Strange Tree

I am truly a genius, Xiao Jie thought. Yes, that's exactly how I'll do it.

If I don't let you get 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 and unleashed a Thunderous Whip Strike. With a sharp crack, the flock began to move at a sluggish pace.

He first drove the sheep to a nearby patch of grass. Watching them scatter to graze, he waited about two or three minutes before running to the other side and unleashing another Thunderous Whip Strike.

Crack!

The flock slowly began to move again. In this way, the progress of the sheep's satiety level was indeed growing at a snail's pace.

Of course, he couldn't drive them too aggressively; he had to ensure the sheep were full before the time limit expired.

By driving them a short distance every two or three minutes, he kept interrupting their feeding, ensuring their satiety levels wouldn't max out too quickly.

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

Even the mischievous ones from before couldn't be bothered with antics anymore; they were too busy bowing their heads to graze.

Xiao Jie wasn't about to let it go at that, though. If they got full, they might start acting up again.

He kept running left and right, herding the flock back and forth. After a few rounds, all the sheep were grazing obediently, terrified that if they were too slow, they wouldn't get any grass at all.

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

He kept driving them while keeping an eye on the time. Soon, another hour passed, and just as the flock was finally reaching satiety, the time limit hit.

System Notification: 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 Notification: Through long-term contact with the flock, you have gradually grasped the habits of this animal. You have comprehended the associated skill [Beast Lore] from the process of herding.

Here it comes, Xiao Jie thought. Even if it was a comprehended skill, it should be somewhat useful.

[Beast Lore (Knowledge-based 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.]

Uh... what is the point of this?

The skill wasn't in his skill bar, but in his crafting manual, categorized alongside his life skills.

Xiao Jie clicked on the skill, revealing a series of pages.

Each page had a title: Beast Lore: Wild Beast Chapter (Locked), Beast Lore: Demon Beasts (Locked), Beast Lore: Immortal Beast Chapter (Locked)...

Everything was locked, save for the very first page, Beast Lore: Domestic Beast Chapter, which contained a small amount of content.

[Goat (Domestic Beast/Wild Beast)

Biological Skills: Rambunctious Sheep Ram, Mountain Climbing Art.

Taming Difficulty: Entry Level.

Challenge Level: 1-3.

Beast Description: A common herbivorous animal skilled at climbing mountain walls. It enjoys grazing on grass and plant roots. Very common in hilly regions and often domesticated for meat, milk, and fur.]

That's it?

Xiao Jie was speechless. This skill was useless; it was nothing more than a database.

He figured the content would slowly expand as he encountered more beasts. If the later chapters were unlocked, they might increase his understanding of monsters, but it was of no help in improving his current strength.

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

The skill he had gained through sudden enlightenment was definitely much more powerful than this. Thinking of that, Xiao Jie felt a little better.

He drove the flock back to the pen, preparing to rest before the third round.

Suddenly, a figure came running toward him in a hurry.

"Brother Following Wind, Brother Following Wind, come quickly! I've encountered something strange."

Xiao Jie looked up to see I Want to Become Immortal running over in a panic, clutching a logging axe in his hand.

"Huh? Did you go become a lumberjack? What happened that has you so worked up?"

"A serendipitous encounter! I've had a serendipitous encounter!"

He immediately began to recount his story.

It turned out that I Want to Become Immortal had originally wanted to comprehend Blade Weapon Proficiency and learn to be a swordsman like Xiao Jie. He had gone to find Wang Da Niu for work, but Wang Da Niu said they had enough firewood for now and didn't need any more chopping.

However, the nearby logging workshop mentioned they were short on timber and asked if I Want to Become Immortal was interested.

Since it was all just chopping trees anyway, I Want to Become Immortal simply accepted the lumberjack job.

He took a logging axe and headed up the mountain.

Things went smoothly at first. Because of Xiao Jie's reminder that there was technique to labor, he focused on chopping wood all morning, earning a few dozen copper coins and successfully comprehending the weapon skill Axe Weapon Proficiency.

However, he hadn't obtained the combat skill he wanted, which left I Want to Become Immortal somewhat disappointed.

Still, he had some resilience. Even though Xiao Jie had said that sudden enlightenment wasn't something everyone could achieve, he still put his all into chopping trees.

But as he chopped, he discovered a strange tree. Most of the trees on the mountain were withered and yellow, with only a few being emerald green. Only this one tree had golden leaves, making it look completely out of place among the surrounding woods.

