Beside him, Sister La watched the mushrooms with a pained expression.
Left to her, she would have preferred to harvest the mushrooms more slowly, which felt safer. But Chen Nuo had said that the seeds would only appear after the seventh harvest.
So, they had no choice but to harvest them once a day.
Fortunately, the mushrooms could still be stored for now, so getting through the month would certainly be no problem.
Once the autumn grain harvest began next month, everything would be fine.
Chen Nuo harvested the final crop of mushrooms.
He then took a kitchen knife, separated the caps from the stems, and carefully sliced open the base of the stems.
Tiny, dry white particles appeared inside.
A smile finally broke across Chen Nuo's face.
Success.
Based on his observations, this oyster-like mushroom had very special spores. They were nurtured by splitting within the base of the stem. The first four harvests had only shown signs of this, and while the fifth had shown concrete traces, they were still moist. It wasn't until this seventh harvest that the inside had finally become completely dry, producing these special, visible spores.
Normally, spores are invisible to the naked eye.
"So this is that... what did you call it? Buns?"
Sister La asked curiously.
"Er, it's *spores*, not... never mind. Yes, that's them. But I'm not yet sure about their growth rate and cycle. Let's plant them now and see what happens."
"Okay."
As she spoke, the ever-astute Sister La went to a corner of the yard where more wood was piled up and rolled a log over.
These were logs they had collected from around the village over the past two days—all discarded wood nobody wanted.
Chen Nuo scattered the tiny particles evenly over the log, sprinkled them with water, and then covered them with a layer of sawdust and chopped straw.
"There. If all goes well, we should see the results by tomorrow morning."
'That is, provided they still have that strange, rapid-growth trait.'
'If this step is successful, the position of Clan Leader should be secure. If not, I'll have to think of something else.'
"That's wonderful!"
A brilliant smile bloomed on Sister La's face.
Chen Nuo was taken aback. It had been a while since he'd seen a smile like that on her face.
'Looks like she's been under a lot of pressure lately.'
Chen Nuo grew pensive.
...
「Nightfall.」
After finishing dinner, Chen Nuo's family each went about their evening tasks.
His mother mended shoes by moonlight to help make ends meet, while Sister La took care of the housework—cleaning the stove, tidying the firewood, preparing the bedding...
Chen Nuo, meanwhile, was holed up in the apothecary.
Cleaning the stove was not a pleasant job; it was easy to get your face covered in soot.
Even someone as practiced as Sister La couldn't avoid getting smudged.
"Sigh, I have to wash my face again."
It wasn't that she was being fussy, but custom dictated that sleeping with a dirty face was bad luck.
"Wash what?"
Chen Nuo's voice suddenly called out.
Sister La jumped, then replied irritably, "My face! This soot is so hard to get off."
Chen Nuo smiled and handed her what he was holding.
Sister La froze.
She looked closer.
It was a small wooden figurine. The features were a little rough, but she could vaguely make out that it was a woman wearing a long dress.
"This... is for me?"
Sister La was stunned.
She had never really received a gift in her entire life.
In an ordinary commoner's family, there weren't many such extravagant displays of affection.
She had always thought the first gift of her life would be on the day she married Chen Nuo. According to custom, his mother would pass down a family heirloom to her—a bracelet, a hairpin, or a ring—to signify her status as the new mistress of the household.
She never expected that Chen Nuo would suddenly give her a gift today.
Usually so sharp-tongued, she was at a loss for words. She reached out, took the wooden carving, and caressed it with her slightly rough fingers.
Seeing that she seemed to like it, Chen Nuo smiled in relief. "I'll help you."
With that, he walked toward the firewood pile.
Behind him, her smile grew even more beautiful.
...
Just as things were looking up for Chen Nuo and his family...
「On Coiling Snake Mountain.」
"Run! Run! AHH!!"
"No! No!"
"Brother Li! Brother Li!"
"..."
Shouts, panic, frantic running.
Bringing up the rear, Chen Li's face was a savage mask as he loosed arrow after arrow, his fingers already bleeding.
But still he kept firing, firing, firing!
The hatchet at his belt was gone, he didn't know when.
In the darkness behind him, thick black shadows slithered across the ground one after another, flicking their long, thin tongues as they advanced. As far as the eye could see, the entire jungle seemed to be swarming with these damned snakes!
No matter how precise his arrows, it was useless. The sea of snakes was endless!
Just then,
SWOOSH!
A sound tore through the air beside his ear.
'Not good!'
Chen Li's heart seized with alarm, but he had just released the bowstring and had no time to react.
The next moment.
THUD!
A powerful force slammed into him, knocking him aside.
AWOO!!!
Where he had just been standing, a large, sturdy yellow dog was thrashing on the ground, howling in agony. In the blink of an eye, its body shriveled. On its head, a thumb-sized, five-colored snake was burrowing into its ear.
The dog's cries cut off instantly.
"Dahuang!"
Chen Li's eyes burned with fury. That was the hunting dog he had raised from a pup!
It had helped him countless times.
And now it had died here. And it wasn't just Dahuang...
'Perhaps this is the day I die. I deserve it. I knew there were snakes deep in the mountains, but I let greed drive me in here anyway, thinking I'd be fine if I was just careful. And because of me, Ah Mi and Ah Su are dead.'
'Granduncle, you were right. I'm just not capable enough!'
'Forget it... This is how it ends...'
But just then, a hand reached out and grabbed his arm.
"Brother Li, get out of here!"
The man forcefully shoved him forward.
His own scrawny body blocked the path.
"Please take care of my family! Brother Li! You have to live!"
"No! Come back!" Chen Li screamed, tears streaming down his face.
He knew that man.
The eggs the man had given him were still tucked in his shirt. He still remembered his words of gratitude, still saw the vivid image of the man's elderly mother kneeling as she entrusted her son to his care...
"Run, Brother Li!"
Another person ran back, grabbing him and pulling him along.
With bloodshot eyes, Chen Li glanced back one last time at the jungle teeming with innumerable snakes, then wrenched his head forward and ran with all his might.
"You motherfucking snakes! I'm not afraid of—AHH!"
The voice was shrill.
Then it faded.
...
「Chen Manor.」
Night.
Chen Nuo, who was in his room practicing his Cultivation, was suddenly startled by urgent knocking at the door.
"Shui Sheng Family! Something terrible has happened!"
"Open up, quick!"
It was the coarse, loud voice of a woman. 'Sounds like one of the aunties who's close with Mom,' he thought.
'But her voice is filled with urgency... and even fear!'
"What is it, what is it! Stop all that knocking!"
His mother, still mending shoes, and Sister La immediately stopped what they were doing.
CLICK!
The courtyard gate opened.
"It's terrible! Something's happened to Chen Li and his group!"