The quiet night in the orchard was broken by the sound of footsteps in the shadows. Punya and Li Shan were checking the section of forbidden fruits, which had been ordered to be guarded especially after the arrival of the Second Prince. But as they walked through the fruit patch that was dimly lit by the moonlight, an aura of insecurity began to spread.
"Stop," Li Shan whispered softly, one hand raised as a signal for Punya to stop. "I heard something."
Punya listened closely, her heart beating faster as strange sounds came from the other side of the orchard.
Suddenly, several bandits in black rushed out of the darkness. They wore masks to hide their faces, each holding a weapon adorned with a shining light, as if the weapon had been imbued with the power of a special fruit.
"They want the fruit in this orchard!" Li Shan shouted. "Punya, watch out!"
Punya felt the tension rising. She tried to hide behind a clump of trees, but one of the bandits used a fruit that had the power to cause giant vines to shoot straight at her and strangle her.
"Li Shan! S-s-help me!" Punya shouted in shock.
Li Shan rushed to help. He took out a golden glowing fruit from Punya's bag and crushed it in his hand. The vines that had been binding Punya immediately withered and fell off.
"We must find a way to intercept them before they reach the forbidden fruit!" Li San said in an urgent tone.
The group of bandits began to show off their power. Some unleashed flames from the dark red fruit, while another unleashed strong winds from the bright yellow fruit. They seemed to know how to use the power of the fruit very well.
Punya tried to concentrate. She took out a fruit that she knew had defensive power. It was a small green fruit that she had used to experiment in the garden before.
"Try this!" She immediately threw the fruit to the ground. When it hit the ground, a transparent energy enveloped her and Li San. The bandits tried to get close, but were knocked back by the energy.
"Very good, Punya!" Li San said, gripping her sword tightly. "But we still need to find a way to drive them out of the garden!"
The battle was fierce. Punya and Li San faced relentless attacks. At the same time, they began to realize that these bandits did not come just to steal ordinary fruits. They had a specific target.
"They want the forbidden fruit," Punya said softly. As she saw some bandits rushing towards the forbidden area of the garden,
"I will not let them touch those fruits!" Li Shan replied firmly.
They had to hurry up and stop this bandit group before it was too late…
The screams of the wind hitting the leaves reverberated throughout the garden. Li Shan stood in front of the bandits, his eyes shining with determination as he placed his hands on the large tree nearby. "You will not touch those fruits!" he declared firmly.
Suddenly, roots from the ground began to move. They slowly grew as if they were alive, the leaves turning gold. The roots rushed towards the bandits who tried to break in.
"What!" One of the bandits exclaimed in shock as the roots wrapped around his ankles and pulled him down.
"Li Shan… How did you do that?" Punya asked excitedly and surprised.
"This is the power I got from the trees in the garden," Li Shan replied without looking back. He used both his hands to control the roots that moved like giant snakes.
The bandits did not let up. They started releasing the power from the fruits they were holding. The red flames shot straight towards the roots that were binding them, but Li Shan moved his hands. The roots quickly retracted before they grew back and attacked again.
"I will not allow you to destroy this garden!" Li Shan said in a deep voice. The ground beneath his feet shook. The surrounding trees seemed to respond to his command.
Punya watched in awe. Li Shan was not just an ordinary guardian, but a true part of this garden. The ability to control the nature around her made Punya feel safe, but at the same time, she felt a sense of increased risk.
"Li Shan, watch out! They are definitely not ordinary people!" Punya shouted as she saw a thief holding a forbidden fruit that emitted a blue light.
The thief threw the fruit onto the ground. Suddenly, the surrounding area became dark. Li Shan's roots seemed to falter for a moment.
"It uses the power of the forbidden fruit! How did it get it?!" Li Shan gritted his teeth. He tried to regain control of the roots, but the darkness was spreading.
"We have to stop it!" Punya said quickly. She searched her bag for fruits and took out a white fruit that she knew had cleansing powers.
"Try this!" Punya threw the fruit towards the darkness. It exploded into a stream of light. As if the morning sun had driven away the darkness, Li Shan's roots began to move again.
