Seeing that she couldn't talk her out of it, Meng Anzhi gripped her little shovel tightly and reminded her younger brother, "You have to remember the way up the mountain. Whether we make it back alive depends on you."
Meng Anci's little brows knitted slightly. "Don't worry."
Jin Shanyao was amused by the two little tots. Without a word, she led the cat and dog at a leisurely pace toward White Head Mountain.
At the foot of the mountain, plenty of villagers were digging up wild greens and rummaging through mouse holes. When they saw Jin Shanyao taking the children into the mountain, their eyes went wide with fright.
Gao the matchmaker disliked the Meng family's third branch. After Meng Sanlang died, she had visited several times to arrange a match, only for Wen Jingshu to drive her out every time.
Her hatred for the house extended to the crows on its roof, and she disliked Jin Shanyao too. When she saw Jin Shanyao taking the two children up the mountain, she looked as though she had discovered an enormous secret.
She cried, "Heavens! The Meng children's aunt is taking them up the mountain! Can she not afford to raise them and want to abandon them there to fend for themselves?"
"Surely not. She seems a little slow and doesn't talk much, but she doesn't look like a bad person."
Matchmaker Gao said unhappily, "What do you mean, slow? I think she's as crafty as they come. How's a young woman supposed to survive with two children?
"She's definitely going to throw Anzhi into the mountains to feed the wolves and keep Anci. That way, she can hog the Meng family's property and have one less child to raise." She spoke as if it were the truth, making her words somewhat convincing.
As Jin Shanyao climbed the mountain, the voices gradually faded away. Meng Anzhi looked at her cautiously. "Auntie, you wouldn't throw me on the mountain to feed the wolves, would you?"
"Of course not. Don't listen to their nonsense."
Meng Anzhi secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Taking her younger brother's hand, she smiled.
Jin Shanyao climbed halfway up the mountain in one go.
The river halfway up the mountain was clear to the bottom, fed by White Head Mountain's waterfall. She set the children on a rock and took deep breaths of the forest air.
Then she took off her shoes and socks, sat by the river, and dipped her feet into the water. Bracing her hands on the ground, she narrowed her eyes toward the sun. She had been born in a primeval forest and felt a natural affinity for the mountains and woods.
As she enjoyed the sunshine, she suddenly heard Meng Anzhi say, "Auntie, your cat and dog ran off."
White Head Mountain was full of dangers. If the cat and dog ran off wherever they pleased, wouldn't they die here? Meng Anzhi jumped off the rock and started after them.
Jin Shanyao caught her around the waist and put her back on the rock. Smiling, she said, "It's all right. Let them play. They might even bring something back."
As she spoke, she reached behind her back and plucked out two strands of hair. When she brought her hand forward again, two ginkgo leaves had appeared in her palm.
"Try them... They're sweet."
How could Meng Anzhi be in the mood to eat leaves? She said worriedly, "Auntie, there are tigers on the mountain. They'll die."
Jin Shanyao sat between the two children and tucked the ginkgo leaves into their mouths. "Don't worry. My cat and dog aren't ordinary animals. All the animals in the mountain are afraid of them."
Meng Anci asked curiously, "Even tigers?"
"They're afraid too." If those two couldn't even deal with mortal tigers, they might as well be dead.
Meng Anci's little worldview was shattered to pieces, while Meng Anzhi thought, Auntie's head really doesn't work properly after all.
Gurgle, gurgle... Meng Anci's little stomach rumbled at an inopportune moment. He hurriedly covered it and looked at Jin Shanyao, secretly breathing a sigh of relief only when he saw she hadn't heard.
The ginkgo leaves slowly melted in their mouths, their sweet fragrance filling their mouths and spreading through their limbs and bones. Their stomachs had been hungry just moments ago, but they no longer felt it, and they felt full of strength.
Meng Anzhi's eyes lit up. "Auntie, these leaves really are sweet! Where did you pick them?"
Jin Shanyao didn't answer. Instead, she took two necklaces from her robes, each with a ginkgo leaf pendant, and put them around the children's necks.
She said seriously, "These are protective charms from me. Remember, no matter when or where you are, you must never take them off. You have to wear them even when you bathe."
Meng Anzhi pinched the ginkgo leaf and examined it from every angle. "It's so golden and pretty. I couldn't bear to take it off."
Meng Anci nodded firmly. "Auntie gave it to me, so I'll wear it for the rest of my life. I won't give it to anyone."
