire. The fire provided warmth for this winter night and brought a constant light source.

There was a lot of exercising today and they were busy till now so Mu Qi felt a little dizzy. He decided to sit cross-legged inside the tent instead of near the fire. After a while, he leaned slightly against the sleeping bag, with his eyes hidden under the brim of his hat as the light from his phone coldly shone on his face.

Tang Jiefan came in and snatched away his mobile phone, putting it in his pocket, “The signal on this mountain is terrible, there’s nothing interesting to see.”

“Those online all have nothing better to do, most of them aren’t happy with their own lives so they go ruin other people’s. I don’t think many of them are real netizens, most should be antis hired by others. All they do is talk nonsense all day, I’m so fucking tired from sending out lawyer’s letters every time. I almost want to start a fundraising campaign for them to get their brains’ checked out! Eh, let’s forget about them now. Didn’t we agree to come here to hike and relax? Let’s turn off our phones!” Tang Jiefan turned off both their phones just as he mentioned it.

Seeing that Mu Qi was still silent, Tang Jiefan tried to divert his attention. He went to unpack their luggage, “Ah Qi, you go prepare the barbeque grill. I’ll wash the ingredients, and we’ll have a good meal tonight. ”

Tang Jiefan brought a lot of pork belly, beef, mutton, chicken wings, and vegetables. After washing and chopping them into small pieces with a knife, he quickly place them on the grill.

Mu Qi rubbed his temples, then joined him in seasoning the food with the barbecue mix. He glanced at Tang Jiefan’s movement, “One person’s serving amount is enough.”

Tang Jiefan ignored him and continued to spread out more food, “I didn’t say it’s for you. This is all for me, don’t try to steal some from me later!”

Mu Qi silently stared at him for two seconds and didn’t reply. He took off his cap to fan the charcoal fire and concentrate on grilling the meat.

Soon, the surface of the pork belly glistened with oil, releasing a mouth-watering aroma. The cumin and black pepper popped on the surface of the meat as the oil sizzled onto the charcoal.

Tang Jiefan impatiently ate it regardless of the heat, yelling out, “”Damn! Delicious! Ah Qi, your cooking is amazing! You amaze me every time, I’m already used to freeloading off your food now. Compared to the food your sister-in-law makes that’s, ah, it’s edible…”

Mu Qi handed him a napkin, “Wipe your mouth.”

“You should try it too.” Tang Jiefan held up a piece with his chopsticks and brought it next to his mouth.

Mu Qi took a step back reflexively, and frowned at him, “Fan-ge¹.”

Tang Jiefan felt his heart tighten, but his expression still appeared relaxed and natural, “Look, we exercised a lot from hiking up the mountain today, it should be fine to eat one piece of meat? Everything’s already cooked, wouldn’t it be a waste if you don’t eat some?

“154 kcal per 100 grams. The calories consumed after eating everything on this plate including the dipping sauce is equivalent to hiking up this mountain today for nothing, not to mention it’ll take another 2 hours of walking to fully offset the consumption. I’ve also eaten some compressed biscuits on the way up. I’ve taken in enough calories for today.” Mu Qi calculated almost immediately without hesitation as he turned over the food on the grill, “ You were the one who said you want to eat, you‘ll be responsible for eating everything yourself.”

He put down the tongs and distanced himself from Tang Jiefan, and neither did he give food on the grill a second glance.

Tang Jiefan instantly felt that the delicious food in his mouth became tasteless, and was a little dejected, “I thought you will be happier after eating something.”

Mu Qi threw over a can of beer to him, and opened one for himself, “I’ll probably be even unhappier after I eat.”

Tang Jiefan squeezed his chopsticks tightly and tentatively asked,

“Then let’s find something else to do? The last time I sent you an orange cat, you said you didn’t want it. Your sister-in-law said that she might as well introduce someone to you, anyway it’s not as if the company cares now. It’s also good to start a relationship and shift your focus. What type do you like?”

Mu Qi sat next to the tent, took a sip of the beer, “I like those who talk less.”

Tang Jiefan, “…”

He ate a piece of potato, and kept nodding his head from the deliciousness, “One thing is for sure though, your cooking is delicious. Why don’t we open a restaurant together? You will be the head chef and I will be the manager who helps you count
the money…”

“You’ll be busy”, Mu Qi looked at him and said.

