No More

That’s not the case.

When Mo Li heard the commotion and turned around, he saw Meng Qi looking at him with a complex expression, while the tree branches continued to sweep against Meng Qi’s face, reddening the right side of his face.

“…Maybe it wants to come down?” Meng Qi’s voice was dry and filled with a hint of frustration. This tree had a personal vendetta against his face; no matter how he tried to avoid it, it was futile.

Mo Li remained silent. Come down? This place wasn’t suitable for planting trees in the first place; it wasn’t where spiritual energy converged.

“Is it because of the way I carry it?” Meng Qi asked again, perplexed. He wondered, were all mountain spirits so picky? After all, he was carrying it and not dragging it along. Yet, it still had complaints!

“It’s a tree, not a baby. How can there be a specific posture for carrying a tree?” Mo Li replied weakly.

Meng Qi uttered an “Oh” and expressionlessly handed the tree back to Mo Li, explaining with righteous indignation, “My face hurts!”

“No myrrh.” Mo Physician indicated that his bag had fallen into the depths of the earth, and there was no remedy for the face pain.

The branches rustled, and Mo Li instinctively infused a stream of spiritual energy into the tree. Immediately, the tree quieted down and obediently stayed still on Mo Li’s shoulder.

“Let’s go.” Mo Li continued to carry the tree and walked forward, with Meng Qi trailing behind, looking astonished.

Infusing spiritual energy was similar to channeling internal energy. Except… it was hard for others to notice, except for the tree in question. Not to mention, Meng Qi still hadn’t realized the relationship between spiritual energy and internal energy. After all, according to common sense, who would casually send internal energy into a tree? It was almost like trying to shake off its branches!

Mo Li had many years of experience in cultivation. Normally, he wouldn’t directly infuse spiritual power; it was more effective to crush pills and place them in the soil. However, this tree, born from the dragon meridian, was different from the white ginseng at home. It could directly absorb spiritual energy, which saved a lot of trouble.

The mountain path was rugged, covered in mud. When the dawn faintly appeared on the horizon, Mo Li finally found a solitary peak.

On the right side was a cliff formed by cracks, while the left side of the ground rose to form a steep mountain peak. This mountain peak was small, with a top the size of a house. It was nearly vertical, making it difficult even for monkeys to climb up.

The mountain peak wasn’t too high, and there were no other high points around, making it appear isolated. Such small peaks were common in the mountains. If they resembled humans or objects, they could be considered scenic, but if they were nothing special, they wouldn’t attract any attention, not even from supernatural beings.

Due to the steepness of the mountain peak, it was difficult to utilize lightness skills to gain leverage. Mo Li could only rely on Meng Qi’s help to carry the tree up.

“With the heavens above and the earth below, this will do.” Mo Li found a suitable spot and began digging a hole to plant the tree.

Without a shovel or spade, even picking up stones could get the job done—externalizing inner energy made it convenient for martial arts experts to travel the world.

“With just this solitary tree on the barren mountain peak, won’t it attract too much attention?” Meng Qi asked. Mo Li pondered for a moment and found it reasonable.

Meng Qi continued thoughtfully, “If a tree stands out in the forest, the wind will surely break it. Shouldn’t we find a taller tree to shield it?”

“…”

According to this logic, they would need to find an even taller tree so that it could bear the brunt of lightning strikes.

“Let’s build a small pond with stones to collect rainwater. If the tree gets struck by lightning and causes a wildfire, the water can extinguish the fire,” Meng Qi’s spirits lifted as he spoke non-stop. “However, the effectiveness of the pond is limited. We should also dig a trench! Build it with stones so that the fire won’t reach this side.”

Mo Li felt that Meng Qi probably didn’t want to plant this tree anymore. He was overthinking and worrying unnecessarily.

—Even the forgotten dragon vein of Taijing showed concern for their kind.

Mo Physician silently turned his head and continued digging the hole.

“That settles it. I’ll go find a suitable tree,” Meng Qi clapped his hands and prepared to descend the mountain.

“Wait.” Mo Li quickly called him back and helplessly said, “There’s no need for that. If the mountain spirit is present, it will naturally induce the growth of the tree to protect itself. However…”

The dragon vein had already died, and he didn’t know what kind of tree this was. The root system remained, and residual spiritual energy facilitated its rebirth, giving the appearance of a dragon vein. But who could say for certain? There were many creatures in the world with spiritual intelligence, like the white fox of Qimao Mountain, which even possessed human-like qualities, but it wasn’t a dragon vein.

Planting the tree in a place abundant in spiritual energy was just a faint hope in Mo Li’s heart. As he was lost in thought, he suddenly felt a hand reach out and grasp his own. Surprised, he looked up and met Meng Qi’s eyes.

“I see vitality in it. It must still be alive,” Meng Qi said with conviction.

“Let’s hope so…” Mo Li stood up, straightened the trunk, and buried the soil in the hole.

The trunk began to sway, and Meng Qi instinctively reached out to support it. Then he realized it wasn’t the trunk being unstable; it was the mountain shaking.

Another aftershock?

Meng Qi noticed that the cracks in the mountain at the base had slightly closed.

“Physician, the mountain spirit is still here.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Meng Qi stumbled and stared in disbelief at the tree he had been supporting.

The tree had shrunk! It had become a sapling the thickness of a fist! Its leaves, when they fell to the ground, turned into nothingness.

Meng Qi: “…”

He had carried the tree all the way and struggled to lift it onto the mountain, and now what? Just after planting it, the tree shrunk. Was it playing tricks on him?

Meng Qi belatedly realized that he wasn’t even surprised by the abnormality of the tree. Perhaps he had come to believe in the mountain spirit, as the Physician had said.

