Its reaction was so intense, and its behavior so abnormal, that Chen Zhou finally sensed the danger.
He dashed out of the tall, obscured grasses in three strides, picked up the matchlock gun, lit the match, and loaded the prir.
Faced with unknown danger, Chen Zhou’s performance was much better than last ti. He skillfully completed the entire process and, holding the gunstock, used the long barrel to push aside the grass in front of Lai Fu, focusing intently on gathering information.
The tall grass here was rooted in the mud around the edge of the water pool, growing extrely densely. With a press of the barrel, a large patch fell over, revealing the dark green pond beneath.
The surface of the water, disturbed by the falling grass, briefly rippled before quickly returning to calm.
The dog continued to bark uneasily, as if an invisible enemy were lurking nearby.
By the cliffside, only the siren-like barking and the sound of rapids crashing against the pond’s surface could be heard.
Chen Zhou could feel his heart pounding wildly as he stared intently ahead, not daring to blink.
Everything seed normal; he could only maintain his stance and wait.
About two minutes passed, or perhaps even longer.
He finally saw a mound of silt rise from the depths of the pond like a sculpture, followed by two lines of heavy ripples slowly extending to the pond’s far side.
The ripples, like signals, marked the trajectory of a creature moving within the pond.
As the pond water cleared and the silt settled, Chen Zhou finally saw what was haunting the waters below.
It was a giant python, several tis thicker than his thigh, with a visible body length exceeding two ters. Its skin was covered with yellow-green blotches, a rounded snout, and a pair of cold, brown-gray eyes.
It seed intent on ambushing prey here, but its plans were thwarted by the keen-slling Lai Fu. Yet it dared not attack the larger human and slipped away ignominiously before it could be discovered.
As the distance increased, Chen Zhou slowly lowered the matchlock gun, refraining from pulling the trigger.
The size and appearance of the python were trendously intimidating, and he had only one shot. Without the certainty of a hit, he couldn’t rashly fire.
Moreover, even if he killed it, the corpse would sink into the deep pond, making retrieval impossible.
In this deathly still pool of dark green water, having seen one giant python, it was likely there were more predators lurking there, making it definitely a place to avoid.
Initially planning to return, if not for encountering the flock of sheep, Chen Zhou would have already followed the cliff to the east to reach the starting point.
He emptied the prir from the gunport and extinguished the match to prevent accidental firing.
Silently noting the location of this deep pond, he called Lai Fu, patted its chest, promised it a reward, and set off on the way ho.
The sun had shifted to the west; after dusk, the already dim forest would beco even darker.
Noting the markers on either side, Chen Zhou couldn’t help but quicken his pace.
The encounter with the python had destroyed his relaxed mood. Gripping the crossbow tight, he was extrely tense, ready at any mont to turn and fire an arrow at the slightest unusual sound.
Walking this cautiously, frequently glancing down the slope, Chen Zhou suddenly spotted a strange tree amidst the green.
The tree resembled an oversized pineapple at first glance, over four ters tall, with long, light green leaves atop, a spindle-shaped, solid trunk covered in a layer of semi-transparent scalelike spines.
Having spent so much ti in the forest, it was his first ti seeing such a distinctive tree. Chen Zhou couldn’t resist stepping forward, curiously chopping at it with an axe.
The axe blade split the scalelike spines, embedding slightly in the light yellow bark, penetrating less than a centiter.
Unexpectedly, this strangely shaped tree had such dense wood. Exerting all his strength, Chen Zhou swung the axe again.
This ti, he struck in over three centiters, and the axe blade beca wedged in the bark, almost impossible to pull out.
From the scar on the trunk, a slow seepage of pale purple sap erged, resembling the color of dragon fruit flesh but thick and exuding a bitter tang.
Worried the sap might be toxic, Chen Zhou snapped off a branch, dipped a bit of the sap, and drew a smiley face on a broad leaf nearby.
Seeing the purple stain solidified at the center of the green leaf, he thought that if the sap didn’t fade, it might be usable as ink.
After verifying the wood density twice with the axe, Chen Zhou began to suspect this could be the Brazilian Iron Tree ntioned by Robinson.
