I Live on the Land in Global Games-Chapter 396 - 386: Paying Tuition Fees

"It’s fine, you underestimate the appetite and greediness of this bear. If it weren’t for this time of the year when only a few fruit trees are mature, it wouldn’t have settled for just a bit of honey bread!"

Xie Sen didn’t think that Mu Ying giving the big guy some bread would affect his business.

He had been dealing with the big guy for quite some time now and knew quite a bit about him. If there was enough honey bread, he could eat it as a meal.

If he couldn’t finish this meal, there would be another one, and he would definitely welcome it.

Hearing him say this, Mu Ying no longer insisted. With a flip of her hand, a basket of honey bread appeared in her hand, and in her other hand was a glass jar filled with honey.

As soon as the items were brought out, the Big Brown Bear’s eyes almost immediately glanced over, licked its lips, then looked back at its few fruit trees, feeling a bit sad.

Using animal conversation, Mu Ying said, "I’m not trading for fruits. I want to learn how to be a Brown Bear from you; this is your tuition fee. I might need to stay by your side continuously until I can transform into a Brown Bear just like you. During this period, I can provide you with a basket of sweets like these every day, and a jar of honey every three days, is that okay?"

The Big Brown Bear was stunned, such a good deal?

"Roar! (Are you sure? I won’t give a refund if you can’t transform)," the Big Brown Bear looked at her as if she were a fool. How could a person become a bear?

Mu Ying smiled; this bear actually knew a lot about trading, even knowing about refunds.

"Don’t worry, all I need is to observe you up close. Whether or not I can transform into a Brown Bear is my own issue. If I can’t transform, then won’t you have achieved freedom with sweets?"

The Big Brown Bear tilted its head.

Right, what does it matter to him whether she can transform into a bear or not? It would be best if she could never transform, then it would have so many sweets to eat every day!

Plus the selling of fruits, it was like a heavenly life!

"Roar! (But you can’t get too close to me, you must maintain the distance we have now, and you also need to stay away from my fruit trees and not steal the fruits!)"

Mu Ying nodded. Which type of fruit tree here hadn’t she already picked seeds from? In the Plantation, there was already a Fruit Forest that grew more lush than here, and under her and the Gem Fairy’s care, it tasted better than these outside.

The trade was thus joyfully agreed upon.

Mu Ying placed today’s tuition to one side, then stepped back, waiting for the Big Brown Bear to come and take it.

The Big Brown Bear’s limbs were quite agile; it could basically walk upright, though not as quickly as on all fours.

One paw passed through the basket, and another paw hugged the jar, then it retreated back to its usual sitting place, beginning to enjoy its treat.

With so much honey bread, it finally didn’t have to savor each bite minutely, as these were slightly filling it up.

Then there was the jar of honey; after one lick, the Big Brown Bear carefully hugged it and ran behind the fruit trees.

"It dug a hole back there specifically for hiding things. Whoever dares to get close will definitely get a beating," Xie Sen told Mu Ying, "This Brown Bear is really protective of its food!"

Mu Ying: "..."

She felt a bit of heartache, a small jar of honey, its licking method alone would have reached the bottom in a few licks, but now it had only taken one lick and started hoarding it.

The hoarding attribute comes from the fear of having nothing to eat or use in the future.

"Da Hui and the young wolves, who were out on their first hunt, had come to this area before. One of the young wolves had found the cave where it hid its stuff and sneaked some food. It had detained the young wolf and forced Da Hui and the others to tribute a lot of sweets before releasing the young wolf. Even after getting the young wolf back, Da Hui and his pack were not convinced and picked a fight with it, but they ended up in a draw. I suspect this bear knows kung fu!"

Xie Sen looked like he was spilling some earth-shattering gossip.

Mu Ying finally understood why Da Hui had been so vague before; it turned out they had been thwarted here and had even had a young wolf captured as a hostage.

But a bear that knows kung fu? Only a fool would believe that!

Surely no zoo teaches bears kung fu, right? As if this is Kung Fu Panda!

Learning Wild Transformation works best with complete immersion; one should merge with nature, envision oneself as a wild animal, and commit entirely to the process to learn faster.

So Mu Ying planned to spend these days here in the orchard, staying with this Brown Bear.

Since it was the wilderness, she couldn’t let down her guard. The regular three-hour Trial Time was put on hold, saving up the time to use later once she had mastered the Brown Bear form.

By that time, the mermaid little princess from the Undersea Kingdom would be nearly of age. It would be good to sync up the timings to understand the story better and get her hands on the fragment.

With her previous experiences in Cultivating Wild Transformation animal forms, Mu Ying was already quite proficient this time.

Initially, she would just observe the physical appearance and structure of the Brown Bear, which was enough to start with.

The Big Brown Bear ate her honey bread and took her honey, and became much more amiable towards her.

As long as she maintained the safe distance specified by the Big Brown Bear, it generally paid her no mind, except when it was time to pay the daily tuition.

Mu Ying was somewhat concerned that its sweet tooth might lead to cavities.

Every day, the Big Brown Bear would patrol the orchard, checking which fruit trees were bearing fruit and estimating when they would ripen.

Its diet was very diverse. For fruit that Xie Sen could not harvest in time, the bear would eat it itself, plus it ate grass and roots, licked anthills, and consumed reachable insects on bushes and fruit trees.

Even in its way of relieving itself, it knew to do so evenly, fertilizing one tree at a time.

It truly managed pest control, weed removal, and fertilization all in one.

Even the most diligent orchard keeper couldn’t match its constant activity in the orchard, simply because they couldn’t compete with its robust physique.

Seeing how diligently it managed the orchard every day, it would be hard for the fruit trees not to thrive.

If not for the occasional harassment from the few wolves on the slope next to the orchard, which would reveal the Big Brown Bear’s wild and fierce side, Mu Ying would almost believe she was observing a determined orchard farmer rather than a bear.

As for Xie Sen’s claim that this Big Brown Bear knew kung fu, although exaggerated, Mu Ying gradually understood why he said that.

The Big Brown Bear had unusually high agility and a smart brain for its species; its way of fighting involved more than sheer strength. On closer observation, there was some technique involved.

When the Wolf Pack attacked, it would dodge using its agile body.

It barely moved, just shifting a bit while standing there, easily dodging the attack and even landing a paw on the wolf.

As a result, the Wolf Pack got more hurt trying to steal than they would have gained, causing them no real damage while sustaining some themselves and sheepishly retreating.