After another full day of traveling, the group finally stopped to rest.
This time, He Wanqing didn’t go along to catch rabbits. After all, she had already taught them the method, so whether she went or not no longer mattered.
So what was she going to do?
Naturally, gather medicinal herbs.
Ever since breaking through the two-thousand-point mark last time, her points had been increasing rather slowly, and Little Six had started urging her again.
Still, she had to admit—the storage grid reward from before was extremely useful. She had already stuffed every valuable thing she owned into it and no longer had to worry about theft.
So whether it was for earning the next reward sooner or simply to give Little Six some face, He Wanqing became far more enthusiastic about collecting herbs.
And once a person became motivated, their efficiency naturally improved.
Sure enough, it didn’t take long before He Wanqing had already dug up five different medicinal herbs.
“That’s enough for today. Work’s over!”
Meanwhile, after searching around for a while, Ye Jianshan and Ye Jianwu found a rabbit hole and prepared to light a pile of dry grass.
What they failed to notice was that behind a large nearby tree, a pair of eyes was secretly watching them.
When that person saw how easily Ye Jianwu and Ye Jianwen caught several rabbits, his eyes widened in disbelief.
After finding two rabbit burrows, Ye Jianwu and Ye Jianshan headed back.
Only after their figures disappeared into the distance did the person behind the tree step out openly.
It was Wu Dayou.
He quickly ran to the extinguished grass pile and spotted the rabbit hole in front of it, immediately understanding the trick.
He let out two sinister chuckles.
“To think those little brats came up with such a ruthless method. But it sure makes things convenient for me.”
Without wasting any time, Wu Dayou hurried back to fetch a sack and a fire starter before heading in another direction to search for rabbit holes.
Whether it was luck or misfortune, Wu Dayou soon found one. Copying their method exactly, he lit the dry grass pile.
Hearing movement inside the sack, Wu Dayou excitedly picked it up and opened it.
And then the nightmare began.
The instant the sack opened, something shot out violently and bit onto his nose.
The moment he saw what it was, Wu Dayou was so terrified that he failed to catch his breath and fainted on the spot.
What he had caught wasn’t a rabbit at all—it was a snake covered in mottled patterns.
Seeing Wu Dayou collapse unconscious, the spotted snake released its bite and quickly slithered away.
And just like that, Wu Dayou lay unconscious in the mountains, unnoticed by anyone.
It wasn’t until much later that his family realized he was missing and began frantically searching for him.
At that time, He Wanqing’s family had already finished enjoying their rabbit feast.
Hearing the commotion over there, they all curiously looked over.
But after watching for a while, they still couldn’t figure out what had happened.
Ye Jianwen stopped someone passing by.
“Auntie, what happened over there? Why’s everyone heading that way?”
“They say Wu Dayou’s gone missing. Everyone’s helping search for him.”
Oh, so someone was lost.
He Wanqing had never liked Wu Dayou to begin with, so she wasn’t affected in the slightest. She simply washed up and went to sleep as usual.
The children didn’t go join the excitement either and continued doing their own things.
Before long, however, the villagers found Wu Dayou.
He was lying unconscious on the ground, his nose swollen terribly high.
Everyone clicked their tongues and shook their heads at the sight.
Wu Dayou’s family rushed over wailing, but upon discovering he was still warm, they immediately sighed in relief.
The village chief also let out a breath.
“Alright, hurry and carry him back so Old Woman Chen can take a look.”
It wasn’t until the next morning that He Wanqing learned Wu Dayou had been found.
But what surprised her was that the man had gone insane.
Yes—completely mad.
No one knew exactly what had happened to frighten him so badly.
Still, He Wanqing was only curious for a brief moment before tossing the matter aside.
After all, he was an unimportant person and not worth wasting mental energy on.
Time slowly drifted into late June.
The sacks holding He Wanqing’s family’s grain were emptied once again, and they returned to living off wild vegetables and fruits.
As the saying went: going from frugality to luxury is easy, but going from luxury back to frugality is hard.
The children—and even He Wanqing herself—found it unbearably difficult. Their craving for staple food grew stronger by the day.
But those who had been surviving on wild fruits and vegetables all along weren’t much better off.
One glance around showed nearly everyone with pale, sickly faces and hollow eyes, mechanically dragging their feet forward. The hope in their eyes had gradually been worn away by endless days of hopeless traveling.
Even the village chief’s hair had turned mostly white, and the conviction in his eyes was no longer as firm as before.
Just as everyone was teetering on the edge of collapse, Little Six brought He Wanqing good news.
“Host, scanning has detected a pond nearby. There are quite a lot of fish in it.”
