Sure enough, as evening approached, a mountain finally appeared ahead of the convoy.
The guards announced that everyone would rest at the foot of the mountain for the night and begin traveling through the mountain paths the next morning.
After walking all day without water, the prisoners were utterly exhausted. Most no longer even had the strength to move.
As usual, Ziling found a relatively secluded spot beneath a tree and helped Gong Mohan down from the wheelbarrow.
Meanwhile, Mother Gong took Ying’er to search for dry grass nearby. Nights in the mountains would grow cold, and they needed something to lie on.
Like every previous rest stop, Ziling instructed Gong Hao to watch over the family while she went to scout the surroundings.
But this time, Gong Mohan suddenly spoke.
“You go with your sister-in-law. I’ll stay here.”
Ziling glanced at him and instantly understood that he wasn’t going to back down this time.
Fortunately, she hadn’t planned to enter the space anyway, so bringing Gong Hao along didn’t matter.
The two carefully walked deeper into the forest.
The mountains were quiet, broken only occasionally by the chirping of insects. Every now and then, Ziling spotted medicinal herbs and casually picked them.
“Sister-in-law,” Gong Hao finally asked curiously, “why are you pulling weeds? You can’t eat those.”
He didn’t recognize medicinal herbs and assumed she was gathering random wild plants for food.
“These aren’t weeds. They’re medicinal herbs,” Ziling replied smugly. “And when did I ever say I came out here looking for food?”
Then she lowered her voice mysteriously.
“I heard mountains often have wild ginseng and deer antlers. Maybe we’ll even find treasure.”
Without realizing it, the two gradually ventured deep into the mountain forest.
The deeper they went, the cooler the air became, and the vegetation grew increasingly lush.
Suddenly—
Rustle… rustle…
A strange sound came from the grass ahead.
Gong Hao immediately stepped protectively in front of Ziling, his entire body tense as he stared toward the source of the noise.
In the grass lay a yellow snake covered in patterned markings.
Its narrow triangular head rose high as it coldly watched the two intruders standing in its territory.
Gong Hao’s nerves tightened instantly.
He didn’t dare move even slightly, terrified that provoking the snake might cause it to attack. If it were venomous, they’d be finished.
Ziling also studied the snake carefully.
Its head was sharp and elongated, its body covered in yellow patterns. Rather than fleeing, it stared directly at them without fear.
This definitely wasn’t an ordinary snake.
Suddenly, inspiration flashed through Ziling’s mind.
According to all those novels she’d read before, whenever strange beasts guarded a place, there was usually treasure nearby.
At that moment, the familiar voice of the space spirit sounded in her mind.
Ding! There’s ginseng nearby, Master.
Ziling immediately communicated through her thoughts.
“You can sense it? Where is it?”
“I can only sense the spiritual energy of the ginseng,” the spirit replied. “I can’t determine the exact location.”
“Then is this snake poisonous?”
“No, Master. It isn’t venomous. And this snake has lived many years—its gallbladder is extremely valuable.”
As a modern medical doctor, Ziling naturally understood the medicinal value of snake gall.
She quickly exchanged a glance with Gong Hao.
Gong Hao nearly jumped in fright.
Was his sister-in-law actually planning to catch the snake?!
He wanted desperately to stop her, but before he could speak, she had already begun moving.
Left with no choice, he gritted his teeth and followed.
The two slowly circled around the snake, trying to corner it.
The snake hissed furiously and suddenly lunged toward Gong Hao.
At that exact moment, Ziling darted behind it and grabbed its head barehanded.
Then, pulling a blade from her pocket, she swiftly killed the snake in one clean motion.
Gong Hao froze completely in shock.
Just moments ago, he had been certain the snake was about to bite him. He could practically feel the imaginary pain already.
Meanwhile, Ziling casually tossed the dead snake aside and immediately began searching the nearby grass carefully.
At first, she thought those fantasy novel plots were probably fake after all—
But then—
A brilliant red flower suddenly caught her eye.
It gleamed vividly among the grass like a ruby, dazzling and beautiful.
Ziling’s entire spirit instantly lifted in excitement.
“Gong Hao! Stop standing there in a daze and come help!”
Still stunned from watching his sister-in-law catch a snake with her bare hands, Gong Hao hurried over like someone waking from a dream.
“What is this red flower?” he asked excitedly. “It’s beautiful!”
Ziling could barely contain herself.
“This is wild ginseng! We’re going to strike it rich!”
“Really?”
Gong Hao’s eyes widened.
“I’ve seen ginseng plenty of times at home before, but never while it was still growing naturally.”
“Of course it’s real,” Ziling declared proudly. “Even though this is my first time seeing one in person, I’ve seen pictures before. There’s no mistake.”
The moment the word left her mouth, Gong Hao blinked blankly.
“What’s a ‘picture’?”
Ziling immediately froze.
Right.
This was ancient times.
There were paintings and illustrated books—but no such thing as photographs.
Ever since arriving here, her ability to make up excuses on the spot had improved tremendously.
“Oh—that is…” she coughed awkwardly. “I meant illustrations in books. I saw drawings before, and it looked exactly like this.”
Thankfully, Gong Hao accepted the explanation without suspicion.
The two carefully dug out the wild ginseng and stored it safely in their bundle.
“Sister-in-law, let’s hurry back now.”
“Hurry back for what?” Ziling replied. “We still haven’t taken the snake gallbladder yet. I heard it’s extremely valuable and can also cure illnesses.”
Gong Hao immediately retreated several steps backward.
“But… how are we supposed to remove the gallbladder?”
Clearly, he was terrified she might make him do it.
Ziling herself honestly didn’t want to either.
Her eyes suddenly lit up mischievously.
“Your big brother has probably been bored out of his mind these past few days. Should we bring it back for him to handle?”
The two quickly agreed and prepared to return.
But just as they turned to leave, Ziling paused.
The vegetation around them was lush and vibrant—completely different from the dry, dying plants they had seen everywhere else along the road.
There were snakes here.
The air was cool.
And the plants nearby flourished with life.
Could there be a water source nearby?
Ziling immediately began carefully examining the surroundings.