C359 – Taste Test
Posted on May 13, 2019 by AzureOrchid92
For this mountain wild rat to make the old man so excited, was it perhaps related to what the old man called the “thousand gold grains”?
Shao Xuan did not stay idle for long, briskly keeping up with that wild rat.
The wild rat ran fast, but it stopped at times. Whenever it paused, it looked around with vigilance, then continued to run if it found no threat around.
Shao Xuan could only use some low trees or slightly higher grass for cover since the plants in this area were sparse so he could not find a lot of obstructions. Therefore, quietly keeping up with the wild rat was a little difficult.
For Shao Xuan, even if the difficulty was big, he could still overcome it and could successfully keep up with that wild rat, but that was not the same with the old man. His skill in hiding was not as good as Shao Xuan, so he could only remain a little farther away as he followed. Fortunately, he did not have to keep his eye on that wild rat. He only had to follow Shao Xuan.
After about twenty minutes, the wild rat finally stopped. Shao Xuan stood from somewhere nearby, watching the wild rat eating the food it found. He turned behind him to look at the old man and signal to him with a wave of his hand.
Even if Shao Xuan did not know that plant, he was still sure that that was not what the old man was looking for, the “thousand gold grains”. It was only a nearly metre high shrub, with a number of small fingernail-sized red fruits above. The wild rat’s goal was those red fruits.
After seeing the wild rat eating the fruit, the old man squinted his eyes, then sighed. “It’s a pity.”
However, the old man never held too much hope. He knew that the thousand gold grains was not easy to find, so he had prepared himself early on.
After it finished its food, the wild rat slowly moved in the other direction, still running, but not as fast as before.
There were some birds in the sky that were smaller than sparrows flying over to take a peck at the fruit.
The old man grabbed the fruit and hid it before the birds pecked it all, then threw it into his mouth.
There was a raised stone on the ground next to the plant, so the old man sat there, eating the fruit while looking around the forest.
“Do you know this plant?” Shao Xuan asked.
“I don’t know. I’m eating it for the first time,” replied the old man.
Shao Xuan frowned but reached out and took a few fruits from the low shrub and threw them into his mouth. It was a little sweet, but the taste was ok. No wonder the wild rat hurriedly rushed this way.
When hunting in the mountains, if they see a plant they didn’t know, even if the fruit looked delicious, the hunting warriors wouldn’t touch it. Unless they had seem other animals had eaten it. They’d try a little bit of it, then determine if they could be used into their meals. But the old man who obviously had an ability to detoxify, was unbridled and blindly ate it. However, Shao Xuan believed that even if he had not seen the scene of the wild rat and birds eating it, the old man would still do the same.
“Old Ju, why is it that you wanted to try all kinds of plants and fruits? Just to test if it’s poisonous with your body?” Shao Xuan asked.
“Yes, whether it’s poisonous or a beneficial drug, it needs to be tried before you know. There’s a lot to be found in the future. We…… my family, since the time of our ancestors, began it by countless attempts. We eat anything, and through taste testing, we can obtain a lot. Knives, basket, bed, bedding, pillow, tea, wine, vinegar, sugar, oil, which one an ancestor has not tried out first?” The old man said with his eyes having an incomparable color of reverence. He did not even had that emotion while eating the fruit. “My generation and its descendants will also inherit the will of our ancestors and lead a glorious future! We’ll be the glory of all ages!”
Shao Xuan looked at the old man speaking with his spit flying, full of enthusiasm. This was really someone worshiping his ancestors. The old man’s greatest goal today was to find the thousand gold grains that was once mentioned in an ancestor’s notes before dying.
“Even if I could only have a glimpse of it, I’ll be satisfied,” said the old man.
Since he had read it mentioned in an ancestor’s note, the old man couldn’t sleep without thinking about it. Especially now that in many places, there was drought and food crop harvest was poor. Not everyone was willing to hunt these days, and many people with little abilities and were used to more comfort were used to farming in the fields. Not many people would like to go to the distant mountains to fight with the beasts. Moreover, the areas now with many people gathered around did not have many beasts. Even if they wanted to hunt, they had to run further afield. Furthermore, the lush mountains have been overrun by some fierce tribes. Those who were not willing to talk it out would start a discord, especially those horns guys.
