From Robinson Crusoe

Chapter 25: Iron Tree Bird and Wild Goat
Continuing forward, the slope gradually becomes steeper, and the exposed rocks form natural steps that hinder progress.

Worried that he would get lost, Chen Zhou used an axe to carve marks on the trees along the way and tested the hardness of the trees.

He found that among the taller trees in the forest, few had hard and dense wood.

The most exaggerated one is a tree with smooth bark and almost no branches.

After cutting open the skin, you can clearly see that its interior is full of pores, like a dry sponge that can be broken by breaking it with your hands. It is useless except for being tall.

The wood fiber of this tree is quite tough and light, so it seems to be a good material for making rafts. Chen Zhou named it the floating tree.

In addition to the floating trees, there is also a kind of towering tree in the forest that is several people thick and can be hugged together. It looks similar to the beech tree. When the branches are cut off, you can see that the wood is denser than that of the poplar, but cannot be compared with hard woods such as sandalwood and pine. This tree is suitable for building materials or cutting into boards.

The plants on the island are not like those in tropical rainforests, which are covered with plank-like roots and vines, but they are also not as spacious and transparent as the coniferous forests in Chen Zhou’s hometown.

Below the mountainside, you can see plants with tropical characteristics as well as slender trees and shrubs.

As more and more tree species were tested, Chen Zhou summed up a rule - the wood of all tall trees is generally not very solid.

This may be because subtropical woodlands receive abundant rainfall and competition among plants is intense.

In order to compete for upper sunlight and reproduce, some trees abandon strong branches and some wind resistance and blindly pursue growth speed, thus creating a freak like floating trees.

After observing the floating trees that were still in the growth stage in the forest, Chen Zhou found that they were somewhat similar to bamboos. It might only take a few years for a small sapling to grow to several dozen meters in height.

Relying on its terrifying growth speed, floating trees monopolize the upper sunlight, causing short and slow-growing tree species to be forever shrouded in its shadow, withering or even dying due to lack of light.

As for its unstable foundation, it has its own survival logic.

As long as they grow fast enough, they will bloom and bear fruit immediately after maturity and spread their seeds. Even if the old trees break and die because they cannot bear their own weight, new floating trees can quickly fill the gap and continue to expand the population.

Based on this rule, Chen Zhou changed his thinking and decided to try more low trees.

Stop and go, and open up new paths from time to time.

A man and a dog were heading towards the top of the mountain. When they were about to reach the halfway point, they were blocked by a steep cliff.

The entire cliff is about three meters high and perpendicular to the ground. Tiny orchids grow among the moss-covered rocks.

Looking up at the rock, Chen Zhou tried to grab the protruding edges, but found them slippery and difficult to climb.

Helplessly, I could only walk to the side along the cliff, looking for a gentle slope or a gap.

Heading west, we gradually went deeper into the mountains and forests.

As the terrain goes down, there are more and more streams in the forest.

Instead of becoming smaller, the cliff seemed even taller against the low-lying area, blocking out a large area of sunlight.

Chen Zhou knew he had gone in the wrong direction and was about to return when he suddenly saw a group of white things moving on the cliff in front of him.

"Wild goat?"

The wild grass in the trees and rock crevices obstructed his vision. Looking from afar, Chen Zhou felt that the group of moving white balls were most likely goats. This was based on his experience of being in contact with sheep in his hometown for many years.

Realizing that the delicious food was within reach, he secretly loaded the crossbow, crouched down and moved forward cautiously, trying to bring the prey within range.

After walking about thirty or forty meters, the road ahead suddenly became clear.

A fast-flowing mountain stream split the cliff, rushed down from a height, and merged into a deep pool covered with a layer of green algae below.

The pond is surrounded by weeds, providing easy hiding place.

Chen Zhou crouched down, pushed aside the grass tips, and looked toward the top of the cliff.

Sure enough, the group of white animals were wild goats.

At this moment, they were eating grass and drinking water on the edge of the cliff. There were eight of them within sight, five big and three small.

A big and strong sheep stood on the cliff, looking down from above, with an alert expression, as if standing guard for the herd.

The rest of them either lowered their heads to nibble on the orchids in the cracks of the rocks, or stopped by the mountain stream to drink water, seemingly not afraid of attacks from predators at all.

The reason they were so lax was that there were no goats on the island originally, only some birds and slightly larger wild cats.

Goats are an alien species introduced to the island by passing merchant ships or pirates. They are not on the diet of birds of prey and wild cats. During the process of developing their population, they rarely encounter danger and gradually relax their vigilance.

If goats were not naturally cautious and suspicious, if it were sheep, Chen Zhou would probably have succeeded.

"Shh~"

Reminding Lai Fu, who was eager to try, to lower his voice, Chen Zhou put down the heavy and difficult-to-conceal matchlock rifle, held the crossbow, and wanted to bypass the grass beside the pool, approach the cliff, and shoot an arrow at the big sheep on guard.

Unexpectedly, before he had taken a few steps, the quiet Lai Fu suddenly opened his eyes wide, pressed the ground with his front paws, and started barking without any warning.

