Chapter 108: The Lucky Protagonist

“Miss Tang, are you going up the mountain?”
Tang Banxia carried a small basket for gathering herbs and wore a straw hat, dressed in typical rural attire.
“Yes, the medical room is running low on herbal medicine, so I’m going to collect some.”

In the medical room, Western medicine was scarce; most of the herbs were gathered by Tang Banxia herself from the mountains.

They were relatively inexpensive, affordable for everyone. Although herbal remedies didn’t work as quickly as Western medicine, they were within what people could bear.

Tang Banxia only charged a small handling fee for these herbs, so the herbal medicines were the most popular in the clinic.

Since spring began, Tang Banxia had been making trips to the mountain every few days just to barely keep up with the supply.

Now, the honeysuckle was gone again, so she was heading up to gather some.

“Are you going up too?” Tang Banxia glanced at Song Yu. “Where’s your granny?”

Would Grandma Song really allow her precious granddaughter to go up the mountain alone?

“I’m waiting for my fourth brother. He went to chop firewood,” Song Yu obediently squatted down. “He said he’d bring me some white cogongrass root to eat.”

Tang Banxia was about to say, then wait here, but Song Yu lifted her head: “Miss Tang, can I go up with you?”

“Aren’t you going to wait for your fourth brother?” Tang Banxia asked.

Song Yu pouted, “No, he said he’d be back soon, but I’ve been waiting for so long.”

Tang Banxia thought for a moment. “Alright, you can come along.”

After all, she wasn’t going deep into the woods.

Song Yu cheered and jumped up, grabbing Tang Banxia’s hand. “Miss Tang, you’re so nice.”

Tang Banxia pinched her cheek gently and smiled softly, then led her into the mountain.

When they spotted the honeysuckle, Tang Banxia squatted down to dig it up. Song Yu squatted nearby, playing—sometimes picking wildflowers, sometimes collecting leaves—bouncing around cheerfully and full of life.

“Be careful, there are lots of vines and branches in the mountain,” Tang Banxia warned her.

Song Yu looked back with a smile and kept bouncing, “I see them all, I won’t trip, I can...”

“Oops!”

Well then.

Just as she said she wouldn’t trip, she immediately did.

Tang Banxia hurried over and helped her up. “Are you okay? Where did you hurt yourself?”

Tears welled up in Song Yu’s eyes, almost falling, but when she saw Tang Banxia’s concerned gaze, she shook her head. “I’m not hurt, just scared.”

The little girl had quite a strong sense of revenge. Once she recovered, she kicked fiercely at the vine that had tripped her. “Serves you right for tripping me and making me lose face!”

Tang Banxia shook her head helplessly. Whatever about the original female lead or not, she was still a child.

Yet her sharp eyes caught sight of something that had been kicked out by Song Yu. “Wait a moment.”

Song Yu paused, “Miss Tang?”

Tang Banxia didn’t answer, her eyes shining as she stared at the lump.

Was that a lingzhi mushroom?

Oh my god! Such a huge lingzhi?

Bending down, she picked up the large mushroom, examining it over and over with delight. It must be at least twenty years old.

Then she looked at the vine and back at Song Yu, a gleam of excitement in her eyes.

No wonder she was a true lucky charm—just a casual stumble and there was such a huge lingzhi waiting to be picked?

And it was right at the foot of the mountain, where people frequently passed by? Absurd.

No one had noticed this lingzhi for over twenty years?

Tang Banxia looked carefully and noticed a small pit beneath the vine—it was where the lingzhi had grown.

If Song Yu hadn’t kicked the vine in frustration, it might have taken another twenty years before anyone found it.

“Miss Tang?” Song Yu felt uneasy under Tang Banxia’s intense gaze.

Tang Banxia cleared her throat and softened her expression. “Nothing.”

She carried the lingzhi back. “This is a lingzhi, a precious medicinal herb. I’ll keep it for you now and give it to your grandmother when we get down the mountain.”

“Is it expensive?” Song Yu tilted her head.

Tang Banxia nodded. “Yes, quite expensive.”

