They dared let her go wash the items because the racket they had made fighting the wild boar was so loud, and they had run such a great distance, that they believed any nearby beast would’ve either bolted away or been scared off by now.
So they felt somewhat reassured.
"I got it," Chiang Xiao called back, her mind suddenly stirring. Could she take this opportunity to see if she could catch a few wild rabbits or something similar?
Plus, she hadn’t been to that patch of woods before. She could sneak further in and have a look around.
As for washing the items, she had previously considered whether to water the herbs in her Space, so she had already carried a small bucket of water there. If she ran out of time, she could just use that water to wash the items.
With a plan in mind, Chiang Xiao immediately crouched down and silently sprinted towards the distant woods.
The woods were on a slight slope with a thick layer of fallen leaves carpeting the ground, all was silent.
Upon entering the woods, Chiang Xiao took out the drawing that depicted radishes and rice grains from her Space and spread them on the ground.
Then she continued to search through the forest.
This feeling, it must be said, was quite delightful, akin to treasure hunting.
She picked up a one-meter-long tree branch to carry with her, occasionally prodding around, not at all keen on encountering snakes.
However, if she could actually catch a snake, that would be sellable too. Snake meat was edible, snake skin could be used in medicine, and snakes could even be used to brew liquor.
Thinking this, Chiang Xiao felt it wouldn’t be so bad if she encountered a snake.
But she wasn’t really brave enough to catch a snake, so after thinking it over, she gave up on the idea.
As Chiang Xiao continued to explore, she unwittingly ventured a bit too far.
Ahead of her appeared a large tree with lush foliage and roots twisted like the long beard of an ancient sage, serenely seated amidst a slope woven with green grass and fallen leaves.
On the slope’s downward side, thick roots were exposed above the soil, forming a natural plateau adorned with clusters of wildflowers. The flowers were stunning, a mix of pink, plum red, and white, squeezed together in an exceptionally dazzling display.
What a sight to behold!
Unable to resist, Chiang Xiao climbed down to the tree and reached out to pick those lovely wildflowers.
But as she plucked some of the flowers, she suddenly noticed a few green-leafed plants with palmate leaves and pale green flower clusters, the blossoms subtle and inconspicuous. Amidst the bright wildflowers, however, they stood out quite distinctly.
The largest of them was close to the tree, with three smaller ones growing contentedly by the tree roots, seemingly uninterested in competing with the wildflowers for brilliance.
Chiang Xiao felt these plants looked vaguely familiar, and crouched down to push aside the grass for a closer look just as her ears twitched.
Anxious, she no longer had time to do anything else; in an instant, she flashed into her Space.
And just as she flashed into her Space, a dark green object streaked lightning-fast towards where she had just been standing.
But lacking a target, it thudded to the ground.
Chiang Xiao slapped her chest with fright and took a sharp breath as she fixed her gaze on it.
It was a snake as thick as a baby’s arm!
Unlike the small snake that Xu Linjiang had encountered before, this one was truly substantial, and its color, similar to the tree bark, made it appear as a large lump when coiled up, sending shivers down Chiang Xiao’s spine.
She had never seen such a big snake up close. Seeing its eyes through the Space made all her hairs stand on end in stiff salute.
Yet it was precisely this snake that made her suddenly remember the little one she had seen the day she dug up the Lingzhi mushroom, causing her heart to leap violently.