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Before participating in the activity, I already knew that hiking up the mountain to collect herbs was fun, but I didn’t expect it to be this much fun! 
Day 1
After arriving at the accommodation in the morning, we first got familiar with the surroundings. Watching various flowers and plants, breathing fresh air, it felt like my whole body relaxed.
Then we went to a small hill near the accommodation for some training. The slope was gentle, the soil soft, making it relatively easy. There were many chestnut trees on the mountain, and ripe chestnuts had fallen all over the ground. We picked them up as we walked but quickly got tired of it. The plump chestnuts remaining on the ground drew repeated complaints from Teacher Zhao.
On the first day, we encountered quite a few traditional Chinese medicines such as Polygonatum sibiricum (Huang Jing), Adenophora stricta (Sha Shen), and Ziziphus jujuba seed (Suan Zao Ren).
In the evening, we chatted and forgot to process the herbs, resulting in a scolding from Teacher Zhao the next morning. 
Day 2
The second day started with increased intensity. We arrived at a mining area, which was rarely frequented by people and rich in medicinal resources. The paths became rugged. On the way down, we encountered several steep slopes (over 80°). It was my first time using ropes to descend. Being timid, I lost control twice and nearly hit my head. Fortunately, I managed to wobbly get down in the end. I took some herbs from the mountain, and the mountain left me with a few scars.
Here, I saw for the first time wild Aconitum kusnezoffii (Cao Wu), Aconitum carmichaelii (Fu Zi), and Aconitum pendulum (Tian Xiong).
I had always been confused about the relationship between these herbs, but seeing them being dug out on site suddenly made everything clear: Fu Zi, Wu Tou, and Tian Xiong all come from the same plant. Sometimes Wu Tou has Fu Zi, sometimes one, sometimes two, sometimes several, and sometimes none—that is Tian Xiong. Books say Tian Xiong is the most potent, which makes sense as it does not have Fu Zi dividing its effects.
We also saw many other herbs, collecting more than on the first day. After returning, we promptly processed them.
After processing the herbs, we took the opportunity to conduct moxibustion teaching. Everyone practiced moxibustion on others and was also treated by others.
Day 3
The third day continued to increase in intensity. The first two days, there were still paths to climb the mountain, but the third day we had to blaze our own trail, and we got pricked repeatedly by wild Ziziphus jujuba.
Today felt like we had entered a Bupleurum (Chai Hu) patch. Every step had Bupleurum. After descending the mountain, we processed it onsite, and my hands went numb from all the cutting. 
Final Thoughts
There’s a saying in the Jianghu world: studying traditional Chinese medicine requires understanding Chinese medicinal herbs.
After this herb-collecting trip, I truly agree. For example, knowing the relationship between Wu Tou, Fu Zi, and Tian Xiong becomes clear at a glance. You can tell that Bupleurum (Chai Hu) tastes spicy, bitter, and slightly cold just by smelling it.
Many pieces of knowledge can’t be learned from books. No matter how good your theoretical skills are, I cannot fully convey all the experiences of the trip up the mountain in writing. At most, I can take some videos and share them (for more videos, please follow the video account: Shitu Videos). But the good news is this event was only the first time. In the future, we’ll organize many more sessions, aiming to give more students the opportunity to participate and broaden their horizons.