Chapter 17: First Venture Into the Mountains

Jiang Ye nodded earnestly. "Sister must admit I am not a sycophant, otherwise, for one day... no, three hours, a stick of incense! I won't talk to you for even a stick of incense."

Watching the child shorten his own ultimatum, Jiang Bai couldn't help but laugh out loud. She reached out and ruffled Jiang Ye’s hair. "Alright, alright, Sister admits it. Our Xingzhi is no sycophant; he is a little cutie who speaks the truth."

Jiang Ye nodded with satisfaction, the corners of his mouth curling upward. "That’s more like it."

Watching his smug little expression, Jiang Bai couldn't resist teasing him further. "But, Xingzhi, what was that about 'one day, three hours, a stick of incense'?"

Jiang Ye blinked, seemingly caught off guard by the question. He paused for a moment, then scratched his head in embarrassment. "It’s just... I wanted to say I wouldn't talk to you for a very, very long time, but then I felt that was too long, so I... I shortened it a bit."

Jiang Bai chuckled. "So that’s it. Does that mean Sister should thank you for your mercy?"

Jiang Ye blushed and muttered, "Sister just loves to tease me."

Seeing him shy, Jiang Bai stopped teasing and moved on to other interesting topics.

While Jiang Bai and her brother enjoyed their happy moment, Yang Bin and the others were far from relaxed.

Wang Da and his team had finished their interrogation. Military Doctor Liu had instructed his apprentice to swap the medicine packets, causing multiple poisonings. The goal was to discredit Jiang Bai’s medical skills, hire thugs to ruin her reputation, and then logically lead everyone to doubt her.

Wang Da himself had stolen Chen Jie’s prescription to mislead him into doubting Jiang Bai’s character, intending to have her expelled from the army and subsequently assassinated. Even more infuriating was that the pair had planned to target the General, intending to use medication that would cause his wounds to fester again. They reasoned that even if their previous schemes failed, once the General’s condition worsened, Duan Jing and his men would certainly hold Jiang Bai accountable.

The assassination attempt was only tangentially related to them. The assassins had followed Doctor Liu’s apprentice, but since the apprentice—and indeed Liu himself—did not know that General Duan had changed his quarters, they had led everyone to the wrong place. In that sense, the apprentice’s ignorance had inadvertently misled the conspirators.

"Leave none of them alive," Duan Yue ordered. These turncoats dared to reach for him over petty grievances; they truly had a death wish.

"General, there is something suspicious about Li Yuan’s case." Although Li Yuan claimed he acted to gain power, they were a group of mountain rebels, not a formal army; such positions mattered less to them than having enough to eat, wear, and spend. Li Yuan’s sudden outburst and his words felt inexplicable and did not hold up to scrutiny.

"General, I suspect there is someone behind him," Yang Bin said.

Duan Yue nodded in agreement. "Go and investigate thoroughly. There is no way these few are the only traitors in the army!"

"Yes!" Yang Bin accepted the order and left.

"Zhongxuan, do you think this is the work of people from the Imperial Capital, or..." Duan Yue looked at his still-unconscious brother, his own suspicions already forming.

Time moved toward the Double Ninth Festival. Jiang Bai and her brother had been with the Red Brow Army for twenty days. Seeing that the medicinal herbs were running low, Jiang Bai prepared to gather a group to forage in the mountains. Standing at a high point in the Red Brow camp, gazing at the winding mountain paths and the distant undulating peaks, she once again attempted to cultivate her wood-element ability, but to no avail.

"Doctor Jiang, many of the herbs are gone." Just as she was feeling discouraged, a soldier handed her a bundle. Jiang Bai took it and frowned slightly; the herbs inside had also been sabotaged by Wang Da’s group. Now, the army was short on many supplies. After consulting with Chen Jie, it was decided that Chen Jie would guard the infirmary while she personally led a team into the mountains.

Jiang Bai strapped on her medical kit and set off with several soldiers and a medicine boy. Since they needed to go deep into the forest, she didn't feel at ease leaving her brother behind; she entrusted him to General Duan, who was supposedly a relative. Since the General had recovered and regained his spirit, he had become quite fond of teasing the boy. Although his temperament was unpredictable, his safety was guaranteed—especially after the assassination attempt, as security around the General had been significantly tightened.

Their destination was a remote valley located northwest of the camp. The terrain was steep and the paths rugged; despite the harsh environment and tangled thorns, it was precisely the kind of place where precious herbs grew.

"Doctor Jiang, I think the path should be this way." Beside her was a middle-aged man in coarse linen clothes. His face was etched with the marks of time, yet his eyes shone with determination. He was Zhang Tiezhu, a renowned mountain climber within the Red Brow Army.

"You know this area?" Jiang Bai looked at the route he proposed, which seemed different from the one she usually took.

"Doctor Jiang, you might not know this, but Old Zhang is our army's best climber. Many treacherous areas were scouted by him leading the vanguard. Plus, he has a phenomenal memory; he remembers a path after walking it just once," a young soldier explained.

"Is that so? That’s wonderful." Jiang Bai invited Zhang Tiezhu to be their guide. Along the way, she discovered that not only was he an expert climber, but he also possessed profound knowledge of plants and animals. As they walked, he introduced the characteristics and uses of various flora and fauna, leaving everyone amazed. In this lively atmosphere, the team arrived at their destination before they knew it.

"This is the place you mentioned, right? I remember coming here when we first attacked this area," Zhang Tiezhu said, pointing to a flat clearing ahead.

Jiang Bai examined it carefully and realized it was indeed the right spot, though the entrance was from a different direction. The path Zhang Tiezhu had taken was much more convenient and faster than her usual route.

"It really is. I usually come from the other side, though."

The young soldier, Lin Qing, chimed in again, "Doctor Jiang, you don’t know, this is a secret passed down in Old Zhang’s family. We’ve saved so much time on this trip thanks to him. He can even predict where beasts are lurking and lead us around them, so we haven’t wasted any energy dealing with those troublesome creatures."

Hearing this, Jiang Bai decided to ask Yang Bin if it would be possible to have Zhang Tiezhu assist her when he was off duty. With an expert like him, collecting herbs would be significantly more efficient.