Chapter 89

The man behind the door, seeing them leave, chased after them and loudly reminded, "Come again tomorrow, and don’t forget to bring some sausages, canned food, and the like."

The young man with the ear piercing said, "I’m just afraid we won’t be able to sell them."

The man replied, "As long as your prices aren’t too high, someone will definitely buy them. Bring good things to eat, and bring them over. It’s always instant noodles and cookies; what’s good about that?"

The young man with the ear piercing laughed and said, "Ha, don’t worry, we won’t make it unaffordable for you. There’s an old man in this forest, a doctor, who specializes in incurable and difficult diseases. He’s the real black sheep. Before treating anyone, he makes them fill out a form, investigating their family situation, work status, and income, then sets the price. Whatever he asks for, you can’t bargain. He only treats the rich, not the poor. Even if you’re a billionaire or the CEO of a large company, one visit to him can cost you a significant portion of your wealth."

The man said, "If he can really cure them, that’s fine. For example, if someone has cancer or AIDS, and he cures them, no matter how much he asks for, it’s worth it. After all, money can be earned again, but a dead person can’t be brought back to life."

The young man in the blue down jacket suddenly interjected, cursing, "He cures nothing! This old man is just a money-grubber. His medical skills are only slightly better than ordinary doctors, and he doesn’t guarantee a cure. He takes the money first, and if the patient dies, he doesn’t refund a penny."

His words were filled with anger, and from his tone, it was clear he had a strong grudge against the so-called 'old man.'

The young man with the ear piercing explained, "Two years ago, Xiao Lei’s grandfather had lymphoma. The whole family pooled a million yuan to find that old man for treatment, but he ignored them. Xiao Lei’s grandfather passed away last year, so he has no good feelings towards the old man."

The man said, "I understand. In such a situation, anyone would be angry. This old man has a bad character. Although his medical skills are good, he lacks medical ethics."

These words struck a chord with Xiao Lei, who nodded and said, "Exactly. This old man deserves a bad end. In our village, who doesn’t curse him? When they mention him, everyone hates him so much they grind their teeth. The older generation is superstitious and says he will go to the eighteenth level of hell and be reborn as an animal."

The man ignored the curses and asked, "Since he doesn’t guarantee a cure, why do people still pay a high price to see him?"

The young man with the ear piercing said helplessly, "What can you do? He’s famous. He calls himself a divine doctor. For some incurable and difficult diseases, if they can’t be treated elsewhere, people can only try their luck with him. This old man has a very bad conscience. Sometimes, even when he knows he can’t cure someone, he doesn’t say it clearly. He just tells them he’ll do his best and takes the money without hesitation. By the time people realize he can’t cure them, it’s too late, and the money is already spent."

The long-haired young man, tired of their endless talk, urged, "Xiao Liang, Xiao Lei, let’s go. What’s the point of talking about that old man? There must be more people trapped on this road. Let’s find more things to sell."

Xiao Liang agreed, and Xiao Lei, seemingly remembering something, took a piece of bread from his backpack and threw it to the man, shouting, "Catch it."

The man was taken aback but caught it with his hand.

Xiao Lei said, "It’s a gift for you. Don’t give it to those two, and don’t sell it to them. Xiao Guang means what he says. If he finds out you gave them food, you’ll be in trouble. Next time, if he refuses to sell you things, we can’t do anything about it."

The man knew he was referring to Xu Mo and Han Ying and smiled, "Thanks."

The three young men didn’t say more, whistled, and skied down the road.

Xu Mo found the young man’s parting words amusing.

Soon, the man returned from outside, holding the bread Xiao Lei had given him. He looked at Xu Mo and smiled, "Buddy, don’t take the threats of those kids to heart."

Xu Mo nodded. He didn’t take the threats of the three young men seriously. He had only disciplined them because they were too arrogant and overbearing.

The man looked down at the bread in his hand, then at Xu Mo and Han Ying, and threw the bread to Xu Mo, saying, "Catch it."

Xu Mo caught it and looked at him in confusion.

The man smiled, "Give this bread to your girlfriend." By 'girlfriend,' he meant Han Ying.

Xu Mo knew he had misunderstood his relationship with Han Ying, but when traveling, there was no need to explain such things to strangers.

He handed the bread to Han Ying and suddenly remembered something, saying to the man, "You suggested finding someone to go out and look for some dry wood?"

