Chapter 49

It Was Busy in the Woods

Another '??????' requiring a strange sort of help.

Leo didn't mind it, however--it would be a nice distraction from having to aimlessly search for materials in the middle of nowhere. This way, at least, he'd have a clear goal--shear the abundant roots and vines and whatnot in a careful manner as to give room for sun to shine through.

Furthermore, all his worries of how to precisely 'shear' (as he'd never done gardening in his life) were alleviated when he saw familiar, blue lines appear across the tree. He'd easily be able to mark some of the more accessible ones to Yue and Liang and have them help, as considering the sheer number of shearing (he chuckled at the thought) he'd have to do, it was far from a solo project.

Bowing toward the tree, or whatever was within it, Leo pinned the location in his mind and then returned to the camp where he saw Liang and Yue meditating in silence inside two mud huts that were on opposite ends of each other.

As it was already noon, he decided not to return to the tree today, but to start from tomorrow. Since it would be dinnertime soon, it was also time for him to 'fix' the camp a bit. With the influx of pots and pans, one campfire was no longer enough. Thus, he built five more--one for each hut, effectively. He was a bit tense over having to cook six meals at the time, but he saw it more as a challenge rather than an obstacle.

By the time the flames were roaring, Yue and Liang left the huts and asked if they could help. He had them fetch some extra water from the pond while distributing the ingredients evenly across the six pots. Well, actually, it was ten pots, as he paired smaller ones together since the campfire could handle them.

It wasn't long after that the animals began to converge--unlike when Xiaoling, Mei, Song, and Lya were here, the numbers skyrocketed. It was especially so today, as it seemed that the 'word' got out that the strangers were gone.

Blackie and Milky returned, too, from wherever they went to avoid Yue and Liang. The two seemed somewhat nervous as they scouted around the camp, seemingly searching for those two.

"Don't worry," Leo said. "I've talked with those two and limited their bickering to two hours a day! If they do bother you again, though, just bite them gently or something."

The two tiny panthers snuggled up against him for a moment before dispersing, joining the rest of the 'zoo' that patiently waited for dinner.

The two kids returned right around them, delivering a few buckets of fresh water that Leo immediately poured into the ten pots, ordering the kids, then, to pay attention while not touching anything. All was silent in the forest beside the crackling of the flames and the boiling water, and the scentless air was soon drowned in saliva-inducing smell of freshly-boiled vegetables. Though Leo missed meat--especially having tasted boar's once already--he was surprisingly fine sustaining entirely on vegetables and fruits, a distant dream in his other life.

"Tomorrow," Leo broke the silence while stirring one of the pots, glancing at the two kids. "We have a job to do."

"What is it, Master?" Yue asked.

"A friend of mine has asked me for help," he said. "I'll explain it more tomorrow. It will also be good for us, as he'll 'give' us a nice fertilizer for the seeds you've brought. We can clear a patch of land near the pond and plant them there. So, rest well tonight and be ready to get up early in the morning."

"Will we be leaving the forest, Master?" Liang asked.

"No."

"Oh, good."

"Why?"

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

"I like it here," the man said. "Nobody is challenging me to fight every day, or bothering me, or trying to give me roses for some reason. Why would anyone give roses to a man?"

"Were the people trying to give you roses women?" Leo asked, looking oddly at his Disciple.

"Wow! Master truly is wise! Indeed, they were!"

"Ugh, idiot..." Yue commented from the side while Leo merely chuckled.

"That's alright. It's good that you like it here. Did your, khm, Senior Sister pass on the methods?"

"She did. I... I don't really get them?" Liang scratched the top of his head in confusion. "But, when I practice those strange poses, I can feel my muscles tensing! And then I fall down, completely weak and hungry. But when I recover... I find that my muscles have hardened a bit, so it's amazing!"

"Y-your, your muscles?! What about your Qi, you idiot?! Don't you see what wondrous things it's doing to your Qi?"

"Eh, it is? That's cool, I guess."

