Smiling slightly, Yu Ziyu looked at the group of open-beaked peregrine chicks. One of his branches suddenly swept toward the ground and, with a roll, brought up half of a rabbit's body.
It was prey he had hunted yesterday. He had buried it in the soil, part of it to nourish himself, and part of it to feed these little guys.
The branch exerted some force, tearing the rabbit meat into small pieces, and then carefully placed each piece into the chicks' mouths.
"Their eating habits... are really ugly."
Watching the peregrines devour the food ravenously, Yu Ziyu muttered a complaint, then used a branch to gently stroke the little creatures.
Perhaps they had gotten used to him. These little ones now selectively ignored his teasing, with a few even squinting their eyes as if enjoying it.
"Well, well…"
Chuckling, he didn't mind and continued to stroke their newly grown feathers.
...
At the same time, what Yu Ziyu hadn't noticed was—just a short distance from the canyon,
Thud, thud, thud…
Accompanied by the sound of footsteps, two figures were walking toward the depths of the forest.
They were two village girls,
Dressed in coarse hemp clothes, with gentle and delicate features.
With a little dressing up, they'd probably attract a lot of attention.
After all, these two were bona fide twins.
"Sis, what's going on lately? The village won't even let us go into the mountains anymore."
"Ugh, isn't it because of all the strange happenings in the mountains lately? It's only been half a month, and already seven or eight people have been bitten by snakes or insects and are stuck in bed. One person even went missing."
Sighing, the girl who looked more quiet and reserved gave a helpless response.
"This…"
Startled, the other girl paused in her steps.
Then, glancing hesitantly toward the deeper part of the forest, she asked anxiously:
"So… me convincing you to come here… was it a bad idea?"
"Silly Ling'er, what's so bad about it?"
With a slight pout, He Qing'er couldn't help but complain: "It's midsummer now. If I don't get a good bath soon, I'll smell awful."
"And besides…"
Pausing, He Qing'er—being the older sister—also glanced at the forest ahead and hesitated, "It… should be fine. We've been here so many times before."
"True, and there aren't any dangerous beasts here anyway."
With a playful smile, the younger sister He Ling'er hooked her arm around her sister's and led the way into the woods.
However, the deeper they went, the more uneasy He Qing'er and He Ling'er began to look.
"Sis, do you remember the forest being this dense last time we came?"
"No… and this darkness is kind of creepy."
Looking at the thick woods that barely let in any light, He Ling'er couldn't help but start to panic.
Still, nervous as she was—
She had grown up in the mountains, after all.
Biting her lip and following the trail, the two sisters picked up their pace.
Soon enough, they crossed over a small slope and saw a pond not far away. Their faces lit up with joy.
The pond was just as clear as before, clean like a mirror, even reflecting their travel-worn faces.
...
At that moment, Yu Ziyu, who had been playing with the baby peregrines, suddenly trembled.
If he wasn't mistaken… he thought he just heard human voices.
And… they were female.
With a trace of doubt in his heart, Yu Ziyu turned toward the direction of the voices.
Then, a moment later—
Yu Ziyu couldn't help but freeze slightly.
"Uh… what kind of opening is this?"
Looking down from above, he could clearly see two slender figures playing in a small pond several hundred meters away.
To his current self, a few hundred meters wasn't far at all.
With his exceptional eyesight, he could see them clearly.
"Uhh… quite the sight—two very pleasing girls."
After a brief pause, he gave a simple comment but said no more.
What else could he say? It's not like he could rush in, weapon in hand.
Being a tree, the most he could do was bind someone…
And humans… they were troublesome.
Even now, he hadn't figured out how to deal with them.
As the saying goes, "Those who are not of our kind must be treated with caution."
And humans… their minds were far too complex.
If he was unlucky and ran into a particularly extreme kind of human, a tree demon like him would probably get dissected and studied.
That was a risk he simply couldn't afford.
After a bit of thought, he gave up the idea of actively approaching the two women.
Until he had the ability to protect himself, he would stay low and… act like a tree.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。