The man, not knowing why he brought this up, nodded, "It’s so cold. It’s good to go out and find some dry wood. We can start a fire and warm up."

He then complained, "Unfortunately, everyone is afraid of the cold and doesn’t want to move. They all want to enjoy the warmth but don’t want to put in the effort. They expect me to go out and find the wood, start the fire, and then everyone can warm up. There’s no such thing as a free lunch."

Xu Mo nodded and asked, "Do you still want to go out and find wood? If so, let’s go together."

The man was delighted, "You want to go together? That’s great. Let’s go now. To be honest, it’s so cold, and we haven’t had any hot food. I’m already freezing."

He paused and introduced himself, "I’m Ding Jian. Buddy, what’s your name?"

Xu Mo replied succinctly, "Xu Mo." He pointed to Han Ying, "She’s Han Ying."

Ding Jian smiled at both of them and said, "When we bring back the wood, only we and your girlfriend will warm up by the fire. No one else will get this benefit. What do you think?"

Xu Mo smiled, "Sure!" and stood up from the mat.

Han Ying suddenly said, "Wait, I’ll go with you."

Xu Mo thought for a moment and said, "Good idea. Bring a rope and your multi-tool knife; I’ll need it." He also had a knife, but he had left it with Monkey when they left the mountain.

Han Ying agreed and took the multi-tool knife from her travel bag, handing it to Xu Mo. The three of them left the room.

Once outside, they realized how heavy the snow was, covering the entire ground. The fallen branches from the trees were buried under the snow, making them invisible.

Ding Jian frowned and muttered, "What do we do now?" He looked up at the trees, "Do we have to climb up and cut the branches? These branches are wet, and even if we cut them, they won’t burn easily and will produce a lot of smoke."

Xu Mo didn’t respond and smiled, "Follow me."

As he spoke, he took a few steps forward, kicked the snow, and a piece of dry wood was immediately exposed. He picked up the branch and dug through the snow, revealing more dry wood.

"Wow!" Ding Jian was surprised and delighted, "Buddy, how did you know there was dry wood under this snow?"

Xu Mo smiled, "It’s simple. If something is buried under the snow, the ground will be higher than other areas. If you pay attention, it’s not hard to notice."

"Ah!" Ding Jian thought it made sense and looked at the snow-covered ground in the distance. The snow was too thick, and no matter how he looked, everything seemed the same, making it impossible to distinguish the high and low areas. The trees also blocked the view, and the wind blew the snow around, making the snow deeper in sheltered areas.

He looked for a long time but saw nothing, and the reflected light from the snow hurt his eyes.

He rubbed his eyes and looked at Xu Mo again, seeing how easily he found dry wood under the snow without any mistakes. Every time he dug up the snow, he found one or more pieces of dry wood, either long or short.

He felt both frustrated and impressed, sighing, "I can’t do it. Buddy, I’ll just follow you and carry the wood." He muttered to himself, "Strange, why is it so easy for you to find it, but I can’t?"

Xu Mo just smiled. In fact, the high and low ground was just an excuse to explain to Ding Jian. He himself couldn’t tell if there was anything buried under the snow just by looking at the ground.

This forest had many pine trees, and in winter, the withered pine branches fell to the ground. Although buried under the snow, his strong sense of smell easily detected the strong scent of the pine branches.

Other branches had a much weaker scent and were harder to detect under the snow, so most of the branches he found were pine branches.

If Ding Jian paid attention, he might have noticed this, but how could he have thought that Xu Mo was using his strong sense of smell to find the branches? And would he care about the type of tree the branches came from?

Moreover, Xu Mo found that other branches produced a lot of smoke and had a bad smell when burned, so he discarded them even if they were mixed with pine branches. Ding Jian had no reason to suspect.

After collecting a certain amount of dry wood, they tied it with a rope and left it on the snow, planning to take it back later. They continued forward.

Xu Mo released his hearing, listening to the surroundings as they walked, hoping to find some game. Suddenly, he stopped and whispered, "Wait."

Han Ying and Ding Jian stopped, looking at him in confusion. Han Ying asked softly, "What’s wrong?"

Xu Mo didn’t answer but looked into the distance.

Han Ying and Ding Jian followed his gaze and saw a group of wild chickens about fifty to sixty meters away in the forest, foraging in the snow.