The audience who had been watching the show just now were all gaping in disbelief, staring at the scene before them.
Someone couldn't help but speculate, "Did she deliberately choose a tree with an ax mark on it? That's why she could chop it down so easily."
The others thought it made sense. After all, no one dared to believe that a delicate young girl could have such great strength!
Li Zhichen ignored the discussions around her. She recalled the way the man had chopped the tree just now. She deftly reversed the ax blade and quickly split the trunk into several sections. Then she tied them tightly with the dry vines on the mountain. In no time, several bundles of firewood were ready!
If the man had observed carefully, he would have found that Li Zhichen's posture, movements, and even the points of exertion when chopping the tree were exactly the same as his!
After chopping down this tree, Li Zhichen still wasn't quite satisfied.
She paced over to a group of short trees, pondering over the deficiencies in her tree - chopping just now. Then, with a few quick "crack" sounds, she deftly chopped down several more trees.
This time, the people around saw the whole process of Li Zhichen chopping the trees clearly. For a moment, they couldn't help but let out exclamations.
How could this woman have so much strength?!
After chopping down these trees, Li Zhichen finally got the hang of it. When she looked up again, there was a confident smile on her face!
Then, the slender girl was seen wandering through the forest with a large ax in her hand. Whenever she saw a tree she liked, she would give it a few chops!
The sound of trees falling one after another grew louder, and Li Zhichen's tree - chopping speed became faster and faster.
Gradually, it was as if she was chopping Chinese cabbages. She had almost reached the state where the tree would fall as soon as the ax came down!
The woman who had mocked Li Zhichen just now stared at the scene in disbelief, feeling a burning pain on her face.
With Li Zhichen's courage in chopping trees, did she need to rely on a man? It would be more appropriate for a man to rely on her!
The expressions of the people around gradually changed from shock to numbness.
Why was this girl so reckless? If Li Zhichen continued at this rate, this hillside would soon be bare!
After about half an incense - stick's time, Li Zhichen had chopped down more than twenty trees and then stopped.
Although these short trees were easy to chop, chopping them one by one was too slow.
Li Zhichen's eyes swept across the forest and finally landed on a giant tree in another area of the mountain.
The trunk of the tree was straight, and its branches stretched out continuously. It was so thick that it would take several adult men to hug it. One had to look up to see its trunk like a giant umbrella.
Li Zhichen estimated that this tree was extremely large. If it was chopped down and split into firewood, it would probably last for a long time.
Thinking of this, Li Zhichen immediately walked towards that area of the mountain.
When she got closer, she found a group of men standing around the tree, shouting and arguing. She didn't know if they were competing to see whose ax was faster or whose strength was greater. Anyway, they were arguing about who could chop down the tree at the root with the fewest swings of the ax.
Li Zhichen raised an eyebrow, strode to the outer periphery of the crowd, and called out, "I'll do it."
The people around were stunned for a moment and then looked at Li Zhichen. Seeing a fair - skinned girl, they were quite surprised.
They were not in the same area of the mountain, so they hadn't seen Li Zhichen's tree - chopping just now.
They just thought that this girl looked so weak and yet came to join in the fun. Her arms were even thinner than the tree trunk. How could she chop a tree!
But it was cold on the mountain, and the work was boring. Suddenly, there was such a beautiful girl. So everyone made way for Li Zhichen in a teasing way.
Someone sized up Li Zhichen's thin arms and legs and laughed, "Take it easy. Don't end up falling down the mountain instead of chopping the tree!"
Li Zhichen just smiled and reminded, "You guys step back."
The people around were stunned, and then there was another burst of laughter.
"As if you could chop down this tree!"
Li Zhichen just smiled without saying a word.
She took a step back, silently tightened her grip on the ax handle, then swung her arm in a wide arc, raised her hand, and chopped!
Boom! Boom!
The people only felt the ground under their feet shake violently, as if something huge had snapped!
Then, rolling dust suddenly swept across the mountain, choking the people so much that they could hardly open their eyes!
I don't know how long it took, but finally the dust settled.
Someone opened their eyes in a daze and saw that Li Zhichen had already retracted her hand. Only her black hair was still fluttering in the wind.
The giant tree that had blocked out the sky and the sun just now had disappeared. Its trunk was lying straight on the ground!
There was a moment of silence at the scene, and then exclamations rose and fell like a tide!
"The tree... the tree fell! It really fell!!"
"This... how is this possible!"
"The girl truly has supernatural strength!!"
..........
Li Zhichen counted. Including the previous trees, this firewood would be enough for her and Qi Lixiao for a whole year!
Li Zhichen was finally satisfied. She put away the ax and turned to walk deeper into the forest.
But just as she took a few steps, a middle - aged man called out to her from behind and advised, "Girl, there are fierce beasts in the deeper areas. You can't go there. That forest belongs to the deep - mountain area. Except for the old hunters who make a living by hunting, basically no one goes in or out. The villagers are even more afraid to come. In the years of famine, when there was really no food, some people did try to go deeper into the mountains, but they usually never came back."
Li Zhichen thought for a moment and then asked, "Are there really fierce beasts?"
The man thought Li Zhichen was scared and nodded exaggeratedly, "Absolutely! Someone even encountered a wild boar not long ago! It was terrifying!"
He thought Li Zhichen would be too scared to go any further, but unexpectedly, instead of being scared, there was a hint of excitement on Li Zhichen's face.
"Then I'm even more eager to meet them."
Everyone: ???
Watching Li Zhichen's figure gradually disappear into the forest, everyone could only shake their heads.
Someone waved their hand and said, "Good advice can't persuade a doomed person. If she wants to court death, let her. If she meets a fierce beast and gets eaten, it's just her bad luck!"
.........
After walking for about ten minutes, Li Zhichen felt that the surrounding forest was getting denser and towering into the clouds. There were fewer and fewer villagers around.
This place already belonged to the deep - mountain area, which was very far from the village. Few villagers would come here.
Li Zhichen walked steadily on the thick snow, feeling that the surrounding view was very broad and the air was extremely fresh, making her feel relaxed and happy.
This forest was really quite large. Li Zhichen frowned slightly. If her space bracelet was still at its maximum level, she could detect the living things around her.
As soon as this thought came to her mind, she heard the system say proudly, [According to the system's detection, there are living things within one li of the host!]
Li Zhichen raised an eyebrow. She really didn't expect the system to have this function.
Li Zhichen followed the direction indicated by the system and saw a dilapidated thatched cottage.
The thatched cottage had no windows, only a rather shabby entrance. An old hunter with gray hair was sitting at the door, puffing on his pipe.
Li Zhichen was silent for a while and then asked the system, "Is this the living thing you detected?"
System:.......