Free Web NovelChapter 11: Chapter 11: Advancing Again
「Five days later.」 freēwebnovel.com
[Chopping Wood: (998/1000)]
[Chopping Wood: (999/1000)]
[Chopping Wood: (1000/1000)]
The numbers before Xie Yuan’s eyes flickered, finally reaching one thousand.
The same strange sensation as before washed over him, and in an instant, Xie Yuan’s mind was flooded with the experience of decades spent chopping wood on the mountain, day in and day out.
The trees felled, the wood chopped—they were innumerable. He could now tell a tree’s quality and how to handle it with just a single glance. He had even seen and knew how to process many rare and famous spirit trees.
After decades of swinging his axe, it had become an extension of his body, moving as naturally as his own arm.
One day, inspiration suddenly struck. He thought of a few moves and excitedly began to practice them.
The first axe strike, a downward chop. The second, an upward lift. The third, a slash. The fourth...
Just as he was practicing this part, Xie Yuan snapped awake and opened his eyes.
[Through constant accumulation, swinging your axe without pause, you have had a sudden epiphany and comprehended the "Three-Board Axe".]
[Chopping Wood: (1/10,000)]
"The Three-Board Axe..."
Xie Yuan muttered to himself, recalling a fierce general from his past life who wielded an axe, along with the story of the Three-Board Axe.
Legend had it that the general dominated the battlefield with his board axe, unstoppable, relying on just those three moves.
No one ever saw him use a fourth move. Some said he only knew three, while others claimed he knew more, but the three were all he needed because no one could withstand them.
The truth of the matter was lost, but in the stories, he had indeed helped his lord conquer the land with his Three-Board Axe, remaining undefeated his entire life.
"I wonder how my Three-Board Axe compares to Cheng Zhijie’s?"
Xie Yuan hefted his axe, took a deep breath, and suddenly exploded with power.
A cold gleam flashed downward, splitting the very air in the courtyard;
It was followed by a streak of lightning, an upward slash that paused for a fraction of a second.
Like the calm before a storm, the air grew heavy for a moment, then a blinding flash of cold light tore through space. The axe blade, carrying a vicious wind, slashed horizontally, relentless and unstoppable.
Xie Yuan staggered, the momentum nearly yanking the axe from his hands. At the same time, the half-man-high stack of firewood in front of him exploded—CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!—into several pieces, all cut apart at once and scattered across the ground.
He leaned on his axe, gasping for breath, his eyes wide.
Each of the Three-Board Axe’s strikes was more powerful than [Cleave]. It was a complete upgrade!
The final strike in particular, which built upon the explosive power of the previous two, completely surpassed the level of damage his strength should have allowed him to inflict!
With the Three-Board Axe, Xie Yuan had no doubt he could fell even an Iron Poplar—a tree so thick one person couldn’t wrap their arms around it—in just three strikes!
However, the stamina cost was enormous. Despite his strength increasing considerably after a month of eating meat, executing the full set of moves had completely drained him. He didn’t even want to lift his hands.
Xie Yuan panted for a good while before a smile finally broke across his face.
"Now, I don’t have to be afraid of the tiger or Zhang the Second anymore."
But confidence was one thing. If he really went up the mountain and encountered the tiger, he decided he would still let the other Hunters take the lead while he observed from the back.
Xie Yuan sent word to Zhu Dongming, arranging to head up the mountain the next day around noon, after the morning fog had dispersed. After delivering the message, he returned home and began to prepare in silence.
The next morning, Xie Yuan thought for a moment and decided to go to the house next door to speak with Li Lan first.
"Sister Orchid, I’m going hunting in the mountains with Zhu Dongming and the others. I might be gone for two days, so you don’t need to worry about my meals. You take care of yourself."
Li Lan looked surprised.
"Huh? Yuanzi, why are you going hunting? Wait, isn’t there a tiger on the mountain?"
Seeing her nervous expression, Xie Yuan quickly reassured her.
"It’s fine. That’s on the next mountain over, far from here."
Li Lan relaxed a little, but she was still very worried.
"You have to be careful. You’ve never even killed a chicken, and now you’re going hunting? What will you do about the snakes, poisonous insects, miasmas, wild beasts, and pitfalls on the mountain?"
Xie Yuan waved his hand dismissively.
"It’s winter. The mountain is much quieter. This is the best time for a beginner to go. Alright, Sister Orchid, they’re waiting for me. I’m off!"
"Alright, Yuanzi. Please, be careful."
