I began to understand the myriad things by chopping wood

Chapter 28 Fruit and Bear
Xie Yuan covered his head and grimaced.

WTF?

The tree is so tall that if a fruit falls from it, it would really hurt someone.

Xie Yuan didn't see clearly what it was. He looked around before he found the fruit that had fallen on the ground at his feet. He bent down and picked it up.

He stroked his forehead with one hand and raised the fruit in front of his eyes with the other hand. He tilted his head and looked at it in confusion.

The fruit is the size of a palm, a bit like a fragrant pear, thin at the top and thick at the bottom, but larger and with a more pronounced curvature - in other words, more like a gourd;

It is green all over, and it looks very beautiful. It almost has a crystal clear feeling, which makes people salivate inexplicably.

Mm... smells good.

It smells so good!

The fragrance comes from this fruit.

Xie Yuan opened his eyes. No wonder he felt that the fragrance under the tree was much stronger today. It turned out that the fruits were ripe and about to fall to the ground.

It hit me right on the head... It's a pity that my last name is not Niu, otherwise I would have enlightened this world.

Xie Yuan looked up and found that the tall tree canopy was lush and green with leaves, but there was no other fruit.

“He’s an only child.”

He picked up the fruit, smelled the fragrance that penetrated his lungs, and swallowed subconsciously.

I want to eat... I feel hungry...

Xie Yuan couldn't help but move the fruit closer. He subconsciously wanted to open his mouth, but hesitated for a moment:

"No. I don't know where this wild fruit comes from. It's so fresh and green. What if I see a little man dancing after eating it?"

If you faint here in the wilderness, not to mention whether you are a wild animal or not, you might just freeze to death overnight.

"But it smells really good... and it's not just the smell that makes me hungry, it's like it makes me want to eat it. I'm not hungry, I just want to eat it! I take a bite and I don't know what it tastes like!

"Isn't this even more inedible? I heard that when the poisonous fruit becomes a spirit, it can make people want to eat it..."

Xie Yuan was a cautious person and was a little unsure about this fruit of unknown origin.

Although he really wanted to eat it, just like seeing meat after being hungry for three days, his reason still made him hesitant.

“This tree is a good tree. Practicing here makes people feel refreshed and their progress is also much faster. It can be called a spiritual tree.

"The fruit of the spirit tree should also be a spirit fruit, right?"

He looked at the big tree and thought.

If someone else were to come, they might be ambiguous about the effect of this forest on cultivation and make an inaccurate judgment, but Xie Yuan has data to support his opinion.

In the blink of an eye, several lines of numbers appeared.

[Chopping wood: (1107/10000)]

[Iron Shirt·Second Level: (208/800)]

[Health-preserving Skills·First Level: (296/1000)]

Xie Yuan took a quick look and saw that the first skill, chopping wood, had been progressing steadily, but it was still too early to the next stage, so there was nothing much to say;
The progress of Iron Shirt's training, with the foundation of the Health-preserving Exercise, has gradually become faster recently;

Especially in this forest, a complete set of Zhuanggong can often increase ten points of progress. If it is in a small courtyard at home, it is often only five or six points, which is almost double the difference.

The progress of the health-preserving exercise is slower, after all, it is to nourish the internal energy, and its quality is obviously higher than this iron shirt, so it cannot be rushed.

But in the same way, if you practice health-preserving exercises in these woods, your progress will be almost as fast as that at home!
After observing this, Xie Yuan would still come here even if he was not cutting wood to earn money for food and medicine.

I have been practicing here for some time and there have been only benefits, no other abnormalities. This is enough to prove that this is a magical tree with special magical properties.

Then this fruit... could it be the legendary treasure from heaven and earth?

When you meet a treasure, treat it as if it is not poison!
Xie Yuan looked a little excited and didn't notice that the bushes in the distance moved quietly.

I do good deeds every day and practice diligently, so I deserve this reward. Do you usually eat this kind of thing directly or do you need to pair it with something else?

Xie Yuan sniffed twice and came back to his senses.

He had already determined that this was a spiritual fruit, but it was not easy to eat it directly in the wild.

Maybe you won't be poisoned, but if the fruit is too spiritual, you might faint like in the story after taking the tonic and be unconscious for seven days and seven nights. It's hard to say what will happen.

Not to mention jackals, tigers and leopards, even if it was a wild dog, I'm afraid there would be no bones left.

He put the spiritual fruit in his arms and pulled the collar of his cotton coat together, fearing that he would consume some of the spiritual power of the fruit.

The fragrance is so strong, will it attract something? I heard that some wild animals have very sensitive noses and can smell what is happening dozens of miles away.

As Xie Yuan thought about this, he suddenly felt his back tighten. He decided to leave immediately while the fruit had just fallen.

He had just taken a step when his feet stopped.

Because there was a large dark shadow at the edge of the open space.

A huge black bear was lying there, staring at Xie Yuan quietly.

To be precise, staring at Xie Yuan's chest.

Xie Yuan's body froze.

Blind bear!
Damn, why would a bear come out of its cave in the dead of winter?
Is it also because of this fruit?
He instantly thought of the tiger that was here before. Zhu Dongming and others had discussed it for a while. Why was the tiger lying here without any problem?

Now that I think about it, it was obvious that he was guarding this spiritual tree, waiting for it to drop fruit!

The tiger was killed and this territory had no owner, so the blind bear came here following the smell, obviously also going for the fruit!
Well, Xie Yuan can now be 100% sure that this fruit is definitely some kind of rare treasure.

Animals' intuition and instinct are much more accurate than humans'.

The bad news is, how can he beat a bear?
One pig, two bears, and three tigers.

The mountain people have long concluded that in these mountains, bears are more powerful than tigers!

The last time they hunted a tiger, it was also a team of hunters plus Xie Yuan who managed to kill the tiger after many twists and turns, and even seriously injured one of them;
This time, Xie Yuan is alone!
"Damn it! Why doesn't this bear hibernate?"

Being stared at by the bear, Xie Yuan felt sweat gradually seeping out from his back.

If it weren't for the winter, Xie Yuan wouldn't dare to walk around in the mountains alone every day. It was at this time when everything was hidden that he could move freely.

In spring and summer, when Zhu Dongming and his team go into the mountains, they usually travel in a team.

Who would have thought that the bear made a decision that went against its instinct and stopped sleeping to look for the fruit?

This also indirectly shows the rarity of the fruit. It is a treasure from the mountains and is often surrounded by guardian beasts.

There have never been any monsters in this mountain. Tigers and black bears are the overlords here.

The black bear lay there, motionless, just staring at Xie Yuan quietly, its small eyes even showing a bit of human-like prudence.

Combined with its size, which was much larger than the black bear he had imagined, Xie Yuan felt extremely oppressed.

Damn, could it be a mutant?
The bear didn't move, and Xie Yuan didn't dare to move either, and gradually he was sweating profusely.

"What do you mean? Bears are also playing psychological warfare? Should I lie down and pretend to be dead? Or should I spread my arms and legs and roar? This way I can die with more dignity..."

He immediately thought of several rumored techniques for dealing with bears, but none of them seemed reliable.

Holding the axe in his hand, Xie Yuan tightly grasped the tiger bone axe handle wrapped with cloth strips, and felt a little more confident:

"You have to fight hard and find the right opportunity...If you can kill a tiger, you can also kill a bear!"

At this moment, the blind bear moved.

It raised its nose, sniffed, then bared its teeth at Xie Yuan and took a step forward.

It raised its huge bear paw and took one step, two steps, faster and faster. Its huge fat body trembled, and it charged towards Xie Yuan like a mountain of meat!

(End of this chapter)