Chapter 158
Chapter 158
Before the night grew too late, Jiang Yunsui found a secluded place to cultivate and absorb moonlight.
She closed her eyes and cultivated until around midnight.
When she opened them, the sight before her gave her a shock.
Huh? Where had all these mushrooms come from?
She really had not intended to sprout so many this time.
Besides the familiar termite mushrooms, shiitakes, and morels, there was one variety she had never seen before.
Its cap was green, and it was a small, plump little thing.
Not a strange, sickly green, but a vivid green bursting with life.
Each was about the size of an egg, short and chubby and rather adorable.
There were five in all.
The moment she picked one, its purpose appeared in her mind.
[Verdant Jade Mushroom: Replenishes vitality. Can cure all minor illnesses and non-severe external injuries.]
Jiang Yunsui let out a little “Wow.”
“Did I grow a new kind of mushroom because I ate all those medicines?”
So eating those bitter medicines could make her sprout new mushrooms.
Jiang Yunsui liked these pretty mushrooms.
She picked and stored them, then harvested or dug up the rest.
She did not know how to cook them, so she would bring them to Centurion Lin and the others and see what they could do.
But first, she needed to find food.
At this hour, everyone except the night patrol should have been asleep.
But a thief had raided King Huxie’s treasure vault that day, and his furious orders had sent everyone rushing around hunting for the culprit.
Unfortunately, after searching for half the night, they had not found so much as the thief’s shadow.
The culprit herself, Jiang Yunsui, bounced toward the sheep pen with an armful of mushrooms.
Inside the pen, Centurion Lin appeared to be asleep but remained extremely alert. And yet… he did not notice Jiang Yunsui enter, even when she walked right up to him.
Only when she poked him did he react.
“Who’s there?!”
Every hair on Centurion Lin’s body stood on end.
“It’s me. It’s me.”
Jiang Yunsui’s crisp little voice sounded beside his ear.
Centurion Lin fell silent.
Impossible. He had been so alert that anyone approaching should have woken him.
Had his vigilance really deteriorated this much over the years?
Centurion Lin began to question his entire life.
Jiang Yunsui held out the mushrooms in her arms.
“How do you eat these raw mushrooms? I don’t know how to cook.”
Centurion Lin stared at the jumbled heap she could barely hold. Some of the caps were even crushed.
His heart ached. To them, all of this was food!
In the moonlight, he could even make out several mushrooms she had dropped between the entrance and here.
“Where did you find so many mushrooms?”
Centurion Lin looked dazed.
Some of these varieties did not even grow in this region!
Jiang Yunsui’s eyes shifted. “Don’t worry about that.”
They only needed to eat them. Why did it matter where she found them?
Little Mushroom preened inwardly. She was getting smarter and smarter.
Ji Yan’an had warned her never to tell outsiders that she could grow mushrooms.
“You’re giving all of these to us?”
Centurion Lin tactfully stopped asking questions. He stared at the mushrooms and swallowed.
Aside from those unfamiliar green ones, all were nonpoisonous.
Even raw, they were better than grass, earthworms, or other bugs.
During the day, the slaves were driven out to herd sheep. Since the weather had not yet warmed, the Barbarians allowed them to gather fuel and build fires while they worked.
After all, if every slave froze to death, it would be a considerable loss for the Barbarians, too.
They had to guard the cattle and sheep closely, though. If even one escaped, the slaves would be killed.
“Mm-hmm. I don’t want them. They’re all yours.”
“You can’t eat this one. It looks poisonous.”
Jiang Yunsui watched him accurately pick out the Verdant Jade Mushrooms.
She gave Centurion Lin a look that clearly said he did not recognize treasure when he saw it.
“This is called a Verdant Jade Mushroom. It can treat minor wounds and all kinds of little illnesses. It isn’t poisonous at all.”
Centurion Lin stared at her in disbelief.
How had he never heard of such a miraculous mushroom?
Before Centurion Lin could react, Jiang Yunsui darted away again.
“Hey!”
He failed to catch her.
Beside him, Shuanzi woke and rubbed his eyes.
“Centurion, what happened?”
“Why do I smell mushrooms?”
“Centurion! Mushrooms! You’re holding mushrooms! I’m not dreaming… Mmph!”
Centurion Lin warned in a low voice, “Shut up. Are you trying to bring the Barbarians down on us?”
Shuanzi immediately looked around. Only when he saw no Barbarians approaching did he sigh in relief.
His eyes still shone as he stared at the food in Centurion Lin’s arms.
Centurion Lin took a deep breath. “Wake the others. Dig a pit in a hidden corner and bury these mushrooms for now.”
“She dropped a few over there. Pick them up, and keep quiet.”
Shuanzi nodded repeatedly. “I know, I know.”
While Centurion Lin’s group busied themselves in secret, Jiang Yunsui slipped through deserted corners until she reached the Barbarians’ Cook Battalion.
There was food stockpiled there, but it was all raw and unprepared.
Jiang Yunsui found radishes, cabbage, and sweet potatoes.
After searching for a long time, she discovered a hidden roast rabbit.
Whoever it belonged to, it belonged to her now.
She took some radishes and sweet potatoes. Both could be eaten raw.
The rest, especially the meat, was no good. She could not eat it raw.
The Barbarians’ staple foods were barley and meat.
But only capable warriors got to feast on meat. Those at the bottom made do with a little meat broth.
Jiang Yunsui rummaged through the Cook Battalion’s kitchen and found some salt.
She needed that, too.
People became weak if they did not eat salt.
At last, Jiang Yunsui had a crossbody pouch stuffed to bursting and a basket in her arms filled with radishes and sweet potatoes.
She needed every bit of her strength just to lift it. After only a few steps, she had to stop and rest.
It was exhausting her to death!
Little Mushroom crouched beside the basket, her face pitiful as she massaged her arms.
She circulated her energy to repair them.
Then she wiped her reddened eyes.
Waaah… She missed Ji Yan’an and the others so much.
If they were here, she would not have to work this hard.
Sniffling, Jiang Yunsui gritted her little teeth and continued hauling the food.
Centurion Lin peeked out of the sheep pen every so often.
He had no idea where the little girl had gone or whether she was in danger.
The more he thought, the more anxious he became. He could not sleep.
Suddenly, a noise came from the entrance to the pen.
He immediately went on alert.
“Waaah… I can’t carry it anymore.”
That familiar childish voice sounded outside.
Centurion Lin rose at once and crept over.
The little girl sat fallen at the entrance, her eyes and nose red as she cried pitifully.
His heart ached at the sight.
He quickly picked her up, then lifted the basket she had brought and quietly carried both back inside.