Chapter 47: Traveling Together

At this moment, Xu Jinniang was sleeping soundly in her room. To avoid making too much noise, Tong Chuxue simply climbed directly over the wall to go out.

Going out at midnight, if things went smoothly, she could return in two double-hours; if not, she might not be back until dawn. However, Tong Chuxue was not worried about Xu Jinniang's reaction. By then, she would just say she had gone out early in the morning and didn't want to wake her up.

Tong Chuxue's trip was mainly to find Ganoderma lucidum seeds, which were Ganoderma spores. Generally speaking, after the Ganoderma matured, it would eject spores from the pores beneath its cap for reproduction.

However, the conditions created for artificial cultivation differed from those in the mountains, so Tong Chuxue also needed to use her supernatural ability to moderately modify the spores.

She lit a torch, packed her equipment, and prepared to head into the mountains.

"Where are you going in the middle of the night?"

Before Tong Chuxue even reached the back mountain, a voice called out to her halfway.

Luo Huian in the dark seemed to have just stepped out of his room, wearing only a plain-colored long robe, leaning alone against the trunk of a huge locust tree.

"Why aren't you sleeping in the middle of the night, what are you doing here?" Tong Chuxue found it bizarre; why did she always run into Luo Huian whenever she went out at midnight?

"I couldn't sleep, came out for a stroll," Luo Huian said.

"Oh, right, hurry back to sleep once you're done strolling, I have things to do," Tong Chuxue brushed it off with a laugh and continued walking forward.

To her surprise, Luo Huian did not do as she wished; he lifted his foot and followed right behind her.

When Tong Chuxue walked, he walked; when Tong Chuxue stopped, he stopped. Tong Chuxue turned to look at him.

Only to hear Luo Huian say, "I'm going with you."

"Do you know what I'm going to do?" Tong Chuxue asked, narrowing her eyes.

"You're specifically heading out at midnight, presumably to avoid prying eyes. It must be like last time, going to the back mountain to find something," Luo Huian analyzed.

Tong Chuxue was momentarily choked by his words. Fine, if he really wanted to follow, letting him tag along wouldn't hurt.

Luo Huian walked to Tong Chuxue's side, and very naturally withdrew the torch from her hand, holding it himself.

"Are you heading into the mountains this time to look for Ganoderma?"

Tong Chuxue nodded, "Since we want to cultivate Ganoderma, we definitely need seeds. We have to look for them in the mountains."

Luo Huian lowered his gaze, his line of sight landing right on top of Tong Chuxue's head. Such a little thing, whose height barely reached his shoulder, yet seemed to contain boundless energy surging within her.

The other person's eyes were bright, shining like a brilliant gemstone under the illumination of the torch.

So full of vitality, unlike himself, who was so young and yet...

"Hey, have you been taking your medicine lately?" Tong Chuxue just caught the scent of medicine on him.

Luo Huian let out a soft hum and said nothing more.

When was there ever a time he wasn't taking medicine? Old Mrs. Luo hadn't been wrong about one thing: ever since he was a child, he had spent too much of the family's silver on medical treatments. He had lost count of the decoctions he had drunk, to the point where he could now be considered a half-baked physician himself, able to recite prescriptions for some common minor ailments.

"Well, it doesn't matter. Once the Ganoderma is successfully cultivated, you can eat plenty of it, and you'll eventually build your strength back up," Tong Chuxue suggested.

Luo Huian slightly curved the corners of his lips, his gaze brightening a fraction.

With the two of them heading up the mountain in the middle of the night, relying on just a single torch was somewhat insufficient. There were many mosquitoes, insects, and beasts in the mountains, requiring ample torchlight to drive them away, so Tong Chuxue lit another torch.

Along the way, Tong Chuxue led the front based on the growth characteristics of the surrounding plants, with Luo Huian following closely behind.

"You seem very familiar with the mountains?"

Tong Chuxue didn't mind and casually replied, "Not really familiar, actually. It's just that the growth distribution of plants has a lot to do with the geographical environment of the mountains. As long as you observe carefully, you can find the patterns."

"Did you figure all this out on your own?" Luo Huian asked. "I heard Mother say that when you were at the Tong family, you practically never had the chance to step outside. How do you know about these things?"

So this was what he actually wanted to ask. Tong Chuxue stopped in her tracks and turned back to look at Luo Huian.

This time, she was truly being frank, "Luo Huian, there are some things I cannot explain myself. If you insist on getting to the bottom of it, let's just pretend we've never met."

Her secrets were something no one in this world would believe, and she couldn't reveal even a fraction of them.

In an ancient society, once certain words were spoken, they would be regarded as bizarre and abnormal occurrences, and she might not even be able to save her own life. So she was sorry; she truly couldn't say anything.

Seeing that Tong Chuxue had put it so plainly, Luo Huian pressed his lips together, looking somewhat apologetic, "It was my intrusion."

"It's fine. It's normal for you to be curious, it's just that everyone has some secrets they don't want others to know. I hope you understand," Tong Chuxue said.

Luo Huian stopped right in front of Tong Chuxue and promised, "What I did just now was wrong. From now on, I won't ask a single extra question. I only know that you are Tong Chuxue."

Luo Huian raised his eyes and met the other's sincere gaze—so pure and earnest, trusting her without any reservations.

"You," Tong Chuxue intentionally began to tease him, wanting to shift the atmosphere, "are quite quick on the uptake."

"Is that so? It seems I'm not too bad after all," Luo Huian said cooperatively, knowing that Tong Chuxue was probably not adept at handling such topics.

The deep mountains at night were somewhat chilly. Despite holding a torch, Tong Chuxue still instinctively rubbed her arms and sighed, "So cold."

At this moment, Luo Huian was just as chilled. He had only worn a single layer of clothing when he went out at night, and even if he wanted to drape a garment over Tong Chuxue now, he was powerless to do so.

Tong Chuxue held the torch and searched all around, hoping to find some clues.

Soon—

"Luo Huian, come look at this!" Tong Chuxue pointed at a small white protrusion on the ground.

Luo Huian lowered his body, "What is this?"

"A newly grown Ganoderma, currently in the mushroom bud stage, hasn't unfolded its cap yet," Tong Chuxue said excitedly. "If Ganoderma can grow here, it means there should be mature Ganoderma nearby."

Luo Huian held the torch, and together with Tong Chuxue, began searching all around. Yet, strangely enough, they failed to find a single mature Ganoderma in the vicinity.

Luo Huian raised his eyes to look at the moon high in the sky and slightly furrowed his brows, "It's getting late. If we don't go back now, I'm afraid it will be too late."

However, it was so difficult for Tong Chuxue to make a trip to the back mountain, and she had clearly found a nascent Ganoderma; she was truly unwilling to give up just like that.

"Why don't you head back first, and I'll keep looking for a little while," Tong Chuxue suggested.

"No way, how can I leave you alone in the mountains?" Luo Huian rejected the idea on the spot. He could never agree to leave Tong Chuxue alone on the mountain under any circumstances, "How about you go home first, and I'll stay behind to keep looking."

"How can that do!" Tong Chuxue disagreed, "If Auntie can't find you, won't she be worried sick?"

"Since that's the case, we'll wait until we find it before going back," Luo Huian quickly made his decision, "Time is tight, we need to speed up."

The two gradually expanded their search area, carefully watching every plant on the ground, afraid of missing anything.

Heaven rewards those who work hard. After groping around for about half a double-hour, Tong Chuxue finally discovered a mature Ganoderma nestled in a pile of weeds beneath a large tree.

"Luo Huian, I found the Ganoderma!"