Chapter 18: A Discovery

Zhou Yu brought five people with him, including Xu Xia—and surprisingly, even a middle-aged woman.

Zhao Hu, being rather careless, didn’t find it odd. Qin Ying, however, glanced a few extra times at Zhou Yu. She hadn’t expected him to be this considerate. Fearing rumors might arise from her being the only woman traveling with a group of men, he had deliberately brought along this woman.

The woman’s surname was Zhong, and according to her, she was the cook from Zhou Yu’s household.

Aunt Zhong quickly became familiar with Aunt Zhao.

Aunt Zhao politely said, “I feel at ease with you around. Yingzi is still young, and this is her first time being a mother. If there’s anything she doesn’t understand, little sister, please teach her more.”

Aunt Zhong readily agreed to take on the responsibility.

Qin Ying and Zhao Hu gathered all the necessary supplies and left Tongshu Village with Zhou Yu and his group. Zhang Jinzhi continued with the visitation work—not only in Tongshu Village but also in the surrounding villages.

Long story short, Zhou Yu’s group veered off from Tongshu Village about ten li before heading into the mountains. They ascended another mountain, roughly twenty li in a straight line from the Tongshu Village well. In practice, it would take at least half a day to walk there.

The foot of the mountain was barren—grass roots had been dug up and tree bark stripped away.

By the time the sun tilted westward and they reached mid-mountain, only then did they start to see fully intact vegetation.

Everyone stopped to rest. Zhao Hu chatted with Zhou Yu: “You came at the right time. A few months ago, our village looked just like this too.

“People in the village were so hungry they didn’t even have the strength to go deep into the mountains.

“We’re only out here because we have to raise An’an. Otherwise, knowing full well there’s nothing to find, why waste the energy?

“The more you move, the hungrier you get.”

Aunt Zhong had already taken An’an from Qin Ying to let her rest.

An’an immediately lunged toward Zhou Yu.

Catching Aunt Zhong off guard, she stumbled a little.

Fortunately, Zhou Yu was quick and caught the child into his arms.

Qin Ying and Zhao Hu both broke out in a cold sweat. Qin Ying rushed forward two steps, then hesitated and gave Zhao Hu a push. Zhao Hu tried to take An’an back.

But An’an twisted her small body, turned her little butt to him, pointed to the woods beside them, and shouted, “Zhou! Zhou!”

Zhou Yu, holding her, walked in that direction and called out to Zhao Hu, “Let’s go together.”

He could tell that Qin Ying was very nervous about the child and didn’t want her out of sight, so having Zhao Hu come along was best.

An’an was secretly pleased. Both of them had the koi fish luck enhancement she gave them—double the boost meant good fortune was sure to follow.

As for the water source? It was too early to find one today. Maybe tomorrow evening.

Zhou Yu carried An’an into the dense forest. Since there was no wind, everything felt lifeless.

Zhao Hu couldn’t help but sigh. “In the past, only hunters dared to venture into places like this in groups.

“There were often wild beasts on the mountain. If you were unlucky and ran into a tiger, wolf, or even a bear, being alone could mean death.

“With this long drought, who knows if those beasts ran off somewhere else or just starved to death…”

Zhou Yu’s eyes focused. Suddenly, he pointed ahead and asked, “What’s that?”

Amidst the withered yellow, there was a faint trace of green.

Carrying the child made it inconvenient for him to check, so Zhao Hu ran over.

Soon, he came back with his lower hem filled with pinecones, grinning. “Master, we’re really lucky! There are a few living pine trees over there!”

Zhou Yu’s eyes lit up. He looked down at the drowsy An’an in his arms and said, “Let’s not be so formal in the future. I’m just a few years older than you. Call me Brother Zhou.”

Zhao Hu scratched the back of his head awkwardly. “That doesn’t seem appropriate…”

“There’s nothing inappropriate about it,” Zhou Yu said calmly. “We’re all just ordinary people with a head on two shoulders.”

Zhao Hu, having been lectured by Qin Ying countless times, came up with a compromise. “Then how about calling you Master Zhou?”

Zhou Yu nodded slightly. Things needed to progress gradually.

The two emerged from the forest and told the others. Everyone then moved toward the pine forest.

Several old pine trees stood in a low-lying area. Their needles were a dark gray-green.

Though they didn’t look particularly healthy, compared to the lifeless yellow around, they were invigorating to see.

Someone exclaimed, “Maybe there’s water here! If there wasn’t, these pines would’ve died already!”

Others rushed over to gather pinecones and sniffed them—no strange smell.

Zhou Yu said, “It’s getting late. Let’s rest here tonight. We’ll dig for a well tomorrow.”

He handed the sleeping An’an to Zhao Hu, who returned the child to Qin Ying.

The group quickly cleared a firebreak and lit two fires—one side for the men, the other for Aunt Zhong, Qin Ying, and An’an.

After a simple dinner, everyone piled up the gathered pinecones and began cracking them open to extract pine nuts.

They ended up with half a basketful.

Zhou Yu glanced around at the desolate surroundings and said, “Most of the mountain’s trees have died. Since we’ve got so many pine nuts, let’s plant new seedlings and reforest the area later.”

He looked at Zhao Hu and smiled. “Your village’s Chen Ninth Master is quite something.”

“Huh?” Zhao Hu didn’t quite get it and blinked blankly, but that didn’t stop him from praising Uncle Chen. “Ninth Master is the most knowledgeable person in our village!

“When he was young, he traveled far and wide!

“What Master Zhou just said about replanting trees—our Ninth Master suggested it long ago…”

The next day, after breakfast, the group began digging the well.

An’an gave everyone a koi luck boost too. Though most of it dispersed, even a little was better than none.

So, the well digging went smoothly. Everyone felt unusually energetic.

But the soil they dug up was all dry. After about twenty feet, Zhou Yu called a halt. “This won’t do.”

No one was disappointed. This trip had always been a gamble anyway.

While they wandered around, they gathered some wild fruits—which, surprisingly, had no odd smell. A pleasant bonus.

Two days later, they moved to another mountain. That afternoon, they spotted a nesting wild pheasant.

Everyone was overjoyed. If there were living animals, that meant water had to be nearby!

They caught the pheasant along with its eggs and placed them upside down in a basket. Then they split into pairs to search for possible water sources.

An’an, on Qin Ying’s back, swayed her little head. This credit should go to her mother!

She focused one energy point into her fingertip, pointed ahead, and then fell asleep.

Qin Ying and Aunt Zhong pushed aside the tall, dry grass in front of them. Aunt Zhong, with her keen eyes, suddenly widened them. “Yingzi, look!”

Qin Ying looked up—on the open ground ahead was a patch of lush wild vegetables and herbs!

Aunt Zhong darted over with lightning speed.

Qin Ying was just as shocked as if they’d found a water source. Even a cook had such impressive skills—Zhou Yu’s identity must be even more extraordinary.

Perhaps he was the son of a high-ranking official or a nobleman, hiding here to escape the chaos of war…