Chapter 9: Bing Shuo, Zhu Shuang, Jin Lin

At the Great Xia encampment, a Woodcutting-level combatant was finally born again.

Everyone’s mood improved significantly.

Xia Hong’s mood, needless to say, was even better—he had expected it to take over ten days, yet he broke through in just eight, proving the immense potential of this body.

Nightfall was imminent, and Xia Hong wasted no time; he walked to the firepit and, amid the astonished gazes of others, pulled out a charred stick from within.

The stick was entirely black, about half a meter long, thinner at the bottom and thicker at the top, with the very tip of the thick end glowing white.

Small Torch: One is generated for every 10 units of wood burned in the firepit; it can be carried on the person and functions similarly to the Small Firepit.

The Small Firepit’s special function: Having spent eight days in the cave, even while conserving wood, a total of 13 units had been burned, thus producing one.

Since they were about to leave, thorough preparation was necessary.

Similar in function to the Small Firepit, meaning it also repels and harms ghostly creatures, but simultaneously attracts Cold Beasts.

Soon, night fell completely.

Xia Hong tied the torch to his back with a rope, strapped two hand axes to his waist, then pulled from beside the encampment wall a long pole roughly three meters in length.

After glancing through the finger-sized gap at the cave entrance and confirming darkness had fully settled, Xia Hong turned back to give Xia Chuan his final instructions.

“Remember the secret signal—I’ll return before dawn. Once I’m gone, seal the cave entrance immediately. If anyone comes, and they can’t give the signal, don’t reveal yourself, no matter who it is. Understood?”

The massacre had occurred only eight days ago; Xia Chuan remembered it vividly and understood the gravity of Xia Hong’s words—he nodded firmly.

Xia Hong said no more; he tore open a gap and slipped out.

Xia Chuan quickly sealed the entrance, but through the last narrow crack, he watched Xia Hong’s retreating figure, a flicker of worry in his eyes.

…………

No one, not even Xia Ding, knew exactly how large Hongmu Ridge was.

Great Xia was merely a small encampment; though it had explored over the years, its range extended only to the slopes east of Hongmu Ridge.

And even then, they mostly circled around those six caves.

The general area spanned roughly five kilometers in diameter.

Within these five kilometers, the most important area was the outer edge of Hongmu Ridge to the west.

Why? Because the trees there were extremely numerous.

Not only numerous, but they were also rapidly spreading outward.

Logically, with nine human encampments surrounding Hongmu Ridge and decades of logging, the ridge should have been shrinking.

Yet according to Xia Ding’s observations, over the years Hongmu Ridge had not contracted—it had continuously expanded.

The trees grew larger and more numerous.

Rapid resource growth should have been good for humans.

But the problem was, these trees were not just a resource for them.

They were also a resource for Cold Beasts.

The vast majority of Cold Beasts made their homes in the trees.

Moreover, besides hunting, Cold Beasts also fed on the fruit growing on these trees.

Thus, Hongmu Ridge’s expansion was, in fact, deadly for the surrounding encampments.

As the trees extended further, the hunting grounds of the Cold Beasts drew closer to the encampments, making humans increasingly vulnerable.

Of course, these matters were not yet Xia Hong’s concern at this stage.

Though it was night, the ground was blanketed in snow, so visibility was barely acceptable.

Unconsciously, he had reached the edge of Hongmu Ridge.

What in his past life would have been called towering ancient trees were now commonplace here, even considered small.

From a cursory glance, even the thinnest trees on the outer edge had diameters of three to four meters, and trees thirty to fifty meters tall were everywhere.

Inside, it was even more terrifying—diameters of five to six meters, even exceeding ten meters, were visible; those colossal trees towered so high their tops vanished from sight.

Thousands upon thousands of sharp ice spikes hung from the snow-covered trees, mingling with drifting snowflakes to form a breathtaking icy landscape.

Yet Xia Hong had no leisure to admire it now.

After much deliberation, he selected a tree three meters in diameter.

