The Elixir is for You, The Poison is for Me

#200 - Herbalist

Turn back? Lu Jing was taken aback.

Indeed, the only place in this massive cave that could be called a haven was the entrance they had come through. However, retracing their steps would be the same as returning to the starting point, wouldn't it?

But after thinking about it, Lu Jing realized they didn't seem to have a better option at the moment.

Even if they could reach the other side of the stone wall through the dark river in front of them, Lu Jing didn't think the fledgling could hold its breath for that long.

Therefore, after only a slight hesitation, he decided to turn back and take a look, as Xia Huai had suggested.

This time, since they didn't need to pay attention to their surroundings and search for the fledgling, the two of them used their qinggong directly, and before the second and third torches burned out, they returned to the original cave entrance.

Probably because they had only been gone for less than an hour, the cave entrance didn't look much different from before.

Only a light drizzle had begun to fall in the sky, making the distant cliffs look even greener.

However, to Lu Jing and Xia Huai's surprise, Yang Tao was no longer at the cave entrance.

Had he gone to take shelter from the rain?

Xia Huai and Lu Jing tried calling Yang Tao's name several times, but there was no response from outside the cave.

With Yang Tao's personality, he would do everything possible to fulfill a promise.

Since he had promised to guard the cave entrance for them, he wouldn't have left even if the river suddenly rose and flooded to his chest.

Therefore, Lu Jing found it hard to imagine what could have happened outside the cave during the time they were inside that would have made Yang Tao disappear.

In addition, he also noticed that the bird's nest and the gray nightingale that had been located in the rock wall had also disappeared along with Yang Tao.

A thought flashed through Lu Jing's mind, and he thought of a possibility.

He reached out and stopped Xia Huai, who wanted to go out of the cave to look for Yang Tao.

The next moment, a strange man's voice came from outside the cave, "Oh, are you people from the other side?"

Along with his voice, there was a rustling sound from the bushes not far away.

Then, a man dressed as a herbalist, wearing a straw hat and a raincoat, carrying a bamboo basket on his back and a sickle at his waist, walked out from behind the trees.

Seeing that Lu Jing and Xia Huai didn't answer, he smiled and said, "You two should be disciples of the academy, right? Don't worry, Bie You Dong Tian is mysterious but not a scary place. The academy forbids newcomers from entering in the first year not because this place is dangerous…"

He paused here, then showed a thoughtful look, pinched his fingers and calculated, and said with some surprise, "That's not right, you should have just entered the academy not long ago, right? Running here despite the ban is quite brave."

Lu Jing and Xia Huai looked at each other, then cupped their hands and said, "We are not people who disregard the rules of the academy and act recklessly, but only because we were entrusted by someone… oh no, a bird, to enter the cave to find its lost young."

"Oh, you're here to find that featherless little bird," the herbalist said suddenly.

"Have you seen it?" Lu Jing asked, his spirits lifting.

"I've seen it, I've seen it," the herbalist nodded. "That featherless little bird came from the other side, just like you, but unlike you, it shouldn't have come voluntarily, it just stumbled into Bie You Dong Tian by mistake."

After the herbalist finished speaking, he asked Lu Jing and Xia Huai, "Is its nest about ten zhang away inside the cave?"

Lu Jing nodded, "That's right."

"Haha, that explains it. Its irresponsible parents built the nest right on the edge of Bie You Dong Tian's effective range," the herbalist said as he looked into the cave.

The place he was looking at was exactly where the gray nightingale had built its nest before. Then, he shifted his gaze to a patch of grass below, deducing what had happened at the time.

"A gust of wind blew the poor little guy out of its nest, but luckily, it wasn't directly killed, but landed in a soft patch of grass."

"Then it struggled to get back to its nest on the rock wall, but it didn't expect that Bie You Dong Tian had already taken effect on it. It kept climbing and climbing, but it couldn't find its home again."

"But fortunately, I was picking herbs outside the cave and found it, so I had my daughter take it back to the village. You're one step late, but if you want to take it back to its parents, you can come back to the village with me, but…"

The herbalist suddenly stopped here, then smiled again, "I don't know what to call you two?"

"Oh, I'm called Xia Jing, she's called Lu Huai."

Although the other party had been very friendly so far and knew a lot about the Si Tian Jian and the academy, Lu Jing was still cautious and didn't tell the suddenly appearing herbalist his real name.

When Xia Huai heard these two names, she couldn't help but blush, wondering what she was thinking.

The herbalist looked at the two of them with interest, and then said, "Are you two planning to stand in that cave for the rest of your lives?"

"Oh, may I ask what your honorable name is?" Lu Jing asked.

"My surname is Jing, and my given name is Xiang. You can call me Brother Jing," the herbalist said very readily.

"I wonder if Brother Jing can solve our doubts, what exactly is going on here?"

"You should have guessed some of it, haven't you? The so-called Bie You Dong Tian refers to the place where I am. The way to enter here is very special. You need to walk into the cave first, at least a dozen zhang away, then turn around and exit the cave to reach Bie You Dong Tian."

Seeming to see what the two of them were thinking, Jing Xiang shook his head.

"It's useless. When you see the cave entrance, even if you don't exit the cave, you are no longer on the original side. As for wanting to go back, it's simple, just walk through it again according to the law and you can return to the academy, but this method won't work before the next sunrise. You can try it if you don't believe me."

Lu Jing tried it after hearing this and found that it was indeed as Jing Xiang said, and he couldn't return to the academy.

Afterwards, Jing Xiang looked at the sky and said, "Alright, I've already told you the way back. Now the sun is about to set, and I have to go back to the village. Are you planning to go back with me, or are you going to spend the night here?"

"If it's not too much trouble, can we stay in the village for one night?" Lu Jing quickly made up his mind.

He didn't forget the purpose of his visit here. If it was just for lodging, that would be fine, but if he wanted to find the fledgling, it was imperative to go to the village with this herbalist named Jing Xiang.

So Lu Jing no longer hesitated and went out of the cave with Xia Huai.

"There's nothing to bother about. The people in the village are always hospitable, and many people from your academy have come, so everyone is used to it," Jing Xiang said with a smile.