Chapter 7: Spirit Beasts

What is this

Hmm... From the footprints, it appears to be a beast, of a size neither large nor small, similar to that of a hunting dog

He glanced around, suddenly jumped up, and rushed towards the tea garden in a panic: "Oh no... my spiritual plant!!!"

Indeed, since the battle has been lost, it is only natural to take the opportunity to retreat and seek trouble with this white weasel in the future. After all, a gentleman takes revenge; ten years is not too late

Several puffs of smoke exploded in mid-air, carrying a sharp and intense odor

Fang Yuan's eyes lit up, and he dashed back to the front valley. Before long, he returned with a large number of powder packets: "So you are afraid of realgar? Hahaha... Watch me, I will smash it!"

In the late hours of the night, Fang Yuan's eyelids felt exceedingly heavy, as if they were the weight of a thousand-pound gate, ready to fall at any moment

Puffy

He looked at the listless Wenshin tea tree, made a guess, and felt somewhat amused yet helpless.

The white shadow dashed at high speed and soon arrived outside the plantation, where it saw the beast traps that Fang Yuan had rearranged. A look of disdain appeared in its clever eyes as it deftly maneuvered around them, occasionally using its claws to nudge a branch, triggering the traps, yet finding nothing at all.

Fang Yuan first processed the realgar powder, mixed it with other materials from the valley in a specific proportion, and then placed it in the cellar for three days, resulting in a large batch of "still fire liquid"

Since the thieves are not ordinary beasts, ordinary items may not necessarily attract them. The only possibility, I fear, lies in the Wenshin tea tree and those red jade rice seeds

As he raised his right hand, a large amount of realgar powder formed a cloud of smoke, enveloping the area.

In the midst of the tea forest, all is silent, with only the distant sound of insects chirping echoing in the secluded valley

Moments later, a roar filled with exasperation echoed through the valley: "Damn it... don't let me catch you..."

After all, he is not a professional hunter. Although he has prepared quite a few things, looking at this excessively strange white marten still leaves him feeling uncertain.

This time, the methods employed by the "thief" truly gave Fang Yuan a sense of being confronted with "wisdom"; it was as if he were facing not a wild beast, but a living person, which made his expression inevitably grave

However, at this moment, everything has been completely destroyed, yet it remains so arrogant, almost carrying a sense of provocation

Fang Yuan had no choice but to jump out: "Once was enough to ruin my tea trees, yet you dare to come a second time, do you take me for a dead man?"

Giggling!

Puffy

Damn it, shouldn't beasts mostly fear fire and humans? Why is this one behaving so unreasonably?

The entire tea tree appeared to be quite wilted; fortunately, the root system was not damaged, otherwise this sole mutated spiritual plant would have completely departed from Fang Yuan.

This is definitely not something I placed here, could it have been brought by that notorious thief

Only the red jade rice seedlings in the field remained intact, and even grew a little taller, while the surrounding vegetation had withered and turned yellow, clearly indicating that it had died.

This plant thief actually has the audacity to treat the Heart's Ease tea tree as its own possession, and after gorging itself, it even knows how to take care of it. It seems to regard this place as a long-term source of sustenance

After keeping watch for half the night, Fang Yuan, with bleary eyes, felt somewhat disappointed: "If I keep watch for another night and still have no gains, then I will transplant the Xin Xin tea tree... What a pity about those crystals..."

Although the white weasel appears to be poised to pounce, hissing audibly, it seems genuinely afraid of the realgar and does not dare to enter

Fang Yuan had set up the traps as usual and was quietly observing from the side

Caw caw

Just as Fang Yuan was about to rise, he caught a glimpse of a white shadow under the moonlight from the corner of his eye

In fact, these few smoke bombs are merely preparations he made for his escape, containing nothing but ordinary items

Fertilizer

The moonlight is like water

Immediately, Fang Yuan's expression became resolute, and without any hesitation, he turned around and ran away

After accounting for the losses, the necessary tasks must still continue

He touched the wound on the tea branch with his right hand, and a layer of fine, transparent crystalline particles fell onto his fingertip. Not only around the wound, but even at the base of the tea tree, there was also a layer.

Eh?

The traps that were set are such that even the wild wolves and wild boars would fall for them

The most potent beast-repelling powder, if it is effective, can this creature still enter? It does not seem to be due to the pepper powder... then it must be... realgar! Ha ha... just you wait!

A white shadow flashed by, and Fang Yuan only felt a great force transmitted through his hand, causing him to stagger back several steps. As he loosened his grip, the machete and torch fell to the ground: "This beast is incredibly fast and strong!"

Watching the white weasel swagger into the tea garden, Fang Yuan glanced at his own equipment and felt somewhat apprehensive: "Why not... let it have its way once more, I will call Qi Ren to come again another day"

Fang Yuan crouched on the ground, observing the remarkably clear paw prints left in the soil, carefully analyzing: "Not deeply embedded, it should not be a large predator. Could it be a wolf? A fox? Or perhaps a weasel or a badger?"

He brandished a torch in one hand and a machete in the other, striding forward with determination: "Do not touch my belongings!"