Jin Shanyao was a treasure from head to toe. Every ginkgo leaf contained spiritual power that could strengthen the body when eaten, while the necklaces had been made from her branches and could attract good fortune and ward off misfortune.
Nothing in the mountains would dare harm the children in the slightest, and even ghosts and demons would keep their distance. After all, no one wanted to offend a great demon who had ascended to godhood.
Just then, Meng Anzhi caught sight of a patch of honey mushrooms and exclaimed, "I think I see mushrooms!"
"Where?"
Meng Anci sat bolt upright and followed her pointing finger. Sure enough, he saw a large patch of honey mushrooms beneath the leaves.
Startled, he covered his mouth to keep from making a sound that others might hear.
The siblings used to cheer with excitement whenever they found wild greens. Once, their older female cousin heard them and not only snatched the greens away but also beat them.
From then on, the siblings knew they had to keep any good finds hidden and couldn't make a sound, or someone else would snatch them away.
The two little tots scrambled down from the rock and ran toward the mushrooms. Only when they were crouching in front of them did they dare breathe hard. "Mushrooms! They really are mushrooms! Little brother, let's pick them quickly."
Before she had finished speaking, Meng Anci had already started picking. He carefully placed the mushrooms on the hem of his clothes, afraid that pressing too hard would crush them.
Meng Anzhi did the same, her hands quick and precise as she picked.
"Ah... Auntie, don't move!" Meng Anzhi had glimpsed a wild pheasant egg by her aunt's foot. Crying out in delight, she hurriedly dropped the mushrooms, ran over, and carefully picked up the egg.
Her eyes shining, she looked up at Jin Shanyao and said joyfully, "Auntie, it's warm..."
Only a freshly laid egg was warm; it was fresh. Although there were plenty of wild pheasant eggs on the mountain, most were rotten eggs that would never hatch.
It was her first time seeing such a fresh wild pheasant egg.
Meng Anci was overjoyed when he saw the egg. Holding the wild mushrooms in his lap, he ran over on the uneven ground. Who knew he would lose his balance and fall flat on his face?
The mushrooms in his arms were crushed out of shape, and his eyes instantly reddened with distress.
Jin Shanyao glanced at the mushrooms and said calmly, "Throw them away."
Meng Anci gripped the hem of his clothes tightly with his little hands and said aggrievedly, "Auntie, can we please not throw them away?"
Such good mushrooms couldn't be found at the foot of the mountain, and even if there were any, they wouldn't be able to get them. Meng Anci's little head drooped.
He pleaded again, "Can I eat the damaged mushrooms and you eat the good ones, Auntie?"
Jin Shanyao was puzzled. "These mushrooms are poisonous. Aren't you afraid?"
"Poisonous?" Two little heads turned toward her at once, then back to the mushrooms in their arms. "These are clearly honey mushrooms. How could they be poisonous?"
Jin Shanyao looked around, picked two kinds of mushrooms, and came back to sit in front of the two little tots.
Holding up the two mushrooms, she said seriously, "This is a honey mushroom, and this is a deadly funeral bell. It's highly poisonous. If you eat it, you'll die."
The two little ones stared at the mushrooms for a long time. However they looked at them, they seemed like the same kind of mushroom. How had one become a deadly funeral bell? Seeing that they couldn't tell, Jin Shanyao explained carefully.
"Honey mushrooms grow beside living trees. Deadly funeral bells grow beside dead wood."
She pointed to the honey mushroom. "A honey mushroom looks like a dirty ruqun, its surface is rough and pockmarked, and it has a mushroom fragrance." As she spoke, she motioned for the little ones to smell it.
After they had smelled it, she brought out the deadly funeral bell. "This one is shaped like an umbrella. The underside is like umbrella ribs, spreading outward from the center." She pointed out the lines to the two children, then held the deadly funeral bell beneath their noses.
"Can you smell a mushroom scent?"
The two little ones sniffed hard, then both shook their heads.
Jin Shanyao smiled. "That's the difference between the two mushrooms."
Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci looked at Jin Shanyao with bright eyes full of admiration. "Auntie, how do you know so much?"
Jin Shanyao suddenly felt a sense of accomplishment. She puffed out her chest and said proudly, "Of course! Your auntie knows all sorts of things. Come on, I'll show you more mushrooms."
The two little ones cheered and jumped for joy. They were at an age when they were curious about everything.
Especially in the mountains, where everything felt new.
Whenever they came across a mushroom, they asked Jin Shanyao whether it could be eaten and whether it was poisonous.
Jin Shanyao explained patiently the whole way. She discovered that human children were exceptionally clever: they could remember after hearing something just once.