Going Up the Mountain to Search for Medicine, a Snow Leopard Suddenly Appears Bringing Danger

"Is this map reliable?" Chu Feng asked, somewhat speechless.

Snow had started falling again on Yulong Mountain today.

Ever since winter arrived, the snowfall across the entire Yulong Heavenly Realm had hardly stopped.

With every step he took, Chu Feng felt a profound sense of resistance and heaviness.

"Did you bring the fiery liquor?" Du Dahai asked from the side.

An hour ago, Zhang Xuan and Chu Feng had managed to stabilize Huzi's condition.

However, the issue of wound infection was a fickle and unpredictable thing.

Some people possessed powerful internal defense systems that easily kept wound infections at bay.

Others, however, could not.

Without the aid of medicine, they would, in all likelihood, eventually lose their lives.

To ensure Huzi could pull through completely, Chu Feng took Zhang Xuan's medical book and headed up the mountain.

The book illustrated the appearance of two specific medicinal herbs.

These two herbs could grow even in the dead of winter.

Being extremely cold-resistant plants, they typically grew on the rocky terraces of the Second Peak.

Chu Feng was the only one familiar enough with this vast mountain.

Moreover, Huzi was in this state because of Chu Feng.

Naturally, the person chosen to ascend the mountain was him.

Yet, Du Dahai chose to accompany Chu Feng up the mountain.

As the village chief, he bore a share of the responsibility for what had happened to Huzi.

If he hadn't led the entire village to Chu Feng's doorstep,

or if Du Dahai had managed to calm everyone down during their agitated state,

such a severe incident probably would never have occurred.

"I brought it."

Chu Feng handed the wine gourd at his waist to Du Dahai.

He continued to study the medical manual by the light of a torch.

"Stop studying. I've seen these two herbs before; as long as they're growing, I'll be able to spot them," Du Dahai said.

This was precisely why Du Dahai chose to come out with Chu Feng.

After taking a swig of the wine, Du Dahai felt his body warm up considerably.

Chu Feng, however, felt it wasn't enough.

With low-proof liquor like this, no matter how much one drank, the body wouldn't truly warm up.

Nighttime on Yulong Mountain was exceptionally dangerous.

The wind was fierce.

The snow was heavy.

Visibility was extremely low.

Even the path Chu Feng was taking was a familiar, mandatory route he had traversed up the mountain many times before.

He did not dare to change his route casually,

terrified that an accidental misstep might lead to disaster.

"Did you bring all your gear?" Du Dahai asked.

Chu Feng was carrying a bamboo basket on his back.

The contents inside the basket shifted slightly.

A hoe, an axe, a bundle wrapped in cloth, and a bow slung across his back.

This bow was not the one Du Dahai had given him,

but rather one he had taken from Guo Wu.

After Guo Wu's death, Chu Feng had kept this bow at his home.

As a mountain patroller, having a bow was entirely normal.

Unless the officials decided to make a strict issue of it, no one would usually question it.

"I've brought everything, don't worry," Chu Feng said.

Braving the wind and snow, they headed in the direction of the Second Peak.

After walking for nearly two hours,

though they had not yet reached their destination, the wind and snow finally ceased.

The surrounding visibility was actually passable.

The white snowflakes reflected a sliver of ambient light—though faint,

the sheer expanse of white snow illuminated the entire Yulong Mountain.

All around was absolute silence.

Chu Feng had never ascended the mountain in the dead of night.

Everyone knew that the mountain by day and the mountain by night were two completely different worlds.

The times when black bears and wolf packs appeared together were always at night.

Ahead of them, looming shadows of pine trees stretched out.

The two walked for another half an hour before

those sprawling pine trees began to gradually disappear.

Bare, stark cliffs came into view.

This signified that they had arrived at the Second Peak.

The last time he came to the Second Peak was with Tian Zhuang.

Back then, Chu Feng had not observed the surroundings carefully.

Arriving here once more, apart from the blanket of pristine white snow, the Second Peak gave Chu Feng a sensation closer to that of a high-altitude plateau.

Yet, calling it a plateau felt somewhat inaccurate.