But circling the tree, he found no tree knots as described in the book, inconsistent with the characteristics of Brazilian Ironwood.
Uncertain about his guess, Chen Zhou had to gradually expand the hacked opening with his axe until he chopped off a small piece of wood, then stopped, wrapped it in leaves, intending to compare it with other hardwoods later.
Chopping the tree delayed him further; it was getting quite dark, fortunately, he’d left markers in the forest earlier.
The fresh wound on the tree trunk, stark white, ford a cross shape, standing out conspicuously in the dense forest.
Like an arrow returning ho, Chen Zhou quickened his pace, heading downhill and soon arrived back at the camp.
Lai Fu rarely got to play with his master all day long, and even though his ears were hurt, he wasn’t bothered at all, full of energy. He ran to the riverbank to drink water as soon as he reached the camp.
Chen Zhou put down the matchlock gun and followed Lai Fu’s tail—he wanted to wash off the purple juice-stained wooden block.
Dog in front, man behind, both running across the slope.
Unexpectedly, a flock of birds resting in the grass near the riverbank scattered into the sky upon hearing Lai Fu’s footsteps.
"Woof!"
Lai Fu’s eyes shone bright, he decisively hit the brakes and turned to leap at the big bird closest to him.
Flapping feathers, noisy bird cries.
The slope was in chaos, the crossbow was conveniently at hand, and Chen Zhou hurriedly raised it, not bothering to aim, and shot by instinct.
Whoosh!
The crossbow arrow launched after waiting for hours.
Chen Zhou never expected that this playful shot would hit the jackpot, striking a big bird’s wing.
The bird resembled a goose, with black wings and a white belly. It was the most alert among the flock; while the other birds just barely left the ground, it was already soaring in mid-air. It thought it would escape first, but unexpectedly collided with the incoming crossbow arrow.
Gah~ Gah~
Emitting cries similar to a goose, it fell crookedly to the ground, still flapping its wings, stretching its neck in struggle.
Lai Fu leaped in for a heavy bite, chomped at the air, and whined anxiously, realizing his master had made a catch.
The big bird twirled in the grass. Whether it was lucky or unlucky is uncertain; although the arrow hit its wing, it didn’t pierce its chest, so it couldn’t fly but its legs remained agile.
But the crossbow arrow wedged in its wing hindered its movent, making it unable to fly up or run fast, even struggling to maintain balance.
As it tried to escape danger, Lai Fu pounced forward, disregarding the wings flapping against his face, and bit into the bird’s neck.
Despite its impressive stature, the bird was a paper tiger, far less tenacious than a wild cat. In a blink, its neck was bitten through, legs straightened, becoming motionless.
"Yahoo!"
Chen Zhou put down the crossbow, not knowing how he managed to shoot the big bird, but that didn’t stop him from celebrating his marvelous archery.
Punching the air with one hand, he jumped high.
He let out a joyful shout, like a triumphant boxer in the ring, running a circle around the grassland before finally reaching Lai Fu.
"Good dog, good dog!"
Praising Lai Fu who sought credit, he lifted the big bird.
"Hey! Quite hefty."
Guessing it weighed seventeen or eighteen pounds, Chen Zhou grinned.
"How about it, buddy? I’m not kidding when I say I’ll reward you, never with stale bread or hard biscuits.
How’s my shot, huh?
A hundred steps to pierce a poplar, not bragging one bit.
That’s what talent is, pure and simple..."
Chen Zhou’s excitent rivals his childhood mont of flaunting a perfect run in Contra at a friend’s house, regardless of whether Lai Fu could understand, he rambled on.
Holding the bird in one hand, and casually rubbing the dog’s head with the other, the task of cleaning the wood block long forgotten, he walked straight back to the camp.
"They say what’s running on the ground can’t beat what’s swimming in the water, what’s swimming in the water can’t beat what’s flying in the sky.
First day eating at, cat in the morning, bird in the afternoon, almost had goat for lunch.
Ah, how did life suddenly get so good?"
Nodding and humming the tune of a good day, Chen Zhou suddenly rembered that in just three days would be the date for the second mystery reward, and his smile stiffened.
"I wonder if the reward is random or purposely given, I feel my luck has been quite good these days, hopefully, it’s not another phone case..."
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