Chapter 31: Copper Lotus, What Are You Doing?

At dusk, the medicine shop people left this clearing and headed toward the next location.

They left, proving that the Snake-Pattern Chrysanthemums in this area had basically been picked clean.

Old Yanpao took a puff of his pipe, spat out a puff of smoke, and continued to follow the medicine shop people.

The crowd trekked for more than an hour before finding a second good place following the medicine shop people. This was a forest that wasn't particularly dense; the place was more remote, and there were more flowers.

But with more flowers, the crowd's efficiency dropped.

The fog on Bitter Wushan was eroding everyone, including the people from the medicine shops; everyone was becoming weak and sluggish.

Xiaopang was affected the least, while Li Banfeng was affected the most. He felt his hands and feet go numb, and his vision was blurry in bursts.

At night, the night fog became even thicker, and the situation of the crowd became even more difficult.

Beauty Youtao had a pocket watch; looking at the time, it was already past nine o'clock, and she was somewhat unable to hold on.

"How about we retreat? Coming this time is already worth it." Youtao had picked thirty-five Snake-Pattern Chrysanthemums in total, which could sell for two thousand nine hundred and seventy-five yuan; it was truly worth it.

Li Banfeng had picked two more flowers than Youtao, which was about what he expected, and Li Banfeng felt that if he didn't go down the mountain, his life would be in danger.

Xiaopang refused to leave. He had picked the fewest flowers, only sixteen, which, according to the price released by the medicine shops, could sell for more than one thousand three hundred yuan.

After deducting the expenses of this trip, did he still have any profit?

It was still a profit, just a bit less.

Xiaopang wasn't very reconciled.

The Snake-Pattern Chrysanthemums in this second place were obviously easier to find than in the first place.

And Xiaopang's physical condition was obviously much better than the others. According to his own estimation, holding out until dawn wouldn't be a problem at all. At this moment, it was a golden opportunity to strive to catch up and earn more.

He refused to leave, and the little girl Caoye refused to leave either. She relied on various medicinal candies to support herself, and her body temporarily showed no major problems.

Old Yanpao smoked two more bags of tobacco. In his words, as long as there was tobacco to smoke, he could hold on.

Since they weren't leaving, Beauty Youtao didn't leave either; she wasn't very reconciled either.

Seeing that the two cheeks below her waist could barely sway anymore, Li Banfeng really wanted to advise her a few words.

But he had no strength to speak. Under the intense dizziness, speaking a few more words would make him want to vomit at any time.

Moreover, he and Peach Blossom Girl were just casual acquaintances, and he was more worried about Xiaopang.

But Xiaopang refused to leave no matter what, so Li Banfeng could only go down the mountain alone.

Before leaving, Caoye stepped forward to urge him: "Brother Baisha, if you really are a Joy Cultivator, go back and rest for at least half a month. Joy Cultivators are physically weak and suffer the most damage from this poisonous fog."

"If you are of another Daoist sect, you'll need at least three to five days of rest."

"If you are a Residential Cultivator, then pretend I didn't say anything."

Li Banfeng was just hearing the key point when he suddenly heard Youtao interject from the side: "Little sister, what's wrong with Residential Cultivators?"

Caoye widened her eyes: "Sister, could it be that you are a Residential Cultivator?"

Youtao laughed: "Sister was just asking casually."

Caoye whispered: "Even if it's a Residential Cultivator without a residence spirit, as long as they return to their residence and sleep for seven or eight hours, they can detoxify. If they have a residence spirit, they don't even need seven or eight hours."

"This is the ability of a Residential Cultivator; as long as they can return to their residence, Residential Cultivators fear nothing."

Youtao sighed softly: "If only I were a Residential Cultivator."

Caoye shook her head: "Sister, Residential Cultivators generally don't come out to walk around easily. Could it be that you really are..."

While speaking, Caoye kept looking at Youtao, seemingly very interested in her Daoist sect.

Youtao pinched Caoye's face: "After finishing this business, come sit in my residence, and you'll know if I'm a Residential Cultivator or not."

Li Banfeng had no heart to grind his teeth here and whispered in Xiaopang's ear:

"Just pick flowers here; don't change places again. Pick a few more flowers and get down the mountain quickly!"

Xiaopang agreed casually.

He wouldn't change places again; there were indeed quite a few flowers in this place.

But he wouldn't leave easily. Xiaopang intended to hold out until tomorrow morning.

The gold-rimmed glasses said that the Snake-Pattern Chrysanthemum blooms at an uncertain time, but it definitely blooms for a day and a night.

It bloomed after seven o'clock this morning, so it would definitely not wither until seven tomorrow morning. Throughout this night, he could definitely pick twenty more flowers.

Go down the mountain after dawn tomorrow, vomit and have diarrhea, suffer for a few days, eat two good meals, and he'll recover.

Watching him focus on picking flowers, Li Banfeng walked out of the woods, hid the key in a quiet place on the mountain road, and entered the Suishenju.

He didn't go down the mountain; Caoye's words reminded him.

