Chapter 52: Winning Over
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
"Vermillion Fruit…"
After turning away someone who was seeking medical help, Fang Yuan glanced at the nearly filled proficiency progress bar while he tossed the box containing the Vermillion Fruit. He was satisfied.
This might give him the chance to upgrade his [Botany] to Level 4.
"It is impossible to grow Vermillion Fruits in the secluded valley, but it might be possible to grow it on the spiritual lands of Green Peak. Either way, it is always good to be prepared!"
As Fang Yuan entered the valley, the Flower Fox Ferret darted towards him and circled him continuously. It seemed to have sensed a gem on Fang Yuan.
"This seed is of paramount importance, I cannot allow you to eat it!"
Holding onto the box, Fang Yuan said, "Anyway the Vermillion Jade Rice is about to ripen soon, are you still worried there is not enough food for you it?"
"Keke!"
Upon hearing this, Flower Fox Ferret thought about it extensively before indignantly making a choice.
"That's right, good boy!"
Right after Fang Yuan's compliment, Flower Fox Ferret raised its paw and pointed towards the direction of the spiritual bamboo. Its intentions were crystal clear.
"What… you want the spiritual bamboo after they have borne fruit as compensation?"
Fang Yuan touched his forehead and said, "You are really insistent on not being short-changed…Eh? Wait!"
Fang Yuan smelled something fishy as he looked at the expression on Flower Fox Ferret's face. It looked as though he made a deal that was almost too good to be true. This aroused Fang Yuan's suspicion and he hurriedly walked towards the spiritual bamboo.
Before he even reached, he took in a deep breath and felt enveloped by a gush of current in the air.
"The purity of the air here is already almost on par with that of the spiritual land. What a pity it is still lacking in terms of spiritual energy…"
Shaking his head, Fang Yuan crossed the drain.
Next to a rock, a green bamboo looked as though it was brimming with life and energy.
"From what I saw earlier this morning, it looks extremely different…Is this because it has finally accepted this plot of land?"
Fang Yuan broke into a smile. This meant that the spiritual bamboo was completely alive. Furthermore, looking at the flower buds, it would only take a few days for it to blossom.
Fang Yuan finally understood why Flower Fox Ferret was willing to compromise on the Vermillion Fruit. It had set its sights on the spiritual bamboo!
Of course, if the Vermillion Fruit was perfectly undamaged, with its flesh intact, it would be a completely different situation altogether.
...
One night passed.
On the next day, Fang Yuan woke up early in the morning. He immediately felt there was something different about his surroundings.
"Could this be…...the spiritual energy produced by the spiritual bamboo? It could even travel till here?"
Appearing to be solemn, Fang Yuan was actually filled with astonishment at this discovery.
"Keke!"
Flower Fox Ferret sprinted towards Fang Yuan. It was obvious that there was important news from the garden.
Fang Yuan rushed over to where the spiritual bamboo was. The flower bud he saw the day before was in full bloom. Its pure white petals danced in the wind, releasing its spiritual energy. It also seemed to be causing a subtle resonance in the area next to it.
"Is that…the field of Vermillion Jade Rice?"
Fang Yuan tensed up and walked hurriedly to the side of the field. He was shocked at what he saw.
In front of him were several red stalks of rice. They were half the height of a grown man and bore enormous grains that bent the thick stalks of the plant.
"It ripened surprisingly fast! This is even faster than the previous harvest!"
Fang Yuan stepped forward and stroke the grains and said, "Furthermore, the quality appears to be more superior than the previous harvest. Even though there were no major and sudden changes, could it still have been gradually accumulated?"
Looking at this, Fang Yuan was filled with aplomb.
As long as he selected the best harvest and continued to grow them over the next few seasons, he would definitely be able to bring about a transformation in the spiritual plants.
Looking at the numerous fields nearby, Fang Yuan was suddenly touched and thought to himself, "Great! There is sufficient spiritual rice from the harvest this time for Flower Fox Ferret and me to consume over the year...There will even be leftovers after we leave behind those for planting and cultivation...If we can sell the rest, it would definitely bring in immense riches!"
The Vermillion Jade Rice was only the lowest grade of spiritual plants. There was even a department within the Spirit Returning Sect that sells it as a source of revenue.
