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The dagger proved to be quite effective. Before long, a large red centipede crawled out from beneath the ground.
Song Jinxiu was startled, but she reacted swiftly. Treasure-Hunting Mouse Junjun, who had been watching intently from the side, struck the moment the centipede showed its head—killing it with a single swipe of its paw.
“Ah! There’s even a guardian beast. Master, step back, let me handle this!”
Treasure-Hunting Mouse carefully unearthed a rhizome with a tiny sprout growing from it.
Song Jinxiu stared at it for a while, and the more she looked, the more it resembled Polygonatum—a medicinal herb known as huangjing.
But seeing how cautiously Treasure-Hunting Mouse handled it, Song Jinxiu immediately mirrored its care and gently helped transplant the rhizome into her space.
As for the mistletoe, Treasure-Hunting Mouse had no interest in it, but Song Jinxiu still cut it down.
She needed to earn money now, and when it came to wild medicinal herbs that could be picked with ease, it would be foolish not to gather them.
Under Treasure-Hunting Mouse’s guidance, Song Jinxiu found several ginseng plants and some lingzhi mushrooms. She even discovered a vast patch of honeysuckle.
After glancing around to confirm no one was nearby, she strolled through the sea of flowers. By the time she was done, only a few scattered seedlings remained, while her space had gained an entire field of honeysuckle.
For her first trip into the mountains, Song Jinxiu was quite satisfied. Seeing that Treasure-Hunting Mouse Junjun was looking a bit drained, she sent it into her space to rest.
This little creature had nearly faced certain death when its dantian was extracted—its survival was entirely thanks to Bao’ya’s protection.
On the way in, she’d had Treasure-Hunting Mouse Junjun to lead the way. On the way back, Song Jinxiu followed the mountain stream, ensuring she wouldn’t lose her way.
The stream eventually flowed down to the small creek at the eastern edge of Song Family Village.
Suddenly, a wild boar’s screech echoed from the left, growing louder and nearer by the second.
Song Jinxiu quickly turned to look, just in time to see the tall grasses ahead rustling violently. A large black boar with tusks came hobbling toward her, grunting heavily with each step.
Her first thought was how long those tusks were. Her second was that the boar’s leg was clearly injured.
The wild boar locked eyes with her, and in that instant, it suddenly charged at her with a look of vicious hatred.
There was no time to think. A dagger appeared in Song Jinxiu’s hand as she braced herself for battle.
Just as the wild boar lunged forward with its tusks, ready to gore her, a sharp, disdainful “zizi” echoed through the air.
The wild boar suddenly stumbled, its legs buckling beneath it. With a sickening crack, it collapsed onto its knees before Song Jinxiu.
The cold snort had, of course, come from Treasure-Hunting Mouse Junjun, who had appeared the moment the dagger did. And the wild boar—now on its knees with both front legs snapped—had actually fainted from sheer terror.
Song Jinxiu put away the dagger, picked up a rock from the ground, and brought it down hard. If you pass out in front of me—then you die right here.
The entire sequence had happened so quickly that by the time the hunters—Cheng Zhong and his son—caught up, all they saw was the wild boar charging at Song Jinxiu, only to be struck dead by a rock in her hand.
The two were stunned. Cheng Zhong rushed over in a few quick steps and anxiously looked her up and down. “Jinxiu, are you alright? Did you get hurt anywhere?”
As soon as Song Jinxiu saw the father and son appear, Treasure-Hunting Mouse Junjun quietly slipped back into the space. Neither of them noticed anything unusual.
“No, it didn’t manage to hurt me. It twisted its leg and collapsed to the ground before it could. Uncle Zhong, could you take a look—do you think it’s completely dead?”
Cheng Zhong bent down to examine the boar, then nodded. “Don’t worry. It’s dead.”
The boar’s brains had spilled out—of course it was dead.
Cheng Zhong said, “You were lucky. If it hadn’t twisted its leg just then, you would’ve been in real trouble. You’re a bold one, girl. What were you doing all the way out here?”
This area was already part of the inner region of Daqing Mountain. Normally, the village children only wandered around the outskirts—it was much safer there.
Song Jinxiu replied, “I saw a wild pheasant and chased it in here. I didn’t manage to catch it, and then I got lost. But I remembered the grown-ups always said, if you lose your way in the mountains, just follow the stream down and you’ll eventually find your way out.”
As she spoke, Song Jinxiu pointed to the water flowing through the mountain stream.
Cheng Zhong’s son, Cheng Hu, was about fifteen or sixteen—a sturdy, broad-shouldered youth with a square face full of spirit.