"Wang Wang Wang!"

The loud barking of the dog startled the flock of sheep. Following the warning sound of the sentinel goat, the flock of sheep gathered into a line and ran towards the cliff, disappearing in an instant.

"Fuck, Laifu!"

Seeing that the duck that was about to be in his mouth had flown away, Chen Zhou couldn't help but turn around to see what Lai Fu was doing.

The owner's scolding did not stop Lai Fu from barking. He had already bared his canine teeth, and with his front half of the body crouched low, he continued to bark wildly, as if he would rush out to attack at any time.

Its reaction was so violent and its behavior was so abnormal that Chen Zhou finally sensed the danger.

He ran out of the bushes where the vision was poor, picked up the musket, lit the fuse, and loaded the primer.

Faced with unknown dangers, Chen Zhou performed much better than last time and completed the whole set of steps skillfully. Holding the gun, he used the long barrel to push aside the grass in front of Lai Fu and concentrated on collecting information.

The tall grass here took root in the mud around the pool and grew very densely. A large piece of it fell down when the gun barrel was pressed, revealing the dark green water below.

As the grass fell, ripples appeared on the water surface, and then it returned to calm in a blink of an eye.

The dog continued to bark anxiously, as if there was an invisible enemy lurking around.

The only sounds beside the cliff were the sirens-like barking of dogs and the sound of the mountain stream hitting the surface of the pool.

Chen Zhou could feel his heart beating violently, and he stared straight ahead without blinking.

Everything seems normal, all we can do is wait.

About two minutes passed, maybe longer.

He finally saw a mass of mud surging from the depths of the sculpture-like pool, and then two lines of heavy and powerful ripples rose on the water surface, winding their way to the opposite side of the pool.

The ripples act like indicator lights, marking the movement paths of the creatures in the pond.

As the water in the pond became clear and the mud fell, Chen Zhou finally saw clearly what was playing tricks underwater.

It was a giant python that was several times thicker than his thigh, and estimated to be more than two meters long. Its skin was covered with yellow-green stripes, and it had a round front snout and a pair of cold brown-gray eyes.

It seemed that it was planning to ambush its prey here, but its plan was ruined by Lai Fu, who had a keen sense of smell. It did not dare to rashly attack humans who were larger than itself, and could only escape in disgrace before being discovered.

As the distance between them grew longer, Chen Zhou slowly put down his musket without pulling the trigger.

The python's size and appearance were very intimidating, and he only had one shot, so he couldn't shoot rashly without being sure of hitting it. And even if he killed it, the body would sink into the deep pool and he couldn't get it out.

Since a giant python can be seen in this pool of dark green stagnant water, there are very likely more hunters lurking there. It is definitely not a good place and should be stayed away from.

He had originally intended to return. If he had not encountered the flock of sheep by chance, Chen Zhou would have already reached the starting point along the cliff to the east.

Pour out the primer from the fire door and extinguish the fuse to avoid accidental fire.

Silently remembering the deep pool here, Chen Zhou called Lai Fu, touched its chest, promised to give it a reward, and then set out on his way home.

The sun has moved to the west, and after dusk, the already dim forest will become even darker.

Identifying the markings on both sides, Chen Zhou couldn't help but increase his speed.

The encounter with the giant python destroyed his relaxed mood. He gripped the crossbow tightly and was extremely nervous. He would turn around when he heard any unusual movement, ready to shoot an arrow at any time.

Walking nervously like this and looking down the slope from time to time, Chen Zhou suddenly found a strange tree in the green.

At first glance, the tree looks a bit like an oversized pineapple, about four meters tall, with long, tender green leaves on top. The trunk is cone-shaped and very sturdy, and the trunk is covered with a layer of translucent, scale-like thorns.

After staying in the forest for so long, this was the first time he saw such a special tree. Chen Zhou couldn't help but walk closer and chopped it with an axe out of curiosity.

The axe blade cut through the scale-like spikes and slightly embedded itself into the pale yellow bark, going less than 1 centimeter deep.

Unexpectedly, the wood of this strangely shaped tree was so dense. Chen Zhou used all his strength and swung the axe to chop it again.

He used all his strength and this time he cut more than 3 centimeters into the tree. The axe blade was stuck in the bark and could hardly be pulled out.

A pink-purple juice slowly oozed out from the scars on the trunk. It was the color of dragon fruit flesh, but very sticky and exuded a bitter aroma.

Worried that the juice might be poisonous, Chen Zhou broke off a branch, dipped a little in it, and drew a smiley face on the broad leaf next to it.

Looking at the solidified purple mark in the center of the green leaf, he thought that if this juice did not fade, it might be possible to use it as ink.

After two consecutive axe strikes confirmed the wood quality of the tree, Chen Zhou already had some suspicion that it was the iron tree that Robinson had mentioned.

However, after walking around the tree, he did not find the tree tumor described in the book, which was inconsistent with the characteristics of Brazilian ironwood.

