In early summer, the plants and grasses grew wildly, their branches and leaves spreading in layer upon overlapping layer across the mountains.
The path at the foot of the mountain wound its way inward. It was somewhat rugged, but hardly difficult to walk.
It was the mountain trail the villagers often took when they went up the mountain. Years of villagers walking this way had naturally worn a trail into the ground.
The rumble of a waterfall could be heard from far away, low and muffled as it came carried on the wind.
The mountain waterfall cascaded down from a cliff halfway up the mountain, flowing along the mountain stream until it reached the river running through the village. It was the lifeline for the entire village, where everyone washed clothes and fetched water.
Wenxi followed the mountain trail upward. She had gone less than half a li[1]A traditional Chinese unit of distance. In modern measurement, one li is approximately 500 meters (about 0.31 miles), though its exact length varied historically jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3508878_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3508878_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); when her calves began to tremble.
She braced herself against a tree by the path, slid down with her back against the trunk, and couldn't help giving a bitter laugh inwardly.
The original owner had gone hungry for years and suffered from chronic malnutrition. On top of that, she had just been beaten and injured her head. No wonder she was already gasping after walking such a short distance.
She drew up spring water and gulped it down.
Only after her stomach felt slightly distended did she stop.
She wiped the moisture from the corners of her mouth and let out a long breath.
She had no intention of going deep into the mountains today, nor did she expect to dig up some precious medicinal herb right after setting out.
Her goal was quite practical: dig up a few herbs that could be exchanged for money, get a few copper coins, and first buy two jin of coarse rice to fill her empty stomach.
The original owner had grown up in the village and knew pitifully few medicinal herbs—only ordinary wild plants such as plantain and dandelion, which grew everywhere.
A medicine shop would pay only a few copper coins for an entire basketful. It took time and effort, yet earned almost nothing; they were hardly worth the trouble.
Fortunately, Wenxi knew quite a few medicinal herbs.
After walking for a while, she suddenly stopped.
On the sunlit gentle slope ahead, clusters of plants grew in thick patches. They looked like chives, with flower stalks rising high from their centers and small, pale-purple flowers blooming in spikes at their tips, scattered like stars.
It was anemarrhena[2]rhizome, known as Zhi Mu (知母) in traditional Chinese medicine, is the underground stem of the perennial plant Anemarrhena asphodeloides. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3508878_1_2').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3508878_1_2', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });.
Wenxi's eyes lit up, and she hurried over.
She remembered clearly that anemarrhena rhizomes were used medicinally to nourish yin and reduce internal heat. It was a valuable medicinal herb.
It was best harvested in autumn, when the stems and leaves had withered. That was when the rhizomes contained the most sap. After being dried, they retained more weight and had better medicinal properties, so the medicine shops would also offer a higher price.
It was only early summer now, and the stems and leaves were flourishing. The rhizomes contained a great deal of water, so they would lose a lot of weight when dried. If she took them to the medicine shop, they would certainly offer her a much lower price.
But she couldn't worry about that now.
She broke a branch from a nearby tree and used it as a small hoe.
Anemarrhena rhizomes grew horizontally and were buried quite shallowly. She only needed to follow the leaves down and dig around the roots.
She dug out each entire rhizome, stripped away the fibrous roots, and kept only the thick, sturdy central rhizome, placing it on the grass leaves to one side.
One, two, three…
The farther up the slope she went, the more densely the anemarrhena grew. It turned out to be a large patch.
The more Wenxi dug, the more energetic she became. Even when a fine sheen of sweat appeared on her forehead, she had no time to wipe it away.
She was intently scraping at the soil when a trace of chill suddenly spread across the back of her neck.
It wasn't the chill of wind.
It was the cold sensation of being watched by something.
The movement of her hands abruptly stopped, and her breathing instinctively grew lighter.
She did not turn around immediately. Instead, she held her breath and slowly—extremely slowly—rotated her neck to look behind her.
Two steps behind her, a snake was coiled around the trunk of a tree.
The snake was about a meter long, with a yellow-green base color and black trapezoidal markings. It was flicking its forked tongue, its eyes fixed directly on her.
A beauty rat snake.
Nonvenomous.
There would be meat to eat!
She slowly stood up, moving very carefully so as not to startle it. At the same time, she quietly shifted one foot half a step, finding the most suitable angle.
