How could any normal person not want to continue asking if they saw such a large box being carried around?
Putting everything else aside, just the quality of this box's material alone was extraordinary. If a normal person were to see it, they would definitely think it contained something extremely valuable.
But the herb collectors seemed unusually honest and did not query them any further.
When the campfire started burning in the open area, the herb collectors went to gather firewood separately. However, it was not easy to find dry firewood in this dense forest. Essentially, they just looked for pine trees and chopped them down to use the pine oil to fuel the fire.
Amid the crackling of the campfire, a man said to Li Shentan and Little Liren with a smile, "I'll go search for some spices. Let's roast something to eat later."
Li Shentan replied with a smile, "There's even ready-made spices up here in the mountains?"
"It's obvious that you stronghold residents don't really venture out into the wilderness." The man said with a hearty laugh, "There's nothing in the mountains that you can't find. There's peppercorn, star anise, and chili peppers growing here. If you really search, you can find anything you want. Moreover, when you squeeze some of the berry juices over the food, it can really bring out the flavor. I'll go and find some for you two to try."
"Alright, thanks, bro," Li Shentan said.
An herb collector took advantage of this downtime and asked nonchalantly, "By the way, what are you doing out here?
"We heard the typhoons in the South are particularly spectacular to watch. Occasionally, seawater can even get sucked up into the sky by waterspouts. Apparently, this phenomenon is known as the Dragon Draining Water," Li Shentan said with a laugh.
The herb collectors around the campfire were stunned. They looked at one another and thought to themselves that this was the first time they had heard of someone wanting to go watch typhoons.
Li Shentan asked in return, "By the way, when you saw us just now, you said you had unintentionally entered our territory. Why'd you say that? Do people still live here?"
The herb collector said with a smile, "We also heard about it from other old-timer herb collectors. The area in this vicinity of slightly over a 100 kilometers is known as Xiuzhuzhou. It has a lot of river systems running through it, but the number of miasmic zones is very high too. Occasionally, there will also be swamps, so herb collectors don't usually venture here. We only came here because the stronghold suddenly offered a high price to purchase 11-flavored medicinal herbs. Those aren't found anywhere but Xiuzhuzhou."
Li Shentan realized that in the 200 years since The Cataclysm, herb collection should have become a very mature profession. It seemed like there was some sort of inheritance of skill going on too.
However, the herb collector continued, "Previously, an herb collector said that there's actually still people living in Xiuzhuzhou. They have some mysterious skills that allow them to live in the wilderness. According to him, those people can breathe in the miasmic zones without any problems and even manipulate venomous creepy-crawlies to train their gu poison arts."
"How did that old-timer herb collector know all that?" Li Shentan asked.
Another herb collector nearby said, "I'm the most suited to talk about this. After all, this story was passed down from my grandpa's time. He said that there was an aristocrat in the stronghold who needed a medicinal herb to treat his illness, so they had to go into Xiuzhuzhou to search for it. But at that time, no one dared to come to this place. As such, the aristocrat offered a reward of two gold bars. Only then did two herb collectors volunteer to come into these mountains to search for the herb.
"Those two herb collectors were away in Xiuzhuzhou for a full six months, and everyone thought that they were dead. But they didn't expect him to come back alive, and it was only him.
"According to him, the other herb collector who went into the mountains with him died in the miasmic zone on their way there. Meanwhile, he was saved by a group of people from the Lian tribe and spent half a year recuperating.
"The Lian tribe is a little strange. They're actually a matriarchal society1, and there's something mystical about them. We've only heard of superhumans appearing in the Central Plains in recent years, right? But during my grandfather's generation, he said that all women in the Lian tribe trained in gu poison arts2 and corpse refinement! Moreover, their corpse refinement techniques consist of creating bronze, silver, and gold corpses."
Li Shentan raised his eyebrows. "If it's that terrifying, how did that herb collector come back alive? He should've been turned into a corpse."
"This is what you don't know about them." The herb collector said with a smile, "The elder who came back said that even though the Lian tribe sounds terrifying, the women there are all very pretty and good-looking. Furthermore, they only practice corpse refinement to prevent foreign enemies from attacking them. Therefore, the elder once reminded us that if we really entered Xiuzhuzhou one day and encountered people from the Lian tribe, there's no need to panic. We just have to tell them that we didn't intrude into their territory on purpose and they won't hurt us. Moreover, if fate wills it, they might even treat us warmly. According to him, they're very hospitable people."
