Chapter 98 Didn't you promise me you wouldn't see him alone?
I wonder if the Li people and snakes have all practiced drifting. The snake just now did, and so does this Li boy. It was clearly over there, but in the blink of an eye, it was right in front of me.
Qin Suisui and the others stood up unconsciously. Before they could speak, a plain-colored rattan bag was thrust straight in front of them.
Qin Suisui was taken aback, then pointed at herself: "This thing, for me?"
The Li ethnic boy nodded and then handed the other two rattan bags to Jia Zhenzhen and Zanzan in the same manner.
After confirming that all three had accepted the items, the Li ethnic minority boy, who hadn't spoken until now, suddenly opened his mouth and said something. He spoke in the Li language, which sounded like "garbled gibberish" to Qin Suisui.
Seeing that they seemed not to understand, the Li ethnic boy quickly glanced at the gibbon beside him. The gibbon understood and started chattering away at Zan Zan.
Zan Zan nodded, then turned to Qin Suisui and Jia Zhenzhen: "This big brother said that he gave us these things to express his apology. He also told us to leave the Wild Forest as soon as it gets light, because it's very dangerous there, and we should never come back again."
Qin Suisui quickly nodded her thanks to the boy. Then, as if remembering something, she suddenly looked up and stared intently at him: "Do you know where there is any Torreya grandis?" The Li people travel through the wild forests year-round, and their medicinal herbs are quite famous. Perhaps the boy really does know where there is Torreya grandis. If he can give her directions, it will save her a lot of trouble!
Upon hearing Qin Suisui's question, the boy quickly frowned. Qin Suisui thought he hadn't understood and was about to ask the gibbon to help "translate" when she heard the boy utter a few words that sounded very unfriendly.
Does he understand Chinese?
Qin Suisui immediately understood and hurriedly explained, "We are different from the previous herb gatherers. We are not here to cause damage. The three of us are military dependents and work in a military hospital. The military hospital has established a rare medicinal herb plantation. We came in to look for Torreya grandis in order to revive these endangered medicinal plants. I promise that we will only take the seeds and will not cause any damage."
As she spoke, she hurriedly took out her identification document from the military hospital to show him.
Jia Zhenzhen seemed to understand but not quite, but she still took out her identification along with Qin Suisui.
Qin Suisui, deeply engrossed in medicinal herb research, naturally knew that the Li people relied on nature for survival and held it in extreme reverence. However, in recent years, due to human interference and destruction, many plants and medicinal herbs have faced extinction, especially around the wild forests, where numerous illegal herb gatherers have been collecting rare herbs to sell on the black market, leading to the extinction of countless medicinal plants. This is why some Li people have chosen to live apart from other groups in the tropical rainforest.
The fact that the boy could understand Chinese meant that he wasn't a complete primitive and had some understanding of the outside world. That's why she suggested the name of the military hospital. After all, in this era, everyone, regardless of who they are, will have a natural trust in soldiers.
Sure enough, upon hearing Qin Suisui's words and seeing the proof she produced, the boy hesitated for a moment before looking directly into Qin Suisui's eyes.
Qin Suisui dared not blink, for fear that if she blinked, he would take it as a sign of guilt and stare straight at her.
After staring for a minute, just as Qin Suisui's eyes were starting to sting and she was about to cry, the boy suddenly nodded heavily. Then he pointed in a direction and led the way.
Qin Suisui understood and signaled to Jia Zhenzhen. The two quickly extinguished the fire, picked up the things on the ground, and followed the boy deeper into the woods.
The sky was bright now, and the morning sun shone through the layers of tree canopy, falling on people without feeling scorching. After a night of darkness, this sunlight brought a sense of clarity and joy to the heart.
"Wow! It's so hot! How much longer do we have to walk?"
The bright morning sunlight lasted for less than an hour before the temperature quickly rose. The dense foliage emitted steam, turning the forest into a giant steamer once again.
The Li ethnic minority boy was still leading the way, occasionally looking back to see if they were keeping up.
