The Lone Dragon of China.

With one hand, Qin Fei held the seemingly ordinary mountain ginseng, while his other hand gently tapped the large root of the herb.

"Qin Fei, you should just apologize to Shen Gong. I've had dealings with him, and he won't make things difficult for you," Hao Chunming quietly advised from the side.

Qin Fei smiled but paid no heed.

He exerted force in his hand and roughly peeled back the outer skin of the ginseng.

"Hmph, all show and no substance," Shen Hongyi sneered. "I refuse to believe you can peel out a century-old ginseng."

Shen Gong also shook his head repeatedly. He had scrutinized this ginseng carefully, and it seemed almost devoid of medicinal properties. Had it truly been a "King of Herbs," its fragrance would have wafted through the air by now.

Qin Fei ignored them, continuing to use his fingernail to gently slit the outer skin.

The skin peeled away like a delicate layer of cloth, and to everyone's astonishment, the ginseng began to tremble violently in his hand.

As the outer skin was fully removed, a 40-centimeter-long mountain ginseng was revealed, and instantly, a rich medicinal fragrance pierced the air!

"Whoosh!"

The ginseng, as though it had grown limbs, attempted to flee!

"Trying to run?" Qin Fei snorted, tightening his grip and easily seizing the root.

Immediately, the ginseng seemed to have been throttled, and it slowly settled into stillness.

The previously withered yellow ginseng had vanished, replaced by a perfect specimen, as translucent and pure as a newborn baby.

"This... this is a millennium-old ginseng?!" Shen Gong's heart raced, his excitement barely contained. His face even contorted slightly in disbelief.

Qin Fei smiled. "Indeed, this is a millennium-old ginseng."

"Qin Xiao, Mr. Qin, could I perhaps borrow this ginseng for a moment?" Shen Gong stammered, trembling hands reaching out in excitement.

"Of course," Qin Fei responded graciously.

He handed the ginseng to Shen Gong, who accepted it cautiously, his shaking hands gently caressing the herb.

"It truly is a millennium-old ginseng!" Shen Gong whispered to himself. "In all my years of practicing medicine, I have never seen one. I only encountered pictures in ancient texts. To behold it today... I have no regrets, even if I were to die now!"

Qin Fei stepped forward, positioning himself in front of Shen Gong, as if guarding the ginseng from being taken by others.

"The true millennium-old ginseng has already developed sentience. To evade humans, it naturally adopts a disguise," Qin Fei chuckled. "So, if you couldn't recognize it, it doesn't mean much."

Shen Gong smiled wryly, trembling as he returned the ginseng to Qin Fei. He then bowed deeply. "I apologize. Your judgment is far beyond mine."

Qin Fei silently sighed inwardly. Thousands of years ago, millennium-old ginseng had been quite common. What was so remarkable about this?

"Sir, might you be willing to sell this ginseng to me? I am prepared to offer ten million," a voice came from the crowd.

"Ten million? Who are you fooling? A King of Herbs like this is worth at least one hundred million!"

"Bro, leave me a contact number. I'll send you one hundred million when I get back!"

Qin Fei smiled. "Sorry, everyone. I have a use for this ginseng myself, and I have no intention of parting with it at the moment."

"Young man, your insight is truly sharp!" someone exclaimed.

The most disheartened of all was the small merchant, who, upon hearing the figure of one hundred million, was so overwhelmed he nearly fainted.

"I've lost." At that moment, Shen Hongyi stepped forward, holding his lingzhi.

His once-proud demeanor had vanished, replaced by a sense of defeat.

Even Shen Gong had felt inferior, let alone his own abilities.

"Sorry," Shen Hongyi muttered, bowing his head. "From today onward, I will retire from the field of Traditional Chinese Medicine."

As he spoke, Shen Hongyi's body involuntarily trembled. Perhaps to hide the pain in his heart, he turned and began to leave.

"Wait," Qin Fei quickly called out, smiling. "It was just a bet, no need to take it so seriously. A skilled practitioner like you is rare. If you give up now, wouldn't that be too regrettable?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Hongyi looked at Qin Fei in shock.