The herb collector winked at him. There was probably something more to this "warm hospitality" he mentioned.
"I see." Li Shentan felt the explanation sounded a little mystical. Why did this Xiuzhuzhou where the people of the Lian tribe lived sound like a paradise?
But if what the other party said was true? Xiuzhuzhou would be quite an interesting place then, and Li Shentan would really like to go and have a look.
If it weren't for the fact that there were a lot of herb collectors here, he would have shouted into the forest to ask if there were any ladies from the Lian tribe willing to come out and meet him.
However, Li Shentan had some doubts about this. He felt that people who practiced corpse and gu poison refinement would be quite ruthless.
The old herb collector was probably not telling the truth.
Since they practiced corpse refinement, where would the corpses come from? Could someone have given that old herb collector some benefits and deliberately made him sing praises of the Lian tribe? Then everyone would want to seek out that utopia, and the Lian tribe could easily entrap some people to refine them into corpses.
Li Shentan suddenly felt that he was very smart. This explanation made a lot of sense, didn't it?
An herb collector sighed and said, "Now that the Central Plains are in a state of war, many people who've heard this story want to seek refuge in the sanctity of Xiuzhuzhou. We're not only here to gather herbs this time; we also want to try our luck in finding that place."
Li Shentan was stunned. "War? There's a war?"
The herb collectors laughed. "How long have you been lost in the mountains? Why don't you know about this? The Pyro Company and the Kong Consortium in the North have almost been completely annexed by the Wang Consortium. Based on everyone's estimations, they'll probably be fully annexed within a month. And also, the Zhou Consortium was plunged into chaos by that future commander of the Northwest. Currently, the Zhou Consortium is in a constant state of internal strife. The Wang Consortium will probably annex the Zhou Consortium next after they're done with the Pyro Company and the Kong Consortium."
Li Shentan muttered to Si Liren, "Oh no, I actually missed out on something so exciting!"
As he spoke, Li Shentan had a vexed expression on his face. How could he have missed out on joining Ren Xiaosu to cause chaos in the Zhou Consortium?!
So if they did it together once more, it would mean he did not miss out on anything. This logic was impeccable!
Li Shentan said, "Why don't we skip the typhoon watching and head to the Northwest to look for Ren Xiaosu? After that, we can go to the Zhou Consortium together to create trouble again."
Little Liren looked at Li Shentan quietly. "… Are you serious?"
During the whispered conversation, the herb collector who went out to search for spices returned. He was holding a few bright-colored berries in his hands. Then he applied it onto the roast meat and handed a portion to Li Shentan and Si Liren. "Have a taste, it's delicious."
Li Shentan did not accept the roast meat but took out a silver coin with a smile. The woman on the obverse of the silver coin looked very gentle and beautiful.
He said to the herb collectors, "Thank you for your hospitality. Why don't I perform a magic trick to show you all my gratitude?"
He flicked the silver coin high into the air with his thumb. As it spun, it rang with an extremely pleasant sound.
Li Shentan looked at the herb collectors and said with a smile, "I'll start asking, and you'll answer me. What will happen after eating these berries?"
"Whoever eats it will start vomiting and foaming at the mouth before dying," the herb collectors answered in a daze.
"Why did you give me this to eat?" Li Shentan asked.
"Because the two of you must be carrying valuables on you, and the box you're carrying must be filled with treasures," the herb collectors answered. "You two are probably superhumans, but even superhumans will die if they eat these berries."
Li Shentan understood that the other party had assumed he and Si Liren were superhumans. However, they were very bold to even dare to plot against superhumans using their proficiency in medicinal knowledge.
He felt a little pity. He had just said he would not hypnotize these people, yet he still hypnotized them in the end.
However, Li Shentan felt that these were not good people, so he did not violate his agreement with Ren Xiaosu! Perfect!
All of a sudden, Li Shentan looked into the dark forest behind him and saw a human face hanging upside down from a treetop in the distance. It was an extremely terrifying sight.
But in the moment it took for Li Shentan to blink, that figure disappeared from his view.