Chapter 11: Collection

The scorching midday sun baked the earthworms crawling out of the ground into jerky, lying dry across the cracked dirt road.

It felt like the air was thick with the smell of burning.

The two of them trudged through the farmland under the blazing sun.

It was midday—hot and dry.

Most farmers were having lunch and napping at home, so no one noticed the two of them heading up the mountain during the busy farming season.

The mountain path was rugged and winding.

Cao Wen followed behind Manyanyan, watching the person walking neither too far ahead nor too close.

The arm exposed under her loose hemp sleeve looked thin, skin sticking to bone.

Cao Wen lowered his hand and measured silently—he felt like he could snap it with just a bit of force.

If only the enemies on the battlefield had been this delicate, he could’ve cleared out half the field alone…

But then again, under such harsh sunlight, with such a long journey on a steep slope, could someone so frail and reed-like really climb to the mountain top?

If she got tired later, should he carry her up the mountain?

Well, it’s no big deal.

Not to mention one—he could carry three.

As he was thinking, just about to tell Manyanyan to say something if she got tired…he looked up, and she was already halfway up the mountainside!

Manyanyan stood with hands on her hips, glaring at the slow-moving Cao Wen inching along like an old turtle in the scorching sun.

Her brows furrowed.

He even began to doubt how those cherries ever got picked.

Cao Wen awkwardly scratched his nose and jogged to catch up.

Seeing Manyanyan sneaking glances up and down at him, Cao Wen pressed his lips together.

Was she thinking he was too weak to walk properly?

At the thought, he refused to even breathe heavily.

He grabbed the straw hat in his basket and plopped it onto Manyanyan’s head to block her view.

Manyanyan adjusted the brim.

What a weirdo.

It was still early afternoon when they reached the mountain top, but it was clearly much cooler now.

Their sweat-drenched backs felt slightly chilled in the mountain breeze.

There weren’t many people this far out.

It was so quiet they could hear insects and birds clearly.

Cao Wen followed the route the hunter had shown him before and found the wooden cabin in the woods.

“Yang Gang!”

He knocked a few times loudly.

The dull echoes reverberated through the mountains.

But no one answered.

“He’s probably out. I’ll come back on the way down,” he said.

Then he looked at Manyanyan, who was surveying the deep forest.

Now that they were up here, it clearly wasn’t just to return something to the hunter.

“I’m going into the forest to look around. I’ll walk you to the outer ridge first. You can gather some firewood there and wait for me.”

Manyanyan turned around, and he quickly shook his head, dodging slightly to stand beside Cao Wen.

Cao Wen frowned.

He’d been into the deep mountains before—he knew how dangerous it could be.

He didn’t mind taking the risk himself, but why drag her along?

He opened his mouth to persuade her.

But when he looked down and saw her slight frown and pursed lips—

“…Fine, but stay close to me.”

Manyanyan’s brows relaxed immediately, and she nodded quickly.

It was his first time this deep in the mountains.

The plants here were clearly taller and denser than on the outskirts.

The silence made one’s skin crawl.

He hadn’t followed Cao Wen because he was afraid, but because he wanted to see how one could survive in such a place.

If one day he was left with no other choice, maybe this could be a path too.

They took turns using the sickle to clear the path as they walked.

After nearly two incense sticks’ time, the forest opened up.

Manyanyan realized that Cao Wen had led him to a cliff.

The two mountains split apart, and between them was a deep valley.

The cliff faced the sun.

Although it was rocky and the soil wasn’t as thick as in flat forests, many plants still managed to grow.

Most were short vines and herbs, with a few hardy old trees rooted deep in the cliffside, their thick roots exposed.

Cao Wen cut away the nearby weeds with his sickle and put down his basket.

He had already picked all the cherries from the little slope he’d gone to before—there was nothing much left there.

He wouldn’t bother going back.

Last time, on his way home, he had passed this cliff and noticed some goji berries and angelica.

There was always something to harvest from cliffs—high risk, high reward.

Manyanyan, seeing that Cao Wen had set his tools down, understood that he was looking for something nearby.

This cliff got good sunlight and was brighter than the forest center, making it easier to monitor time and spot herbs.

Suddenly, he heard a thump—

Cao Wen had kicked a stone off the cliff.

The rock tumbled rapidly, clashing and bouncing off the sheer wall, breaking into smaller pieces as it fell—and still didn’t reach the bottom after a long while.

If that had been a person instead of a rock, they’d be reduced to bones.

Manyanyan knew a bit about herbs.

As he watched the stone fall, he spotted a patch of angelica on the cliffside.

But seeing how dangerous the cliff was, he didn’t dare even think of harvesting it.

Just looking at the drop was enough to make one want to detour around.

Picking herbs from there?

Ridiculous.

Cao Wen stood with hands on hips, gazing at the cliff.

“That white-flowered plant growing in pairs—is that angelica?”

Manyanyan followed his gaze.

His eyes lit up and he nodded.

Angelica usually bloomed in June and July.

With the ample sunlight on the cliff, they grew well.

He hadn’t expected to see them bloom this early.

Back home, he’d occasionally gone into the hills to pick herbs, but angelica was rare.

If sold to an apothecary, it would fetch a decent price—maybe four or five copper coins per qian (unit).

Any herbalist would be thrilled to find it.

But that angelica grew several meters down the cliff.

It was nothing but eye candy now.

“I’ll go pick it.”

Manyanyan was just about to dig up some mugwort when he heard Cao Wen say casually.

His eyes twitched—he thought the man was joking.

But Cao Wen really took out a thick hemp rope from his basket and started tying it around himself.