However, seeing the white ferret completely ignore him and boldly approach the question tea tree to nibble on it, he could no longer hold back: "How dare you!"

Fang Yuan shook his head and quickly walked to the edge of the Hongyu rice field

He turned his head and saw the white weasel avoiding the clouds of smoke, appearing to be extremely wary.

Upon careful observation, Fang Yuan discovered even more things around the Xinxi tea tree.

But amidst the smoke, a sudden sharp cry of a white weasel rang out, causing Fang Yuan to halt his steps

Fang Yuan felt a silent sense of苦.

Fang Yuan placed the translucent granules beneath his nose, and immediately a fragrant aroma wafted in, mingled with a fishy and unpleasant odor

This mysterious fertilizer, which is beneficial for spiritual plants, immediately piqued Fang Yuan's interest. He even contemplated that if he could locate the source of this fertilizer this time, it might serve as a way to atone for his past mistakes, and perhaps he could teach that beast a lesson.

Bold! You beast!

Could it be that upon seeing someone, they no longer dare to come?

Even the seedlings of the Lianhongyu rice do not meet his standards, this fellow has quite high expectations

After contemplating these matters, Fang Yuan suddenly felt as if he were sitting on a hot stove, unable to remain seated any longer

In recent days, through observation, Fang Yuan has increasingly confirmed his hypothesis that those crystals are indeed highly beneficial for spiritual plants

Uncle can endure it, but Aunt cannot endure it at all

In the next moment, he saw the white weasel suddenly turn around, its fur bristling, emitting a hissing sound. Realizing that something was wrong, he instinctively raised the hatchet to defend himself.

However, that mysterious thief has not reappeared, while Fang Yuan, who stays up late every day, feels that he is somewhat unable to hold on any longer

A typical marten is about the size of a cat, but the one appearing here is a full meter long, practically resembling a small leopard

This formula was also passed down by the Master of Conscience, and it has a beneficial fertilizing effect on many fire-type plants

yawn

By the time the fog cleared, it had already vanished in a puff of smoke.

With a wave of the hand, several small paper packets flew out.

Joy immediately appeared on Fang Yuan's face

Arrived

Seeing that the entire botanical garden was intact, the other party seemed solely intent on harming the Wenshin tea trees, leaving Fang Yuan at a loss for words: "Immediately set up traps again, I will guard this place every day from now on, to see which beast it is!"

Although the red jade rice is a spiritual plant, under the continuous and unceasing irrigation of Fang Yuan three times a day, it has grown quite robustly, and its nutrition is sufficient, no longer needing to deplete the surrounding soil's fertility, which has greatly relieved Fang Yuan

As he jumped out, he lit the firecracker in his hand, igniting the torch

What a clever beast, it has completely destroyed my arrangements

Well... the loss is not significant...

Seeing Fang Yuan so easily defeated, the white weasel's eyes twinkled, and it clutched its belly with its paws, laughing heartily in an extremely anthropomorphic manner

Late at night

Forget it... It seems it won't come tonight. I still have to get up tomorrow to loosen the soil in the Hongyu rice field... Huh?

... ...

Hiss!

Not only has the condition of the Xin Xin tea trees improved significantly, with the branches having healed, but even the areas where he deliberately sprinkled a bit on several red jade rice seedlings show that those seedlings are growing considerably better than their counterparts.

It is also a spiritual object, waving its small paw at Fang Yuan, and then pointing at the Worry-Free Tea Tree, as if to say: "This spiritual plant will belong to me from now on!"

As soon as the white ferret entered the tea grove, its glossy black eyes immediately fixed on the place where Fang Yuan was hiding, and it astonishingly discovered him

Goodness! Such a large white marten...

Wow! What a large and intelligent white ferret!

At this point, after his anger had subsided, he found it rather amusing and was somewhat eager to meet the person who had stolen his tea tree.

That's right

Hiss ... ...

Beneath the blazing flames, the expression of the white weasel revealed a hint of anthropomorphic mockery, showing no intention to flee, and it locked eyes with Fang Yuan.

The master once said, in the deep mountains and great marshes, real dragons and snakes are born. Even ordinary beasts, as long as they live long enough, or by chance, will gradually awaken their spiritual intelligence. Could it be that what has come this time is of this kind

Before him, the originally lush and verdant Wenshin tea tree had several branches that had now vanished, with gnawing marks visible at the broken ends

Whoosh

Fang Yuan could not help but exclaim in his heart

Being mocked by the beast, Fang Yuan could hardly bear it. He turned over and got up, saying: "Look at the hidden weapon!"

Fang Yuan stood before the Wenshin tea tree, appearing quite dejected

What appeared in his eyes was a large white ferret, with big eyes, long whiskers, and remarkably agile claws. Its ears occasionally twitched, as if listening to the sounds around it, and its white fur shimmered under the moonlight.

However, it is certainly not here; otherwise, upon seeing my appearance, it would have rushed over in a state of anxiety long ago

Having grown up in the deep mountains, Fang Yuan's skills in trapping animals are exceptional, often allowing him to catch mountain chickens and wild rabbits as supplementary meals

Fang Yuan suddenly became energized, his entire body tensed up, blood surged, and all traces of sleepiness vanished