I can return to the age of mysterious-Chapter 49 - 0 In the Mountain_1
Chapter 49: 049 In the Mountain_1
Chapter 49: 049 In the Mountain_1
Behind Flower Road Village and nestled against the mountain, there was a narrow trail leading deep into the mountains. Casio began to follow the path, guided by a vague recollection.
Not far along the hike, the gentle slope ahead was blanketed by a sea of blooming yellow wildflowers. Spreading their petals wide, they looked like countless little sunshades, gently swaying left and right in the breeze.
In the heart of the flower sea, two lowly graves stood side by side.
Casio stood still for a while, then carefully picked a handful of relatively rare white wildflowers from the fields. These roadside flowers had a strong scent, and their pistils were crawling with tiny black bugs as small as grains of rice. They were probably some kind of insect that feeds on nectar.
Stepping into the flower sea, he wended his way through a narrow path, finally arriving before the two gravestones.
A bunch of white flowers was laid on the left side, and another one on the right.
The sunlight was fierce, the flower sea on the slope looking like a soft blanket of alternating yellow and green, with a single black dot moving relentlessly north.
Berna Mountain, with an average elevation of about 3,000 meters, stretches across two counties. Boasting a climate of both temperate continental humidity and Mediterranean subtropical summer aridity, it’s the source of many rivers in North Flow Country. Broadleaf forests, sclerophyllous forests, coniferous forests, and meadows make up the distinctive vertical vegetation zones in the mountain.
The Orchid Heart Grass that Casio sought grows at elevations below 500 meters on Berna Mountain. Even with the climatic changes over seventy years, they would most likely still thrive in this area.
The small path was shaded by lush trees, the sunlight projected a patchwork of shadows through leaves. Moving amidst the play of light and shadow, the intermittent mountain breezes eased the summer heat.
Before initiating his retrospection, Casio had conducted on-site investigations in the real world and made sure to memorize a crafted map.
As the mountain paths might have changed over the past seventy years, the landmarks on the map were not roads or signs, but more permanent fixtures such as waterfalls, rivers, and mountain tops – naturally occurring landmarks unlikely to have changed over the short span of time.
“Whoosh…” Casio thought he heard the sound of water in the distance.
A spark of excitement in his eyes, he quickly made his way toward the source of the sound. Though the forest was overgrown and not often trodden by humans, Casio’s agility and strength allowed him to move speedily even in such conditions.
Coming out from behind a big tree as thick as two people huddled together, sunlight beamed onto Casio’s upper body, its glare almost blinding.
Not far from him, the waterfall resounded as it cascaded down from the cliff top, forming a broad white curtain in mid-air, then plummeted with great vitality into the emerald pool below, sending up a mist of water droplets.
Occasionally, a few white water birds would circle around overhead.
The Yaga Waterfall, one of the viewing spots in Berna Mountain in later generations, made a substantial contribution to the tourism industry of Firmwood Town.
It hardly changed at all in seventy years.
Once Casio found the Yaga Waterfall, it was a piece of cake from then on. Just follow the direction of the water flow downstream and the Orchid Heart Grass would be growing by the stream.
Casio took a glance at the waterfall, then quickly charted a path through the terrain. As there were no cleared paths, moving around was slightly perilous. But, thanks to his excellent physique, he tumbled from the edge and straight down.
With a light thud, he landed from a height of about five or six meters.
Without any further delay, Casio set out along the clear brook. When he encountered forests, he trekked through them; when he came across water, he waded through it. Along the way, he came across a brown wild boar drinking by the side of the stream.
It was a wild boar king weighing six to seven hundred pounds, its physique was sturdy like that of a small calf, and its white tusks were slightly yellow at the tips.
They faced off each other, and sensing danger, the wild boar king gulped down two mouthfuls of water before retreating back into the woods and disappearing from sight.
Relaxing a bit, Casio followed the stream on his path.
Finally, at a bend in the brook, he found what he was looking for. It was a patch of full-blown Orchid Heart Grass on top of another one.
Cautiously, Casio ventured on over.
It was a flat patch next to the brook, with fertile and moist soil, and there were numerous fragments of stones scattered over the ground.
Green Orchid Heart Grass was growing in the crevices between these stones.
A sweeping glance revealed that this batch of wild Orchid Heart Grass covered a relatively large area. It was growing on both sides of the river bank, with more plants clustered where Casio was standing and fewer on the other side.
“So many of them… they are probably enough to provide for the potion needs of everyone at the Wind Elephant Gate for several years,” he remarked with a hint of exclamation.
In actual fact, Wind Elephant Gate would certainly not exploit this valuable resource to that extent. These wild Orchid Heart Grass plants were indeed precious, but the really important thing was this place where they grew.
Climate, water source, topography, and soil, all these were indispensable.
Once a place for cultivation can be secured, mass propagation can then be carried out under human intervention. That way, Wind Elephant Gate would have a continuous supply of Orchid Heart Grass. Then, not just the formal disciples, but the preparatory disciples of the Wind Elephant Gate Youth Training Camp would also be able to enjoy the benefits of the potion.
With ample resources for cultivation, it would be hard for the sect not to thrive.
Casio could already imagine the exhilaration and ecstasy of the senior levels at Wind Elephant Gate when they set eyes upon this vast uncultivated expanse of Orchid Heart Grass.
He plucked a leaf and carefully observed it under the sunlight.
An Orchid Heart Grass leaf is shaped like a miniature peach, like a gingko leaf. It is bluish-green, and there are veins running from the top to the bottom of the leaf. These veins extend radially in all directions.
Such a small thing accounted for half the cost of the cultivation potion at Wind Elephant Gate. It could only be described as precious.
Moreover, Casio noticed something else. These wild Orchid Heart Grass appeared to be very robust and healthy. Their effectiveness was probably even better than the average variety. It was evident that this area in the Berna Mountain was indeed very conducive for the growth of Orchid Heart Grass. Matthew’s data was quite accurate.
Without further hesitation, he surveyed his surroundings. There were no signs of human activities. Then, he dug out several Orchid Heart Grass plants with his bare hands. They were carefully dug up root and all, with soil sticking to it, to be taken back home.
By the time Casio returned to Flower Road Village, it was already getting dark. He found several old pots in Li Wei’s old house and promptly placed each of the uprooted Orchid Heart Grass plants with soil into them.
After a hasty meal, Casio turned into bed.
Early the next morning, he first checked on the state of the Orchid Heart Grass to ensure they were alright, and then watered them.
Next, he had breakfast. Casio had brought enough bread in his rucksack to last him. While it wasn’t particularly tasty, it was indeed filling.
By the time the sky was completely bright, he was already heading up the mountain with a rusty old machete. In his haste the previous evening, he hadn’t put any markers on his route. Today was to make up for it, and to find other paths.
R𝑒ad lat𝒆st chapt𝒆rs at free𝑤ebnovel.com Only.
Preferably one of those paths that directly connected the Orchid Heart Grass field to the foot of the mountain.
For the entire morning, Casio wandered the mountain as he marked out a route. Along the way, he encountered a smaller boar and a fight ensued. Casio ended up slaughtering the boar with his rusty jungle knife, and only cut off a large chunk of its thigh meat to take down the mountain.
