Chronicles Of Primordial Wars (Ch. 271-500)

ch. 359-360

Chapter 359 – Taste Test

For this mountain wild rat to make the old man so excited, was it perhaps related to what the old man called the “thousand gold grains”?

Shao Xuan did not stay idle for long, briskly keeping up with that wild rat.

The wild rat ran fast, but it stopped at times. Whenever it paused, it looked around with vigilance, then continued to run if it found no threat around.

Shao Xuan could only use some low trees or slightly higher grass for cover since the plants in this area were sparse so he could not find a lot of obstructions. Therefore, quietly keeping up with the wild rat was a little difficult.

For Shao Xuan, even if the difficulty was big, he could still overcome it and could successfully keep up with that wild rat, but that was not the same with the old man. His skill in hiding was not as good as Shao Xuan, so he could only remain a little farther away as he followed. Fortunately, he did not have to keep his eye on that wild rat. He only had to follow Shao Xuan.

After about twenty minutes, the wild rat finally stopped. Shao Xuan stood from somewhere nearby, watching the wild rat eating the food it found. He turned behind him to look at the old man and signal to him with a wave of his hand.

Even if Shao Xuan did not know that plant, he was still sure that that was not what the old man was looking for, the “thousand gold grains”. It was only a nearly metre high shrub, with a number of small fingernail-sized red fruits above. The wild rat’s goal was those red fruits.

After seeing the wild rat eating the fruit, the old man squinted his eyes, then sighed. “It’s a pity.”

However, the old man never held too much hope. He knew that the thousand gold grains was not easy to find, so he had prepared himself early on.

After it finished its food, the wild rat slowly moved in the other direction, still running, but not as fast as before.

There were some birds in the sky that were smaller than sparrows flying over to take a peck at the fruit.

The old man grabbed the fruit and hid it before the birds pecked it all, then threw it into his mouth.

There was a raised stone on the ground next to the plant, so the old man sat there, eating the fruit while looking around the forest.

“Do you know this plant?” Shao Xuan asked.

“I don’t know. I’m eating it for the first time,” replied the old man.

Shao Xuan frowned but reached out and took a few fruits from the low shrub and threw them into his mouth. It was a little sweet, but the taste was ok. No wonder the wild rat hurriedly rushed this way.

When hunting in the mountains, if they see a plant they didn’t know, even if the fruit looked delicious, the hunting warriors wouldn’t touch it. Unless they had seem other animals had eaten it. They’d try a little bit of it, then determine if they could be used into their meals. But the old man who obviously had an ability to detoxify, was unbridled and blindly ate it. However, Shao Xuan believed that even if he had not seen the scene of the wild rat and birds eating it, the old man would still do the same.

“Old Ju, why is it that you wanted to try all kinds of plants and fruits? Just to test if it’s poisonous with your body?” Shao Xuan asked.

“Yes, whether it’s poisonous or a beneficial drug, it needs to be tried before you know. There’s a lot to be found in the future. We…… my family, since the time of our ancestors, began it by countless attempts. We eat anything, and through taste testing, we can obtain a lot. Knives, basket, bed, bedding, pillow, tea, wine, vinegar, sugar, oil, which one an ancestor has not tried out first?” The old man said with his eyes having an incomparable color of reverence. He did not even had that emotion while eating the fruit. “My generation and its descendants will also inherit the will of our ancestors and lead a glorious future! We’ll be the glory of all ages!”