"... Master, permission--"

"--no, it's dinner time. No bickering. Besides, are you content playing the role of clowns in front of all our friends?"

"No..."

One by one, meals were cooked and plates were delivered--Leo counted approximately seventy or so animals who've come to eat, the highest number by far. Among them, though, he noticed a few... oddities--not in the 'odd' sense, per se, but in the opposite of that. From the looks of it, they were just normal forest animals. There was a mockingbird that would leap down, yank a boiled veggie from the plate, and then fly away. Unlike with other animals, Leo couldn't sense any Qi from it.

There was also a puppy--that was right, a down-to-earth, normal, two-eyed, two-eared, snout-having, normal-sized puppy. His fur was gray and appeared worn out, but the little guy was a fearless fighter--he'd squeeze himself between the animals thrice his size and bravely take a bite or two. Naturally, it wasn't as though the animals fought him off--rather, Leo noticed the same look in their eyes as there was in his: just as Leo saw him as adorable, they did, too.

The question, though, was how an ordinary puppy found its way into the forest. Was it perhaps abandoned at the edge and simply strolled in? Or was there another story?

For now, Leo decided to name it Gray, as per the color of its fur.

The dog, however, was quite skittish, and didn't stick around after eating, scurrying off into the bushes and deeper into the forest. Leo didn't mind, knowing that he would win him over with his culinary skills as he'd won over every other animal.

Yue and Liang returned to their huts after dinner, cultivating. They were quite diligent, Leo noted, far more than him--even when they were bickering, they cultivated more than him. In his defense, they've been practicing this for more than half their lives, while he had been at it for less than a month. It would take some time, he knew, until he could sit still for hours on end, pondering on stuff.

Leo was the first to wake up--it was like an inner alarm clock at this point, droning out inside his mind just before the sunrise. He stood up and walked out, yawning and stretching. Everybody--including the animals--was fast asleep still. He went for a quick swim in the pond, letting its cool waters wake him up, before returning and making a quick breakfast. It was the tantalizing smell of the food that seemed to wake everybody up, their own alarm clock.

He didn't dither around after eating, pulling the two still-yawning kids with him and heading back out west. Today, both Hoot and Red chose to stay back, with Blackie, Milky, and Howly accompanying the group. Blackie mostly stuck to Yue, Milky to Liang, and Howly sought pets from all three in even intervals.

It took them about two and a half hours to reach the webbed roots. Both Yue and Liang received more than a few shocks on the way, especially so once they reached the tree.

"This... uh, this is your, your *friend*, Mater?" Yue asked with a strange emphasis on 'friend'.

"They are uncomfortable," Leo said. He understood her trepidation, but the system never lied. If it said that there was *somebody* in that tree, or that the tree itself held consciousness, then it did. "Due to the roots and vines rounding it. Usually, they shed naturally before this happens, but, as it happens with the best of us, they, in a way, overslept. So, that's where we come in. We can't cut indiscriminately. Rather, be precise and extremely careful. Yue, lend something blade-edged to your Junior Brother. Liang, this isn't one of those times where the answer is brute strength. Find whatever handiness you have within your soul for this task. Anyway, I'll quickly mark some of the more reachable roots and vines that you'll have to cut. When you've cut them, slowly set the materials to the side since we can use them as fertilizer. You two understand?"

"Yes, Master."

"Alright. So, cut this one from here to there, make a cut here and the rest will fall off. Then, take this one, lift it a bit to gain access to the pair below--cut both of them right from here to there," he used sword to create markings, noticing that the roots, especially, were quite... thick. He had a feeling they would all struggle to easily cut through. "Uh, make note that it's all quite resilient, so if you struggle a bit, it's fine. Work together if need be. There's no need to hurry--just cut slowly, deliberately, and precisely."

"What about you, Master?" Liang asked.

"What? You want Master to work too when I have you?"

"E--eh?"

"I'm just kidding," Leo laughed. "Let's go everyone. Chop chop. But very precisely."