He had found the Agarwood.

Even though he had expected it,

Li Xu was still thrilled.

This was Ten Thousand Year Agarwood, after all.

He cleared away the surrounding soil bit by bit, as if performing a delicate surgical procedure.

As the layers of dirt were stripped away, a massive, dark-brown log finally revealed its true form.

It was a huge piece of wood, a full half-meter in diameter.

Despite being buried underground for six hundred years, it remained as hard as iron.

Its surface showed some signs of decay, but most of it was still perfectly preserved.

Li Xu picked up his pace, continuing to dig along the length of the log.

After laboring for the better part of the day, by the time the sun began to set in the west, he had finally uncovered a section of Agarwood over five meters long.

This section of wood bore obvious man-made marks.

Both ends had rough chop marks from knives and axes. One end was even charred, clearly having been set on fire.

Looking at these marks, Li Xu couldn’t help but curse the officials from all those years ago for their criminal waste.

This piece of Agarwood must have originally been much longer, at least ten or twenty meters.

To cover up their crimes, or perhaps just to make it easier to bury, those officials had actually chopped it up and even tried to burn it!

But that wasn’t the main point.

The main point was a section in the middle of the five-meter-plus log, several dozen centimeters long, where the color was distinctly different from the rest.

It was an area that appeared deep purple, almost black.

Its texture no longer looked like wood, but more like a huge piece of black jade. Its surface even shimmered with the oily luster of a treasure.

The enchanting, exotic fragrance was emanating from this very spot.

Li Xu’s eyes lit up as he gently stroked the area.

It was cool to the touch, but instantly warmed into a gentle heat.

As his fingertips brushed across it, he could almost feel the oils flowing within.

This was the legendary "Ten Thousand Year Agarwood."

The king of all Agarwood—"Qi Nan."

With ordinary Agarwood, the resin is hard and must be heated to release its fragrance.

But with Qi Nan, the resin is soft and emits a rich aroma even at room temperature.

This piece of Qi Nan had the color of black jade and a grain like flowing clouds and water—a perfect fusion of "Golden Thread Knot" and "Oil Knot," formed over ten thousand years.

Li Xu leaned in and took a deep breath.

BOOM!

In that instant, he seemed to see an ancient forest, to see lightning flashing and thunder crashing, to see ancient trees toppling, and to witness the endless cycle of life and death over countless ages.

The top note was a coolness that pierced straight to his core, instantly refreshing his mind and spirit.

The middle note was an incomparably mellow Frankincense, mixed with the sweetness of flowers and fruit, making him feel as if he were in a field of a hundred blossoms.

The base note was a deep, medicinal aroma with a hint of spice that left a lingering aftertaste, as if his very soul had been cleansed.

This was countless levels above Old Zhang’s so-called Thunderstruck Agarwood.

If the Thunderstruck Agarwood was the finest treasure of the mortal world, then this Ten Thousand Year Agarwood was a divine object from the heavens!

"So beautiful... This is a true, ultimate treasure."

Li Xu remained intoxicated for a long time before reluctantly coming back to his senses.

The log was too big and heavy;

there was no way he could carry the entire thing away by himself.

Not only would he be unable to transport it, but it would also attract unwanted attention.

But that was fine.

While this entire log of Agarwood was precious, the most valuable part was that small piece of Qi Nan.

He only needed to take this most exquisite section of Qi Nan.

Li Xu took out his lithium-ion chainsaw and aimed it at the edge of the Qi Nan.

"WHIRRR—"

The chainsaw spun to life, sending sawdust flying.

But even with a chainsaw, the cutting process was exceptionally difficult.

The Qi Nan was extremely dense and incredibly resinous.

Even the surrounding area, which was ordinary Agarwood, had been affected.

The chainsaw blade would get stuck shortly after cutting in, forcing him to stop and clean it.

Li Xu expended a Herculean effort, taking a full half-hour, to finally saw off the core piece of Ten Thousand Year Agarwood.

It was an irregularly shaped cylinder, weighing a dozen pounds or so.

Though it was just a drop in the bucket compared to the entire log, a piece of Ten Thousand Year Agarwood weighing a dozen pounds or so would be worth a king’s ransom on the market—it might even be considered a priceless treasure.

With this, he could do more than just save Zhao Qingya.

He could save many more patients.

Li Xu carefully wrapped the Qi Nan in a waterproof tarp and placed it at the very bottom of his backpack.

Then, he looked back at the rest of the still-enormous Agarwood log.

Even though it wasn’t Qi Nan,

it was still top-grade, aged Agarwood, and incredibly valuable in its own right.

Without hesitation, Li Xu grabbed his shovel and began refilling the hole with dirt.

He tamped the soil down firmly, then carefully scattered some dead grass and crushed stone on top, doing his best to restore the site to its original appearance.

Finally, he recorded the precise coordinates again with his GPS.

Li Xu planned to have Ding Kaifang send a professional vehicle to haul it away after he was finished with his current business.

...

「It was nearly evening.」

Li Xu arrived at the village, a heavy canvas bag slung over his back.

Chen Hui and Old Zhang were waiting at the entrance to the village.

As soon as they saw Li Xu return, the two of them immediately rushed over to greet him.

"Dr. Li, you’re finally back! We couldn’t get through to your phone. Chen Hui and I were about to take a search party into the mountains for you," Old Zhang said, sighing in relief.

In truth, Li Xu had turned his phone off intentionally.

Technology was too advanced these days.

It was too easy to leak secrets through phone tracking and recording functions.

To be safe, he had turned it off when he went into the mountains.

"It’s fine, I didn’t go far,"

Li Xu said with a smile.

Old Zhang was about to say something when suddenly, his nose twitched.

His expression instantly turned serious.

He had caught a faint, almost imperceptible, yet extremely potent scent.

The aroma wasn’t strong, but it was like a fine needle piercing directly into the depths of his soul.

"This... This is..."

Old Zhang’s eyes went wide as he stared intently at the canvas bag on Li Xu’s back. "Dr. Li, you... what on earth did you find?"

"This scent... It’s so pure, so piercing! It’s even more... more... than my Thunderstruck Agarwood..."

Old Zhang was stammering, unable to find the right words.

He even had the illusion that if he took just one more whiff, the entire room of treasured Agarwood he had collected would instantly seem like nothing more than common firewood.

Looking at Old Zhang, Li Xu sighed to himself.

He had wrapped the Ten Thousand Year Agarwood tightly in three professional-grade sealed bags, plus a layer of waterproof tarp, and placed it at the very bottom of his backpack.

But even so, its spiritual aura still managed to seep out.

It was a testament to Old Zhang’s expertise, having spent a lifetime with incense; his nose was sharper than a hound’s.

"Old Zhang, some things are better left unseen,"

Li Xu said, shaking his head and gently refusing the request that was written all over Old Zhang’s face. "This is meant to save a life. Besides... as you said, there are too many wonderful things in this world. If you see this one, I’m afraid the treasures in your collection will never look the same to you again."

Old Zhang froze for a moment, the fervor in his eyes slowly cooling.

He was a smart man, an enlightened one.

Li Xu was right.

There’s a saying in this business: "He who has seen the vast ocean will not be impressed by a mere stream."

If he were to truly witness a legendary, divine object, then everything he owned—even his prized Thunderstruck Agarwood—would likely seem dull and uninteresting afterward.

That feeling of longing day and night for something you can never have—that was the worst kind of torture.