Manyanyan saw how relaxed he looked—like he was just going down a slope to pull weeds.

He lunged forward and grabbed the rope.

“You’ve got a death wish!”

Seeing the serious look on Manyanyan’s face, Cao Wen couldn’t understand every word, but he clearly saw the concern.

“No worries. We’re already here. Might as well go down.

“This is just like climbing a tree. I’ve been good at climbing since I was a kid. Even those cherries I picked before were growing on mountain edges—I still got them, didn’t I?”

Manyanyan frowned and didn’t let go.

He used to be annoyed by this guy, but not enough to just stand there and watch a living person go throw his life away.

“If you don’t take risks and just cling to that bit of borrowed farmland, you’ll starve sooner or later. But trust me—I’ll be fine!”

Seeing how determined he was, Manyanyan slowly loosened his grip.

But just as Cao Wen was about to tie the rope around himself, Manyanyan stepped forward again and grabbed the hemp rope.

He pinched the rope—several meters long—and inspected it inch by inch.

Then he tugged both ends forcefully to test its strength, making sure it was sturdy and not rotted anywhere.

There was no room for carelessness in something like this.

A single mistake could mean a crushed body at the bottom of the cliff.

The lifeline rope had to be perfect.

Cao Wen watched him lower his head and examine the rope so seriously.

His long brows framed a composed face.

Cao Wen didn’t say a word.

He felt the usual happiness in his heart—but oddly enough, there was a touch of sadness mixed into it today.

He quietly exhaled to settle his emotions.

While Manyanyan checked the rope, he went to find a thick tree that could support his weight as he descended the cliff.

Only after Manyanyan finished checking did Cao Wen begin tying the rope around his body.

He secured the other end to the tree, gripped the rope, grabbed his sickle, and began to lower himself down the rocky wall.

As the sounds of rustling vegetation and tumbling pebbles echoed from below, Manyanyan tensed up completely.

The further Cao Wen slid down, the more his heart climbed into his throat.

He didn’t blink, staring intently until Cao Wen finally landed on the trunk of a tree that grew horizontally from the cliff face.

Only then did he breathe a little easier.

With the tree bearing his weight, Cao Wen could move around more freely.

He parted the thick weeds and yanked up the angelica he had spotted earlier.

The angelica root was big and thick, buried deep in the soil—looked a bit like a marinated baby octopus.

He waved it up toward the cliff where Manyanyan was watching nervously: “Pretty good quality!”

The corners of Manyanyan’s mouth curved up unconsciously, but he quickly pressed them together again and gestured: “Be careful!”

Cao Wen responded, stuck the angelica root through his waistband, and took advantage of the stable footing to search nearby for anything else within arm’s reach.

There were indeed plenty of herbs—dandelion, mugwort, licorice—but they were all common stuff, easy to find on flat land too, not worth much.

Still, Cao Wen harvested everything that looked healthy and fresh.

Even if he sold half and gave half away, a few coins were still something.

Before long, his waistband was tied full of basic herbs.

A few burdock burrs clung to him too, requiring no effort to collect.

To avoid damaging the appearance of the herbs, he climbed back up using the rope after finishing that patch.

Manyanyan saw him moving with such steady, fast steps, gripping the rope like he had nails in his feet.

The man climbed like a nimble mountain monkey, and it amazed him.

He never knew Cao Wen was so agile.

With skills like that, he could easily find a job guarding the home of a rich household.

Why did he choose such backbreaking tenant work?

“See? Not bad,” Cao Wen said.

While Manyanyan was momentarily dazed, Cao Wen had nearly climbed back up.

He hurried to offer a hand to help—but what was handed to him instead was the still-dirty angelica root.

“I’m not coming up yet. You hold onto the herbs first.”

Manyanyan quickly took the herbs—didn’t even get a proper look at them, just rushed to inspect the rope again for any wear or damage.

Once he was sure it was still secure, he pointed toward a patch of astragalus he had spotted.

Cao Wen followed his gaze.

“You’ve got sharp eyes.”

He rappelled sideways toward the spot.

This time of year, astragalus hadn’t bloomed yet—only identifiable by its leaves.

The roots were deep, and it took a lot of effort to pull it out.

As he yanked it up, the rope bounced slightly, giving Manyanyan a scare.

He squatted down and half-covered his mouth, afraid he might cry out just from how nerve-wracking this was.

Cao Wen, however, remained focused as he searched for more herbs.

He moved toward a goji bush he had spotted earlier.

It was early May—goji berries were just starting to bloom.

The fruit wouldn’t appear until June.

Goji had high medicinal value: the berries could be used in medicine, the leaves made good tea, and the roots could be used to cook chicken—it was valuable from root to leaf.

He hesitated—should he harvest it now or come back next month when the berries were ripe?

Just then, a green plant with umbrella-shaped flowers growing under the goji bush caught his eye.

It wasn’t very tall, with palmate leaves like an open hand—five leaflets—nestled in a shaded area with rich soil.

Cao Wen’s heart leapt.

Not daring to get his hopes too high, he grabbed the rope and carefully crawled over.

He dug and tugged, and when he saw the yellow-brown root emerge, he finally confirmed what it was—he hadn’t been mistaken.

Manyanyan craned his neck to look.

He’d seen Cao Wen heading for the goji, but after that, the man disappeared—he had no idea where he’d gone.

He waited a while, still no sign.

He frowned anxiously and rushed to the cliff edge, gripping the rope tightly.

The rope was still taut, which meant the person on the other end was still there.

He breathed a little easier.

Just as he was about to stand up—

The rope jerked.

“Look what I found!”