mtl008 Chapter 274 Collection 2
Chapter 274 Collection 2
Pudding followed the scents and led Jiang Li and Ye Jingmo to a pile of stones.
It scratched at the rocks with its claws, trying to pry them aside and reveal the fragrant plants underneath.
Ye Jingmo walked over, squatted down, and threw the large stone aside, revealing a herb growing in the crack of the stone. This herb was slightly smaller than the one he had just found.
It's probably because the space was too small, which limited its growth.
Jiang Li didn't mind at all and put it in the storage bag. She didn't care how small it was, as long as it worked.
Pudding led the two to search the surrounding 100-meter radius, including the one they had found earlier, and they only found three vanilla flowers in total.
Jiang Li looked dejected, like a deflated balloon, as she thought about how long it had taken to find just three fragrant herbs.
She wanted to return to the base earlier!
"If only there were a place where herbs grew in abundance, we could easily harvest them all."
Jiang Li propped her chin on her hand, dreaming of wonderful things.
"It's good to just think about such wonderful things. It's almost time to gather. Let's get up and go."
After Jiang Li and Ye Jingmo finished searching the surrounding area, they found a small tree and sat down to rest for a while.
Jiang Li sat on the ground, naturally reaching out to Ye Jingmo, looking up at him expectantly, asking him to help her up.
Ye Jingmo held Jiang Li's smooth little hand and gently pulled her up.
The two walked toward the large tree they had agreed upon earlier.
Wang Hao, Fu Qian, Zhang Tianmeng, and Liang Zi had gathered under the tree, all of them looking worried.
"Brother Liang and I practically dug three feet into the ground, but we couldn't find any herbs, let alone any plants with white flowers."
Zhang Tianmeng, with a dry blade of grass dangling from her mouth, squatted on the ground and told Wang Hao about their progress.
Fu Qian also had a droopy face, and her originally spirited eyebrows were furrowed together, showing her depressed mood.
"Captain Wang and I searched carefully, but we couldn't find any vanilla flowers. Could it be that we didn't find any? This place is way too dark!"
When the four saw Jiang Li and Ye Jingmo approaching, they all looked at them with anticipation, hoping that they would have something to gain.
Liang Zi looked at Ye Jingmo and asked first, "Captain Ye, have you made any progress?"
To show respect for Wang Hao, Liang Zi temporarily changed his address for Ye Jingmo to "Team Leader Ye" to avoid any misunderstanding.
After all, when you're part of a group, you still need to be mindful of interpersonal relationships.
"We found three herb plants."
Upon hearing this, Fu Qian's eyes lit up instantly, like the brightest star in the night sky. She exclaimed excitedly, "Really? That's wonderful!"
As soon as Ye Jingmo finished speaking, Zhang Tianmeng sprang up from the ground like a spring.
"Let us see what vanilla flowers actually look like."
Jiang Li took out a storage bag from her backpack, opened it, and handed it to everyone.
Zhang Tianmeng carefully took out a fragrant herb from inside, brought it close to her nose, and took a careful sniff.
"It really has a very special flavor; it instantly calmed my agitated mood."
Fu Qian grabbed Jiang Li's hand and asked eagerly, "Jiang Li, where did you find these herbs? Is there any secret to it?"
Why have we searched for so long without finding a single herb?
"The secret is actually in the information written at the base: vanilla flowers like to grow in dark and damp environments."
“Mo Ge and I specifically looked for piles of rocks that didn’t get sunlight, or places with dead or rotten wood, because that way we were more likely to find vanilla flowers.”
"But the main contributor is Pudding."
Pudding looked up when it heard its name, only to have Jiang Li rub its head, making its fur messy. Pudding got angry and ran to Ye Jingmo's feet.
"So that's how it is. The base's information says that there are often mushrooms and dead wood next to vanilla flowers. I thought it meant that they are easy to grow next to them, but I didn't realize that it meant that vanilla flowers like dark and damp places."
Fu Qian suddenly realized and gave Jiang Li a sweet smile.
At this moment, Wang Tang and Liu Yushan arrived late.
Everyone was taken aback when they saw the two of them.
They were covered in yellowish-brown mud, even their faces were covered, as if they had just crawled out of a pit.
"No, you were looking for herbs, but you ended up in a mud pit."
Zhang Tianmeng made an exaggerated expression as she spoke to Wang Tang, who was walking over.
"What are you saying?" Wang Tang pulled a herb from his backpack and looked at Zhang Tianmeng smugly. "We found a herb right at the beginning, aren't you envious?"
