CHAPTER 268: CHAPTER 265: ENCOUNTERING AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE AGAIN

Old Sun had told Lin Wanwan before that this Black Joint Grass often grew on extremely high mountain cliffs, making it difficult to harvest, and many medicine gatherers had lost their lives because of it.

And right here, right now, Lin Wanwan had unexpectedly discovered a large cluster!

Wild Dendrobium was extremely difficult to grow and reproduce, and it thrived only in dangerous places that medicine gatherers wouldn’t dare visit; otherwise, it would have been harvested long ago.

Such rare and high-grade medicinal herbs were now in Lin Wanwan’s sight, and if she didn’t harvest them, she wouldn’t be able to sleep well.

Money can be earned, but such good things can’t be easily bought; they’re hard to come by and almost nonexistent in the market. You can only try your luck on the black market!

What lay before Lin Wanwan was pure, unpolluted wild Dendrobium from the Great Tang, and just thinking about it made her drool.

In modern times, you can only legally buy artificially cultivated Dendrobium, which is not as effective as the wild variety.

The wild Dendrobium in front of her, having braved the elements for years, was so precious that even one plant could mean five years of sewing machine work. As for such a large patch, you might end up in jail forever.

But now it was the Zhen Guan Period of the Great Tang, and Emperor Li Shimin didn’t care whether you gathered medicine or what kind you gathered.

Lin Wanwan was crazed with excitement, and it was only after a long while that she realized she had been holding Xiao Chong’s hand all along!

Once conscious of it, Lin Wanwan quickly pulled her hand back as if she had been pricked by a needle, and then, pretending nothing had happened, she shifted her attention and said, "Cousin, I’m going to gather some herbs."

Xiao Chong had already followed the direction of her gaze to see the patch of Dendrobium, but he wasn’t familiar with Chinese herbs and didn’t know what it was.

But seeing Lin Wanwan so excited and out of control, he figured it must be something extremely rare.

Things that grow in dangerous places are inherently rare and expensive because they’re hard to gather. It’s been this way since ancient times.

Xiao Chong observed the surroundings carefully and said, "Without a medicine basket, how will you collect such a large cluster? I believe it would be better to bring tools after we’ve escaped our predicament."

Lin Wanwan thought for a moment, glanced at the medical kit, and recalled that although many of the medicines were modern, they had been repackaged for the Great Tang. There was no worry of exposure since the things that could give her away were in the cloth bag.

With that thought, Lin Wanwan moved forward without a word, opened the medical kit, and started emptying its contents. She took out all the fever reducers, Quick-acting Heart-saving Pills, Angong Niuhuang Pills, and a bunch of porcelain bottles, even dismantling the partitions, leaving only an empty box.

Then Lin Wanwan slung the medical kit over her shoulder, ready to go gather herbs.

As soon as she started taking out the porcelain bottles, Xiao Chong guessed what she intended to do and stopped her, saying, "Cousin, wait, let me help you gather them."

Lin Wanwan waved grandly and said, "No need, I can do it myself."

Without giving Xiao Chong time to react, she stretched out her hand, placed a foot, and had already climbed out.

Xiao Chong couldn’t stop her, so he quickly followed, puzzled as to why someone who appeared petite and delicate (from Xiao Chong’s height, ninety-nine percent of all girls looked petite) had such strength that he couldn’t even restrain her.

"Cousin, why are you coming? This just adds to the danger." Lin Wanwan turned her head to say.

Xiao Chong only replied, "Cousin, don’t be distracted. Watch your step."

"Cousin, it’s unnecessary, I don’t need your company, and it won’t help. You should go back."

Lin Wanwan dared to climb the cliff without any protective measures because she had the Space-Time Bracelet as a fallback. Why was Xiao Chong doing this? If he fell, he could lose his life.

Here, there was nothing above or below them, with a drop of at least twenty meters straight down, nearly vertical, with only moss and no trees, leaving no room for any buffer.

Xiao Chong said, "No more of this chatter, cousin. Stick close to the rock face, use your leg strength, pay attention to each foothold, and never let your guard down."

Lin Wanwan became tense from Xiao Chong’s words, slipped slightly, and nearly lost her grip. Luckily, her hand strength was great, and she steadied herself, but also knocked down a few pieces of gravel.

The commotion didn’t scare Lin Wanwan but made Xiao Chong nervous.

He didn’t know how he climbed so quickly and extended his long leg underneath Lin Wanwan. If she had slipped, she would have ended up on his leg.

The consequence of this was that either both of them held steady, or they both fell.

Lin Wanwan ignored Xiao Chong and focused on climbing toward the Dendrobium.

Fortunately, it wasn’t far, and soon Lin Wanwan reached the Dendrobium, rejoicing inwardly as she collected all of it into the medical kit.

Just as she was about to return, Lin Wanwan was startled by a small snake that suddenly appeared.

"Ding!"

A dagger flew over, pinning the small snake without embedding into the rock, and it fell off the cliff with the snake.

Lin Wanwan held her breath, quickly and deftly climbed back to the cave like a monkey, and only then did she exhale a long breath.

Xiao Chong also climbed back, looking at her and smiling, "Cousin, are you really afraid of snakes? Your face is white."

Lin Wanwan, in no good mood, said, "What’s fake about it? Doesn’t cousin think that snakes are inherently terrifying creatures?"

Before Xiao Chong could answer, a rumbling voice came from above: "Young lady, just now I heard something below this mountain."

The speaker’s voice alone gave an impression of a burly man, extremely resonant.

Xiao Chong naturally gleaned more information and whispered to Lin Wanwan, "It’s an expert."

Neither of them recklessly sought help from above; after last night’s assassination attempt, they couldn’t easily expose themselves.

Lin Wanwan gently put down the medical kit, but still, a slight sound was made.

The burly man spoke again, confidently, "It’s in the mountain below here."

Lin Wanwan was guessing the identity of the people above. It was said that this mountain path was unclear, and few should pass by, so how did a man speaking the official language appear?

Xiao Chong’s face showed no emotion, so it was unclear what he was thinking.

The next moment, someone above spoke again, this time a young female voice sounding like trickling water.

"Who’s below? What are you doing? Gathering herbs?"

Lin Wanwan almost immediately recognized who it was - Xiao Yixun, the albino with multiple personalities!

Wasn’t she forcibly sent back to Chang’an by Xiao Chong? How could she appear in Mao County?

Lin Wanwan exchanged glances with Xiao Chong, and then she suddenly raised her voice and replied, "Is that you, little cousin Yixun? I’m Lin Wanwan."

Although Xiao Yixun’s second personality had poisoned her twice, for some reason, Lin Wanwan didn’t particularly dislike Xiao Yixun; in fact, she felt a bit sorry for her.

After all, suffering from both albinism and multiple personalities, along with psychological problems, one is inclined to be more lenient in their expectations of such a heavily afflicted person.