Shen Nong couldn't help but remind him that Ze hadn't awakened yet, and his human form was at most two meters tall, while the tree was estimated to be fifty or sixty meters tall, more than ten meters taller than the giant bear.
Shen Nong practically had "You're no good" written all over her face.
Ze insisted, "I'll go."
Shen Nong never liked to persuade people, so he didn't insist. "Fine, go ahead."
No sooner had Ze left than Shen Nong whispered to Tuanzi, "He pulls his, and your father pulls your father's."
Ze, with his excellent hearing, heard every single word Shen Nong said.
The priest didn't believe he could do it.
Ze did not give the giant bear a chance to show off. He stood in front of the giant tree, mobilizing his qi and blood. His meridians swelled and his muscles bulged, like a winding hill.
The part of the tree trunk covered by the hand suddenly caved in, the roots loosened, and made a sound.
Just as the guards and the giant bear were drawn by the strange noise, Ze had just managed to completely uproot the giant tree.
The giant tree fell, crushing several other giant trees with a loud crash.
Ze calmly glanced at the giant bear and hurried to the cave. He wanted to tell the priest that he could do it.
Rabbit Wind has an extreme fondness for the fur of Tuanzi and his father, but Giant Bear won't let him touch it and always kicks him.
Rabbit Wind wanted to have some fun, so he decided to play with Tuanzi.
Feeling the fluffy texture, Tu Feng was very satisfied and wished he could pet Tuanzi every day. "Priest, you can only choose one guard now, which is too few. Why don't I become your guard too?"
There's not much to do as a guard every day, and Rabbit Wind can't stay idle, so he definitely won't be able to keep it up.
Shen Nong realized that Tu Feng really wanted to pet Tuanzi. She thought back to her previous life in the interstellar world where everyone was into cats, but she never expected to encounter someone into bears in the beast world.
He didn't care at all, saying, "Come whenever you want."
Before he could finish saying, "The dumpling won't run away, so you can pet it without being a guard," Ze interrupted him.
"Priest." Ze clenched his fist, covering the blood on his palm. "What's going on behind the giant tree?"
Shen Nong was stunned for a moment, and after understanding what Ze said, she asked in surprise, "You really did it?"
That was a giant tree; he wouldn't be so surprised if the tiger-roaring beast-shaped tree had pulled it out.
"Um."
Shen Nong noticed Ze's hidden injuries and originally wanted Ze to rest while the giant bear did the rest.
But just as Shen Nong expressed his intention to let Ze rest, Ze showed an expression as if he had been deeply hurt by her.
Shen Nong: ? ?
Helpless, Shen Nong had no choice but to carefully explain to Ze the shape of the bathtub he wanted.
Watching Ze's departing figure, Shen Nong thought to herself, "Go ahead and take it slowly."
Interrupted by Ze, Shen Nong forgot what she was going to say to Tu Feng.
Rabbit Wind only heard half of it and genuinely believed that the priest had agreed to let him be a guard.
That evening, Tu Feng lay on the kang (a heated brick bed) counting the pieces of wood at the top, thinking about telling Hu Xiao the good news the next day.
"Bang bang bang."
The fragile little wooden door creaked as it was knocked on, and Rabbit Wind lazily asked, "Who is it?"
Just as he was about to get up, the window was violently opened from the outside. "Get out."
Suddenly, Ze's face appeared outside the window, his hair still covered in sawdust, which startled Tu Feng so much that his fur stood on end.
What are you going to do?
“A contest.” Ze stared at Tu Feng, afraid that the other party would run away. “The loser is not allowed to be the priest’s guard.”
Tu Feng wasn't stupid; he knew he couldn't beat Ze.
"No.."
"Snap!" The wood in Ze's hand was crushed, and Tu Feng shuddered.
He felt that if he didn't compete, things might be even worse.
"Compare!"
——
Tiger Roar and Cat Cloud's injuries gradually improved, and both were being cared for by Rabbit Winter. Shen Nong would also check on their recovery every day.
Fortunately, they were of a high level, and the thistle from Rabbit Winter arrived just in time.
Shen Nong did not use her special abilities this time, and both of them recovered well.
Five days later, Hu Xiao was able to walk, and Shen Nong once again marveled at the orcs' self-recovery ability.
If they were released into interstellar space, they would definitely be captured by researchers for study.
"Priest, these animal hides are for you."
