Of course, there was another reason as well: he wanted to gather medicinal herbs in the woods.
By now, they had reached the second mountain peak along their journey.
The spiritual qi in this world was so rich that even the spirit herbs grew with greater vitality.
Qi Song was a physician himself, so he shared Li Ran's keen interest in medicinal herbs.
Spirit herbs flourished throughout these woods, and vibrant life suffused every corner.
Since Su Jiu recognized very few medicinal herbs, she had spent the journey watching the two men ahead of her gather them.
At that moment, Qi Song held a red leaf in his hand.
Su Jiu noticed that he had plucked it from the plant in front of him.
Seeming to notice her gaze, Qi Song explained patiently, "This is called jade immortal. It's an exceptionally rare medicinal herb. This plant grows five leaves, but only the one in the very center is red."
"What does it do?"
"With jade immortal, the green leaves contain a peculiar poison, while the red leaf is its antidote."
Somewhat surprised, Su Jiu turned toward the owner of the voice behind her.
Qi Song smiled and nodded as well. "Exactly as Fellow Daoist Chu said. However, I only refine pills that save lives, not poisons, so only the red leaf is useful to me."
At some point, Li Ran, who had been a short distance from the three of them, had also come over. He glanced at the jade immortal whose red leaf had already been picked and, with scarcely any hesitation, pulled up the remaining four leaves, roots and all.
At the same time, his lips spread into a slightly wicked grin. "I'm different. I dabble in both poisons and remedies."
A trace of helplessness flickered in Qi