After cleaning up the place, the two prepared to continue walking to the end of the medicine valley.
Suddenly, Silver Fox said to Li Lanzhen.
"Auntie, wait for me here for a moment."
No sooner had he finished speaking than he rushed out, and upon closer inspection, he had already leaped onto the mountainside east of Medicine Valley.
Once he found a place to step and settled down, he saw the silver fox stretch out its hand as if trying to grab something.
Li Lanzhen looked closely and saw that a clump of grass was growing in a crevice on the mountain wall.
No, it should be herbs!
From a distance, the sunlight shines on the clump of herbs, making the leaves lush and green, with tiny golden flowers blooming among the green leaves.
Silver Fox picked the herbs and, like a nimble goat, leaped and bounded, clutching the herbs tightly in his hand, quickly running to her.
"Auntie, please put these herbs into the secret place."
Li Lanzhen reached out, and the herbs disappeared.
Seeing Silver Fox's excited expression, Li Lanzhen asked.
"Is this also the herb used to detoxify the Crown Prince?"
"Yes, Auntie, we're just missing this one herb. I searched all over here but couldn't find it. I thought I'd have to go to other mountains to look for it, but I never expected it to grow on a cliff."
Li Lanzhen was also happy.
"We'll head towards the end of the Medicine Valley later and see if there are any left. If so, we'll transplant them into the dense medicinal fields."
"Okay, Auntie, let's go then."
Li Lanzhen discovered this gourd-shaped medicinal valley, but upon reaching the bottom, she found many medicinal herbs she did not recognize.
I only know one kind, and that is wild ginseng!
"Silver Fox, have you noticed how many wild ginsengs there are here!"
It feels like they were planted in a specific, predictable pattern.
Silver Fox frowned as well. "That's right. I've noticed it too. Not only do the wild ginseng show signs of being deliberately planted, but so do the other herbs. And these are all precious medicinal materials."
Li Lanzhen stood among the herbs, looked around, and confirmed it once again.
"It is indeed very strange. Look, there are still patches of field ridges here."
However, due to the passage of time and lack of management, the medicinal herb seeds fell to the ground on their own and then grew again.
That's why it grew into such a desolate place.
Has anyone ever lived here?
"Auntie, let's be careful and go check behind the medicine valley."
Li Lanzhen held an axe in both hands and carried a basket on her back as she slowly walked through the medicinal herb field.
The further you go, the more obvious the traces of artificial cultivation of medicinal herbs become.
When they arrived at the end of the medicinal valley, they became even more certain that people had once lived here. The medicinal herbs in the valley were planted by humans, which meant that there were people living in this valley!
Because in front of them appeared a whole row of houses built of stone!
"Auntie, you stay behind me, let's not separate, let's go in and check."
"Okay, Silver Fox, you should also be careful."
The two of them started by inspecting the stone houses on the west side, one by one.
The first stone house should have been a kitchen; the stone stove is still there, but the pot is no longer on it.
The entire house, including the cabinet platform built with stones and wooden blocks, is still there.
There is a large main hall at the front, which is probably where people eat or receive guests.
The other eight stone houses should all be bedrooms.
There were no beds made of wood; they were all made of stones, resembling a C-shaped bed, filled with mud, and covered with straw mats.
The straw mat was covered in dust and was severely damaged.
They inspected more than a dozen houses but found no signs of recent habitation.
After they came out, they stood in the courtyard again.
Silver Fox, upon seeing this, seemed lost in thought.
Li Lanzhen called him twice, but he didn't respond.
Left with no other choice, Li Lianzhen tugged at his arm.
"Silver Fox, what are you thinking about? It doesn't look like anyone lives here."
At the very least, no one has lived here for years.
Silver Fox seemed to snap out of his daze when Li Lianzhen tugged at his arm.
"Yes, Auntie's guess is right. No one has lived here for at least three to five years."
"Silver Fox, what were you thinking about just now?"
Silver Fox glanced at Li Lianzhen, then fixed his gaze on the row of stone houses, lost in thought.
"Auntie, I'm thinking that this might be a medicine valley specially built here by some family of doctors."
If my sister were still alive, she would definitely know, but...
His eyes reddened as he spoke.
Li Lanzhen knew that he was thinking of his older sister again.
Li Lanzhen patted his arm and comforted him.
"Alright, Silver Fox, you've avenged your sister and the others. Put aside your hatred, raise Su Chen well, and live a good life together."
Silver Fox tilted her head back, blinked, and forced back the tears in her eyes.
"Yes! Auntie, you're right. I will raise Su Chen well."
He was my sister's only family, and also my only family.
Knowing that no one lived here and there should be no danger, the two of them relaxed and wandered around to take a look.
Silver Fox went to the herb field again to search for the medicinal herbs he needed.
Li Lanzhen entered the central hall and looked around. She found that the house looked simple and unadorned from the outside, but from the inside, she could tell that the people who built these stone houses must have been very clever and had some knowledge of architecture.
All the stones and the crevices between them were filled with moss.
Li Lanzhen guessed that the middle was originally filled with thatch or sawdust.
Then moss was stuffed in, and once the moss grew, it filled the gaps between the stones.
This way, it keeps you warm and looks beautiful too.
Moreover, this valley of medicinal herbs shouldn't be too cold in winter.
In the middle of the house, there was a large stone slab covered with dust and leaves.
It was supported by six stones underneath, forming a stone table.
There were stones and tree stumps all around.
Li Lanzhen took out half a bucket of water from her spatial storage, and then took out a cloth to wipe the stone table and stools clean.
After wiping them down, the table, stone benches, and wooden stools were still not very clean, and the water in the wooden bucket was already quite dirty.
Li Lanzhen splashed the water outside, then took out another half bucket of water and used it to wipe the water clean.
At this moment, she noticed a pattern, or totem, on the upper left corner of the stone table.
She rubbed it with her hand and found it quite pretty. Then she found the same mark on the stone bench.
At this point, you can start to get a little curious.
If there is one on the stone table, it is probably carved by someone casually for some reason.
But if there are such marks on the stone bench, then it means that these marks may represent some kind of meaning.
Li Lanzhen became interested and decided to go and look for it.
She first went into the east bedroom, and wiped any stones or stone walls with a damp cloth to check them.
Later, there was a larger square pattern in the center of the back wall of this room.
Li Lanzhen is now certain that this pattern must represent something.
She wiped the pattern clean, one stroke at a time.
Only then did I realize that it was the traditional Chinese character for "华" (Hua), which means "Chinese nation"!
She felt like she had seen this character somewhere before. She traced the strokes of the character with her hand, slowly, stroke by stroke.
As her hand made the final stroke, there was a loud cracking sound.
The back wall had opened up from the middle, revealing a dark hole.
Cave entrance!
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