Hearing this, He Wanqing’s eyes lit up.
“Where?”
“About forty meters to the left.”
He Wanqing was immensely grateful that the system’s scanning range had expanded to fifty meters. Otherwise, they never would have discovered the pond.
After informing her eldest son, she left the group to investigate.
Ye Jianshan merely assumed his mother had gone off to dig those strange herbs again and didn’t think much of it.
Pushing aside the thick leaves blocking her view, He Wanqing saw a large pond spread out before her.
The surface was densely covered with lotus leaves, so crowded that no fish could even be seen.
“Little Six, are you sure there are fish here?”
“Absolutely. And besides fish, there’s another food you humans can eat.”
“What is it?”
“Lotus root.”
“!”
That discovery excited He Wanqing even more than the fish.
After all, lotus root contained starch and could serve as a staple food.
Without hesitation, He Wanqing immediately sprinted back toward the group.
“Village chief, have the group stop for a moment.”
Though confused, the village chief still signaled for everyone to halt.
Before he could ask anything, He Wanqing quickly shared the good news.
“I just found a pond nearby. There are not only fish in it, but also a lot of lotus roots. Village chief, I suggest we stop here and let everyone catch fish and dig up lotus roots.”
“Really?” The village chief’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“I saw it with my own eyes.”
The village chief immediately excitedly announced the news to everyone.
“Villagers! Jianshan’s mother found fish and lotus roots that can fill our stomachs! We don’t have to keep eating wild fruits and vegetables anymore!”
The news was like water splashing into hot oil—the entire group exploded with excitement.
“Lotus roots! We finally have lotus roots to eat!”
“Heavens, we can finally eat something else!”
“Jianshan’s mother, hurry and lead us there!”
He Wanqing immediately took the lead, heading off to the side. The refugee group, which had been utterly lifeless moments earlier, finally regained some energy.
As the leaves parted, the pond appeared before everyone’s eyes.
The moment they saw the lotus flowers floating atop the water, all remaining doubt vanished. Everyone hurriedly dropped their bundles, preparing to enter the pond.
Fortunately, the village chief still retained some rationality.
“Don’t rush in yet. Use branches first to test how deep the water is.”
Someone quickly found a long stick and soon reported:
“Village chief, the edges aren’t deep—just a little over one chi.”
“In that case, everyone can enter the water. Each family gathers their own share. No fighting over things, or don’t blame me for being rude.”
For He Wanqing’s family, the ones entering the pond were Ye Jianshan, Ye Jianwen, and Ye Jianwu.
Carrying baskets on their backs, the three prepared to go in.
“Be careful. Test the ground before stepping. Don’t rush.”
“Got it, Mother.”
Once she saw the water only reached their waists, He Wanqing finally relaxed completely.
The pond truly wasn’t deep. If she hadn’t been on her period, she would have wanted to jump in herself.
But for now, she could only wait onshore.
Of course, she couldn’t simply sit around idly. Judging from the situation, they definitely wouldn’t finish quickly and might even spend the night here.
So He Wanqing simply brought A-Ming along to gather firewood.
While collecting wood, A-Ming began thinking about how they should cook dinner tonight.
But with such limited supplies, he couldn’t come up with many ideas and could only ask his mother for help.
“Mother, how should we cook the fish and lotus roots?”
“There are actually many dishes we could make, but we barely have any seasonings left, so our options are limited. Let’s make lotus root fish head stew, stir-fried lotus root slices, and fish ball soup.”
He Wanqing deliberately chose dishes that required few seasonings but still tasted good.
A-Ming immediately looked at her with worship in his eyes.
Mother was amazing. Some of those dishes he had never even heard of.
He Wanqing thoroughly enjoyed that look and waved her hand grandly.
“This is nothing. When we get the chance later, Mother will teach you every recipe I know.”
“Okay! Once I learn them, I’ll cook delicious food for Mother every single day!”
“That sounds wonderful. Mother will look forward to it.”
By the time the two returned carrying bundles of firewood, piles of lotus roots had already accumulated on the shore, and plenty of fish were flopping around on the ground.
A-Lan sat nearby happily devouring fish.
He Wanqing instantly felt jealous.
“You little rascal. You’re eating before the rest of us.”
A-Ming grinned and squatted beside A-Lan.
“A-Lan, is the fish tasty?”
But A-Lan ignored him completely, utterly immersed in the joy of eating fish.
Depressed, A-Ming poked his head.
“You heartless little glutton.”
He Wanqing laughed.
There were plenty of fish in the pond, but everyone focused mainly on digging lotus roots since they were easier to carry.