Previously Fang Yuan was thoroughly shocked by the price of this sort of spiritual plants. Based on the quality of his recent harvest, he was sure that it would be in great demand on the market.
Of course, there would be people who did not deserve it but yet desired to obtain it.
"If it is just the Vermillion Jade Rice, it isn't such a big deal…furthermore…why would I even need money?"
Upon packing the last sack of Vermillion Jade Rice into the storage room, Fang Yuan broke into a wide smile of satisfaction. He thought, "Great, we shall eat Vermillion Jade Rice every day starting from today until we get sick of it!"
"Keke!"
Flower Fox Ferret which was next to him jumped about excitedly. It looked like it could hardly control its excitement.
With the spiritual rice, what else was there for Fang Yuan to fret about? He cooked a big pot of fragrant Vermillion Jade Rice right away.
The uniqueness of the flavour of the Vermillion Jade Rice this time was many times more intense than the flavour previously. The immense pleasure from eating the Vermillion Jade Rice was also intensified.
After a long time, Fang Yuan finally woke up from his deep sleep. He opened his mouth and released a breath of white gas.
He looked down and saw that he had already finished the entire pot of spiritual rice. Down to the very last cell in his body, he felt as though as he was reborn
"The effects of the spiritual rice are even stronger this time…"
Fang Yuan was extremely pleased. As he looked in the direction of the spiritual bamboo, he was filled with doubts as he wondered, "If the blossoming of the flower of the spiritual bamboo could actually accelerate the time taken for the spiritual rice to ripen, what type of spiritual bamboo is this? What are the uses of its fruits?"
His doubts were answered soon enough.
After three days, most of the flowers from the bamboo withered. They were replaced by green fruits which hung on the branches, brimming with life. It was a sight Fang Yuan had never seen before.
"Bamboo fruits…in the legends, they were the staple foods of the phoenixes…"
Flower Fox Ferret was already waiting patiently at the side for some time. Fang Yuan glanced at it, plucked a fruit and tossed it in the air.
"Shoo!"
In a flash, Flower Fox Ferret appeared on the other side of the rock with fruit in its mouth. It then devoured the fruit voraciously.
"What is it like?"
As Fang Yuan watched Flower Fox Ferret intently as he waited for Flower Fox Ferret to finish its meal.
"Keke…Keke…"
Flower Fox Ferret pretended to not understand Fang Yuan and pointed at the spiritual bamboo again. It was hinting that it could not taste the full flavours of fruit completely by just trying one piece. It needed a few more in order to get a sense of it.
"What a greedy rascal!"
Fang Yuan jokingly reprimanded. At the same time, Fang Yuan had a sense of assurance as he thought, "There should not be a major problem with it…"
At the same time, Fang Yuan plucked a fruit and tossed into his own mouth.
Crunch!
It had the flavours of a green apple. It was sweet and palatable. At the same time, it sent a warm sensation flowing smoothly down his throat.
"Erm… this is…"
Fang Yuan's eyes widened as he felt his strength, inner force, Spirit, and Magic recharged to its maximum at that instant. He felt comfortable and extremely energetic at the same time.
"It does not increase stats, could it be that it promotes recovery?"
He thought again, "Could this allow one to recover Essence, Spirit, and Magic in such a short time?"
As his train of thoughts led to Red-eyed White Bird's outburst, Fang Yuan finally understood why the spiritual bird treated the bamboo fruit as though it's a piece of treasure.
After its outburst, it would definitely deplete a lot of its energy which would mean a long recovery time. However, with the fruit, this time would shorten.
"Even during a duel when both sides suffer serious injuries, this fruit could be consumed?"
Looking at the spiritual bamboo, Fang Yuan was gradually enlightened. He thought, "No wonder, this bamboo fruit could even snatch a person away from the hands of death, which explains its immense value..."
"Hold on!"
Slightly worried, Fang Yuan looked at Flower Fox Ferret and asked, "You did not seem to expand a lot of energy today and you even ate one fruit before this, why are you still asking for more?"
"Keke?"
