Divine Level Witch Doctor

The two experts rattled on excitedly, mixing in a great deal of local dialect, leaving Zhao Yuan utterly confused. He had to cut them off, prompting, ”Slow down. Speak clearly. What on earth happened?”

Zhao Yuan felt a knot of anxiety in his stomach. ’Could something have gone wrong at the medicinal herb plantation? No, that shouldn’t be possible. I set up an Array passed down by Wu Peng there. What could have possibly gone wrong?’

Fortunately, the two experts quickly dispelled his worries.

”Boss Zhao, those medicinal seeds you sowed a couple of days ago—they’ve all sprouted! It’s simply miraculous!” Li Tao’s excited voice burst from the phone, completely devoid of his usual calm demeanor.

Meng Dahua’s voice immediately followed. ”Nearly a hundred types of herbs, all with completely different environmental requirements, somehow successfully growing on the same mountain—it’s an absolute miracle! What’s even more unbelievable is that they were sown in the dead of winter and sprouted just a few days later! I’ve been cultivating medicinal herbs for so many years, and I’ve never seen anything so astounding!”

”Oh, is that all?” Zhao Yuan finally understood why the two experts had called. He chuckled and said, ”Didn’t I tell you when I sowed the seeds that they would definitely grow? What, you didn’t believe a word I said?”

The two experts were embarrassed, stammering speechless. Inwardly, however, they were grumbling, ’How were we supposed to know back then that things would actually turn out exactly as you said?’

Zhao Yuan, meanwhile, was laughing to himself. ’On that mountain, I used the Five Elements Gourd to set up an Array that gathers the surrounding Spiritual Qi and the essence of the sun and moon. Nourished by all that energy, it would be strange if the herbs *didn’t* sprout.’

”Anything else? If not, I’m hanging up,” Zhao Yuan said.

The two experts panicked and yelled, ”Wait, don’t hang up! Boss Zhao, we want to ask, how is it possible for nearly a hundred types of herbs with different needs to grow successfully on the same mountain? Also, how did they overcome the cold winter? Based on our observations, many of the herbs you planted can only survive if sown in spring or summer.”

Of course, Zhao Yuan couldn’t tell them the truth, so he casually made up an excuse. ”It’s quite simple: good land, good water, good people. On top of that, this batch of seeds was of superior quality, so of course they thrived.”

”That’s it?” The two experts were deeply skeptical.

Zhao Yuan replied, ”That’s it. What do you think the reason is, then?”

On the other end of the line, both experts couldn’t help but roll their eyes.

’If we knew the reason, would we need to be asking you?’

They weren’t fools; they could tell Zhao Yuan was just brushing them off. But there was nothing they could do. After all, Zhao Yuan was the boss. If he didn’t want to say, it wasn’t like they could torture the information out of him. Besides, if they possessed such a Secret Technique, they wouldn’t readily share it with others either.

So, they settled for the next best thing and made a request. ”Boss Zhao, how about this: could you let us dig up a few of the medicinal saplings for research?”

The two experts were filled with anticipation. If they could figure out why so many different herbs could be successfully cultivated in the same place, in the dead of winter, they would surely become famous overnight in the world of medicinal herb cultivation!

Unfortunately for them, however, Zhao Yuan rejected their request without a moment’s hesitation.

After hanging up, Zhao Yuan waited a moment before dialing the landline for the village committee office.

The person who answered happened to be the old village chief. After a polite greeting, Zhao Yuan asked, ”How’s everyone’s training on how to care for the medicinal herbs been going these past two days?”

The old village chief replied, ”Everyone’s been really eager to learn. According to the two experts, they should be completing their studies very soon.”

”Call me the moment their training is done.” After giving the instruction, Zhao Yuan added, ”And Sir, if you would, please have someone keep an eye on those two experts for the next couple of days. Don’t let them dig up any of the medicinal saplings on their own.”

The old village chief replied, ”You don’t have to tell me; I’m already on it. You have no idea, but for the past two days, Expert Li and Expert Meng have been acting like starving wolves, staring at the saplings in the plantation with green-eyed envy. I don’t know if they’ve been possessed or what...”

This description made Zhao Yuan burst out laughing.

Since the old village chief already had precautions in place, Zhao Yuan didn’t say anything more and simply hung up.

A few days later, the old village chief called to inform Zhao Yuan that the experts’ training course was complete. Zhao Yuan immediately called Fang Yi and had him send someone to bring the two experts down from the mountain.

Over the past few days, the two experts had called him daily to report on the medicinal herbs’ growth.

Nourished by the Five Elements Array, the medicinal herbs seemed to transform daily. A few short days of growth produced better results than several months of cultivation elsewhere. It completely upended everything the two experts thought they knew.

If the villagers hadn’t been so vigilant, the experts would have likely already snuck out and dug up some herbs for research.

Sending them away sooner would give Zhao Yuan some peace and quiet, and he would no longer have to worry day and night about his herbs being secretly excavated.

In preparation for the day the plantation became famous and people might try to steal the herbs, Zhao Yuan had also asked the old village chief to organize a ”herb-guarding team” to patrol the grounds daily.

Huang Jie was the one sent to pick up the two experts. However, when he got there, they flat-out refused to leave, insisting on staying to continue observing and researching the herbs. They even offered to pay for the privilege.

With no other option, Huang Jie had to call Zhao Yuan to report the situation.

After some consideration, Zhao Yuan agreed to let the two experts stay. After all, he couldn’t be at the plantation all the time. If something were to happen, he wouldn’t be able to deal with it immediately. Having two experts there could at least help hold down the fort in an emergency.

Of course, he didn’t forget to lay down a few conditions.

First, they were not to call him unless it was something important, as their constant pestering was driving him mad. Second, they could observe all they wanted, but they were absolutely forbidden from digging up any herbs. And third, they were not to disclose anything happening at the medicinal herb plantation without his permission.

The two experts agreed to these three conditions without the slightest hesitation.

With two free laborers on site, Zhao Yuan no longer had to worry too much about the development of the medicinal herb plantation.

That afternoon, after spending some time reading in the library with Lin Xue, Zhao Yuan headed to the anatomy building to do some cleanup work with the other assistants.

He was in the middle of working when Yu Ke strode out of her office. She looked up, saw him, and commanded, ”Zhao Yuan, drop what you’re doing and come with me.”

”Where to?” Zhao Yuan asked.

Yu Ke spat out a single word: ”Autopsy!”