After being splashed in the face by the blood of the mutated lop-eared rabbit and falling unconscious, Gu Xiaomai’s mind was filled with the scene of Gu Dad and Gu Mom being killed.
Gradually, the blood-red vision faded, replaced by a memory from when her father first taught her how to kill a chicken.
A little girl, just over ten years old, stood in front of the chicken coop, holding a bone-chopping knife in both hands—trembling, trembling, trembling. Even her voice had changed.
“Dad… I… I… I can’t kill it…”
“Xiaomai,” her father said, “a knife in a chef’s hand can create delicious dishes—or it can harvest ingredients. Watch carefully.”
With that, he grabbed a big rooster, pinned its neck with his left hand, found the right spot, and struck down cleanly and decisively. Not a single drop of blood spilled outside the bowl.
……
“Xiaomai, true courage isn’t having no fear—it’s being able to move forward even when you’re afraid.”
……
“Xiaomai, don’t be scared. Hold your knife steady, and cut through everything that frightens you.”
……
“Your mom and dad just want you to live safely and happily, no matter where you are.”
……
Gu Xiaomai tightened her grip on the bone-chopping knife.
At that moment, she felt that if she couldn’t figure something out, then she didn’t need to. If she couldn’t overcome something, then it didn’t matter either.
What mattered was this:
In this dangerous world, she would hold her knife steady, cut through everything that frightened her, and live safely and happily.
Having understood this, she put the knife away and broke into a bright smile.
“Since we still have time, let’s keep looking for purified plants!”
Jiang Chen’an felt that her smile at this moment was especially striking—bright, warm, and full of life, as if all the darkness had been burned away, leaving only vitality and heat.
“But Mi Tang said we should take you back to the camp to check for internal injuries,” Yumi said.
He also wanted to gather more purified plants, but compared to Xiaomai’s safety, missing a few wasn’t important.
Besides, it was already late afternoon; staying might not yield much anyway.
“I’m fine. You all saw it—I’m just a little scraped up. No need to go back down the mountain.”
Jiang Chen’an remained uneasy. “Some injuries don’t show up right away. And there’s also the issue from before—you were bled and had bone marrow extracted. You should get checked while you can.”
The more he said this, the less Xiaomai wanted to go.
Her recovery ability was abnormal and didn’t match what they called “abilities.” If she got examined, she might be treated like a lab subject.
“Finding purified plants is rare. Let’s keep looking,” she said casually, picking up her hoe and continuing.
The other two couldn’t persuade her, so they returned to the spot where they had earlier picked wild onions and continued searching.
As they worked, Xiaomai suddenly remembered the sweet potato vines she had seen before the mutated rabbit appeared.
She wanted to go back and check, but the area was too far from people. If another mutated creature appeared, it would be dangerous. In the end, she could only regretfully give up.
Then, while rummaging through thick layers of dead leaves, she spotted a seedling of angelica.
Small—likely newly sprouted.
She carefully searched nearby and found more. Excitement rose in her voice.
“Are you done over there? Come here!”
“Coming,” Yumi replied, quickly running over with the detector.
“Yellow light.”
“Yellow light.”
“Green light.”
“Yellow light.”
……
By the time Xiaomai cleared the right side of the area, the angelica plants hidden under the leaves were fully exposed.
Jiang Chen’an cut the last purified angelica at the root and put it into the bag.
They had already collected 10 purified Malantou, 11 shepherd’s purse, and 4 wild onions. The bag was already noticeably heavier.
“How many this time?” Xiaomai asked.
“Fifteen,” Jiang Chen’an said with a smile. “Half of what we got before.”
Just as they were about to move on, Xiaomai suddenly asked, “You’re leaving already? Don’t we still need to dig up the roots?”
“Huh?” Both of them were surprised. In past trips, they had only harvested above-ground parts and never dug roots.
Seeing their reaction, Xiaomai immediately understood—they didn’t know.
“This plant is called angelica. It’s a medicinal herb. The root is the most important part. The leaves can be eaten and have medicinal effects too, but they’re weaker than the root.”
“Really?” Yumi asked, doubtful.
Without hesitation, Xiaomai picked up her hoe and started digging.
Jiang Chen’an quickly made a decision. “You dig here. Yumi and I will go check the other area you cleared.”
“Okay.”
The division of labor continued.
They soon found six more purified plants in another patch, and then seven purified codonopsis roots.
While Yumi checked plants, Jiang Chen’an followed behind clearing debris.
The work went smoothly—until Xiaomai suddenly froze.
As she touched a plant, a drop of liquid from her hand fell onto a leaf.
At the same moment, she thought she heard a faint cry of pain.
“Did you hear that?” she asked.
“Hear what?” Yumi looked confused.
“I heard someone… cry out in pain.”
But both Yumi and Jiang Chen’an denied it.
“There’s no one here,” Jiang Chen’an said, scanning the surroundings. “Are you feeling any other symptoms?”
After checking herself, Xiaomai shook her head.
“No. Probably just the wind.”
She dismissed it and kept working.
They later found a patch of codonopsis and harvested seven purified plants.
By the time they finished, the sun was nearing the agreed return time, so they headed down the mountain.
At the foot of the mountain, only Liu Ju and three others remained, waiting for inspection.
One by one, the staff from E4 Camp carefully rechecked every plant, removing any non-purified ones and even picking up scattered leaves.
After weighing, they calculated the final share.
“Total 8 jin 4 liang. Ten percent is 8 liang 4 qian. Since Wan Chuncui has none, each of you gets 2 liang 1 qian. Do you want the plants or exchange them for points?”
The three women quickly chose points.
Wan Chuncui said nothing, but as she passed Xiaomai, a flicker of envy and regret appeared in her eyes.
What exactly had she done to end up in labor camp?
The question surfaced—but was pushed down again as Xiaomai stepped forward for inspection.
The staff began carefully rechecking everything again—right down to the roots Xiaomai had dug up.