When Xie Yuan reached the mountain pass, Zhu Dongming and three other men were already waiting.
Among the three was a brawny young man just starting to grow stubble named Zhou Feng. He was the son of the village’s only blacksmith but preferred hunting to smithing.
Another was a capable, stocky, middle-aged man with the surname Wu. He was the fourth son in his family, so everyone in the village called him Wu the Fourth.
The last was a middle-aged man with salt-and-pepper hair. He was the oldest and thinnest of the group, but his movements were incredibly agile, and his eyes were sharp and full of spirit. The hunting bow on his back was even larger than Zhu Dongming’s. This was Chen Yun, the village’s most senior Hunter.
Xie Yuan greeted each of them, and then Zhu Dongming waved a hand.
"Let’s go."
He led the way into the forest, a large black dog on a leash in his left hand and a woodcutter’s knife in his right, which he used to hack away any branches blocking their path.
Wu the Fourth also held a woodcutter’s knife in his right hand, but in his left, he carried a rattan shield. He walked to Zhu Dongming’s left.
Chen Yun held his bow at the ready, walking to Zhu Dongming’s right. Bringing up the rear was Zhou Feng, who held a short spear and pulled Xie Yuan along with him.
"You stick with me in the back," Zhou Feng said. "Don’t be scared. The four of us are more than enough to handle a full-grown tiger, but Brother Zhu insisted on bringing you. Uh, you probably won’t need to do anything. Just watch from the back.
"When we find the tiger, whatever you do, don’t panic. Don’t turn your back to it and run. Turning and running is the worst thing you can do when you meet a wild beast..." freeωebnovēl.c૦m
Zhou Feng was a bit excited, chattering on to Xie Yuan about what to watch out for, then jumping to how he was going to show off in the village after they killed the tiger, his topics all over the place.
Chen Yun, ever the steady veteran, said in a low voice,
"Zhou Feng, look after Xiaoxie and explain things clearly. Whatever you do, don’t let him panic and run."
Wu the Fourth also nodded slightly.
In truth, none of them understood why Zhu Dongming had insisted on bringing Xie Yuan.
Hunting was a complex skill, not something one could learn overnight. This was especially true when hunting a tiger. Dragging along a novice who might get scared stiff and run wildly could get them all killed!
But Zhu Dongming commanded great respect and had his own successful methods for hunting, which had indeed brought everyone many good hauls. Thus, the two older men didn’t feel they could object. They just privately instructed Zhou Feng again and again to keep a close eye on Xie Yuan, terrified he would drag them all down.
Xie Yuan sensed their mistrust. Being put in the rear to "guard the back" suited him just fine, and he was happy with the arrangement.
Just then, Zhu Dongming spoke.
"Yuanzi, you two brothers from the Xie family both have spirit. Your older brother was a true man, and you’re no less than him.
"Back then, I wanted to take him hunting with me, but he was worried you were too young to be left alone, and we sometimes stay in the mountains for days at a time. So he never came. A pity..."
Xie Yuan was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked,
"This tiger... could it be the one that killed my brother?"
Zhu Dongming pondered for a moment, then shook his head.
"There were a lot of animal tracks where your brother was found, a real mess... but no tiger prints."
Xie Yuan already knew this. The place where his older brother had died looked like it had been overrun by a pack of beasts, possibly an uncommon wolf pack, but the scene had been so chaotic that no one could say for sure.
As the five of them ventured deeper toward the area where the tiger had been spotted, they spoke less and less, paying close attention to their surroundings.
Half a day passed. Xie Yuan followed them into a part of the forest he had never been to before. Along the way, he spotted quite a few fine trees and silently made a mental note of their locations.
Suddenly, Zhu Dongming raised a hand. The group silently halted, held their breath, and crouched down in the bushes, peering ahead.
Ahead of them was a large clearing. There, beneath a tree with a lush, green canopy that shaded half the clearing, a fierce tiger lay, seemingly fast asleep.
It was early winter, and most of the trees and plants had withered, yet this patch of forest was carpeted with green grass. The great tree’s canopy was a vibrant emerald, and beneath it rested the tiger.
The Hunters stared at the strange scene, all of them a bit stunned.
Still, they lowered their gazes to the tiger beneath the tree, their breathing quietly quickening.
’The tiger isn’t in its lair, but sleeping out here under a tree?’
’What a great opportunity!’
Xie Yuan’s attention, however, was still on the tree.
’What a beautiful tree... I wonder how much it would sell for if I chopped it down?’
