Harvest, Cause of the Anomaly

Li Bufan collapsed onto the icy snow, his back against an ancient tree, gasping for a long while. The sharp pain from his left arm hammered his nerves in waves, and the dizziness from blood loss crept in.

He dared not linger here. Gritting his teeth, he tore off a relatively clean strip from his inner lining, bit it with his teeth, and worked with his right hand, recalling the crude hemostasis methods Doctor Liu had taught him. He struggled to clean and bandage the deep, bone-exposing wound on his left arm.

After finishing, his forehead was drenched in cold sweat, his lips pale from blood loss and pain. But he couldn't rest too long—the smell of blood here was too strong. He had to deal with everything quickly and leave.

He forced himself to stand and first walked toward Wu Hai's corpse. Staring at the face with unclosed eyes and an arrow embedded in the brow, Li Bufan felt little turmoil. The law of the jungle: the weak are prey. If he hadn't used every trick and broken through on the spot, he'd be the one lying here.

He crouched down and began searching the spoils carefully.

First, the arrows. He cautiously pulled out the two arrows lodged in Wu Hai's brow and right leg, then found the ones he'd deflected or missed in the snow around.

After a careful count, including the two from Wu Hai's body, he had only five Armor-piercing Arrows left. Three had cracked shafts or chipped tips, unusable. Only two were still intact and functional.

"Only two left..." Li Bufan frowned, his heart heavy. These Armor-piercing Arrows were from the Lin Manor's archery range, given by Coach Qin. Though used for hunting, losing too many might cause trouble for Coach Qin.

"When I get back, I'll need to find a blacksmith to forge twenty replacements," he thought to himself. "Huaiyuan County should have skilled blacksmiths, but the arrowheads for Armor-piercing Arrows aren't easy to make—it'll cost a lot..." The unexpected expense stung, but to avoid owing favors and trouble, it had to be done.

He stored the two intact Armor-piercing Arrows separately from the three damaged ones.

Next, he picked up Wu Hai's quiver. Inside were about seven or eight arrows, with dark shafts and sharp tips—decent hunting arrows that would replenish his stock. He took them without hesitation.

Then, he quickly walked to the tree where his punch had sent Wu Hai's back slamming against it. He opened Wu Hai's fallen pack, untied the straps, and dumped the contents onto the snow.

The first thing that caught his eye were several well-preserved pelts!

Li Bufan picked them up and examined them, his heart stirring. Three were pure white snow fox pelts, with clean fur and a smooth feel. The fourth, though slightly smaller, had a striking tuft of silver fur on its forehead, shimmering faintly even in the dim light!

"Silver-Crowned Snow Fox!" Li Bufan muttered under his breath. "He actually hunted one too! And two ordinary snow foxes!"

It seemed Wu Hai had also noticed the anomaly in the mountain snow foxes and tracked them down for a kill. His brother's death was likely tied to splitting up in haste to chase the foxes. In the end, following the trail led him straight into Li Bufan, sparking this life-or-death fight.

Besides the snow fox pelts, there were two gray-white wolf pelts, intact—likely Snow Wolf skins. Though less valuable than the fox pelts, they were still a decent haul.

Li Bufan packed the valuable pelts, silver coins, and useful supplies onto his back. He also gladly took the clearly superior long knife, replacing his own hunting blade, which had started to dull.

Done with that, he took one last look at Wu Hai's corpse and the messy battlefield. After a moment's thought, he dragged the body with effort behind a hard-to-spot bush and covered it lightly with snow. The unusable arrows and debris he scattered elsewhere.

After cleaning the scene and concealing the traces, Li Bufan fought the sharp pain in his left arm and the exhaustion in his body, not immediately fleeing the area. The faint, peculiar cold fragrance, like an invisible hook, kept tugging at his mind. Wu Hai's appearance and the snow fox's odd behavior both pointed to this place. He couldn't leave without investigating.

He took a deep breath, suppressed his aura again, and used the agility of Spirit Monkey Three Leaps along with his snow camouflage to creep cautiously toward the massive frozen cliff face ahead.

The closer he got, the more pronounced the icy chill became, but the clear, distant fragrance also grew clearer. Inhaling it brought a faint warmth to his blood-chilled body, and the pain in his arm seemed to ease slightly.

Finally, he reached the cliff base. The Silver-Crowned Snow Fox he'd been tracking earlier had long since fled. The dark, gaping holes at the bottom of the cliff stood open like a beast's maw, exuding a mysterious, dangerous aura.

The source of the fragrance came from the largest of these holes.

Li Bufan held his breath and listened for a moment. Inside, there was utter silence, broken only by the faint whistle of wind through cracks. He drew his new long knife, held it before him, and cautiously ducked into the largest opening.

The tunnel was narrow at first, just wide enough for one person, and dimly lit. But after a few dozen paces, it opened up!

