Vermilion Fruit

"What should we do with these two monsters?" Jiang Jie gestured toward the lion-like beast.

"Let's drag them back to the vehicles first. Fortunately, we have two cars; otherwise, they wouldn't even fit," Rong Xianxian said with a smile.

"Indeed! I wonder what the meat of this kind of monster tastes like. Now that we're used to eating the meat of monsters nourished by spiritual energy, going back to eating vacuum-packed plain chicken and pork feels completely flavorless. Monster meat is so much more satisfying," Wang Lin smacked his lips, recalling the taste of yesterday's hot pot.

They set to work skinning, dissecting, and deboning the monsters. Being well-practiced, their movements were swift and efficient. Soon, the meat, hides, and bones were properly packed away separately, the bloodstains buried, and the valuable items loaded into the vehicles. After concealing the cars well, they began exploring deeper into the thickets along a narrow path.

This exploration truly gave her numerous pleasant surprises: soap pod thorns and mountain shield-ferns that reduce swelling and resolve stagnation; Danshen and Sichuan lovage rhizome for promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis; the most common heat-clearing and detoxifying dandelions and violet-flowered corydalis; and kudzu root, which nourishes Yin, clears heat, generates fluids, and quenches thirst. Rong Xianxian selectively picked the ones that had been nourished by spiritual energy and transformed into medicinal herbs, gathering those in prime condition.

Rong Xianxian also discovered many edible wild vegetables and some brightly colored, poisonous wild mushrooms.

Fresh vegetables had run out long ago. Looking at these tender, moisture-rich wild greens, Rong Xianxian was overjoyed, brainstorming several recipes in her mind: coating them in dry flour to steam into vegetable dumplings, or serving them blanched with a dipping sauce made of minced garlic, sesame paste, and vinegar.

She could also make a wild vegetable and dough-drop soup sprinkled with dried scallops, dried shrimp, and black and white pepper, or stir-fry the wild vegetables with meat or cured sausage. With so many wild greens, they could finally get a wonderful supplement of dietary fiber.

As Rong Xianxian daydreamed, she pulled out a large plastic bag and collected them with great delight, calling Cui Lie and the others to join in the picking, feeling the joy of a bountiful harvest.

Ever since the dramatic upheaval of heaven and earth and the resurgence of spiritual energy, people seemed to have reverted to the hunting and gathering lifestyle of their ancestors.

Of course, production within the safe zones would surely gradually recover in the future, but at the same time, monster hunters would also be in no short supply.

The distinction between ordinary people, adventurers, and cultivators had already become stark by the first year of the apocalyptic era.

"Sister Rong, look at what this is—such a pretty flower!" Wang Rui exclaimed with a hint of excitement.

Rong Xianxian looked toward the sound. Less than half a meter in front of Wang Ruirui bloomed a crystal-clear, translucent, exotic flower. Under the sunlight filtering through the overlapping tree leaves, it gleamed like jade, dazzling and brilliant.

Wang Ruirui was about to lean in for a closer look at the jade-like flower, right next to which lay a clump of dark, messy weeds.

"Stand right there and don't move. Don't get any closer!" Rong Xianxian shouted toward Wang Ruirui.

Wang Ruirui immediately halted his steps, looking at Rong Xianxian with a trace of confusion.

Rong Xianxian walked over and extended a long branch toward the jade-like flower. With three rapid swishing sounds and a crisp snap, the sturdy branch was tightly coiled by several cyan shadows and broken cleanly in two.

Wang Ruirui stepped back a few paces. Those cyan shadows were actually several bizarre-looking green snakes.

The strange green snakes were covered in a layer of fine scales, with bright red patterns on top of their heads. Their vertical pupils flashed with a fierce light, making them look bewitching and eerie.

*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!* The plum blossom darts in Xia Kai's hand accurately pinned each snake squarely at the seven-inch mark of its body.

Rong Xianxian put on her gloves and packed the dead green snakes into a bag. Snake soup was delicious, but of course, the primary reason Rong Xianxian collected them was for their venom sacs.

