Chapter 37 Preparing to Dig Up Thousand-Year Polygonum multiflorum [Monday Soliciting Recommendation Tickets]
"You really didn't take a swing at Chen Zihao behind closed doors?" When only Dong Yuxin and Ge Dongxu were left, under the dim light, Dong Yuxin gently wrapped her arms around Ge Dongxu's waist from behind and asked.
"Fighting isn't a joke, and besides, Chen Zihao was beaten up so badly. Do you think he would let it go if it had been me? I might already be in police custody by now!" Ge Dongxu replied.
"Well, that's true," Dong Yuxin considered and nodded, only she didn't know why there was a tinge of faint disappointment in her heart.
"Wait, how do you know Chen Zihao was beaten up so badly?" Suddenly, Dong Yuxin remembered that Ge Dongxu had not met Chen Zihao that day.
"Isn't that what you guys said?" Ge Dongxu said hurriedly, thinking to himself how close he had been to slipping up.
"Did we?" Dong Yuxin said, somewhat uncertain.
"Yeah, Jiang Lili said so," Ge Dongxu said.
"Oh, I see. No wonder you knew. Oh, by the way, why do I feel like you're always at odds with Jiang Lili?" Dong Yuxin nodded and then suddenly shifted the conversation back to Jiang Lili.
"Really?" Ge Dongxu was slightly stunned and then asked back. He indeed found it hard to keep up with the girl's leap in logic.
"Yes, of course. Isn't Lili pretty? Quite a few boys in the school are after her, and of all people, it's only you who seems to always butt heads with her," Dong Yuxin said.
"Heh, she's okay, but she can't compare to you," Ge Dongxu blurted out.
"Tch, such a sweet talker! But, don't you think Lili's chest is quite perky?" Dong Yuxin gave Ge Dongxu's back a look before feeling a sweet satisfaction and unconsciously tightening her arm around his waist a bit more.
"Ahem!" Dong Yuxin's previous remark sounded normal to Ge Dongxu, after all, they were close and often teased each other, but the sudden comment that followed caught Ge Dongxu completely off guard.
This topic, this train of thought...
"What's with the coughing? Guilty conscience, huh? You must have sneakily checked out Lili's chest, right?" Dong Yuxin saw Ge Dongxu suddenly cough and gave him a look, while her delicate finger pinched his stomach.
"No, of course not!" Ge Dongxu flinched and immediately started shaking his head like a rattle.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Tch! As if I'd believe you!" Dong Yuxin looked at him again, but she did not continue the interrogation. Instead, she lowered her gaze to her own chest, which although well-developed, was still a level behind Jiang Lili's.
...
Time flew, and in the blink of an eye, a month had passed since the start of school.
Because the threat of Chen Zihao was gone, Dong Yuxin didn't come to wait for Ge Dongxu after school every day. This made Ge Dongxu feel slightly dejected, but upon reflection, it seemed normal. After all, she was a senior in her third year and also the school beauty, while he was just a freshman from the mountains. Since Chen Zihao was no longer a factor, why would she come to the classroom door to wait for him every day?
Of course, since they had become good friends, they would still go to school together from time to time, just not as regularly as before.
On this particular Friday, Ge Dongxu took half a day off school, claiming he had matters to attend to at home. He went back early, took his household registration book, and visited the Baiyun Mountain town police station to apply for an identity card, as no identity card services were provided on Saturdays.
About half a month later, Ge Dongxu got his ID card, and then he went to the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China with Lin Kun to get a bank card.
It was the first time Ge Dongxu had ever conducted business at a bank, and also the first time he had experienced Lin Kun's influence. Because of Lin Kun, he enjoyed VIP treatment on his very first bank visit.
With the bank card in hand, it was time to dig up the Polygonum multiflorum.
Due to the sparse spiritual energy in Changxi County, Ge Dongxu's progress over the past month had been very slow. So much so that every time he practiced Talisman Drawing, he had to fully recuperate for four to five days before he could start practicing again. This was something Ge Dongxu found hard to endure, so as soon as he got his bank card that week, he went back home, unwilling to wait any longer.
…
It was a fine day with high skies and clear air. Early in the morning, Ge Dongxu put on his knapsack, brought along his small hoe, a firewood knife, and a bottle of Huadiao Wine, wore his Liberation shoes, and left home to go deep into Baiyun Mountain.
Ge Dongxu's parents, Ge Shengming and his wife, were used to such behavior from him and didn't ask any questions. It wasn't the first time Ge Dongxu had gone into the mountains alone to gather herbs.
Baiyun Mountain stretched eighteen miles from east to west and nine miles from north to south, covering an area of over one hundred and sixty square kilometers with its main peak, Dacang Mountain, rising 1,008 meters above sea level. Most of Baiyun Mountain was covered by forests.
The economy of Changxi County was only average compared to the rest of Ouzhou City, and Baiyun Mountain had only started to develop its tourism in recent years. In fact, most parts remained undeveloped and pristine. There were even places within the mountain that not even the locals had visited. In some seldom-trodden areas, one could find poisonous snakes, wild boars, pheasants, and other wild animals and birds.
But Ge Dongxu had been frequenting Baiyun Mountain with his master since he was a child, and he had left his footprints in almost every corner of it.
Baiyun Mountain was like his backyard; he could navigate it with his eyes closed. He also knew with his eyes closed where to find various herbs.
Ge Dongxu first visited his master's grave, shared a bottle of Huadiao Wine with his master, recounted to him all the recent events, including his imminent plans, and then continued towards the area in his memory where the thousand-year wild Polygonum multiflorum grew.
Just as the sun rose from behind the rosy clouds of Dacang Mountain, it seemed to him like a giant disc changing the sea with its stream of golden rays—magnificent and stirring, making Ge Dongxu, who hadn't been to Baiyun Mountain for some time, unable not to spread his arms towards the sun, as if to embrace it.
"Help! Somebody help me!" Just then, Ge Dongxu heard an extremely faint cry for help.
The voice wasn't actually close to where Ge Dongxu was, but because of the quiet mountain morning and his years of practice, which had sharpened his senses, he could still hear it although it was very faint.
Upon hearing this, Ge Dongxu's face changed slightly, and he started running towards the direction of the sound with his bamboo basket on his back.
In the forest-filled mountain, with rocks and stones, Ge Dongxu moved as if on flat ground. When branches blocked his way, a quick flick of his knife would cut them down, as if the knife in his hand were not a simple chopper, but a divine weapon that could slice through iron as if it were mud.
Soon, looking down from the mountaintop, one could only see a figure leaping and landing across the mountain ridges, disappearing in the blink of an eye like an antelope hanging on a cliff.
In the middle of a mountain pathway, a woman was leaning against a rock on the side of the road.
She was a beautiful woman, well-proportioned and plump, with fair skin and ear-length short hair. Wearing a white blouse and beige ankle-length pants, she seemed like a crisp and efficient urban professional. But at that moment, her face was pale with panic, and one hand was pressed somewhat frantically above her hip.
ps: A new week has started, and it's time for me to make a push for the leaderboards once more. Monday's recommendation is particularly important, so I would like to ask my readers not to find it troublesome to log in to your accounts today to click, recommend, and leave comments. If you could also give a tip, I would be especially grateful. All these will count towards the ranking scores.