Chapter 729: 729 on the mountain
"We have to speed up too, or else we won’t reach the cave Lin Gensheng mentioned by nightfall. It’s too dangerous outside," Wei Guangxiang said, turning his head.
Su Yuanyuan was still fully scanning with her Divine Sense. There really was nothing noticeable at the peak. She thought that if she didn’t go elsewhere in the winter, she would definitely memorize that comprehensive Chinese herbal medicine book. Now, even if there were good stuff right in front of her eyes, she wouldn’t recognize it.
Suddenly, Su Yuanyuan slowed down. On the way down the mountain, she found ginseng, quite a few plants.
"What’s the matter, Yuanyuan?"
"I’m going to the bathroom. You all take a break and wait for me."
"I’ll go with you."
"No need."
"I’ll go too."
Su Yuanyuan was at a loss now, so she led the way forward, heading towards the ginseng.
They walked for about five minutes, "Hongling, look? Is this ginseng?"
Zeng Hongling ran over, "It really is." Then she shouted to the three male companions.
Su Yuanyuan thought to herself that this Southern beauty was even more forthright than a Northern girl.
Zhan Yunzhao and the others were startled by the shout, dropping what they were doing and running over with their guns.
"Hurry over, Yuanyuan’s luck is really good, look, there are three ginseng plants."
Upon hearing Zeng Hongling’s words, the three relaxed.
"Sister, next time, don’t make such a fuss, you scared us to death."
"Hehe, wasn’t I just excited?"
Wei Guangxiang took out some red string from his pocket, which they had prepared earlier.
After tying the ginseng, they started digging it up.
Yuanyuan mentioned to continue forward, where she found two more plants. However, these two were too small, so she decided to put them in her space. Just in case they were needed later on, they could be used.
After putting away the two plants, she expanded her Divine Sense again, but found nothing this time.
In fact, finding these five plants was already very lucky.
When she got back, she saw the four of them had already cleared the surface soil.
"Yuanyuan, Daoist Zhan said this plant must be at least a hundred years old. How is your luck so good?"
She just stood by and smiled. Was it truly luck? Wasn’t it because of the Divine Sense?
It took them over an hour to completely extract the three ginseng plants, which was fortunate thanks to the strength of the three men.
"Xiao Su, the ginseng plant with the highest age is over 130 years old, and the other two are over 110 years old. Your luck is really good, finding these."
Su Yuanyuan interrupted Zhan Yunzhao. "Daoist Zhan, I found them, but all four of you pitched in. I think any ginseng we harvest in the future should be split equally among us five since we’re all friends."
Zhan Yunzhao thought for a moment, "Okay, since we’re friends, there’s no point in calculating who gained or lost out. It’s settled then."
With that, the five of them sped up. It was already five o’clock, and they needed to find the cave quickly. Camping outside really was too dangerous.
Along the way, Su Yuanyuan and Zeng Hongling gathered firewood, as they weren’t sure if there would be branches near the cave to burn.
They hurried along, and the five of them finally reached the cave after dark.
The inside was quite dry. They also found a stone pot, suggesting that it was a resting place for mountain people.
Grains were found on the high sides inside the cave. Nothing else was discovered.
The five didn’t need these grains, so they didn’t touch them. Who knows, they might be lifesavers for someone in the future.
They started a fire to boil water, and the mutton they roasted at noon needed to be roasted again; otherwise, it would taste too gamey.
"Is that the sound of wolves howling outside?"
"Yes, but it sounds like it’s far from here. With the fire we have here, wolves won’t come near."
Su Yuanyuan took a few bites but couldn’t continue eating. She sat aside, drinking water and watching the others eat.
"Yuanyuan, this won’t do, how can you not eat?"
"I can’t eat. Let’s see if there are any fruits tomorrow. I really don’t want to eat meat late at night. I don’t even want to eat cornbread, but don’t worry, I’ll be fine."
After eating, the five went outside, with Su Yuanyuan and Zeng Hongling providing light. They wanted to bring in some firewood since they had found many branches when entering the cave. This would help with the cold and also deter animals.
All five moved quickly, actually fearing the appearance of animals.
Once they had enough firewood, they returned to the cave.
The temperature by night was already very low. Luckily, the cave wasn’t large, and they had a fire at the entrance. Otherwise, they would definitely get sick.
The two girls stayed at the innermost part. After replenishing the firewood, the cave got smoky, but it was inevitable.
Su Yuanyuan was truly uncomfortable. She wanted to leave here; it was too torturous.
While survival called for such conditions, unless necessary, living like this was unreasonable when life was already good.
The three men also found it suffocating.
Zhan Yunzhao thought about it, "Let’s move the fire outside the cave; this is too unbearable."
Su Yuanyuan suddenly sat upright, "Actually, we don’t necessarily need to keep a fire going. How about we take turns napping, and if danger appears, all five of us can handle it together. We wouldn’t feel at ease leaving the three of you outside while we stay in here."
"Yeah, Yuanyuan is right, let’s take turns keeping watch. Otherwise, we’ll choke before any animals come close."
The three men agreed, and they decided that Zeng Hongling would take the first hour, followed by Su Yuanyuan, then Zhan Yunzhao, next Zeng Yixin, and Wei Guangxiang would be last.
The two girls intended to take the night shifts because they felt like a burden, with the three men carrying all the luggage and doing all the hard work.
So, after the men fell asleep, the two girls agreed that Zeng Hongling would stay on watch until midnight, after which it would be Su Yuanyuan’s turn.
"Don’t try to hold on if you’re sleepy. Call me if you need to; it’ll be troublesome if you fall asleep and something happens."
Zeng Hongling nodded, "Don’t worry, Yuanyuan, I won’t overestimate myself. Get some sleep."
Su Yuanyuan wrapped herself in a coat and leaned against the stone wall, feeling a bit down.
She laments causing her own suffering. Why did she choose to come? She thought about not tagging along the next time after returning.
Yet, she felt responsible for the four she brought with her. If something happened without her, she would regret it.
Truly a difficult situation. It’s really hard to endure.
Without realizing it, she fell asleep and was groggily awakened by Zeng Hongling. It was already past one o’clock.
"You should hurry up and sleep."
She sat at the cave entrance, extending her Divine Sense. Within its range, she didn’t spot any large animals, yet she remained vigilant.