Afterward, Wang Guixiang began making arrangements. She told her eldest son to take the silver and head to town to see if he could buy some supplies.
The house was currently far too bare.
Xiao Zheng stood up, packed away the silver on the table, and took his bamboo hat down from the wall.
“A-Jun, come to town with me.”
They were hosting a banquet the day after tomorrow, and the house was short on many things; they needed to stock up on basic groceries like oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar.
“Alright!”
Xiao Jun agreed immediately. Moving quickly and nimbly, he followed Xiao Zheng out toward the courtyard gate.
The two brothers soon left.
On the other side, Wang Guixiang wasn’t staying idle either.
She picked up a bamboo basket by the wall, stuffing old cloth bags into it while muttering to herself.
“What we have at home won’t be enough. I’ll take a walk around the village and see if I can trade for some vegetables.”
The villagers were used to helping each other out. Anyone with extra eggs, vegetables, or beans would be willing to trade a little.
Soon, she also left the house with her basket.
The courtyard instantly grew quiet, leaving only Su He and Xiao Yue.
Xiao Yue was squatting by the water jar washing dishes, humming a little tune as she worked, seemingly in a great mood.
Standing in the yard, Su He glanced at the barren mountains in the distance.
She had already made up her mind to head into the mountains again.
She could clearly sense that there was still plenty of plant energy up there. A few spots felt noticeably more vibrant than the milkvetch root she found earlier, which most likely meant medicinal herbs.
If she could dig them up, she might be able to exchange them for some money.
Except…
Su He glanced at Xiao Yue, who was still washing dishes.
If this young girl tagged along, many things would become inconvenient.
Just as she was figuring out how to bring it up, a shout came from outside the courtyard gate.
“Xiao Yue!”
“Is A-Yue home?”
A crisp female voice rang out.
Xiao Yue immediately looked up. “I’m here!”
The courtyard gate was pushed open, and a girl around Xiao Yue’s age poked her head in.
The young girl had a round face and a very sweet smile.
“Let’s go wash clothes by the river.”
She caught sight of Su He standing in the yard and felt a bit self-conscious.
“I heard your sister-in-law arrived, so I won’t come in.”
Hearing her friend’s invitation, Xiao Yue hesitated. She looked at Su He; her sister-in-law had just joined the family, so she felt she ought to stay and keep her company.
“I don’t think I can go.”
Su He was caught off guard for a moment, her heart warming slightly.
However, this was the perfect opportunity.
“It’s fine, go ahead. I’ll just stay home and rest for a bit.”
Hearing this, Xiao Yue still wavered. “But sister-in-law, you’ll be all alone…”
Su He waved her hand dismissively. “I’m not a child. Go on, hurry up.”
“Alright then!”
Xiao Yue thought it over. This was a military household village, so ordinary civilians rarely came around, and since the villagers all knew one another well, no one would dare cause trouble for a soldier’s family.
She stood up immediately and wiped her hands dry.
“Wait for me!”
Soon, the two young girls left the courtyard, laughing and chatting.
The yard fell quiet once more.
Su He stood there for a moment. After confirming no one was around, she slung a bamboo backpack over her shoulders and hurriedly left the house.
There weren’t many people around the village at this time, as most were busy with work.
Following the path, she quickly made her way halfway up the mountain.
This time, Su He didn’t hold back. Taking a deep breath, she slowly raised her palms and fully released her wood-element superpower.
A faint green ripple gradually expanded outward from her body.
It spread silently, like water waves.
In her consciousness, the surrounding plants lit up piece by piece.
Suddenly, a much brighter point of light flared up on a nearby slope.
It was far stronger than the patch of purslane from last time.
Su He’s eyes lit up slightly; that was very likely a medicinal herb.
She immediately walked toward the source of that energy.
The deeper she went into the mountain, the clearer the plant energy became.
Soon, she stopped next to a crevice in the rocks. Parting the withered grass, she revealed a few slender plants.
The leaves were slightly curled, and the roots were thick and sturdy.
Su He’s breath caught in her throat.
*Codonopsis* (Dangshen)!!
Out here on the border, this stuff was worth a lot more than milkvetch root.
She carefully dug the root out and placed it into her bamboo backpack.
Then, she let her superpower expand once more.
This time, she sensed another cluster of plant energy further away. It was densely packed, looking like a small patch of green light in her mind.
Standing on the hillside, Su He looked up toward that area, a hint of a smile appearing in her eyes.
It looked like these barren mountains really hid quite a few good things.
She hitched the backpack higher on her shoulders and walked toward the green light.
The barren mountain was dead quiet, the wind rustling softly through the withered grass.
Su He kept releasing her superpower as she slowly made her way deeper along the hillside.
In her perception, the surrounding plants lit up one by one.
Withered grass, shrubs, wild vines, medicinal herbs…
They flickered faintly in her consciousness like stars in the night sky.
Where the herbs were.
Where the plain dead grass was.
She could tell them apart almost instantly.
Su He followed those “bright spots,” digging all along the way.
*Bupleurum* (Chaihu).
*Codonopsis* (Dangshen).
And a few small Baikal skullcap (Huangqin) plants.
She moved quickly, her small hoe flipping the soil efficiently. Before long, her backpack was already nearly half full of herbs.
If she took these to the town’s pharmacy, they would fetch at least some silver.
Thinking of this, Su He felt a bit of relief.
The spread for the wedding banquet wouldn’t have to be too shabby after all.
When she looked up again, however, she suddenly froze.
The surrounding trees were noticeably taller, the dead grass was thicker than on the outside, and even the light had dimmed.
Only then did Su He realize she had walked all the way into the deep mountains.
She couldn’t help but frown. There were wild beasts in the deep mountains, and she didn’t have much fighting strength.
Su He was just about to wrap things up and head back.
Suddenly, a rustling sound came from the grass.
*Rustle, rustle…*
The sound wasn’t loud, but it was clear.
Su He froze instantly, her heart leaping into her throat.
It couldn’t be… a wild beast, right?
She instinctively gripped her small hoe, her eyes locked onto the patch of grass.
Her mind even began racing, calculating which way to run if she really encountered a beast.
Right at that moment!
The grass suddenly shifted, and a gray shadow bolted out.
Su He almost jumped back in fright.
But the next second, she blanked. It was actually a rabbit!
A dusty gray fluff ball, its ears standing high, was lowering its head to nibble on grass.
Su He’s eyes immediately lit up.
Meat!
Braised rabbit, cold-tossed diced rabbit, roasted rabbit meat…
Delicious, savory meat!
If she could add a rabbit dish to the tables on the wedding day, that would be a proper, substantial main course.
The more Su He thought about it, the more tempted she became. She quickly set her backpack on the ground and gripped the small hoe tightly.
Stooping low, she crept toward the rabbit.
One step.
Two steps.
The rabbit’s ears suddenly twitched.
“…”
Seeing this, Su He’s heart tightened.
Oh no!
Sure enough, the rabbit kicked its hind legs and, with a *whoosh*, turned and bolted.
“Don’t run!”
Su He instinctively chased after it for a couple of steps, but the rabbit was too fast, darting into the grass in a few bounds.
It was about to squeeze into a crevice in the rocks.
In a flash of panic, Su He let the wood-element superpower in her palm surge out, the green energy spreading like water.
In that exact instant, Su He had a sudden stroke of inspiration!
Since she could sense plants, could she… control them?
She didn’t have time to overthink it.
She simply relied on instinct, focusing her consciousness entirely on that patch of wild vines.
The next second.
The vines in the grass suddenly moved.