The snake seemed to sense the threat. Its body tensed, and it slightly raised its head and neck, taking up a defensive posture.
The moment it flicked its tongue, Wenxi moved.
Her hand shot out so quickly that it left a blurred afterimage. Her right hand clamped around the snake's vulnerable point just behind its head.
The snake writhed violently in pain, its body instantly winding around her wrist.
Using the force of its struggle, Wenxi swung it violently against the nearby tree trunk.
“Thud!”
The snake's head drooped, and it passed out.
Wenxi gave it no chance to recover. She picked up a stone from beside her and smashed the snake's head until it was a bloody mess. Only then did she release it and toss it onto the grass leaves nearby.
“Sorry about this, Brother Snake.” Wenxi shook her slightly aching wrist and muttered softly, “You'll make a delicious soup.”
She turned back and continued digging up the anemarrhena rhizome.
A huge pile had already accumulated on the ground. Wenxi estimated its weight at no less than twenty-some jin.
She gathered the anemarrhena together with its long leaves. Then she pulled several sturdy kudzu vines from beside the path, divided the herbs into several bundles, and tied them tightly.
She found another branch to use as a carrying pole, hung several bundles of anemarrhena from either end, and shouldered it.
She simply carried the dead snake in one hand.
Once everything was in order, she carried the load down the mountain.
Following the mountain stream beside the waterfall downhill made for an easier path, and she could stop to rest along the way.
Several sprigs of agrimony grew in the grass beside the path. She pulled up two of them, which would be just right for stewing with the snake meat when she got home.
The farther down she went, the louder the waterfall's rumble became.
A vast pool of water lay nestled in a mountain hollow.
After walking all that way, Wenxi was sweaty, and dirt had gotten onto her face. She set down her load, intending to wash her face and catch her breath before continuing.
Just as she squatted down, the corner of her eye suddenly caught a green shadow moving beside a patch of reeds.
Wenxi held her breath and looked over.
On the muddy shallows, a mallard[3]A common wild duck. Male mallards are easily recognized by their distinctive glossy green heads. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3508878_1_3').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3508878_1_3', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); with a green head had lowered its head, probing the mud with its bill for snails and small insects.
What a fat duck!
If she caught it, there would be meat to eat tonight!
Wenxi picked up stones from the ground. This body was weak, and she had little strength in her wrist. Her aim wasn't great either, so there was a good chance she might miss.
She had to prepare several. If one missed, she could follow up with a second. Surely she would hit it eventually.
Using the shrubs for cover, she edged toward the bank little by little. She stopped only when she was less than two zhang[4]One zhang is roughly 3.3 meters, though historical measurements varied. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3508878_1_4').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3508878_1_4', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); from the duck.
The mallard was still absorbed in foraging, occasionally lifting its head to glance around. It did not notice the person hiding behind the trees.
Wenxi tightened her grip on a stone, narrowed her eyes, and took aim at the duck's head.
She flicked her wrist.
“Smack!”
The first stone struck the duck in the back.
“Quack—!”
The duck let out a sharp cry of alarm and began beating its wings. Startled, it tried to dive into the deeper water.
Wenxi did not wait for it to take flight. She flung the second and third stones in quick succession.
The duck cried out even more frantically, flapping its wings crookedly as its webbed feet paddled rapidly through the water. It was clearly about to swim into the reeds and hide.
The duck was practically hers already—how could she let it get away?
Wenxi hurled all the remaining stones in her hand at once. The last one struck the duck squarely in the head.
The duck swayed once, then floated motionless on the surface.
Wenxi breathed a sigh of relief and dusted off her hands.
Fortunately, her effort hadn't been wasted.
She found a branch and used it to drag the duck to the bank. Lifting it, she weighed it in her hand. It was heavy.
Her heart full of delight, she peered into the pool again.
The water was clear enough to see the stones on the bottom. Only a few tiny fish fry darted rapidly back and forth; she couldn't even spot a fish as large as her palm.
That made sense. The pool was close to the village, and the villagers often came to catch fish and scoop up shrimp. The larger fish had long since been caught almost entirely. All that remained were tiny fish that wouldn't even be enough to fill the gaps between her teeth—not worth going into the water for.
Wenxi shouldered her load again and continued down the mountain.
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