Spiritual Beasts

"Hmm... Judging by the footprints, it's some kind of animal, neither too big nor too small, about the size of a hunting dog..."

Fang Yuan crouched on the ground, studying the incredibly clear claw marks left in the soil as he carefully analyzed them. "They didn't sink in very deep, so it probably wasn't a large predator. A wolf? A fox? Or a weasel or badger?"

"What a clever beast. It's destroyed every last one of my traps..."

Fang Yuan had grown up deep in the mountains, and he was an expert at trapping animals. He often caught pheasants and wild rabbits to supplement his meals.

His traps, moreover, had even caught wolves and wild boars.

But now, every last trap had been destroyed, and so brazenly, too. It was practically a provocation.

"Master once said that deep mountains and great marshes are where dragons and serpents dwell. Even ordinary beasts, if they live long enough or happen upon some fortuitous chance, can gradually awaken their intelligence. Could that be what I'm dealing with this time?"

The 'thief's' methods this time had seemed full of 'intelligence' to Fang Yuan. It was almost as if he were dealing not with a beast, but with a living, breathing person. His expression turned grave.

"Hmm... The damage isn't too bad..."

He looked around, then suddenly sprang up and hurried toward the tea plantation. "Oh no... my spiritual plants!!!"

If the thief wasn't an ordinary beast, then ordinary things might not be enough to lure it here. The only possibilities were the Heart-Questioning Tea Tree and those Crimson Jade Rice Seeds!

Once he'd figured that out, Fang Yuan felt as if a fire had been lit beneath him. He couldn't sit still another moment.

A short while later, a furious roar echoed through the Hidden Valley. "Damn it... Just you wait until I catch you..."

Fang Yuan stood before the Heart-Questioning Tea Tree, looking thoroughly dejected.

Several branches had vanished from the once-lush, emerald-green tree before him. The broken ends bore unmistakable signs of gnawing.

The entire tree looked extremely withered. Fortunately, its roots were unharmed; otherwise, this one and only mutated spiritual plant would have been lost to Fang Yuan for good.

"What's this?"

After examining it closely, Fang Yuan noticed something else around the Heart-Questioning Tea Tree.

He rubbed his right hand over the wounds on the tea branches, and a layer of tiny, transparent crystalline grains fell onto his fingertips. They were scattered not only around the broken branches but also at the base of the tree.

"I definitely didn't put these here. Could that thief have brought them?"

Fang Yuan held the semitransparent grains beneath his nose. A fresh fragrance rose from them, mingled with a musky stench.

"Fertilizer?!"

Looking at the Heart-Questioning Tea Tree's pitiful state, he made a guess and couldn't help feeling torn between laughter and tears.

This Spiritual Plant Thief had brazenly taken the Heart-Questioning Tea Tree for its own. After eating its fill, it had even known to take care of it. It seemed to have decided this was its long-term meal ticket.

"But it can't be here now. If it were, it would've rushed over the moment it saw me..."

Fang Yuan shook his head and quickly made his way to the edge of the Crimson Jade Rice Field.

The Crimson Jade Rice seedlings across the field were all unharmed; in fact, they'd grown a little taller. The plants around them, however, had withered and turned yellow, evidently dead.

"It won't even touch the Crimson Jade Rice seedlings. This fellow has pretty high standards..."

Seeing that the entire plantation was unharmed, and that the other party seemed intent on ruining only the Heart-Questioning Tea Tree, Fang Yuan was speechless. "I'll set more traps right away. From now on, I'll keep watch here every day and find out what kind of beast this is!"

Now that his anger had subsided, he actually found the whole thing rather amusing. He was eager to meet the fellow that had stolen his tea tree.

After taking stock of the damage, he still had to carry on with the work at hand.

Fang Yuan first prepared the Realgar Powder. He mixed it with other materials from the valley in specific proportions, then stored the mixture in a cellar for three days. The result was a large batch of Fire-Returning Liquid.

This formula had also been passed down by the Heart-Questioning Hermit. It worked wonderfully as fertilizer for many fire-element plants.

Though the Crimson Jade Rice Grain was a spiritual plant, after Fang Yuan watered it three times a day without fail, it grew quite robustly. With its nutritional needs met, it no longer had to leech Land Strength from the surrounding soil, much to Fang Yuan's relief.

But the mysterious thief didn't show up again. Instead, Fang Yuan, who stayed up night after night, began to feel he couldn't keep it up.

Late at night.

The moonlight flowed like water.

As usual, Fang Yuan laid out his traps and hid nearby, watching in silence.

The Tea Grove was completely still. Only the chirping of insects carried from afar, echoing through the Hidden Valley.

"Maybe it saw someone here and doesn't dare come?"

After waiting for half the night, Fang Yuan's eyes grew bleary with sleep. He felt a little disappointed. "I'll watch for one more night. If I still get nothing, I'll transplant the Heart-Questioning Tea Tree... What a pity about those crystals, though..."

After several days of observation, Fang Yuan grew increasingly certain of his theory: the crystals really were beneficial to spiritual plants.

Not only was the Heart-Questioning Tea Tree looking better and better, its branches already healed. Even the Crimson Jade Rice seedlings he'd sprinkled with some of the crystals were growing far better than their neighbors.