Tang Jiefan was taken aback for a bit, then took another bite, “Oh, I will be busy but it’s nothing serious, I resigned.”

Mu Qi was stunned, he lightly squeezed the can in his hand, “You don’t have to do that for me…”

“Okay now, you’re thinking too much. It’s because I can’t stand staying in that idiot company anymore! It’s not completely for you. Besides, you, their most profitable artist, is leaving. Can’t I, as your manager, escape together with you?”

Mu Qi’s brows just furrowed deeper. Tang Jiefan rolled his eyes, and changed the subject with a smile, “Didn’t I do a lot of research before coming here? I also discovered a very mysterious legend about here, you want to hear it? ”

Mu Qi asked, “Did the company make things difficult for you because of me…”

“Did you know that there are Ginseng spirits on this mountain?” Tang Jiefan interrupted him, his voice suddenly became quieter, whispering, “Legend has it that Ginseng spirits are exquisite in appearance and incomparable to any beauty. The royal family back in ancient times would catch them back to make them pets or eat them to prolong their life and never die. The way to catch them is also very interesting. They are afraid of red things so if you just tie something red to them, they won’t be able to escape.”

Wanting to try it, he picked up a branch and poked around, “Let me see how beautiful they can be…”

Mu Qi seemed to have not heard him. He was hidden in the shadow of the tent, and not even the light from the fire could reach him.

Tang Jiefan felt a little frustrated in his heart and threw away the branch.

In the end, he filled up a plate with barbecue, cut up some fruit, and placed it in front of Mu Qi, “Last week, the doctor said that your Mizes Anorectic Cognitions².” score has reached a dangerous value. Symptoms of dizziness and insomnia have begun to appear, and if it gets worse… Ah Qi, we won’t be in the entertainment industry anymore, but you still have to think about those who care about you. If your grandma hadn’t passed away yet and sees you like this… I’ll go find a place with a good signal and report to your sister-in-law that you’re safe.

The signal in the mountains is quite bad, Tang Jiefan only got a signal after walking further away.

On the other side of the camping area, only the crackling sound of the fire burning remained.

The beer flows through the spleen and into the stomach, turning cold. Mu Qi caressed the braided red rope around his wrist. After rubbing it all year round, a bit of the surface layer has been rubbed off and loosened, no longer tightly fitted on his wrist.

This is the red rope that his grandma got for him at a temple to keep him safe when she was still alive.

He doesn’t believe in such things, but he still wears it in memory of her.

Looking at the barbeque that was still steaming, the smell of meat that entered Mu Qi’s nostrils seemed like it was mocking him. The emotion in Mu Qi’s eyes wavered.

Maybe he can make the most delicious food in the world, but in exchange, he suffers from anorexia. Even he doesn’t want to believe such a cruel joke.

He is obviously very hungry right now, but he hates chewing, and is even more afraid of swallowing. It’s unknown when it started, but eating has become a difficult task for him. He would even accurately control his calories down the single digits.

Even now, he is thinking about whether the beer he just drank will exceed his daily caloric needs.

At the same time, a black shadow was quietly approaching the plate of barbecue.

The little sparrow circled around Ah Yuan, “Don’t go over there, we’re done for if the humans find us! Let’s leave!”

Ah Yuan obediently squatted next to the barbecue, “It’s been quiet for a while, maybe they fell asleep. And I have been observing them all day. They’re not ginseng hunters, it seems they just came to climb the mountain. They also smell nice, I don’t think they came to harm the animals and plants here. No, no, I mean he’s seems like a nice person…” His eyes fixed squarely on the barbeque.

Hearing what he said, the little sparrow was relieved, and followed him in drooling at the grilled corn on the plate, “This person doesn’t seem to be eating it. Can we eat it? Human food smells so good, there’s no way for us to get those spices here…”

“No.” Ah Yuan was so hungry his legs gave out so he sat down at the side, “We can’t touch other people’s things without permission.”

The little sparrow also jumped up and down with envy next to him.

Inside the tent.

Mu Qi originally couldn’t hold his alcohol and was already a little tipsy, but after being startled by the sudden hazy appearance of a young man, he instantly sobered up.

The youth was wearing a white sweater and washed white jeans that showed his fair ankles. Mu Qi’s first thought wasn’t questioning who he was, but whether or not he was cold.

