In the evening, Hao Cheng ate something casually, took an oil-paper umbrella, put on a raincoat, and slung a bamboo basket over her back as she walked out of the courtyard gate.

The second uncle of the Dong family, who was choosing vegetables at the gate when it was locked, looked up at the sky, “It’s so gloomy, and the wind is strong. Looks like it’s going to rain heavily. Hao Cheng, why are you going out so late?”

She raised the umbrella in her hand, “I’ve eaten, just have something to do. With an umbrella, it’s no problem.”

As soon as the greetings were exchanged, large raindrops began to fall. Hao Cheng hurriedly walked up the mountain, holding the umbrella and nodding to villagers returning from the fields. It wasn’t easy for Xinghua Village to produce a scholar. Although Hao Cheng wasn’t good at farming, the original owner was still respected by the villagers.

However, the original scholar was too shy, so the villagers only saw her as aloof and bookish, naturally not taking the initiative to approach her.

After Hao Cheng came, she made efforts to improve neighborly relations, sending sesame paste and the like to her neighbors.

By occasionally giving some green onions, helping with house repairs, and lending a hand, the neighbors were also happy to reciprocate.

Yesterday, when she found a ginseng plant on the mountain, she felt it was too small due to limited conditions and decided to wait until it grew bigger before picking it. She covered it with leaves and made it look like it hadn’t been touched.

Now that it was going to rain heavily, she was afraid the traces would be lost. She also heard a saying among the villagers that mature ginseng would hide itself. With this in mind, she decided to pick it earlier; it was more reliable to sell it for money.

This was her chance to get rich and also the capital for future business when she opened a shop in town. She couldn’t afford to lose it just like that.

Even if it started thundering, she had to hurry up the mountain. Moreover, at this time, the villagers had all returned to their houses, and there were few pedestrians on the road, so she estimated that no one would see her picking the ginseng.

The place where the ginseng grew was low-lying and close to a cliff. It was where Hao Cheng slipped and fell while going up the mountain yesterday, which led to the unexpected discovery.

After the heavy rain, the mountain road became muddy. Hao Cheng carefully made her way down, her hands cut by the mountain grass. But she couldn’t care about these injuries at all.

She bent down, holding the umbrella with one hand and parting the dense grass with the other, carefully searching for the precious ginseng according to her memory.

Nothing, nothing, nothing! Hao Cheng searched anxiously, throwing the umbrella aside and frantically searching in the pouring rain. The rain slid down her conical hat, creating a blurry curtain of rain in front of her eyes.

Hao Cheng simply threw away the hat, her gaze scanning the lush grass. When her gaze moved to the north near the cliff, she finally saw the ginseng she discovered yesterday, with a small red flower swaying on top in the wind.

It’s clearly not where she remembered the ginseng was supposed to be, and there wasn’t any dark object pressing down on top of it. Could it be that the ginseng really became sentient and ran away on its own?

Hao Cheng muttered to herself, relieved to have found the ginseng nonetheless.

She picked up her conical hat and umbrella from the ground. After all, the cliff where the ginseng was located was steep, and she was worried about rocks rolling down and hitting her head.

Even small stones falling from high places could be fatal, and she didn’t want to lose her life over a ginseng plant. Carefully making her way to the location,

Hao Cheng bent down to pull out the ginseng, only to realize that what was pressing down on it wasn’t a rock or tree trunk as she had thought, but a person who was unconscious.

Startled, Hao Cheng instinctively took two steps back. The person was completely soaked by the rain, and it seemed like they were seriously injured, with blood mixing with the rainwater flowing out from under them. The scene was like something out of a horror movie.

Ancient people had long hair, and judging by the figure, she couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman. The person must have fallen from a height, with their hair scattered, black as ink, draped over their body, complemented by pale skin and the blood underneath. It was truly pushing Hao Cheng to her limits.

As terrifying as the scene was, Hao Cheng covered her pounding heart, but her gaze was still drawn to the ginseng under the person. This was something she had discovered; she couldn’t just leave it there because of this person.

If she just ran away, she would suffer for nothing and be scared for nothing. Summoning up her courage, Hao Cheng took another step forward.

She looked up at the sky, where dense raindrops were falling from the leaden gray sky. The night was getting darker, and soon the wild beasts in the mountains would come out to wreak havoc.

The blood on the person’s body would attract animals with sensitive noses, so she had no time to hesitate, only to act decisively. The cliff was so high that the person must have died. But Hao Cheng still leaned down to check the person’s breath.

The result was completely unexpected. Although the other party’s breathing was weak, there was still life. She pressed her hand against the person’s limp arm and could feel the pulsating pulse. There were still movements in the chest; it was a living person. And it was a rather petite man.

People fear motionless corpses but not living ones. Hao Cheng’s fear decreased significantly. With a firm grip, she pulled the ginseng out from under the person and hid it in the pocket sewn into her sleeve.

Originally intending to leave, she turned back after only a few steps. Although this person had no relation to her, leaving someone to die without helping would burden her conscience for a lifetime. She couldn’t just watch this person without doing anything.

Fortunately, although the scholar was weak, as a woman in this world, she still had strength. Hao Cheng temporarily abandoned her umbrella and bamboo basket, first carrying the person up the slope where she had slipped down, then carrying the basket and umbrella back up.

She put the umbrella into the basket and used two fingers to hold it, carrying the man on her back. With great effort, she walked step by step towards her house. As she walked, she silently prayed, hoping that the man’s injuries were only external, after all, she was poor and couldn’t afford expensive medical expenses.