Pushing aside the thick drifts of snow, one would discover patches of green grass underneath.

When spring arrived next year, Chu Feng felt this place would very likely turn into a grassland.

The two medicinal catalysts mentioned by Zhang Xuan grew right here.

"Was it here that you and that bailiff ran into those bandits?" Du Dahai asked out of curiosity.

Upon reaching the Second Peak, both men slowed their pace.

Because the medicinal ingredients were right here,

they had also officially stepped into a perilous zone.

One hundred bailiffs and government runners had entered the mountain to capture the White Lotus Sect.

Running into them would spell trouble for the two of them.

And if they happened to encounter the White Lotus Sect on the mountain, they would likely lose their lives.

This place seemed to have been cleared out.

The corpses and bloodstains had long since vanished,

or perhaps they had been buried deep beneath the heavy snow.

Following Du Dahai's instructions, Chu Feng began using his hoe to scrape away the snow along the cliffside.

Whenever he spotted any plant resembling the description, he would consult Du Dahai.

"Is this the one?"

Du Dahai shook his head.

This kind of medicinal herb was not easy to find,

otherwise, it wouldn't be so precious.

However, in the process of searching, they did unearth many other medicinal herbs

covered beneath the snow.

Had Chu Feng not been sufficiently thorough, he might have missed them entirely.

About a kilometer further ahead lay the Third Peak.

If they failed to find the herbs on this terrace of the Second Peak, they would likely have to venture to the Third Peak to look for them.

To this day, neither Yulong Village nor any of the other villages

had ever seen an ordinary person set foot on the Third Peak.

"Village Chief, if we can't find it on the Second Peak, do we have to go to the Third Peak?" Chu Feng asked.

"Absolutely not. Xiao Feng, we've already done more than enough for Huzi, coming out in the dead of night to look for medicine for him. Besides, Zhang Xuan also said it wasn't strictly a must; Huzi might pull through on his own even without the medicine."

"Why can't we?" Chu Feng asked, somewhat perplexed.

"Because Yulong Mountain is a cursed mountain," Du Dahai said, a trace of fear flashing in his eyes.

This only piqued Chu Feng's curiosity further.

This wasn't the first time he had heard such a claim.

Previously, he had assumed Du Dahai was just trying to scare the villagers.

There were fierce beasts on the mountain, Dayu soldiers, and indigenous people—all of them deadly existences.

Moreover, in heavy snow conditions without professional knowledge, going up the mountain was tantamount to suicide.

Using such superstition to deter villagers from risking their lives in the mountains for food made sense.

That was fine.

But as a hunter and a mountain patroller, Chu Feng

already possessed the psychological preparedness and capability to face all the dangers of Yulong Mountain.

For Du Dahai to still say this to him left Chu Feng uncomprehending.

"Village Chief, if the curses you speak of are just the dangers I've already faced, then I don't think much of this curse."

After all, he had killed Dayu soldiers and even government bailiffs.

He was long past feeling deeply afraid of such perils.

"It's a genuine curse," Du Dahai said abruptly.

The sky had yet to brighten.

Du Dahai stared in the direction of the Third Peak,

his entire face trembling.

"Xiao Feng, never go to the Third Peak. These herbs exist on the Second Peak; we find them and go back, or if we don't, we go back anyway. Don't stay on the mountain too long. Trust me, once you truly enter the Third Peak, the curse will find you!"

"What kind of curse is it, really?"

"I don't know, I only know it's terrifying!" Du Dahai said.

Clearly, the Third Peak held a danger

that Du Dahai had experienced firsthand yet could not put into words.

Such danger must be pervasive; otherwise, it wouldn't be referred to as a curse.

A spirit of adventure was ingrained in Chu Feng's bones,

otherwise, he would never have become an outdoor live-streamer.

However, given such a solemn warning from Du Dahai, there was simply no need for Chu Feng to insist on going to the Third Peak.

In the future, when his equipment was more complete and the safety coefficient higher,

perhaps he could come back and take a look at the Third Peak.

"Big cat! Watch out!"

Suddenly, Du Dahai's warning rang out.