Gu Xiaomai stared nervously at Mi Tang, worried that once he heard those roots were medicinal herbs, he would confiscate all of them.
Mi Tang wasn’t surprised at all by her intention to use the roots to nourish her body.
When the foraging team first arrived, Wei Gang had already told him about Gu Xiaomai’s situation—he just hadn’t expected her to actually recognize medicinal herbs.
People who could identify herbs were rare in this era. Those who could even recognize what they looked like were even rarer.
Because of that, purified medicinal herbs were far more valuable than ordinary purified plants.
Unfortunately, none of them recognized them either—so even if they saw them, they wouldn’t know. Just like how Captain Jiao had misjudged them this time.
Thinking of this, Mi Tang almost laughed. Let him be stingy. Serves him right.
After silently mocking Jiao Yang, Mi Tang said, “Give me one set of each. You can keep the rest. If you find more of these in the future, you won’t be able to keep them anyway. Anything special happen during the process?”
Gu Xiaomai finally relaxed. Even after giving some to Jiang Chen’an and Yumi, she would still have enough to use for a long time.
She carefully recalled the entire washing process.
“Nothing special. We just used the grass-brushes we tied together, dipped them in river water, and scrubbed the dirt off the roots. We didn’t even dare put our hands in the water.”
Gu Xiaomai spoke while Jiang Chen’an nodded beside her—it really was just normal cleaning.
Mi Tang continued, “What were the brushes made of? Let me see.”
Gu Xiaomai went outside and retrieved the brushes she had casually thrown into the bag earlier. They were now drying in the sun alongside the herbs. She also took out one sample of each of the three medicinal roots.
“Here. Just ordinary grass stems from the riverbank.”
Mi Tang examined them. They really were common weeds growing by the river—he had seen them himself earlier.
“Don’t get too close to the river when you go to the riverbank in the future. You can go back to work now.”
Only then did he let them leave—though the brush was quietly tucked behind his back as he spoke.
Gu Xiaomai and Jiang Chen’an returned to Field Plot 34.
Yumi immediately leaned over to Jiang Chen’an. “Chen-ge, is it true?”
Jiang Chen’an nodded.
Yumi’s eyes lit up. “How much?”
Jiang Chen’an showed him a hand gesture.
Yumi’s eyes widened. “Th-that much?!”
Just one-tenth was already 3,375 points. The full amount would be tens of thousands.
He turned excitedly to Gu Xiaomai. “Selling purified animal meat also earns a lot of points. How about we team up to hunt purified beasts in the future?”
Gu Xiaomai didn’t hear him. Her attention was still on Mi Tang’s earlier questions.
He had been carefully probing for anything unusual in the incident.
And the brush he took away.
Was he suspecting that something had attracted the giant catfish, causing it to attack her?
But what could it be?
Only when Yumi poked her did she snap back.
“What did you say? I didn’t hear you.”
“I said we should hunt purified beasts for points!” Yumi repeated, still excited.
“That works,” she said. “But we need to improve our strength first. This morning was only because Mi Tang arrived in time—otherwise Chen-ge and I would’ve been done for.”
“True.” Yumi calmed down slightly, though he wasn’t ready to give up. “Chen-ge, wake me up for training tomorrow.”
“Alright,” Jiang Chen’an agreed.
Gu Xiaomai then asked, “Chen-ge, you said mutated beasts actively attack people. Do purified animals do the same?”
“Usually not. They’re weaker than mutated beasts and often live mixed with normal animals. But if their territory is invaded or they feel threatened, they will attack.”
“Then why did that fish this morning try to drag me into the river?”
Jiang Chen’an shook his head. He didn’t know either.
At first, he assumed it was a mutated fish and didn’t think much of it. But after learning it was a purified fish, something clearly didn’t add up.
That same question was also on Mi Tang’s mind.
He reviewed their conversation again but still couldn’t find a reason the fish would actively attack them. Eventually, he returned to the camp with the items.
When he came back, Jiao Yang immediately asked, “Did you get anything out of them?”
Everyone in the command tent looked over.
“Sort of—but not really,” Mi Tang replied.
“What does that even mean?” Zhu Xingjie asked.
“Those discarded roots from yesterday are medicinal herbs—angelica, codonopsis, and astragalus.”
Jiao Yang felt like the sky had fallen.
Medicinal herbs…!
Much more valuable than ordinary purified plants!
He was going insane with regret.
“These should’ve been ours—no, the camp’s!”
Mi Tang ignored his breakdown and explained the entire story, including Gu Xiaomai going to the river just to wash the roots. He also handed over the brush and herbs for inspection.
Everyone gathered around to look closely.
Zhu Xingjie frowned. “Why did the purified fish attack? What triggered it?”
All eyes landed on the herbs.
But Zhu Xingjie remained skeptical.
Fish eating medicinal herbs? That made no sense.
Before the disaster, fish ate smaller fish, shrimp, or aquatic plants—not herbs.
Could mutation have changed their diet?
No reports from researchers ever mentioned that.
Still, he ordered a test.
“Have metal-type ability users make nets. We’ll try catching fish in the river.”
The river between the camp and the mountain was wide and deep. They had previously cleared mutated creatures but never found purified fish.
They had also searched upstream, but it was too far to reach with their manpower.
Meanwhile, Mi Tang returned to the foraging team to issue instructions.
“After what happened this morning, be careful around the river. Don’t go alone.”
He also informed them that the mountain activity would be monitored, but work would continue.
Afterward, Gu Xiaomai collected the astragalus and codonopsis from Jiang Chen’an.
“When exactly did the animals start howling last night?” she asked.
Yumi blinked. “You didn’t hear it?”
“I slept early.”
Jiang Chen’an handed her the herbs. “Doesn’t matter if you didn’t hear it. It’s not important. What do you need them for?”