Be Careful, Scum Dad! Mommy Is Back!-Chapter 121 - : How Did It All Disappear!?
Chapter 121: Chapter 121: How Did It All Disappear!?
Lu Xining had been walking for over two hours and had only covered half the distance.
She brought only two-thirds of her people with her into the mountains, leaving the rest at the village entrance in case of emergencies.
There was no signal in the mountains, but thankfully they were equipped with satellite phones.
After circling back to the same spot for the second time, she stopped and looked ahead at the distressed Chu Chunshan.
He paced back and forth, finally realizing that their group was lost.
Chu Chunshan took a deep drag on his cigarette and sighed, “It rained a few days ago. The heavy mist in the mountains made us lose our way.”
He looked at his obviously aged watch and spoke slowly, “I’ll go ahead to check it out. You all wait here, have something to eat and regain your strength.”
Lu Xining and Monkey exchanged glances, both feeling uneasy.
“Uncle Shan, this forest looks very primitive; it’s probably seldom visited by people, not to mention there might be wild animals lurking. I’ll arrange for a few people to follow you, so they can lend a hand in case something happens.”
As she spoke, she took a special medicinal solution from Monkey, along with a butterfly locked in a special device, and handed them to him.
“This is a tracking fluid and butterfly newly developed by our lab. Even if you get lost, this butterfly can bring you back.”
Chu Chunshan didn’t refuse upon hearing her words, a look of excitement in his eyes, “This is a great thing. Your lab is really impressive. This old man really wants to go and check it out.”
Unseen by him, at the end of the line, a bodyguard discreetly dropped droplets of a special transparent fluid on the ground, which disappeared into the misty forest path.
Once Chu Chunshan was gone, Lu Xining immediately had the special drone sent up into the sky.
However, the fog between the trees was too thick.
The drone’s camera showed nothing but towering trees and impenetrable white haze.
Luckily, this drone was a new product from a collaborative research institute, equipped with a new life-form movement sensor. By switching modes, it could penetrate the fog and detect all life forms in the woods.
“Found them.”
The drone operator barely started speaking when Monkey passed the tablet to Lu Xining. Chu Chunshan was leading four men in a southwesterly direction at a steady pace.
Lu Xining said, “It seems Chu Chunshan has ulterior motives.”
The special solution she had given him was meant to leave a trail that the drone’s tracking system could pick up from the air. But he didn’t use it because the only traces in the footage were those left secretly by the bodyguard.
If Chu Chunshan had used it, there should have been two trails, but there was only one.
Whether he lost his way by mistake or intentionally, only Chu Chunshan knew.
Lu Xining had another reason for bringing so many people into the mountains this time—to search for more rare medicinal herbs!
If what Chu Chunshan had seen really was the Seven-star Reviving Herb, then a mountain where such a demanding plant could survive must also be home to other medicinal herbs.
In modern society, many ancient herbs had become extinct.
Finding those rare herbs would be a great boon for the lab.
Upon arrival at Yun City, Lu Xining had drawn pictures of all the herbs she knew and had Haozi design a herb recognition system.
Just by wearing special glasses, one could immediately identify any relevant herbs.
“A few of you, put on the glasses and look around nearby.”
“Be careful with the fog in the woods, and if you come across a swamp, put on gas masks.”
Lu Xining arranged for most of the bodyguards to search for herbs in the mountains.
She didn’t stay put either, walking a short distance away with Monkey and several others.
Monkey kept his eyes on the tablet’s screen.
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Chu Chunshan kept heading southwest.
The bodyguards all had satellite phones and walkie-talkies, so if they found the right direction, they could contact them directly.
But as they went farther and farther, they received no word.
Worried about getting lost, Lu Xining didn’t wander far. Although she didn’t find any rare medicinal plants, she did find a good number of herbs with strong hemostatic properties and packed them all in her backpack.
By the time Chu Chunshan returned with his group, Lu Xining had already made her way back to the original spot.
“We’ve found the path. Let’s go.”
Chu Chunshan glanced at her people and noticed that half were missing. “Where are the others?”
Lu Xining didn’t intend to hide the truth from him and spoke frankly.
“Just now when we went into the mountain, I noticed many herbs along the way. Despite not being rare, I sent people back to gather them.”
“We don’t need to wait for them; they’ll head straight back to the village later. Let’s go.”
Knowing that the laboratory behind Lu Xining was focused on medical research, Chu Chunshan didn’t think too much about it.
“Alright, let’s make haste while it’s still early.”
Lu Xining nodded, looking down at the time.
They had set out at seven in the morning, and three hours had passed since their departure.
According to Chu Chunshan, they still had at least two hours’ walk to reach the place he spoke of.
That meant they would reach their destination around noon.
The return trip would take almost five hours.
It wasn’t summer, and darkness fell early—barely past five, it wouldn’t be bright.
If they had to stay in the mountains overnight, the dangers lurking in the dark wouldn’t be the only issue; the cold temperatures alone would be challenging.
Everyone quickly packed their backpacks and followed Chu Chunshan, stepping briskly in the direction he assured.
This time, they thankfully did not circle back to the start.
Two hours of walking later, they finally arrived at the place where Chu Chunshan had discovered what he suspected to be the Seven-star Reviving Herb.
Except…
The red ribbon left by Chu Chunshan was still tied under the tree, but the grassy patch around the tree was clearly ravaged by wild animals, all the plants bitten.
“This… Ah, how could everything be gone!”
Disappointment filled Chu Chunshan’s voice.
He circled the tree twice, confirming it was the one he marked, then sighed to Lu Xining, “I found a plant here that looked very much like the one in your picture, right under this tree.”
“Previously, I saw that the plant was beautifully colored, and it bloomed with particularly aromatic flowers. I thought it might be a precious medicinal herb, so I marked the spot here.”
He tugged at the red ribbon on the tree, now completely soaked by dew, “This one.”
Lu Xining crouched down to examine the chewed stalks carefully, the determination in her eyes deepening.
She stood up and smilingly said to Chu Chunshan, “No worries, only the leaves and flowers were eaten. If it is indeed the Seven-star Reviving Herb, what’s truly useful is its rhizome.”
Then, she directed Monkey and the others to start digging with their tools.
Whether it was the Seven-star Reviving Herb could be confirmed by examining the rhizome.
Chu Chunshan, with long hair tied into a bun on top of his head with a black stick and a few stray strands of hair across his forehead, barely masking the sharp look in his eyes, thought to himself: So this girl really does recognize the Seven-star Reviving Herb!
