"That’s great, so you’re leaving in three days?" Chiang Xiao suddenly had an idea, "I have something to do, which should take about a day and a half. If my grandparents happen to see you that day, could you cover for me? Just say that you came back to get something and will leave immediately, and that I am waiting for you at the station. I’ll wait for you at the station in three days."
It was just a matter of covering for her, and she would leave her home a day early.
If Hu Xibing doesn’t go out much and just stays at the teahouse, then her grandparents wouldn’t have much of a chance to run into him. It would be best not to see him, but just in case they do see him that day, he would definitely need to help her cover up.
"Where are you going that you need to hide it from your family?" Hu Xibing immediately became somewhat uneasy.
He was somewhat reluctant to shoulder this responsibility.
This one here was bold enough to get involved in so dangerous a mission. What if it was something dangerous?
Seeing the look on his face, Chiang Xiao quickly reassured him, "It’s not something dangerous, it’s just not convenient to let my grandparents know. Brother Hu, don’t worry, I assure you that you won’t have to take any responsibility."
She had great confidence in her abilities now, and besides, she had Space; how could anything possibly go wrong?
Hu Xibing hesitated for a moment before agreeing, "Then the day after tomorrow, I will try not to go out. They usually don’t come this way either."
She should not be found out.
Chiang Xiao breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, this matter could be settled.
Having that python in Space always unsettled her.
After they had agreed, Hu Xibing even accompanied her back to Osmanthus Alley to reassure them.
"Big Master and grandma, don’t worry, I’ll take good care of Sister-in-law and make sure to deliver her safely to Captain Meng," he promised.
With his assurance, Chiang Songhai and the others, of course, felt at ease.
Thus, Chiang Xiao began to look forward to her first ever journey out of Peace Town in this life. Naturally, she also anticipated the bounty from her venture into the deep mountains.
Two days later, she put on a large backpack, bid farewell to her grandparents and Ge Dejun’s family, and headed towards Hu Xibing’s teashop. Once they were out of sight, she immediately cut in a different direction and headed straight for Bai Gu Mountain.
To avoid drawing attention to her objective, she didn’t take a bullock cart; rather, she chose a secluded path after leaving the town.
Fortunately, today was Chiang Songhai and the others’ rest day, and they were not going up Bai Gu Mountain.
Chiang Xiao was nimble and walked briskly, almost breezing through her trek, and soon she was climbing Bai Gu Mountain.
In the height of summer, Bai Gu Mountain seemed much livelier than during cooler times, a liveliness characterized by the chirping of insects, the calls of birds, and the lushness of the trees and blooming fruit trees.
Come autumn, the various wild fruits would be ripe.
As she climbed, Chiang Xiao thought about her potential harvest and felt delightfully content.
They were a typical community that lived off the mountain.
Why hadn’t she thought of going up Bai Gu Mountain before?
Fortunately, she had this second chance.
Now, her climbing speed was truly fast. Usually, when she went up with Ge Dejun and the others, she had to hold back and not show her full strength, but now it was just her in the mountain looking to save time. She increased her speed to the fastest, resembling a mountain monkey, leaping over many sloped areas in a single bound.
When she reached the small waterfall, she had almost halved the time it normally took, and after just a brief rest, she continued on her way.
After exploring a bit further inside, she had already reached territories they had not traversed before.