Hence, if they could find more drought-resistant food crops, they would be able to ease their current problems to some extent. As for Shao Xuan’s thought on rain, there were people who had been asking for it every year, but it’s a pity that it had not been answered. He gets angry whenever this old man thought of it. Those people who called themselves descendants of ancient shamans, only collected the money quickly, but found excuses to not immediately pray for rain. They’re simply a group of waste!
After a break, the pair continued along the big route, only occasionally slipping up a hill midway through.
Two days later, even the shadow of the thousand gold grains was still not found.
In these two days, because he had been touching strange plants and eating them, the old man became poisoned again for four times, one of which even made him bleed profusely. It was very frightening. Shao Xuan thought that the old man would have difficulties getting through, but the only result was that the old man was tired for half a day. Afterwards, he became lively and continued to find the thousand gold grains.
In this regard, Shao Xuan only had a sigh at the toughness of the old man’s inherited detoxification ability.
A lot of times, Shao Xuan only listened to the old man, occasionally saying a few sentences, but most of the time, he was just a listener. From the old man’s words, Shao Xuan speculated about something. Perhaps the old man did not come from a tribe, but from the city under the jurisdiction of a slave owner. He’s likely a slave owner himself.
It was the first time Shao Xuan had seen such a slave owner. He previously only had the impression of a slave owner in the deserts on the other side, and never encountered an alternative kind.
“Then, I’ll take a break first, and you look around.” The old man sat down against the mountain wall using a stick. “This man is old and couldn’t get younger anymore so I will rest first.”
“You don’t have to worry about me. Quickly sleep, take a break.” Shao Xuan said.
Because he was with this old man, Shao Xuan’s pace had slowed down a lot, and they were not walking the shortest route. After walking for two days, he had not seen any changes around the little dense forest. He did not know how long they had to walk at such a speed to see a little thickening of the forest.
Since he had agreed to go with the old man, Shao Xuan would not leave him behind halfway. He was fine slowing down since he was not particularly in a hurry.
In this barren place, Shao Xuan had not seen a large beast up to now, but saw a few human skeletons.
Sweeping his eyes around, Shao Xuan recalled the day when the old man introduced to him several useful plants. As he swept his eyes, Shao Xuan silently reviewed the old man’s teachings, brushing up on what he learned again.
As he was thinking, Shao Xuan heard a sound of running. The sound was not big, but as he listened to the sound and rhythm, he thought it was a lot like the wild rat he followed before.
If it was just one before, Shao Xuan heard a few more moving now.
Was this wild rats’ nest near?
Shao Xuan got up and looked over to the place where the sound came from.
A few wild rats came from different directions, running in the same direction. It was not like they were running for their lives, but more like the wild rat previously searching for fruit, with eagerness and longing.
“Old Ju! Hey, wake up, old man, we have a situation!” Shao Xuan pushed the old man, who was still asleep.
“What’s the matter?” Because Shao Xuan was there to guard, the old man had a rarely peaceful sleep. Before he had slept enough, he was woken up by Shao Xuan, so he was a little confused for a moment.
Shao Xuan was about to talk about his discovery to the old man, but before he could open his mouth again, the old man’s ears shook as he heard the movement around. It was a complete professional change. If he heard other noises, he would skip it directly. Only a few specific sounds could stimulate his nerves in the shortest possible time.
After a shiver, the old man excitedly got up and looked around. He threw the stick he used as a crutch, then climbed the small mountain’s side.
There’s no view here, so he was going to a higher point to look. However, there were no tall and thick trees around, so he looked around the terrain, and thought that the most time saving thing to do was to climb the wall.
“Hey, you should slow down.” Shao Xuan was afraid that his foot would slip so he guarded below. If the old man had fallen from above from his excitement, he would still be able to move on.
However, even if the old man was really emotional and too excited that he could not help himself, he still managed to single-mindedly climb. Shao Xuan saw him climb hard, but still waited to extend a hand if needed.
After climbing up, the old man’s radar-like eyes swept around, sweeping his hearing while looking around, presumably distinguishing the desired sound from the rest of the murmur around him.
The old man’s craziness seemed logical.
(。-`ω-)?
(?▽＾*)☆