If the gibbon hadn't been following them the whole time, Qin Suisui would have almost thought that this boy was going to kidnap them and take them back to his tribe to kill them.
Lost in thought, Qin Suisui didn't notice that they were descending lower and lower ground, and the air was getting cooler. It wasn't until a giant waterfall appeared before her that she realized she was facing a huge V-shaped canyon. This massive waterfall cascaded down from above, crashing against the rocks with a loud "crashing" sound, before gathering at the bottom to form a crystal-clear stream that flowed gently away.
If it weren't for the absence of that deep, dark blue pool beneath the waterfall, Qin Suisui would have immediately thought that this might be the stream in her own space.
The Li ethnic boy pointed to the top of the canyon. Qin Suisui looked in the direction he was pointing and saw two tower-shaped trees, each more than ten meters tall, with grayish-brown bark that resembled the texture of crocodile skin.
It's a corn torreya!
Qin Suisui recognized him at a glance!
These two Torreya trees are positioned too high, and the surrounding valley is covered in moss, making it difficult to climb up. Moreover, each tree is over ten meters tall, and the seeds are growing on them. It would be great if we could release the rhubarb...
While Qin Suisui was still worrying, the Li ethnic minority boy had already strode towards the top of the canyon. What was slippery moss and steep rock walls for ordinary people was like flat ground for him. He was more agile than a monkey, and without taking any safety precautions, he easily climbed to the top of the canyon.
After he came to a stop, he looked up at the thick trunk, seemingly measuring the distance, and then quickly hugged the straight trunk and scrambled up it, disappearing into the layers of leaves.
Jia Zhenzhen gasped, "Sui Sui, is this a human? How can it be more agile than a monkey?"
Qin Suisui was also shocked. Her grandfather was obsessed with ancient martial arts and often made her practice all sorts of random moves when he was alive. But this boy looked even more professional than her grandfather. Could it be that he had also practiced martial arts?
Only Zan Zan, who didn't understand anything, clapped his hands and cheered from below: "Wow! Brother is so amazing! Brother is even more amazing than the big monkey!"
The gibbon, who was standing nearby, was very dissatisfied and started babbling at Zan Zan while pulling at his face.
While Qin Suisui was busy "breaking up the fight," the Li ethnic boy came down, holding a handful of red, oval-shaped seeds, and handed them to Qin Suisui.
Qin Suisui's eyes lit up; they were Torreya grandis seeds! And they were already mature seeds! There were more than a dozen in this handful!
She accepted the gift with both hands, her face beaming with joy, but she couldn't help but thank the Li ethnic youth. This young man was too kind; he not only brought them here but also offered to help them pick seeds!
Perhaps it was because her smile was so sincere and radiant that the Li ethnic minority boy, who was being led along, unconsciously let a smile appear on his usually tense face.
After parting ways with the Li ethnic minority boy, Jia Zhenzhen was still muttering to herself, "Sui Sui, I think that boy is also smitten with you. The way he smiled was so sweet, like he was head over heels in love!"
After saying that, he cupped Qin Suisui's face and rubbed it: "That's right, who wouldn't be captivated by Suisui's beauty! If I were a man, I would definitely compete with Pei Jiuyan for her!"
Qin Suisui slapped her hand away and handed her the fish that had been grilling over the fire: "Eat quickly, it's already noon, let's go back right away after we finish eating! I smell bad, I need to go back and take a shower!"
Jia Zhenzhen laughed heartily, stuffing fish into her mouth while opening the rattan bag the Li ethnic minority boy had given her. She had been too embarrassed to open it while he was there.
"Hey, I have to say, this rattan bag is actually quite nice, and it's lightweight too!"
Qin Suisui recognized this rattan weaving. It was hand-woven from natural white rattan and was a handicraft with distinctive Li ethnic characteristics. It was not only waterproof and insect-proof, but also could not rot for hundreds of years, making it very sturdy and durable.
