The sight of the ancient army made Zhu Yanyi think of Dong Bocao. She asked Yan Aohan, "Is it true that my talented senior brother has a girlfriend?"
Yan Aohan knew that since the Medicine Elder disappeared, Zhu Yanyi paid special attention to her fellow disciples. When she was away, she secretly had people watch over them and reported any new news to her.
Hearing her question, she answered, "she dated a female assistant lecturer from a medical school for a month, then they broke up. Dong Bocao was too busy. she researched every day, making the girl feel ignored, so she left."
Zhu Yanyi looked disappointed, like iron that wouldn't turn into steel. "She is over thirty! She still doesn't know how to find a wife. Don't let me get married while she stays alone forever."
"Cough, cough." Gu Jun almost choked on her own saliva hearing Zhu Yanyi. "Little Yan, why do I feel you are eager to marry? That is wrong. Girls should be reserved."
"Being reserved is useless," Zhu Yanyi said, not caring. "I like Aohan. I want to be with her. I knew this long ago. Since I know where my heart belongs, I naturally want to have her openly as soon as possible.
Brother Gu, you don't know how many women covet Aohan. I am striking first to secure my spot.
It is hard to find a good man now. So I encourage my sister to find one early. If she meets a good one, she should take her immediately, so she won't miss out later."
After speaking, she looked Gu Jun up and down. "Brother Gu, do you have a girlfriend? If not, I can introduce my sister to you."
"Cough, cough, Ani." Yan Aohan coughed helplessly. "Don't cause trouble for your sister. I think her destined partner will appear soon."
"How do you know?" Zhu Yanyi tilted her head, looking at Yan Aohan.
Yan Aohan smiled slightly. "I know what I want to know. Also, your sister is not suitable for the Saint Academy. Her future husband must be from within China." Yan Aohan did not want Zhu Yanyi to matchmake randomly.
Zhu Yanyi could enter the Saint Academy because of her ability, age, and because Yan Aohan backed her. Her internal energy had also reached the realm of transformation. But Zhu Yanli was different. She studied art. A music performer could not go to the Saint Academy.
Zhu Yanyi pouted. "Fine, I was just saying." She really was just joking.
Next, the group of three spent half a month wandering around Wudang Mountain. During this time, they gathered many herbs. Zhu Yanyi also picked several herbs she had discovered two years ago, which were now ready for harvest, and threw them into her Ruyi Space. They spent half a month half-playing and half-gathering herbs, finally reaching the Golden Summit.
Not many tourists visited the Golden Summit yet. There were no small stalls or vendors. It was bare, but this did not stop Zhu Yanyi from enjoying the scenery. After watching the sunrise there, she sighed with emotion, then went to Shennongjia with Yan Aohan.
Compared to Wudang Mountain, Shennongjia felt more hazy and mysterious.
Many residents near Shennongjia said there were divine traces inside, but very few people encountered them.
Zhu Yanyi, Yan Aohan, and Gu Jun came to Shennongjia for a simple purpose: still to gather herbs.
Zhu Yanyi and Yan Aohan had visited Shennongjia two years ago, so they knew its structure well. However, Zhu Yanyi had not gone too deep back then. Since they were here now, she planned to go deeper. Shennongjia was named after Shennong, but Zhu Yanyi guessed there were many rare herbs inside. The place felt too mysterious, so ordinary people rarely came here.
Zhu Yanyi and Yan Aohan walked slowly. In the first two days, their harvest was not much, mostly common herbs. Zhu Yanyi and Gu Jun were both very familiar with herbs, so they only picked those that had reached the right age. They ignored the younger ones.
One day, after walking all day, they rested by a waterfall. Yan Aohan caught two wild pheasants. Gu Jun picked many mushrooms, termite mushrooms, and perilla. Zhu Yanyi, of course, was the chef.
For Gu Jun, the biggest benefit of following Yan Aohan was eating food cooked by Zhu Yanyi. Even a small sparrow roasted simply over fire was an absolute delicacy to her.
Through these days of interaction, Zhu Yanyi realized that Gu Jun was definitely a hidden foodie. Of course, when it came to work, she was always serious and professional.
Zhu Yanyi made the pheasant into Beggar's Chicken. She made soup with the mushrooms and termite mushrooms, then added some rice cakes into the soup. It was a very rich meal.
When the Beggar's Chicken was ready, the soup and rice cakes were already done. The three of them drank soup, ate rice cakes, and ate the wild pheasant.
Zhu Yanyi ate two wings and stopped. She preferred drinking the soup.
After eating, they followed their old routine: chatting to aid digestion. Just then, a roar came from not far away.
"This roar is strange. What animal is it?" Since entering Shennongjia, they heard many animal sounds. But this roar made Zhu Yanyi feel the animal's anger and urgency. It seemed something had provoked this animal.
"Let's go see," Yan Aohan thought for a moment, then said to Zhu Yanyi.
Zhu Yanyi nodded. She and Yan Aohan, leading Gu Jun, walked toward the sound of the roar. After walking about five or six miles, Zhu Yanyi stopped. Through hints from the nearby plants, she already knew what was happening. She only said to Yan Aohan and Gu Jun, "Let's climb the tree."
From the tree, they could see everything clearly. A snake and a bear were fighting. The roar came from the bear.
Because she saw another bear lying on the ground not far from the fighting bear. It seemed to be struggling, or rather, doing something specific.
Zhu Yanyi asked the nearby flowers and grass and knew what happened. "The bear on the ground is the mother. The one fighting is the male. The mother bear is giving birth," Zhu Yanyi said casually. What she didn't say was that the snake had caused trouble for the mother bear, so the male bear refused to accept it, and they started fighting.
What Zhu Yanyi didn't say was that from the information in the flowers, grass, and trees, she knew these bears and snakes had actually evolved into Spirit Beasts. The deeper into Shennongjia one went, the more Spirit Beasts there were. No one knew why, but there was a valley of spiritual energy deep in Shennongjia.