Mo Jiuye had once doubted whether she was the real He Zhiran. But just now when he saw her parents coming to see her off, he could ascertain that this was the genuine daughter of the He family.
While Mo Jiuye was lost in thought, He Zhiran had already carefully begun searching in the bushes.
Although the banded krait was quite toxic, its body was full of treasures. It would be great if more banded kraits could be found.
She could then find an opportunity to extract the snake's venom and make it into a self-defense poison.
The people of the other families also saw He Zhiran and the officers fighting the snake.
Suspecting there might be more snakes around, some of the women and children were already screaming in terror.
The bolder men had no choice but to follow He Zhiran's example, find some sturdy branches nearby, and search the bushes to prevent being bitten by snakes while sleeping at night.
The officers did not object to the actions of the criminals. After all, they would also spend the night here and it was better to be safer.
However, the criminals could search but not leave their sight.
In fact, He Zhiran went to search the surroundings for more than one purpose.
Just now at the place where she argued with the officers, she discovered herbs in the bushes nearby.
On the road to exile, it was hard to guarantee her family would not suffer from some aches and pains. She could not keep taking modern medicines from her space for them.
If asked about it, she would have to rack her brains to explain.
But wild herbs she gathered would arouse no suspicion as they were from this time period.
Even if these herbs could not specifically treat their conditions, she would have a reasonable explanation for taking medicine from her space.
As He Zhiran looked for herbs, her progress was naturally slower than the others.
Seeing He Zhiran falling behind, several sisters-in-law and Mo Hanyue worried she might encounter danger alone.
The eldest sister-in-law could no longer sit still.
"I'll go see the Ninth younger sister."
"I'll go too."
"I'll go too."
The other sisters-in-law also stood up.
Mo Hanyue looked at Old Lady Mo and saw she did not object, so she joined them.
The group ran up to He Zhiran and saw her using her clothes to hold a large pile of grass.
"Ninth sister-in-law, weren't you looking for snakes? Why did you pull up so much grass?" Mo Hanyue asked.
"These are all commonly used medicinal herbs. I thought we might need them on the road, so I gathered some."
When Mo Hanyue heard these were actually medicinal herbs, her eyes lit up at once.
"Ninth sister-in-law, you said these are medicinal herbs?"
He Zhiran nodded and randomly picked up a medicinal plant to patiently explain, "This is called ku di zi. It has the effect of clearing heat and detoxifying. This is che qian cao. It can not only treat illnesses but can also be used for cooking..."
As Mo Hanyue listened to her ninth sister-in-law, she became more and more interested.
"Ninth sister-in-law, I've remembered all the medicinal herbs you mentioned. I'll help you gather them too."
Although the eight sisters-in-law did not ask as many questions as Mo Hanyue, they also listened carefully to He Zhiran's explanations.
"Ninth younger sister, we'll help too."
By the time the officers called for everyone to come back, no banded kraits were found, but the ten Mo women had gathered a lot of herbs to take back.
At this moment, Mo Hanyue had already cast off the gloom of not having mantou earlier. She went to Old Lady Mo to show off her spoils.
"Mother, look at all the medicinal herbs I gathered."
Old Lady Mo lovingly stroked her head.
"Your ninth sister-in-law is a wise one. You should learn from her in the future."
"I understand, Mother."
While there was still light out, the sisters-in-law and Mo Hanyue worked together to clean and categorize the medicinal herbs as He Zhiran had instructed.
The people of the other families looked disdainfully at the actions of the Mo women.
"It looks like the Mo family has really gone crazy from hunger, bringing back so much wild grass. Don't tell me they're planning to eat it?"
"Tsk tsk, they really are bold. Aren't they afraid those plants are poisonous?"
"It would be even better if they were poisonous. If the Mo people were poisoned to death, it would avenge us."
Because of the distance, the Mo family did not hear the muted voices.
He Zhiran had just finished laying out all the processed medicinal herbs on the open ground when shouts were heard from the officers' side.
"Boss, what's wrong with you?"
"Someone come quick, the boss can't breathe..."
Everyone looked in the direction of the officers.
They saw several officers surrounding Peng Wang.
"Don't tell me the snake that bit the boss just now really was venomous?"
Hearing this suspicion, the officers instantly recalled He Zhiran's warning.
Someone decisively made a decision.
"Quick, carry the boss to find that articulate Mo woman."
Life was at stake, so none of the officers dared to delay. They hurriedly carried Peng Wang toward the Mo family.
The officers' words were heard by the Mo family.
Their gazes uniformly fell on He Zhiran.
"He, act within your capabilities," Old Lady Mo reminded.
From He Zhiran leading the Mo women to gather herbs just now, it seemed she understood some medicine.
However, Peng Wang being bitten by a venomous snake was not something that could be handled with just some medicinal knowledge.
If Peng Wang really died, these officers might push responsibility onto He Zhiran in order to find someone to blame.
Of course He Zhiran understood the meaning behind her mother-in-law's reminder.
"Mother, don't worry, I won't casually intervene."
As she spoke, the officers had already carried Peng Wang to the Mo family's location.
"Lady He, say your snakebite treatment method again."
He Zhiran expressionlessly looked at the people, speaking slowly and deliberately.
"The method I described is only useful right after being bitten by the snake."
"Then what should be done now?" The officer was anxious.
He Zhiran knew that after being bitten by a banded krait, a person would not die so quickly.
Therefore, she deliberately slowed her movements, ambling toward Peng Wang at a snail's pace. Her goal was to make the officers anxious.
Sure enough, seeing her slow movements made the officer angry.
"Hurry up, what should be done?"
Even when urged, He Zhiran was not annoyed. She simply stood in place and did not move.
"Now you are asking me for help. Is this how you ask people for favors?"
These officers were used to domineering and showing off before prisoners. He Zhiran did not want to continue indulging them.
The road ahead was still long. She did not want to live watching their faces every day.
She had to take this opportunity to let these officers recognize that she, He Zhiran, was not someone who could be casually intimidated into compromising.
Seeing this, Zhang Qing wanted to continue scolding, and had habitually reached for the whip coiled at his waist.
The Eighth Old Zhou promptly stopped him.
"The boss's life comes first."
Zhang Qing immediately halted his actions, glaring fiercely at He Zhiran but not speaking again.
The Eighth Old Zhou stood up, "Name any conditions you want."
He Zhiran was in no hurry to propose conditions. As a professional doctor, the first thing she had to do was understand the patient's condition.
