The sky above Fox Mountain was, as usual, shrouded in thick clouds.
The howling wind blew into the Bronze Hall, passing through the hole in the roof.
Bai Mo sat behind the Bronze Table, in the vast hall, studying a dical prescription. Occasionally, he would look up at the plant machine beside him, checking the Roadside Flower in the middle of the machine.
He noticed the Roadside Flower had already grown three leaves.
And the machine’s external eight ears were slightly red, swollen, and trembling. Apparently, after attending a committee eting and a banquet, the machine had listened to too much heartfelt talk, causing all eight ears to overwork and overload...
"Well, let the machine rest for a few days.
"In a few days, once the machine has rested and the committee holds a major event, we can eavesdrop on the heartfelt voices again."
Everything on Fox Mountain was running smoothly.
Occasionally, apprentices would deliver mature herbs.
Occasionally, apprentices would deliver freshly unearthed Copper Plates and Stone Slabs.
...
At the foot of Fox Mountain, amidst vast dicinal fields, crimson figures were busy.
In the corner of the dicinal fields, a towering tree was growing robustly.
This tree was dozens of ters thick, over a hundred ters tall, towering into the sky.
Among the vibrant green branches and leaves, crimson figures crawled around.
It was Bai Mo’s fox apprentice, Black Shoes.
Black Shoes was lying on a huge tree branch, doing the woodpecker’s work.
It pressed its ear against the trunk, frowning as it listened intently, hearing a "buzzing" sound from a distant branch. It quickly crawled over, using its sharp claws to dig open the bark, searching for bugs inside...
Taking care of this tree was Black Shoes’ entire job.
Master had said that this tree was called the "Jade Food Tree," and when it matured, it would bear delicious "Jade Food Fruit," adding another dish to Fox Mountain’s cafeteria!
... Digging through the hole, Black Shoes inserted its nail to pull out a plump white worm, pinched it to death, and then lay on the tree listening again. If left unchecked, this worm would settle in the tree, spread its branches, pass on its lineage, and grow a big family, which would damage the tree.
This branch was dozens of ters above the ground, and looking down, it was terrifyingly high.
Black Shoes felt strange; the tree had grown so tall and big, yet why hadn’t it matured? Why hadn’t it borne Jade Food Fruit? And what would the Jade Food Fruit taste like?
Black Shoes licked its lips and lay against the tree trunk listening.
It heard a "rustling" sound in its ears again.
Black Shoes frowned.
This wasn’t the sound of bugs; it was the sound of the tree itself.
In recent days, for so reason, this tree had been making a "rustling" sound.
Could the tree be sick?
Looking at its tall and robust form, not a single yellow leaf was visible; it didn’t look sick!
"Awooo!"
"Awooo!"
Suddenly, from the base of the tree ca the sound of its senior brothers’ calls. Black Shoes looked down, realizing it was two senior brothers, Big Nose and White Toe, waving their front paws and calling it down.
Black Shoes, using all four claws, climbed the trunk, and in a flash, rushed down from the tree.
The three foxes gathered together, chattering in fox language.
"Awooo!"
"Yingyingying!"
"Awoooyingying!"
...
Black Shoes was skeptical.
It followed Big Nose to a nearby dicinal field.
This adjoining dicinal field was managed by Big Nose and planted with Pulan Sparrow Flowers.
At the mont, the once-thriving Pulan Sparrow Flowers had mostly wilted, their leaves turning yellow and withered, already dead. Those still alive were withering and weak.
Big Nose led the two brothers to the middle of the flower field, revealing a root, like a python, rising from the ground, crossing the flower field!
"Awooo!"
Big Nose pointed with its front paw at the root, showing Black Shoes.
The evidence was conclusive; it was the Jade Food Tree’s roots, crossing into its flower field, killing many Pulan Sparrow Flowers!
...
The three foxes then went to White Toe’s dicinal field.
There, the squash field, cultivating Dog-headed Squash, also had many vines that had withered and died. Many Dog-headed Squash, lacking nourishnt, lay small, yellow, and pitiful on the ridges.
Black Shoes frowned, and alongside White Toe, indeed saw another root, like a python, grey-brown, rising from the ground! The rough surface had small roots stretching back into the earth.
The three foxes exchanged glances.
What was wrong with this Jade Food Tree?
Black Shoes rembered, long ago, going with Master to the depths of the prairie, digging up a sapling, bringing it back, planting it in the dicinal field, watering it little by little, fertilizing it, nurturing it into a towering tree, but now it wasn’t bearing fruit, and was even causing damage to other dicinal fields?
Black Shoes widened its eyes, baring its teeth, and deed this tree "ungrateful"!
The three foxes again put their heads together, chatting in fox language.
"Yingyingyingawoooo?"
The aning was, when did you discover the root?
"Awooooyingyingying!"
It was discovered yesterday.
"Awooyingyingawooo!"
Discovered today.
The three foxes exchanged glances, looking at each other, suddenly realizing sothing wasn’t right.
The root rising from the ground was as thick as a fox’s waist!
If it appeared only in the past day or two, could the tree’s growth rate be too fast?
Then, at that mont...
Crack...
With a dull sound, another root, as thick as a fox’s tail, broke through the ground, rising from the earth.
From a more distant dicinal field, fellow apprentices ca running over, "Awooo!" calling out that it seed the dicinal fields were also affected.
The few foxes looked again at the Jade Food Tree towering into the sky and the towering tree, and couldn’t help but rub their eyes.
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