Beast Taming: I'm Really Just a Forest Ranger

The four of them showed no change in expression, and Jiang Wenning said, "What did you deceive us about?"

Duoji didn’t dare to meet their eyes directly, burying his head even lower, his voice weak as a mosquito: "Actually, these mushrooms are fake."

"Fake?" Jiang Wenning frowned, "They can’t be eaten?"

"No, no, no." Duoji hurriedly waved his hand, explaining, "These mushrooms were placed here by Ru’s friends to avoid you leaving in disappointment without finding mushrooms, and then not giving me money..."

Hearing this, Chen Yuan helplessly rubbed his forehead.

Did they really look like those kinds of people?

Duoji sneaked a look at their reactions and, seeing that the four of them were not angry, he continued to speak softly, "Actually, it’s a collaboration between Ru and me."

"They are responsible for placing the mushrooms in the woods ahead, and I am responsible for leading people into the mountains to gather mushrooms. The money earned is used to buy food for them..."

"Ru’s friends prefer not to see humans, so I can only lead you to the woods ahead and not intrude into this area."

Duoji’s voice grew smaller, then he bowed deeply, speaking sincerely, "I’m really sorry, I deceived you."

"If all the deceptions in the world were like this, I’d actually wish for more of them." Chen Yuan smiled gently, then looked toward the fungal pet beasts involved in the melee, changing the topic, "So what’s going on with them?"

Seeing that Chen Yuan did not pursue the matter of his deception, Duoji secretly breathed a sigh of relief while feeling a deep sense of guilt rising in his heart, but he quickly spoke to explain, "These are two factions."

"One faction is Ru’s friends, the other is the bad mushrooms, who love using poison to attack other pet beasts."

Chen Yuan nodded thoughtfully.

He had just noticed this situation; although it was a chaotic battle, it was actually divided into two camps.

One consisted of non-poisonous fungal pet beasts, most of which were Wood Type, but there were also others, like the Fire Type Iron Fist Fire Mushroom.

The Iron Fist Fire Mushroom had a cap as thick as boxing gloves, and every punch would spark a burst of flames, making it an oddity among fungal pet beasts.

There was also the Ice Type Avalanche Mushroom, ice-blue all over, with a cap covered in layered ice crystal scales. When the cap shook, it could emit a frigid breath, freezing opponents into ice sculptures.

The second group consisted of poisonous fungal pet beasts, including those Chen Yuan had seen before, like the Deceitful Mushroom and the Red-Eyed Nightmare Mushroom, as well as newcomers like the Heartrot Mushroom. Their attack methods were similar, all through Poison Skills attacks.

However, as a Forest Ranger and part-time Beastmaster, Chen Yuan knew better than to judge pet beasts’ goodness based on whether they used poison.

Moreover, human standards of good and bad do not necessarily apply to pet beasts.

Li Junyue’s gaze was deep as he extended the conversation: "There has always been constant conflict between poisonous and non-poisonous fungal pet beasts, and their fierce battles are very normal."

Lin’s Honey Mist Umbrella Spirit belonged to the latter and inherently didn’t get along well with the former.

Chen Yuan gazed ahead, observing the melee.

The poisonous fungal pet beasts were using Poison Skills one after another, spreading various toxic gases around. Poisonous mushrooms burst explosively in mid-air.

The non-poisonous fungal pet beasts each showed their divine power, either swinging their fists to spark flames, emitting cold breaths, or shooting out flying leaves.

Duoji tightly hugged the struggling and jumping Fluffy Mushroom, telling it not to rush to its death, while urgently explaining the situation to the others.

It turned out that this place was called Mushroom Valley by the locals, known for its mushrooms even before the Spiritual Energy Revival. Each summer, large numbers of locals would come to gather mushrooms here.

After the Spiritual Energy Revival, a large number of fungal pet beasts emerged here, and ordinary people could no longer cross the perilous coniferous forest to reach the even more dangerous Mushroom Valley.

These fungal pet beasts naturally divided into two factions, one non-poisonous and the other poisonous, yet they all obeyed the Mushroom King.

"Mushroom King?" Jiang Wenning’s eyes flashed, murmuring, "What a cringy name."

Duoji extended his hands hidden in his sleeves, gesturing that the Mushroom King was enormous, like a moving small mountain.

Chen Yuan raised an eyebrow: "Could it be another gigantic pet beast?"

The Mushroom King was the leader of both factions, but it was mostly in a state of slumber, awakening only once a month.

Each time it awoke, the Mushroom King would eat a tremendous amount of things.

To gain the Mushroom King’s favor, both factions would find all sorts of ways to gather food and store mushrooms.

Chen Yuan speculated, "Is all the money you earn used here?"

Duoji nodded: "Yes, yes. The Mushroom King could eat it. Saved mushrooms alone aren’t nearly enough, so Ru’s friends need me to help buy food."

Speaking of this, he counted on his fingers: "Whether it’s meat or vegetables, the Mushroom King loves to eat, but its favorite is snacks from the city."

"So how does the poisonous fungal pet beast faction gather food?" Chang Yuhuan noted down the information provided by Duoji and asked aloud.

"It should be by robbing Beastmasters." Li Junyue suddenly spoke, drawing everyone’s eyes, "If I’m not mistaken, the Beastmaster Office in Longda Village issued a task to expel the poisonous fungal pet beast faction residing nearby."

"Because they actively attack pedestrians and Beastmasters, causing them to fall into a coma from poisoning."

"When they awake, they find themselves unharmed, but their food is completely looted."

"In fact, the food being looted isn’t the issue, but once a Beastmaster falls into a coma in the wild, they are easily attacked by other more aggressive pet beasts, making it very dangerous."

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