novelSusiti Chapter 3 Searching for 7 Leaves and 1 Flower
Chapter 3 Searching for 7 Leaves and 1 Flower
Meanwhile, another story is unfolding in Yuanzhou City, thousands of miles away.
As dawn broke, Yuanzhou City was shrouded in tranquility. A few lingering stars still hung reluctantly in the bluish-gray sky. The vermilion gate of the Ruan family's backyard silently opened a crack, then quickly closed again, as if it had never been opened at all. In the blink of an eye, two young men appeared outside the gate.
A misty morning enveloped the alleyway paved with bluestone slabs. Two tall, straight-backed boys, dressed in grey cloth jackets with matching belts around their waists and black cloth boots, stood out. Without close inspection, it was difficult to tell they were girls disguised as boys. The slightly taller boy on the left had a face sculpted like jade beneath a blue headscarf binding his hair; his eyebrows were like distant mountains, his eyes like autumn waters. Even with his skin deliberately darkened, he couldn't conceal his innate gentle and refined air.
"Miss, are we really going up the mountain? I heard there are wild beasts on the summit..." The shorter boy on the right nervously gripped his belt, his voice barely audible. "Shh—" The taller boy put his index finger to his lips, his fingers slender and long, his nails neatly trimmed. "You should call him 'Young Master' now." She glanced back at the tightly closed vermilion gate; in the morning mist, the high walls of the Ruan mansion looked particularly imposing. She took a deep breath, turned to her companion, and whispered, "Let's go, before most of the family wakes up."
These two were none other than Ruan Shanruo, the eldest daughter of the Ruan family, and her personal maid, Qiaoyun. Ruan Shanruo was graceful and her eyes, though bright and lively, now held a serious glint. Qiaoyun, on the other hand, appeared somewhat immature, her eyes filled with trepidation.
It turned out that Master Ruan had suffered from stomach pain for many years, seeking medical treatment from various sources, but to no avail. As a wealthy and powerful family in Yuanzhou City, the Ruan family could easily acquire common and precious medicinal herbs, such as century-old ginseng and ten-year-old lingzhi mushrooms. However, the Paris polyphylla they needed this time was extremely rare on the market. This herb has demanding growing requirements, mostly growing in shady and damp places under forests and thickets on hillsides, often inhabited by snakes, rats, and poisonous insects, making it already scarce. Coupled with its high price, it has led to a frenzy of harvesting by herb gatherers, creating a vicious cycle, making it even more difficult to find now.
Ruan Shanruo, having heard from somewhere that this medicinal herb grew in Fengding Mountain not far from Yuanzhou, resolutely decided to go into the mountain to collect it for her father, as a way of fulfilling her filial duty. She knew that her parents and younger brother would certainly not agree to her taking such a risk; although Fengding Mountain was beautiful, it was also fraught with danger, with legends saying that wild beasts often roamed there, and ordinary people would not dare to go easily, let alone a pampered young lady like herself. But Ruan Shanruo was determined. She left a letter on her dressing table and then quietly slipped out of the Ruan residence with Qiaoyun.
"Young master, look!" Qiaoyun suddenly pointed to the street corner. A breakfast stall had just been set up, steaming from the steamer, the aroma particularly enticing in the morning air.
Ruan Shanruo nodded and took out an embroidered money pouch from her bosom: "Have breakfast first, then buy some dry food to take with you. We definitely won't be back by noon."
The two sat down at the breakfast stall and ordered two bowls of soy milk and a few steamed buns. The stall owner, an old man with a wrinkled face, was busy working while curiously observing the two simply dressed but extraordinary-looking young men.
"Where are you two young masters heading out so early?" the old man asked casually.
Ruan Shanruo's heart tightened, but she remained calm on the surface: "I'm going to visit a friend in a neighboring county." She deliberately lowered her voice, making it sound somewhat like a young man's, and placed several copper coins on the table. "Old man's steamed buns taste very good."
The old man chuckled and asked no more questions. Ruan Shanruo secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that her outfit should be acceptable.
After finishing breakfast, the two went to the street and hailed a carriage. The driver was a kind and honest middle-aged man. Seeing the two teenagers traveling so early in the morning, he felt a little strange but didn't ask any questions. Ruan Shanruo handed over a piece of silver and said, "Uncle, please take us to the foot of the mountain. Please keep this silver."
The coachman took the silver, weighed it in his hand, and a happy smile appeared on his face. He nodded and replied, "Alright, gentlemen, hold on tight!" The carriage slowly started moving, and the wheels made a "clunk-clunk" sound on the stone road, breaking the tranquility of the morning.
As they traveled, Ruan Shanruo gazed at the scenery rushing past the car window, her mind filled with a myriad of thoughts. She worried about her father growing thinner with illness, and felt a sense of unease about their upcoming journey into the mountains. Qiaoyun, on the other hand, would occasionally peek out, curiously observing the world outside, sometimes excitedly pointing at the wildflowers and weeds by the roadside, wanting to share them with Ruan Shanruo, but seeing her mistress's somber expression, she would swallow her words back.
After traveling for about an hour, the carriage stopped at the foot of a mountain. In the distance, mountains rose and fell, the highest peak shrouded in mist—this was Fengding Mountain. Ruan Shanruo and Qiaoyun alighted from the carriage, gazing at the towering peaks before them, a surge of inexplicable excitement welling up within them.
Peaks rise one after another, ravines crisscross the landscape, waterfalls cascade, streams flow, and clouds and mist swirl around, creating a breathtakingly beautiful scene. A local folk song goes: "Traveling north and south, I still crave Peaks; having traveled the world, nothing compares to the foot of Peaks." Standing here now, I truly appreciate the mountain's beauty, a sight that captivates the soul.
Ruan Shanruo took out a copy of "Illustrated Compendium of Herbs" from her bosom and turned to the page with the bookmark. On the page was a meticulous painting of Paris polyphylla—seven emerald leaves surrounding a purple flower, lifelike in its detail.
"With this as a reference, as long as I see Paris polyphylla in the mountains, it's a piece of cake," Ruan Shanruo said casually, though her palms were already sweating.
The mountain path was rugged and difficult to traverse, with lush vegetation on both sides, and thorns frequently tore at their clothes. But Ruan Shanruo and Qiaoyun remained unmoved, carefully parting the grass and meticulously searching every possible spot where medicinal herbs might grow.
Because of the beautiful scenery in the mountains, and because Paris polyphylla prefers dark and damp places, the two unknowingly wandered into the depths of the mountains. The further they went, the darker the light became, but after searching for a long time, they found nothing but mud and bits of grass covering their bodies, not even a trace of Paris polyphylla.
"Miss, is there something wrong with this picture?" Qiaoyun asked, wiping the sweat from her forehead. There was no one else around, so Qiaoyun called back to her mistress.
Ruan Shanru shook her head: "The 'Illustrated Compendium of Herbs' was written by a famous doctor from the previous dynasty, so it can't be wrong. Let's go further in."
Before they knew it, the sun was setting and the light in the forest was gradually dimming. Only then did the two realize that they had entered the deep mountains, surrounded by ancient trees and vines, and the path they had come by was long gone.
"Are we...lost?" Qiaoyun's voice trembled.
Ruan Shanruo's heart tightened, but she immediately took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down: "Don't panic, let's make a mark." With that, she used the self-defense dagger she had brought to carve a triangular mark on the tree trunk next to her, and began to search in another direction.