Chapter 261 Ghost ignites fire

Qin Suisui and the other two were visiting for the first time. They were unfamiliar with the route and didn't know anyone, so they naturally followed Aunt Zhang's family to search for them.

Qin Suisui and Jia Zhenzhen followed Aunt Zhang, Hu Jue followed Captain Li, and the others also split up to search the places where the children often played.

It must be said that the mountains in Yunnan Province are really different from the small hills of Qiongtan Island. There are tall mountains everywhere. It's almost seven o'clock now, and the mountains are even darker.

Moreover, the mountains here are very irregular, with hillsides here and valleys there. Sometimes the trees are so thick that several people can hug them, and you can't see a person when you turn around. That's how Qin Suisui and Jia Zhenzhen got lost from Aunt Zhang.

It was already past 7:30, and the sky was getting dark. They were on the mountain, and it was even darker. Moreover, when the mountain wind blew, shadows appeared in the forest, and the leaves rustled, making the hairs on one's body stand on end.

Qin Suisui and Jia Zhenzhen instinctively tightened their grip on each other's hands, and Jia Zhenzhen's voice became somewhat incoherent: "Sui...Suisui...you...you think they...they didn't deliberately lure us out...lure us out to kill us?"

Qin Suisui was already a little nervous, and after hearing what she said, she subconsciously tightened her grip on her hand, stammering, "No...no way...don't scare me."

As she finished speaking, the mountain path grew even darker. Because the weather had changed that night, there was no moon, making the path extremely dimly lit. They hadn't taken anything with them when they came out. Jia Zhenzhen rummaged through her pockets for a while, then slapped her hand: "I should have brought that box of matches! Sui Sui, do you have any matches in your bag?"

Qin Suisui always carried a backpack wherever she went, using the cloth bag as a cover so she could easily take things out of her spatial storage. Hearing Jia Zhenzhen's words, she quickly rummaged through the cloth bag and pulled out a flashlight.

With a "snap," the dim mountain scenery instantly became bright.

"Wow! Sui Sui! Your little bag looks small, but it's like a treasure chest! It always comes out when you need something. You can't even tell that such a big flashlight is in your bag."

Qin Suisui smiled. The bag was indeed not big. It was sewn by her mother from her old clothes when she left home. It was an old, military green color that was not eye-catching at all, but there were many small pockets inside the bag, which made it convenient for her to sort and pack her things.

She's gotten used to carrying this bag over the years, so she hasn't changed it.

But Qin Suisui couldn't say it directly, since she took all her things out of her spatial storage, so she changed the subject: "Zhenzhen, do you still remember the way we came?"

With the light of the flashlight, Jia Zhenzhen was no longer so scared. She thought for a moment and said, "We've been out for almost an hour, but we haven't gone too far. We've just been going around in circles."

Qin Suisui nodded: "Since they came out to look for their child, the child couldn't have gone too far. Why didn't we hear them calling for help?"

Jia Zhenzhen frowned: "How about we shout it out loud?"

"No, no, these mountains are not like the small hills on our Qiongtan Island. There might be large wild beasts on these mountains. If we shout a few times and don't attract anyone, but instead attract wild animals, that would be troublesome. Let's try to walk back based on our memory first."

Jia Zhenzhen nodded, and the two of them walked back hand in hand, following the direction they remembered. They were currently at a shady spot by a mountain stream, where the air was moist and cool. After walking a few steps, Qin Suisui saw a patch of small flowers swaying in the breeze—yellow centers, purple petals, and shaped like ancient oil lamps. This was the main subject of their trip to trace the origin of the plant—the lamp flower.

"Zhenzhen, look! This is a lamp wick flower!"

Jia Zhenzhen also saw it by following the beam of the flashlight. She had never seen a lampflower before. If she hadn't come out with Qin Suisui this time, she wouldn't even know that there was such a plant as a "lampflower". Seeing it now was very strange to her.

"So this is a lamp wick flower? It really does look like an ancient oil lamp. This unassuming little flower, stewed with eggs, can actually treat cerebral hemiplegia?"

Qin Suisui nodded: "Don't underestimate the humble 'Lampflower' (灯盏花). It actually has very high medicinal value. It can not only treat cerebral infarction, sequelae of cerebral hemorrhage, and angina pectoris in coronary heart disease, but also help prevent and treat thrombotic diseases. By the way, I heard that people in Yunnan Province often use it to treat colds, or to dispel wind and dampness, promote blood circulation and relieve pain. It can also be used for infantile malnutrition and acute gastritis."

When she started talking about her professional knowledge, Qin Suisui was no longer afraid. She stopped stammering and even stood up straighter.

Since Jia Zhenzhen joined the medicinal herb garden, they often went up the mountain together to collect herbs. Whenever they encountered a new herb, Qin Suisui would explain it to her on the spot. They learned while collecting the herbs, which helped Jia Zhenzhen remember them better and learn faster.

As the two were talking, they subconsciously squatted down to dig for medicinal herbs. By the time they realized it, half an hour had passed. A pile of lampwick flowers they had dug up was there, and Jia Zhenzhen was really preparing to take off her coat to wrap them up.

A gust of cold wind blew, and the two of them immediately realized what they were doing. They looked at each other and laughed awkwardly, "Haha, my professional habit kicked in."

Qin Suisui found it a bit funny. She told Jia Zhenzhen to put her clothes on, and then took out a handkerchief from her cloth bag—actually, from her spatial storage—and wrapped up the small handful of lantern flowers they had picked.

"Let's not pick the rest for now. There aren't many in this area, and we don't have anything to carry them. I heard there are more lantern flowers further up the mountain. We can bring our tools and come back to pick them tomorrow. It's more important to go back first."

Jia Zhenzhen nodded, shivered, and quickly put on her coat: "You know what, it's much colder in the mountains of Yunnan than where we are."

Qin Suisui put the wrapped lamp-shaped flowers into a cloth bag, then pulled her clothes tighter. The two of them turned around, and just then, a mountain wind suddenly rose, carrying a biting chill.

Achoo!

Qin Suisui couldn't help but sneeze. When she looked up again, she realized that a thick fog had somehow filled the valley, and the sky was rapidly darkening. Even more eerie was that the ordinary lantern flowers, which had just been there, seemed to be infused with a faint glow under the dual light of the twilight and the flashlight, with a layer of eerie blue halo around the edges of their petals, truly resembling tiny, lit lamps.

When Qin Suisui recalled the strange legends about the lamp flower that Captain Li had told her, she suddenly felt a chill run down her spine and her legs went stiff.

Jia Zhenzhen hadn't noticed the change in the lamp-shaped flower pattern at her feet. She saw Qin Suisui sneeze and then stand there motionless, and thought she wasn't feeling well: "Suisui, what's wrong? Did you catch a cold...?"

Before he could finish speaking, his eyes followed Qin Suisui's gaze, and the hairs on his body stood on end: "Holy crap, a ghost started this..."

Qin Suisui looked up and realized that the fog was even thicker than before. The path they had just walked along was now swallowed up by the dense fog, and the strange rocks and ancient trees around them appeared menacing and grotesque under the pale blue light...