After leaving Laxian, Su Qing went to her first destination—Da Hu Mountain.

Da Hu Mountain was lush with vegetation. Its peaks were high and its forests deep, stretching for hundreds of miles. Many parts of it were still unexplored. It was, one could say, a truly wild mountain.

Su Qing had chosen Da Hu Mountain as her first destination precisely because it was untouched. In a forest like this, it would be easier to find medicinal herbs that were hundreds of years old.

"Miss, you’re going to Da Hu Mountain all by yourself?" Changxi Village was the closest settlement to Da Hu Mountain. When he learned that Su Qing was headed there, Old Li, the man driving the ox-cart, offered her a ride. The other passengers were also residents of Changxi Village. Old Li gently tapped the ox’s back with his whip and said to Su Qing, "Da Hu Mountain is a deep one, miss. It’s dangerous to go into the mountains alone. You should think twice."

"That’s right," a woman on the cart chimed in. "Young lady, you’re so young, you probably don’t know the dangers of these mountains. Let me tell you, even the hunters from our village go in groups when they head into the mountains. There are a lot of wild animals in there. If you run into one, it’s no laughing matter. You’re carrying such a big case—don’t tell me you’re planning to stay in the mountains for a few days?"

Su Qing was still carrying the case that Cheng Beize had used to pack the Big Yellow Fish for her. However, she had already moved the Big Yellow Fish into her space. The case was now empty, just a prop for show.

Su Qing smiled and said, "I won’t go too deep. I’ll just look around the outer areas. I heard the mountain scenery here in Yun Province is different from other places, so I was quite curious. I have a tent in this case. I am planning to stay in the mountains for a few days."

"Oh, you’re right about that," the woman said. "It never gets that cold here, no matter the season, so we have lots of flowers and plants. Especially in the mountains, there are all sorts of wildflowers we don’t even have names for. There are so many you can’t even count them, and they’re just beautiful."

"That’s right. When I was little, my favorite thing to do was pick wildflowers to make wreaths," a young wife next to her added with a smile.

"Is that so? That’s wonderful. I love flowers," Su Qing said with a cheerful smile.

"Sigh, I can tell you like pretty things too. How..." The young wife looked sympathetically at the scar on Su Qing’s left cheek. She was cut off mid-sentence when the older woman gently nudged her with her shoulder. The woman then picked up where the young wife left off, saying, "You young ladies all appreciate beauty."

"Right, right, right," the young wife said, realizing she had almost misspoken, and nodded quickly in agreement.

Su Qing didn’t seem to mind at all. She took the opportunity to ask the woman and the young wife about Da Hu Mountain. After all, if she was going into the mountains, she needed to have a basic understanding of the place.

"Our Da Hu Mountain is an absolute treasure," the woman said, her face filled with pride as she spoke of her hometown’s mountain. "There are so many good things inside. Not to mention all the wild vegetables and mushrooms, I heard that in the old days, people found a lot of valuable medicinal herbs in there. My grandpa once said there’s even some kind of... some kind of sandalwood in the mountains that’s incredibly valuable."

Su Qing said, "Red sandalwood?"

"Yes, yes, yes, that’s the name!" the woman nodded eagerly. "They say the rich landlords of the past all loved that kind of wood."

Su Qing smiled. ’Red sandalwood... that’s some valuable, expensive wood.’

"Oh." Speaking of wood reminded the woman of something. "Dear, do you know how to identify mushrooms?"

"I’m decent at it. My home is in the Northeast, and we have mushrooms there too. I often go into the mountains to pick them in the fall," Su Qing replied with a laugh.

"Oh, the mushrooms here are different from the ones you have. If you’re going to pick them, you have to be absolutely sure you identify them correctly," the woman said. "If you’re not sure, don’t pick it, you hear? If you make a mistake, it could be a huge problem."

"Okay, I understand. Thank you, ma’am," Su Qing said with a smile. ’She wasn’t worried about picking poisonous mushrooms at all. To be blunt, even if I ate a poisonous mushroom, it wouldn’t have any effect on me.’

The young wife beside her looked at Su Qing and asked, "You’re from the Northeast? How far is the Northeast from here?"

Su Qing thought for a moment and said, "It’s quite far. For me to get here, it took three days by train just to get to Chuncheng, and I had to transfer once. Then, it took another full day to get here from Chuncheng."

"That’s so far!" the young wife exclaimed in surprise. A one-way trip took about four days. But she was envious of Su Qing. "I’m so jealous you can travel so far from home. The farthest I’ve ever been is our local town. I wonder if I’ll ever get the chance to go out and see the world."

The older woman laughed. "Don’t even mention it. The farthest I’ve ever gone is the county seat. I wouldn’t dare go any farther. I can’t read a single word, so if I went too far, I’d be afraid I couldn’t find my way back."

Her words made everyone on the ox-cart laugh.

By the time they reached Changxi Village, Su Qing had gained a preliminary understanding of Da Hu Mountain. Once they were at the edge of the village, Su Qing got off the ox-cart and gave the other villagers some White Rabbit Creamy Candy as a thank-you for the free ride and the information about the mountain.

When the villagers saw Su Qing generously offer them White Rabbit Creamy Candy, they felt a bit embarrassed to accept, thinking it was too valuable. But seeing her insistence, they all accepted with smiling thanks. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

"Miss, if you’re going into Da Hu Mountain, just stick to the outer edges. If you come across a place where the grass is too deep and thick, don’t go any further, you hear?" Old Li, the cart driver, didn’t forget to add one last piece of advice.

"Thank you, sir, I will," Su Qing said. She gave Old Li a sweet smile, waved her hand, and said goodbye to the villagers.

The journey from Changxi Village to Da Hu Mountain was still another three or four li on foot. Su Qing didn’t walk quickly. She casually glanced behind her and, as expected, saw the corner of someone’s clothing sticking out from behind a tree.

In fact, on the way to Da Hu Mountain, she had sensed that someone was following her. But they were only tailing her, not getting close. Su Qing wanted to know what their objective was, and besides, there had been too many people around. So, she hadn’t exposed them, simply letting them follow. ’I’d like to see when they plan to make their move.’

Now that she was close to Da Hu Mountain, they were, as expected, still on her tail.

Confirming that the people behind her were indeed following her, Su Qing’s lips curved into a slight smile, and she continued toward Da Hu Mountain as if nothing was amiss.

"Brother Jian, do you think that woman has spotted us?" There were four people tailing Su Qing. One of the lackeys spoke to the man in the lead.