Chapter 35: Biluo Bell
Hu Feng shook his head. "I’ve never had it. I’ve killed a few snakes while hunting in the forest before, but I never knew you could eat them."
Bai Zhi thought it was a real shame. "What a pity. You just don’t know how delicious snake meat is. You’ll see once you taste it."
Although Hu Feng was still hesitant about eating snake, he hadn’t eaten meat in a long time. Hearing her describe it so wonderfully stirred a flicker of curiosity, so he did as she said, picked up the snake, and put it in his cloth bag.
The two continued deeper into the woods. Along the way, Hu Feng hunted two plump gray rabbits, but he didn’t seem very happy about it.
"What’s wrong? You caught something and you’re still not happy?" Bai Zhi said with a laugh. "I haven’t found a single herb yet."
Hu Feng glanced at the heavy cloth bag and said flatly, "These gray rabbits aren’t worth much. Both of them together will sell for sixty wen at most."
Bai Zhi’s eyes widened in shock. "What? Sixty wen? For two big gray rabbits this size, you can only get sixty wen? Isn’t that dirt cheap?"
Hu Feng shrugged. "Nothing to be done. Rabbits are the easiest animals to hunt, but they’re also considered the least tasty meat. Few of the wealthy folk in town are willing to buy rabbit. It’s mostly the shops that make braised goods that purchase them, and they keep pushing the price down. That’s why they’ve become so dirt cheap."
"But it’s still meat, how can it be so cheap? Besides, rabbit is delicious! Who says it’s the least tasty meat? That must be because you people don’t know how to cook it. Don’t blame the poor rabbit."
"You know how to cook it?" Hu Feng raised an eyebrow.
Bai Zhi nodded. "Of course. You have no idea how delicious my red-braised rabbit is. You should just keep them. I’ll show you what I can do tonight."
Hu Feng nodded. "All right. It’s not like they’d sell for much anyway."
As they were talking, Bai Zhi suddenly caught a scent. It was a subtle fragrance, mingled with the earthy aroma of grass and leaves. One could easily miss it if not paying close attention.
Her expression grew excited. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and upon opening them, pointed in a certain direction. "It’s over there."
"What’s over there?" Hu Feng asked, confused.
"The herb I’m looking for," Bai Zhi said. "It’s over there."
She followed the subtle fragrance deeper and deeper into the mountain forest. Hu Feng stayed close by her side, his eyes scanning their surroundings with vigilance. He had never been this far before. Any further and they would be in the true Luoying Mountain Range, not just Luoying Mountain.
Bai Zhi suddenly stopped in her tracks, staring blankly at a clearing not far ahead. The patch of green wasn’t surrounded by towering ancient trees, leaving an open view of the vast blue sky above. Golden sunlight streamed down, completely bathing the clearing in its glow. The subtle fragrance that had guided her was coming from this very spot.
Bai Zhi was ecstatic. ’This is the Biluo Bell! The very herb I spent two years in the 23rd century trying, and failing, to cultivate!’
’The Biluo Bell, an herb on the verge of extinction back in the 23rd century. The one I and several of my mentors had spent two whole years trying to cultivate, yet still failed.’
"What is this?" Hu Feng couldn’t help but ask, seeing her excitement.
"This is the Biluo Bell," she said, "a very precious herb. It’s incredibly difficult to keep even a single plant alive, let alone this many! So many!" ’This patch must be at least ten square meters,’ she thought, ’and it’s completely covered in Biluo Bells.’
"Oh," Hu Feng said. He then asked, "What illness can this herb treat?"
’What illness can it treat?’ That one question hit the nail on the head, and it was like a bucket of cold water had been dumped over her.