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Shi Wen found it hard to imagine. "A real-life mouse? Like a field mouse?"

Yan Kexing said, "They're both rodents. You can look up some pictures. I rarely see local Small Forest Mice."

Gong Jiang said, "I haven't seen one either. But since it made those trail markers, if we follow them back, could we find its burrow?"

As he spoke, Gong Jiang looked at Yan Kexing expectantly.

Yan Kexing remained calm. "I can't read them."

So everyone turned to Shi Wen.

Shi Wen hesitated. "I'm not sure."

Gong Jiang said, "We'll know if we walk back along the trail. I never expected that we'd find such an interesting animal while looking for Bachu Mushrooms. From what I read, they do eat flowers and the like. This peach tree probably counts as a stable food source for them."

Yan Kexing took photos beside them. "Mm."

Shi Wen scrolled through information about Small Forest Mice nearby.

The Small Forest Mouse was a species in the mouse family. According to the information, this really was its habitat, and it really did have a habit of setting trail markers.

After they finished taking photos, Shi Wen led them back toward the other end of the markers.

He still found it unbelievable.

Such a tiny animal was actually that clever? It even knew to leave trail markers?

The four followed Shi Wen, winding left and right along the markings.

After nearly twenty minutes of circling around, they successfully arrived before a tiny mud hole.

Shi Wen bent down for a look and met a pair of round black eyes.

Inside the tiny mud hole, a slender little mouse with tawny-brown and black fur huddled in its burrow, trembling as it looked at them. Its two front paws were raised before its chest, wearing an expression that said, "I'm so scared I'm about to drop my sunflower seeds."

Shi Wen said, "There really is one? This is a Small Forest Mouse?"

As he spoke, he bent down, trying to get closer.

Yan Kexing reached out and gripped his shoulder, stopping him. "Don't get too close. It might carry Hantavirus and other things."

Yan Kexing's hand was long-fingered and warm. Held like that, Shi Wen became especially aware of his right shoulder.

Shi Wen coughed to cover it up. "Okay."

Lin Chengqian said excitedly, "Now that we've found the Small Forest Mouse, can we follow the paths they've opened up to find Bachu Mushrooms? They must know this forest far better than we do, right?"

Gong Jiang said, "It's entirely possible. Let me take another photo. This Small Forest Mouse is so cute. I'll see if I can put it in our publication."

Chapter 10

There were many "mouse trails" opened up by Small Forest Mice in the woods.

Shi Wen studied those mouse trails and could roughly judge the number of Small Forest Mice.

There really were quite a lot of Small Forest Mice here. They were probably a dominant species.

After explaining it to Yan Kexing and the others, Shi Wen selected another mouse trail and led them onward.

The trees in the poplar forest were not particularly dense, and the ground was flat, so the path was fairly easy to walk.

Shi Wen identified things as he walked. Then, as he continued forward, he suddenly spotted several black dots on the ground ahead.

They found them this quickly?!

Shi Wen grew excited and hurried over, staring at the black dots ahead.

"They really are Bachu Mushrooms!" Shi Wen turned to Yan Kexing. "Following the Small Forest Mice worked!"

Yan Kexing said, "How many are there?"

Shi Wen said, "Let me count. One, two, three... six. There seem to be six."

Gong Jiang craned his neck. "Aren't there another two beside those leaves? Those black bits sticking out."

The group crouched down together.

Shi Wen gently brushed aside the fallen leaves and dirt around the Bachu Mushrooms. Once they were fully exposed, he used a small knife to cut them off close to the ground.

Wild mushrooms had a lot of dirt and sand on them, and pulling them up by the roots made them difficult to clean. Cutting off only the part above ground was relatively better.

One, two, three... Shi Wen counted silently as he cut them. Including the two Gong Jiang had found, they harvested nine Bachu Mushrooms in total.

This patch of Bachu Mushrooms was really quite large.

No wonder the Small Forest Mouse had made a marker pointing here. It had probably treated this place like a granary.

After cutting the Bachu Mushrooms, Shi Wen looked at Yan Kexing. "There don't seem to be any more?"

Yan Kexing nodded. "We've picked them all."

Shi Wen rummaged through his pockets. Before leaving, he took out a handful of boiled sunflower seeds and placed them on the ground.

Ge Yue watched his actions in surprise. "Shi Wen, are you—"

Shi Wen said, "We raided the Small Forest Mouse's food cache, so I'm giving it something in return."

Lin Chengqian could not help saying, "You don't really need to do that. There must be Bachu Mushroom spores nearby. Once we pick them today, new ones will grow tomorrow. And sunflower seeds might not even be part of the local Small Forest Mice's diet."

Shi Wen insisted, "I looked it up. Small Forest Mice eat grass seeds and nuts. Their diet is quite broad. These sunflower seeds were only boiled in water, so they can eat them."

Lin Chengqian said, "That's so romantic of you."

Shi Wen's ears reddened slightly. "Think of it as trail fare."

Yan Kexing said, "Having the ability, yet still holding nature in awe, is a good thing."

Gong Jiang agreed. "A handful of sunflower seeds can bring happiness. Whether you leave them or not makes little difference. Just follow your heart."

Shi Wen nodded.

Yan Kexing patted Shi Wen's shoulder beside him, then turned to Lin Chengqian. "Keeping your mind active at all times is also a good thing."

Lin Chengqian nodded solemnly, his gaze at Yan Kexing full of trust.

Shi Wen glanced at Yan Kexing from the corner of his eye.

This man really was good at keeping things balanced.

But he was indeed quite considerate.

Following mouse trails to find patches of Bachu Mushrooms was much faster than finding one here and another there.

Shi Wen chose another mouse trail and led Yan Kexing and the others onward.

This time, the mouse trail led not to Bachu Mushrooms, but to a patch of wild strawberries.

The wild strawberries had only just flowered. It was still far from fruiting season, and they came away empty-handed.

After searching twice more, Shi Wen gained some experience. He had to look for fresh mouse trails too—ones the Small Forest Mice frequently used. Only then would the chances of finding something be greater.