"What... what did you say?" Shen Hongyi seemed to not believe what he was hearing.

Qin Fei smiled. "Traditional Chinese Medicine is in decline, and what it lacks most are talents. Do you want to see it vanish from history completely?"

Tears immediately welled up in Shen Hongyi's eyes.

No one knew of his deep love for Chinese medicine, especially in the modern world where Western medicine reigned supreme.

Qin Fei's words were nothing short of a lifeline.

"Quick, thank him!" Shen Gong urged from the side.

Shen Hongyi bowed deeply once more, saying with sincerity, "Thank you, thank you. I will not disappoint your expectations!"

Qin Fei waved his hand and prepared to leave.

"Qin Fei, I never imagined your vision would be so sharp. Even Shen Gong couldn't match you!" Hao Chunming praised as they walked back.

"Yeah, Qin Fei might be famous now!" Zhang Dui joked from the side. "By the way, do you think that ginseng really can sell for that much?"

Qin Fei explained, "Millennium-old ginseng is incredibly rare and valuable. It can save lives in dire circumstances, so it's not something that can be sold."

Zhang Dui stuck out his tongue. "If I had a ginseng like that, I'd sell it and retire to the countryside."

Qin Fei chuckled but said nothing.

As the car crossed a large bridge, Zhang Dui began to explain how magnificent the bridge was.

"It used to be a detour here, but with the bridge, it's so much more convenient," Zhang Dui said, laughing. "Building it took a lot of effort. I heard two workers even died in the water during construction."

Qin Fei glanced out the window, observing the swift currents. If someone fell in, they would be swept away in no time.

"What's going on up ahead?" Zhang Dui suddenly frowned, pointing ahead.

There was a crowd gathered at the edge of the bridge, as if something had happened.

As a police officer, Zhang Dui naturally couldn't ignore it, so he quickly steered the car toward the scene.

"What's going on?" Zhang Dui got out of the car and flashed his police badge.

"Officer, please save my daughter! I'm begging you!" A woman suddenly ran over and knelt before Zhang Dui.

Zhang Dui hurried to help her up, asking, "Please, calm down. Tell me what happened to your daughter?"

The woman, shaking, pointed toward the bridge below. "She fell! My daughter fell down there!"

"It's all my fault! I was distracted by my phone! If anything happens to my daughter, I can't go on living!"

Zhang Dui bent over and peered down. A young girl, about twelve or thirteen, was struggling desperately in the water.

"The current is too strong. Whoever goes down will die!" a middle-aged man said, frowning.

"Exactly. It's your fault, and you expect the officer to risk his life for you?"

"I'm a swimming coach. With this current, even a champion swimmer wouldn't make it!"

Hearing this, the woman sank into despair.

She wiped away her tears, gritting her teeth. "Then I'll die with my daughter!"

With that, she grabbed the railing and was about to jump.

The onlookers quickly tried to restrain her, while Zhang Dui reacted swiftly, grabbing her and advising, "The water here is too fast. There's no chance of surviving if you fall in."

"Let me go! Let me die! I can't face anyone!" The woman screamed, her makeup ruined by tears.

Meanwhile, the girl was sinking deeper into the water, only her head visible.

At that moment, a figure suddenly leaped into the water with a whoosh.

It was none other than Qin Fei.

Zhang Dui's face turned pale, and he shouted, "Have you lost your mind?"

The crowd gasped in shock, some of them even accusing the woman, "Look at what you've done! Because you were distracted by your phone, you've not only caused your daughter's death, but now you're going to get a young man killed too!"

"You're so selfish!"

"People like you don't deserve to live!"

Zhang Dui and Hao Chunming's expressions were grim. They knew the water here well, and no one had ever survived. They hadn't even been able to recover any bodies.

"It's over," Zhang Dui muttered.

They stood there, staring at the raging waters, speechless for a long time.

The crowd murmured in awe, as if mourning the loss of a passionate young life.