C9 Going up the Mountain to Pick Herbs

"How much for two buns?" Xuanniang asked timidly, still unfamiliar with the currency of this era.

The bun vendor, short and stout with a warm smile, immediately assumed she was a runaway from a wealthy family.

"Miss, you must be joking. Two buns are just worth a dime. A dollar could buy you 20 buns. You sound like someone with money to spare. So, how many buns would you like?"

Hearing this, Xuanniang quickly did the math in her head. A dollar is ten dimes, and fifty dollars is five hundred dimes, which could buy a thousand buns. That's about three days' expenses for a wealthy household or a month's expenses for an average family.

Fifty dollars for just a month? No way, she needed to earn some money. Without money, she'd be in trouble, and a month would fly by.

She didn't have any small change on her, and pulling out fifty dollars would easily attract thieves. Oh well, she'd have to skip breakfast today.

"Sorry, sir, I didn't bring any money. I'll come back next time."

Declining the vendor's offer, Xuanniang turned back toward the village, pondering ways to make money.

On her way, she noticed that there were very few clinics in town, and the ones that did exist had long lines. Most people seemed to be there just for consultations, not to get medicine.

It seems that in ancient times, medical facilities were inadequate, and there were very few medical practitioners. Xuanniang also noticed that most of the sick were common folk who couldn't afford medicine due to poverty.

Suddenly, a bright idea struck her. Of course! She could go up the mountain to gather herbs and sell them. In her previous life, she had studied herbal medicine and recognized many of the plants.

With this thought, Xuanniang quickened her pace and hurried back to the village.

It was noon, and the sky was already darkening. Looking at the clouds, it seemed a storm was imminent.

On the edge of a cliff, a slender figure was precariously hanging. Xuanniang, dressed in indigo-dyed, cinched linen clothes, carried a basket on her back and had a rope tied around her waist, the other end secured to a large tree at the cliff's top. She held a sickle in one hand and clung tightly to the rocks with the other, her eyes fixed on a patch of rock ear mushrooms several feet above her.

Rock ear mushrooms, also known as stone flowers, are used to nourish and moisten dryness. They only form under specific conditions, and Xuanniang had discovered them by chance. As a healer, she couldn't pass up such a valuable medicinal herb.

Moreover, rock ear mushrooms were ideal for treating the lung disease of the man in the dark robe. It wasn't that the man was particularly important to her, but as a healer, it was her duty to do everything possible to cure every patient.

Xuanniang carefully climbed along the edge, unaware that her movements were causing the rope at the cliff's top to fray slightly from the repeated friction.

Silently, a few shadows descended from the large tree on the cliff. They were guards dressed in olive-green attire. The guards knelt before a woman in blue, asking, "Ma'am, should we lend a hand?"

The woman in blue replied with a man's voice, unmistakably Thousand-face. "The Duke only instructed us to watch, not to intervene. Besides, after following her for two days, do you think she needs help? Just wait; she'll make it up on her own. If you go down, you might mess things up for her."

The guards exchanged glances, resigned to follow orders. After all, this unreliable leader was their boss.

The sky grew darker as more clouds gathered, and thunder rumbled ominously. Thousand-face glanced up, furrowing his brows, and muttered under his breath, "Just my luck, looks like it's going to rain. Here I am, a beautiful lady, stuck in the rain, and I still have to keep an eye on that girl gathering herbs below."

Thousand-face began to look around, seemingly searching for shelter. Then he instructed the guards, "Keep a close watch on her and make sure she's safe. I'm heading out!"

Before long, a fierce wind whipped up, and rain poured down in torrents, creating a constant rustling sound. The guards were anxious, their eyes fixed on the edge of the cliff. The taut rope still moved from side to side, a sign that Xuanniang was still there.

After waiting for nearly an hour, a slender hand finally reached up over the rocks at the cliff's edge. Xuanniang had climbed back up, and both she and the guards breathed a sigh of relief.

Xuanniang was drenched, water dripping from her cheeks and hair. Her clothes clung to her body, soaked by the rain, and the wind made her feel chilled to the bone. From a distance, she appeared to have a delicate, fragile beauty. Of course, under the torrential rain, no one had the time or mood to appreciate such beauty as they all sought shelter from the storm.

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