The coffin fungus was the most fragile. If Jing Jian made even the slightest mistake, all their efforts from the night before would be for nothing.
Jing Jian was even more nervous than Lu Fei.
Lu Fei took a glance inside the box.
The fungus, wrapped in black cloth, was in quite good shape, with no black water seeping out, and there was no unusual odor either.
"No problem!"
Lu Fei felt a huge weight off his chest.
Jing Jian also breathed a long sigh of relief.
Everyone looked at each other and found that they were all in quite a sorry state.
Lu Fei and Jing Jian were covered in mud, and Hu Zi and Zhao Fengchun were not much better. Their clothes were tattered, covered with dead branches and leaves, and they had many more scrapes.
"Boss, last night that bear hag really came again. Fortunately, my old brother Zhao and I were together. We fought for our lives and even broke the pot." Hu Zi said with lingering fear.
"What was the final situation? Did the bear hag die?" Lu Fei was not at all surprised; he had long guessed that the thing following them was the bear hag.
It's hard to get a few people in the deep mountains and forests. Not getting to eat meat, that wicked spirit would definitely not be satisfied.
"Not dead, that thing has thick skin and tough flesh, we couldn't budge it at all." Hu Zi gestured with his hands, vividly narrating, "After we broke the pot, it charged straight at us. Luckily, we had prepared a kettle of boiling water beforehand."
"That boiling water splashed out like sulfuric acid, instantly corroding most of its skin, and then it howled and ran away."
"I don't even know how I survived, all thanks to Brother Hu Zi!" Zhao Fengchun seemed to have survived a catastrophe. If Lu Fei hadn't left Hu Zi to stay with him, he would have been dead last night for sure.
Now seeing Lu Fei safe and sound, he was so moved that he almost shed tears.
"Woof woof!"
The little black dog, seeing that Hu Zi didn't mention him, hurriedly barked a few times.
Hu Zi couldn't help but laugh, saying, "That's right, Xiao Hei also helped a lot! It was the first to discover Old Lady Xiong."
The little thing refused to eat or drink before Lu Fei returned.
"Woof!"
In Lu Fei's arms, the small black dog's bright eyes were full of pride, without a hint of modesty.
"Xiao Hei, you did a great job too; I'll give you an extra can when we get back!" Lu Fei rubbed its furry little head, and he felt completely at ease.
"It's good that everyone is safe. We can talk more once we get back! Let's hurry down the mountain while it's still light out!"
Everyone paused briefly, ate something to replenish their energy, and then set off with renewed spirits.
After a day and night, everyone was already exhausted, and if anything else happened, they might not be able to handle it.
So, they needed to take advantage of the safety of daylight to quickly descend the mountain.
"By the way, Brother Lu, let me see the herbs you need to collect again. If we come across them on the way back, we can pick them up." After walking for a while, Zhao Fengchun seemed to remember something and said.
"Then I'll have to trouble you, Brother Zhao."
Lu Fei was more than willing, and he took out his phone, scrolling through the pictures of the herbs.
There were five kinds of herbs in total.
Zhao Fengchun looked at them carefully, memorizing the characteristics of the herbs as he walked and searched along the way.
Huzi found a suitable branch and made it into a walking stick for him.
Unexpectedly, before descending the mountain, they managed to find all five kinds of herbs.
"What a stroke of luck! This trip was truly worth it!"
Lu Fei was quite happy.
The original plan was to scout the path, but in the end, not only did they collect the coffin fungus, but also found the herbs, and as an extra bonus, obtained a Power of Will Stone.
Oh, and there was also a bell that could immobilize zombies.
It's truly a bountiful harvest!
Indeed, the gains are proportional to the efforts.
"Once we pass through that forest ahead, we'll be completely out of the mountains." Zhao Fengchun, leaning on his cane and pointing forward, suddenly relaxed his previously cautious expression.
Everyone looked up.
Outside the forest was the dazzling sunlight.
"Great!"
"We finally made it out!"
They gazed at each other, their eyes filled with joy. Their bodies, which were already extremely exhausted, somehow found a new surge of strength, and they ran out of the dense woodland.
"Wait for me—"
Jing Jian shouted anxiously from behind, holding the wooden box tightly, not daring to run too fast.
Run out of the woods in one breath.
Lu Fei stood in the sunlight, holding the small black dog, and turned his head to take a deep look at the rolling mountains.
"Where there are evil spirits, there are evil things. I will come back."
The bright and scorching sun fell on their bodies, gradually warming their cold flesh, as if they were coming back to life.
They looked at each other, seeing the disheveled appearance of their companions, and couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"Everyone take one more step forward; there's a shelter not far ahead with a ready-made stove and firewood. We can rest there and have a good meal."
Under Zhao Fengchun's lead, everyone dragged their extremely exhausted bodies to the shelter.
Under the shelter, there was a cooking area with pots and utensils, and neatly stacked dry firewood.
"This shelter was built by the villagers for us mountain guardians, to make it convenient for us to rest."
By the time they reached this point, Zhao Fengchun had no energy left and plopped down onto the dry ground.
Lu Fei also sat down with the small black dog in his arms, panting heavily.
At the beginning of their journey, he was still sweating, but by the end, even sweat wouldn't come out anymore.
"Finally, we can take a break. I feel like my legs are no longer mine." Hu Zi lay down directly on top of the pile of firewood.
Jing Jian, after sitting down, carefully placed the wooden box on his lap, not daring to let it suffer any damage.
Once everyone had caught their breath, they started a fire to boil a pot of hot water and cooked all the remaining instant noodles in it.
After eating a hot meal and securing something in their stomachs, they relaxed, and the feeling of fatigue became even heavier, with drowsiness overwhelming them.
"Brothers, hold on a bit longer, we can't sleep here! The ground is damp, and you'll get sick if you sleep on it."
Zhao Fengchun, using his cane to support his body, stood up and called out to everyone.
"Come on, our village isn't far from here. Let's go to my place to rest! Although the house is simple, there are clean beds available."
Lu Fei and the other two felt as though their bodies were filled with lead.
After extreme fatigue, once a person sits down, it's very difficult to get up again; this is the body's instinctive response.
"Huzi, Brother Jing, get up quickly!"
However, under Zhao Fengchun's urging, they still struggled to get up and continued on their way.
Fortunately, they didn't have far to go; it wasn't long before they reached where they had parked the car.
Everyone stuffed their backpacks into the trunk and drove to Zhao Fengchun's house.
Without taking time to look around the quiet little mountain village, they went straight to the beds after entering Zhao Fengchun's home.
Too tired to wash up, they fell asleep as soon as they lay down.
They slept straight through to noon the next day.
If it weren't for Zhao Fengchun waking them up for lunch, they might have slept for a much longer time.
"Brother Zhao, when did you get up?"
Lu Fei sat up and stretched.
"I got up this morning, and after I came back yesterday, I informed my father. He knew it was you who helped catch the ginseng, and he insisted on properly thanking you all."
Zhao Fengchun was beaming with a smile; his wounds had been treated, and he had changed into clean clothes.
He looked simple and full of vitality.
"I asked the aunt in the village with the best cooking skills to stew a big pot of free-range chicken and prepare a table full of delicious dishes. It's just about ready now, everyone, please come and eat."
As they just opened the door.
A rich aroma of chicken soup wafted in.
Lu Fei and the others immediately started salivating.