Inside was a massive natural cave, with a high ceiling hung with icicles like a crystal palace. The temperature was even lower than outside, but it didn't feel uncomfortable—instead, it brought a sense of clarity and calm. The most striking sight was a small patch of soil in the center of the cave.

There was no snow or ice there. Instead, a waist-high tree grew. Its trunk was dark green, with gnarled branches like forged metal, but its leaves were sparse and withered, looking strange. Yet on this seemingly dead tree hung three fruits, each the size of a longan, blood-red and crystalline!

The fruits emitted a rich, exotic fragrance. Just a few sniffs made Li Bufan feel his depleted blood and energy stirring faintly, as if reviving!

But around the tree's base, the ground was horrifying—scattered with seven or eight small animal carcasses, mostly frozen and shriveled. From their fur and shape, he could tell they were snow foxes! Their deaths were peculiar: no obvious external injuries, but most had swollen bellies, and some had frozen dark-red froth at their mouths and noses, as if they'd been burst from within by some powerful energy!

Li Bufan's gaze darted between the red fruits and the fox carcasses, and a passage from Herbal Compendium flashed through his mind like lightning:

"Cinnabar Fruit, a rare treasure. Grows mostly in extreme cold, dark places, drawing cold energy from the earth's veins but bearing yang fruits. Shaped like longan, colored like cinnabar, with a strong fragrance. Consuming it greatly boosts blood and energy, strengthens bones and muscles—a precious medicine for tempering the body and martial training! But its potency is fierce and violent. Only those with robust physiques and abundant blood and energy should take it lightly; otherwise, the weak cannot absorb it and will suffer harm, risking death from bursting..."

He looked at the fox corpses, clearly exploded by overwhelming blood energy, and the one surviving fox that had evolved into a Silver-Crowned Snow Fox with enhanced speed and strength...

Everything clicked!

"Cinnabar Fruit! This is actually Cinnabar Fruit!" Li Bufan couldn't help but exclaim softly, his eyes blazing with disbelief and joy!

No wonder the snow foxes had gathered abnormally! They were drawn by the fruit's fragrance! Ordinary snow foxes couldn't withstand its fierce potency; eating it killed them with a surge of blood energy! A rare few with special constitutions or luck might only lick a bit of juice or barely endure the power, mutating into stronger Silver-Crowned Snow Foxes! They craved the treasure but instinctively feared its force, pacing anxiously outside the cliff!

"Haha! Heaven helps me! What a stroke of fortune!" Li Bufan laughed aloud, so excited that even the pain in his left arm seemed to dull.

The value of this Cinnabar Fruit far exceeded that of the Silver-Crowned Snow Fox! Even the combined worth of a whole tiger and black bear probably couldn't match a single fruit! This was a spiritual fruit that could directly elevate one's Martial Arts Realm!

He suppressed his excitement and didn't rush to pick them. The greater the treasure, the more likely a guardian. He scanned the surroundings carefully, listened for a long time, and only when he confirmed no other living presence besides the wind did he cautiously approach.

The closer he got, the stronger the fragrance, like drinking sweet spring water when inhaled, soothing his whole body. He counted carefully: three fruits on the tree, each a translucent red, brimming with energy.

He hesitated no longer. Using his knife tip, he carefully cut the stems and took down all three fruits. They were warm to the touch, fragrant, and he could feel the surging energy within.

Looking at the three fruits that could drive countless Warriors mad, then at the tragic fox corpses on the ground, Li Bufan took a deep breath and warned himself not to repeat their mistake.

"With my current Initial Muscle Tempering cultivation and unhealed injuries, I absolutely cannot take a Cinnabar Fruit. Rashly consuming such a fierce spiritual fruit would likely do more harm than good, stirring my blood and worsening my wounds."

He carefully wrapped the three fruits in the softest snow fox pelt and tucked them close to his chest. Then, he immediately pulled out the hemostatic herbs he'd looted from Wu Hai's pack.

Ignoring the cold, he found a relatively flat rock, placed the herbs on it, and crushed them into a dark green paste with his knife handle. The bitter, herbal scent spread.

Clenching his teeth, he carefully unwrapped the hastily tied bandage. It was soaked with blood, sticking to the wound. Tearing it off sent a piercing pain that made cold sweat bead on his forehead again. Beneath lay the gruesome wound, flesh turned back, bone visible.

He inhaled the cold air deeply and applied the herbal paste directly onto the wound. It stung at first, then brought a cool sensation. The blood, which had been seeping steadily, visibly slowed.

Li Bufan didn't dawdle. He quickly wrapped the wound tightly with clean cloth strips, ensuring the paste stayed in contact. After finishing, he let out a long breath, feeling the fiery pain in his left arm somewhat soothed by the herb's cooling effect.

"Hope it works," he muttered to himself. The priority now was to stabilize the injury before anything else.