For a moment, Chen Zhou was not sure of his guess. He had to use the axe to expand the gap little by little until he cut off a small piece of wood. He stopped and wrapped the wood with leaves, preparing to compare it with other hard wood.

Cutting down the trees took some time and it was getting dark. Fortunately, we left marks in the forest in advance.

The new wound on the tree trunk was white and in the shape of a cross, which was particularly conspicuous in the dense forest.

Eager to return home, Chen Zhou quickened his pace, went down all the way, and soon returned to the camp.

Lai Fu had a rare opportunity to play with his owner for a whole day. Although his ear was injured, he didn't care at all. He was very excited. He didn't stop as soon as he arrived at the camp, and ran to the river with his tongue hanging out to drink water.

Chen Zhou put down his musket and followed Lai Fu - he wanted to clean the piece of wood stained with purple juice.

The dog was in front and the man was behind, both running across the slope.

Unexpectedly, there was a group of birds resting in the grass by the river bank. When they heard Lai Fu's footsteps, they immediately flew up in a flock.

"Wang!"

Lai Fu's eyes lit up, he braked the car decisively, turned around and jumped towards the big bird closest to him.

The birds flutter, feathers fly, and they sing loudly.

There was chaos on the slope, and the crossbow happened to be at hand. Chen Zhou raised it hastily, and without even bothering to aim, he threw an arrow based on his feeling.

call out!
The crossbow arrow that had been waiting for several hours finally came out of the gun.

Chen Zhou had never expected that this playful arrow would be so lucky that it hit the wing of a big bird.

The bird looked like a wild goose, with black wings and a white belly. It was the most agile one in the entire flock. As soon as the other birds half left the ground, it had already flown into the air. It thought it would be the first to escape, but unexpectedly it ran into a flying crossbow arrow.

Ga~ga~
Making a cry not much different from that of a goose, it fell to the ground with its body tilted, still flapping its wings and stretching its neck in a struggle.

Lai Fu jumped up and bit the air with a grunt. When he whimpered anxiously, he found that his master had gained something.

The big bird was circling in the grass. It was not sure whether to say it was lucky or unlucky. Although the arrow hit its wing, it did not pierce its chest, so it was unable to take off, but its legs were still able to move freely.

But the crossbow arrow stuck between its wings, hindering its movement, causing it to be unable to fly or run fast, and even unable to maintain balance.

While he was trying to escape from danger, Lai Fu had already swooped in and, ignoring the flapping of the bird's wings on his face, grabbed the bird's neck in his mouth.

Although this bird sounds mighty, it is just a silver wax spear head, and is far less tenacious than a wild cat. In a blink of an eye, its neck was bitten off, and its legs stretched out, unable to move.

"Alas!"

Although Chen Zhou, who put down the crossbow, didn't know how he shot the big bird, it did not stop him from celebrating his amazing archery skills.

He clenched his fist with one hand and jumped high.

He let out a joyful cry, and like a victorious boxer in the ring, he ran around the grass in a long circle before finally walking up to Lai Fu.

"Good dog, good dog!"

Praising Lai Fu for taking credit, he picked up the big bird.

"Hey! That's quite a bit."

Estimating that the whole bird might be about 17 or 18 kilograms, Chen Zhou grinned.

"Well, I'm not lying to you. I'm not vague about giving you a reward, and I won't fool you with white bread or hard biscuits.

What do you think of my arrow?
I can hit the target from a hundred paces away, and I am not exaggerating at all.

What is talent? This is talent..."

Chen Zhou was as excited as when he showed off his Invulnerable Contra at his friend's house as a child. He kept talking to him over and over again, not caring whether Lai Fu could understand him or not.

Holding the bird in one hand and rubbing the dog's head beside him with the other, he walked straight towards the camp, forgetting about washing the wood.

“It is said that those who run on the ground are not as good as those who swim in the water, and those who swim in the water are not as good as those who fly in the sky.

On the first day of eating meat, I ate cat meat in the morning, bird meat in the afternoon, and almost wentat meat at noon.

Alas, how come life suddenly gets better? "

Shaking his head, Chen Zhou hummed "Good Days". Suddenly, he remembered that in three days, the second mysterious reward would appear. His smile froze.

"I don't know if the reward is random or intentional. I feel like I've been pretty lucky in the last few days. It can't be another phone case this time..."

　Chapter 24 was banned and I spent the whole afternoon revising it. I had originally wanted to add 2,000 more words today, but now I have to postpone it until tomorrow.

　　Thanks to Wu Ran Weng, book friend 20241028220626627, and Chuangzao Sandbox World for their rewards!

　　Thanks to: Creation of Sandbox World, Tritium, Autumn of Melting Snow, Started to Follow Books in 08, The Speechless Person 1, Taoist Fat Orange, Qianshan Dujue, and Book Friend 20230114140922936 for their monthly tickets. Thank you all for your support!
　　Although I tried my best to revise it four times, the first half of Chapter 24 still could not pass the review, so I had to delete one thousand words. The original text was posted in the comment section of Chapter 24. That's it. I will update more tomorrow.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)