The moon gradually sank below the mountain, a thin mist rose, and the crowing of roosters heralded a new day.
At the end of Shanghe Village, after the carriage clattered away, Su Bai looked at the two men and two tigers in front of her, her slanted eyes filled with worry. She could only keep rummaging around in the kitchen. "Hua'er, rice balls alone are not enough. Take these pork jerky and beef jerky too. If you get hungry on the mountain, they can at least fill your stomach. Also, take two packs of yesterday's braised mutton and roasted lamb chops. Oh, and these eggs, take twenty or thirty with you!"
Looking at the fist-sized eggs, Su Hua's almond-shaped eyes filled with helplessness. She quickly reached out and grabbed her mother's arm. "Mother, we don't need these things. I'm only going to the mountain for a day, not to stay there forever..."
"Pah! The bad ones don't work, but the good ones do!" Before she could finish speaking, Madam Su interrupted her, "You can't just eat things randomly, and you can't just say things randomly either. It's better to be frugal on the road than poor. If you two encounter something on the mountain, having this food will at least ensure you don't go hungry."
Zhao quickly wrapped two packets of noodles in taro leaves and put them in her basket. "Mother is right. This Fuhu Mountain is a huge place. Who knows how long it will take Hua'er to find a flower that's only the size of a fingernail? It's good to bring some food just in case."
The three younger brothers of Su Dalang also nodded repeatedly from the side.
"If you think it's too heavy, I'll carry all these things up for you!"
"Erlang can also help carry it."
"And then there's Chunhua. Chunhua can not only help her aunt carry things, but she can also help her aunt eat..."
Su Hua's lips twitched upon hearing this. If it weren't for Su Bai's intervention, these little brats would have wanted to go to Fuhu Mountain with her.
“These are not heavy, I will carry them for Miss Su.” Yu Feng, who was standing to the side, picked up the basket on the ground and put it on his back. He then turned to look at Su Baishi and said, “If Aunt Su has anything else to carry, you can give it to me as well. For us martial artists, this weight is nothing.”
"Oh, good child, good child, it's a good thing you're here, otherwise I would have been worried sick about Hua'er going to Fuhu Mountain today." Upon seeing this, Su Bai's face immediately lit up with a smile, and she then asked Zhao to pack a large bag of fried loach in the kitchen and put it in her basket.
"Feel free to eat whatever you like. When we get back, your aunt will make you hot pot."
Upon hearing this, Yu Feng nodded in agreement, a slight smile appearing on his usually cold and hard face. "Don't worry, Auntie, I will take good care of Miss Su and make sure she doesn't get hurt in the slightest."
"Yes, yes, yes, I'm relieved to hear that." Madam Su Bai replied three times in a row.
He went on and on about the things to be careful about on the mountain.
Although it was the same few sentences over and over again, Su Hua still felt a mix of warmth and bitterness in her heart. Once the matter of the Red Cloud Flower was over, she would stop running around and try to stay at home as much as possible to spend time with her mother.
After the two men and two tigers officially set off, another incense stick's worth of time had passed.
It is now around 5:00 AM.
Before the sun rose, the foot of Fuhu Mountain was almost entirely shrouded in thick fog. Su Hua sat on Da Niu's back, and in just a short while, her hair and eyebrows were covered with a layer of damp white. The two tigers, one big and one small, in her arms were also soaking wet.
The fog didn't dissipate much until we were almost inside the mountain we had passed through the day before.
As for Yu Feng, who flew using his light-footed skills, Su Hua would have almost forgotten he existed if it weren't for the occasional sound of his toes hitting tree branches. Compared to the talkative Yu Yu, Yu Feng was clearly more like his master in personality; an hour had passed and he hadn't uttered a single word.
That's good too. The wild animals in Fuhu Mountain live in dens, and with Yu Feng, a martial arts expert, around, aside from the inconvenience of using the space, the safety factor can be said to be greatly improved.
Seeing that Su Hua had stopped, Yu Feng also flew down from the tree branch. "Miss Su, are you hungry?"
After saying that, he tried to take off his basket and take out some food.
"No, no." Su Hua quickly waved her hand. She had been forced by Su Bai to eat two large bowls of beef noodles for breakfast, so she wasn't hungry so quickly.
She pursed her lips and took out a map of Fuhu Mountain from her bosom. "Yesterday I searched all the way up from the foot of the mountain to the belly of Fuhu Mountain, but I didn't see a trace of the Red Cloud Flower. Let's try a different approach today."
Yu Feng remained silent, listening quietly to what she was about to say.
"There are seven high-altitude peaks in this Fuhu Mountain. Red trumpet flowers mostly grow in high-altitude areas, so it is obviously more likely that there are red trumpet flowers on the mountaintop. Let's go to the mountaintop first, and then slowly go down to find the belly. In this way, it is more likely that we can run through all seven peaks in one day."
"Alright, I'll do whatever you say, Miss." Yu Feng nodded, a barely perceptible smile flashing in his eyes.
The punishment they were given was to run laps at the foot of Fuhu Mountain. This was their first time inside the mountain. Since entering the mountain, they had encountered more than a dozen wild animals. Yet, Su Hua, a young girl, was willing to risk her life again and again for her master. Her dedication alone was unmatched.
His master has suffered for so many years, and finally a glimmer of hope has appeared.
Da Niu was fast on her feet and covered a mountain peak in almost half an hour. Along the way, Su Hua encountered many medicinal herbs, such as Dendrobium officinale and Panax notoginseng, which grew in large patches. However, she simply noted their locations on the map and did not waste time on them.
As they approached the fourth and highest peak, which was located in the center of the seven peaks and whose summit seemed to reach the clouds, Su Hua suddenly felt that the big girl beneath her was acting strangely.
Even the big white dog in her arms began to howl softly.
"Meow... Roar... Meow roar..."
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