The Phantom Groom System

Chapter 9: Century-Old Wild Ginseng

"We're rich! We're rich! Danny, we're gonna be living large!"

The second they stepped outside, Gimpy couldn't hold it in anymore, whooping and hopping around like a kid.

Over a hundred dollars, when had either of them ever seen that kind of money?

"Danny, now that we've got cash, what's the plan? How about we hit up a brothel, get some drinks in?"

Squint watched Gimpy rubbing his hands together and couldn't help but snap, "Are you out of your mind? A drink and a girl at those places runs tens of dollars a pop, and finding an actual wife costs hundreds. What are you thinking?"

"Fine, genius, what's your plan then?" Gimpy grumbled.

"If you ask me..." Squint swallowed hard, wiping his mouth. "I say we hit a restaurant. Get some roast duck. Back when I was begging outside one, some old man tossed me a piece of duck tail once, best thing I ever tasted"

"All you ever think about is food. Money in, straight into the toilet the next morning. What a waste."

Gimpy huffed and turned to Danny. "Danny, what do you think we oughta do with it?"

Danny watched the two of them bicker and smiled. "Don't worry. You'll both get your duck and your women eventually."

"But first, I need to find an apothecary. Get some spirit herbs, something to buy myself more time."

Both of their heads dropped, shame washing over them instantly.

Right, they'd almost forgotten. Danny was still on borrowed time, the Phantom Bride's curse ticking down. The excitement of easy money evaporated just as fast as it had come.

"We can't blow this money on nonsense!" Squint said, suddenly serious. "Danny, let's go find you some medicine first."

"We'll follow your lead. Forget our ideas for now, every dollar goes toward keeping you alive."

"There'll be other chances to make money later."

"A hundred dollars ought to buy you a hundred more years of life, right?"

"Maybe even a thousand?"

Footsteps approached from behind.

"Wait! Danny, wait up!"

Danny frowned and turned.

Old Man Carter came jogging up with his daughter in tow, beaming at Danny like he'd won the lottery. "I've known since you were knee-high you'd amount to something. Remember how good I was to you back then?"

The alley was small, everybody knew everybody's business.

Danny sifted through the old memories and pieced together who this man was.

Carter, nobody remembered his first name, just what the whole alley had always called him. The timid girl behind him was his daughter, Daisy, who used to play with Danny as a kid. As she got older, Carter had stopped letting her run around outside.

As for that "goodness" he was bragging about, the man had spent years taking advantage of Danny as a child, roping him into free labor for the household without so much as feeding him a meal for it.

Danny ignored him and turned to leave.

Carter grabbed his sleeve.

"Hey, Danny, where you headed?"

Carter had watched from the street as Danny walked out of Lenny's place with a small fortune. Obviously the kid was off to blow it on something fun. As an elder, surely he was owed a taste, right?

Danny glanced back at him, then yanked him down to the ground without warning.

"Hey, you little punk, how dare you lay hands on your elders!"

"Oh, my back! My poor old bones!"

"You little bastard! You've crippled me! Pay up right now, or I'll go tell every neighbor in this alley what a rotten kid you turned out to be"

Carter collapsed to the ground, immediately furious, pointing and cursing.

Danny stared at him, cold. "You want to die?"

Carter, unfazed at first, hauled himself up and dusted off his backside, ready to keep hollering.

Then he caught the look in Danny's eyes and went cold all over.

"...I I mean, you did just come into some money. A small cut for an old friend wouldn't hurt, would it?"

His voice trailed off into nothing.

Daisy, mortified, grabbed her father and hauled him away, throwing apologies back over her shoulder the whole time.

"I'm so sorry, Danny, and thank you, for earlier."

"Dad, would you stop embarrassing yourself, let's go!"

Watching them leave, Gimpy shook his head. "Old man Carter used to be a hard worker, before the gambling got its hooks in him."

Squint sighed. "Yeah. Shame about Daisy too. Real pretty as a kid. Now she's carrying the whole family on her back, and it's aged her twenty years."

Danny said nothing, just frowned and turned to keep walking.

Before long they reached the largest apothecary in the south end of the city.

Inside Whitfield & Sons Apothecary, the moment they asked about a thousand-year-old ginseng root, the clerk burst out laughing.

"A thousand-year root? You three???"

He looked them over with a bemused smile, then shook his head. "No offense, gentlemen. But even our own store owner couldn't afford one of those."

"That's the highest grade of medicine there is, not something ordinary folk can even dream of touching. A full thousand-year root runs tens of thousands of dollars, easy. There's maybe a handful of people in all of Ashford County who could afford one."

Squint and Gimpy exchanged an awkward glance, scratching their heads.

"What about a hundred-year root?" Danny cut in, unbothered.

The clerk noticed something in Danny's bearing and dropped the mocking tone. "We do have a century-old root in stock. Good condition, weighs about two and a half ounces. Eight hundred dollars."

The three of them froze.

That expensive?!

Squint and Gimpy's eyes went wide with fresh sticker shock.

Even Danny's brow furrowed. He'd guessed these herbs would run steep, but not that steep. Vince's entire life savings probably wouldn't have covered a plot of land, let alone this.

"Can I take a look at it?" Danny asked, thinking it over.

The clerk hesitated. "Sir, that's one of our finest pieces, only the owner himself is authorized to bring it out for viewing."

"But I can show you a cutting trimmed off a century root, if that helps."

Danny nodded. "That'll do."

He had a theory brewing, and he needed to test it.

A moment later, the clerk carefully carried out a small wooden box, set it on the counter, and lifted the lid.

Resting on red silk sat a pale root, about the width of a pinky finger.

Whether it was the spiritual energy soaked into this world or something else entirely, the root in front of Danny bore no resemblance to any ginseng he'd seen back in his old life. A faint medicinal scent rose off it, one breath alone felt clarifying.

Danny leaned in closer, studying it.

A mechanical voice sounded in his mind.

【Usable herb detected. Equip?】

【Century Wild Ginseng Root (Cutting)】

【Rank: White】

【Bonus: None】

【Special Effect: Placed in an equipment slot, grants +3 Max Vitality. Alternatively, consume from the slot to instantly restore 5 Vitality.】

【Requirement: None】

【A trimming cut from a century-old wild ginseng root, carrying a trace of its medicinal properties.】