CHAPTER 120: CHAPTER 120 DISCOVERY

She directed the water into the concave pit. It took over an hour before she saw the first signs of success.

With the water collected, she naturally wanted to try gathering fish into her space as well.

She looked around to confirm that she was alone in the deep mountains, then dropped a few drops of Spatial Well Water into the pond.

Collecting water wouldn’t attract attention, but using Spatial Well Water to lure fish could be problematic if anyone saw, so she had to be cautious.

As she expected, it wasn’t long before the scent lured not only fish but also shrimp and crabs. However, these shrimp weren’t common crawfish but a different type of freshwater crayfish, described as having a crab-like body and a fish-like tail.

Unfortunately, although the water was successfully collected into the space, these fish, shrimp, and crabs died as soon as they entered, just like the wild chickens and rabbits had.

She had thought that since she had gathered quite a few plants for the space during this period, it might have changed. Unfortunately, even when she tried to collect small fish, shrimp, and crabs into the newly gathered pond water, the outcome was the same.

Having no other choice, she had to abandon her original plan.

However, since they were available, she didn’t let the opportunity pass. She picked out medium-sized ones to gather in the space, filling several large basins in its kitchen before she stopped.

She planned to smoke some fish in the autumn and make sauce from these particular freshwater crayfish, which would be perfect for sending back to Beijing to repay favors.

Only when those few drops of Spatial Well Water had completely diluted and dispersed did the fish, shrimp, and crabs finally scatter.

Since her attempts were futile, she didn’t linger and rose to venture deeper into the mountains.

She was glad she had worn the medicinal pouch that repelled mosquitoes, insects, and poisons during her journey; otherwise, she would have suffered greatly.

By noon, she found two ginseng plants, sixty to seventy years old, in a rock crevice. It took considerable effort to dig them out and secure them.

After a simple meal, she prepared to head back but encountered a family of four wild boars. Since fate brought them together, she wouldn’t be polite.

She activated her Qinggong and, with a few swift moves, gathered the entire family neatly into the space before the boars could even react, let alone become enraged.

She thought about selling them in the county next time, a chance to make some money.

On her return journey, she didn’t take the same route, choosing another path instead to see if she could find anything else of value.

She hadn’t gone far when she heard people talking as they headed her way. "The map clearly marks this area," one of them said, "but we’ve been searching for so long without finding the place."

The language they spoke was not Chinese, which immediately put her on alert.

Her senses were now sharper than most people’s, so she knew they were still some distance away. She chose a tree with a dense canopy, ascended it effortlessly, and waited for them to approach.

After identifying the people approaching from afar and listening to their conversation, she connected it with the incident at Liu Chenglin’s place the previous night. She now understood who these people were.

It appeared these people hadn’t found what they were looking for, and Liu Chenglin and his group were after them.

For a moment, many thoughts flashed through her mind. Should she capture these people and hand them directly to Liu Chenglin and his group? Or should she follow them silently and only make a move after they found what they were looking for?

No, it would be better to follow them and be the oriole behind the mantis stalking the cicada. That way, she could save Liu Chenglin and his group a lot of trouble.

To avoid startling them, she continued to follow at a distance using Qinggong. Thankfully, she had been practicing tirelessly and had restored sixty to seventy percent of her Martial Arts prowess. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been so easy.

Watching them circle the same area, she became anxious on their behalf.

After all this time, the sun was beginning to set. She feared they might not be able to descend the mountain that night. Moreover, she worried that if Liu Chenglin didn’t see her return, he might mobilize a search party from the village, which wouldn’t look good.

Yet, if she returned to the village first and these people found the place, allowing them to succeed would only make Liu Chenglin’s task more difficult.

She found herself torn between two difficult choices.

In a moment of distraction, she misstepped and stumbled. Determined to remain undetected, she instinctively suppressed any sound.

As she fell, she braced for a painful landing. To her utter surprise, just as she was about to hit the ground, vines caught her. Then, in the next instant, she found herself sliding rapidly downwards.

The sudden drop startled her. By the time she could react, she had already fallen into a cave.