Xia Hong approached nervously, brushed away the surface snow, revealing a layer of ice crystals beneath; beneath those, the bark faintly glowed a red hue.

Seeing the red glow, he looked up carefully at the canopy—finding nothing—he finally exhaled in relief.

“Zhu Shuang tree—likely no Cold Beast is dwelling here.”

As Xia Ding had previously said, Zhu Shuang trees were most abundant along the eastern outer edge of Hongmu Ridge.

Because Zhu Shuang branches were relatively fragile and Cold Beasts were large-bodied, they generally avoided nesting on them.

Unlike Zhu Shuang, a yellowish tree called Jin Lin had sturdy branches and thick trunks, making it the favorite of Cold Beasts, often used as nightly perches.

Some Cold Beasts even built nests and settled permanently on them.

Moreover, since Jin Lin trees were not numerous, those Cold Beasts that could reliably inhabit them were invariably powerful.

Xia Hong marked the small Zhu Shuang tree with his hand axe, memorized the route, then pressed further inward.

The encampment’s food and wood were nearly gone.

He’d leave this tree to cut on the way back; his immediate priority was finding Crystal Fruit.

“Bing Shuo trees favor light—they grow faster where there’s illumination, so they typically grow in open areas.”

Recalling the characteristics of Bing Shuo trees, Xia Hong scanned the forest, selected one tree, confirmed nothing was on it, then climbed up.

The tree bark, coated in snow and ice crystals, was bitterly cold and slippery; it took great effort, but Xia Hong finally reached the top.

From the treetop, his view improved considerably.

Soon, he spotted a relatively open area two to three hundred meters to the west.

“The eastern outer edge of Hongmu Ridge, eight hundred steps out, is our Great Xia’s territory. If you ever join the Woodcutting Team, remember this rule—never trespass into another’s territory. If you’re killed doing so, don’t blame anyone.”

Recalling Xia Ding’s words, Xia Hong leapt down from the tree and headed toward the open area to the west.

Eight hundred steps was roughly one li.

That open area lay within Great Xia’s territory—approaching it posed no issue.

Logically, Bing Shuo trees, which produced staple food and were so vital, should have had their locations recorded by the encampment to avoid having to search each time.

In truth, they had been recorded—but Xia Ding and the Woodcutting Team’s deaths were too sudden.

The encampment had only thirteen people who could venture out, and all thirteen knew the Bing Shuo tree’s location.

Who could have foreseen that before Xia Hong could be told, all thirteen died together?

Fortunately, the tree wasn’t far; Xia Hong found it without much difficulty.

Though desperate for food, Xia Hong approached as calmly as possible.

Along the way, every time he passed a tree, he carefully scanned its canopy.

Night was the Cold Beasts’ dormancy period.

But that didn’t mean they wouldn’t wake.

Xia Hong had yet to see a Cold Beast himself; he only knew of two or three from past conversations between Xia Ding and the Woodcutting Team.

Though he’d never seen one alive, from the quantity and frequency with which the encampment had obtained Cold Beast flesh while Xia Ding was alive, he could infer their power was absolutely terrifying.

Thirteen Woodcutting-levels, over a month, had succeeded in killing only one juvenile Spinebone Frost Wolf.

That alone spoke volumes.

Xia Hong had to be cautious—his current strength meant encountering a Cold Beast would almost certainly mean death.

Fortunately, the journey was tense but uneventful; after over an hour, Xia Hong finally reached the open area.

As he looked ahead, his face broke into a wide smile.

In the center of the open space stood a towering Bing Shuo tree, over forty meters tall, draped in silver snow, its branches heavy with dense clusters of Crystal Fruit.

“Lucky indeed—this must weigh over a thousand jin.”

Xia Hong didn’t let joy cloud his judgment—he didn’t immediately climb to pick fruit.

Instead, he chose another nearby Zhu Shuang tree, climbed to its top.

He began carefully observing the canopy of the Bing Shuo tree.

As he did, his expression darkened considerably.

(End of Chapter)