Hunting
"Brother Liu, what is that?"
Liu Muzhe ignored the two people's questions and just stared blankly at the tree in front of him, with all kinds of unknown emotions in his eyes.
Ye Jing'an and Qiu Zimu walked over curiously and found that the roots of this strange tree grew in the stone on one side, and were immersed in an arc-shaped blood pool on the other side. In the pool were soaked the heads of various animals, as well as some unknown wild fruits and herbs. It looked very bloody, but there was no smell of blood. The whole space was filled with a faint strange fragrance, which was the smell emitted by the tree.
There was a black arc-shaped object floating on the surface of the blood pool. Ye Jing'an used his sword to dig it out and found it was a human head. The expression on the bloody face was still stuck at the moment before death. Horror and fear made his facial features distorted.
Despite this, Qiu Zimu recognized her at a glance. This was the missing anchor.
"I've really killed myself." Ye Jing'an turned to look at Liu Muze, who was still standing there staring at the tree, frowning, his eyes filled with endless sadness. Ye Jing'an walked over and patted him gently, then asked softly, "Brother Liu, what's wrong with you?"
Liu Muze came back to his senses, sighed deeply, and said weakly: "I'm fine."
Ye Jingan saw that he was not in a good state. He didn't know what was wrong, but he was sure it was related to the tree, so he asked: "Brother Liu, do you know this tree?"
"Well, I once read an ancient book that mentioned a mysterious country called Wubian. The people of Wubian were secretive, good at using poisons and medicine, and had great faith in trees. According to legend, they cultivated an otherworldly sacred tree that could cure all diseases in the world and bring the dead back to life. Many people spent countless time and money trying to find this sacred tree, but all ended in regret. In the end, the records of this ancient country were treated as a hoax and forgotten by the world. I didn't expect it to really exist." Liu Muzhe said.
"Brother Liu has also looked for this sacred tree?" Ye Jing'an asked in a low voice.
Liu Muzhe took a deep breath and nodded.
"Now that we have found this tree, can we still save your friend?" Ye Jing'an asked.
"Even the soul has been annihilated in this world, how can I save it?" Liu Muzhe said with a wry smile, "It's just that I am unwilling to accept it, so I give myself a thought of living."
Ye Jing'an felt a pang of pain in his heart. He grabbed Liu Muze's hand and said, "Brother Liu, if this legendary sacred tree can exist, then resurrection from the dead is not necessarily impossible. There must be a way to bring him back. I'll help you find it."
Liu Muze squeezed Ye Jingan's hand and said softly, "Okay."
"..." Ye Jing'an could tell from the tone of voice that he was trying to coax a little kid. Although he himself didn't really believe in resurrection, after seeing these unreasonable things, he really changed his mind a little, "Brother Liu, I..."
"Okay, let's pick a leaf and leave. Maybe it will be useful one day." Liu Muzhe gently broke off a leaf, and the end of the petiole quickly healed to prevent the blood-red juice inside from flowing out.
The leaves that had fallen off the branches also underwent some changes. The blood-red veins seemed to burst suddenly, and the blood-red juice spread around the leaves. The leaves that were originally white and translucent like crystal spots turned into a translucent red throughout, like leaves finely carved out of ruby. Who would have thought that it was really a leaf.
As the leaves were broken off, a sharp whistling sound emanated from the cave behind. It was far away, yet it was penetrating and could be heard clearly. It was a unique sound, like the low howl of a wolf, the howl of an owl at night, a mixture of various animals. The three had never heard such a strange sound before.
"Brother Liu, the monster is coming. Is it too late to run away now?" Ye Jing'an asked.
As soon as he finished speaking, a pair of glowing yellow eyes appeared from a nearby crack. Then, a monster resembling a tiger or a wolf slowly emerged from the darkness. Its body was covered in crimson scales, which had now exploded, reflecting a rainbow of colors in the flashlight. Its head was massive, covered in long black fur, and its long fangs bared. It growled and stalked towards the three, its aura brimming with fury.
"Damn, what the hell is this weird thing? I haven't seen it in any of my ancestors' notes." Qiu Zimu said in surprise.
"Xishu, the guardian beast of this sacred tree." Liu Muzhe said.
"Is it powerful? Can you do it?" Ye Jing'an said, "It looks like it wants to bite us to death."
"I don't know, there's no relevant record." Liu Muze took two steps forward with his sword, blocking Ye Jing'an and Qiu Zimu and said, "Hide in a corner and don't block the road."
When Xi Shou saw Liu Muzhe swinging his sword, he leaned forward slightly. After a moment of stalemate, he bent over and rushed towards him.
When Liu Muzhe doesn't know the opponent's strength, he usually won't take the initiative to attack. He will just defend and not attack. After he has roughly understood the attacking habits of the Xishu, he will find the right moment to thrust his sword at the knee of its front leg.
Xishou withdrew his claws and licked the scales on his knees with a provocative look.
Liu Muzhe twitched his eyebrows slightly. Ye Anyan had chosen the best material for making the sword. It could cut iron like mud and penetrate armor easily, but it couldn't cause any harm to Xi Shouzhao.
Liu Muze appeared calm, but deep down he was beginning to worry. He didn't want to harm Xi Shou. With Xi Shou, the sacred tree could grow safely in this environment, protected from being uprooted by those who were only interested in personal gain. If he were alone, escaping would be easy, but what would he do now that he had the two of them with him?
