Xia Qingyue carried everything she wanted to dry down to the bottom of the sinkhole.
Once she was done, she tilted her head back to look up at the sky, the sunlight forcing her to squint slightly.
The warm rays washed over her body, making her feel so comfortable she wanted to drift off to sleep.
Everyone said sunbathing was good for health. After basking for a few minutes, her skin began to warm. She pressed her hands against her knees to stand up, declaring, “Time to get back to work!”
Today, she planned to return to the Pine Forest to continue searching for Matsutake Mushrooms and explore the area further.
Thinking she might catch more crabs, river shrimp, and crayfish, she brought a wooden bucket along.
Unsure if she’d be back by noon, she packed five scallion pancakes and two hard-boiled eggs wrapped in clean, large leaves.
Pine Forest
After two days of rain, many mushrooms had sprouted: matsutake mushrooms, morels, porcini, and green russulas.
Xia Qingyue didn’t even need Heihei to help her find them—there were so many within sight, she could barely keep up with the harvesting.
As she bent down, focused on gathering mushrooms, she didn’t notice Heihei stopping and sniffing, his nose twitching here and there.
Within an hour, she had filled a large basket with mushrooms. Having nearly cleared the area of mushrooms within reach, she knew her limited eyesight might have missed some.
“Let’s go, Heihei,” Xia Qingyue said, “let’s check up ahead.”
She carefully hid her bamboo basket in the tall grass, then picked up two smaller baskets and ventured deeper into the woods.
As they walked, she gathered scattered mushrooms along the path. She soon found two fallen logs covered in black fungus, which she harvested until her basket was full.
Originally planning to head back, a chance glance revealed familiar green plants on a nearby hillside—they looked just like Deer Ear Leek.
Approaching for a closer look, she confirmed her hunch. It was indeed Deer Ear Leek, a wild variety of leek shaped like a deer’s ear with a flavor similar to chives. Chopped finely, it could be used as dumpling or pancake filling, or sliced into sections and stir-fried with eggs for a tender and savory dish.
Seeing such a rare find, Xia Qingyue knelt down and began pulling the leeks from the ground, quickly gathering a large handful. Considering digging them up with their roots, she wondered if they could be transplanted.
Never mind, I’ll just try it.
After pulling half a basket’s worth—too much would spoil quickly—she used her spade to pry the Deer Ear Leek up by the roots.
As she worked, a low growl startled her. She looked questioningly at Heihei, who was staring intently in a particular direction, mouth slightly open, fangs bared, the growl rumbling deep in its chest.
*Why would it suddenly start making such noises?* Xia Qingyue sensed something wasn’t right.
“Ah!”
A sudden scream pierced the air.
Someone’s there!
Xia Qingyue leaped to her feet, her eyes darting toward the source of the sound.
In a flash, she grabbed two vegetable baskets. “Heihei, let’s go!”
She led Heihei to hide in a nearby patch of lush, man-high weeds, where they crouched low.
“Heihei, don’t make a sound,” she whispered, covering Heihei’s mouth and nose with her hand.
Heihei seemed to understand, blinking its eyes and gazing silently at her.
Soon, a series of chaotic clop-clop-clop sounds grew louder, approaching from the distance. It sounded like horses’ hooves.
Xia Qingyue remained hidden in the weeds, too afraid to peek.
The next moment, the hoofbeats were right upon them. She could sense they were very close and cautiously raised her gaze.
Barely ten meters away, a plump, sturdy horse reared back on its hind legs, letting out a series of desperate neighs.
Then, with a thunderous crash, it collapsed to the ground, sending dust flying as it rolled. The rider and the bags of goods in iron baskets strapped to the saddle tumbled off with it.
A burlap sack went flying, tumbling several times before landing at Xia Qingyue’s feet.
Her eyes widened as she stared at the burlap sack.
Oh no, who are these people? Will they come looking for this?
The man who had fallen from his horse lay unconscious on the ground, face down and back up. From her vantage point, she could see several bloody gashes across his back.
She wanted to run, but the thunder of approaching hooves grew louder.
Determined to assess the situation and plan her next move, Xia Qingyue mustered her courage and peeked through the tall grass.
About fifty meters away, a group of shirtless, burly men rode double on five horses—ten men in total—forming a tight encirclement around four wounded men, each mounted on a single horse.
All four men wore dark, skintight outfits, similar to the critically injured man who had fallen from his horse.
At a glance, it was clear the bare-chested men and the men in skintight outfits were not allies. The latter were clearly outmatched, desperately trying to escape their pursuers.
The atmosphere was tense, like a bowstring stretched taut, ready to snap.
The older man in the tight-fitting suit raised his voice, “You audacious bandits! Do you even know where we’re transporting this cargo?”
“Isn’t it just fine goods bound for Prefecture City? We don’t strike unprepared. Our brothers scouted your route early on and figured you’d likely take the mountain road to save time. Hahahaha! Today’s haul is top-notch. The boss is in a good mood—I’ll let you end it yourselves.”
The shirtless bandit seemed to be their leader. After speaking, he roared with laughter, his men radiating smug satisfaction, as if they’d just won a great victory.
At that moment, five more shirtless men, panting heavily, raced in from the other side. They were clearly part of the bandit gang, but they had no horses, having chased after them on foot.
Faced with the bandits’ arrogance, the four men in tight-fitting suits paled, sweat streaming down their faces.
Knowing their death was imminent, they exchanged determined glances.
“Take my life if you must! Even in death, I’ll drag you down with me!” The elder, skintight-clad man tightened his reins and brandished his sword.
Caught off guard by the sudden attack, a nearby bare-chested man couldn’t dodge in time and suffered a gash on his arm.
The other three skintight-clad men launched their attacks simultaneously.
Instantly, a chaotic melee erupted—the clash of steel, the thunder of hooves.
The leader of the bare-chested men and several others watched coldly from a distance.
The four skintight-clad men moved with the trained precision of seasoned warriors, putting the bare-chested men through hell. Several were critically wounded.
But ultimately, they were outnumbered. The men fell one by one, the scene growing increasingly brutal and bloody.
Xia Qingyue’s body went limp, cold sweat breaking out as she held her breath, daring not to make a sound.
The battle ended.
“Alright, brothers! Inventory!” the leader of the bare-chested men barked, and his men scattered to count the goods in the iron baskets mounted on either side of the saddles—the burlap sacks.
The cargo appeared evenly distributed across the horses. If the bandits counted and discovered one sack missing from the dead horse, wouldn’t they immediately launch a search?
Xia Qingyue was frantic, sweat dripping from her forehead into her eyes, stinging fiercely. Her heart pounded so violently it felt like it was about to leap from her throat.
Glancing at the bale that had rolled to her feet, she took two deep breaths, forcing herself to stay calm.
Don’t panic, she thought,move slowly.
She edged backward, one step, two steps, three steps…
The bandit counting the dead horse’s cargo quickly finished. He stood up and opened his mouth to report the count to his companion.
Xia Qingyue, who had only retreated a few steps, glared at the bandit, her eyes burning with fury.
She tightened her grip on her sickle, resolved to fight to the death.
“Four packages here too,” a voice called out.
Hearing this, Xia Qingyue’s eyes widened with confusion. Seeing that the bandits hadn’t noticed anything amiss, she secretly exhaled in relief.
But the danger hadn’t passed—the bandits were still there.