A veteran of the frontier army, after marrying a wife, fought his way through the northern border.

There are wars everywhere and famines.

Ordinary people have it tough; lending grain is like lending their lives.

I won't say that unless it's absolutely necessary.

He hadn't hunted for over three years.

The Luo family had been hunters for three generations, and he himself was skilled at archery, having been a master hunter in his youth.

However, after the age of forty-five, he felt that he was getting old and his body was declining year by year. He could no longer pull the two-stone bow passed down from his grandfather.

But last night's passionate night with his wife gave him a new lease on life, like a second spring in his life.

Not only has his physical strength recovered to that of a young man, but it is even better than before.

Now, let alone firing a two-stone bow, even a three-stone bow is no problem!

"My husband, Yushang and I have studied medicine with my father since we were young and we understand pharmacology."

If you can find these medicinal herbs in the mountains, I can prepare a wound medicine for Hongxiu.

I just gave her a few acupuncture needles, but it was just a temporary measure.

Su Yunshang handed a piece of scrap paper to Luo Yunxiao.

Luo Yunxiao took the slip of paper, on which were written the names of five medicinal herbs, including Panax notoginseng, Rubia cordifolia, and Angelica dahurica, in delicate, tiny characters.

These days, wars are frequent, and the prices of grain and other goods have risen considerably, with medicinal herbs being in short supply.

A packet of wound medicine costs fifty coins when there is no war.

With the border conflict escalating, prices have soared to two or three hundred wen per bag, equivalent to more than thirty jin of millet.

Ordinary families can't afford it.

Nowadays, the standard for distinguishing between the rich and the poor is whether they can afford medicine.

Those who are sick but have no money will die eight or nine out of ten; those who have money and access to medical care will survive six or seven out of ten.

If the wife in the household can make medicine, it saves a lot of expenses.

Luo Yunxiao was overjoyed, realizing that all three of his wives were exceptionally talented.

"Okay, you guys wait for me to come back at home."

Luo Yunxiao walked to the village entrance and saw Niu Dabiao and Liu Wangcai walking towards him carrying medicine baskets.

The two were stunned when they saw Luo Yunxiao, their expressions the same as the village chief's when he saw Luo Yunxiao earlier.

Niu Dabiao stared wide-eyed in surprise: "Old Luo, what are you doing?"

"We'll dig up some mountain produce to improve our meals, and maybe hunt some wild game while we're at it."

"Uncle Luo, you seem younger to me. Is it just my imagination?"

Liu Wangcai was a junior in the village and someone Luo Yunxiao had watched grow up. Of all the people who mocked Luo Yunxiao for marrying three wives yesterday, he was the one who laughed the most heartily.

He originally wanted to climb over Luo Yunxiao's courtyard wall to see if he had been tormented to death by the three women, and then gossip about him to find some amusement.

Unexpectedly, Luo Yunxiao looked so healthy.

"I just got married, so with three happy events happening at once, I'm naturally in high spirits."

Luo Yunxiao didn't explain further and strode out of the village, leaving the two stunned.

"Wangcai, do you think we haven't married enough wives?"

"I think so too."

The two exchanged a glance, secretly thinking that if they ever encountered another government-provided wife, they would definitely take two more to warm their beds!

Five miles south of Chenjia Village lies the rolling Qingshi Ridge.

This mountain range is mostly composed of bluish-gray rocks, with ridges stretching in all directions and no obvious main peak.

Although there are many medicinal herbs and mountain products in the mountains, wild boars often appear. If you want to go deep into the mountains to hunt, you usually need to go in a team of three to five hunters.

Luo Yunxiao is now at the late stage of Martial Apprentice, and he is confident that he can escape unscathed even if he encounters a wild boar, so he went straight into the deep mountains.

Rare medicinal herbs and mountain products are found deep in remote mountains and forests.

Because he awakened the skill of finding treasures within ten feet.

As long as the prescription is in mind, any place within a ten-zhang radius containing medicinal herbs such as Panax notoginseng, madder root, angelica root, and pine resin will emit light.

Following the light, he gathered all the medicinal herbs Su Yunshang needed in less than an hour.

Unfortunately, no wild ginseng was found.

Because Panax notoginseng resembles ginseng and is a valuable medicinal herb, he collected two more plants.

Not all of them need to be used to make wound medicine.

If you find valuable medicinal herbs, you can take them to the pharmacy to exchange for money to buy food.

He needs a lot of money now.

Not only do they need to support their wives, but they also need to stockpile food and forge a handy weapon.

Next month I'll be taking my family to report to the auxiliary military camp.

I heard that auxiliary soldiers don't have standard weapons; they mostly use rusty knives, wooden sticks, and hoes as weapons.

Even military pay is far less than that of soldiers.

You have to rely on yourself.

Just as he sat down to rest, he suddenly heard an ethereal sound coming from the surrounding woods.

"Brother Wang Gan, Brother Wang Gan."

