SWDnovel Chapter 62 Even when you're in the wrong, you're still assertive.
Chapter 62 Even when you're in the wrong, you're still assertive.
The black queen ant nest is not far away.
On a jade mulberry tree that is over two zhang tall.
A large number of ants climbed up the tree trunk and fought with a bird standing on the treetop.
The crimson crest and slender red beak of that spirit bird were none other than Huang Shideng's spirit bird, the Red-Beaked Spirit Finch.
The ant army was more "preyed upon" than "fighting" the red-beaked griffon.
The red-beaked pheasant's neck moved back and forth with incredible agility, its long beak constantly pecking and swallowing ants one by one.
It had just come to hunt and saw this group of ants hunting several stink bugs.
It ruthlessly snatched the ant colony's prey, devouring all the spirit insects and cleaning up the eggs they had laid on the mulberry leaves.
However, the ants whose food it stole were not satisfied and launched an attack on it.
It initially ignored the ant colony, flapped its wings to shake off the ants on its body, and then pecked at a few ants that were tearing at its legs and claws before preparing to fly away.
It prefers insects and has little appetite for ordinary ants.
However, after swallowing a few ants, it discovered that these ants possessed a certain spirituality compared to ordinary ants, and their "taste" was quite good.
As a result, its appetite increased and it began to feast.
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.
"It's you again!"
When Liu He arrived, he saw the Red-beaked Spirit Lion feasting.
In a short period of time, it ate countless ants.
"Good grief, you're treating my ant colony like a buffet, aren't you?"
He glared angrily at the Red-beaked Spirit Falcon.
"Hurry up!"
He shouted sharply, but the red-beaked spirit plover remained unmoved, merely glancing at Liu He before continuing to hunt ants.
Ok?
This reaction was unexpected by Liu He.
Previously, Liu He was worried that it would harm the ant colony, so he would chase it away whenever he saw it in the forest. It would not stay and would fly away immediately when chased away.
Do they really see ant colonies as prey?
Liu He realized the situation was dire. If the Crimson-Beaked Spirit Tortoise treated the ant colony as food and came to hunt it every few days, his ant colony would suffer heavy losses.
"You're not leaving, huh? Don't blame me for being impolite."
He casually picked up a pebble from the ground and infused it with a little spiritual energy.
Stone-throwing technique!
The small stones flew out with a "whoosh" and shot towards the red-beaked griffin on the treetop.
He had no intention of killing him; this stone-throwing technique was infused with only a very small amount of spiritual energy, and was more of a scare and warning.
It turned out he had worried too much.
The Red-beaked Spirit Bird was extremely vigilant. The moment the pebble flew from Liu He's hand, it flapped its wings and soared into the sky.
"Chirp chirp~~"
It circled above for a few moments, let out a disgruntled cry at Liu He, and then turned and flew away.
"No wonder it cost over three hundred spirit stones to buy. This Crimson-Beaked Spirit Beast's reaction speed and flight are so fast that even if I used all my strength, I would have a hard time hitting it with the Flying Stone Technique."
"With it around, my ant colony is never at peace."
Liu He couldn't help but feel annoyed.
The Red-beaked Spirit Falcon is fast, and if it comes to eat ants every few days, he will have to drive it away himself, which will be extremely annoying.
It was a spirit bird that Huang Shideng fed using the method of taming beasts. Not to mention what methods Liu He would use to deal with it, even if he could kill this spirit bird, he shouldn't do it.
The art of beast taming has a telepathic connection; if the Red-beaked Spirit Tortoise dies in Liuhe Forest District, Huang Shideng will discover it immediately.
"Alas, it's a pity the ant colony can't defeat that spirit bird."
he thought.
If the ant colony were stronger than the Red-beaked Spirit Fly, it probably wouldn't dare to provoke the ant colony.
This idea is far too far-fetched. In the food chain, the red-beaked griffon, which feeds on insects, is a natural enemy of ants and has an innate advantage over them.
"I should remind my ant colony to avoid the Red-beaked Spirit Flycatcher whenever they encounter it, and to hide in the nest and not come out. If they can't beat it, they should avoid its sharp edge and not fight it head-on."
Previously, it was Liu He who gave the ant colony the confidence to fight head-on no matter what "enemy" they encountered, without considering the difference in strength.
