Today was her first day going to the mountain, and she didn't know the situation there yet, so she didn't let Liu Aiguo come with her.
Before leaving, she took a bamboo basket and told Liu's mother and Liu Aiguo that she was going to pick mushrooms in the mountains. The mother and son didn't pay any attention to her and let her go.
As Li Hongying walked along the road, she saw several other women carrying bamboo baskets, presumably all of them going up the mountain to find mushrooms and wild vegetables.
She and those women were not on the same page, so she deliberately avoided walking with them, keeping as much distance as possible.
Once they reached the mountain, the rugged mountain path, abundant vegetation, and numerous fallen boulders allowed Li Hongying to quickly leave the others behind. She then ventured alone into the deep mountains to find the valley Zhuang Feifei had mentioned.
Zhuang Feifei told her that the deepest part of the mountains was just inside, but the mountains looked endless and she couldn't figure out where the deepest part was at all.
The further in you go, the more rugged the mountain road becomes, and the more lush the vegetation becomes. The number of towering trees increases significantly compared to the outer areas, and their massive canopies block out the sun, further enhancing the eerie atmosphere.
At first, she wanted to go as far in as possible, but the difficulties ahead made her want to stop all the time.
No, she couldn't stop, she couldn't back down. What did a little hardship matter when it came to securing space and supplies?
So she walked on for a while, but now there was no path under her feet. It was covered with weeds and thorns, and pebbles hidden in the grass.
With a thud, he thought he had tripped and fallen on a pile of thorns because he hadn't seen the pebbles in the weeds.
In early summer, people had already changed into light clothing. Because of the thin fabric, she was pricked by thorns in many places after the fall. She grimaced in pain, gritted her teeth, stood up, and roughly checked her injuries. She found that the thorns had only pierced her skin and there were no major wounds, so she continued on her way.
Finally, she arrived at what she considered to be the largest and deepest valley she had ever seen. She wasn't sure if there were any deeper or larger valleys further in. She was about to go on, but then a question suddenly occurred to her.
Zhuang Feifei and she were both ordinary people. She was already very tired after walking so far. It was impossible for Zhuang Feifei to go too deep in half a day. Perhaps she left the bloodstone necklace here.
Let's go down and look for it first.
Canyons are generally quite steep. Li Hongying was full of confidence, but when she actually set off to descend, she discovered the difficulties of the journey.
The slopes on both sides of the canyon are very steep, and just like outside, the slopes are covered with wild grass and trees. Looking around, you can't even see a path, which shows how rare it is for people.
"Caw caw caw!"
She heard a few crows cawing in her ears, and she looked up sharply. She saw a black bird flapping its wings and flying away from the big tree above her head, cawing as it flew.
Crows have always been regarded as an unlucky symbol. According to old folk sayings, crows usually appear around the dead. For example, crows are likely to appear near newly built cemeteries. If someone in a family is about to die, crows will appear on their roof and caw.
Crows often appear near new graves and on the rooftops of the dying because they like to eat carrion. New graves contain freshly buried corpses, which naturally emit a smell as they decompose, attracting crows.
Most people who are dying are bedridden for too long. If they are not properly cared for, they will develop bedsores. Especially after they die, their bodies decompose rapidly, which is why crows are attracted to them.
As a result, people later believed that crows were too yin (negative energy), and that wherever crows appeared, people would die or bad things would happen. Crows gradually became a symbol of misfortune.
Some people even compare crows to the old sergeant of the underworld, whose role is self-evident.
In reality, crows are just ordinary birds; they have no right to control life and death, nor do they play a role in causing bad things to happen. It's all just a psychological effect on people.
Li Hongying was terrified by the crow in front of her. She quickly patted her chest, but before she could react, she stepped on a stone, fell to the side with a thud, and slid down the hillside.
Along the way, the rocks and thorns on the hillside almost tore her clothes to shreds. Of course, she also suffered many injuries, especially a scraped knee that bled profusely.
She sat on the ground, hastily treated her wound, and finally found a patch of bare earth. She pinched some dry soil and sprinkled it on the wound to stop the bleeding.
She endured the pain and cursed Zhuang Feifei a thousand times over.
"Zhuang Feifei, you bastard! If you hadn't left the treasure in such a dangerous place, I wouldn't have had to go through all this trouble to find it, and I wouldn't have gotten hurt. Once I find the treasure, I'll see how I deal with you."
She hadn't reached the bottom of the valley yet; she was only standing halfway up the slope, but the valley seemed incredibly large. Due to the obstruction of the trees, she couldn't accurately judge its size.
She decided to start her search from where she was standing. Because the terrain was complex and there were many trees, she made a triangle on the ground with three stones to avoid going back to the same place. If she came back to this place later and saw the triangle made of stones on the ground, it would prove that she had already searched this area and would not need to search a second time.
She limped through the dense forest, risking her life to find the bloodstone necklace. So engrossed was she that she didn't realize how quickly time was passing. Before she knew it, it was noon, and her biological clock started to ring, her stomach growling.
When a person is hungry, not only does their stomach feel uncomfortable, but they also lack strength. With no other option, she found some wild fruits to fill her stomach, and after eating them, she continued her search.
In the village, at Luo Jingyan's residence
In the afternoon, Lu Jiu'er came to find Luo Changtian again, asking him to continue teaching her academic subjects.
Black Tiger slept for two or three hours in Luo Changtian's arms in the morning. In the afternoon, he was preparing to set off with Fatty Tiger to the mountains to find the bloodstone necklace. However, before they could even set off, Lu Jiu'er arrived again and took over from Luo Changtian to hold it in his arms.
Black Tiger was getting anxious, fearing that Li Hongying would find the bloodstone necklace before them, but Lu Jiu'er held it tightly and even stroked its head contentedly.
"Black Tiger, Black Tiger, you are my favorite cat. Let your big sister give you a big hug."
Black Tiger: "..."
Alas, cuteness is a sin, which even a body covered in black cannot bury.
Sometimes being too cute and lovable can be a burden.
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