Still, there were simply too many lotus roots. Over a hundred people dug from morning until noon without finishing.
Afraid they’d soak in the water too long and fall ill, the village chief forcibly ordered everyone ashore to rest.
Half an hour later, they resumed digging.
It wasn’t until near evening, when lotus roots became difficult to find, that they finally stopped.
After roughly estimating each family’s harvest, the village chief relaxed greatly.
“I checked just now. Every family gathered enough to last seven or eight days. That’s enough. No need to keep digging—we can’t preserve them that long anyway.
Tonight we’ll rest here and enjoy a good meal. Tomorrow morning, we’ll continue traveling with renewed spirits.”
The village chief paused before delivering another piece of good news.
“Judging from the mountain range’s direction, the valley ahead appears rather gentle. There’s a high chance there are villages nearby. So if we endure just a few more days, we’ll definitely make it out!”
The final sentence rang with conviction, reigniting everyone’s hope of escaping the mountains.
In an instant, the entire refugee group underwent a complete transformation in spirit.
Even He Wanqing felt deeply encouraged.
After enjoying a grand lotus root feast, everyone slept soundly and set out early the next morning.
This time, the group’s pace noticeably quickened, and everyone carried renewed determination in their eyes.
That day, one of the hunting team members walking at the front suddenly slipped, his entire body pitching downward.
At the critical moment, the man beside him grabbed his arm.
The village chief immediately shouted, “Quick, pull him up!”
“Are you alright?”
“I’m fine.”
Looking at the trap on the ground, the man’s face turned pale—but the next moment, he became ecstatic.
“Village chief, this is a hunter’s trap! There must be a village nearby!”
The crowd instantly erupted into cheers. Some people even threw their belongings onto the ground in excitement.
He Wanqing’s family of five was equally thrilled.
At last, they were finally leaving this maze-like mountain behind.
The group continued onward, and this time, everyone’s spirits were soaring.
The closer they got to the mountain’s outer edge, the more signs of human activity appeared—including more traps.
Fortunately, the hunting team led the way and managed to avoid most dangers.
After more than half a day, flat stretches of farmland finally appeared before their eyes.
At long last, seeing scenery beyond the mountain foot brought tears to many people’s eyes.
Some directly shouted excitedly toward the plains below:
“Ahhh—we made it out!”
He Wanqing jumped in surprise but completely understood.
After being trapped for an entire month, people naturally needed an outlet.
A-Ming found it amusing and shouted too:
“Ahhh—I’m so happy!”
“Awooo—!”
Not wanting to lose out, A-Lan also let out a babyish howl.
Before long, everyone hurried down the mountain.
Several younger children excitedly ran ahead, A-Ming among them.
“Charge! We’re finally down the mountain!”
In less than half an incense stick’s time, the entire group reached the foot of the mountain.
Turning back to look at the deep mountains that had trapped them for a month, He Wanqing let out a long breath, feeling as though she never wanted to enter such a place again in this lifetime.
At the mountain foot stretched vast rice paddies, yet not a single person could be seen. Perhaps because it was noon, the villagers were all hiding indoors from the blazing sun.
“Village chief, where should we go now?”
“Let’s follow the river downstream first. Then we’ll find some villagers and ask.”
At the moment, even the village chief had no idea where they were. He could only hope they had already entered Xuannan Province.
“Village chief, there are houses over there!”
After walking along the river for a while, clusters of mud-brick houses came into view, with an occasional brick-and-tile house mixed among them.
“You all wait here. I’ll go ask around.”
Worried that too many people might frighten the locals, the village chief headed alone toward one of the brick houses.
The sun was scorching hot, so He Wanqing wisely led the children beneath a large leafy tree for shade instead of standing under the sun.
Suddenly, a clear youthful voice came from above.
“Who are you people?”
Surprised, He Wanqing looked up and saw a young boy lightly perched on a tree branch.
In the next instant, the boy pushed off with both hands and leapt gracefully down from the tree, landing almost without a sound.
“Big Brother, you’re amazing!”
Stars practically sparkled in A-Ming’s eyes. The other children looked no less impressed.
The boy chuckled softly.
“Little Baldy, answer my question.”
A-Ming immediately dropped his grin.
“Don’t call me Little Baldy. Call me A-Ming. We came from a really, really faraway place.”
“Oh? But from what I saw, you all came down from the mountain.”
So this boy had noticed them long ago and deliberately stayed hidden.
He Wanqing raised an eyebrow.
“So you were hiding in the tree observing us for quite a while?”
The boy slightly lowered his chin.
“Of course. What if you were bad people?”
“So now you know we’re not bad people?”
“Only preliminarily.”