Chapter 4251 — The Route Map
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
Part of that was his familiarity with the map, but a more important reason lay in the method Chu Bubai used to identify their position, which struck Wei Zhao as quite novel—or one might say, quite professional.
Not only did he rely on the compass; Chu Bubai also carefully examined the varieties of plants and trees around them, even deliberately seeking out low-grade herbs, identifying them one by one before matching them against the heirloom map in his hand.
That heirloom map indeed carried detailed notes on the plants and herbs of given areas—fine enough to rival a professional survey map. Without real effort invested in this field, even Guo Dengtao and the others holding this top-grade, meticulously detailed map could never have gotten much use out of it.
From this it was clear that Chu Bubai had prepared with great care. Even as Wei Zhao marveled inwardly, his anticipation for the infant ginseng grew a little keener.
Whatever tricks Chu Bubai might play, having gone to such lengths of preparation, he could hardly be doing it merely to make fools of them. The clue to the infant ginseng, it seemed, was eighty percent genuine.
"Everyone, be careful. Stay alert and close to me—whatever you do, don't fall behind." Having confirmed their position and heading, Chu Bubai lowered his voice to address them, then took the lead and moved on.
No one dared slacken in the least, and they hurried after him. To fall behind in a place like this, one would truly have nowhere left to weep.
On they went, checking the map as they moved. Every so often they would stop and reconfirm their bearings to avoid going astray. Apart from Chu Bubai leading the way, the others took turns standing watch, not daring to be careless in the slightest.
To keep unbroken marching from wearing down their spirits, even as Golden Core cultivators they would consciously stop to sit in meditation and rest every six hours. And once the sky went fully dark, they would find a tree hollow or a cave and simply camp for the night, setting out again at daybreak.
For several days on end it was rest and march, march and rest. Now and then they encountered passing spirit beasts, but timely vigilance kept every scare from turning into disaster, and under Chu Bubai's guidance the party pressed on toward the deep core of the Rufeng Forest.
If before this they had still harbored some trace of doubt about Chu Bubai, now, after several days of firsthand experience, Guo Dengtao and Wang Feng were utterly convinced.
Their present position was already within the core territory of the Rufeng Forest. Had they come on their own, far from reaching this place with nothing worse than a few scares, they would never have made it even halfway—long since lost in the vast dense forest, or simply become fodder for spirit beasts.
Chu Bubai's route map was indeed an heirloom treasure money could not buy. The trust Guo Dengtao and the others placed in him deepened at once, gradually verging on reliance; by now, practically whatever Chu Bubai said, they would question no more and simply do as told without a second word.
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