Chapter 68: The Sweet Scent of the Young Girl Filled the Air

In the early morning, the mountain forest was utterly silent.

At the entrance to the woods, two figures approached at a leisurely pace.

The girl was simply dressed, a straw hat perched on her head and a large woven basket slung over her back. Beneath the brim of the hat, her vivid, beautiful face glanced curiously around her. Beside her stood a tall and striking young man, his features refined and elegant, a pair of gold-rimmed glasses resting on his nose. He wore a calm expression, a gentle smile playing at his lips, exuding an air of tranquility as serene as a clear breeze beneath the bright moon.

If one ignored the stout wooden cane he used to feel his way forward, it would be impossible to tell that he was blind.

From the girl's pocket peeked a pair of miniature, sparkling eyes— a tiny jumping spider, its fuzzy little paws clutching a piece of beef jerky, gnawing on it with gleeful crunches.

Not far ahead, a large tree came into view. A round-faced monkey, its fur gleaming gold, was blissfully munching on a juicy peach, bounding merrily from branch to branch as it ate.

After walking for a while, Lin Xiaodou took an aluminum lunchbox from her army-green satchel.

As she opened it, a delicious aroma wafted out. Inside, several plump, fist-sized rice balls sat quietly. Lin Xiaodou picked one up— it was still a little warm.

She handed it to her companion. “Comrade Zhou, here— I made breakfast. Try it.”

“Thank you.” Zhou Qinglang accepted the offering, noting the slight stickiness as he touched it, but asked no questions and brought it directly to his mouth.

At the first bite, his expression froze in surprise. The pure scent of rice blended with a savory, spicy filling— it tasted unexpectedly good.

After his initial surprise, he began to wolf down the food.

Seeing him eat so hurriedly, Lin Xiaodou spoke up. “Slow down, there’s more. Don’t choke yourself.”

Zhou Qinglang nodded. “It’s delicious. What did you put in here? It smells amazing.”

She smiled. “These are rice balls with diced smoked tofu and minced meat. I added my special chili sauce— that’s what makes them so fragrant.”

The chili sauce was a premium beef sauce, made in her special space— naturally, it was delicious.

Lin Xiaodou had prepared six large rice balls; they each ate three.

Enjoying the spicy rice balls and washing them down with a few gulps of cold well water was a unique pleasure.

After breakfast, they quickened their pace, eager to make progress while the sun was still gentle.

The outer parts of the forest held little of value—

Local villagers and children often came here to gather firewood or wild vegetables. If anything worthwhile had been here, it was surely long since taken.

Deeper in the mountains, people rarely ventured— danger abounded. A careless step could mean a snake or some unknown insect’s bite, or a sudden encounter with wild animals. Only experienced hunters dared enter; others kept away entirely.

They walked for nearly two hours before reaching the forest’s middle reaches, where signs of human activity had all but disappeared. Lin Xiaodou began scanning her surroundings, searching for anything of worth.

Before long, she spotted a large patch of wild gastrodia growing in a thicket.

Back in university, Lin Xiaodou had majored in veterinary medicine and minored in traditional Chinese medicine, so she recognized most common medicinal plants.

Moreover, during her time in the capital, she’d once scavenged an old medical text from a junkyard. She’d also acquired a trove of valuable herbs and ancient books from the Lin family’s cellar, a renowned medical household.

In her free evenings, she often read these ancient texts, learning much from them.

According to the books, wild gastrodia was prized for dispelling wind, easing pain, calming the liver, and quelling convulsions— a valuable herb indeed.

Finding such a treasure on her first foray delighted her.

She fetched a small spade from her basket and began carefully digging up the plants.

Before coming into the forest, Lin Xiaodou had specially set aside a patch of land in her space for cultivating fresh medicinal herbs.

So she had no qualms about harvesting all the gastrodia she could find.

As Lin Xiaodou crouched to dig up the herbs, Zhou Qinglang was not idle. Though he could not see, his senses were sharp.

Just now, he’d heard a noise in the grass not far away and sent the little golden monkey to investigate.

Soon, the monkey returned, clutching a wild pheasant in its hands.

The bird’s leg was tangled with grass, likely the reason it couldn’t escape.

Instead of bringing its prize straight to Zhou Qinglang, the little monkey first hurried to Lin Xiaodou, seeking her approval. Only after receiving her affectionate “Good job!” did it scurry back to its master.

Zhou Qinglang sighed inwardly— the little creature seemed to have forgotten who its real owner was.

To keep the pheasant from escaping, Zhou Qinglang felt around for some grass and quickly wove a cord to bind the bird’s wings.

By the time he finished, Lin Xiaodou had also dug up all the gastrodia.

“Let’s go see what else we can find,” she said, shouldering her basket. Zhou Qinglang picked up the pheasant, and the two continued on their way, chatting as they walked.

“Do you know when your assignment will be finished?” Lin Xiaodou asked. “Living out here in the mountains can’t be easy when you can’t see.”

Zhou Qinglang shook his head. “I’m not sure yet— I’m waiting for instructions from above.”

It had been a month since the incident at the institute. He suspected that the enemy agents had mostly been dealt with by now. Zhou Qinglang had a feeling that someone would be sent to fetch him soon, but this wasn’t something he could share with Lin Xiaodou.

He’d been deceiving her from the beginning, even his initial kindness was simply for survival.

He felt a pang of guilt for her. That’s why he’d been so generous in gifting her the treasures from the cellar— his way of making amends.

Lin Xiaodou said, “Well, if you ever need help with anything, just tell me. I’ll lend a hand.”

Helping him always meant getting a luminous pearl in return— a fair bargain!

She grinned to herself.

Lin Xiaodou had no idea Zhou Qinglang was deceiving her. Even if she did, she wouldn’t have cared. As long as she put in the effort and got what she wanted, the rest was none of her concern.

Their thoughts ran on completely different tracks, yet somehow they fit together perfectly.

Aside from their own secrets, they got along splendidly, almost like true friends.

In the woods, the petite figure and the tall one walked side by side.

Suddenly, Lin Xiaodou spoke. “Lower your head for a moment.”

Puzzled, Zhou Qinglang complied.

She rose on tiptoe and reached toward his head. As the soft warmth of her body drew close, a sweet, girlish fragrance drifted to his nose.

Zhou Qinglang’s back stiffened slightly, and his ears suddenly grew hot.

“All done!” Lin Xiaodou said brightly, removing a fallen leaf from his hair. She smiled. “A leaf had landed on your head— I took it off for you.”

He lowered his gaze to hide his awkwardness, his voice gentle as a breeze. “Thank you.”

“No need! Let’s go!”

Lin Xiaodou turned away, feeling a twinge of guilt.

When she’d picked off the leaf, she’d taken the opportunity to ruffle his hair.

He probably didn’t notice, did he?

She hummed to herself as she walked on, a little spring in her step.