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.
"Huh? Leaves of the Jade Mulberry Tree?"
Liu He watched the ant colony climb down from the Jade Spirit Mulberry Tree and instructed them to hide in the ant nest if they encountered the Red-beaked Spirit Tortoise in the future.
Then he discovered that more than a dozen leaves of the Jade Mulberry had been pecked and damaged.
"That dried red-beaked spirit griffin?"
The most precious part of the Jade Spirit Mulberry is its jade-like, translucent mulberry leaves, which are the raw material for making spirit ink.
This Jade Mulberry tree only has about a hundred leaves in total, and more than a dozen of them have been pecked out.
"I was just worried about not having a reason to negotiate with Senior Brother Huang."
Liu He thought to himself.
When the Red-beaked Spirit Tortoise came to his forest area before, he was displeased but did not go to see Huang Shideng.
He can't exactly say, "I don't like your birds coming to my forest."
It makes one appear overly narrow-minded.
It's also inconvenient to say directly that they're "worried that the red-billed griffin will eat ants," because the griffin's predation on ants and insects is beneficial to the forest area.
"You damaged the jade mulberry leaves in my forest area. Senior Brother Huang should restrain his spirit bird."
With this in mind, he went to the neighboring forest area to reason with Huang Shideng.
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.
"Did my red-beaked griffin damage the jade mulberry leaves in your forest?"
Huang Shideng learned of Liu He's purpose from him and was somewhat puzzled.
"Junior Brother Liu, could you be mistaken? My Crimson-Beaked Spirit Beast is very obedient. I repeatedly told it not to damage the trees, so it certainly wouldn't peck at your Jade Mulberry Leaves without reason."
"Senior Brother Huang, I saw the Crimson-Beaked Spirit Fly on that Jade Mulberry Tree with my own eyes."
If you don't believe me, just take a closer look; the pecking marks on the leaves are quite obvious.
Liu He spoke with absolute certainty.
"Let's go take a look."
The two arrived at the Jade Spirit Mulberry Tree.
Huang Shideng immediately recognized that it was indeed the work of the Red-beaked Spirit Bird; he knew his spirit bird all too well. But he knew that the Red-beaked Spirit Bird certainly didn't cause trouble without a reason.
He picked a mulberry leaf that had been pecked open with four or five holes, examined it carefully, and sure enough, found the remaining insect eggs.
"Junior Brother Liu, look, there are insect eggs. They should be the eggs of some kind of cricket beetle. I often tell the red-beaked cricket to prevent pests, and it's helping you protect yourself from these crickets."
"Brother Huang, the ailanthus does indeed like to lay its eggs on the underside of leaves. The red-beaked ailanthus was just trying to be kind."
However... the crickets are not very harmful and are easy to spot. I can easily get rid of them, so there's no need to damage the leaves of the Jade Mulberry.
The Red-beaked Pitta is, after all, a spirit bird, and it easily damages branches and leaves when hunting spirit insects. I would be grateful if you could restrain it a little and prevent it from coming to my forest area so often.
Liu He's words were somewhat euphemistic, but the meaning was clear: he did not welcome the Red-beaked Spirit Flying Mandarin Bird to his forest area.
Huang Shideng's expression gradually turned ugly; he certainly understood what Liu He meant.
How many spirit stones are the leaves of the Jade Mulberry Tree worth?
Besides, it doesn't belong to Liu He; it's sect property.
Huang Shideng was already displeased that Liu He had come to him over such a trivial matter, and then he said it to his face.
"Junior Brother Liu, it's just a dozen or so leaves of the Jade Mulberry. It's normal for some to be damaged due to insect eggs. The sect won't punish you for failing to protect the forest over such a small matter."
Don't worry, I'll take responsibility if anything happens.
My red-beaked spirit pheasant is used to the wild and likes to fly around. I will try my best to keep it under control so it won't cause trouble for others.
Huang Shideng said this.
"..."
Liu He was speechless.
Isn't he the one in the right? Why does Huang Shih-teng sound like he's making a mountain out of a molehill and taking things too seriously?
Furthermore, he wanted Huang Shideng to restrain the red-beaked griffin from coming to his forest area, but Huang Shideng did not make a clear promise and instead gave vague answers.