Chapter 33

This kind of good thing, Lin Bei naturally wouldn’t let it go, so Lin Bei had Tiger Head take him to the place.

Mint leaves are arranged in a square, the plant is very short, and it’s easy to mistake it for wild grass if you’re not careful. Lin Bei hadn’t noticed that there was such a good thing near Longtan; he had only been paying attention to the big trees and wild animals.

“Sir, mint is very common in Fushan, it’s not rare at all.” Tiger Head casually picked up a handful of leaves, then selected a perfect one and put it in his mouth. A whistle came out, lingering and melodious. Lin Bei couldn’t understand what he was whistling, but he felt a sense of desolation. The ancients of this era were truly versatile.

Blowing a song with leaves was a skill Lin Bei didn’t have, and he believed few people in modern times would have it either. Being able to make a sound was already quite impressive. Tiger Head’s name suited him; he looked simple and slow-witted, but one shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.

After blowing a tune, Tiger Head said, “Sir, there are some very strange plants in Fushan. I’ve heard some old hunters say that some trees can eat people. If a person touches them, they will be caught by the branches, and then the tree will open a big mouth and swallow the person. The old people say these are tree spirits. Sir, are tree spirits real?”

Lin Bei thought for a moment and finally nodded, because there are indeed trees that eat people in modern times, and they should exist in ancient times as well. After all, the forest coverage in ancient times was much higher than in modern times, so it wouldn’t be strange for such things to exist.

“Sir, have you encountered them? Those tree spirits are definitely not good spirits. Sir, are there fox spirits? The kind that can turn into humans and say they suck human blood, turning people into mummies.”

Lin Bei nodded again, deciding to let Tiger Head maintain his fear of the forest.

Sure enough, when Tiger Head heard that there were indeed fox spirits, his face changed. He was relieved that they had encountered a snake spirit rather than a fox spirit, as snake spirits don’t eat people, but fox spirits do.

When Lin Bei and Tiger Head returned, the hunters were cutting wood to prepare the floor and bed for Lin Bei. The hunters also noticed Tiger Head’s expression. Upon asking, they learned that Lord Long had just said there were fox spirits in Fushan, and they were very bad, capable of sucking human blood. Instantly, everyone felt a chill, fearing that a fox spirit might come out and suck them dry. Previously, they had only believed in such legends to a small extent, but now they believed at least eighty percent, after all, Lord Long was right there. If Lord Long exists, how far can fox spirits be?

Cui’s Alán laughed, “Don’t be afraid, Sir is still here.” The implication was that Sir wouldn’t be afraid of fox spirits. Lin Bei nodded accordingly and raised his snake body, which indeed gave the hunters great confidence.

The work for the day wasn’t much. Eight people divided the tasks, and by midday, everything was done.

The floor was laid with wood, specifically pine wood. The bed was made of pear wood, which, although not abundant in Fushan, was easy to find. In the end, Lin Bei also had them make a large wooden table. This table was very big, and even with some items on it, there was still space for eating. After setting it up, the wooden house was no longer so empty.

After lunch, the hunters split up to find soft grass to use for the bed. Lin Bei specifically instructed Cui’s Alán to bring back some flowering plants, as Longtan was too monotonous.

This wasn’t a big deal, so by three in the afternoon, the bed was ready, and the house had some additional plants. Since it was autumn, there were very few flowering plants, so the hunters brought back fruit trees that were currently bearing fruit.

One type of fruit was similar in size to a large grape, dark purple, and very sweet. This fruit was called sweet grape, and Lin Bei knew that this fruit could also be used to make wine. It was a rare delicacy, and the fruit trees were scarce, so Lin Bei didn’t expect to find many. However, his actions had already made a significant impact on one of the fruit trees.

Another type of fruit tree was one Lin Bei recognized, as it was a small jujube tree, also known as a wild sour jujube tree. The hunters called it a thorn tree. Although it was small, it bore a lot of fruit. Some had been eaten by birds, and some were still on the branches, all green. If you wanted to eat them, you’d have to wait a while.

Seeing the wild sour jujube tree, Lin Bei remembered the wild grapes. Bird Valley was quite far from Longtan, and Lin Bei hadn’t had time to go there in the past few days. Taking advantage of the hunters being there, Lin Bei called them and went directly to Bird Valley to transplant the wild grapes.

The birds in Bird Valley were in for a rough time. Lin Bei specifically chose the thickest grape vines, which were old vines and produced the best fruit. The largest one was as thick as a person’s thigh. After pulling it out, it stretched to over fifty meters in length. However, the rough method meant the grapes couldn’t be preserved, but Lin Bei didn’t mind. He definitely wouldn’t be able to eat the grapes this year, so he would wait until next year.

A yellow shadow jumped out with the hunters’ pulling of the vine, quickly darting into another grape trellis. Cui’s Alán had sharp eyes and immediately shouted, “Red fox, Sir, it’s a red fox.”

As soon as she said that, three small yellow shadows flashed past, moving just as quickly. This time, Lin Bei saw them clearly; his snake tongue was very good at capturing movement.

Indeed, they were red foxes, and they seemed to be a family. They probably lived nearby and were startled by Lin Bei and the others pulling the grape vines, so they ran out.

The red foxes, in fact, had deep yellow or brown fur, with long tails almost as long as their bodies. Lin Bei didn’t pay much attention to the large one, but he saw the three small ones clearly. They had large, pointed ears and fine fur on their faces, making them quite cute.

Foxes are omnivores; they eat meat, fruits, and crops. The saying “sour grapes” comes from a story about a foolish fox, but in reality, it’s not like that. Although foxes aren’t good at climbing trees, they can easily eat grapes. Bird Valley had many grape vines, and for foxes, the food here was abundant. Additionally, there were birds and eggs around, so it’s understandable that the red foxes chose to settle here.

“Catch them?” Lin Bei looked at the remaining grape vines in the valley, feeling a headache. Catching a few foxes here wouldn’t be easy; it would be easier to catch a giant bear.

Cui’s Alán shook her head, “Sir, we can’t catch them. They are very smart. But now that we know there are red foxes here, let’s come back in a few days. We can set some traps and see if we can catch them.”

Lin Bei quickly nodded, fearing that Cui’s Alán would ask him to catch the red foxes, which would be embarrassing if he failed.

After seeing the red foxes, the hunters became even more active, trying to startle the foxes hiding somewhere. After pulling out a few grape vines, Lin Bei noticed some holes behind the mountain wall, with some fox fur around the edges. These were probably the foxes’ dens.

The hunters also saw this and their eyes lit up. With a den, it meant the red foxes would return. After a few days, when the foxes’ vigilance decreased, the chances of catching them would be much higher.

PS: Thank you to Qiqing Liuyu for the consecutive rewards. Also, please recommend and collect if you can bear to read it.