His hair is a light chestnut, both fluffy and slightly curly. His pupils reflected the light from the flames, appearing clear and bright. He looked at the meat intently, as if what was in front of him was the most precious thing in the world.

The boy took out a green fruit, which looks like a wild fruit from the mountains,  from his pocket. He stiffly broke it apart and sent it to his mouth all while still staring at the barbecue without blinking, as if he was eating the meat instead.

The juice in the flesh collided with the gums, making the sound of his chewing and swallowing very prominent on this quiet night. But Mu Qi unexpectedly felt it was a little…cute?

He didn’t know why this word first came to his mind.

Mu Qi’s eyes couldn’t help but linger on the fruit between the boy’s lips for a few seconds.

The little sparrow tried to steal some several times, but was stopped by the boy every time. It also kept calling out “chirp chirp chirp” as if communicating with the youth.

The youth seems to be from the nearby village?

“You can eat it.” Mu Qi quietly spoke up.

He had already lowered his voice as much as possible, but the young man was still frightened and almost dropped the green fruit in his hand. He quickly backed up, but the little sparrow didn’t follow him. It’s eyes were only focused on the sweet corn that was charred on the outside and tender on the inside as it continued to hover near the plate.

No matter how much Ah Yuan called out to it, he was ignored.

Ah Yuan could only twist at the hem of his clothes, hesitating, before mustering up the courage to re-approach.

He carefully looked at the man leaning against the tent.

A Yuan stretched out his hand to catch the sparrow but couldn’t. He signed and embarrassingly apologized to Mu Qi, “”I’m sorry ah, my friend is a bit mischievous.”

He also couldn’t help himself and sneakily glanced at the plate of barbecue.

Mu Qi expressed he didn’t mind and motioned towards the plate with the beer in his hand, “Go ahead.”

Since he insisted, Ah Yuan also didn’t pretend to be polite.

He was really hungry. Although there were a lot of fruits in the forest, those fruits no longer taste as delicious as before ever since he turned into a human and paid special attention to human food.

Ah Yuan thanked him, then sat down lightly and picked a piece of chicken wing covered in honey sauce to eat.

“Don’t you want to use chopsticks?” Mu Qi reminded in a hoarse voice.

Ah Yuan licks his lower lip in embarrassment. In fact, he wasn’t used to using those things, but using his hands is indeed too crude and unlike a human. He had no choice but to poke at the meat with the chopsticks to eat, but fortunately it didn’t bother him.

The barbecue should’ve gone a bit cold by now, but the youth in front of him didn’t seem to care at all and enjoyed it nonetheless. At the beginning, he ate very quickly, but then he seemed reluctant to finish everything and began to take small bites.

The crisp chewing sound reached Mu Qi’s ears again. He suddenly felt restless and took a sip of beer.

Despite Ah Yuan’s reluctance, he still finished eating all the meat.

Mu Qi noticed that the boy’s gaze turned to the deep pink fruit next to him.

“What is this?” Ah Yuan knew that it was edible, but the color was so strange.

Mu Qi replied, “Dragon fruit, have you never tried it before?”

“We don’t have any here.” As he spoke, Ah Yuan forked up a piece with his chopsticks, “How do you eat this?”

Mu Qi looked at his curious face, and his heart moved, “Eat the red flesh and spit out the black seeds inside.”

Ah Yuan blinked, “So troublesome?”

Though he said it was troublesome, he still took a small bite of the dragon fruit and obediently used his tongue to separate the flesh and seeds, stained his lips pink in the process.

He even grinned at Mu Qi.

After swallowing the fruit and carefully spitting out the seeds onto the plate, “It’s tasteless… Oh no! I accidentally swallowed some seeds, what should I do?”

He panicked.

Mu Qi coughed lightly, “Then you might have lots of dragon fruits grow in your stomach.”

“Ah—” Ah Yuan’s eyes widened, “What should I do, this…”

The man in the tent shrugged his shoulders, but a few seconds later, the sound of laughter escaped his mouth.

Ah Yuan was stunned for a moment, and then realized he was being tricked!

“You, you!” A Yuan stood up from his seat and angrily stared at Mu Qi, but the latter didn’t try to hide it anymore as the sound of his laughter filled the air.

