"Is there such a 'mother' who would abandon her own child carelessly like this?"
Looking around, the area Lin Caisang had been searching had extended into a large swath of forest.
"Does it feel like I've reached the inner forest?"
She glanced at the trees in the forest, expressing her doubts.
The forest surrounding Ya Village was divided into the outer and the inner forest. The outer forest had sparse vegetation, with many nests made by canaries, and that's where the men in the village collected cubilose.
But the inner forest was dangerous, overrun with weeds, densely covered with trees, and crawling with wild animals.
There were rumors of people encountering snakes thicker than a human's waist, although she felt that was highly unlikely, even if snakes existed, they wouldn't be that big. Still, large snakes were definitely possible.
Given the current temperature though, wouldn't even large snakes be hibernating?
After resting for a while, Lin Caisang picked up her bamboo basket and continued her journey. She was determined to gather more medicinal herbs today. If not, she would search for a few nests of wild eggs, as improving the family's diet was also important.
Inside the forest, the trees became denser and denser, nearly obscuring her vision completely.
Lin Caisang had to wield her machete, hacking her way through, creating a 'pathway' for herself. Along the way, she heard a 'clucking' sound several times, collected a few nests of wild eggs, and even found some King Solomon's-seal among other herbs, all of which went into her basket.
Looking up at the sky, she felt it was getting late.
If she didn't turn back soon, her grandmother, who was supposed to prepare lunch, would definitely get worried and have the whole village searching for her.
"I'll come back later when I have more time," she mumbled to herself and was about to turn back when…
A 'bang'! The sound of something heavy landing startled her, and she quickly turned to see where it had come from.
But the forest foliage was too dense, she couldn't see a thing.
"That sound was made by a person, not an animal," she wondered aloud, feeling quite certain of her deduction.
If it had been a wild animal, why hadn't she heard the beast roar in addition to the sound of it landing? Therefore, it must be a human!
"Who could it be…"
"Uh!"
A pained groan interrupted her musing. Lin Caisang's eyebrows furrowed as she looked in the direction of the sound.
This voice, it seemed, perhaps, possibly…she had heard it somewhere before, it sounded familiar. Who could it be, daring enough to venture into the inner forest?
Lin Caisang: "…"
What the hell was she thinking? The one who feared death least was herself. She had ventured into the inner forest, and was driven by a strong sense of curiosity.
Didn't she know that curiosity killed the cat?
However, regardless of how fearless she was, that couldn't hinder her overwhelming curiosity…
…
"Wow! There's actually a bamboo house here, and with a courtyard, amazingly..."
Following the sound, it didn't take long for Lin Caisang to discover an exquisite bamboo house with a fenced courtyard. She was astounded that she hadn't noticed this when she was in the woods earlier.
This bamboo house, hidden among such dense foliage, was like an invisible entity.
Moreover, this bamboo house was far too unique. It was like the idyllic paradise she had imagined in her head where reclusive heroes resided. She felt like she could just stay here forever.
"If I could live here forever...Uh!"