He finished a bowl of water and looked up to the people in front of him. He was calm, but there was unmistakable fatigue on his aged face.

"Master, young miss," he spoke slowly to Han Zhengting and Mingyue. "My name is Li Ran. I heard that you brought me here to learn about Shadow Gra.s.s."

"Can you tell us how to find the gra.s.s?" Han Zhengting asked.

Li Ran lifted his head to the old man. "First, I would like to know if my wife's illness can be treated."

"It would be difficult, but not impossible," Han Zhengting answered. "She will have to undergo treatment for a long time. As long as you're willing, there is hope that she can be cured. However, everything will depend on the patient."

The man nodded. "As long as there is hope. I will do anything you say."

"Tell them what you have told me about that herb. Don't worry. You can tell them slowly." Jiang Xiao Tian urged.

The man opened up his mouth and closed it again. After a long silence, he asked, "Is finding this herb important to you?"

Han Zhengting exchanged a look with his grandchildren. Then he looked at the man his grandson, Jiang Xiao Tian had brought to him.

"Yes. One of my granddaughters was poisoned for years. Although I had turned the poison dormant at this moment, it still resided in her body. I wanted to see my granddaughter live healthily and happily." Han Zhengting said.

"You couldn't use other herbs to treat her? Is there no other way?" Li Ran asked.

"My granddaughter has been poisoned with poison from unknown origin. We have tried every method, fed her with many concoctions, but nothing works. The Shadow Gra.s.s is our last hope." Han Zhengting said.

"I would not recommend you to look for those herbs if you are not desperate." Li Ran heaved a heavy sigh. "My wife and I live in the mountain in the southern region. We had a son."

Han Zhengting and his grandchildren were quiet as they hear the elderly man's story.

"My family dug wild vegetables and herbs in the mountain as a way to support my family. That was how I encountered the Shadow Gra.s.s. I heard people talking about this herb since I was younger. I know a thing or two on how to identify this herb."

"That morning, my wife and my son accompanied me to the mountain to dug some vegetable as usual. I can still remember how the sky suddenly turned dark as if it s.h.i.+fted to nighttime. It was then when I saw the herbs under the pear blossom tree."

"I tried to dig up the herbs with my son's help. We were very excited because we knew how our life would change when we sell this herb later on. But then…" Li Ran paused, and he lowered his gaze.

"What happened?" Han Zhengting reached for the man's hand and patted it softly to encourage him to continue.

Li Ran bit his lower lips when his nose started to feel stung. "When my son grabbed the herbs, he suddenly disappeared before our eyes. It was as if he vanished into thin air. We got the herbs, but our son were missing."