Looking at the nearly empty bag, Gu Xiaomai sighed.“We’ve been at it all morning and only found this little. These purified plants are way too rare.”
“Spring has only just started,” Jiang Chen’an said. “It’s normal for there to be less. Around June–July or November, there’ll be a bit more, but mutated plants will also increase. Going out to collect then will be more dangerous.”
Yu Mi added, “Last November, Chen-ge and I were temporary logistics for a mid-sized squad. We went out of the base with them to gather purified plants. Half of the thirty-man team died or were injured, and even the logistics group took losses—just to find forty jin of purified plants.”
That casualty count made Gu Xiaomai shiver. “Hiss… that’s way too dangerous!”
Yu Mi nodded. “Exactly. If it weren’t for Chen-ge, I would’ve died there too.”
Thinking back, he was still shaken.
“So why are you two still willing to join the reclamation team?” Gu Xiaomai asked.
Yu Mi said helplessly, “There’s no work in the base. We couldn’t survive otherwise. But it’s actually not bad now—the mutated creatures on the mountains have been cleared by the garrison. We just focus on finding purified plants.”
Jiang Chen’an reminded them, “Still be careful. Xiaomai already ran into a mutated rabbit before. If another mutated beast shows up, it’ll be dangerous.”
“Mm.” Both of them nodded seriously.
At noon, the three of them came across a few elm trees. The buds had just sprouted—fresh and tender.
Gu Xiaomai stared at them, swallowing repeatedly. Her mind was already full of dishes: elm bud scrambled eggs, minced meat with elm buds, elm bud pancakes…
But after Jiang Chen’an checked each tree, the stars in her eyes faded completely.
So useless!
Not a single one was purified!
After drinking some water, they rested briefly and continued searching.
By now, the wild plants on the mountain had grown much larger than before, so they no longer needed to clear away dead branches to find them.
Gu Xiaomai suddenly spotted something on the left.“Chen-ge, Yu Mi-ge, you guys check here first. There’s a patch of astragalus over there. I’ll go collect one and teach you what it looks like.”
“Alright,” Jiang Chen’an said. “We’ll come over after we’re done here.”
When she approached, she noticed several pits in the ground. This was the same spot where they had previously found purified astragalus.
She casually picked one plant and turned to leave—then heard a sound from the bushes.
“gui—gui—”
Gu Xiaomai’s scalp instantly tingled. Goosebumps rose all over her body.
Oh no… not another mutated creature?!
She immediately thought of the mutated rabbit and the purified giant catfish from before.
Even though she survived those encounters, she only made it because others helped. Alone, she would’ve been dead.
She gripped her bone-cutting knife tightly. Fine—bring it on!
At that moment, the bead inside her body—once dull and smooth—suddenly emitted a soft glow. The light quickly condensed, forming a tiny droplet the size of a grain of rice, which flowed into her right hand through her blood vessels.
She spun around sharply. The bone-cutting knife shot out instantly, slicing through the air toward the sound.
Along with it, an unnoticed droplet of liquid also flew out.
At the same time, she saw her target:
A bird? Or a chicken?
With a golden crown, green neck, red chest, and long tail feathers.
A chicken!!!
No—wait, it looked more like a red golden pheasant from her previous world.
But even so, it belonged to the pheasant family… basically still a chicken.
Chicken!
Her eyes lit up instantly. She even swallowed her saliva.
To be honest, she suddenly wanted chicken soup.
Astragalus chicken soup—great for boosting qi and nourishing blood!
Her desire to kill it surged instantly.
The pheasant dodged the knife at first—but then hesitated the moment the strange liquid reached it.
It tilted its neck and swallowed the droplet.
Its eyes instantly brightened.
So worth it—waiting all this time had paid off!
Ignoring the small patch of feathers cut off by the blade, it charged straight toward Gu Xiaomai.
“Why did it come at me?!” she muttered, already turning to run.
Behind her, a childish voice suddenly rang out:
[So good! So舒服! Hahaha…][Finally waited for it! Woman, more of that!][I still want it!]