"Thank you, Punya!" Li Shan said. Before he could gather his last bit of strength, several large trees around the garden moved. Their leaves turned gold and they charged at the bandits like weapons.
The battle was fierce. The sounds of nature Li Shan controlled clashed with the sounds of the power of the fruits the bandits used. It was a clash between the purity of the garden and the greed of the intruders.
Finally, several bandits began to retreat. The darkness that had spread all over the garden began to fade, leaving only the damage left in the garden. However, there were still some groups hiding in the bushes.
"Are they all gone?" Li Shan said, panting. "Why do I feel like they're still here..."
Punya looked around the once beautiful garden, now filled with traces of battle. She knew that the peace in the garden might not be there anymore.
Just when the battle seemed to have reached a point where the bandits were at a disadvantage, another group of bandits who had been hiding came out and moved again. Punya quickly ran to hide behind a large tree, observing their movements closely. She began to notice something unusual in the way the bandits used their weapons and the special fruits in their hands.
A thief held a crystal-like fruit that emitted a faint blue light. He shot light from the fruit at Li Shan, causing the agile roots to momentarily freeze, as if the tree had been frozen.
"That fruit…" Punya whispered to herself. She stared at the fruit in the thief's hand, recalling the information about the fruit she had studied from the books in the garden.
"It must be the 'Glowing Ice Crystal'," Punya said to herself softly. This fruit had the power to temporarily stop the movement of living things, but it also had a weakness. It could not withstand the energy generated from high heat.
She looked around and started searching in her bag that had fallen beside her. "The fruit that will help us… The fruit that can resist ice. Oh!… This is it!" She picked up a small, dark red fruit that emitted a flame-like light. It was the "Fire Bird Fruit," a fruit with a fiery energy that could withstand the power of ice.
"Li Shan! Use this!" Punya shouted as she threw the fruit at Li Shan who was fighting. Li Shan took the fruit, even though he did not immediately understand it, but he believed in Punya's words.
"Destroy their ice power first!" Punya advised.
Li Shan bit the fruit in his hand, and suddenly, a fiery energy spread out from him. The frozen roots moved again, this time emitting an orange flame-like light, and charged at the thief holding the ice crystal.
"No!" The thief shouted as the ice crystal in his hand shattered into small pieces.
With the ice crystal destroyed, the thief's abilities began to decline significantly. They seemed to rely mainly on this fruit. Punya smiled with satisfaction. She had found the enemy's weakness.
"They must rely on special fruits that control elements… If we can find fruits that can resist their power, we will win!" Punya told Li Shan.
Li Shan nodded, before using the power of the surrounding trees to ambush the thief once more. This time, with the added power of the Bird's Flame Fruit, the moving roots became fiery weapons that no one dared to approach.
"We have the advantage!" Li Shan said. As the several thieves began to retreat, they realized that their power had been completely destroyed.
Punya looked at the fleeing thief's shadow, thinking to himself, "But why do they know so much about the fruits in the garden… They must be masterminds."
She turned to Li Shan. "We won today, but I'm afraid it won't end here."
--
After the first battle ended and the bandits fled, Li Shan and Punya did not sit idly by. They both knew that this attack was not the end, but only the beginning of something bigger.
"They will definitely come back, and next time they may be better prepared. Look at this time, even you almost couldn't handle it," Punya said as he surveyed the damage in the orchard.
"We have to be more prepared," Li Shan replied firmly, his face covered in dust and sweat from the previous battle.
Punya thought about what she had seen during the battle. The bandits' weapons combined with the power of magical fruits made them superior to the average orchard guardian. If they didn't find a way to resist those powers, protecting the orchard would become increasingly difficult.
Punya sat down next to the pile of fruits that Li Shan had collected. They were fruits that no one in the orchard had used or were not familiar with. She picked up various fruits and tested them one by one, cutting them open and studying their smells, colors, and special characteristics.
"This one should be a fire element… This one should have defensive powers… But if we mix them together…" Punya said, experimenting with the different parts of the fruit in the prepared clay pot.