Ah Yuan was flustered and confused. In the end, he fished out the green fruit that he hadn’t finished eating and threw at Mu Qi.

He was about to leave after throwing it, but was stopped by Mu Qi— “Wait.”

Ah Yuan was fuming, he had his back turned and didn’t look at him, but his footsteps still stopped.

Mu Qi dug out a piece of chocolate from Tang Jiefan’s bag and handed it to Ah Yuan, “As an apology.”

Ah Yuan didn’t want to accept it at first, but he couldn’t hold back when he smelled the sweet scent coming from the edge of the tinfoil wrap. He likes to eat sweet things the most, so this apology was completely irresistible to him.

“It’s already so late, go home.” After speaking, Mu Qi left him alone and sat back in the tent. Only then did he realize that he was still holding the unnamed green fruit that Ah Yuan took a small bite out of just now.

Who knows why, but he turned the green fruit over, and took a small bite at an untouched corner.

Very tart.

But not too bad.

What followed was the familiar sense of resistance, his body instinctively wanted him to spit out what was in his mouth. There seemed to be a monster living in his internal organs, crazily yelling at him.

You’ve never eaten this thing before, you don’t know how many calories this thing has! Just one small bite can make you lose control of your weight!

He closed his eyes, and his hands trembled slightly. After a long struggle, he was finally able to swallow the fruit.

When he opened his eyes again, his gaze returned to their usual indifference.

He lay down in his sleeping bag, feeling that his actions just now were a bit ridiculous.

……

Ah Yuan, who was outside the tent, stood there for a while. After making sure that man wouldn’t come out again, quickly peel off the tinfoil and stuff the chocolate into his mouth. As the slightly bitter milky taste melted in his mouth into pure sweetness, Ah Yuan’s anger vanished immediately, it’s just…

The smell inside was a bit weird, a bit like— alcohol?

He wanted to spit it out immediately, but it was too late! His body quickly turned numb as it changed. His limbs turned into ginseng whiskers, exuding the scent of medicine. In an instant, he turned into a small white jade-like ginseng and fainted on the grass.

Ginseng spirits are not only afraid of red, they are also afraid of alcohol!

As long as he drinks a drop of alcohol, he will change back to his original form and become unable to move. This is also one of the reasons why humans would infuse ginseng in alcohol.

Ah Yuan’s last thought was, this was actually an alcoholic chocolate?

·

The next morning.

Mu Qi’s tent was flung open from the outside, “Ah Qi, Ah Qi! The weather forecast said that there will be heavy rain soon, we have to quickly go down the mountain, otherwise it will be difficult to walk on the road later.”

Secretly, he was a bit surprised. Didn’t Mu Qi have insomnia yesterday? But he’s sleeping quite deeply right now.

After a while, a voice came from inside, “I know.”

Tang Jiefan began to dismantle the tents, “When I was on call last night, I thought I heard you laugh. Who were you talking to?”

Mu Qi unzipped the tent zipper and came out fully dressed.

Tang Jiefan noticed his usual indifferent expression and suddenly felt that he must have heard wrongly last night.

While washing, Mu Qi looked at the place where the barbecue grill was yesterday. Everything had already been cleaned up by Tang Jiefan till there wasn’t even a piece of rubbish left.

What happened last night seemed to be just a dream he had from getting drunk.

Tang Jiefan kept urging, “Quick! Hurry up! You can see that the weather is already changing, we have to leave immediately.”

Thus, Mu Qi nimbly put the mountaineering bag on his back with his left hand holding the folded tent and his right hand carrying the grill as he hurried down the mountain with Tang Jiefan, not noticing that the red rope on his wrist had silently slipped off…

Coincidentally or not, it hit the head of the little sleeping ginseng on the ground.

The little ginseng’s whiskers moved and the medicinal fragrance overflowed again, instantly turning it back into a delicate and soft youth.

Ah Yuan’s hair turned messy in his sleep. He sat up sleepily and raised his hand to rub his eyes, only to see an extra red rope hanging from his wrist…

Ah Yuan: ?

Two seconds later.

Ah Yuan:! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

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1. Ge – Means Brother, Close form of address, Doesn’t always mean they are related.
2. (MAC) A scale that was developed to assess cognitions relevant to anorexia and bulimia nervosa.