Gu Xiaomai froze mid-run.
“…What the hell?!”
There was no one around—but she clearly heard a child’s voice.
Panicked, she ran faster.
The red golden pheasant followed at a slow, lazy pace, clearly enjoying the warm sensation in its body.
[Don’t run!][Stop! Why are you running?!]
Gu Xiaomai ran even faster, stuffing the knife back and clutching her bag of astragalus tightly.
She was about to curse.
This damn mountain was cursed against her.
Every time she came here, something happened.
Meanwhile, Jiang Chen’an noticed her sprinting from afar.
“Chen-ge, why is Xiaomai running so fast?” Yu Mi asked.
Jiang Chen’an looked up—and immediately felt something was wrong.
“Stay here. I’ll go check. If we can’t handle it, go find Mi Tang.”
He rushed over with his whip.
Gu Xiaomai finally saw him and shouted, “Chen-ge!”
Panting, she said, “There’s a chicken chasing me! It dodged my knife—I can’t deal with it!”
Jiang Chen’an frowned. “What chicken? I don’t see anything.”
She turned back mid-run.
The bird was gone.
“…Huh? Where did it go?”
Jiang Chen’an relaxed slightly. “Probably ran off. Let’s go back.”
On the way, Gu Xiaomai slowly calmed down. Then she thought—maybe this wasn’t just fear.
Maybe it was an ability.
“Chen-ge,” she asked, “are there any abilities related to hearing or voices?”
“Yes,” he said. “There’s a type of physical enhancement—improves hearing. Range varies depending on strength.”
“That’s it?” she frowned. “Nothing like… understanding animals? Or hearing their thoughts?”
“Nothing like that has been officially recorded.”
“Then are there unofficial ones?”
Jiang Chen’an paused.
“…I don’t know.”
Gu Xiaomai sighed.
So she didn’t awaken anything.
But she clearly heard it.
Unless…
Was it the chicken?
She suddenly perked up again.
“Then… is there any animal so highly mutated that it can speak human language?”
Jiang Chen’an reached out and touched her forehead.
“…What are you doing?”
“You’re not burning up,” he said. “So why are you talking nonsense? Animals don’t speak human language.”
Right then, the red golden pheasant followed up behind them.
Its deep blue eyes were full of amusement.
Gu Xiaomai suddenly stopped.
She heard it again.
That childish voice—mocking her.
“…That woman is stupid. We’re not humans, how could we speak human language?”
Her face darkened.
So it was mocking her.
Then she smiled.
“Oh,” she said aloud, turning back toward it.
“Chen-ge, do you know how chicken tastes best?”
Jiang Chen’an: “How?”
She grinned.
“One clean cut to the neck. Let the blood drain fast. Add a little salt—make blood tofu.”
The pheasant immediately covered its neck.
“Claws can be made into spicy pickled chicken feet.”
It tried to hide its claws.
“Wings brushed with honey and roasted over fruit wood…”
Its wings snapped shut.
“Chicken ribs deep-fried with chili and cumin…”
It gave up hiding.
“Legs braised, head and organs stewed together…”
The pheasant trembled.
[AHHHHH YOU DEVIL WOMAN!!!]
Gu Xiaomai felt very satisfied.
Meanwhile, Jiang Chen’an was quietly swallowing saliva.
So many ways to cook it…
“Chen-ge,” he said seriously, “this chicken is basically treasure.”
“Exactly!” she said enthusiastically. “Even feathers can be used for fans and feather dusters!”
The pheasant looked at its own colorful plumage in horror.
Meanwhile—
Gu Xiaomai suddenly burst out laughing so hard she bent over.
“I—I can’t breathe… I’m laughing too hard…”
Jiang Chen’an worriedly asked, “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine… hahaha… my stomach hurts…”
This chicken… it was trying to kill her from laughter so it could inherit her herbs and knife.
“Divine beast phoenix?”
She laughed harder.
“How does a chicken even dare call itself a phoenix?!”