Chapter 626: Chapter 624: Not Found

"That’s right." The leader of the three glanced at the feather and said, "It must have landed somewhere around here. Everyone, search again."

"Okay."

After a thorough search, the three men came up empty-handed, all of them frowning.

"Boss, someone’s been here." The second brother pointed to the flat ground near the mountain stream. "There are traces of a fire here. You think these people might have picked up the Golden Eagle?"

The three of them couldn’t be sure what kind of condition the Golden Eagle was in after it fell. If there were a lot of people, it was entirely possible they had taken it.

"Damn it! We tailed it for so many days and finally managed to wound it, only for someone else to swoop in and take the prize?" The third brother flew into a rage. "No way! We can’t just let them get away with it! On what grounds? We chased this Golden Eagle for days, braving the elements! You think it was easy for us? That bird is so damn cunning, it was a miracle Second Brother even managed to hit it."

The second brother was more thoughtful. "Boss, do you think the people who took the Golden Eagle also know about... that matter? Or maybe they were following us, waiting for an opportunity to snatch it? Or, what if we’re not the only ones they hired?"

"Damn it! If that’s the case, those bastards deserve to die," the hot-tempered third brother snarled.

"Alright, that’s enough. Speculating is useless right now," the man they called Boss ordered in a low voice. "Hurry up and search. See if it was really taken. If they don’t know anything, don’t be rash. We can even offer to buy the Golden Eagle back. In any case, you two need to handle this with discretion."

"Understood, Boss." The second and third brothers always listened to their leader, so when he spoke, they quickly agreed.

"What if they’re not willing to sell?" the third brother asked sullenly.

"We’ll see. We should avoid a conflict if we can. Worst case, we’ll just find another Golden Eagle. If we lose this one, we can always find another," the second brother said after a moment’s thought.

The third brother’s eyes went wide. "How hard are Golden Eagles to catch? Second Brother, you know better than anyone! If it weren’t for your good aim, we never would have wounded it. Damn, those clients are so demanding. No guns allowed. If we could just use a homemade shotgun, this would be a hell of a lot easier."

"Alright, enough complaining. Hurry up and spread out to search," the leader said with a wave of his hand.

The second brother said nothing. The third, however unwilling, could only mutter a few words under his breath as the three men split up and began to search the area.

Meanwhile, Su Qing’s group followed the route she laid out, venturing deep into Xiqing Mountain. They quickly found a number of medicinal herbs, all of which were quite mature.

Bai Qingyuan was ecstatic. "The quality of the herbs in Xiqing Mountain is truly amazing! The ones we found today are all of a good age and high quality. Once they’re properly processed, their effects will be even better."

Cao Zhengming smiled and nodded. Since they had come into the mountains specifically to gather herbs, everyone had brought a bamboo basket, which was perfect for holding their harvest.

"We’ll have to trouble you with these herbs later," Cao Zhengming said to Bai Qingyuan with a smile. "We’ll set aside thirty percent for you as payment."

The Bai Family, being a lineage of traditional medicine practitioners, was extremely professional when it came to processing Chinese herbs. Apart from what Beijing First Hospital procured from pharmaceutical factories, a portion of its various Chinese medicinal herbs came from the Bai Family. Therefore, it was only natural that they would entrust the processing of the herbs collected on this trip to them.

"Sure, no problem." Bai Qingyuan stroked the herb in his hand as gently as a parent caressing a child. He had studied Chinese medicine since he was young and worked with herbs every day. It wasn’t that he had never seen Chinese herbs of such fine quality, but he had never seen so many in one place. He couldn’t help but marvel, ’Xiqing Mountain really is a treasure trove.’

What Bai Qingyuan didn’t know was that the herbs’ quality was superior to those from ordinary mountains precisely because of the dense Spiritual Energy in Xiqing Mountain. If they were in Qinling, the quality of the herbs would be even better than here.

However, Qinling was simply too mysterious. Over the years, very few people had dared to venture into its depths to gather herbs.

In Xiqing Mountain, it wasn’t just the plants whose quality was enhanced by the Spiritual Energy. The animals, having lived there for years, were also remarkably intelligent. Take, for instance, the little squirrel that had persistently followed Su Qing before, or the Golden Eagle now nestled in her arms, acting spoiled.

"Su Qing, it’s so well-behaved in your arms," Bai Minyun said, carefully offering a small strip of pheasant meat to the Golden Eagle. The eagle, nestled in Su Qing’s embrace, lazily pecked at the meat in Bai Minyun’s hand. It could tell that Bai Minyun and Su Qing had a good relationship, so it accepted her offering. Towards everyone else, however, it remained appropriately wary.

"Oh! It ate it! It ate it! It ate the meat I gave it!" Bai Minyun whispered excitedly to Su Qing when the Golden Eagle took the meat from her hand.

Su Qing smiled and stroked the eagle’s feathers. "This little one is quite intelligent."

Bai Minyun said with envy, "I wish I could get a chance to hold the little guy."

Nearby, Wu Wei hadn’t given up. "Bai Minyun, if you ever get to hold the Golden Eagle, let me have a turn!"

By now it was evening. Under Su Qing’s guidance, the group had found a dry cave. Thanks to some preparations Su Qing had made in advance, the cave was free of insects and beasts, making it a perfect place to rest. A fire crackled inside, and mugwort was being burned at the entrance to smoke it out. Everyone had already eaten and were now gathered around Su Qing, some closer than others, their eyes fixed on the Golden Eagle in her arms, each one filled with envy.

Wu Qiao Ping sat in a corner, her eyes filled with jealous hatred as she stared at Su Qing. Fearing she’d be noticed, she quickly lowered her gaze and began fiddling with the hem of her clothes. Resentment still festered in her heart—resentment that Su Qing had betrayed the sincere feelings of the boy she liked.

This resentment coiled in Wu Qiao Ping’s heart, lingering, impossible to dispel or suppress.

For some reason, she felt a sudden urge to get revenge on Su Qing, to vent the anger in her chest.

But she knew about the incident in Maqu County where Su Qing had tamed a mad horse in the middle of the street. In terms of skill and Combat Power, she was no match for her. What’s more, both the director and Mr. Bai favored Su Qing. If she were to cause a scene, she would be the one to suffer.

She secretly felt for her bag. Inside was a small vial containing a powder she had prepared according to a formula from an ancient book. She wasn’t entirely sure of its effects, as she had never tested it. She pondered silently, her hand on the small vial.

’This Su Qing is supposedly great at finding herbs, but because she doesn’t like studying Chinese medicine, she isn’t an expert on medical theory. If I were to use her as a guinea pig...’

’Yes, as long as I’m careful and don’t let Mr. Bai find out, it should be fine.’

The more Wu Qiao Ping thought about it, the brighter her eyes became. It was still early, and they would be in the mountains for several more days. She could afford to wait for the right opportunity...

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