I Want to Become Immortal didn't think much of it, figuring it might be a top-tier item that would yield high-level materials if chopped down. As it turned out, the moment his axe struck, the tree sprayed blood.

It gave him a massive fright. Unsure of what was going on, I Want to Become Immortal hurried off to find Xiao Jie for help.

Spraying blood? Xiao Jie was quite surprised to hear about I Want to Become Immortal's encounter; it was truly a bizarre occurrence.

In a game with this kind of xianxia mythology aesthetic, a tree that could bleed definitely had something suspicious about it—it was either immortal or demonic.

"Let's go, take me to see it."

Abandoning his sheep, Xiao Jie followed I Want to Become Immortal all the way to the Back Mountain.

These mountains were the southernmost spurs of Ginkgo Valley, encircling Ginkgo Village. Aside from a patch of grassland in the mountain hollow, the hills were covered in trees.

Amidst these withered, yellow, and green trees, a golden, peculiar tree stood out before their eyes.

Xiao Jie took one look and recognized it immediately.

"That's a Ginkgo Tree!" Xiao Jie looked at the leaves and asked in surprise, "Where's the blood you were talking about?"

"It was right on the trunk—huh, the wound is gone." I Want to Become Immortal stared at the tree in astonishment. "Should I try another swing with the axe?"

"Don't. Let me do it. Your axe is too heavy; what if it's an NPC and you kill it?"

As he spoke, Xiao Jie struck the tree with his blade. Sure enough, with a squelch, a stream of fresh blood gushed from the cut bark. The dark red liquid flowed slowly down the trunk, looking exceptionally shocking.

It really did bleed... Xiao Jie felt a sense of wonder. He stared at the bleeding Ginkgo Tree, lost in thought.

I Want to Become Immortal stood to the side, feeling uneasy. "Brother Feng, what do you think is going on? Can we still chop this tree down?"

Xiao Jie suddenly smiled, reminded of a story he had read before.

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

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

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

Xiao Jie had been deeply impressed by this story when he first read it. Now, facing a situation with such high immersion, he began to recount it to I Want to Become Immortal.

"Legend has it that after Cao Cao became the King of Wei, he still wanted to be Emperor, so he prepared to build a palace under the guise of constructing an imperial lodge. Someone worried that Luoyang lacked the timber for such a large structure, so Cao Cao told his subordinates, 'I hear there is a large pear tree under Longmen Mountain, over ten zhang tall and thicker than a millstone. Isn't that perfect?' So, he sent men to cut it down."

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

"When Cao Cao's men arrived to fell the tree, the locals tried to dissuade them, but the men didn't take it seriously. However, when their axes struck the tree, they couldn't make a dent. The men grew terrified, and seeing how the locals spoke of it with such awe, they dared not act rashly and returned to report to Cao Cao."

"When Cao Cao heard this, how could he believe it? He personally led men to cut the tree. The village elders saw this and rushed to advise him, 'Prime Minister, this tree has become a god; it cannot be cut! For many years, anyone who dared to harm even a single leaf would either break out in sores, fall ill, or even lose their life!'"

"Cao Cao, having campaigned on the battlefield for years, naturally didn't believe in such superstitions. He declared, 'I have traveled the world for over forty years, from the Emperor above to the commoners below, all fear me. What kind of demon god dares to defy my will!' With that, he drew the Heaven Reliant Sword and struck the tree himself."

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

"Cao Cao was stunned and terrified. He threw down his sword, mounted his horse, and returned to the palace."

"That night, Cao Cao could not sleep. In a half-waking, half-dreaming state, he saw a white-haired old man with disheveled hair and a sword come to his bedside."

"Cao Cao asked in alarm, 'Who are you?' The old man replied, 'I am the God of the Pear Tree, whom the people call the White Pear Immortal Elder.' Cao Cao asked why he had come. The old man said, 'You have come to repent! I transformed into this pear tree to suppress an evil dragon. To build your palace, you disregarded the safety of the people and insisted on cutting me down. Do you know your crime?' With that, he drew his sword and struck at Cao Cao. Cao Cao woke up with a shout, realizing it was a dream, and from then on, his chronic headaches began."

PS: Thanks to book friend "Ouyu Haijiao Zhong" for the alliance-level tip. I will add extra chapters in the future. Still owe two chapters for now.