124: Mushroom picking

"Cough, I'll move the bed back."

Lu Fan took the lead and stood up, striding toward An Lan's room. He gripped the edge of the bed with both hands, preparing to move it back to his own room.

"Hiss, the wound hurts too much." Just as he lifted the bed, Lu Fan couldn't help but suck in a breath of cold air. His hands loosened, and the bed that had already been lifted fell back to its original spot.

He grimaced at An Lan and said helplessly, "It seems there's no other way. I can only sleep in your room for a few more days. I'll move it back once my hand is better."

Witnessing all of this, An Lan almost couldn't help but burst into laughter.

As a medical student, she could naturally tell at a glance that Lu Fan was faking it, but she didn't expose him.

"Alright then, seeing your pitiful state, I'll let you stay one more night. But don't move around recklessly; don't let the wound split open." An Lan suppressed her smile, the corners of her mouth curving slightly upwards, her eyes full of playfulness.

Afterward, the two returned to An Lan's room and lay down separately.

"Ah, lying down makes this hand feel much better." Lu Fan felt a bit guilty, but he deliberately called out a couple of times.

An Lan turned her head to glance at him and chided lightly, "Just go to sleep."

Lu Fan immediately straightened his body, remaining motionless like a Terracotta Warrior, for fear that An Lan would see through his ruse.

At this moment, barrage comments were flying in the livestream room.

"What the heck? This acting is too fake. Can't An Lan tell?"

"Hahaha, Goddess An Lan definitely saw through it; she just didn't call him out."

"With Great God Lu Fan's physical fitness, that wound is no different from a scratch."

"Ah, I ship these two so much!"

That night, Lu Fan slept exceptionally soundly.

In his dream, he and An Lan worked together in the wilderness to establish a super grand manor.

In the manor, all kinds of crops grew robustly, full of vitality.

An oversized Shelter was located within it, filled with various high-tech tools.

Da Hei, Big Horn, and other animals ran and played happily in the manor, occasionally running over to nuzzle his legs affectionately.

The next day, the sun was bright, and Lu Fan got up early.

Shortly after, An Lan also got up. After a simple wash, the two sat at the table drinking goat milk.

"Any arrangements for today?" An Lan asked softly.

Lu Fan thought for a moment, and his eyes suddenly lit up. He said excitedly, "This weather, this season... how about we go pick mushrooms? It just rained heavily yesterday; there must be many mushrooms growing out."

Hearing this, An Lan couldn't help but feel a bit tempted, but she still showed a look of concern: "Do you know how to pick mushrooms? What if we get poisoned?"

Lu Fan patted his chest and said with full confidence, "Don't worry, I'm from the Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan region. Picking mushrooms is second nature to me."

Infected by his enthusiasm, An Lan smiled and nodded in agreement: "Alright then, but don't just focus on finding mushrooms. If you encounter danger, remember to protect yourself."

"Don't worry, with me here, I guarantee you'll have the most delicious mushroom feast!"

While humming an out-of-tune little ditty, Lu Fan picked up a bamboo basket and prepared to head out with great interest.

As soon as Da Hei saw his master going out, he immediately followed behind joyfully, his tail wagging like a propeller.

"Da Hei, don't run around recklessly. If I can't find you later, I won't care," Lu Fan said to Da Hei with feigned seriousness.

Da Hei didn't care about any of that, jumping and bouncing around Lu Fan, occasionally letting out "woof-woof" sounds as if saying: "I won't run around; I want to go on an adventure with Master."

The two packed up simply, took the bamboo basket and some necessary tools, and then walked toward the depths of the forest.

Along the way, Lu Fan held a long knife, hacking down the weeds blocking the path while his eyes constantly searched the surroundings for traces of mushrooms.

He even muttered to himself: "Red umbrellas, white stems, eat them and we'll lie in a coffin together..."

An Lan, following behind him, couldn't help but laugh when she heard him: "Don't be a jinx. Keep your eyes peeled and don't pick the wrong ones."

Just then, An Lan suddenly stopped in her tracks, her eyes staring straight at a patch of grass ahead, a look of surprise on her face: "Look, look! What's that!"

As if she had discovered a new continent, she ran over excitedly.

Lu Fan also hurried to catch up. He saw a dense cluster of white mushrooms growing in the grass, like little umbrellas, looking exceptionally cute under the sunlight.

"Wow, mushrooms!" An Lan shouted excitedly, reaching out to pick them.

"Wait!"

Lu Fan quickly stopped her and said with a serious expression, "These mushrooms can't be picked randomly. Some mushrooms are poisonous; eating them can cost you your life."

Hearing this, An Lan was so startled she quickly pulled her hand back, a confused expression on her face: "Huh? These look quite normal. How could they be poisonous?"

Lu Fan explained patiently: "There are many types of mushrooms. Some poisonous mushrooms look very similar to edible ones and are hard to distinguish. For example, there's a mushroom called the Destroying Angel; its color is pure white, very similar to our common edible mushrooms, but it's one of the most poisonous mushrooms in the world. Accidental ingestion can cause severe damage to organs like the liver and kidneys, and even be life-threatening. So, when you encounter mushrooms you don't recognize in the wild, you must never pick them randomly."

An Lan couldn't help but suck in a breath of cold air and said with lingering fear, "Luckily you reminded me, otherwise I would have caused a huge disaster. But how do you know so much?"

Lu Fan smiled and recalled, "In the past, people in our village died every year from mushroom poisoning. So the village walls were covered with knowledge about poisonous mushrooms. Through constant exposure, I remembered it."

An Lan nodded earnestly and said, "So that's how it is. It seems picking mushrooms really is a technical skill. You'd better lead the way."

The two continued searching in the forest.

Along the way, they saw all kinds of mushrooms—some like trumpets, some like coral, and some like flowers—colorful and very beautiful.

"This one isn't edible."

"This one isn't edible either."

Lu Fan naturally couldn't know every mushroom, but fortunately, he had his 'cheat' to help him.

[False Morel, highly toxic]

[Inky Cap, highly toxic]

...Just like that, with the help of the 'cheat', the two perfectly avoided all poisonous mushrooms.

[Edible Termite Mushroom discovered]

Hearing the notification, Lu Fan's eyes lit up. He pointed under a tree ahead and said, "Look, that's a Termite Mushroom!"

An Lan looked in the direction he pointed and saw a cluster of pale yellow mushrooms growing under a tree. The caps were conical, the gills were slender, and they emitted a faint fragrance.

"Finally, some goods!"

Lu Fan ran over excitedly, knelt down, and carefully picked the Termite Mushrooms one by one, putting them into the bamboo basket.

"I've heard that Termite Mushrooms taste exceptionally delicious. We're in for a treat today!" An Lan also walked over with a smile, helping to pick them.

After harvesting the first cluster of Termite Mushrooms, Lu Fan and An Lan's enthusiasm grew even more.

Their eyes were like searchlights, not missing a single corner, as they continued to weave through the mottled light and shadows in the forest, looking forward to more harvests.