The forest on Back Mountain was deep and dense, vegetation sprawling everywhere, layers of branches and leaves casting dappled light and shadow across the woods.
Honestly, Li Xiang had thought finding medicinal herbs would be a breeze.
After all, little Watermelon knew this mountain like the back of his hand.
Even though little Watermelon wore his head covering the whole time and his severe congenital nearsightedness left everything blurry, none of that stopped him from identifying herbs.
The woman and the little boy wandered all over the mountain, searching back and forth for an entire afternoon.
From noon until the sun sank toward the horizon, they searched until their legs nearly gave out, combing through the grass again and again and checking every possible corner, yet they never found a single suitable herb.
Li Xiang was utterly done.
Exhausted in body and mind, her legs aching, she finally couldn't take it anymore. She plopped down beside a patch of grass along the path and let out a long sigh, completely giving up.
"I'm done."
She wiped the thin sheen of sweat from her forehead and stared at the endless forest, grumbling helplessly, "Does this whole Back Mountain seriously not have any honeysuckle, forsythia, mulberry, or chrysanthemum?"
An entire afternoon of work with nothing to show for it would drive anyone up the wall.
Irritated, she grabbed a handful of weeds from the patch beside her, intending to brace herself against the ground and get up. She was calling it a day.
But as she glanced down, she noticed a few small, serrated leaves and delicate yellow flowers among the weeds clenched in her hand.
They were the very plants used for honeysuckle and forsythia and mulberry and chrysanthemum remedies that she had spent all afternoon searching the mountain for.
She stared at the herbs in her hand, unable to process it for a long moment. Her composure shattered.
"Are you kidding me?!"
"I busted my fucking ass searching all afternoon and couldn't find a single trace."
"And the second I give up, you just deliver yourselves straight into my hand?!"
"I'm seriously done. So the trick is to try less, huh!"
It was just like a phone charger: impossible to find while you were looking, then practically handed to you once you stopped.
Instantly revived, she turned to call little Watermelon, who had been obediently crouching nearby, waiting for her.
"Watermelon! Come here! I found them! These are the ones!"
Little Watermelon immediately scampered over on his short legs, bringing his round little body close to examine them. "Herbs that can cure a cough!"
With the identification confirmed, they both got straight to work.
After wasting most of the afternoon finding nothing, they hit the jackpot in the last dozen or so minutes.
Crouching in the grass, they carefully collected a full bag of fresh herbs, all in excellent condition and sufficiently potent. There was enough to brew several batches of medicine, more than enough to keep the inflammation from Ruri's pneumonia under control.
By the time they had packed everything up, the last sunlight had sunk below the horizon. Dusk blanketed the mountains, the sky darkened, and the evening breeze carried a hint of chill.
The forest had grown completely dim. Evening had arrived.
"Let's go. We're heading back to the village."
Carrying the heavy bag of herbs, Li Xiang led little Watermelon leisurely back to the village.
The moment she stepped into the village clearing, she spotted the scene outside the wooden house.
Senku had somehow recruited an elderly man from the village. Their heads were close together as they enthusiastically discussed something, trading remarks in an engrossed conversation.
The old man looked steady and kindly, likely one of the elders responsible for cooking and utensils in the village.
Li Xiang raised her hand from a distance and called out brightly, "Senku! I'm back!"
Senku immediately turned at her voice. His gaze landed on her bulging bag of herbs, amusement flickering in his eyes as he gave a quiet acknowledgment.
Li Xiang hurried over and set the herbs securely on a clean stone slab, asking casually, "What are you two talking about?"
"Equipment for brewing medicine," Senku explained plainly. "Herbal medicine needs a dedicated pot. The village has a special kind of clay that can be fired into heat-resistant medicine pots, so I asked the Village Chief to bring over the elder who's best at pottery."
The old man beside him looked at the full bag of fresh herbs, then at their earnest expressions.
"Very well. Since this is for the Priestess's life, I'll give it a try and help you brew the medicine."
Li Xiang immediately grew smug, lifting her chin and giving Senku a couple of little hums, her expression practically begging for praise.
"Well? Well? I worked super hard and found loads of herbs! Pretty impressive, right?"
Seeing her adorably proud expression, Senku obligingly played along. "Great job. Super impressive."
Then she remembered the promise she had made to little Watermelon along the way and leaned toward Senku, lowering her voice.
"Oh, Senku, there's something I wanted to tell you."
