The next morning, at the crack of dawn.

Li Xu changed into some practical casual wear.

He slung on a canvas bag, filled with all sorts of tools.

On his wrist, he wore a watch that displayed longitude and latitude. A folding entrenching tool was tucked into his belt, and a small, lithium-powered chainsaw hung from the side of his pack.

"Dr. Li, are you sure you don’t need me to lead the way?"

Chen Hui stood at the door, looking at the fully-equipped Li Xu with some concern. "The terrain in these mountains is complex, and there are wild animals. It’s too dangerous to go in alone."

Old Zhang also chimed in, "He’s right. Why don’t I get a few villagers who know the mountain paths to go with you?"

Li Xu shook his head, his tone firm. "That won’t be necessary. The fewer people who know where I’m going, the better. Besides, I have professional positioning equipment; I won’t get lost."

The Ten Thousand Year Old Agarwood was too precious.

Precious enough to inspire greed and malice in others.

It was best if no one else knew.

After bidding the two men farewell, Li Xu turned without a moment’s hesitation and plunged into the vast, mist-shrouded mountains.

Watching Li Xu’s figure disappear, Old Zhang scratched his head and said to Chen Hui, "Dr. Li looks so bookish and frail. I never would’ve pegged him as such a hardcore guy. You think he can really find a piece of Agarwood better than my Thunderstruck Agarwood?"

Chen Hui shook his head. "I don’t know. But I’ve heard Dr. Li is someone who can work miracles. We’ll just have to wait and see."

...

With his gear on his back, Li Xu moved with a steady pace through the mountain forest.

The morning dew dampened his pant cuffs, but he paid it no mind.

He didn’t plunge deep into the heart of the unfathomable mountains as Old Zhang and Chen Hui had anticipated.

Instead, after crossing two peaks, he made an extremely abrupt turn and headed towards an open area to the southeast.

The screen of his GPS device showed him drawing closer and closer to his target.

The "Ten Thousand Year Agarwood" mentioned in his intelligence report had an origin story buried for over six hundred years.

During the Ming Dynasty, the imperial family was constructing a palace and requisitioned the highest quality Agarwood. This included a top-grade piece of Agarwood presented as tribute from the Zhan City Country, located in modern-day southern Vietnam.

This piece of Agarwood was originally over twenty meters long, from an ancient tree that had grown for over ten thousand years.

But because of its massive size and the long journey, the officials in charge of overland transport complained incessantly.

By the time it reached the province of Guangxi, the rainy season had begun, making the roads muddy and impassable.

Seeking an easy way out, the comfort-loving officials conspired. They simply fabricated an excuse, claiming they’d been hit by a flash flood that had washed the Agarwood away. In reality, they buried it right where they were and returned to report their task was done.

And this place, right here, was the former course of that ancient river.

Li Xu stood on a desolate riverbank. In the distance was the great river, which had now changed its course and become somewhat dry.

The riverbank was overgrown with weeds and jagged rocks, showing no signs of anything special.

"This is it."

Li Xu looked at the coordinates on his GPS and stopped.

He had chosen to come alone not just for convenience; there was a more important reason.

Although the Agarwood was a natural product, this specific piece was a six-hundred-year-old imperial tribute. If anyone found out it had been excavated, the situation would change entirely.

Then, the so-called "experts" would surely come out of the woodwork, demanding it be handed over to the state under the pretext of protecting a cultural artifact.

Li Xu wasn’t an unreasonable man.

But he knew better than anyone that a priceless treasure of such immense medicinal value could only realize its full potential in the hands of someone who understood medicine.

If it were handed over, it would most likely be locked in a glass case in some museum, gathering dust.

Or worse, it could fall into the hands of some powerful figure to be used as a mere decoration.

That would be a desecration of a Divine Medicine.

However, while the coordinates from the report were precise, on the actual terrain, an error of even 0.01 degrees corresponded to a radius of several hundred meters on the ground.

’On this vast, desolate riverbank, digging through an area hundreds of meters across with just a single shovel... how long would that take? An eternity?’

Li Xu didn’t rush to start.

He put down his backpack, took out his water bottle for a sip, and then quietly observed his surroundings.

’The ancients said that when an object becomes ancient enough, it develops a spirit and will be accompanied by unusual signs.’

’The Agarwood from the report may have been buried for six hundred years, but it came from a ten-thousand-year-old tree. It must radiate a potent spiritual aura.’

’Even buried deep underground, it was bound to have some kind of field that influenced its surroundings.’

Li Xu observed carefully.

Suddenly, a burst of chirping birds caught his attention.

About fifty meters away from him, near a slightly raised mound of earth, a large flock of birds had gathered.

There were sparrows, turtledoves, and even a few colorful, unidentifiable little birds.

This was very unusual.

’This desolate riverbank is barren,’ he thought. ’There’s no fruit or water. So why are all these birds gathered right there?’

Li Xu slowly walked over.

As he approached, the flock of birds took flight with a startled WHOOSH.

But strangely, they didn’t fly far. They just circled above the mound, seeming agitated yet reluctant to leave.

An idea sparked in Li Xu’s mind.

’Agarwood is said to be able to communicate with the spiritual,’ he mused. ’Its unique fragrance holds a natural attraction for animals.’

’Even buried underground, its faint magnetic field or scent molecules could still attract such sensitive creatures.’

"This is the spot."

Li Xu walked up to the mound, dropped his pack, and took out his entrenching tool. He picked a spot and dug in forcefully.

The first shovelful was dry, hard topsoil.

The second was sandy soil mixed with gravel.

...

Li Xu took off his jacket, sweat pouring down like rain.

Half an hour passed. The pit was already over a meter deep, but there was still nothing.

Nothing but dirt and more dirt. He hadn’t seen so much as a splinter of wood.

Li Xu stopped to catch his breath. Staring at the dark pit at his feet, he couldn’t help but feel a flicker of doubt.

’Was my judgment wrong?’

’Or is the intel faulty?’

’No, the intel can’t be wrong.’

He raised the shovel again and plunged it heavily into the dirt at the bottom of the pit.

’I’ll dig a little longer,’ he decided. ’If nothing turns up, I’ll try another spot.’

Just then, a faint CRACK! echoed from the pit.

It sounded like his shovel had struck something hard, but it wasn’t the jarring thud of hitting rock. This impact had a bit of give to it.

Then, as the shovel lifted a clump of damp earth, an incredibly faint yet exceptionally distinct fragrance wafted out from the cracks in the soil, like a phantom.

A jolt went through Li Xu, and his senses instantly sharpened in a rush of excitement.

’That fragrance...’

’It wasn’t floral, nor fruity. It wasn’t even like any of the Agarwood varieties he’d smelled at Old Zhang’s place.’

’It possessed an indescribable, piercing quality, as if it bypassed his nose and drilled straight into his cerebral cortex, making every pore on his skin tingle and open.’

’It was a breath from six hundred years ago... or perhaps even ten thousand.’

"Found it!"

Li Xu tossed aside the large shovel and switched to his smaller, folding one, his movements becoming slow and deliberate.