He felt a chill run down his spine. Who was speaking?

The sound was high-pitched and thin, unlike a human voice, but more like a bird's call.

Looking around, they found no one.

No, if it's a bird's call, why does it sound like a human voice?

Could it be a monster?

A thought suddenly struck him, and he remembered something his father had mentioned when he was alive.

Thirty years ago, when Old Man Luo was hunting, he encountered a club-shaped bird in the Qing Shi Ling area.

He followed the bird and found a 30-year-old ginseng.

It became a popular story among the villagers.

According to my father, the call of the clubbird is very distinctive.

It makes a sound similar to "Brother Wang Gan".

But in the decades since, no one except Old Man Luo has encountered this.

Could that have been the sound of a clubbird?

The so-called "club bird," also known as the ginseng bird, is commonly found in the Changbai Mountains and the Greater Khingan Mountains, areas rich in wild ginseng.

Legend has it that if you encounter this bird in the mountains, you can find old ginseng nearby.

There's a local proverb: "To find ginseng, follow the ginseng-eating bird."

Upon realizing this, Luo Yunxiao immediately perked up and focused intently on scanning the surrounding dense forest.

I want to see where that clubbird is hiding.

Sharp and jagged!

"Brother Wang Gan!"

It was on a chestnut tree to Luo Yunxiao's right front.

A red-feathered bird flapped its wings and flew into the woods.

He quickly followed the sound.

Crossing a stream, climbing a steep rock, we arrived at a deeper, denser forest.

This is already in the heart of Qingshiling.

The vegetation was so dense that it blocked out the sun, and there was no trace of the mountain people having ever been there.

The ground was littered with bones, some belonging to humans and others to be unknown.

It was so white and eerie.

The clubbird was perched on a low tree not far ahead.

Luo Yunxiao used a machete to cut away the thorns blocking the way and clear a path.

Looking around, I spotted two clumps of grass shimmering with a precious light.

The two flashes of light were different sizes; he first went to the grass where the light spot was larger.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be an old wild ginseng.

It's only early winter now, and the ginseng leaves have already withered somewhat, but you can still tell it's an old ginseng.

He took out a hoe and spent half a day digging out the ginseng roots and stems intact, and it was in perfect condition.

The reed head is long and curved, and there are forty reed bowls.

The ginseng whiskers are lively and graceful, with pearl-like spots.

Based on the size of the rootstock, this ginseng is estimated to be at least forty years old.

This is truly a treasure!

You could get at least a dozen taels of silver by taking it to the town's pharmacy.

After putting away the ginseng, he went to the second place where it was glowing.

This time it's a Solomon's seal plant, which is also a good thing.

Luo Yunxiao dug it out without hesitation. The root and stem resembled ginger, with intertwined roots.

Each tree weighs two kilograms.

Judging from the year, it's about fifteen years ago.

It's worth at least two taels of silver.

Polygonatum is also known as the "poor man's herb." During famine years, people in the mountains relied on digging up Polygonatum and kudzu root as a substitute for food to stave off hunger and avoid starvation.

It is also a precious medicinal herb.

However, this stuff will make your mouth numb if eaten raw; it needs to be steamed and dried nine times to become soft, sticky, and sweet.

"Brother Wang Gan, Brother Wang Gan!"

Oh? The clubbird hasn't flown away yet.

Luo Yunxiao was a little puzzled. Could there be some old ginseng nearby?

He walked deeper into the woods.

The only sound was his own breathing.

A dazzling spot of light appeared five zhang away.

Luo Yunxiao took a few steps forward and saw that it was another old ginseng!

After patiently digging it out and examining it, I found that this ginseng was a size larger than the previous one, with forty-five reed bowls.

If you include the dormancy period, this ginseng is at least fifty years old!

This must be worth thirty taels!

However, it's better to keep such valuable medicinal herbs for personal use.

He carefully put the ginseng away. The club-shaped bird ruffled its feathers and cried out a few times at Luo Yunxiao before flying into the forest and disappearing from sight.

It seems to have a lot of opinions about Luo Yunxiao.

After all, this bird feeds on ginseng seeds.

Luo Yunxiao stole its food.

We harvested a good amount of medicinal herbs today. Let's hunt two more wild rabbits and then head back down the mountain.

As he was thinking this, by sheer coincidence, the rabbit didn't notice him, but instead spotted a fawn foraging for food in a valley.

Luo Yunxiao held his breath, drew his bow, and shot an arrow into the belly of the fawn.

He stepped forward, pulled out an arrow, inserted it into his quiver, and was about to carry the prey.

I inadvertently caught a glimpse of a rusty broadsword stuck diagonally in the grass about ten feet away.

Huh? How come there are border army standard-issue military knives in this godforsaken place?

He walked closer and took another look, and what he saw left him speechless with astonishment.

Looking around, there were hundreds of skeletons covered in armor lying in dense rows!