Flower Fox Ferret thought for a moment and began gesturing. Fang Yuan then realised the bamboo fruits could only induce recovery in humans. However, when consumed by spiritual beasts, especially birds, it appeared to aid in their growth on top of its recovery effects. As a result, it was no surprise the Iron-tailed Black Eagle and the Red-eyed White King Bird treasured it so much.
Fang Yuan broke into a slight smile as the thought of the Iron-tailed Black Eagle surfaced in his mind.
Recently in the deep valley, Fang Yuan came across several dead beasts such as wild boars and tigers. Their wounds looked like they were inflicted by an animal with razor sharp claws. These must be the Iron-tailed Black Eagle's acts of gratitude.
At this instant, Fang Yuan thought of an even better idea.
"Flower Fox Ferret...take these bamboo fruits and tempt the Iron-tailed Black Eagle into becoming our companion...No, tell the Iron-tailed Black Eagle that we would give it bamboo fruits if it ensured the safety of this valley. How about that?"
The Iron-tailed Black Eagle had a formidable strength. Even though it was slightly inferior to the Red-eyed White Bird, it had an advantage over most others as it could fly.
Generally, once it took flight and circled around the valley, nobody could come within 3 miles of the valley, not even the most experienced foot soldiers.
Actually, Fang Yuan had already thought about making use of the Iron-tailed Black Eagle for quite some time.
After he finally understood the instructions, the Flower Fox Ferret sped off into the vegetation with a few bamboo fruits.
...
"Caw Caw!"
In no time, along with an ear-piercing shriek, a deafening noise reverberated through the valley.
Fang Yuan hurried over and found a dead python that was as thick as a human's arm lying the ground. There were a few big holes on its body which fresh blood flowed out from.
"Eh? Golden Silk Python?"
Fang Yuan stepped forward to take a closer look. His face instantly lit up with joy as he thought, "Even though we do not have the snake gall, the skin and bones of a snake are also exceptional medicinal ingredients. Along with snake meat, we have sufficient food to last a few days..."
"Chirp! Chirp!"
Amidst the strong wind and loud noise, the Iron-tailed Black Eagle descended from the sky. From its back, a white little head emerged and hopped off gracefully and moved over next to Fang Yuan.
"Brother Eagle, have you considered my offer?"
Fang Yuan laughed and drew out a few bamboo fruits from his robes.
"Chirp! Chirp!"
Although the bamboo shoots did capture the Iron-tailed Black Eagle's attention, it tilted its head upwards, as though it was not easily swayed by Fang Yuan's gifts.
However, it was evident from the eyes of the spiritual beast that it was indeed tempted by Fang Yuan's offer.
"Keke Keke...Sssss..."
As Flower Fox Ferret gestured and explained, Fang Yuan quickly understood the situation. He remarked, "Oh, so Brother Eagle is unwilling to be the spiritual beast of humans? You misunderstood my intentions, I never thought of doing that. I only wanted to hire you that's all. You will help me to patrol and protect this area and I will give you the spiritual fruits as payment...if it is insufficient, there are spiritual tea and spiritual rice..."
Fang Yuan shook his head and ordered Flower Fox Ferret to translate it for the Iron-tailed Black Eagle.
"Chirp! Chirp!"
Flower Fox Ferret and Iron-tailed Black Eagle communicated through gestures and Iron-tailed Black Eagle eventually shook its head.
"What a difficult nut to crack!"
Fang Yuan wrecked his brain for a solution and told Flower Fox Ferret, "Flower Fox Ferret, let Iron-tailed Black Eagle know, we will not hire it. Instead, we are offering it...These spiritual fruits are the gifts we offer respectfully to it for its service in protecting the valley. How about this?"
Shaking his head, Fang Yuan sent the Flower Fox Ferret to translate his words.
"Chirp! Chirp"
As expected, the Iron-tailed Black Eagle nodded its proud head this time, intently eyeing the bamboo fruits in Fang Yuan's hand.
"Alright, there you go!"
Fang Yuan tossed the fruit into the air and watched the eager beast rushed to consume it. In his mind, Fang Yuan was speechless as he thought, "This beast is so ridiculously egoistic. This deal I made him was exactly what I proposed earlier. Fortunately, it met me, if not it would not be as profitable..."
Translator's Thoughts
JTJTY97 JTJTY97
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