Chapter 24: The Extraordinary Tree

Xiao Jie thought to himself, I really am brilliant. That’s right, that’s exactly how to do it.

If I keep you from getting full, let’s see if you still have the energy to run around and cause trouble.

No sooner said than done, Xiao Jie swung his shepherd’s whip. With a crack of "Thunderous Lash," the flock began to move slowly.

He first drove the sheep to a nearby patch of pasture. Watching them settle down to graze, he waited for about two or three minutes before running to the other side and delivering another Thunderous Lash.

Crack!

The flock slowly moved again. In this way, the progress of the sheep’s fullness bar grew remarkably slow.

Of course, he couldn't rush them too hard, as he still needed to ensure they were full before the time limit expired.

Just like that, every two or three minutes, he would drive them a short distance away, forcing the goats to stop eating repeatedly to ensure their fullness wouldn't max out too quickly.

Sure enough, if a sheep couldn't get its fill for a long time, it would give up on running around and focus entirely on finding grass to eat.

Even those mischievous ones were too busy now, frantically lowering their heads to graze.

Xiao Jie wouldn't just leave it at that; they might go back to their rowdy ways the moment they were full.

He kept running back and forth, driving the flock around. After a few rounds, all the sheep were grazing obediently, fearing they wouldn't get a bite if they were too slow.

Seeing this, Xiao Jie finally breathed a sigh of relief. That should do it.

He continued to drive them while keeping an eye on the time. Soon, another hour passed, and just as the flock was finally full, the time limit was reached.

System Prompt: Through constant herding, you have gradually mastered the techniques and tricks of shepherding. Your [Herding] skill has improved and is now at the Proficient level.

System Prompt: Through your long-term contact with the flock, you have gradually mastered the habits of this animal. From the process of herding, you have comprehended the related skill [Beast Lore].

Xiao Jie thought, here it comes. Even though it’s a comprehended skill, it should be of some use.

[Beast Lore (Knowledge Skill)]
[Skill Description: Through long-term interaction with animals, you have gradually gained a certain understanding of them, and have thus mastered knowledge regarding beasts.]

Eh... what’s the point of this?

This skill wasn't in his skill bar, but in his talent book, categorized with life skills.

Xiao Jie clicked on the skill, and it displayed a row of pages.

Each page had a title: Beast Lore: Beasts (Locked), Beast Lore: Monstrous Beasts (Locked), Beast Lore: Immortal Beasts (Locked)...

Everything was in a locked state, with only the first page, Beast Lore: Domesticated Beasts, containing some content.

[Goat (Domesticated Beast/Beast)]
[Biological Skills: Ramming Charge, Mountain Climbing.]
[Taming Difficulty: Entry Level.]
[Challenge Level: 1-3.]
[Beast Description: A common herbivorous animal skilled in climbing mountain walls. It enjoys grazing on grass and plant roots. Very common in hilly areas, often domesticated for meat, milk, and fur.]

That’s it?

Xiao Jie was speechless. This skill was useless; at best, it was just a collection of data.

He figured that as he encountered more beasts, he could slowly add to the entries. If the later chapters were unlocked, it might help him understand monsters better, but it was of no help in increasing his strength for now.

However, since this was a comprehended skill, it meant that any player doing chores like herding or pig farming could probably learn it.

His own "Epiphany" skill was definitely much more powerful than this. Thinking of that, Xiao Jie felt a bit better.

He herded the sheep back to the pen and was just about to take a break before the third round when a figure came running over in a hurry.

"Brother Suifeng, Brother Suifeng, come quickly, I’ve encountered something strange."

Xiao Jie looked up to see "I Want to Become an Immortal" (Wo Yu Cheng Xian) running over in a panic, holding a woodcutter’s axe in his hand.

"Oh, did you go become a woodcutter? What happened to get you so worked up?"

"A chance encounter, I’ve had a chance encounter!"

He immediately began to recount his story.

It turned out that "I Want to Become an Immortal" had wanted to comprehend a blade weapon mastery, hoping to learn how to be a swordsman like Xiao Jie. He went to find Wang Daniu for a job, but Wang Daniu said they had enough firewood for now and didn't need any more chopping.

However, the nearby lumber mill said they were short on timber and asked if he was interested.

Since it was just chopping trees anyway, he took the lumberjack job.

He went up the mountain with his axe. At first, things went smoothly. Remembering Xiao Jie’s advice that there was a trick to working, he focused on chopping wood all morning, earned a few dozen copper coins, and successfully comprehended the Axe Weapon Mastery skill.

However, he didn't get the combat skill he wanted, which disappointed him.

Still, he was resilient. Although Xiao Jie had said that epiphanies weren't something everyone could achieve, he kept at it.

