Chapter 23

Sweat, I forgot to upload at noon, sorry everyone.

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Li Wenjun had not thought of buying several medicinal herbs, including the Moon Cliff Grass, from herbalists like Sun Baicao. When he was copying the information about the Moon Cliff Grass and other herbs from the Sun family, he had indirectly inquired about them from Sun Baicao.

Sun Baicao told him that the few herbs he was asking about were very rare in the Five Peaks Mountain. It was possible that one might not encounter a single plant in one or two years. Even if other herbalists had them, they would be extremely expensive, costing dozens or even hundreds of taels of silver, and it would be impossible to buy them otherwise.

Regardless of whether he could gather these herbs from the herbalists, even if he could, it would definitely cost a lot of money. By the time he gathered all the herbs, he would have almost no money left. He still needed to eat and live, so he had to keep some money on him. Moreover, doing so carried an unavoidable risk of drawing attention to himself. If it attracted thieves, he would have nowhere to cry.

Using stones to crack a few mountain walnuts, Li Wenjun peeled the hard shells while looking around for a path forward. The weather was nice today, with clear skies and a gentle breeze, and it was close to the 15th, so it would definitely be a bright night, a good opportunity to search for the Moon Cliff Grass. He had already planned to search for the Moon Cliff Grass a few more times in the coming days. If he couldn't find it, he would have to go down the mountain.

As it was getting dark, Li Wenjun found a cliff. He laid a felt blanket on the ground, then lay down at the edge of the cliff, sticking his head out to observe the plants growing on the cliff.

Li Wenjun forcibly memorized the positions, sizes, and shapes of these plants. This way, if there was Moon Cliff Grass on this cliff, he could quickly identify it by comparison.

Lying at the edge of the cliff was not an easy task. If the rocks at the edge of the cliff fell off, he would fall to his death. The wind here was usually strong, and he might be blown off the cliff, which would also be fatal. Moreover, this task was monotonous and tiring, making it easy to fall asleep, which was obviously very dangerous.

Li Wenjun thought of many ways to avoid the risks. He usually looked for trees or large rocks and used ropes to secure himself to them to prevent falling off the cliff. This way, even if he fell asleep or the rocks fell off, he would at least not fall down.

However, not every cliff had trees or large rocks for him to secure himself to. In such cases, Li Wenjun would take a bite of a wild chili he had found on the mountain. The burning sensation from the chili would help him stay awake for a long time.

As it got dark, the nearly full moon rose into the sky. Li Wenjun opened his eyes wide and looked at the plants on the cliff. He could clearly see the plants within ten zhang (about 33 feet) of the cliff, which was far beyond the range of ordinary people. However, cliffs were usually very high and deep, often reaching a hundred zhang or more, and cliffs several hundred or even a thousand zhang high were not uncommon.

The length of the rope Li Wenjun brought was limited, only about thirty zhang. Beyond this distance, he couldn't reach. For the distance between ten and thirty zhang, he needed to use a torch or something similar to see.

In theory, the simplest method would be to light a torch and throw it down the cliff. However, Li Wenjun did not dare to do this. The most likely consequence would be a forest fire. In dry conditions, a fire could be merciless, and if he was surrounded by a forest fire, he would be in serious trouble.

More importantly, he couldn't control the trajectory of the torch as it fell. If the torch landed on the cliff and there happened to be Moon Cliff Grass growing there, he would be devastated. Moreover, making a torch was a laborious and time-consuming task.

Li Wenjun came up with a solution. He found a branch about two zhang long, made it into a pole, and attached several loops made of tree vines to it. He then threaded the rope through these loops and used branches and rope to make a frame, which he hung at the end of the rope. He lit the torch, inserted it into the frame, and extended the pole over the edge of the cliff, slowly lowering the rope to search the cliff with the light from the torch.

Of course, this method still did not allow him to completely control the trajectory of the torch. If the mountain wind blew, the torch could hit the cliff and ignite the plants. The possibility of the Moon Cliff Grass being burned still existed. However, he could not think of any other way. He had already decided to bring several lanterns and more candles the next time he entered the mountain.

