Chapter 243
Chapter 243
After the breathtaking cloud column faded, the surrounding mist thinned considerably.
At last, they could see their surroundings again.
“Milk Tea, can you find a way down?”
Milk Tea circled overhead for a long while before locating what appeared to be a possible path.
Unfortunately, it was choked with weeds, thorns, and brambles. They would have to clear it first.
Ji Si and the others led the way, slashing through the thorny growth with their blades.
“This way. Everyone be careful-the moss on the rocks is slippery,” Shen Qingzhu warned.
The instant he finished speaking, Jiang Yunsui’s foot slipped and she rolled downhill.
Shen Qingzhu had been holding her hand. Her fall pulled him off balance; his foot slipped too, and he tumbled after her.
“Aaaaaah!”
“Hiss… That hurts,” Shen Qingzhu groaned.
Jiang Yunsui was accustomed to falling, but the slope was covered in rocks. Being struck here and there still hurt quite a bit.
Shen Qingzhu was in genuine pain.
When they finally stopped, Jiang Yunsui lay on the ground grimacing and whimpering.
Shen Qingzhu had lost consciousness. Blood streamed from his forehead, making him look even more miserable.
The people above hurried down. Several stepped on moss and slipped as well.
Thuds and cries of pain echoed one after another.
In the end, everyone lay scattered across the ground. Ironically, Jiang Yunsui-the one accustomed to tumbling-was the only person still bouncing around energetically.
Holding medicine, she stuffed a pill into each person’s mouth.
“Si Si, are you all right?”
Ji Si nodded. Injuries this minor meant nothing to him.
“How strange,” Ji Lu muttered. “This slope is ridiculously slippery.”
One person slipped and brought down a whole chain!
“He’s awake. Shen Qingzhu woke up.”
Shen Qingzhu clutched his head. He had been particularly unlucky and struck it against a rock. His thoughts were still swimming.
After resting for a long while, he checked his own pulse.
Fortunately, nothing serious was wrong.
“Did we… reach the bottom?”
“Not yet,” Ji Lu said. “We still have some distance to descend.”
Everyone looked down. This time, they proceeded with far greater care.
At last, they reached the valley floor without further mishap.
“Good heavens! These trees are enormous!”
Only after standing beside them did they appreciate the absurd scale of the valley’s trees.
“This one smells fragrant. Why does the scent seem familiar?”
“It’s red sandalwood,” Shen Qingzhu said. “A tree this thick must be extremely old.”
“Right. That wood is worth a fortune.”
“Hey, come look! Is this golden-thread nanmu?”
“It is! There’s a fallen tree over there too. Good heavens, how much would a log like that be worth outside?”
“The problem is getting it out.”
Reaching the valley had nearly exhausted them. The timber might be precious, but transporting it was impossible.
Jiang Yunsui pointed. “Shen Qingzhu, there’s ginseng over there.”
Another ginseng plant.
Everyone approached to determine its age.
“Wait.”
Shen Qingzhu stopped them and used a branch to disturb the soil near the plant.
A black-and-red scorpion emerged, its tail raised high.
“That’s a blood scorpion,” Shen Qingzhu explained. “Its venom is several times stronger than the silver-banded krait’s. One sting can kill an adult within ten breaths. Ordinary antidotes are useless.”
He produced a jar and captured it.
“It’s excellent material for refining poisonous Gu.”
If something so deadly guarded the plant, the ginseng could not be young.
“Do we dig it now?”
“Dig!”
Jiang Yunsui did not help this time. She wandered around searching for more treasure.
They had only just arrived and already discovered so many precious things.
This valley was a treasure trove!
After making one circuit, she found three more ginseng plants, lingzhi growing on trees, and medicinal herbs such as dendrobium, notoginseng, astragalus, and fleeceflower root.
When Shen Qingzhu finished surveying the area, he nearly went mad with joy.
This was a natural medicinal-herb nursery, and none of its plants were young.
But the valley was genuinely dangerous.
Venomous snakes and insects went without saying. Fortunately, the party had abundant experience dealing with such creatures.
With the two enormous roosters present, attacking insects merely delivered themselves up as food.
Besides, there were fewer venomous creatures here than in Dali.
Birds and large predators, however, were everywhere.
Jiang Yunsui could look up in any direction and see a nest.
The birds showed little hostility and posed no great threat, but they caused one troublesome problem.
Droppings could fall from the sky at any moment.
After one circuit, Jiang Yunsui had been extraordinarily “fortunate” and received five splatters of bird droppings.
The fragrant little girl had become a stinky child.
To be fair, the others were not entirely spared.
But when they sensed something falling, the skilled fighters used lightness techniques to dodge.
Only the hunter shared Jiang Yunsui’s misfortune.
And the two dogs, whose broad bodies made excellent targets.
Their thick fur made the mess especially difficult to clean.
“Good heavens,” Ji Lu said. “This valley has more birds than all the birds I’ve seen in the first half of my life combined.”
“Hurry and dig up these ginseng plants, then let’s move elsewhere.”
“Little Yunsui, perhaps you should wash your hair first.”
Jiang Yunsui was miserable too.
“Si Si, take me to find water.”
Jiang Yunsui, Ji Si, two guards, and the two dogs eventually found water, only to discover that it too was surrounded by birds.
It was an enormous lake ringed by reeds. Needless to say, countless birds nested among them.
Black and white swans, mandarin ducks, cranes, and other waterfowl floated leisurely across the lake. Eagles occasionally passed overhead, including Milk Tea.
Milk Tea was observing how other eagles hunted. Copying them, it dove and snatched a large fish from the lake.
Feathers lay everywhere along the shore, some exceptionally beautiful.
Jiang Yunsui washed her hair, face, and hands. While her hair dried, she ran around collecting pretty feathers.
She loved them.
Some were broad and soft. Those were her favorites, along with the most colorful ones.
“Huh? What kind of fish is this?”
Lying beside the lake, she swept a hand through the water and caught a beautiful silver-white fish as thick as her finger.
“Look, Si Si.”
Ji Si examined it in surprise.
“That’s a silver-scaled fish.”
He paused, then added, “They’re extremely valuable-tribute for the imperial family.”
Even an emperor could not necessarily obtain them whenever he wished.
Silver-scaled fish required an extremely particular environment and could not be raised in captivity.
Jiang Yunsui’s eyes curved happily. “Does that mean they taste delicious?”
Ji Si nodded.
Jiang Yunsui immediately lay down again. “I want to catch more. They’re so small and hard to grab.”
To reach more fish, she crawled closer to the edge.
Ji Si’s eyelid twitched.
As expected, Jiang Yunsui met with misfortune again.
The soil beneath her collapsed. Her hand lost its support, and she pitched forward, plunging the upper half of her body into the water.
Ji Si caught her short legs before the rest of her followed.
Jiang Yunsui bubbled helplessly underwater.