Chapter 23 - Heading Towards the Top (Part 1)

At the beginning, Qingyu was excited. Although there were no roads in the dense forest and it was very difficult to move forward, there were rare treasures everywhere and the scenery was pleasing to the eye. There are a lot of tall trees, beautiful flowers and colorful parrots and sunbirds.

Every time she recognized a species, her heart was full of a sense of accomplishment. Moreover, with Xiaobai running around, Qingyu didn't feel lonely. It was just like when she went hiking in college. Although her body was tired, her mom mood was as bright and happy as the clear sky.

However, as the sunlight faded, the forest became more gloomy, and Qingyu began to feel scared. She realized belatedly that she had lost her way. In the dense forest at dusk, the vision was dim. She had no idea where she came from, nor which direction she should go back.

Compasses are useless on this island. The overgrown trees completely block the sky above, and the starlight cannot be seen. Qingyu leaned against a tree and took a few deep breaths to calm her mind while chanting "Calm down. Don't be afraid." repeatedly.

The snakes she feared the most would not trouble her now. She couldn't find the way at night so she had to wait until tomorrow morning. For now, she had to find a place to stay and get through the night.

She touched her backpack, thinking positively that there might be better things ahead so she was not in a hurry to go back. Inside her basket, there were some herbs and a water bottle which was half-filled with stream water from her journey. Putting Xiaobai into the basket, Qingyu spit into hee palm and started climbing a tree.

The tree she climbed had lush branches and leaves. Two of her wouldn't be able to wrap her arms around it. While climbing, Qingyu thanked the snake pill for making her body so strong and healthy. Combined with the tree-climbing skills she had trained decades ago, it was easy for her to climb up this sturdy tree.

The big tree was a kind she had never seen before. The higher she went, the denser the branches and leaves became. After surpassing the height of the other trees, the branches and leaves spread out in all directions, forming a circular roof on the top. The branches were thick and the leaves were dense like a carpet. Qingyu climbed to the top and tried to step on it. It could actually support her weight so she was overjoyed.

She put her backpack down, took out a piece of cloth from it and spread it on top. She sighed and laid down.The last ray of light in the sky has also dissipated, and just like a switch, the sky was lit up with twinkling stars. It was so beautiful!

In the soft moonlight and starlight, dots of fluorescence slowly emerged from the treetops beside Qingyu. Not only her tree, but also the big trees beside it began to glow with dots of fluorescence. The fluorescence gathered together in small clusters at first, and then merged into a band of light, going up along the mountain range.

From Qingyu's perspective, it looked like a long silver river pouring down from the top of the mountain. The earth and the forest were silent. Qingyu also held his breath, fearing that he would disturb the feast.

When the last bit of fluorescent light disappeared at the top of the mountain, the forest suddenly became noisy with the sounds of various birds and animals, and it suddenly became extremely lively.

Xiaobai crawled out of the basket and saw that Qingyu had closed her eyes and fell asleep. He climbed onto her chest and leaned in.

A spot of fluorescent light swayed out from under Qingyu, turned around, and swayed in front of her. When it was in front her nose, Xiaobai turned over, and the wind blew the fluorescent light into Qingyu's nose. At this time, there was chaos on the bayside.

"Doctor Shi, come quickly! General Yang has also been bitten." Ding Dong carried Yang Zhao on his back and ran to Shi Fang's cabin. There were four beds in the cabin, and two people were already lying on them, Zheng Xi and Lu Yao.

"Someone is bitten again? I told you, no matter how strong your martial arts skills are, you can't defend yourself against snakes in the forest!" Doctor Shi's forehead was sweating all over.

He asked Ding Dong to put the man on the bed, and then started cutting the wound to let the blood out. He also applied the prepared medicinal mud on the wound and said, "Wow, this one was bitten so badly, but he was able to run back!"

"Another one fell?" Yan San poked his head out of the door and said to Gu Sui, who had a serious face.

"Why are you so anxious? That little girl is not without sense. It's only been one day, but you are so nervous and have been running around to look for her. She is immune to all poisons, but you are not. Don't let her come back and see you all dead. If no one builds her ship, she will probably even dig your graves."

It was the first time that Gu Sui heard Yan San say such analytical words. He looked at him in surprise. Thinking of the woman's performance along the way, and her bravery in killing even big snakes, there was really no need to rush for just one day. Besides, what would it matter even if they were anxious? It was different from the first time they entered the forest.

At that time, most of the snakes were scattered, and they just kept encountering new ones when they were running away. Now, these snakes seemed to be deliberately guarding against them, as if they had set up a cordon inside. Once someone went deep into the forest for a distance, there would be a group of snakes that were hard to guard against.

The forest here was dense and those snakes with colors that can camouflage themselves could not be found at all if they were casually hiding in the trees, bushes, and grass. Even with Lu Yao's skills, he was bitten by the snakes after going a little deeper.

"Yeah, please stop messing around. I'm running out of medicine!" Doctor Shi said with a sad face. He was originally very happy because half of all the precious herbs were gone.

"You little brat, don't you understand what adults are saying?" Yan San stretched out his body, grabbed Shiyi who was about to go to the forest again and said, "With your condition, are you planning to die? If you really want to go, practice to the third level in the seabed first. You can try again afterwards."

"You haven't even practiced the third level, and you're talking about the Blue Sea Tidal Power. It's completely useless." Shiyi struggled.

"Tsk! That's peerless Kung Fu. I taught you with good intentions, and you still refuse to learn! Go back here." Yan San knocked Shiyi unconscious and took him back to his wooden house.

Gu Sui pressed his purse, which contained the snake's pill, and after thinking it over again and again, he finally let go and said to himself, "Qingyu, I believe in your ability and will wait for you to come down the mountain."

Qingyu had no idea how the people in the bay were feeling as of the moment. It was already the fourth day, and the higher she went up the mountain, the more surprises she encountered.

Qingyu found a lot of top-grade agarwood in a mountain pond. If the price of top-grade agarwood in Quanzhou is 10 taels of silver per jin, the pond must be filled with more than 1,000 jin. This surprise was replaced when he saw a large area of ​​borneol and then a large area of ​​agarwood. Under the trees she also saw patches of seventh-grade ginseng, and then a forest top-grade white tufa and even ganoderma lucidum growing on the trees below. There was also the coexistence of swinhoe's grass, orchids and medicinal materials such as Sumu Jixie. The ecological system was in a total mess.

She could name only a few of the animals and plants she saw on the road. She must have put a lot of effort into this aspect because she often traveled outdoors in the past. The eight-tailed parrots, the pink piglets with fangs, the big deer with purple-red antlers roaming in the forest, the pythons and the monitor lizards sliding among the fallen leaves were all species she had never heard of or seen before. Even though she was dazzled by the surprise, she still couldn't help but feel her heart beating like a drum and screaming with excitement.

Qingyu accidentally fell into a pool while drinking water from the stream and was then carried into the cave by the rapids of the waterfall above. The water in the cave was only up to her calves. The waterfall hung at the entrance of the cave, blocking most of the sunlight, making the light in the cave appear dim, but not scay. There is still a layer of shimmering precious light in the cave.

The walls of the cave are filled with raw rubies, sapphires and diamonds. The bottom of the water is also shining with precious light which was emitted by the gems that have been polished by the water.

Right in front of Qingyu was a ruby ​​that was bigger than a child's head. It was crystal clear and the color was like blood, which made her feel dizzy.