During my escape from famine, I survived by eavesdropping on the whispers of food.

Looking at the two vast mountains before them, Qin Shuangshuang turned to Lu Jun and said, "Have you ever been to these mountains? They seem much more dangerous than the ones in our county town."

Looks like we're going to be quite busy this time up the mountain.

Lu Jun looked around and said, "This mountain does look quite steep. We need to be careful. I'll go first, and you follow behind me."

Lu Jun then gripped his hoe and dug a path in front of him. Soon, the two saw the path left by the villagers who had been chopping wood earlier, and they continued climbing up the path.

Qin Shuangshuang watched as the cliff rose higher and higher behind her. When she looked up, she saw many towering trees with withered branches hanging from them.

Qin Shuangshuang's curious gaze fell on Lu Jun's face. "Have you noticed how tall and big the trees here are? Some of the leaves look like they've been here before, but it seems like no one here has ever eaten these leaves before."

I doubt these leaves would taste good at all.

Lu Jun nodded, "Indeed, the leaves of this tree taste very bitter. I've tasted them before."

Qin Shuangshuang asked curiously, "Didn't your stepmother feed you before? Did she really make you taste tree leaves?"

Lu Jun deliberately feigned a pitiful expression and sighed, "That's right, if I hadn't met you, how could I have such a good life now?"

Lu Jun made a joke on purpose, and the two continued up the mountain. After walking for a long time, Qin Shuangshuang could only see these towering trees in the vicinity, and there was nothing else.

One by one, the leaves fell down, adding to the feeling of the dead of winter.

Lu Jun looked around and said to Qin Shuangshuang, "Finding medicinal herbs here will be a bit troublesome. The thatch grows quite tall, so we need to be careful not to accidentally step into a pit."

I heard that many people hunted here before this tribulation. We can't possibly step into a trap; what if there are unclean weapons in the trap? We'd be trapped.

Lu Jun's words reminded Qin Shuangshuang.

Thinking back to my own time, I remember seeing my elders hunting in the mountains. They would use nets to dig a pit and then place the net on the deliberately designed trap, and then wild boars would fall in.

Qin Shuangshuang thought about it carefully, and couldn't help but look up at the high sky, wondering how she could find the herbs that could cure this rat disease.

Just then, Qin Shuangshuang suddenly felt something itchy in her ear. She scratched it for a while and then noticed some movement around her.

While reminding Qin Shuangshuang, Lu Jun said, "Be careful, it might be something alive. If you do find one, call me over and I'll catch it with my bare hands and make you some soup."

Upon hearing this, Qin Shuangshuang smiled and didn't think much of it. She went closer and found that it was just a few mice.

Seeing its lively appearance, Qin Shuangshuang rolled her eyes instantly. "I thought it was some kind of wild rabbit, but it turned out to be just a little mouse. Let's keep going."

However, after taking just one step, Qin Shuangshuang was suddenly stopped by a noisy voice.

“It’s rare to see any living people come into these towering mountains. A few refugees came up before, but they didn’t even bother to look at us.”

"This girl is quite pretty."

"Exactly, exactly. I heard there's a rat disease outbreak down the mountain, but they never expected we could cure their illness. It's hilarious."

"Let them do their thing. They didn't take us seriously before, so don't expect us to save their lives now."

"That's right, we mustn't let others know our purpose, otherwise they'll take everything from us. What's wrong with enjoying this family bliss here?"

"Let them pick those innocent herbs, and we'll just watch this joke unfold from here."

Upon hearing this, Qin Shuangshuang was surprised to learn that these tree leaves were actually used to treat rat infestations. Wasn't this just a complete accident?

Qin Shuangshuang thought to herself, with so many leaves, there's bound to be enough to save those people.

Qin Shuangshuang suddenly recalled the words of the older generation, in which she heard about these leaves, especially the leaves of the Chinese tallow tree, which can clear and treat toxins in people. When combined with ice, they can be used to melt the toxins in people's bodies before producing the medicinal effects.

Therefore, it can remove toxins from the body.

Qin Shuangshuang was overjoyed and laughed heartily, "Unbelievable, absolutely unbelievable!"

Lu Junyi looked up and saw Qin Shuangshuang laughing to herself. He clenched his fists, not expecting Qin Shuangshuang to go crazy so quickly.

He rushed over and said to Qin Shuangshuang, "Wake up, what's wrong?"

Qin Shuangshuang looked at him, clutching her hands, and asked in confusion, "What are you thinking about? I was thinking that we have a way, a way to get through this rat disease."

Upon hearing this, Lu Jun quickly asked, "What method is it?"

"Look, these leaves, these leaves, that's how we treat them. These leaves are specifically used to treat rat infestations."

I never imagined that these tree leaves could be such a good treatment for this disease.

Lu Jun squatted down somewhat disbelievingly, picked up some leaves from the ground, examined them carefully, and looked at Qin Shuangshuang with suspicion, "Are you sure this stuff can cure rat disease?"

Qin Shuangshuang nodded, "That's right. My elders used to put these leaves into medicine. Don't worry, it's absolutely fine. We should also add some ice water to enhance the medicinal properties."

Lu Jun observed, and became even more certain, "This thing does indeed have detoxifying properties, but I never expected it could cure this rat disease. I never imagined we'd be so lucky."

We must hurry down and tell Lord Jin to bring his men up and remove these leaves so that the people of the entire county can receive medicine as soon as possible.”

The two had just returned to the entrance of the dilapidated temple when they saw someone getting off the carriage.

Lin Zheng turned around and saw Qin Shuangshuang had returned. He said to her in surprise, "You're back so soon? When we entered the city, the guards at the gate told me that you had left. I didn't expect you to be back so quickly. Did you find some useful treasure?"

Qin Shuangshuang smiled and said, "That's right, so I rushed back to report to you. Let's go inside and talk. There are too many people around outside, so it's not convenient to talk."

Then Jin Danian led the group inside.

The door to the room was tightly closed. It was a meditation room. Qin Shuangshuang said to Lin Zheng, "It's the Chinese tallow tree leaf. I never thought this thing could cure human illnesses. It really can cure rat diseases. I just confirmed it, and I also confirmed it with Lu Jun."

He had known before that these leaves had medicinal properties.

At this moment, Lin Zheng raised an eyebrow and asked her in confusion, "Do you know that these leaves are very bitter? How could they possibly be used to treat human diseases? Especially such a terrifying rat disease."