Chapter 172: The Palm-Sized Red Ganoderma

All the elderly people had been stripped of their old, tattered, and foul-smelling clothes.

Under Cao Lingyun’s watchful eye, they changed into brand new outfits.

He looked at the group with satisfaction, admiring the fresh pullovers they now wore.

Following Shi Yuebai’s instructions, he handed out a leather apron, a pair of leather arm guards, and a pair of tall boots to each person.

After all, the elderly and pregnant women digging in the earth were bound to get bumped and scraped by rocks.

It was also easy for them to get themselves dirty.

With this full set of leather gear, they suddenly looked much more professional at digging.

Right now, Shi Yuebai had plenty of leather equipment on hand.

All of it had been scavenged from the danger zones by the mercenary corps.

They didn’t need it themselves—they wanted combat gear.

So, they passed along all the leather aprons, arm guards, and tall boots they could find to Shi Yuebai.

A few of the elderly people digging by the canal looked at each other, unsure.

They really couldn’t tell if they’d been kidnapped or if they’d come here seeking survival.

So far, aside from the hard labor and some exhaustion, everything about their treatment here was far better than their previous lives.

If a person could live out their final days with this kind of treatment, they’d want to bring every elderly friend they knew here to eat well and dress warmly.

And then, in peace and comfort, just wait to be eaten.

Meanwhile, Duan Xiangtong and the others, still terrified that one day Commander Qiao and the Shi women would eat them for meat, kept up their wailing outside the Shi family’s second wall.

The squad leader Duan Xiangtong had called over was all muscle and sinew.

He looked at Duan Xiangtong’s grief-stricken face with concern.

“I think we should just let this go. Honestly, you can’t really blame the Shi family for this.”

The night Zhang Xueyao died, Gong Chen happened to be in the tent next door.

He genuinely liked Duan Xiangtong, so that night he didn’t go looking for a woman—he just slept alone in his tent.

Zhang Xueyao had been tormented all night by people from their own team.

At first, she’d been lively and energetic, but later, she just stopped breathing.

When the guys left in the morning, they even cursed their bad luck.

So Gong Chen felt it was a stretch to pin the blame on the Shi family.

But Duan Xiangtong was especially upset.

She said sadly, “But if Aunt Xueyao hadn’t been beaten so badly by the Shi family, she never would have died.”

“You know, outside the big city, my own parents almost sold me to some shady people. If it hadn’t been for Aunt Xueyao stepping in to save me and giving me a place to stay, I wouldn’t be here.”

“I’ve been here for so long, and Aunt Xueyao never forced me to do anything I didn’t want to do.”

There were layers of meaning in her words.

Her bond with Zhang Xueyao was special, so she was determined to seek justice for her.

She was different from the other women—untainted by the filth around her.

Gong Chen, hearing this, couldn’t say anything more. He could only let Duan Xiangtong and the other women keep shouting outside the second wall.

Honestly, Gong Chen thought all this yelling was pointless.

Inside, it was perfectly quiet—not even a hint of unrest.

Gong Chen couldn’t help but wonder what the people inside were up to.

He’d heard that the Shi women behind this wall had the mercenary corps backing them.

Because of that, no one in Gong Chen’s squad dared to force their way through the wall.

Now, all they could hope for was that the Shi family would get fed up with the noise and come out themselves to negotiate.

But who was going to pay attention to Duan Xiangtong and her group?

Inside the second wall, everyone was busy with their own tasks during the day.

Except for Shi Yuebai, Shi Xiangrui, and Shi Fuze, hardly anyone had time to rest.

For people working so hard, the commotion outside was barely noticeable.

Even Second Sister-in-law Shi, who at first found the noise grating and unbearable, could sleep right through it after a couple of days.

She even complained that Duan Xiangtong and the others weren’t loud enough.

If they could be even noisier, her desensitization therapy would work even better.

Shi Yuebai was drawing a protective array in the Tongzi frame.

Paper Doll No. 1 and No. 2 kept Shi Xiangrui and Shi Ruize company, playing with them.

A cold wind blew, stirring the white mist drifting in the Tongzi frame.

Nearby, Second Sister-in-law Shi was practicing her listening skills, a black cloth tied over her eyes.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve seen the sun,” she said.

The weather and temperature in the wasteland were always unpredictable—sometimes deathly cold, sometimes scorching hot.

Even weather forecasts couldn’t predict the wasteland’s climate.

Not that there were weather forecasts anymore, anyway.

But it was rare to go so many days without seeing the sun.

Shi Yuebai looked up at the overcast sky.

“It feels colder and colder.”

She didn’t pay it much mind—there had been cold spells before.

By the next day, the temperature would usually rise again.

Right now, what Shi Yuebai cared about most was the red ganoderma in the backyard.

Originally, there had only been three red ganoderma mushrooms growing in the vegetable patch.

Now, there were six more.

Xiao Jiao had discovered them while tending the vegetables each day.

The original three red ganoderma had grown—slowly, but noticeably—to the size of a palm.

Plus, there were six more, each about the size of a nail.

Shi Yuebai noticed that the spiritual energy in the gathering array was being absorbed just a bit faster.

That’s how it is with ganoderma.

If you find one, there are bound to be more still hidden underground.

A handful of little red ganoderma like this barely made a dent in Shi Yuebai’s spiritual energy reserves.

But the trend was worth noting.

And if these red ganoderma kept absorbing spiritual energy, their potency would increase dramatically.

The palm-sized red ganoderma had a faint sheen on its surface.

It wasn’t obvious at a glance, but if you looked closely, you could tell it was no ordinary thing.

Shi Yuebai decided to pick one of the palm-sized red ganoderma and give it to Second Sister-in-law Shi to eat.

Maybe, just maybe, after eating it, Second Sister-in-law would be able to see clearly again.

No sooner thought than done.

Shi Yuebai had Xiao Jiao pick a ganoderma and give it to Second Sister-in-law.

She watched as Second Sister-in-law ate it, then asked,

“How is it, Second Sister-in-law? How many fingers am I holding up?”

Second Sister-in-law blinked her unchanged eyes and looked at the single finger Shi Yuebai held up in front of her.

“Ten!”

Shi Yuebai laughed. “Oh dear, Second Sister-in-law, after eating the ganoderma, you’re seeing afterimages!”

Second Sister-in-law immediately panicked. “Yuebai, what should I do?”

“How come you’ve split into so many?”

She was seeing ten Shi Yuebais in front of her and couldn’t tell which was real and which was fake.

“Don’t worry.”

Shi Yuebai was as calm as a fat dog.

“The effects of the ganoderma are only temporary. Once your body fully absorbs it, the afterimages will disappear soon.”

Heh, Shi Yuebai figured it wasn’t a big deal.

At worst, it wouldn’t poison Second Sister-in-law to death.

And even if it did, Shi Yuebai could just revive her.

“What happened? Did you eat some weird mushrooms?”

Nong Yasi happened to be passing by and rushed over.

“Quick, quick, let me take a look.”

She grabbed Second Sister-in-law’s wrist.

But Second Sister-in-law jerked her hand away as if scalded.

“So hot! Don’t touch me.”

Second Sister-in-law: Hehehe, so many little people, so many, so many...

Nong Yasi: Did you go to Yunnan and eat wild mushrooms?"