Chapter 10: The Rising Star

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Liu Binglan furrowed her delicate brows, her stunning face showing signs of agitation. After a moment’s thought, she said, “You should know who I am, right? If you usually follow the entertainment industry.”

“Yes, Liu Binglan, the big star,” Xiao Nan shrugged. “But sorry, I’m not really a fan.”

Liu Binglan could clearly sense the implication behind Xiao Nan’s words—he wouldn’t simply hand over the medicinal herb just because she was a celebrity.

But Liu Binglan was not willing to give up the herb so easily.

The Purple Gold Ginseng was a rare treasure, something that could be stumbled upon by chance but not sought after. If she missed this one, who knew when she would find another?

“It’s fine if you’re not a fan, what I mean is...” Liu Binglan took a couple of steps closer to Xiao Nan. Her beautiful eyes locked onto his. “You’re quite handsome. Interested in entering the entertainment world? If you are, I can provide many resources and pave the way for you.”

“There’s only one condition: hand over the herb to me. I’ll pay you one million, every cent.”

A fragrant breeze suddenly wafted through.

There was no denying this woman’s beauty. Her exquisite oval face seemed sculpted by a Renaissance master. Any man who saw her would be captivated.

About 170 centimeters tall, wearing a fitted white blouse and a pink skirt that reached past her knees, her perfect curves stirred the blood.

Upon closer inspection, Xiao Nan realized this celebrity was even more beautiful in person than on the television screen.

She was a beauty on par with the two daughters of the Lin family, but having fought her way through the world of fame and fortune over the years, she carried an additional mature allure that the Lin sisters lacked.

Yet, standing less than half a meter away, this enchanting woman somehow made Xiao Nan feel an inexplicable discomfort.

He frowned.

His gaze soon locked onto the jade pendant necklace resting just below Liu Binglan’s fair collarbone.

“You...” Xiao Nan ignored her previous offer and pointed directly at the necklace around her neck. “Can you take it off and let me see it?”

Liu Binglan instinctively raised a hand to cover her graceful neck, her tone icy. “If you have no intention of entering the entertainment industry, you can try proposing other conditions or just name a price—but this is absolutely off-limits.”

The necklace she wore—the imperial green jade pendant alone—was worth no less than five million.

If it were just about the money, she might have taken it off for this greedy man in front of her for the sake of the Purple Gold Ginseng.

But this necklace was a gift from her closest confidante, brought back specially from a trip to Yunnan Province. It held extraordinary significance for her.

She would never part with it.

“I’m not asking for your necklace, just to see it,” Xiao Nan said.

By now, he was certain that the uneasy feeling he’d had earlier was definitely connected to this necklace.

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“There’s nothing special to see.” Liu Binglan held out her hand in front of Xiao Nan. “Five million—I’ll give you five million. Even if I gave you this necklace, that’s roughly the price you could get for it.”

Xiao Nan smiled bitterly in his heart. Did he really look that much like a money-grubber?

Originally, since he had indeed intercepted this woman’s Purple Gold Ginseng, he wanted to help her examine what was wrong with her necklace.

Since she wasn’t interested, Xiao Nan lost the desire to waste time chatting.

With the Purple Gold Ginseng now in his hands, not even ten million would make him part with it.

“Goodbye.”

Xiao Nan said the two words and slipped past her blocking figure, ready to leave.

But just as he stepped beside Liu Binglan, the woman who had stood there so poised suddenly went limp without warning.

Xiao Nan hurriedly reached out, catching her slender waist of less than sixty centimeters.

Liu Binglan, who had been calm and composed moments before, now showed a face of pain.

Sweat beaded on her forehead.

She seemed to be struggling to maintain her posture, but was failing.

Even as Xiao Nan held her waist, her upper body slowly sagged uncontrollably.

He had no choice but to use his other hand to steady her shoulders, barely managing to support her.

In doing so, the proud curves that her white blouse seemed barely able to contain were fully revealed before Xiao Nan.

His gaze lingered instinctively for three seconds before quickly shifting back to the jade necklace at her neck.

At first glance, the necklace seemed ordinary.

The pendant was just a relatively valuable piece of jade.

But Xiao Nan already knew this jade was far from simple.

“Help me call my agent. The number’s in my bag. Plea... please,” Liu Binglan said, her face pale and voice barely above a whisper, summoning her last strength.

“No need,” Xiao Nan said coldly.

He had just activated his spiritual energy to open his Third Eye, revealing the secret within Liu Binglan’s jade pendant.

It turned out...

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Inside the imperial green jade pendant, no bigger than half the size of a pinky nail,

lived a tiny emerald-green parasite, about the size of a sesame seed.

The parasite’s color perfectly matched that of the jade.

Even a cultivator like Xiao Nan would have difficulty spotting it without opening his Third Eye, let alone an ordinary person like Liu Binglan.

A life-devouring worm.

The moment Xiao Nan recognized the parasite, he understood.

It was a creature that continuously consumed the life force of its host.

Originating from Yunnan Province, these parasites spent most of their time dormant.

But when awakened, they must feed on human vitality before returning to slumber.

Liu Binglan’s current miserable state was caused by this parasite.

Clearly, the reason she suddenly collapsed was the symptom of this newly awakened parasite draining her life force.

Xiao Nan guessed that if this continued, she would have at most six months before the parasite consumed all her vitality, leading to her tragic demise.

Without hesitation, Xiao Nan gathered his spiritual energy and struck the jade pendant.

“Jie jie...” A faint, eerie sound issued from the pendant, as if expressing its intense displeasure and warning toward Xiao Nan.

He showed no mercy and unleashed several more bursts of spiritual energy.

The jade finally fell silent, completely subdued.

“Eh?”

Liu Binglan’s face gradually regained some color.

At the same time, an expression of disbelief flickered in her eyes.

Could it be... she was alright now?