"Hello, Comrade Jiang Qiao. I've heard about you for a long time, but I've never seen you. What brings you to the mountains to gather herbs now?"

Jiang Qiao smiled and explained to the other party, "I had to go out for some business before, and I just got back. Now that it's almost Chinese New Year, I had some time, so I came over to visit and wish everyone a Happy New Year, and bring you some gifts."

"Look, the stuff's down there, freshly hunted game. You wait here, we'll go down and you can carry it back. We'll eat lunch at your place, okay? We brought our own rations."

Several soldiers enthusiastically said, "Of course! That's perfect! We've even prepared a room for you to make it easier for you to come. You can go and see what your room is like this time."

Jiang Qiao was surprised that they had even prepared a place for her to stay. But thinking about it, it made sense; it would take time to come from the city. The leaders were very thoughtful.

“Those three people are my uncle, brother and brother. Come on, let me introduce you.”

After Gu Zhengkai and the other soldiers shook hands with each other, they all worked together to lift the roe deer out.

Jiang Qiao inquired about their exact location and learned that there was a ladder leading up the valley, which put her at ease.

"Okay, Uncle, are you coming with me, or are you going with them?"

Gu Zhengkai wanted to go to the valley to take a look, and Gu Zhixuan and the others were not surprised to follow him.

"Alright, take the roe deer back first, we'll find you from the other side of the valley."

After entering the valley, the men and women couldn't take it all in. Jiang Qiao was curious about what kind of trickery was going on here, while the three men felt that this place was a bit strange. Why did the temperature seem to have risen a lot after they arrived here? And why could they see green grass? This was really strange.

Of course, the two brothers also asked this question. After all, Gu Zhengkai had studied abroad and was very knowledgeable. Even Jiang Qiao admired his explanation.

This person really knows a lot about astronomy and geography. If someone like that were to teach students, they would probably be a great teacher.

Looking around, I didn't find anything unusual. Well, so many experts have been working on this for so long and they haven't found anything either. I guess there really isn't anything there.

However, the stream has dried up here, and it seems that the overflowing water only nourished the plants in this valley.

Upon seeing the herbs, Jiang Qiao also began to gather them. After all, he had come all this way and couldn't leave empty-handed. Moreover, he had promised to make medicine for them, and he couldn't break his promise.

"My God, this...this is ginseng, isn't it?"

Jiang Qiao glanced at it, smiled, and nodded, "Uncle, you should help dig too—"

Jiang Qiao walked around, collected information, and observed things, but she really didn't find anything special about it.

She just couldn't understand what was going on with her grandmaster, why he chose this place, and why Sato was so determined to be here.

Could it be because this place is the location of a dragon vein? She really couldn't explain it, but she could still sense that kind of energy.

"Why does it feel different here? I feel so comfortable all over, and even my mind feels clear?"

Gu Zhixuan nodded in agreement. "You know what, it's true. Maybe it's related to the temperature here?"

Dad, what do you think? Don't you ever feel that way?

Gu Zhengkai nodded. "Yes, it is. Perhaps it's related to the vegetation here. Don't forget, this place has the most medicinal herbs. With all kinds of medicinal properties mixed together, the air is naturally different."

Gu Zhengkai didn't think too much about it; he simply felt that there were too many good medicinal herbs here, and perhaps this was where others wanted to make a fortune.

The group dispersed to search for medicinal herbs. Gu Zhengkai, unusually, acted like a child, wandering around everywhere. Just then, Jiang Qiao noticed that her uncle was carrying a large snake as he walked over.

"Oh my god—"

Gu Zhengkai swung his hand triumphantly, "How about that? Scared now? It's already dead. This thing is still quite plump. Go back and make snake soup for your grandpa and the others."

Jiang Qiao touched her nose. "Uncle, are you really not afraid of this thing?"

Gu Zhengkai shook his head, looking indifferent. "What's so scary about this thing? It's hibernating. Killing it would be a piece of cake. Do you really think your uncle is some kind of scholar?"

Jiang Qiao smiled wryly. "That's true. My uncle is skilled in both literature and martial arts. Although I'm not afraid of this thing, to be honest, seeing it makes me feel uncomfortable and gives me chills. Since you all like to eat snake meat, I'll leave the skinning to you. I'll keep the snake gall for myself."

I'm telling you, some of the snakes in this valley are poisonous, so be careful.

Gu Zhengkai waved his hand and said, "It's fine. Poisonous ones are even better. Later, you can make me some snake wine."

Gu Zhengkai, knowing that his niece wasn't interested in this kind of thing, decided to do it himself, which made things easier for Jiang Qiao.

Snake gallbladders and snake oil are something she'll have to rely on her uncle for; getting him to do it himself would be difficult, as she's really not keen on cleaning those things.

The two brothers, Gu Zhihong and Gu Zhixuan, were not interested in snakes, but they were very interested in the small animals around them.

Unfortunately, the two brothers didn't have Jiang Qiao's skills, so catching prey with their bare hands was almost impossible.

As they walked around, good medicinal herbs were everywhere. Jiang Qiao only picked some for temporary use. Anyway, someone was watching over them, and if they were left here to continue growing, their medicinal properties would be even better.

Of course, she kept observing, but in the end, she didn't find anything unusual.

They might encounter prey along the way, but this time, Gu Zhixuan and his group didn't mess with it and left it to Jiang Qiao to handle.

The valley was very large, and it took them almost two hours to walk there before they reached the location the soldier had mentioned. There, people were already calling to them from above.

"Jiang Qiao, this way, the ladder is over here, just climb up."

The ladder was built on a relatively flat area, not far from the pool. Jiang Qiao and the others climbed up the ladder.

"How does it feel? Not bad, right?"

Jiang Qiao nodded. "It's not just good, it's incredibly fast. It's not easy to build a house so quickly."

A row of barracks stood not far above the valley, complete with all the necessary facilities. One can imagine that a great deal of effort must have been put into building them.

On her first visit, Jiang Qiao greeted everyone and toured the house. She wanted to help, but no one could help; with over ten people, she couldn't let them cook.

"Oh my, the meat's already in the pot, just wait and eat! Jiang Qiao, thank you so much for such a special gift during the New Year."

To be honest, it's not that we haven't tried setting traps, but those prey are too cunning, and usually we don't succeed.

Gu Zhengkai chimed in, "That's right. We can't catch him either, because Jiang Qiao is an old hand at long-distance running in the mountains. So, it's not difficult if you don't know how, and it's not difficult if you do. All of us family members have already started watching, so you don't need to worry about it."