Who would have thought that while chopping, he would find a strange tree? Most of the trees on the mountain were withered and yellow, with a few being emerald green. Only this one had golden leaves, making it stand out from the rest.

"I Want to Become an Immortal" didn't think much of it, guessing it might be a top-tier item that would yield high-level materials if chopped down. But the moment his axe hit the tree, it sprayed blood.

It scared him half to death. Uncertain of what was going on, he rushed over to ask Xiao Jie for help.

Spraying blood? Xiao Jie was surprised by the encounter. This really was peculiar.

In a game with this kind of immortal cultivation and mythological art style, a tree that could spray blood definitely had a secret—it was either an immortal or a demon.

"Let’s go, show me."

Xiao Jie gave up on the sheep and followed "I Want to Become an Immortal" all the way to the back mountain.

This range was the southernmost spur of the Ginkgo Valley, surrounding Ginkgo Village. Apart from a patch of meadow in the mountain hollow, it was covered in trees.

Among the withered yellow and green trees, a golden-yellow wonder-tree stood before them.

Xiao Jie took one look and recognized it immediately.

"This is a ginkgo tree!" Xiao Jie exclaimed, looking at the leaves. "Where’s the blood you were talking about?"

"It was right on the trunk—wait, the wound is gone," he said, staring at the tree in surprise. "Should I try another swing?"

"No, let me do it. Your axe is too heavy; what if it’s an NPC and you kill it?"

Xiao Jie swung his blade into the tree. Sure enough, with a squelch, the bark he cut immediately gushed out a stream of fresh blood. Dark red blood flowed slowly down the trunk, looking extraordinarily shocking.

It really was bleeding... Xiao Jie was astonished. Looking at the bleeding ginkgo tree, he fell into deep thought.

"I Want to Become an Immortal" asked nervously from the side, "Brother Suifeng, what do you think is going on? Can this tree still be cut?"

Xiao Jie suddenly smiled. He remembered a story he had read before.

"Have you heard the story of Cao Cao and the Pear Tree Spirit?"

"What? Cao Cao and the Pear Tree Spirit? That part isn't in 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms,' is it?"

"Of course it is. It’s in the book, and it was in the old television adaptation, but the new version didn't film it."

Xiao Jie had been deeply impressed by this story when he read it. Faced with such an immersive scenario, he started telling it to his companion.

"Legend has it that after Cao Cao became the King of Wei, he wanted to become Emperor, so he planned to build a palace under the pretext of building a secondary residence. Someone worried that Luoyang lacked the timber for such a large palace, so Cao Cao told his subordinates: 'I heard there is a giant pear tree under Longmen Mountain, over ten zhang tall and thicker than a millstone. Isn't that perfect?' So he sent people to cut it down."

"This giant pear tree was said to be over two thousand years old, exceptionally tall and lush. In spring, its flowers were white as silver; in autumn, the pears were like gold. The locals felt the tree was miraculous and called it the 'White Pear Immortal.'"

"When Cao Cao’s men came to cut the tree, the locals tried to dissuade them. The men didn't take it seriously, but when they struck the tree with their axes, they couldn't make a dent. The men were terrified, and seeing the locals acting so superstitious, they didn't dare to act rashly and returned to report to Cao Cao."

"When Cao Cao heard this, he didn't believe it. He personally led men to cut the tree. The village elders saw this and rushed to persuade him: 'My Lord, this tree has become a spirit and cannot be cut! For years, anyone who dared to harm even one of its leaves would break out in sores or fall ill, or even lose their life!'"

"Cao Cao had spent years on the battlefield and naturally didn't believe in such things. He said, 'I have traveled the world for over forty years, from the Emperor down to the commoners, no one dares to defy me. What kind of demon spirit would dare to oppose my will?' With that, he drew his Yitian Sword and struck the tree himself."

"The result—a metallic clang, and blood splashed all over him."

"Cao Cao was shocked, threw his sword, mounted his horse, and returned to the palace."

"That night, Cao Cao could not sleep peacefully. In a half-awake, half-asleep state, he dreamed of a white-haired old man, disheveled and wielding a sword, coming to his bedside."

"Cao Cao asked in fear: 'Who are you?' The old man replied: 'I am the spirit of the pear tree, the people call me the White Pear Immortal.' Cao Cao asked why he had come. The old man said: 'You are here to atone for your sins! I transformed into a pear tree to guard against an evil dragon. For the sake of building a palace, you ignored the safety of the people and insisted on cutting me down. Do you know your crime?' With that, he brandished his sword at Cao Cao. Cao Cao shouted and woke up, realizing it was a dream. From then on, his chronic headaches began."

(PS: Thanks to book friend 'Ouyu Haijiao Zhong' for the alliance leader reward; I will add more chapters in the future. Still owe two chapters.)