440 Chapter 440: Medicinal Plants (1/2)
Even after a couple of days in the mountains, we saw no sign of any human habitation. We trekked through the forest, hiding amongst the trees and using them as cover against the occasional monsters that passed by. We avoided combat as much as possible – even with Doctor Dorden here, we didn't want to over-rely on his healing magic and sustain unnecessary casualties. Healing magic wasn't omnipotent, and obviously Doctor Dorden would run out of mana if he had too many patients to treat. Furthermore, the forest wasn't a conducive place for resting and recovering mana, or for healing.
In case you've forgotten, even after accepting healing magic, I still had to lie in bed for several more hours before I was finally discharged. That wasn't just because the healing mage was monitoring me. It was because the body still needed some time to rest and pull itself together, to recover from the wounds. It was't some instant heal and the patient being back to full health like a game (I swear, some readers just treated everything like a game). Speaking of which, it made me laugh whenever readers whined that I should get a healing spirit – no, that's not how healing works. You don't heal someone in the middle of battle, and have him suddenly stand right back up and fight. Healing was not instant, ”health” was not some numerical stat that you could measure like Hit Points in a game. Reality did not work like a game, as much as some readers would have you believe.
Anyway, the mission was to locate Ling Dan and bring him back to concoct a serum or medicine for Anastasia to bring her rampaging powers under control. Even though Doctor Dorden succeeded in preserving her life, he was unable to suppress her rampaging powers, and she went from a ticking time bomb to…a leaking reactor, I guess. There was no longer any danger of her blowing up and dying, but she still posed a threat to any living thing in her vicinity. Hopefully, like Xiao Yan from Battle through the Heavens, Ling Dan would be able to develop a spirit pill or miracle medicine that would cure her…though like I said, reality was never that convenient.
However, any chance was better than nothing. It was a huge gamble, but since there were no other alternatives, we decided to stake everything on this.
Unfortunately, it was looking less and less likely that this mythical doctor even existed…and even if he did, he most probably wasn't idling around the mountains. I didn't know where Teacher Mary Cure heard that rumor, but apparently she heard wrong. Also, now that I thought about it, how did Teacher Cure hear of that rumor? And if such a rumor existed, then wouldn't someone else have gone to the Yao Cai Mountains and looked for him? The more I thought about it, the more suspicious the rumor seemed, and my doubts grew correspondingly.
At this rate, we might as well give up and head home, instead of wasting time on a wild goose chase.
Fortunately, Feng Hai was a lot more patient than me. He was right to be patient – one did not explore and cover an entire mountain range in a matter of days. Usually, such search and ”rescue” (it wasn't as if we were rescuing Ling Dan from any crisis, so that might not be an appropriate word) missions would take a week or two, sometimes even months. Longer when the area in question was as vast as a mountain range.
”Hmm, so nothing so far?”
The great mercenary leader was seated atop a boulder, silently contemplating after receiving news from the various scouts and reconnaissance units that he had sent out earlier. I was included among them, thanks to my ability to summon a flock of Corvus. The lot of good that did us, considering our fruitless search so far.
”Yeah, we haven't seen anything resembling any human habitation, or any sign of humans being in here. Not even a glimpse of a human. It's been nothing but monsters.”
The head of the reconnaissance unit was a lady named Brown. Nessa Brown, I believe. So we had Redfield in charge of combat (well, technically Brent was, but Redfield was pretty much his Company Sergeant Major), and Brown in charge of reconnaissance. All we were missing was Green and Blue, who probably be in charge of logistics and transport respectively.
Feng Hai let out a sigh and leaned back atop the boulder, thinking deeply. Closing his eyes, he pinched the bridge of his nose and furrowed his brow.
”Perhaps we've been looking at this from the wrong angle.”
”Sir?” Brown raised an eyebrow. ”What do you mean by wrong angle?”
”We've been searching for Ling Dan in the forest. We've assumed that he would be hiding in the forest, but what if that premise was flawed to begin with?”
”Then where would this Ling Dan be?” Brown asked, perplexed. Feng Hai allowed a smile to slowly spread across his weary but still handsome face.
”What other areas of the mountains have we not explored yet?”
”The valleys?” Glacia asked, having taken a seat on a rock right next to Feng Hai's boulder. She frowned. ”So we might have to backtrack and climb back down the mountain…”
”The valleys are clear and don't have cover, so I can send a flock of Corvus down and do a sweep,” I offered, raising my hand. Feng Hai nodded.
”You do that. But what other locations are there? Anything else we missed?”
”Hmm…” Dorden had been pondering this entire time, and he apprehensively raised a hand as well. ”If I may…”
”Please, Doctor.” Feng Hai inclined his head respectfully at the elderly doctor. Even though Dorden was not combat personnel, his years of wisdom and experience made him a highly valued staff in the mercenary guild. Feng Hai in particular appreciated the huge amount of insight and advice the doctor had to offer. ”Don't hold back. You don't need my permission to speak up.”
”Very well then. I'll take you up on that.” Dorden cleared his throat and leaned forward, resting his bearded chin on a hand and his elbow on his knees. ”I was thinking…this is Yao Cai Mountains, a place very well known for its medicinal herbs and plants, as well as wildlife.”
”That's true,” Redfield agreed with a nod. ”That's probably why this Ling Dan fella chose to hide out in a place like this. He's a receptarier, right?”
”Yeah,” Brent confirmed.
”Then…wouldn't it be natural for Ling Dan to spend more time in areas where these medicinal herbs grow?”
For a moment, there was some silence. Then Redfield tilted his head in confusion.
”You mean there are no medicinal herbs or plants in the forest?”
”I mean, there might be…but it seems to me that we've been wandering around blindly, searching area by area instead of prioritizing specific spots. Even among a forest, there are uneven distributions. It's not as if the entire forest is carpeted by medicinal plants. Many of them grow better under specific locations or conditions than other places.”
”That's a brilliant point.” Feng Hai's eyes lit up. ”Doctor, do you know what medicinal plants there are, and where they are found? In a place like Yao Cai Mounains, specifically?”
”Well…I do, sort of. For example…” Doctor Dorden considered for a few moments. ”The Belfrost Flower is known for alleviating pain and strengthening one's circulation, and it's usually found in mountains. However, it grows in places with plenty of sunlight, and thus wouldn't normally be found in a forest.”