ch 13.2 - Fondness (1/2)

While Cheng Zheng Yuan was asking all kind of questions, the two of them were gathering more and more herbs. Liu Danhang, who were following nearby, had given up hunting but gathered the herbs that he recognized. He planned to give these to Cheng Xiao Xiao and her brother.

The three of them walked further and further. Before they realized it, they have already trekked through three hills1. It was as though they had forgotten about time and exhaustion and gathered more and more herbs.

“Big sister, we are already in the early afternoon, should we start gathering firewood?”

Zheng Yuan stopped and looked at the sun before he shouted out to his big sister.

It was then when he said Liu Danhang approaching them with a big bundle of herbs. Cheng Zheng Yuan was a bit surprised, “Danhang ge, why are you gathering herbs too?”

“It’s for you!” Liu Danhang smiled shyly and cast a glance over at the one sitting under the tree.

“Why thank you!” Smiled Cheng Zheng Yuan happily and shouted toward the one under the tree “Big sister, I think we have enough herbs. Let’s stop gathering more herbs!”

“Wait, I will come right over!”

That’s what Cheng Xiao Xiao said, but she was staring intently at something that looked like mushroom in front of her. After sniffing it, she was quite certain it smelled like lingzhi mushroom2.

It wasn’t that she couldn’t tell they were lingzhi; rather, in her previous life, cultivated lingzhi was quite common. But cultivated lingzhi did not remotely measure up to these wild lingzhi that she was looking at.

Lingzhi, also known as lingzhicao (“mushroom grass”), shenzi (“divine mushroom”, with shen; “spirit; god; supernatural; divine”),zhicao (“mushroom grass”), xiancao (“immortality plant”, with xian, “(Daoism) transcendent; immortal; wizard”) and ruicao (“auspicious plant”, with rui, “auspicious; felicitous omen). They belong to the Order Polyporales, mainly come in red (chizhi) and purple (zizhi) forms. They are saprophytic fungi and grow at the base and stumps of deciduous trees.

Lingzhi

Photo credit: cqcb.com

Lingzhi

Photo credit: Wikipedia

Lingzhi taste slightly bitter and are mild in nature.They have effects on the heart, lungs, liver, and the spleen. They are good for the heart and can calm your nerves, calm the lungs and help with respiration, regulate the qi and clear blood stasis, nourish the liver and strengthen the spleen. It’s main application is to treat the weak bodies, but can also be used to treat tiredness, palpitation, insomnia, vertigo, dizziness, persistent coughing.

Lingzhi had been used as herbs for over 1000 years and are very precious herbs. Among the different types of lingzhi, purple ones are the most precious.