CHAPTER 267: CHAPTER 264: ANOTHER ENCOUNTER WITH THE "PUNISHMENT LIST" TREASURES

Lin Wanwan reached out and pulled over the medical kit, taking out a ceramic jar filled with chocolates, originally a snack for her and little Qingyu, but stuffed into the medical kit in one breath to save Lin Juhua.

"Here, this is called chocolate. I made it myself. Try it," Lin Wanwan said unabashedly.

No way around it, with modern items, what else could she say except that she made them?

Xiao Chong looked at the small brown spheres Lin Wanwan handed him. They looked like medicinal pills, so he had no doubts. After all, Lin Wanwan studied medicine; it wasn’t surprising if she also practiced alchemy.

Once in his mouth, the chocolate ball started to melt immediately, silky and smooth, rich and fragrant, bitter with a touch of sweetness, and uplifting.

"Hmm, this chocolate pill has a unique flavor. Cousin really has a talent for culinary arts," Xiao Chong praised.

When it came to food, the two of them always found an easy topic to discuss.

But after eating three pieces, Xiao Chong stopped, saying, "We still don’t know when we can escape safely. Cousin, keep the remaining chocolate for emergencies."

"No worries, we’ll definitely get out by tomorrow."

Lin Wanwan thought, if you weren’t here, I would be enjoying a hot midnight snack by now. Ah, what should I do now?

There was also a date with Gu Jingyu tomorrow. If she doesn’t show up and can’t be reached by phone, she’s really afraid Gu Jingyu would call the police to find her.

After all, Gu Jingyu always acts very thoroughly. In Gu’s nature, if he can’t reach her, nine out of ten he’d come to check, and if he can’t find her, it’s likely he’d call the police.

Thinking of this, Lin Wanwan’s head suddenly felt heavy. Seeing Xiao Chong insist on not eating more, she no longer minded etiquette and lay directly on the ground, looking at the cave’s ceiling in silence.

If Xiao Chong hadn’t saved her, the best outcome for her and Hua Nong would be one life lost and one saved—at the final moment, she could heartlessly open the Space-Time Bracelet and return to the present, but Hua Nong, unable to enter the Space-Time Gate, would likely die violently.

So deep down, though she complained, Lin Wanwan was still full of gratitude towards Xiao Chong. After all, this cousin is reliable; in danger, he genuinely saves lives, that kind of selfless, life-risking rescue.

After thinking here and there for a while, she didn’t even know how she ended up falling asleep later.

In a daze, she opened her eyes after some time had passed, finding dawn breaking in the sky, and Xiao Chong sitting by the mountain wall with closed eyes, uncertain if he was awake or asleep.

As soon as Lin Wanwan moved, Xiao Chong opened his eyes and said, "Cousin, the sun has risen."

Lin Wanwan rubbed her head and sat up, looking outside the cave, indeed witnessing the magnificent sunrise.

She stood up and walked to the cave entrance, holding onto the stone wall, gazing at the breathtaking clouds on the horizon, her mood involuntarily lifted.

"Wow, watching the sunrise from the mountain is so beautiful!" Lin Wanwan couldn’t help but exclaim. If she ignored her current predicament, it would feel quite wonderful.

When daylight fully broke, Lin Wanwan checked on Hua Nong’s condition. The other’s breathing was steady, but she remained unconscious.

After taking her pulse, Lin Wanwan found her condition improving, which set her mind at ease.

Xiao Chong came to the cave entrance, assessing the surrounding environment, with slightly furrowed brows: "The cave’s entrance is nearly two zhang from the level ground above, and about seven or eight zhang downwards. To escape, we must climb upwards."

Lin Wanwan already had a plan, which was to pretend to climb the stone wall, then open the Space-Time Gate in mid-air to return to the present, drive out of the city, consult a map, and come back with climbing ropes to rescue Xiao Chong and Hua Nong.

With this in mind, Lin Wanwan said to Xiao Chong, "Cousin, I grew up in the mountains as a child and am an expert climber, so I intend to try climbing. You watch over Hua Nong for me. If I make it up, I’ll drop a rope down to rescue you."

Xiao Chong disagreed, saying, "If anyone is to climb, it should be me. How can I let cousin take the risk?"

"I can do it, cousin. You shouldn’t underestimate me."

"Not appropriate, not appropriate," Xiao Chong still objected.

Lin Wanwan frowned. As long as she could return to the present, the difference in time flow was enough to allow her to consult the map again and return without Xiao Chong noticing.

The challenge was how to do it without Xiao Chong noticing, given his sharp watchfulness.

Xiao Chong looked like he hadn’t slept all night, keeping watch. It’d be best if he took a nap, so she could act while he was asleep.

Lin Wanwan then said, "Cousin, did you sleep yesterday? Your eyes look slightly red. Why don’t you rest for a bit and gather your energy before we act?"

Xiao Chong replied calmly, "No need. A sleepless night is a trivial matter to me."

Lin Wanwan was frustrated. Why act so tough? You can show a bit of weakness!

"Cousin, I think you should still have a nap and gather your energy before we act. Otherwise, if you’re running low on energy, it could be dangerous," Lin Wanwan tried to persuade him to sleep.

Xiao Chong said nothing, casually pressing a finger onto the stone wall of the cave, and pulled out a piece of stone: "Cousin, you see, this section of the stone wall can’t support climbing, and the wall is covered in moss, which is very slippery. We need to find another way."

Lin Wanwan: "..."

This was partly telling her not to mess around, and partly proving his strength was still intact, unaffected by the night, as he could still easily pull out a wall stone!

Quite impressive!

Lin Wanwan thought, but I don’t care. I have the Space-Time Bracelet, can open the Space-Time Gate anytime. What’s to fear? Just a pity there’s your keen eye watching, making it hard to act stealthily.

Just as she was thinking, Lin Wanwan’s eyes suddenly caught sight of a few familiar plants.

Seeing something familiar meant she recently memorized it from study materials, or it was something she tasted while being experimented on by Elder Sun (who believed every Chinese medicine practitioner must taste herbs themselves to know their properties).

In these two scenarios, Lin Wanwan had a strong impression of recognized medicinal herbs.

Lin Wanwan tilted her head to get a closer look, and saw a patch of seemingly fragile, poorly developed slender bamboos, spaced apart with elongated oval-shaped leaves, tinged with a faint purple, growing on the moss-covered rock wall a meter outside the cave.

"Dendrobium?" Lin Wanwan was unsure and couldn’t help but try to take a closer look from the cave entrance.

Xiao Chong stepped forward and grabbed her wrist, helplessly saying, "Cousin, it’s a seven or eight zhang drop to the nearest gentle slope from here, be careful."

Lin Wanwan didn’t look back, holding Xiao Chong’s hand back just in case, and kept stretching her neck out to peek at the plants outside.

Xiao Chong looked at their clasped hands, his eyes narrowing slightly, his expression peculiar.

"This is really Dendrobium! Wild! I was right!" After a careful examination, Lin Wanwan was thrilled.

Wild Dendrobium is on the brink of extinction in the modern era, known as the "panda" of the medicinal world, a key endangered and precious orchid species protected in Huaxia, ranked as the foremost among the "Nine Immortal Herbs of China," considered the prototype of the immortal herb in folklore.

It has numerous benefits like nourishing Yin, clearing heat, benefiting the stomach, generating fluids, anti-tumor, anti-oxidation, anti-aging, and is an excellent choice whether for nourishment or medicine.