"Little Watermelon has severe congenital nearsightedness. Everything he sees is blurry."
"Could you make him a pair of glasses?"
Senku glanced at little Watermelon, who stood obediently nearby with his head covering on, and nodded slightly.
"Easy. Optical glass, grinding lenses, making frames-none of that's hard for me. I'll take care of it later."
That evening, everyone shared a simple meal of cooked food gathered from the mountains, chatting and laughing in a warm, peaceful atmosphere.
The exhaustion of a whole busy day melted away in that moment.
Night deepened completely, and the villagers returned to their houses one after another to rest. The group also found places to settle down and sleep.
In the still of the night, everything around them fell silent.
Lying on a pile of soft hay with nothing to do, Li Xiang instinctively opened her personal system viewing panel in her mind.
Her eyes lit up, her interest immediately piqued.
"Then I'll have a look."
She deftly skipped the dull opening and ending sequences, dragging the progress bar straight to the main episode.
The scene changed, and the story jumped back to the desperate, bloody battle against a wild pride of lions just after the group had emerged from the mountains.
Bullet comments blanketed the screen, all of them checking in and flooding the display-
The footage instantly cut back to the remote wilderness.
Wind howled through the air and grass rustled as several powerfully built adult male lions slowly closed in, the tension instantly mounting.
The sudden encirclement had caught everyone off guard.
"Yuzuriha! Senku! Get behind Taiju and me, now!"
The next second, the most impatient male lion could no longer hold back. It pushed off with all four legs and lunged forward, its bloody maw gaping.
At that critical moment, Li Xiang commanded Taiju, "Taiju! Go!"
Taiju raised his fist and drove a powerful punch forward!
Thud!
The heavy blow struck the lion's head, dropping it on the spot and putting it out of the fight. A one-hit KO!
The footage was so tense and thrilling that it made the viewer's heart clench.
But there was more than one beast. In the chaos of the melee, a lion circled around from the side and launched a surprise attack straight at Yuzuriha, who had no close-combat ability!
Yuzuriha froze on the spot, with nowhere to dodge. The lion's claws were about to tear into her!
In that instant between life and death, Li Xiang's gaze sharpened. She stepped forward, seized Yuzuriha, and yanked her behind her.
There were too many lions. A prolonged battle would only exhaust everyone.
Li Xiang made an immediate decision and ordered in a low voice, "Yuzuriha, Senku, you two go first!"
Yuzuriha shook her head fiercely, her eyes reddening as she adamantly refused to retreat.
"How could I abandon you! We're friends! If we leave, we leave together!"
"Yuzuriha, this is no time to be stubborn!"
"Go first and save your strength. Find a chance to come back and help us. Hurry!"
Faced with her unyielding insistence, Senku could only pull the reluctant Yuzuriha along and quickly retreat.
But the instant they turned to flee, a male lion suddenly sprang up and launched itself at them.
Li Xiang reacted almost on instinct. Gritting her teeth, she charged forward at full speed, throwing caution to the wind!
She drew power into her right arm, putting her entire body behind it and channeling every ounce of strength into a single punch!
Crack-!
A clear snap of bone rang out as her precise, powerful punch struck the bridge of the lion's nose!
The massive beast went rigid, then crashed to the ground.
On-screen, Li Xiang panted heavily, a hint of amusement in her eyes.
"Heh."
"I'm a woman who can throw a punch with ninety kilos of explosive force, after all."
[She's practically not human...]
[Oh my god, something definitely broke, right!]
[Waaah, she's an actual angel.]
[I've decided. I'm not doing my homework today.]
[Look at you, getting carried away again.]
She turned, her voice hoarse. "Go! Get out of here, now!"
Neither dared delay. They immediately fled the danger zone as fast as they could.
By then, Li Xiang could no longer lift her right arm at all.
Cold sweat beaded across her forehead. Her face was pale, and she had bitten the corner of her lip so hard that a faint trickle of blood seeped out. Agonizing pain spread from her arm through her entire body.
Beside her, Taiju looked deeply worried and hurried forward to support her.
Li Xiang forced a faint smile and murmured apologetically, "Taiju, I'm sorry... I put you in danger."
Taiju immediately shook his head, his gaze utterly earnest and his tone sincere.
"Li Xiang, we're friends! No matter what happens, I'll stand beside you. It's okay!"
As his warm words faded, the image dimmed slightly.
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