Opening the rattan bag, Qin Suisui found a bark coat, a piece of dried venison, a small jar of wild longan honey, and several small jars of Li medicine. She picked them up, smelled them, and immediately smiled – snake medicine! All sorts of snake medicine! With these snake medicines, she could cure almost 95% of the snake venom on Qiongtan Island!
This is a really good item! She has to take it back and study it carefully to see if she can replicate it!
They had already ventured deep into the heart of the wild forest. Fortunately, with the gibbon leading the way, the three of them finally emerged from the wild forest around 2 PM, and Qin Suisui couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Looking at Zan Zan, who was still reluctantly saying goodbye to the gibbons at the entrance of the forest, with a full basket, a sack full of medicinal herbs, wild vegetables and mushrooms, and a rattan bag, I couldn't help but laugh again. Although this trip was full of dangers, it was very rewarding, wasn't it?
After returning home, Qin Suisui took a shower, put Zanzan down for a nap, and then rode her bicycle straight to the black market in East Third Alley. This afternoon was the time she had arranged with Liang Qi to pick up the piglets. She had to hurry; the piglets were in high demand, and if someone else bought them first, she would lose out.
She was riding her bike fast and concentrating on her thoughts, so she didn't notice that several figures were slowly walking towards her from the other side of the residential compound. One of them even called out to her softly, but she didn't hear them...
When Qin Suisui arrived at the black market in East Third Alley, Liang Qi was already waiting there. Seeing her arrive, he gave her a nonchalant smile: "You're right on time!"
Without wasting words, Qin Suisui looked at the two pink piglets being held by the person behind him, went up to check them, and after confirming that the piglets were both healthy and that one was male and the other female, she didn't waste any more words and directly took out some money from her pocket and handed it to Liang Qi.
Liang Qi took the money and had someone put the two piglets into a snakeskin bag and hand it to Qin Suisui.
The two piglets weren't heavy, and Qin Suisui hoisted them onto her shoulder, ready to leave. Suddenly, she heard someone outside shout, "Run! Red armbands are coming!"
Qin Suisui was shocked. No way? So unlucky! She hadn't even had a chance to put the piglet into her spatial storage yet!
Forget it! The most important thing now is to get out of here! We're still near the black market, and she's carrying piglets; if we're discovered, she'll definitely be arrested!
The shouts outside must have startled the piglets, because the two little ones started struggling in the sack, constantly bumping against Qin Suisui's back. Although the piglets were small, the two of them weighed several dozen kilograms together. Qin Suisui was so startled by their sudden impact that she stumbled and almost lost her balance.
The next second, her wrist was suddenly grabbed, and Liang Qi's voice came from beside her ear: "Come with me!"
After saying that, he quickly pulled her through the alley.
Qin Suisui tried to struggle. Although there was a sleeve between them, she was not used to having intimate contact with other men. But the more she struggled, the tighter Liang Qi held on and the faster he ran.
Qin Suisui thought to herself, "He must have recognized me."
After spending a day and a half in the wild forest, Qin Suisui went straight to the black market without resting. She was exhausted. Seeing that they had run far away, Liang Qi was still pulling her along. Frustrated, she threw the piglet on the ground and took out a silver needle with her other hand, stabbing it hard into the nerve in Liang Qi's wrist.
Liang Qi's arm went numb instantly, but he still didn't let go. However, his hands had lost all strength by now. Qin Suisui forcefully pulled her hand away and said coldly, "Please don't lay a hand on me!"
Then she took a few steps back and turned around to pick up the piglets.
As soon as she turned around, her face bumped into a solid wall of flesh. The "wall of flesh" reached out and skillfully pulled her into its arms. A cold yet familiar voice came from above her head: "Didn't you promise me you wouldn't see him alone?"
Qin Suisui was taken aback. She turned around and looked up, only to see Pei Jiuyan staring at Liang Qi across from her with a sullen face.
Liang Qi looked back at him.
Qin Suisui paid no attention to the confrontation between the two men. She looked at the person lingering not far away, and her originally furrowed brows gradually turned cold...
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