He chose to recover in his own residence first. Once he recovered, he would go down the mountain; otherwise, he would likely encounter unexpected trouble on the road.

There was a problem with this journey, a big problem.

He didn't trust the gold-rimmed glasses, although most of the gold-rimmed glasses' behavior was reasonable.

The behavior of the others was also reasonable—a group of strangers looking out for each other within a reasonable range was a very wise choice.

Only one thing wasn't very reasonable.

They had been attacked by the same person three times in a row.

On Bitter Wushan, everyone wanted Snake-Pattern Chrysanthemums; being snatched was a matter of course.

But being snatched by the same person three times wasn't that reasonable.

The first time bumping into the bald man on the road could be considered accidental.

What was the reason for meeting the bald man on the mountain road the second time?

Coincidence?

Then how to explain the bald man coming to snatch flowers the third time?

If he called it coincidence again, the matter wouldn't make sense.

This bald man must have been following their group, but how did he follow them?

On Bitter Wushan, because the visibility was extremely poor, wanting to track others was a very difficult thing. If there wasn't Old Yanpao, this group of people wouldn't have been able to keep up with the medicine shop people.

But this bald man could tail them all the way. Could it be that there was also a cultivator good at tracking among them?

Or, did someone leave marks for them?

Li Banfeng untied the cloth bag, threw it aside, and lay flat in the room, trying to review the whole process, but the intense pain coming from his whole body made him unable to concentrate.

It was too painful; the fog on Bitter Wushan was truly deadly.

Accompanied by the dizziness of pain, Li Banfeng wanted to vomit.

No, he couldn't vomit in the Suishenju, at least he couldn't vomit on the floor.

This room wasn't ventilated; if he vomited on the floor, he didn't know how long it would take for the smell to dissipate.

But he truly couldn't hold it anymore!

Li Banfeng simply tore open the cloth bag, poured out the Snake-Pattern Chrysanthemums, and vomited into the bag, vomiting until his bile was completely clean.

After vomiting cleanly, Li Banfeng felt a bit better. He tied the cloth bag tightly, threw it aside, and fell into a deep sleep on the floor.

He slept for who knows how long when Li Banfeng was suddenly awakened by a strange smell.

In the Suishenju, apart from dust, there shouldn't be any other smells.

Could it be the smell of the Snake-Pattern Chrysanthemum?

On Bitter Wushan, he didn't seem to smell anything special about this chrysanthemum.

The fog on Bitter Wushan was choking; maybe it had covered the smell of the Snake-Pattern Chrysanthemum.

Now that he had arrived at the Suishenju, without the interference of other smells, he smelled the Snake-Pattern Chrysanthemum again.

It must be the smell of the Snake-Pattern Chrysanthemum, because Li Banfeng smelled a unique floral fragrance.

Almost forgot, Caoye said this flower was poisonous! Eating one would cost you your life!

Could the floral fragrance also be poisonous?

Li Banfeng was terrified and quickly got up.

He had scattered the Snake-Pattern Chrysanthemums around the room, and now he had to find a proper place to store them.

He took out a match and lit a candle.

Not to mention, after sleeping this sleep, Li Banfeng didn't feel pain in his body, his head wasn't dizzy, and he felt he had almost completely recovered.

But the next moment, his scalp started to go numb, as if currents were rolling from his forehead to the back of his head.

Where were my Snake-Pattern Chrysanthemums?

Where were the thirty-seven Snake-Pattern Chrysanthemums he had picked through all the hardships?

How come there wasn't a single one left!

The flowers were lost, the money was gone—this wasn't even the biggest thing.

But only he could enter the Suishenju; who could have stolen the flowers?

Could it be that while I was sleeping, I ate them myself in my sleepwalking!

This thing couldn't be eaten!

Li Banfeng searched everywhere, but didn't find even a single petal.

The candle's illumination range was limited. Li Banfeng didn't pay attention to his feet, tripped over something, staggered, and almost fell.

He held the candle, looked back, and discovered it was the copper lotus on the ground.

Wait, was this the copper lotus?

The copper lotus had been on the ground, and its position hadn't changed much, but its state was a bit different.

The flower had bloomed.

Li Banfeng saw the flower heart and the lotus seed pod.

There was a lotus seed in the pod—a fully ripe lotus seed.

Li Banfeng carefully peeled off the lotus seed, and the lotus flower immediately closed, almost pinching Li Banfeng's hand.

That greenish lotus seed trembled gently in the center of Li Banfeng's palm.

Li Banfeng didn't know the origin of this lotus seed and how it should be disposed of.

The lotus seed suddenly expanded, expanding to the size of a fist, and burst with a bang.

Li Banfeng shuddered and quickly withdrew his hand. After the lotus seed burst, eight beads fell down—beads the size of a little finger nail.

Li Banfeng picked up a bead, looked at it—white base with black spots, as if inlaid with some kind of scales.

What was this thing?

PS: Yumian Shala has decided to add an update tomorrow. Dear readers, give Yumian Shala some strength.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 32 =====