Especially from her perspective as a doctor, with this twenty-year-old lingzhi, she could start preparing her Ginseng Nourishing Pills.

She just needed to find a ginseng root of sufficient age; otherwise, this lingzhi would be wasted.

Seeing Song Yu’s expectant look, Tang Banxia’s thoughts froze.

She was thinking too far ahead; this lingzhi wasn’t even hers yet.

Once they returned, she would discuss with Grandma Song whether they could sell it.

With a growing smile, she said, “Let’s go. This time, you lead the way.”

Song Yu didn’t understand why Miss Tang suddenly acted so strange, but she was obedient. “Okay~”

“Miss Tang, where do you want to go?”

“I’ll follow you wherever you go,” Tang Banxia replied warmly, like a caring older sister.

Song Yu didn’t ask further. She hadn’t been up the mountain for a long time, and now that she could play freely, she wouldn’t hold back.

“Then Miss Tang, stick close to me~”

Go forth, my lucky heroine!

Tang Banxia carried her basket, and wherever Song Yu pointed, she followed.

And true to her luck, with Song Yu leading, Tang Banxia gathered twice as many herbs as she usually did alone.

Her eyes were filled with joy.

As they wandered, they arrived at Aunt Sun’s secret little base—the place where Aunt Sun had once taken Tang Banxia to pick mushrooms.

It hadn’t rained for days, so mushrooms were scarce, but there were plenty of other herbs.

They weren’t tense, roaming as if on a leisurely outing. Song Yu carried a stick and, as Tang Banxia taught her, beat the grass to scare away snakes, while Tang Banxia searched for herbs on the grassy slope.

Unconsciously, they reached the area near a partially collapsed house.

Tang Banxia had been in the village long enough to have heard some rumors.

This house belonged to a deaf-mute old woman who was said to possess certain abilities—summoning spirits, dispelling evil, catching ghosts and demons—famous in the surrounding villages.

Later, people were forbidden to mention these things, and the deaf-mute woman disappeared without a trace.

After she vanished, some villagers became interested in her house, but everyone who entered mysteriously fell ill.

Over time, people came to avoid the place, even steering clear of it when foraging for wild vegetables.

This was why Aunt Sun’s secret base had never been discovered.

However, Tang Banxia’s sharp ears caught lewd voices coming from the house, which made her uneasy.

She hadn’t expected that even after a year, they still hadn’t moved to another place.

“You little seductress, who’s better, me or your man?” a man’s heavy breathing and boastful tone rang out.

“How could he compare to you?” a soft, coquettish female voice replied. “He’s just a useless waste.”

“Uh-huh~ you rascal, be gentle~ you want to kill me~”

Tang Banxia: ...

Song Yu blinked her big, innocent eyes. “Tang... umm~”

Tang Banxia covered her mouth, quickly grabbing her and running down the mountain.

This kind of thing was too embarrassing to witness.

They didn’t stop until they had put some distance between themselves and the house, then Tang Banxia released Song Yu.

Song Yu landed on the ground and said, “Miss Tang, that sounded like Third Aunt.”

How was Tang Banxia supposed to explain this to the future flower of the nation?

“What Third Aunt?” Better to play dumb.

“The one who was just talking. Third Aunt seems to be hurt,” the innocent child said, looking at her with wide, confused eyes.

Tang Banxia hesitated, then changed the subject. “Well, it’s getting late. Let’s go back. Your grandmother must be worried.”

If Song Yu were an ordinary child, she would have followed Tang Banxia obediently by now. But as the lucky heroine, she protested, “But Third Aunt...”

“There’s no Third Aunt, you must have misheard,” Tang Banxia said firmly, pulling the future flower of the nation down the mountain. “Didn’t you say your brother was bringing you white cogongrass root? If we’re late, there won’t be any left.”

Song Yu was pulled along but kept glancing back. “I’ll tell Grandma when we get back. She can come see.”

Tang Banxia: ...

“Well, that’s possible.”

This wasn’t her fault, she hadn’t said anything after all.