He grinned and said, “What you did was smart, but you’ve got to know your general direction too. If you go the wrong way, you’ll just end up farther and farther off.”
The Cheng family had originally fled to Song Family Village during a famine. With too many mouths to feed and too little land, they relied mostly on hunting to survive.
Even though their means were modest, when it came time to donate to her Big Brother back then, they still managed to give one hundred wen.
Father and son hoisted the wild boar and began their descent from the mountain, with Song Jinxiu following behind.
At the foot of the mountain, Cheng Zhong turned to her and said, “Jinxiu, I’ve got to rush this wild boar to the county and sell it. If you trust your uncle, just wait at home. Once I’ve sold it, I’ll give you a big share.”
Song Jinxiu smiled and asked, “How much do you think this wild boar can fetch?”
Cheng Zhong pinched the wild boar’s hind leg and said, “At least two taels.”
Song Jinxiu smiled. “Uncle Zhong, why don’t you sell it to me instead? My family’s house is under construction right now, and we’ll be raising the main beam soon. I’d like to treat all the uncles and brothers who’ve been helping us to a proper meal.”
As she spoke, she took out two taels of broken silver from her space and handed them over.
Cheng Zhong quickly waved his hands. “You were the one who killed the wild boar—you should get the bigger share. Just give me six qian of silver, that’ll do.”
Song Jinxiu smiled and replied, “Uncle, please take it. I’ll still need your help butchering the wild boar anyway. Yesterday I heard from Jinfang that Aunt Zhong has started coughing again. That won’t do—she should really go to the county physician. The longer it’s delayed, the harder it’ll be to treat.”
“It’s no trouble cleaning it up. I won’t take your two taels of silver—if I did, wouldn’t that be bullying a young girl like you? I’m not the kind of man who’d do that.”
No matter how much she insisted, he only accepted one tael in the end.
Song Jinxiu scratched her head and said, “Uncle, please don’t tell anyone I killed the wild boar. If my Big Brother finds out I went into the deep mountains, he’ll definitely scold me.”
Cheng Hu chuckled. “Now you’re scared, huh?”
Song Jinxiu quickly patted her chest. “Mm-hmm! Just thinking about it now still makes my heart race!”
Cheng Zhong also said, “The deep mountains truly are dangerous. Be more careful in the future—don’t go wandering in so far again.”
“Yes, I’ll be more careful next time,” she replied.
—She promised to be careful, but never said she wouldn’t go again.
When she transplanted the semi-spiritual herb guarded by the red centipede into her space, Song Jinxiu could clearly see a mist rising from the tender little sprout as the spring water flowed past it.
Later, when she searched for ginseng and lingzhi, she realized that without activating her golden pupils, she couldn’t distinguish them from ordinary herbs with the naked eye.
This proved that what benefited the space wasn’t necessarily medicinal herbs—but spiritual plants.
The reason Treasure-Hunting Mouse Junjun believed planting medicinal herbs was the right path was because, in its previous master’s lifetime, most medicinal herbs were actually spiritual plants.
News spread that Song Jinxiu had bought a wild boar and planned to treat all the people helping build her house to a roof-raising feast.
The entire village was abuzz.
A whole wild boar—how much must that have cost?
“That child really doesn’t know how to live frugally. How much money could she possibly have? Carrying on like this, making such a fuss. I’ve lived this long and only ever heard of warm-house banquets, never a roof-raising feast.”
“Ah, what does someone that young know? I heard all the money is with Grandfather Lizheng. Haven’t you seen him looking all pleased with himself these past few days? I bet he’s gotten quite a bit out of it…”
As the speaker talked, they curled their lips and made a pinching gesture with their fingers.
“No way. Grandfather Lizheng’s family isn’t short on money. Would he really skim off some orphaned children’s silver?”
“Well, who knows? If it were you, wouldn’t you be tempted to pinch a little off the top?” the speaker said again, repeating the pinching gesture.
The other person fell silent.
They thought to themselves—if it were me, would I have taken a little something?
Probably would’ve taken a bit as a “trouble fee,” right? After all, managing a house build isn’t easy. Hadn’t Qingshan and Qingshu even taken turns sleeping there at night to guard the supplies?
Of course, others speculated, “How much money do these kids actually have in their hands? If they were short on funds, would they be spending so freely?”
“This is outrageous. These kids have no adults to guide them, and now they’re doing something like this? Looks like it’s time for me, their grandfather, to step in and teach them a lesson.”
Having heard the news, Old Master Song clasped his hands behind his back and stormed out, fuming.
He truly couldn’t sit still any longer. Finally, he had found an excuse—if he didn’t seize this chance to assert his presence, how would he manage to move into the new house later?