Chapter 428: Found It
Xiqing Mountain was indeed vast. Logically, the chances of Su Qing running into that band of tomb raiders were very slim.
But sometimes, things have a way of being just that coincidental.
Su Qing leaned against a tall tree and gazed into the distance. She calculated that after taking Jiamu back to his village and returning to the mountains, she had already been here for about ten days.
In Su Qing’s opinion, the more remote a place, the easier it was to find rare herbs. For the past few days, she had been trekking deeper and deeper into Xiqing Mountain. Her current location could be considered the very heart of the mountain’s interior. There were no paths in the forest. The grass grew half as tall as a person, and vines coiled around ancient trees, dangling from their tops. If not for her Wood Ability, just walking would have been a struggle.
The gray squirrel she’d encountered earlier was now following her everywhere. Aside from frolicking and doing parkour on the tree branches, its favorite place to be was on Su Qing’s shoulder. Su Qing wasn’t stingy with the intelligent little creature, often sending a bit of green mist its way. This delighted the gray squirrel so much that it would nuzzle up to Su Qing all day, its big, fluffy tail wagging so fast it became a blur.
Over the past few days, the gray squirrel seemed to understand that Su Qing was looking for herbs—those plants that, to its nose, had a uniquely rich scent. So, besides its daily parkour and cuddling, the squirrel’s favorite activity became helping Su Qing find them.
And it worked. Even though the gray squirrel didn’t know what herbs were, its keen sense of smell had actually helped Su Qing find quite a few precious medicinal ingredients.
"SQUEAK SQUEAK!"
With a light wave of her hand, the chest-high wild grass before Su Qing automatically parted to form a path. Just as she was about to step forward, the gray squirrel leaped from a nearby tree and landed right in her arms, squeaking at her twice.
Su Qing was already very familiar with this reaction. "Little one, did you find another herb?"
"SQUEAK SQUEAK." The gray squirrel gently tugged on her clothes with its mouth.
"Alright, lead the way," Su Qing said with a smile, stroking the little squirrel’s head.
The gray squirrel leaped from her arms and led her off in a specific direction.
When Su Qing followed the squirrel to the plant it had discovered, her eyes widened in astonishment.
’Whoa, I found it!’
Su Qing stared in amazement at the Purple Danshen before her. Its leaves and flowers were laced with faint golden veins. ’Isn’t this one of the features of the 800-year-old Purple Danshen Mr. Gong described?’
’Is this Purple Danshen really 800 years old?’
Su Qing clutched her chest, hardly daring to believe it. ’An 800-year-old Purple Danshen really exists in this world, and I’m the one who found it.’
"Little one, you’re incredible." Su Qing couldn’t hide her excitement. She scooped up the little squirrel, who was waiting obediently beside her, and kissed its cheek. "I love you so much."
Perhaps the squirrel had never been kissed by a human before. Its round eyes went wide in disbelief, which quickly gave way to delight. It copied her, gently touching her face with its nose. Then, its large tail began to wag with pure joy.
Su Qing chuckled, rubbing the squirrel’s little head. "I really have you to thank for this."
After saying this, Su Qing set the squirrel aside. With a slight twitch of her finger, the Purple Danshen began to sway gently. Soon, three deep-red roots, each as thick as an adult’s forearm, pulled themselves free from the soil. The entire surface of the Purple Danshen was covered in a network of cracked, pale-golden veins. At their ends, the deep-red rootlets were dotted with pearl-like nodes. The rootlets were like ancient tree roots, gnarled and tangled together. The entire plant exuded an exotic fragrance; just one sniff was enough to refresh the mind and spirit.
Su Qing was dumbfounded. ’This Purple Danshen is practically sentient, isn’t it?’ She had never smelled such a potent medicinal aroma before.
Su Qing picked up one of the smaller Purple Danshen and broke off a rootlet as thick as her pinky finger. On the broken surface, she saw that it was indeed speckled with faint golden spots.
Seeing this, Su Qing’s heart settled. ’Yes, these are at least 800-year-old Purple Danshen!’
Besides these three large Purple Danshen, Su Qing sensed four or five smaller ones nearby. She had no intention of touching them. A Purple Danshen of 800 years or more was not easy to come by; she had to leave some behind to propagate.
With a wave of her hand, Su Qing stored all three Purple Danshen in her space. She planned to give the largest of the three to Mr. Gong—after all, the An Family had put up ten million for it.
"Little one, this is all thanks to you today." Having found the Purple Danshen, Su Qing was in high spirits. On this trip into Xiqing Mountain, she had not only found the 800-year-old Purple Danshen but also many other precious, aged herbs. Most importantly, her superpower had advanced to the Sixth Rank!
Su Qing hugged the gray squirrel and sent a wisp of green mist into its body. After receiving the green mist, the squirrel’s eyes sparkled, and it wagged its tail happily. Su Qing then grinned, took a handful of nuts from her space to feed it, and sat down to eat something herself.
’Let’s see, it’s been over half a month since I arrived in Gansu Province. It’s mid-December now. Even if I head back to Beijing right away, I probably won’t get home until the end of December or early January at the earliest. Final exams are coming up!’
Su Qing blinked. ’I have to hurry back. I’ve skipped more than half the semester of classes; I can’t miss the final exams too. If I really dared to do that, my academic advisor would probably have a heart attack.’
"Little one, I’m getting ready to leave the mountains. We won’t be able to see each other after this." Su Qing gently poked the squirrel’s cheek. She was genuinely reluctant to part with it. For this whole time in the mountains, the squirrel had been her constant companion. And having its company was actually quite nice.
The gray squirrel clearly didn’t understand her words. Seeing her poke its cheek, it thought she was playing and affectionately rubbed against her finger.
Su Qing sighed softly. "It’s a shame you can’t understand what I’m saying."
"SQUEAK SQUEAK." The squirrel blinked its round, adorable eyes at Su Qing, making her heart melt.
"I’m going to miss you so much." Su Qing was genuinely reluctant to part with the little squirrel. She wondered if it would be willing to leave with her when she left the mountain.
The thought crossed her mind for only a moment before she dismissed it. ’Forget it, I won’t dwell on it. If we’re meant to be together, I’ll take care of this little squirrel from now on. If not, maybe I’ll see it again if I ever come back to Xiqing Mountain.’
Su Qing sat cross-legged on a makeshift cushion of woven vines, gently stroking the gray squirrel. Suddenly, she narrowed her eyes and glanced behind her to the right. ’Someone’s coming!’