This mysterious fertilizer, which benefited spiritual plants, immediately piqued Fang Yuan's interest. He even thought that if he could find where the fertilizer came from this time, that might make up for the thief's crime. A good scolding and a beating would probably be enough.

"Yawn..."

By the latter half of the night, Fang Yuan's eyelids weighed like iron gates, ready to fall shut at any moment.

"Forget it... Looks like it won't come tonight. I still have to get up tomorrow and loosen the soil in the Crimson Jade Rice Field... Hm?"

Just as Fang Yuan was about to stand, the corner of his eye caught a streak of white beneath the moonlight.

"It's here!"

Fang Yuan perked up at once. His whole body tensed, his blood surged, and his sleepiness vanished.

The white shape dashed forward at incredible speed, reaching the edge of the plantation in an instant. It spotted the animal traps Fang Yuan had reset. Disdain flickered in its clever eyes as it nimbly stepped around them. At times, it simply used its paws to hold a branch and spring the traps from a distance, but they caught nothing.

"Damn! What a huge, clever White Sable!"

Fang Yuan couldn't help exclaiming inwardly.

That's right.

What appeared before his eyes was a gigantic White Sable, with big eyes, long whiskers, and astonishingly nimble paws. Its ears twitched now and then, as though listening for any movement nearby, while its white fur shimmered in the moonlight.

An ordinary sable was about the size of a cat. But the one here was a full meter long, practically a miniature leopard.

"Good heavens! A White Sable this big..."

Watching the White Sable swagger into the tea plantation, Fang Yuan glanced at the gear on his body and hesitated. "Maybe... I should let it get away with it one more time. I'll gather some people and come back another day!"

He wasn't a professional hunter, after all. Though he'd prepared plenty of things, he still wasn't sure he could handle this unnaturally huge White Sable.

"Giggle!"

The moment the White Sable entered the Tea Grove, its bright black eyes fixed directly on Fang Yuan's hiding place. It had spotted him!

"You insolent beast!"

Fang Yuan had no choice but to leap out. "Ruining my tea tree once was bad enough, but you came back for a second round? Do you think I'm dead?"

As he jumped out, he struck a flint and lit the torch in his hand.

Bathed in the blazing flames, the White Sable wore an almost human expression of amusement. It didn't run at all; it simply stared back at Fang Yuan.

Damn it. Aren't most wild animals afraid of fire and people? Why doesn't this one play by the rules?!

Fang Yuan cursed inwardly.

But when the White Sable completely ignored him and nonchalantly started gnawing at the Heart-Questioning Tea Tree, he could no longer hold back. "You insolent beast!"

He brandished a torch in one hand and a hatchet in the other, striding forward. "Keep your paws off my things!"

"Hiss! Hiss!"

In the next instant, Fang Yuan saw the White Sable whirl around, its fur standing on end as it hissed. Sensing danger, he instinctively raised his hatchet to block.

Whoosh!

A white blur flashed past. A tremendous force struck Fang Yuan's hand, driving him back several steps. His grip gave way, and both his hatchet and torch hit the ground. "That beast is so fast—and so strong!"

"Giggle!"

Seeing how easily it had knocked Fang Yuan aside, the White Sable's eyes rolled. It clutched its belly with its paws and burst into laughter in an almost human fashion.

It was a spiritual creature. It waved its little paw at Fang Yuan, then pointed at the Heart-Questioning Tea Tree, as if to say, 'From now on, this spiritual plant belongs to yours truly!'

"Damn... Even an uncle could put up with this, but an aunt couldn't!"

Even Fang Yuan couldn't stomach being laughed at by a beast. He flipped back to his feet. "Take this!"

With a wave of his hand, several little paper packets flew out.

Bang! Bang!

Several clouds of smoke burst open in midair, carrying a fierce, pungent odor.

Then, with a resolute expression, Fang Yuan turned and ran without hesitation!

That's right. Since he'd lost the fight, he naturally ought to retreat for now and deal with the White Sable another day. After all, a gentleman could wait ten years to take his revenge!

"Hiss! Hiss..."

But a sudden shriek from the White Sable rang out through the smoke, making Fang Yuan stop.

He turned around and saw the White Sable going around the clouds of smoke, as though it was extremely wary of them.

"Huh?"

Fang Yuan's face immediately lit up.

In truth, he'd prepared those few smoke bombs as a means of escape. They were filled with nothing but ordinary things.

"The Beast-Repelling Powder made up most of the mixture. If it worked, how could this beast have gotten in? And it doesn't seem to be the pepper, either... So it's... realgar! Hahaha... Just you wait!"

Fang Yuan's eyes lit up. He dashed back to the front valley and returned shortly afterward with a large quantity of powder packets. "So you're afraid of Realgar Powder? Wahahaha... Take this—I'll pelt you with it!"

Bang! Bang!

With a wave of his right hand, a large amount of Realgar Powder turned into smoke and engulfed the area.

The White Sable looked ready to pounce and hissed, but it truly seemed terrified of Realgar Powder and didn't dare enter.

Once the smoke dispersed, it vanished in a flash.