Holding the vanilla flower, Wang Tang flashed it past Zhang Tianmeng, his eyebrows dancing with delight, like a cunning villain who had gained power in a theatrical performance.
Zhang Tianmeng wanted to beat his chest and stamp his feet in frustration. Even Wang Tang could find fragrant herbs, so why couldn't he?
Wang Tang: No, what did I do? Is this discrimination against me?!
"Alright, we've searched this forest. Let's hurry to the next place and try to collect ten fragrant herbs today."
Wang Hao interrupted Wang Tang's boasting and headed deeper into the mountains and forests.
According to Jiang Li, herbs are more likely to grow in dark and damp places, so the depths of the mountains and forests are definitely more likely to yield herbs than the outer areas.
After finding a marker, everyone entered the woods one after another. They had been busy for several hours but had not found a single herb, so Wang Hao and the other three were under a lot of pressure.
Two hundred vanilla flowers were divided among nine people, meaning each person had to pick at least eleven flowers. The number they had just picked wasn't even enough for one person.
With time running out and the task at hand, everyone was putting in their best effort to pick the herbs.
Jiang Li and Ye Jingmo followed Pudding's trail, searching for fragrant herbs in the mountains and forests.
Pudding would occasionally look back to see if the two were following, and sometimes she would stop and wait.
Soon, Pudding seemed to have caught a whiff of vanilla and stopped at the bottom of a slope.
Wang ~
Jiang Li looked at the slope, which was almost ninety degrees in slant and estimated to be ten meters high, and pointed upwards with some uncertainty.
"Pudding, are you sure there are vanilla flowers on it?"
Wang ~
Pudding barked, seemingly in response to Jiang Li's question.
"I'll go up and take a look. You wait for me down here."
Ye Jingmo spoke softly, took Jiang Li's cane and leaned on it on the muddy slope, his steps slow but very steady.
"Brother Mo, be careful."
Jiang Li watched from below, her heart pounding with fear. She knew that the slope posed no challenge to Ye Jingmo, but her heart was still pounding in her chest.
Jiang Li's furrowed brows only slowly relaxed when she saw Ye Jingmo finally climb the slope steadily.
Hehe, another herb is about to be added to my income.
Jiang Li grinned, thinking happily.
Woof woof woof ~
Pudding bared its teeth and barked wildly at the forest behind Jiang Li, its fur standing on end and its tail drooping.
Jiang Li immediately turned around to look behind her. The thick fog and trees provided the best cover, and she was unable to see anything inside.
Jiang Li drew his pistol, cocked it, and with sharp eyes, he would fire without hesitation at the slightest sign of trouble.
She could hear her own heart pounding in her chest, and she slowly moved backward.
Jiang Li gestured to Pudding, instructing it to climb up the hillside.
Pudding nuzzled Jiang Li's legs with its head, encouraging her to climb up the hillside, while it followed behind her.
When Ye Jingmo heard Pudding barking, he had already stuck his head out to look down.
"Ah Li, climb up first, otherwise Pudding won't leave first."
Dogs are extremely loyal animals. When they encounter danger along with their owners, they will not abandon their owners and run away alone. Instead, they will rush forward desperately. As long as they are alive, no danger can get close to their owners.
That's the charm of owning a dog.
Jiang Li knew in her heart that if she didn't leave, Pudding wouldn't leave her side either.
Holding a gun in one hand and gripping the ground with the other, Jiang Li struggled to climb out of the pit that Ye Jingmo had just emerged from.
Ye Jingmo walked down the slope to meet Jiang Li.
Suddenly, a figure darted out from the distant mountains and forests like a bolt of lightning, its target being the river fence hanging on the slope.
As the figure drew closer, Ye Jingmo, standing on the slope, could clearly see the animal rushing towards him.
It was a giant tiger, three meters long, with a yellowish-brown body and black stripes. Its fur was messy and dull. It opened its mouth to reveal sharp fangs and roared at Jiang Li.
It ran extremely fast, and Pudding charged straight at it, wanting to fight it.
The tiger ran up the slope on the other side and pounced on Jiang Li.
The powerful tiger claws made a sound as they slashed through the air; one can imagine that if a single claw struck a person, their internal organs would likely rupture and bleed.
Ye Jingmo's heart pounded as he witnessed this, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He forced himself to calm down, took out his pistol, and fired repeatedly at the tiger's belly.
The bullet pierced the tiger's abdomen, slowing its movements as it writhed in pain.