This time, Li Wenjun first searched the area within ten zhang. He did not find any signs of Moon Cliff Grass. He then used his homemade tool, slowly releasing the rope and lowering the torch, using the faint light to search for the Moon Cliff Grass.

Even after the rope was fully extended, he still did not find any Moon Cliff Grass. Li Wenjun was not willing to give up. He leaned as far out over the cliff as possible, opening his eyes wide and searching for the Moon Cliff Grass.

Although Li Wenjun's vision was far superior to that of ordinary people, it still had its limits. Within fifteen to sixteen zhang, he could see clearly. Beyond this distance, he could only see a vague outline of what was growing there.

Suddenly, a plant with a few heart-shaped leaves caught his eye. It appeared to be growing about thirty zhang from the top of the cliff, and Li Wenjun could no longer see it clearly. His vision was very blurry at this distance.

During the day, Li Wenjun clearly remembered that he had not seen any plants in this position. The leaves of the Moon Cliff Grass were heart-shaped, so he was quite confident that this was the Moon Cliff Grass he had been searching for.

To ensure he had not made a mistake, Li Wenjun pulled the torch up and tied three torches together, securing them to the frame. The light from three torches burning simultaneously was much brighter than a single torch. When Li Wenjun released the rope to its full length again, he could faintly see the plant with heart-shaped leaves in the moonlight and torchlight.

It could be! It should be!

Heaven help me, it must be!

Li Wenjun was worried about any accidents, so he put away the torch and pole, found a sheltered spot near the cliff, and waited for dawn, feeling both excited and anxious. He finally fell asleep in the early hours of the morning.

As soon as it was slightly light, Li Wenjun woke up and rushed to the edge of the cliff, sticking his head out to look down. At the place where he had seen the plant with heart-shaped leaves the previous day, he could barely see anything now.

Moon Cliff Grass! It must be Moon Cliff Grass!

Li Wenjun was extremely excited. He was determined to get this Moon Cliff Grass no matter what. He began preparing to climb down the cliff and pick it.

There were a few trees growing on the cliff. Li Wenjun tested their sturdiness and tied one end of the rope to the thickest tree. He then threw the rope down the cliff, placed the tools he might need in his medicine basket, and put the basket on his back. He then grabbed the rope with both hands, stepped on the outer wall of the cliff, and slowly and carefully slid down.

These were all the complete herbalist tools given to him by Sun Baicao, specially made based on the Sun family's centuries of herbalist experience to ensure maximum safety. However, this did not mean there was no danger at all.

Li Wenjun did not dare to be careless. He carefully controlled the speed of his descent and chose his footholds. He smoothly slid to the end of the rope, but he was still about one zhang away from the Moon Cliff Grass.

At this point, Li Wenjun was in a precarious position, neither up nor down. The distance to the top of the cliff was about thirty zhang, and the distance to the bottom was about forty to fifty zhang. If he fell, he would be crushed to death with no chance of survival.

If he had enough time, Li Wenjun would not have taken the risk, but what he lacked most was time. If he returned to the county to get a longer rope, he would have to wait until the next spring to enter the mountain again. By then, it would be uncertain whether the Moon Cliff Grass would still be growing there.

This meant that if he missed this opportunity, whether he would encounter it again would be a matter of luck.

Li Wenjun did not think much. He decided to get the Moon Cliff Grass no matter what. He first pulled out the dagger, which was only half its original length, and dug several footholds into the cliff. Although the dagger was only a small piece left, it was still very sharp, and digging into the cliff was as easy as digging into tofu.

After digging the footholds, Li Wenjun secured the rope to prevent it from swaying in the wind. Then, he untied the rope that secured him to the rope and used his hands and feet to climb down the cliff, clinging to the cracks and protruding rocks like a gecko.

This was absolutely his first time doing such a thing. He had no experience and no one to guide him. He was completely driven by his strong desire to obtain the Moon Cliff Grass to complete this extremely dangerous task.

Fortunately, the cliff he was on was straight up and down, without any dangerous protrusions or indentations. If the cliff had been more uneven, even with his strong desire to enter the path of cultivation, Li Wenjun would have met his end here.