"You old geezer, you stinking old man, all you do is bully my little apprentice."

At the foot of a mountain with towering peaks and narrow, secluded valleys, a little girl carries a bamboo basket on her back. Her beautiful long hair is tied in a bun. She wears a black T-shirt, tight jeans, and white hiking boots.

The little girl muttered to herself as she walked, looking rather nonchalant. She kicked pebbles as she went, and when she saw some foxtail grass by the roadside, she reached out, picked a stalk, and put it in her mouth.

"Yesterday we clearly agreed that you'd let me go down the mountain once I'd gathered enough herbs, but you treated that like a fart. Just one night later, you're saying you never said that, and today you want me to catch some poisonous insects and snakes. Just think, I'm a beautiful young girl, and you've ruined me like this! Every day it's poisonous insects and snakes; I'm practically the king of all poisons!"

Xiao Qianqian got angry just thinking about it, and punched the air a few times with her small fists to vent her dissatisfaction.

The poisonous insects that the old man asked her to find usually only come out after dark, and they are easier to find near cliffs and precipices.

"Oh, why is my life so miserable? Why did I give up the life of a pampered young lady and come to this remote mountain forest to catch poisonous snakes and insects? Why did I have to be so foolish?"

Xiao Qianqian had sighed countless times. It was past 4 p.m., and there was still some time before dark. Sigh, she thought, she should go into the jungle and see if there were any poisonous snakes. She would catch a few first.

She complained, but she still had to complete the task, otherwise this old man wouldn't let her leave. She missed the glitz and glamour of life; that was the life she was meant to live. To think that she, the daughter of the prestigious Xiao family, was now banished to the deep mountains to dig for herbs and catch poisonous snakes—if her girlfriends found out, they would laugh their heads off.

Muttering to herself, she quickened her pace and walked deeper into the forest. Catching venomous snakes was no longer a challenge for her. She had been by the old man's side for many years, and from being terrified of snakes and insects at first, to now having them hide in fear when they saw her, it was clear how skilled she was.

As Xiao Qianqian walked, she suddenly heard a rustling sound ahead. She immediately became alert, slowed her pace, and quietly approached. Upon closer inspection, she saw a cobra coiled on a tree, flicking its tongue.

Xiao Qianqian's eyes lit up; this was a rare species of venomous snake! She carefully circled around behind the tree, ready to grab it.

Just then, the cobra seemed to sense the danger, suddenly opened its mouth, and lunged at Xiao Qianqian. Xiao Qianqian dodged to the side, grabbed a tree branch, and swung it at the cobra.

The cobra was disoriented from the beating, and Xiao Qianqian seized the opportunity to quickly grab it by its neck and put it into the bamboo basket.

"Hehe, all done!" Xiao Qianqian clapped her hands triumphantly. This cobra is very valuable; it would definitely fetch a good price at the market.

Xiao Qianqian glanced at the sky; the sun was about to set. She decided to go find the poisonous insect now. This insect would come out to hunt for food at nightfall and would usually retreat back into its burrow around nine o'clock. It only came out to hunt for a short time and was only active in the summer, hibernating in its burrow during the rest of the season. Therefore, the chances of catching this poisonous insect were very slim, and its price on the black market had skyrocketed.

With her years of experience, Xiao Qianqian easily found her way to the edge of the cliff, where poisonous insects often roamed. She waited quietly, and as time passed, night finally fell completely.

Suddenly, Xiao Qianqian noticed a strange movement in the nearby bushes. Looking closer, she saw a huge, venomous insect slowly crawling out. Its body was covered in colorful patterns and emitted an eerie glow.

Xiao Qianqian took a deep breath and slowly approached the poisonous insect. With a nimble leap, she precisely clamped the insect with her tool. However, the insect struggled violently, attempting to escape.

Xiao Qianqian gripped the tool tightly, and after a fierce struggle, she finally succeeded in subduing the poisonous insect and putting it into a special bottle.

"Finally, it's all done!" Xiao Qianqian wiped the sweat from her forehead and hummed a little tune happily. At this moment, the night was pitch black, and the round moon had already risen above the treetops.

Xiao Qianqian was afraid of encountering large, ferocious beasts like wolves in the jungle, so she quickly turned on her flashlight and headed down the mountain path. She often traversed this forest, so she knew a shortcut home.

Suddenly, she heard a lot of footsteps, and they sounded very fast. She quickly hid behind a big tree, turned off her flashlight, lay down on the ground, and pricked up her ears.

At this moment, the group of people stopped not far from her big tree.

"Brother, we haven't found that kid."

"Brother, I've looked all around, but I can't find him."

"I'm sure he couldn't have gone far. Look at the bloodstains around here; they disappeared in that area."

"Brother, do you think that kid might die? Our bullets are all poisoned. If we can't find the antidote, even a miracle worker couldn't save him after tomorrow."

The man in the picture was tall and had a slightly fierce look. He was holding a gun and pondered for a moment.

"Forget it, this is deep in the mountains. He was hit by our poison bullet; even if he escaped, he wouldn't survive. Let's go back and report to the boss that he's died from poisoning."

"Alright." The men replied in unison, and then they saw the group of men walking down the mountain, each carrying a gun.

Xiao Qianqian breathed a long sigh of relief. She hadn't expected to encounter such a group of people. Judging from their appearance, they had come here after chasing someone.

She planned to rest here for a while before going down the mountain, to avoid running into them and causing trouble.

She took the basket off her back and put it on the ground, then took out the pancakes from her bag, intending to have something to eat first, as she was also hungry after traveling for so long.

She leaned against a tree trunk, eating a pancake while crossing her legs, looking very relaxed and not at all afraid of the dark and gloomy forest.

She was almost finished with the pancake and thought it was about time. She clapped her hands and was about to get up and carry her basket down the mountain when suddenly she heard a rustling sound coming from the tree. Then a heavy object hit her and almost knocked her unconscious.

Xiao Qianqian opened her eyes angrily, only to find a strange man on top of her.

The man was pale, clearly seriously injured. He struggled to lift his head, looked at Xiao Qianqian, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

"Help me..." the man said weakly before fainting.

Xiao Qianqian then realized that the heavy object she had just been holding was actually this man. She cursed her bad luck inwardly; she had wanted to stay out of it, but had been inexplicably dragged into this conflict.

"Who are you? Why are they chasing you?" Xiao Qianqian shook the man on top of her, but he had already passed out and could not respond to her.