Tiger Roar was completely obscured by a pile of animal hides, and his face was nowhere to be seen.
He slammed the animal hide down at the entrance of Shen Nong's cave, looked at Ze who was guarding outside, and thought of something that Tu Feng had told him yesterday.
"Ze, I heard from Tu Feng that you beat him up?"
Ze acted as if he hadn't heard a sound, staring straight ahead and completely ignoring him.
Before Hu Xiao could ask any more questions, Shen Nong came out of the cave holding a plant in her hand.
He was recording unfamiliar plants when he faintly heard the roar of a tiger.
After hearing what was said, he forgot to put down the plants in his hands and asked, "When did you hit Rabbit Wind?"
This question is a choice.
Ze seemed to hear people talking again, turned his head to stare at Shen Nong, his mouth moved slightly, but he didn't say a word.
Shen Nong knew this meant he wasn't going to talk, so he gestured to Hu Xiao, "Go ahead and speak."
Tiger Roar scratched his head; he'd heard it from Rabbit Wind too.
But since the priest asked, he had to answer.
He didn't have the guts to do that; he wouldn't even dare to ignore a priest's words.
"Rabbit Wind said he wanted to be the priest's guard, and then Ze started fighting with him..."
Shen Nong raised an eyebrow and asked, "Is that so?"
Ze lowered his head, so his expression was not visible.
"There was no beating, it was a contest."
His hands clenched tightly, the veins on the back of his hands bulging, revealing his inner tension.
“He can’t be a bodyguard if he loses, he loses.”
Shen Nong understood the meaning behind Ze's words. Simply put, he didn't beat anyone up; it was Tu Feng who was beaten up during the competition.
How can you talk about beating someone up when it's just a competition?
After hearing Ze's explanation, Hu Xiao couldn't help but scrutinize Ze.
He felt that Ze Dui's obsession with staying by the priest's side was somewhat like an animal marking its territory and protecting its food.
It's indescribable, it's just really weird.
Shen Nong didn't ask any more questions about Tu Feng. It was just a misunderstanding anyway, and it was good that no one was hurt.
His gaze was drawn to a pile of animal hides on the ground.
Looking at the dried bloodstains on the animal hides, Shen Nong frowned slightly, and couldn't help but want to soak them in water until they were clean.
"Does the tribe just peel off animal hides like this and use them directly?"
Hu Xiao shook his head and said that it wasn't used directly after peeling; "It's dried before use."
Shen Nong: ...
He had long since stopped using the animal hides in his own cave, but Tuanzi had been living in the cave with him ever since.
He sleeps next to Tuanzi every night. Tuanzi's fur is very soft, and it doesn't smell much, so it's very comfortable.
Shen Nong had actually forgotten about the animal hide.
The animal hides sent to him must have been the best in the tribe. If even the best ones were in such a terrible state, who knows if the rest would still be usable.
After putting the unknown plant back into the cave, he said to Hu Xiao, "Let's go, I'll teach you how to process animal hides."
Seeing that Shen Nong was about to leave, Ze followed closely behind.
Hu Xiao followed behind Shen Nong, his hand lightly resting on his injured abdomen, and muttered in surprise: "Isn't animal hide just dried? How else can it be treated?"
The elders of the Mu tribe skinned animals with swift and skillful techniques, leaving the hides intact and without any visible damage.
Tanning animal hides requires a considerable amount of time and effort.
The animal hides have now been dried and need to be soaked to soften them.
However, they don't need to remove the hair, and the soaking time is slightly shorter.
Shen Nong carefully controlled the water temperature and soaked the animal hide in a large wooden tub.
The wooden bucket was carved from a giant tree, and Shen Nong was very satisfied with it.
I don't know how Ze did it, but it's polished very smoothly.
Before he even had a chance to take a bath, he was used to soak animal hides.
What a pity.
Seeing the reluctance in Shen Nong's eyes, Ze leaned closer to him, lowered his head, and whispered in Shen Nong's ear, "I'll make you another one when we get back."
Shen Nong felt a slight itch in his ear, so he subtly tilted his head and began to make a request, "It has to be bigger than this."
He gave a serious reply, "Okay, sure."
After the animal hide was soaked until it was completely softened, the next step could be carried out. Shen Nong had the animal hide unfolded and tied with tree branches to fix it, stretching it to its limit. The next step was to scrape it.
However, there were no iron knives or blades here; the only "knife" was Shen Nong's dagger.