Li Shan, who was watching, became interested. "What are you trying to create?"
"Something that can resist the power of those weapons," Punya replied with determination. "In the world I live in, we call it an 'experiment'. And the most important thing is that we have to dare to try even if the taste might be bad."
Li Shan nodded. "Your words are strange. Then, I will help you."
They divided up the tasks. Li Shan helped find and prepare the fruits, while Punya experimented with mixing the fruits together. She relied on her knowledge from her previous world about fruits and natural reactions before trying to mix the fruits with the fruits that created heat.
"If this formula is successful, it should be able to create an energy shield that can resist the power of their weapons," Punya explained.
While they were working, information from one of the gardeners let them know that the bandits who had fled were gathering forces and would return with their leader.
"We have very little time," Li Shan said, as his hands crushed the leaves of a type of fruit to extract the oil.
Punya locked eyes with Li Shan. "But we will not stop until we succeed."
She tried to mix the ingredients in the right proportions. Suddenly, a golden glow appeared from the ingredients in the clay bowl. The sweet and sour fragrance emitted from it made the two know that they had created something powerful.
"This is…" Li San looked at the ingredients in the bowl in amazement.
"It's a protective power! If we apply it to our skin or weapons, it will protect us from the power of the fruits that the bandits use!" Punya explained excitedly.
Li San quickly called the other gardeners to gather. They began applying the ingredients Punya had created to their trees, weapons, and protective equipment.
"They're coming!" One of the gardeners shouted when they saw the bandits appear at the end of the path into the garden. This time, they were accompanied by the bandit leader, a tall man holding a sword that seemed to emit an icy blue light.
Punya stood beside Li San. Despite her fear, she knew that her work might be the only thing that could protect the garden.
"We are ready," Li San said firmly.
--
The sound of the battle gradually It was quiet when the bandits were defeated by the power of the fruit that Punya created and Li San and the other gardeners' ability to control trees. The ground that was once filled with chaos and shouts became quiet again. Punya stood in the middle of the garden, her eyes fixed on the large tree that was covered With the energy shield she created, it emitted a faint golden light, like a symbol of victory.
"We did it," Li Shan said, wiping the sweat off his face. Although he looked exhausted, his eyes were filled with pride.
"But why do I feel like it's not over yet? My taste buds must be too good…" Punya said softly, the worry in her heart did not decrease at all.
While the other gardeners were tying up the remaining bandits, suddenly, one of the bandits who seemed to be their leader started laughing softly. Even though he was injured and captured, his eyes still held a mocking look.
"What are you laughing about!" Li Shan asked sternly.
"What do you think this victory means?" The bandits replied with a mocking tone. "What you saw tonight was just a lenient approach."
Punya narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean? Who ordered you to attack here?"
The man smiled coldly. "I can't say more, but I can tell you that the mastermind wants more than just the fruits in this garden… You guys should be careful."
His words made the atmosphere around him turn cold. Li Shan frowned tightly. "Do you think we'll let this go easily?"
"Release me or not, it doesn't matter," the thief said with a faint smile. "The truth will come out soon, and at that time… this orchard will no longer be a safe place."
After the thief was taken to the palace's detention room, Punya and Li Shan later returned to a quiet room to discuss.
"What do you think his words mean?" Punya asked as she stared at the energy shield she had created, which was still glowing.
"It says that someone is behind it," Li Shan replied. "And if he's telling the truth, that person won't stop here."
"I wonder what their goal is," Punya said with a sigh. "The fruits in this orchard are powerful enough to change the balance of the world, you know. Look at each of them. If used properly, their power is immense. But what more do they want than that?"
"Maybe we should start looking for answers," Li Shan said seriously. "And we need to prepare for the next attack."
The thief's mysterious words made the pair question the safety of the orchard, and more importantly, Who exactly has the power and courage to send a group of bandits to destroy the balance of this sacred place?
In Punya's heart, fear and doubt gradually formed. She began to realize that her journey in this world might involve a greater secret than she had ever imagined.