Ye Jingmo used his feet to step on the wooden sticks for support, allowing Jiang Li to climb up quickly with the help of the sticks. He gripped the gun tightly with both hands, emptied the bullets, changed the magazine, and fired, all in one smooth motion.
His cold gaze was fixed on the tiger, his taut forearm muscles bulging slightly.
Jiang Li finally grabbed a wooden stick and used it for support to quickly climb up. At this point, she didn't care about her appearance anymore; her face and body were covered in mud, just like Wang Tang's earlier.
The tiger, having failed in its first attack, walked up the slope, its eyes filled with the desire to hunt, its barbed tongue licking its lips, preparing for its next strike.
Ye Jingmo took Jiang Li's hand and quickly walked up the slope.
Jiang Li didn't even have time to celebrate her narrow escape; Pudding was still down the slope.
If the tiger were to target Pudding, the sheer size difference would be too much for Pudding to handle.
Ye Jingmo stood in front of Jiang Li, keeping a watchful eye on the tiger's attack. Jiang Li reached out from the slope and waved to Pudding.
"Pudding, come up here quickly."
Seeing that both of its owners were safe on the slope, Pudding wagged its tail happily, then turned to look at the tiger confronting Ye Jingmo, making a threatening sound.
Jiang Li really wanted to slap Pudding. Was this the time to provoke a tiger? If the tiger got angry, it would just treat you like a lollipop and eat you one by one.
Just as Jiang Li was jumping up and down in frustration, another sound came from the mountain forest.
Could it be that before this tiger problem is solved, another animal has appeared?
So unlucky?
Jiang Li looked toward the source of the noise, planning in her mind how they would run in that direction if another animal appeared.
Fortunately, fate still smiled upon Jiang Li and Ye Jingmo.
The people who arrived were their acquaintances, Wang Hao and Fu Qian, who were the closest to Jiang Li and the other person.
When they heard Pudding screaming, they realized something was wrong and immediately ran towards Jiang Li and the other person.
Wang Hao was utterly shocked as he watched the giant tiger climb halfway up the slope, confronting Jiang Li and the others.
When the tiger saw Wang Hao and Fu Qian suddenly appear, it knew that the chances of a successful hunt today were extremely low, and that the weapons they were carrying could harm it. Without hesitation, it jumped to the flat ground and headed into the forest.
"Get down quickly, we need to leave here immediately."
Wang Hao shouted to Jiang Li, glancing warily around to prevent the tiger that had just escaped from returning.
Jiang Li took Ye Jingmo's hand and prepared to walk down the slope.
Ye Jingmo suddenly spoke up, "Wait a minute."
Jiang Li looked puzzled, and Ye Jingmo pointed to a tree on the side.
"We haven't yet achieved our goal of coming here."
Ye Jingmo stepped forward and pulled the weeds under the tree to both sides, revealing a fragrant herb hidden inside the tree hole.
The tiger had just suddenly run out, giving Ye Jingmo no time to pick the herbs.
Wang Hao, who was below the slope, noticed that Jiang Li and the other person had suddenly stopped showing themselves. Thinking something had happened, he anxiously shouted, "What happened up there? Why aren't you coming down?"
Jiang Li poked her head out and waved her hand, "We'll go down after we pick this herb."
After putting the vanilla flowers into his backpack, Ye Jingmo carefully helped Jiang Li down the slope.
Jiang Li looked down at the almost vertical slope, and her legs trembled involuntarily.
She didn't feel anything when she came up, but when she came down, she had the feeling that she could fall at any moment.
Jiang Li breathed a sigh of relief when her feet touched the ground.
"Aren't you hurt?"
Fu Qian stepped forward and looked at the two of them, worried that they might have been harmed by the tiger.
"It's alright, thankfully we had guns, we weren't hurt."
Jiang Li waved her hand, indicating that they had no problem.
She looked rather disheveled, covered in mud, her hair matted with sweat, like a pitiful beggar.
"Let's go first, this isn't the place to talk. That tiger could come back at any moment."
The four people and one dog quickly left the area.
“That area was probably tiger territory, otherwise it wouldn’t have come out to attack you.”
We need to change direction now, so we don't run into that tiger again.
Jiang Li and her three companions walked along the road and met up with Wang Hao and his group of four who had rushed over after hearing the gunshots.
"What happened? We all heard gunshots."
Wang Hao asked the question without a trace of joking or teasing.
"We encountered a tiger, but luckily we weren't injured. However, it's best to leave this area to avoid encountering another tiger."
Jiang Li briefly recounted what had happened.