God-Level Special Forces Soldier

Chapter 644: Chapter 641: Lost Direction

Sun Bo waved his hand: ”At my age, what I value most is the inheritance of craftsmanship. If it can be put to use in your hands, the old man would be grateful to you!”

After carefully storing the book, Xiao Tian approached a vivid medicinal herb that looked like an azalea and asked, ”Sun Bo, could you sell me this Blazing Flame Flower?”

Seeing Xiao Tian recognize the herb at a glance, Sun Bo’s face immediately lit up with joy, and his last bit of doubt was dispelled, erupting in hearty laughter.

”You saved this old man twice; why even mention selling? If you like anything here, just take it!” Sun Bo said cheerfully and generously.

Despite these words, Xiao Tian still couldn’t bring himself to freely accept Sun Bo’s kindness and said, ”You’ve already gifted me your family heirloom book, which is a significant favor; how could I accept your herbs too?”

Saying this, he disregarded Sun Bo’s objections and directly took out a golden pocket watch of similar value from his backpack, placing it into Sun Bo’s hand.

As for the Blazing Flame Flower, Xiao Tian was not in a hurry to take it. Currently, the materials needed by Ghost Face to make the pills were missing one Scorching Black Vine, and both were necessary to begin the preparation.

After a thorough search confirmed the absence of the Scorching Black Vine, Xiao Tian, somewhat disappointed, asked Sun Bo, ”Have you heard of anyone who has the Scorching Black Vine?”

Before Sun Bo could respond, Ghost Face went ahead and said, ”You’re not thinking of making medicine here, are you?”

Xiao Tian nodded earnestly, ”Yeah! As long as we find the Scorching Black Vine, you can start, right?”

”Ha, there’s nothing here. How am I supposed to start making it?” Ghost Face looked at Xiao Tian with surprise, ”It’s not as simple as boiling herbal medicine where you just need a heat-resistant container.”

Sun Bo chimed in at the right moment, ”If you’re planning to make pills, Old Wei’s house in our village has the tools. But... the Scorching Black Vine isn’t easy to find.”

At this, Sun Bo paused, unable to keep from frowning, ”Our place isn’t suitable for the growth of that herb. It’s cold as ice, although it’s not impossible to find, but don’t hold out too much hope!”

”Still, please take us to see others in the village, just in case we find it; that would be ideal,” Xiao Tian said politely, ”If it’s really not available, then we’ll think of another way.”

Seeing Xiao Tian’s persistence, Sun Bo reluctantly agreed, ”Alright, then. Let’s go to Old Wei’s first.”

Looking at Sun Bo’s expression of little hope, Melinda and Lin Bingxuan understood but also felt a twinge of regret; it was just short of that one herb. Was there no other way?

”If the Scorching Black Vine really can’t be found, could another herb be used instead?” Melinda recalled Xiao Tian using this approach with a prescription before and asked Ghost Face.

”No!” Ghost Face shook his head solemnly, ”If it could be substituted, we wouldn’t have waited this long. We already have herbs with similar effects to the Scorching Black Vine; we just can’t use them!”

Seeing Melinda’s disappointed expression, Xiao Tian patted her shoulder and gently explained, ”Generally, in a prescription, most auxiliary herbs can be replaced or substituted, but the main herb in the formula cannot.”

”Even if the effects are identical, it won’t work. This is like certain prescriptions that specify a particular medicine guide.”

Xiao Tian smiled and said, ”Even if we have all other top-tier herbs, without the guide, it won’t work, even if the guide is something nobody wants from the street.”

Melinda nodded in understanding, having no choice but to hope they could find the Scorching Black Vine soon!

——

Elsewhere, on a stretch of white snow, slight undulations suddenly started to appear, as if something was trying to emerge from beneath.

Moments later, the undulations grew larger until a man with a small braid atop his head struggled to pull himself up.

He brushed the snow from his face with one hand, as if washing it, revealing Andrew, whose right hand was fractured.

After a series of violent coughs, Andrew plopped down onto the ground, gasping for breath in big gulps.

For a long while, as he slowly came to, Andrew started to tremble violently, not from the excruciating pain all over his body, but from the aftermath of losing those over thirty medicinal herbs...

Thinking of all the rumors about Isaac, his heart was filled with fear, but also an overwhelming surge of anger rose within him. All of this was caused by that damned Huaxia person!

Struggling to his feet, looking at the desolate surroundings, Andrew felt a chill in his heart, owing to the fact that he survived solely because he wrapped all his True Qi around himself at the crucial moment during the storm.

But even with these precautions, he was battered all over, pain coursing through his body. Andrew didn’t need to look to know he was probably bruised and swollen.

Despite his defenses, he ended up in such a state; those without defenses probably stood no chance of survival.

Moreover, the crucial point was that he had no idea where he was now, in this ice-cold encased burial. Everything around was covered in silver and white; it all looked the same, without a single tree to use as a marker.

Feeling despair, Andrew shivered as he faced into the wind and snow, starting to move with a mix of crawling and walking, hoping to find a companion or even an animal.

To avoid getting disoriented and circling in place, Andrew began to walk backward, watching each step’s print on the ground, afraid of taking a wrong step.

He understood all too well that at a time like this, one wrong step could lead to more, and walking in a straight line didn’t guarantee he could walk out, let alone risk deviating halfway.

...

Watching the increasingly darkening night, Andrew could no longer keep track of how long he had been walking. His mind felt blank, his feet moving as if mechanically, carrying out the pre-set commands from his brain. It was as though he was in a dream!

Glancing around, seeing still only an endless expanse of white, Andrew’s sense of panic grew stronger, to the extent that he wasn’t sure he was truly walking.

Gazing at the footprints not yet covered by freshly fallen snow, Andrew felt slightly reassured. But when he turned around and saw nothing but white behind him, with no other color in sight, a sense of despair made him restless.

As stray thoughts flashed across his mind, Andrew found himself unable to continue moving. The little True Qi he had left was used up to maintain his body temperature, and the severe pain felt less intense under the cold.

After some time, when Andrew got his thoughts back under control, he was horrified to find the footprints in front of him had disappeared. His hard-won peace of mind started to waver instantly.

In his panic, he hurriedly crouched down, carefully brushing away the top layer of snow, only to see his touch made the already faint traces vanish, and it was now impossible to find his direction.