Bai Ruozhu gave him a helpless glare. Did he really have to be this jealous? Ning Yu was his senior brother; what was the big deal about pulling him along by the hand?

Jiang Yichun pretended not to notice his wife’s glare. Anyway, he just didn’t want his wife holding hands with anyone else, women included.

Because they had taken Detoxification Pills, the group didn’t run into any real danger while passing through the Miasma Forest. The fog thinned quickly, and everyone could see the scenery ahead.

In the distance was a stretch of mountain forest, lush and green, though no one knew what was hidden in the mountains.

"Everyone’s seen the Dragon-seeking Herb Map. As we walk, keep your eyes peeled along the way. If anyone spots an herb that looks similar, speak up at once and we’ll all discuss whether it’s the one we’re looking for," Bai Ruozhu said.

Everyone agreed, but of course it would be faster to split into several groups and search different sections. Still, because of the rumors on the Island, no one dared to be careless; it felt safer for everyone to stick together.

Like this, after the first day of searching they found over a dozen herbs that looked similar, but after discussion many were rejected, and only three were brought back.

They had only searched about one-third of that area.

They gathered up the herbs they weren’t sure about and took them back as well to have Shanhu take a look. If Shanhu couldn’t identify them either, they’d save them up and bring them all back to Kyoto for Master Xuchen to examine.

Towards dusk the group returned to the Village. The villagers were amazed to see that they all came back safe and sound. Was it because their Martial Arts were formidable and they weren’t afraid of the danger there? Or was that place actually not so scary, and the rumors had been exaggerated?

"My lord, did you encounter any danger?" Shengsi couldn’t help asking.

"No, just a Miasma Forest. The miasma there is poisonous, but Lord Bai and Lord Gao are physicians. We all took medicine that counters the miasma," Zhitian replied.

Hearing this, Shengsi was filled with envy. These lords really were powerful; they could casually deal with Poisonous fog.

At dinnertime, a village woman came by to deliver some things, acting very warm and enthusiastic.

Bai Ruozhu deliberately kept her back, pointed at a local specialty of the Island, and asked her about it. The woman happily answered each question, and soon became rather familiar with Bai Ruozhu.

"Lord Bai, I saw the grandson from the Village Chief’s House come over today, and he was wearing a pair of big shoes. What’s that all about?" The woman finally voiced the question in her heart.

"Master Astrologer is helping His Majesty the Emperor select local representatives to handle trade as officers. Shengsi recommended Asheng," Bai Ruozhu answered truthfully.

"Asheng?" The woman laughed. "How old is Asheng? How can he go be an officer? They should pick a steady adult."

"But Kyoto doesn’t allow officials with bound feet. On your Island only the children don’t have small feet anymore, which is really a pity. Fortunately, that Asheng child’s feet are normal. After studying for a couple of years he’ll be able to be a high officer in Kyoto, and in the future he’ll be the Emperor’s representative, handling the dealings between your Island and the Imperial Court. That’ll be quite a glorious life, and Asheng’s great fortune," Bai Ruozhu said with a squinting smile.

The woman listened, her face full of envy, and said somewhat unwillingly, "Asheng’s feet aren’t unbound. They all had them bound for a while. It’s my youngest boy whose feet were never bound."

"Master Astrologer thinks Asheng is suitable, so it’s not my place to butt in. I think your son should stop binding his feet too; he’ll still have opportunities later. There are so many people on your Island, and there’s plenty of business in Kyoto. They’ll definitely need more than one officer. But if he has bound feet, then he can forget about it," Bai Ruozhu said.

"Alas, what kind of rules does Kyoto have? Men with unbound feet look so ugly," the woman lamented.

The corner of Bai Ruozhu’s mouth twitched. Obviously, it was bound feet that looked ugly, whether on men or women, right?

It was downright perverse to the extreme.

Seeing that it was about time, Bai Ruozhu found an excuse to send the woman away. That woman didn’t seem tight-lipped; she’d surely spread the news quickly.

Hopefully by then many people would choose not to bind their children’s feet anymore, and then slowly, this Island might change this custom.

This was all she could do.

The next day, the group continued into the forbidden area to search, and unexpectedly someone volunteered to accompany them, saying he hoped to help out.

Master Astrologer sized the man up. He was middle-aged and seemed to have a seven- or eight-year-old son.

"We don’t know what kind of dangers we’ll run into. If your Martial Arts aren’t top-notch, it’s really not appropriate to bring you along to take such risks," Master Astrologer rejected him outright.

After the group left the Village, Master Astrologer smiled and said, "Ruozhu, this is trouble you stirred up. It’s obvious that man wants to use this opportunity to pave an official path for his son."

"Then just don’t give it to him. Opportunities aren’t that plentiful. Or we can just paint them a lovely blueprint: as long as they give up their bad customs. Besides, if they’re truly ambitious and manage to make it to the Eastern Fusang region, it’s not impossible for them to become officers and build a career there," Bai Ruozhu said unconcernedly.

Master Astrologer laughed. "It really will help quite a few children."

He remembered that when they set out today, the child named Asheng had also come to see them off, his eyes filled with sincere gratitude.

The second day’s journey passed without anything special, only Bai Ruozhu suddenly felt something was off.

"Don’t you think this mountain is a bit too quiet?" Bai Ruozhu asked. "Under normal circumstances there should be some Ferocious Beasts, right? Even if there aren’t Ferocious Beasts, there should at least be some Sika Deer, wild boar, and other animals. I realized we haven’t seen any since yesterday."

Everyone thought back carefully, and it really was so.

"Could it be that this mountain is peculiar somehow and not suitable for animals to live in?" Tang Feng asked.

"Impossible. Look at all the Herbal medicine; that means the water and Earth are good. It shouldn’t be unsuitable for animals to survive," Jiang Yichun said.

"Let’s keep looking. Everyone stay on guard and don’t relax," Bai Ruozhu said as she released Xiaohei and told it to carefully scout around.

Unexpectedly, Xiaohei came back before long, asking Bai Ruozhu to follow it. Bai Ruozhu quickly called everyone over, and they followed Xiaohei west for about a li, then discovered the issue Xiaohei had found.

On the ground was a clear, large footprint, bigger than anyone’s foot present. The mud here had been soft earlier, so it had left a print, but the vegetation elsewhere covered everything, leaving no other clues.

"This print is definitely not human. It’s barefoot," Gao Zhou said.

Tang Feng shot back unceremoniously, "Who says barefoot can’t be human? Those so-called wild men on the Mountain Top don’t wear shoes. It’s said they’re extremely tall, with hands and feet much larger than ordinary people’s."

"I meant it’s different from us. Are you just trying to argue for the sake of it?" Gao Zhou snapped.

Bai Ruozhu hurriedly smoothed things over. "Let’s keep looking first. Anyway, Xiaohei says it’s not a bear’s footprint."

"Maybe this thing eats people. We’d better be careful," Gao Zhou said.

Jiang Yichun looked in the direction the footprint pointed. "Let’s head this way and see what we find."