Another One?

"Can we eat it?"

Lu Huan reached out and took one. She popped it into her mouth. It was sweet and tart, bursting with juice.

She had barely swallowed when warmth rose from her stomach, sweeping away most of the weariness from the journey.

Hu Cheng ate one too. He nodded, full of praise.

"Even better than Yangtao."

Patriarch Baoxue sliced off a piece with his willow-leaf flying sword and ate it.

Shen Hui picked a few more and tucked them into his sleeve for later use.

As they walked on, the forest grew stranger.

Great swathes of orchid-like plants clung to an old banyan tree so thick it would take several people to encircle it.

They were in full bloom. Dense clusters of flowers draped the tree like rosy clouds, filling the air with a heady fragrance.

Fallen petals carpeted the ground, forming a fragrant path that felt as soft as velvet underfoot.

Lu Huan's eyes lit up. She crouched, picked out a few intact petals, and put them in her bracelet.

Farther on, a section of deadwood was covered in wood-ear mushrooms and lingzhi.

The lingzhi were as large as palms, with crimson caps, cloudlike patterns, and a rim of gold around their edges.

Shen Hui picked several and put them away. "These can all be used in medicine. I'll refine a few batches of pills for you later."

"You know how to refine pills?"

Patriarch Baoxue gave him a sidelong look, doubt showing on his face.

Shen Hui smiled. "A little."

It didn't matter that he couldn't do it yet. Reading a few books later should be enough.

The deeper they went, the older the forest grew, the thicker the trees, and the denser the vines.

Some great trees had roots knotted like dragons, gripping the earth