An Moxue said, "I have an idea. Let's make some potent sleeping incense. It might make clearing the way easier. I only brought some this time, so I'm afraid it won't be enough. I'll have to find some more herbs."
"I agree."
"I agree. But are these medicinal herbs easy to find in these mountains?"
An Moxue smiled confidently and said, "There are many medicinal herbs in this mountain. Some of them have obvious signs of cultivation. We don't need them. We can just go and dig them up. I haven't moved these past few days because I was afraid of being discovered. But since we're going to take action, we shouldn't be afraid of being discovered. However, we still need to be discreet."
Xu Qingfeng said, "I'll contact my superiors to report on the next steps and see how they plan to proceed. Do you have anything to add?"
Wu Sicheng said, "What we are doing is actually very risky, but I always feel a sense of urgency. Our comrades can't wait any longer. I'm afraid that if we act too slowly, we won't be able to save them. Now we can only take a gamble. Now we are sure that some of the people in the town are likely from Maple Leaf Temple, but if they stay behind, they must be experts or very clever people. No matter what kind they are, they will not be easy to deal with."
Xu Qingfeng said, "We can only conduct a detailed investigation once the main force arrives. Our top priority is to find our seventy-eight missing comrades. Let's do that first. I'll send a message and contact the comrades in town. How about you go and collect medicinal herbs?"
“Okay.” An Moxue and Wu Sicheng agreed.
The three of them split up. An Moxue, with Wu Sicheng in tow, took small hoes and waded through the woods. An Moxue gave instructions, and Wu Sicheng worked together. They quickly dug up enough medicinal herbs to use.
Next, the two returned to Maple Leaf Temple. An Moxue found a secluded, dark room where no one in the temple would discover them. Inside, the two began processing medicinal herbs to make the sleeping potion and antidote.
Wu Sicheng watched as An Moxue took out one tiny medical tool after another from her backpack and asked with a smile, "Did you know you were coming to the mountains and forests? Didn't you worry that it would be a barren mountain with nothing?"
"No, I heard about this temple by chance a few years ago, and I looked up the surrounding area. It's a great place for medicinal herbs," An Moxue said confidently.
"Come help me quickly!" An Moxue handed him a medicine grinder and said, "Grind these into powder. You can use your internal energy; it'll be faster."
Wu Sicheng dared not be negligent. He did whatever An Moxue asked him to do quickly and obediently. An Moxue praised him, "You're so obedient!"
Wu Sicheng chuckled inwardly. They were treating him like a child. But why should a grown man argue with a woman? He should just focus on his work.
"Do you think we can find our comrades?" Wu Sicheng asked.
“I don’t know, but these past two days, I’ve sometimes had a vague feeling of being watched. There must be some experts in this temple. But why haven’t they made a move?” This is what An Moxue has been puzzled about.
Wu Sicheng immediately took it seriously and asked, "Did you sense any hostility?"
An Moxue said, "Yes. That's why I'm wondering. What made them discover me but not touch me?"
What is it?
Wu Sicheng considered the current situation in China. An Moxue wasn't in the country, so her feelings about it wouldn't be as profound or obvious as he thought. He voiced his suspicion, saying, "Do you think it's possible that they're stalling for time or waiting for a specific time?"
An Moxue stopped what she was doing and asked, "You mean, they have some big operation they're afraid we'll ruin, so they're just letting us mess around here and buy us time?"
"Hmm, think about it, if this whole town has become their stronghold, what if they have people or informants in the surrounding towns, counties, or cities? Now that we've come here, won't they have some suspicions?"
Hearing him say that, An Moxue felt terrible.
"Then we've already been exposed?"
"It's possible. But even so, we still had to come. We wouldn't know what this place is like if we hadn't come. Now, we just hope that not all of us have been exposed."
"We don't know when reinforcements will arrive?"
"Don't worry, we'll know when Captain Xu comes back this afternoon."
"Hmm. So tell me, are there any trustworthy people left among the local people?"
"It's almost impossible."
"Then how will we deal with these people in the future?"
Wu Sicheng glanced at her and said, "That's not your concern! Think about how to avoid getting injured during this mission!"
What he didn't say was that once these people are verified, they will be placed in a unified location and monitored. It's impossible to let them develop freely; otherwise, how can national security be guaranteed?
An Moxue stopped talking and quickened her pace.
For a moment, the only sound in the secret room was the grinding of medicine. Both of them knew that this might be the last peaceful moment before the operation. After tonight, no one knew what awaited them.
Both of them felt that no mission had ever been as arduous as this one. To this day, they still did not know whether their comrades were still alive.
They were surrounded by enemies, and even children as young as a few years old could be their enemies.
“You tell me, they’ve lived on this land for generations, yet they’re thinking about how to destroy it. What are they after?” An Moxue truly didn’t understand.
Wu Sicheng said bitterly, "It's probably the shamelessness and aggression hidden in their blood! Things that are ingrained in their bones can't be changed by changing their environment. Just like dogs are born to eat excrement and crows are born to eat carrion, they can't change it, it's their nature."
“Right!” An Moxue felt that what he said made sense. Just like a born bad seed, you can’t reform it, it’s impossible.
The two of them prepared the antidote first, six small bottles, one for each person.
An Moxue was quite disgusted with it, and Wu Sicheng laughed, saying, "You made it yourself, and you're still so disgusted with it."
"I made it myself, so what? It doesn't stop me from complaining, hurry up and put it in." An Moxue stood far away, her nose stuffed up, while Wu Sicheng was filling the wooden bottle with the antidote.
"Why are you stuffing your nose? I don't need to." Wu Sicheng asked, puzzled.
"Because I'm not afraid of being drugged, but you are, that's why I made the antidote first. Once the drug is made, you can take the antidote first, and then you won't be afraid of being drugged." Otherwise, who will do the manual labor for her and continue grinding the medicine?
Wu Sicheng, still worried, instructed, "Your medications are all very potent, so be careful when using them in the future, especially these kinds of medications. It's okay abroad, but you must be very careful in China and try not to let others know. Even if you use them tonight, say it's from your department, not that you made them. Remember that, I'll talk to Captain Xu in a bit."
“Okay.” An Moxue glanced at him, her expression meaningful, but he didn’t see it.
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