Chapter 21 Go into the Mountains

It is raining in the middle of the night. When Luoran gets up, she thinks of the slippery road and hesitates about her father’s plan:

“Dad, you have to collect herbs on the mountain when it rains? I can afford to raise you. Why do you work so hard?”

Her mother babbles, “You know your father. How can he go back on what he has promised already?”

Lin Luoran can do nothing to her stubborn father. Last night after dinner, Lin Luoran talked about her present situation roughly. The s.p.a.ce is too weird, and she worried that her mother would reveal some clues when chatting with villagers, so she just told them that she gets some opportunities and the raw gemstones offer some fortune.

They’ve only heard about jade, let alone gambles on stone. They couldn’t understand totally. After a long explanation, they finally believed that Lin Luoran has made some money now. She also wants to tell them that she has five million, but in case they presume she goes crazy, she prepares to do it step by step.

But in this way, she cannot stop her father from climbing the mountains to gather herbs.

Lin Luoran ponders for a while and she asks Uncle Li to send her mother to the town to withdraw money with her bank card. She is going to go up the mountain with her father.

Their village lies back against continuous mountains. Because of sufficient rain, they can collect bamboo shoots in spring, pick mushrooms in summer, and gather herbs in autumn. The village depends on the mountains. The forest is a treasure house for villagers to support families. It’s self-sufficient. Therefore, the villagers have no ambition and seem to be a bit isolated.

Herbs growing in the mountains are much more effective than those cultivated artificially. Every year some bosses come here to buy them. Mr. Lin has been in this business for years. Lin Luoran has a.s.sisted him since she was a child, so she knows well about the preparation for climbing the mountains.

They have changed into light and antiskid boots. Mr. Lin takes a chopper to open a way and for self-defense. They each carry a bamboo basket on their back with some rice rolls made by Mother Lin as food. Shortly after daybreak, they go up the mountains.

Many people walk outside the forest which has already stepped some crisscross paths. Too many people gather here, and no amount of herbs can escape from such searches by gatherers. The place Lin Luoran and her father to go is deep in the mountain forest interlaced with shrubs and thorns.

Lin’s father uses the chopper to open the way while stopping to pick some usable herbs into the basket from time to time. After two hours, they have crossed a mountain, and reached the depth of the mountain forest.

Mr. Lin’s basket has been half full, but Lin Luoran’s basket only gets a few spa.r.s.e herbs which are valueless goods.

Her father notices it but he doesn’t blame her. He takes her here for having fun and doesn’t expect her to pick many.

In fact, Lin Luoran’s harvest is not as little as it seems.

Along the way, she has secretly thrown a lot of herbs into the s.p.a.ce, including those she knows and doesn’t know. Needless to talk about those she is familiar with. For others, the year is used to judge the value of herbs. Lin Luoran has the s.p.a.ce as a cheating device, so for her, it is not difficult.

For those she doesn’t know, Lin Luoran has a pair of bright eyes which can see Reiki. Those herbs pulled up by her are ordinary to others, but for Lin Luoran, they are full of Reiki.

At this moment, they have arrived at the col of the second peak. If they go any further, they may not be able to return on time at night. It is dangerous to stay overnight in the woods without any preparation. Mr. Lin suggests that they can seek herbs respectively. Don’t go beyond a radius of ten li (5 kilometers). He asks her to leave marks along the way. Regardless of the result two hours later, they must return the same way to this spot.

Mr. Lin insists on giving the chopper to Lin Luoran. Lin Luoran is almost forced to perform breaking stone empty-handed in front of her father, and then Mr. Lin gives it up. After all, in these years, let alone beasts, even birds are almost hunted out. These mountains are not like the Changbai Mountains where bears are infested.

In fact, since they entered the mountains, Lin Luoran has become very comfortable. It seems that the instinct of her body is to get in touch with nature. Lin Luoran guesses that it is because of the s.p.a.ce and her current physical situation. She’s separating from her father now, so she wants to explore the mountains.

She is considerate of her father and doesn’t take the chopper. But in the face of thorns, high weeds, as well as shrubs and trees with interlaced branches, Lin Luoran picks up a large branch to block the weeds down.

It’s just too slow. Thinking of her current physical condition, Lin Luoran comes up with an idea, takes a deep breath and makes a slight leap. She feels like wearing a pair of spring shoes, jumping on the tree trunk over one meter above the ground. Although shaking, she is excellent at balancing, and stands firm quickly.

Lin Luoran is delighted. At first, she is still rickety, and every jump is a risk. As she becomes practiced, she can leap by stepping on the trunk and bush.

She leaps in the forest. When speeding up, she seems to fly on the bushes. Within half an hour, she has reached the top of the third peak.

The current physical condition not only contains huge strength, but also helps her run like flying, which gives her a lot of surprises.

The sky has just cleared after raining. The mountains and forest are all washed by rain. Through clouds the warm autumn sun shines. The thick mist is blocked by the dense forest in the mountains. Looking down from the top of the mountain, clouds and mist billow over the col and the mountainside, which are enshrouding and fairy. The whole forest seems to be full of lively natural charm.

The mountains are rich in vegetation with Reiki of the universe blending with each other. Although there is some fog, it is much less than in the city. Different shades of green are arranged in distinct layers. The progressive layers intermingle, thick and vigorous.

People who cultivated to be immortal in ancient times are fond of visiting mountains and rivers. They often cultivated in a remote and desolate place. It seems that in addition to the sincerity of cultivation, Reiki is also important. Lin Luoran has got a glimmer of enlightenment. She feels something stirring in her body when admiring the landscape, but she is blocked by an invisible door, and cannot get in.

Lin Luoran has pondered for a moment, but cannot get the right way. She gently strokes the beads on her wrist. The beads shine like a bright moon, but is almost invisible under the sun. Lin Luoran suddenly feels lost—it is a kind of regretful and helpless feeling as if she was in a treasure house, but doesn’t know how to open it.

Touching her beads gently, Lin Luoran watches the clouds billowing and changing into various shapes on the top of the mountain. The breeze blows her hair and she looks like a fairy who will fly away at any moment.

The joy of climbing the mountains becomes a little depressed this moment.

Looking at the beads on her wrist, Lin Luoran laughed at her own greed. Peering into the forest, her father’s red raincoat occasionally flashes in the dense woods. She checks her watch and it’s about to the appointed time.

Taking a deep breath, she buries her unwillingness and regret at the bottom of her heart, and turns around to go down the mountain.

At this time, a gust of wind sends a fragrance which is light but sweet. It attracts Lin Luoran to stop involuntarily.