"Why didn't you tell me earlier!" Mother Lin put down the spatula, "I asked the old man to go with you!"
I quickly waved my hand: "Don't bother uncle, let him rest for a while. I'm just going to walk around, not going far." "
Mother Lin's face softened slightly: "That's okay. But we have to come back before dark!"
"Maybe we have to stay in the mountains for two nights." I tightened the straps of my backpack and mentally planned the three-day trip.
Lin’s brows furrowed again: “You want to spend the night? It’s very cold in the mountains at night. Do you have enough bedding?”
“Enough, everything is ready.” I patted my bulging backpack.
She was still worried, so she turned around and took out a cloth bag from the kitchen: "Take this, the pancakes that were just baked yesterday."
He picked up the kettle and filled it with hot water. "The spring water in the deep mountains is cold, so don't drink raw water."
I agreed one by one, turned around and set foot on the path into the mountain.
This time when I go into the mountains, in addition to looking for Cynomorium cynomorium, I also have to pay attention to other rare medicinal materials.
The depths of the Shuangyang Mountains are inaccessible, so you might be able to find unexpected gains.
I walked quickly along the path I took into the mountain last time. I'm used to running as a delivery boy, so this mountain road is nothing to my physical strength. This is also the reason why I didn't ask Father Lin to follow me - he definitely couldn't keep up with me.
· Occasionally, you can see a few herbs of different shapes on the roadside, but how can I, a food delivery guy, recognize these? As long as it is not the Cynomorium cynomorium I am looking for, I will ignore it.
As soon as the sun turned westward, I saw the huge rock standing at the mouth of the valley.
The weathered lines on the rock face are like eyes staring into the mountains. This is the boundary stone that the old people in the village often say "Enter the mountains, don't cross the boundary."
Remembering the old words relayed by Lin Xiaoyu, I paused in my steps.
The mountain forest behind the boundary stone is obviously more dense, and the light is dimmed.
But Cynomorium cynomorium is related to life.
I finally stepped over the boulder, and the road under my feet suddenly became much more difficult to walk.
It is obvious that few people come here. There are thick bushes, and you have to push aside the horizontal branches with your hands from time to time.
The forest was eerily quiet, even the chirping of birds was sparse.
While I was concentrating on my way, there was a sudden rustling sound in the bushes on the right.
I immediately held the hatchet tightly, and a green snake suddenly jumped out, raised its head and spat out a message, and stopped in the middle of the road.
With a swing of the hatchet, the snake's body was broken into two pieces, but the snake's head was still biting the trouser leg.
After shaking off the snake's head, I continued moving forward. The deeper you go, the steeper the mountain road becomes.
I pushed aside a clump of ferns half as tall as a man, and searched the darkening forest with my eyes. You must find a suitable place to stay before dark—the nights in Shuangyang Mountain never belong to humans.
The terrain ahead is slightly uplifted, with several rocks leaning into a half circle. Taking a closer look, you can see that there is dry sand between the rock crevices. It is leeward and the terrain is high, so even if it rains at night, there will be no water accumulation. This is it.
After taking off my backpack, I first cleared a circle of fire protection tape around it and stepped on the exposed soil with my feet. Those few rocks just form a natural barrier to resist the mountain wind at night.
Gathering firewood should take advantage of the last light of day. I searched carefully around the camp, picking out dead branches that had fallen to the ground. Good firewood is the one that makes a crisp sound when broken. The green branches will choke people's eyes.
When I came back with firewood, a light blue mist had already appeared in the forest. I quickly set up the firewood pile, spreading fine pine needles and birch bark on the bottom layer, finger-thick dead branches on the middle layer, and solid firewood on top.
Taking out the flint, a few sparks splashed on the birch bark, and green smoke curled up. I leaned over and blew gently, and the flames popped up, greedily licking the dead branches. The firelight opened up a warm realm in the growing darkness.
Be careful when adding firewood - the fire should be strong enough to drive away wild animals, but not too strong to cause wildfires.
The flames crackled, and the dancing light and shadow painted swaying patterns on the rock wall.
I put the kettle on the stone next to the fire and broke open the pancakes given by Mother Lin.
After the cake is heated, it exudes an earthy wheat aroma. When you drink it with hot water, the warmth slides from your throat to your stomach.
Beyond the firelight, darkness soaked the entire mountain forest like ink.
The cry of some kind of nocturnal creature was heard in the distance, the sound was long and ethereal.
I added a thick log to the fire, and sparks flew happily.
Tonight, this fire is my fortress against the entire mountain.
I stirred the fire to make the flames brighter. The warmth of the pancakes was still in my stomach, but the darkness around me had solidified. At this moment, a soft "click" sound came from the bushes on the left.
The movement paused and I listened carefully. The sound came again - not the wind, but the crisp sound of something breaking dead branches, evenly spaced, like pacing.
Grabbing the hatchet at hand, I stood up slowly. As far as the firelight could see, there were shadows of trees, and beyond that was the bottomless darkness. The footsteps stopped, replaced by heavy breathing, with a wet guttural sound, which was particularly clear in the silence.
It was just outside the firelight, less than ten steps away from me.
I took a step forward, the hatchet lying in front of me. The sound of fallen leaves crunching underfoot was particularly harsh. Almost at the same time, the sound on the other side also disappeared - it stopped.
After a stalemate for about half a minute, I grabbed a burning branch from my waist and threw it towards the source of the sound. The torch drew an arc in the air, instantly illuminating a clearing: there were only a few swaying clumps of weeds on the ground, and nothing else.
But at the moment when the fire went out, there was a "rustling" sound of claws rubbing against the stone from behind the rock on the right side. I turned my head sharply, but the voice appeared behind me again. This time it was closer, and I could hear the soft sound of my breath on the fallen leaves clearly.
It was clearly circling the camp.
I gripped the hatchet tightly, and cold sweat broke out on my palms. Waiting passively like this is not the answer. Taking a deep breath, I rushed towards the latest sound, splitting the bushes with my hatchet——
On the empty hillside, only a few fireflies that I startled were flying.
Back to the fire, my back feels cold. What just happened was definitely not an illusion. When I was adding firewood, I noticed something strange on the ground:
On the mud outside the fire, there was half a clear paw print. It looked like a wolf but not a wolf, and the toes were deeply sunken, as if it had stood in the dark for a long time, staring at me under the light of the fire.
At this moment, that thing may be hiding in the deeper darkness, waiting quietly.
I added a few firewood to the fire and placed the machete in the most convenient position. I'm afraid I won't be able to enter the tent this night.
It was unusually quiet in the woods. Even the sound of the wind has stopped, leaving only the occasional crackling sound of burning firewood. I stared at the dark place where the firelight could not reach, and I always felt like something was moving.
His hand has been resting on the handle of the knife, and his knuckles are a little white from the exertion.
Change your posture every once in a while to avoid muscle stiffness. I almost fell asleep twice, only to be awakened by the sound of branches breaking in the distance.
The dew was heavy in the second half of the night, and a layer of water dropped on the surface of my coat.
I leaned closer to the fire, letting the heat dissipate the chill. As daylight approached, only dark red charcoal fire remained in the fire, and the surrounding outline gradually became clearer.
I moved my stiff shoulders and finally saw clearly that the claw mark was still there, deeper and clearer than in my memory.