"Everyone be careful; there might be other green snakes around," Rong Xianxian called out, signaling everyone to form a defensive formation.

"I just walked past here; why didn't I see any flowers?" Jiang Jie asked Wang Ruirui, looking puzzled.

"I was feeling a bit bored just now and poked around with a branch. I accidentally brushed away this dark weed and then saw this flower. Green flowers are so rare! And it's such a pretty flower too. Have you guys ever seen one? Do you know what kind of flower this is?" Wang Ruirui turned his gaze toward Rong Xianxian.

"What kind of grass is this? Did someone deliberately cover this flower up with this grass?" Wang Ruirui asked, pointing at the patch of dark weeds.

"There's another patch over here, and another one over there too," Wang Lin said, pointing at another cluster of dark grass.

"Black grass covers the jade; green snakes guard the crimson fruit," Rong Xianxian murmured quietly to herself.

"What?" Rong Xianxian's voice was very soft. Even Wang Lin, who stood closest to her, didn't hear clearly and asked with a puzzled expression.

"It's nothing. Xuanxuan, Xiaolo, sit properly yourselves. Everyone, look around for some dead branches nearby and beat the surrounding bushes to see if there are any more of these small snakes," Rong Xianxian reminded them.

After confirming there were no other green snakes, Rong Xianxian carefully uncovered the patch of dark weeds, and an exotic, sweet fragrance immediately drifted out.

Concealed beneath this cluster of dark grass was a patch of bright red crimson fruit.

Rong Xianxian looked in utter astonishment at the patch of crimson fruit before her eyes. She hadn't expected such a patch of crimson fruit to exist in the suburbs just outside the city.

This patch of crimson fruit was of immense value.

Crimson fruit grew in soil rich in spiritual energy. This medicine was not present in the traditional Chinese medicine textbooks Rong Xianxian had originally studied; it was a miraculous medicine for healing injuries. Although its efficacy didn't quite extend to bringing the dead back to life or growing flesh on bones, it possessed truly magical effects when it came to generating flesh, nourishing blood, healing injuries, and prolonging life.

For a full year afterward, crimson fruit had consistently remained in the top ten of the base's medicinal herb bounty board as a staple standby medicine.

The companion beasts of the crimson fruit—green snakes—were extremely venomous, small in size, and adept at ambushes, yet they were relatively manageable companion beasts compared to others. However, the growing environment of the crimson fruit had always been unknown, traditionally regarded as something met by chance rather than sought.

These crimson fruits were brilliant, crystal-clear, and plump, having clearly entered their ripening stage, quietly waiting to be harvested.

"This is top-tier stuff. Cui Lie, Wang Ruirui, the two of you keep watch. Everyone else, start picking. Handle them gently—Xiaolo, use a bit less force when you pick," Rong Xianxian directed everyone as they went to work.

Feigning that she was reaching into the backpack on her back, Rong Xianxian actually retrieved two large glass juice bottles from her sachet and instructed everyone to place the harvested crimson fruits inside them.

Crimson fruit could only be stored in glass bottles, crystal bottles, or jade bottles.

Rong Xianxian had neither jade bottles nor crystal bottles on hand, but fortunately, she still had quite a few glass bottles.

Every medicine has three parts poison, meaning medicine shouldn't be consumed in excess. However, this crimson fruit could nourish Qi and blood, as well as repair deep-seated injuries in the tendons and bones. It was one of the rare medicinal herbs that could also double as an ingredient for food, possessing dual origins as medicine and food without any side effects.

With so many of them here, she could save half for future use in making pills and blending ointments, while the rest could be used to simmer soups or boil into medicinal tea.

This was simply too luxurious. Even the top brass of the base might not enjoy such treatment.

Rong Xianxian checked the mechanical watch on her wrist; it was already approaching two o'clock.

Even though she had secretly smuggled a significant amount of goods into her sachet, the vehicles were still packed to the brim and could hold no more. She called everyone to load up the cars and prepare to head back.