The hunter didn't give him too much time to think, and rushed forward with his claws. Liu Muze no longer retreated, and took the initiative to attack. His sharp sword skills, although none of his moves were fatal, were enough to weaken the hunter's momentum.
The hunting ox's purpose was completely different from Liu Muze's. It simply wanted the intruder dead. Every time it struck, it left deep scratches on the ground. If it had scratched human flesh, a single claw would have torn the skin apart, bleeding profusely and killing the person instantly.
Ye Jing'an and Qiu Zimu stood in the corner, watching them fight fiercely. They had forgotten how many rounds they had fought, but they were not in good condition now.
Liu Muze panted, standing warily against the wall. Xi Shou no longer had the arrogance and contempt he had previously displayed. The hot breath from his mouth liquefied into a white mist in the cold cavern. His claws tightened and loosened, scraping against the ground with a harsh sound. He stared at Liu Muze intently, wishing to tear him apart.
"Brother Liu, you take a rest, I'll fight it!" Ye Jing'an snatched Liu Muzhe's sword with great momentum, rolled up his sleeves to reveal his arm muscles, made a handsome sword move, half-curled his lips, and stared at Xi Shou with contempt.
Ye Jingan was the type who looked thin when dressed, but had a lot of muscle when undressed. Xi Shou looked at Ye Jingan, then glanced at Liu Muze. No matter how he looked at him, Ye Jingan seemed to be the better fighter.
It had previously ignored the skinny Liu Muze, but it hadn't expected him to be so formidable, actually holding his own. Now it's been replaced by a stronger one, who looks quite capable. Once Liu Muze has rested, they'll take over again, and eventually it'll wear it down. There's also a skinny guy lurking behind them, who knows what evil he might be up to. Three against one, they're at a disadvantage!
Xi Shou growled, and the scales on his body slowly faded away, transforming into a young man in black. He stood up, pointed at Ye Jingan and Liu Muze, and cursed: "How shameless are you!? You took their things, couldn't even fight them off, and yet you ganged up on them to bully them."
"Fuck, how can you turn into a human?" Ye Jing'an said in surprise, "Brother Liu, how can he transform?"
Liu Muzhe was not surprised. It was very common for monsters to transform. It was not surprising that the guardian beast of this otherworldly sacred tree could transform into a human form. He could understand any form it turned into.
"You have become a human being a long time ago. Can't you speak nicely?" Ye Jing'an said.
"There's nothing to say to you. Return the Holy Leaf to me and I'll spare your lives. Get out of here!" Xi Shou said coldly.
"Leave us alive?" Ye Jing'an said with a strange smile, "You're probably not able to defeat us, right? Otherwise, you would have killed us long ago. Why are you still wasting your time talking?"
Xi Shou had no intention of letting them leave the forest alive; he simply wanted to wait for them to relax their guard so he could secretly deal with them. Seeing that Ye Jing'an wasn't fooled, he silently drew two bloody curved scimitars from his back and charged again.
"Wait!" Ye Jing'an said, "We really don't mean any harm. We just want a leaf. What will it take for you to let us go?"
"Humans are greedy, vain, and treacherous. You take a leaf today, and you will come back to take a second leaf later, and it will never end. How can I let you go?" said Xi Shou.
Ye Jing'an frowned slightly. Xi Shou was right. If this leaf could really bring the dead back to life and save the people he cared about, he might come back for a second leaf. After all, he was not a saint, just a mortal who thought about himself. Ye Jing'an asked, "If a person's soul is gone, can this leaf save them?"
"Why should I tell you?" Xi Shouxiu asked.
"If I can save it, I'll take this leaf with me even if it costs me my life!" Ye Jing'an said, "If I can't, I don't care what use it has. I don't need it."
Hearing this, Liu Muzhe was stunned and looked at Ye Jingan blankly.
"You are so arrogant!" Xi Shou's chest heaved violently with anger. He swung the scimitar in his hand and slashed it towards Ye Jing'an's neck.
Ye Jing'an blocked it with his sword, but the force of the scimitar forced him to retreat continuously. He only managed to stabilize himself after Liu Muze caught it. By then, sweat had already broken out on his back, and his hands holding the sword were numb and trembling slightly. He had never expected this little monster to be so powerful.
He has been fighting and making trouble since he was a child, and his hands and feet are full of endless strength. Apart from Brother Liu, he has never met anyone stronger than him, but he was actually knocked back so far by this monster with just one knife.
Xi Shou was about to attack, but Liu Muze stopped him: "That's enough, I'll give the leaf back to you."
"What?" Xi Shou stared at the Holy Leaf in his hand in disbelief. He knew Liu Muze hadn't used his full strength, and if they had really fought, he might not have won today. In this situation where the opponent had the upper hand, he couldn't imagine anyone willing to give up such a tempting treasure. "Why?"
"No reason?" Liu Muzhe glanced at Ye Jing'an and said, "There are many things more important than this leaf."
Xi Shou was stunned and couldn't follow the conversation for a while. In his world, nothing was more important than this sacred tree.
"Brother Liu, if he could be saved, why did you give it to him?" Ye Jing'an looked at him as if he was a prodigal son.
Liu Muzhe smiled faintly and said nothing.
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