Oldest Xie still led the way at the front of the group. After walking for a while, probably either from exhaustion or not watching his path, he stumbled and nearly fell over.
Upon regaining his balance, he realized he had tripped over a rock. Oldest Xie gave the rock that had stubbed his foot a kick, sending it flying.
The rock struck a larger rock and shattered into fragments that scattered, gleaming a dull yellow in the sunlight.
"Huh?" Gu Jiu exclaimed and ran over to examine the shattered pieces. She picked up a fragment, smelled it, and detected a faint odor. She immediately became excited - this was a piece of realgar ore.
Gu Jiu quickly called out to Oldest Xie, "Big brother, have everyone stop for a moment. We've found some realgar ore here that can be ground into powder to repel snakes."
Upon hearing it could fend off snakes, Oldest Xie promptly ordered everyone to halt. Once they entered the ancient forest, there would surely be many reptiles and insects. If a venomous snake bit someone while they slept at night, what would they do?
The surrounding villagers gathered around, with one asking, "So this is realgar ore? How do we use it?"
Another remarked, "I've seen others buy realgar from apothecaries before, but who knew this mountain had it too?"
Gu Jiu bent down, found another piece, and held it up for all to see. "This is realgar ore. If we grind it into powder, it can repel snakes. Realgar is also an herbal medicine ingredient that apothecaries procure."
"Can we sell it for money?" a villager immediately seized on the key point.
Gu Jiu nodded affirmatively.
Oldest Xie mercilessly crushed the villagers' get-rich dreams. "Even if you could sell it for a hundred taels of silver, you'd have to be able to transport it first. Don't fantasize - this stuff is heavy as lead. If we carry too much, we won't be able to travel. Having just enough to repel insects and reptiles will suffice."
The crowd sighed, acknowledging the village chief spoke reason. Each family was already laden with rations and essential supplies - it was unrealistic to haul a bunch of rocks as well.
They could only collect a small quantity for use on the journey. Everyone searched the vicinity, letting Gu Jiu verify their finds before pocketing the approved pieces with delight.
There were quite a few large chunks of realgar ore in this area. While others sought out smaller, more portable pieces, Gu Jiu deliberately sought the larger ones, slipping them into her spatial bag when no one was watching.
Realgar ore was a precious commodity - key ingredient for medicines like Bezoar Detoxifying Pill, Peaceful Palace Pill with Bezoar, Six Gentlemen Pill, and Mind Purifying Six Gentlemen Pill.
Once everyone had gathered enough for the journey, they resumed traveling and planned to grind the realgar into powder during rest stops.
Upon truly entering the forest, they found the path became more level, though overgrown with wild grasses. Finally, the beasts of burden came in handy.
Mrs. Gao was helped onto a donkey, while Third Xie led the donkey carrying their baggage.
Gu Jiu and Xie Siyu were also hoisted onto horses by Xie Zhan.
Feeling a bit self-conscious, Gu Jiu said, "I can walk. Let Mrs. Xu and Siyu ride the horses instead - Mrs. Xu isn't feeling well."
Since Mrs. Xu's pregnancy was unconfirmed, Gu Jiu only said she was unwell.
Second Xie immediately turned to look at Mrs. Xu. "What's wrong with you?"
Blushing slightly, Mrs. Xu chided, "It's nothing. Jiu is just being a worrywart."
She told Gu Jiu, "Just ride, dear. I'm in better shape than you."
Still unconvinced, Second Xie walked beside Mrs. Xu and whispered, "Tell me if anything's really wrong. Let me know early if you have any issues."
Mrs. Xu leaned in close to Second Xie's ear and quietly told him, "Jiu said I might be pregnant."
Second Xie's eyes lit up. "Really? How many months along are you?"
Embarrassed, Mrs. Xu said, "I'm still not sure if it's true or not. Jiu said it's also possible my monthly course is coming soon."
Even so, Second Xie was overjoyed. Their Third had already turned seven, and these past few years, he hadn't seen Mrs. Xu become pregnant again.
It was quite strange for their Xie family. Their mother Mrs. Gao had given birth to all six of their brothers in succession, yet the brothers seemed unable to continue that fertility. The eldest and the third each only had one child without any more. He was luckier with two children, but then it stopped as well.
After many years, the Xie family finally had another joyous occasion in sight.
"It would be wonderful if we have a daughter this time."
Mrs. Xu felt wistful as well. "It would be great if she turned out as lovely as Jiu."
Second Xie gazed at Gu Jiu's back and said, "If that were the case, I might just laugh myself awake from my dreams. No, wait - girls shouldn't be too beautiful or they'll attract unwanted attention. As long as she's a bit plainer than Jiu, that would be fine."
Suddenly worried for his hypothetical daughter, he became overprotective like his late father-in-law.
Distressed to see Second Xie fretting, Mrs. Xu grabbed her bundle back from him since he was already shouldering their household's bedding.
She chided him, "Mother made sure I packed light this morning. This only contains our modest clothes - how heavy could it be? In our village, what woman is so delicate? All of them keep working the fields even when they're about to give birth. Look at Third Zhang's wife - she's five months along but still carrying her bedroll, right? And who's to say I'm even pregnant yet?"
...
Oldest Xie divided the village's able-bodied men into groups to take turns leading and clearing the path ahead to ensure they headed the right direction. Otherwise, the whole group might become lost in the vast ancient forest.
The men walked at the perimeter, guarding against wild beasts and reptiles, while the elderly, children, and women walked in the middle.
Having truly entered the ancient forest, Gu Jiu felt she had arrived in heaven. Medicinal herbs could be seen everywhere around them. Though none were particularly rare yet, the environment suggested many extraordinary plants should exist here.
Perhaps before even exiting the forest, she could gather all the herbal ingredients Mrs. Gao required.
The ancient forest was filled with larch, pine, banyan, and other tall trees whose dense canopy blocked out the sun, creating a moist environment with deep soil made of years of decaying leaves - perfect for growing medicinal plants.
She unhesitatingly dismounted her horse, borrowed a basket from Mrs. Zhang, and began collecting herbs as they traveled, immediately storing any with good potency into her spatial realm to cultivate later when she had privacy.
She did not forget her plan to make mosquito repellent oil or cooling medicated oil. The forest's summer insects were simply too numerous. While they could fumigate with mugwort at night, some mosquitoes would inevitably slip through, biting them.
She had picked pennyroyal by the creek yesterday and only needed to gather the remaining herbal ingredients before starting to compound the medicines.
It was such a pity she could not bring her spatial realm's engineering tools outside, or the work would be much easier.
As they progressed, the trees became denser and more massive, their towering branches casting deep shadows that dimmed the sunlight filtering through. They had fully entered the ancient forest.
The periodic calls of crows pierced the air, occasionally mixed with the muffled roars of unknown beasts or stretches of profound silence. Verdant scenery engulfed their vision, accented by twisted ancient trees, fallen branches, and scattered skeletons. Rays of sunlight slipped through openings high above, forming ethereal columns that combined both vibrant life and eerie gloom, a spiritual realm intermixed with a demonic realm.
Such an environment instilled oppressive unease, leaving no one daring to speak. Only the sounds of footsteps crunching on twigs and leaves could be heard, as if unknown dangers lurked hidden within the enveloping forest, striking fear into their hearts.
Unable to withstand the pressure any longer, a child from one of the families began to softly sob, "Mother, I'm scared."
A woman's gentle voice soothed in response, "Don't be afraid. Mother's here, Father's here too. Mother and Father will protect you."
