Chapter 242
Chapter 242
Forced to face a tree and reflect on her mistakes, Jiang Yunsui pouted. She picked at her fingers, glared at Shen Qingzhu, then fussed with her clothes.
She made eight hundred tiny movements a minute.
Shen Qingzhu folded his arms and looked down at her.
“That’s a cliff. The fog is so thick, and with your terrible luck, what if you ran over without seeing the path and fell?”
Jiang Yunsui sniffed but stubbornly argued, “Impossible. It’s still a long way away.”
“What if you stepped on a stone, twisted your ankle, and rolled over the edge?”
“What if you went the wrong direction and stepped into empty air?”
“Or an insect attacked, and you instinctively ran forward without knowing how far you’d gone?”
Shen Qingzhu listed every conceivable accident.
“I’m not that unlucky,” Jiang Yunsui protested.
Ji Lu felt obliged to defend her.
“Exactly.”
Before Jiang Yunsui could rejoice, he continued.
“Something even unluckier might happen. A boar or deer could suddenly charge out and knock her over the cliff.”
“Or a flying stone could strike her and send her straight down.”
Jiang Yunsui fell silent.
“Don’t be angry. Just tell us whether those ridiculous things sound perfectly plausible when they happen to you.”
“Back at that ravine, none of us had a problem. You stepped on a pinecone, rolled down as smoothly as a ball, and got bitten by a venomous snake. Anyone else would already be awaiting reincarnation.”
Jiang Yunsui puffed out her cheeks furiously.
She hated to admit it.
“But I’m fine.”
“Never mind everything else,” Shen Qingzhu said. “This cliff is too high. Behave yourself and don’t run around.”
Jiang Yunsui gave a gloomy hum of agreement.
But the light over there truly was beautiful.
“Sleep. The fog hides everything, so remain vigilant.”
As night deepened, the fog thickened until they could no longer see the people beside them.
“Si Si, where are you? I’m a little scared.”
Jiang Yunsui swallowed. Whenever no one spoke, the dense mist made her feel as though she were the only person left in the world.
It was an awful feeling.
Worse, something always seemed hidden inside the fog, ready to appear silently and swallow them one by one.
“I’m here.”
Ji Si picked her up, set her on his lap, and patted her back.
“Sleep.”
Leaning against him, Jiang Yunsui finally felt safe.
She smacked her lips and fell asleep.
Early the next morning, a chorus of birds woke her.
Not one bird-an entire multitude.
Countless calls blended together and awakened the sleeping valley. The once-quiet forest seemed to come alive.
Listening closely, the cries possessed a strange rhythm, like a symphony.
It was quite beautiful.
Jiang Yunsui rubbed her eyes and felt around beside her. Her hand touched a large mushroom.
Yawning, she casually plucked it and examined it.
It was pure white, short and round, a plump and adorable mushroom.
“Huh? Did I grow another new mushroom?”
She sensed its nature, then took an enormous bite beneath everyone’s expectant gaze.
Shen Qingzhu stared speechlessly.
“Delicious! It’s good raw too.”
It was a species she had never seen. A warm golden rim circled the edge of its cap, giving it an expensive appearance.
“What kind of mushroom is it?” Shen Qingzhu asked.
“I don’t know. Its energy is similar to those glowing flowers last night.”
“So those flowers caused this mushroom to grow?”
He paused. “How do you know they were flowers?”
Jiang Yunsui blinked. “Didn’t I say? I could see them.”
“You said nothing,” Ji Lu replied.
He curiously took a bite, and his eyes brightened.
The raw mushroom truly was tasty. Its fresh sweetness made it resemble fruit more than fungus.
Thus, early that morning, everyone sat around gnawing the mushroom for breakfast.
It was also highly nutritious-a tonic superior to white fungus or bird’s nest.
Jiang Yunsui announced happily, “It’s excellent for nourishing the body and makes you beautiful too.”
“I’ll call it the Beauty Mushroom.”
Shen Qingzhu fell silent. What an exceedingly plain name.
Still, if it truly had those effects, it was a precious thing.
They did not yet know whether Jiang Yunsui could produce it anywhere in the future or only in this special environment.
She was delighted to gain a new mushroom from the journey.
Holding a small pile of uneaten Beauty Mushrooms, she gazed eagerly toward the cliff.
“The fog is still thick in daylight.”
It was better than at night, at least allowing them to see a short distance ahead.
“We need to wait longer.”
They waited until noon.
At that very hour, the surrounding fog began to change.
“Look over there!”
Everyone stared at the space between the cliffs, stunned.
Below, clouds and mist churned through the valley like dense storm clouds, glowing warm gold beneath the sunlight.
A waterspout-like phenomenon gradually formed.
But it was not made of water. It was cloud and mist.
A towering column rose from the valley into the sky.
The hunter dropped to his knees.
“An immortal! It must be an immortal!”
Shen Qingzhu and the others drew deep breaths.
Even if they did not believe an immortal caused it, the sight remained breathtaking.
The bizarre phenomenon seemed to draw away the heavy fog. The mist around them gradually thinned, and visibility steadily improved.
“Screech!”
Milk Tea had entered the valley at some unknown point. Now the golden eagle burst upward through the clouds.
Other birds followed behind it: eagles, cranes, and countless other species.
They all broke through the mist before scattering in every direction.
Milk Tea flew toward the group with a flower in its beak.
The bloom appeared somewhat wilted.
It resembled a peony but was much smaller and pure white.
Jiang Yunsui accepted it and examined it.
“This looks like one of the glowing flowers from last night.”
The hunter exclaimed excitedly, “Could this be the legendary Moonlight Flower that Phoenix-Mimic Birds love to eat?”
Shen Qingzhu inspected it.
“That’s entirely possible.”
“But it wilted after blooming for only one night.”
He was curious about the flower. It opened only beneath the moon and emitted light. Perhaps it possessed other properties.
“If we have the chance, we should gather some and test their medicinal value.”
“Leave that to Milk Tea.”
The golden eagle could fly, making the flowers much easier for it to collect.