Intermittent Flower!

The next day, the sky was bright and cloudless for miles—a fine day for gathering herbs.

After breakfast, the apprentices brought the tools essential for herb gathering and followed their senior brothers and sisters up the mountain.

Yang Heng's group consisted of six people, led by Senior Brother Li.

Along the way, Senior Brother Li was taciturn and rarely spoke.

Only when they found medicinal herbs would he explain the environment in which they grew and the precautions needed when picking them.

Explanations given through practice were far more memorable than explanations given while holding herbs in a medicine shop. Yang Heng listened with great interest, nodding repeatedly as he learned much.

For instance, there were the methods of harvesting herbs.

Not all medicinal herbs could be harvested in the same way, simply by digging them out.

There were many details to pay attention to.

Some herbs must never be touched with bare hands and could only be picked while wearing specially made gloves.

Others could not be dug up with iron tools and had to be excavated with small wooden knives, lest their root systems be damaged.

Furthermore, some herbs had even more exacting requirements and could only be harvested at a particular time. If the hour was wrong, the herbs would be useless even after they had been picked.

There were also certain especially peculiar herbs that required a ritual before they could be harvested.

The most common example was ginseng.

Before digging up ginseng, one had to tie a red string around it to keep it from running away.

Whether that was true or not, no one knew.

This custom had been passed down through generations of herb gatherers, so there must have been some reason for it.

Yang Heng and the others entered the mountain.

Sure enough, medicinal herbs were scarce around the mountain's outskirts. It was as though the place had been plowed by oxen; even with an old hand like Senior Brother Li leading the way, their gains were few and far between.

The farther inward they went, the more rugged and winding the mountain paths became. Brambles thickly covered the way, and everyone swung the machetes they carried, hacking at the thorny bushes blocking their path.

At once, blade light flashed like a torrential downpour, blotting out the sky and covering the earth.

The sound of "chop, chop" rang out without end as brambles and bushes were hacked into scattered pieces, littering both sides of the path.

Cutting down the bushes was not merely to clear a road. It had another benefit: the noise would startle away venomous insects and savage beasts nearby, keeping them from approaching.

That way, everyone's safety could be guaranteed to a certain extent.

Once the bushes and brambles blocking the way had been cleared, Senior Brother Li led everyone onward at a brisk pace, heading deeper into the mountain.

The moment they entered the mountain's depths, the surroundings abruptly fell silent. Not a single cry of bird or beast could be heard, as though they had trespassed into the territory of some great predator.

Senior Brother Li's expression gradually turned solemn. He warned everyone not to wander about and to follow closely in his footsteps.

"Look! There's an Intermittent Flower beneath that tree ahead!"

Suddenly, a sharp-eyed apprentice shouted, pointing at a tree five meters ahead. At the same time, afraid that the other apprentices would snatch the herb from him, he quickened his pace and rushed toward the base of the tree, intending to claim it for himself.

Yang Heng and the others looked over at the sound. Sure enough, a small silver-white plant grew beneath the tree. It stood about three inches tall and had five leaves, each hung with crystal-clear dew. As the breeze stirred, the silver-white leaves and droplets swayed gently, glittering brightly and making one's mouth water.

"There's danger! Stop!"

Senior Brother Li shouted, trying to stop the apprentice's rash action, but it was already too late.

The apprentice had reached the Intermittent Flower. His right hand descended from above, grabbing for its stem like an eagle snatching a chick, intending to yank the silver-white plant out in one go.

As he watched his right hand draw ever closer to the Intermittent Flower, just as it was about to fall into his possession, Zhao Er's face filled with excitement. His ears turned red, his breathing quickened, and his heart pounded wildly.

The Intermittent Flower's chief medicinal effect was to open the channels and heal internal injuries. It was costly, highly useful to martial artists, rarely seen on the market, and worth twenty taels of silver.

It was precisely because it was so valuable that Wang Er could not resist the temptation. Before anyone else noticed it, he had acted swiftly, intending to tuck it away in his pocket.

With this flower, he would exceed his quota. For the days ahead, he would no longer need to go up the mountain or live in constant fear that he would fail to complete his task by the deadline and be whipped.

By the time he heard Senior Brother Li sternly ordering him to stop, his right hand was less than a foot from the Intermittent Flower, within arm's reach.

Stopping was out of the question!

Just then, a flash of silver streaked before his eyes. Zhao Er felt as though his neck had been bitten by a snake, and the pain was unbearable.

At once, Zhao Er staggered to the ground, clutching his neck with both hands. He rolled about on the ground and wailed loudly.

When Yang Heng and the others approached and looked down, they saw that Zhao Er's neck had turned blue-black. His face shifted between green and white, while his lips had gone purple. He was clearly suffering from a violent poison.

Senior Brother Li hurriedly took out an antidote pill and tried to give it to Zhao Er. Yet before the pill could touch Zhao Er's lips, Zhao Er suddenly screamed, kicked out with both legs, and breathed his last.

At this sight, the remaining apprentices wore grief-stricken expressions, tears flowing from the corners of their eyes.

They were not mourning Zhao Er, but their own futures.

Gathering herbs in the inner mountain was fraught with danger. They too feared ending up like Zhao Er, dying without ever even seeing their killer, their deaths utterly baffling.

Of all those present, Yang Heng alone had clearly seen the face of Zhao Er's killer.

The killer was a small silver-white snake, as thick as a little finger and around three inches long. Its head was triangular, silver rings wound around its body, and it hid in the bushes behind the Intermittent Flower. Even now, it remained there, guarding the flower.

It was said that certain rare flowers and strange herbs had owners—savage beasts or exotic creatures guarding them nearby. Anyone who set their sights on them would suffer the guardian beast's ferocious attack.

The Intermittent Flower was one such case, guarded by an exotic beast.

Zhao Er had been too greedy. He had turned a deaf ear to Senior Brother Li's warning and stubbornly gone his own way, ultimately meeting a miserable death in the wilderness.

He had brought it upon himself and deserved it.

Good advice cannot save a ghost bent on dying; compassion cannot deliver one who has cut off his own path.

When someone wants to die, no one can stop them.

At this moment, everyone was sunk in grief, unable to pull themselves free.

Yet Senior Brother Li remained expressionless as he watched them weep. It seemed he had long grown accustomed to such things, and they could no longer move him.

Yang Heng did not want to stand out either.

So he smeared saliva at the corners of his eyes and pretended to cry.

After a while, seeing that everyone had calmed down somewhat, Senior Brother Li said, "This place is riddled with dangers. Do not act rashly.

"When you discover medicinal herbs, you must carefully observe the surroundings and see whether any exotic beasts are guarding them. You can throw stones near the herbs to test the area. Only after confirming that there is no danger may you step forward to harvest them.

"Otherwise, you will end up like Zhao Er—dying with your eyes unclosed!"

Whether they understood or not, Senior Brother Li paused, then said blandly, "Let's go. We continue onward."

At that moment, an apprentice pointed at the Intermittent Flower and asked doubtfully, "Senior Brother Li, aren't we picking that Intermittent Flower?"

"The Intermittent Flower is guarded by a Silver Ring Snake. This snake is incredibly fast and its venom is exceedingly potent. If it bites you, and you do not take an antidote pill within a single breath, the poison will seep deep into your five viscera and six bowels, and you will die at once."

After speaking, Senior Brother Li sneered. "If you're not afraid of dying, you can go try."

The apprentice who had spoken gave an embarrassed smile and quickly said he dared not.

Everyone continued deeper into the mountain. Yang Heng, however, glanced back at the Intermittent Flower, a faint smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.