Foraging in the mountains was not like picking weeds by the roadside. A better harvest always took time and luck.
Once an area had been harvested, it might not produce anything new for months.
That meant changing locations and routes from time to time.
Every mountain forager kept track of a few patches. Some yielded mushrooms, others lingzhi...
These patches were places where mountain goods were likely to grow at regular intervals.
Naturally, they were also a mountain forager's most closely guarded secrets.
Su Yan was only a newcomer, with no father or elder to guide him personally, so he had no such patches.
Everything he gathered came from places others had never explored—in other words, from taking risks.
Once the Darkwater Centipede entered a rank during its growth stage, Su Yan could naturally venture deeper into Cloudridge Mountain.
In just three to five days, he and the Darkwater Centipede made another two trips into the mountains.
Although the haul fell short of their first trip, the Darkwater Centipede's greatly improved abilities made up for it. They found plenty of poisonous things, chiefly toxic medicinal herbs such as viperberry, black nestling, and ebony lingzhi, along with blood essence, fo-ti, and other herbs of respectable age, earning twenty to thirty taels of silver.
Word of his skill at mountain foraging spread as though it had sprouted legs. Most of the mountain villagers who frequented the mountain market had heard that Yunqian Village had produced a capable forager.
At the mountain market's tea shop, the old man who brewed cooling herbal tea and his assistant bustled in and out. With rags draped over their shoulders, they moved among seven or eight square tables, carrying teapots in one hand and serving customers herbal tea that cost one copper coin for three bowls with the other.
Each square table had people seated around it. Some were mountain villagers sharing tables with strangers, while others were groups of three to five companions from the same village.
"Pah! That little bastard actually dared to swindle me. Said the stuff wasn't all his, did he? That idiot Xie Yuzhu hasn't struck it rich. Turns out it was all fucking his."
Wang San had been cadging tea at the mountain market's tea stall when he unexpectedly heard the news.
Over the past few days, he had asked around repeatedly, yet heard nothing about any other mountain foragers in Yunqian Village striking it rich. Only now did he realize Su Yan had fooled him.
His yellow teeth ground together with an audible crackle. Being bluffed by Su Yan felt worse than taking a beating.
They were both orphans from the village. Why had that brat struck it rich while he, Wang San, could not?
Besides, he did not believe the brat had any real ability. If he did, would his father have had to die?
He gulped down some herbal tea and pondered, Should I spill the brat's business to Niu Han? I don't believe Niu Han would let him off.
No sooner had the thought arisen than Wang San hesitated, greed flickering in his eyes.
No. Niu Han and those bastards throw their weight around just because they have a little strength. They won't even leave me a sip of broth. I won't get anything good out of it...
Wang San wanted revenge on Su Yan, but he also wanted to seize his wealth.
"What are you thinking about, Wang San the Moocher?"
While he was lost in thought, a large, rough hand landed on his shoulder. He shuddered in fright, and the bowl in his hand fell to the ground with a clatter, shattering into several pieces.
Wang San looked up to find a big man, about six feet tall, standing beside him. His broad, weathered face wore a grin, making him look like a smiling tiger.
The man sat down without asking, propped an old hardwood bow beside him, then poured himself a bowl of tea and gulped it down.
Recognizing him, Wang San relaxed and cursed under his breath.
"Heard someone in your village hit the jackpot?"
Li Hu ignored his curses and stared straight at Wang San, as though he had merely brought it up in passing.
But what sort of man was Wang San?
How could he not know what a rotten gambling addict Li Hu was?
He worked as a hunter, but that physique was wasted on him, and he was vicious when he struck. Outside the mountains, he was a mountain villager; once he entered them, who could say?
Wang San's eyes darted about, and an idea suddenly took shape in his mind.
"What, you want to drag him into a few rounds of gambling too? He's not like me."
Wang San was talking about Su Yan, but Li Hu was a jackal from the same den. How could he miss the odd note in Wang San's voice?
He studied Wang San closely, his eyes narrowing slightly as the smile on his face grew even brighter.
"Oh? Sounds like you know him well. Why not introduce us so we can get acquainted?"
Wang San glanced around. Seeing that no one was paying attention to them, he gave Li Hu a meaningful look.
Having spent years running around with Wang San, Li Hu understood immediately. This bastard Wang San is plotting something nasty again.
Li Hu picked up the hardwood bow beside him and stood. Wang San also rose, though they acted as if they did not know each other.
They left the tea shop one after the other, walked out of the mountain market, and found a deserted spot choked with tangled weeds.
Li Hu caught hold of Wang San. "All right, what are you planning? Bringing me somewhere this secluded—are you hoping to set a trap with your big brother here and swindle Su Yan out of his silver?"
He had heard that a young man had made a hefty sum, and it had given him ideas. If the lad's household was easy to bully, perhaps he could pocket some of it too.
"No gambling."
Wang San shook his head. Annoyance crossed Li Hu's face. "Then what did you call me out for? What's the story with that Su Yan? He's found three or four ten-year-old medicinal herbs in just three to five days. I reckon he's earned twenty or thirty taels."
Wang San sneered. "All you know is that he found some aged medicinal herbs. You don't know he got a treasure plant, a yinred root, on his very first day. Twenty or thirty taels? I'd say he made at least this much."
He waved his gaunt, pale, chicken-claw-like hand in front of Li Hu, all five fingers conspicuously spread.
Li Hu looked stunned. "That much?! Damn, that's a windfall big enough to move to the city."
Jealousy seeped through his words. They all scraped a living from the mountains, so why did good fortune like that never fall into his lap?
"The city?"
Wang San sneered. "What would an orphan like him go to the city for? He's a kid with no father or mother."
Li Hu's eyes flickered like those of a wolf catching the scent of blood. "No one at home to back him up? Then how about we find a way to join him foraging and lend him a hand?"
"No."
Wang San stopped beating around the bush, a ruthless gleam in his eyes. "We follow him into the mountains. How old is that brat? How could he possibly have that kind of foraging skill? He must've stumbled across a treasure patch. Li Hu, are you in or not?"
Places in the mountains where spiritual energy gathered would usually keep producing treasure plants or potent medicinal herbs for years, sometimes more than a decade.
A place like that was enough to bring an entire lineage prosperity.
It was also a secret a mountain forager would take to his grave.
Now that Su Yan had struck it rich out of nowhere, Wang San was certain he had stumbled upon a treasure patch.
"Are you serious?"
Li Hu's eyes widened. He had never imagined such a stroke of fortune.
"Are you in or not?"
Wang San pressed him aggressively. He could not pull this off alone.
"I'm in!"
Li Hu agreed at once. After a moment's thought, he said, "Let's get Huang Tian, Zhao Fu, and the others too. Just the two of us isn't safe enough."
Wang San looked pained at the prospect, but recalling the strength of Su Yan's grip that day, he nodded. "Fine, but afterward you have to help me figure out how to get his house. You're not from Yunqian Village anyway..."
The house was not worth much, but at least it could fetch enough for some drinking money.
"No problem."
Li Hu readily agreed, already turning over how to carry it out in his mind.
The mountains were a fine place. There were few people there, and if a mountain forager happened to meet with some accident, wasn't that perfectly normal?
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