—If it’s not the mountain spirit, what could it be? A tree spirit?

Meng Qi absentmindedly rubbed his temples. He wanted to take a calming pill to ease his mind, but the Physician had lost his bag, and there were no medicines left.

Mo Li touched the trunk and faintly sensed the weak spiritual energy belonging to the earth’s veins. He finally breathed a sigh of relief.

No need to transplant the tree or do anything else. This dragon vein of Silang Mountain indeed had a glimmer of life left. The newly found gathering place of spiritual energy was more suitable for its recovery than the abandoned one.

As for when this dragon vein would develop self-awareness, perhaps even taking on a human form, who knew how long it would take?

Warm sunlight shone on the tree crown, which had become thinner and bald in many places. The branches faintly resembled a dragon shape, and the tree crown faced the rising sun.

Mo Li once again infused some spiritual energy, but this time it was rejected. The tree had already connected with the earth’s veins, releasing all the spiritual energy it had absorbed. Its growth would now rely on the circulation of spiritual energy between heaven and earth.

The remaining leaves on the branches shimmered with a faint light and soon disappeared. Mo Li let go and slowly stood up, his figure blurry in the backlight.

Beside him, Meng Qi couldn’t help but wonder, what kind of person believes in mountain spirits and can communicate with them?

Ancient books recorded that Chu was abundant with shamans who danced to worship mountain gods and were skilled in communicating with spirits. But those times were long gone, and contemporary people no longer had the chance to encounter them.

Chu shamans were different from Taoist priests. It was an ancient legend, and Meng Qi had previously regarded it as mere hearsay and gossip. Now, he had to consider the possibility of Chu shamans actually existing.

However, this was Pingzhou in the northwest, completely different from Chu. It was far from Taijing as well.

Why would the Chu shamans be scattered all over? Was there some connection between them?

Lastly, the ancient books didn’t mention anything about Chu shamans being afraid of cats!

Meng Qi couldn’t understand this fear of cats, but he had already accepted the possibility of Chu shamans in his mind. Broad knowledge and extensive reading had their downsides. No matter how absurd something was, there was always some explanation to be found in the classics. It still made sense!

***

For the surviving people of Qiuling County, the long night had finally passed.

As the sun rose, the remnants of smoke wafted above the charred ruins, irritating their nostrils.

The thunderstorm during the second half of the night barely managed to control the fire. The heat from the burning had melted the nearby snow, making the morning relatively mild.

Most people hadn’t slept a wink due to the aftershocks.

Fortunately, the campsite was well-chosen, and there were no falling rocks nearby. Apart from their pounding hearts, there were no casualties during the tremors.

“The fire last night could be seen for ten miles around. With such a commotion, everyone in Qiuling County and its surrounding villages must know about it…”

People were discussing in groups, some planning to seek refuge with relatives and friends, while others had their minds set on going to the Si family stronghold.

“Everyone calm down. Without clothes or food, where can we go in this harsh winter?” Zheng, the constable of Qiuling County, spoke loudly. “Once the ground in the county is no longer scorching, we’ll go and search for usable items.”

This constable Zheng had great prestige, and one by one, the people agreed. They referred to it as a county, but now, it was nothing more than a ruin.

The previous night, Constable Zheng had led a group of people to an abandoned pottery kiln outside Qiuling County and found many utensils. The earthenware pot currently being used to heat water over the fire was one of their findings from the kiln.

Qiu Hong followed an old woman and delivered the earthenware pots to several patients with broken legs. After a busy round, she suddenly spotted two familiar figures in the camp.

“Physician?”

Qiu Hong blurted out, immediately covering her mouth.

Although Mo Li’s clothes were covered in dried mud, everyone in the camp looked the same, so it wasn’t particularly noticeable.

Mo Li whispered to Qiu Hong about the whereabouts of the laborers. He didn’t mention anything about the dragon veins, only that the Si family intended to rebel and that there was another mentor behind Si Zhuan.

“…I couldn’t find your brother’s remains, nor do I know where he was buried. I apologize for that. But please listen to me, Qiu Hong. Even though the Si family has fallen, the hidden gold they possessed cannot be destroyed. There will be others who come searching for it in the future.”

Qiu Hong lowered her eyes, choked with emotion, and bowed.

Mo Li earnestly advised, “There are ambitious individuals among those who had dealings with the Si family. They are no different from the Si family. If the Bandit Sweeping General couldn’t find the hiding place of the Si family’s gold, these people will eventually appear. There aren’t many survivors in Qiuling County, and you have inquired about the gold mine. Although you did it discreetly, you should still be cautious of being discovered.”

“I am a worthless life, unafraid of life or death…”

“Who deems a life worthless? Whose life is valuable? Is the life of the county magistrate of Qiuling valuable? Where is he now?” Mo Li countered.

Qiu Hong tearfully remained silent, and from her expression, Mo Li knew she had taken his words to heart.

“I and…” Mo Li glanced at Meng Qi behind him and vaguely mentioned his name, “I and my friend will be staying in Qiuling County for a few more days. If you want to leave but are afraid of being tracked, we can accompany you for a part of the journey.”

“I wouldn’t dare trouble you.”

“It’s just that I helped you gather some information; it’s not worthy of gratitude.”

While Mo Li was speaking, they suddenly heard a commotion from afar. It turned out to be the soldiers under the Bandit Sweeping General returning. Apart from Liu Dan, who was trapped in the underground crevice, many others also survived this disaster.

Constable Zheng San shook his head repeatedly upon hearing about the Si family’s ambush on the imperial army the previous night. He lamented that since the Si family had rebelled and killed General Liu, the next step would undoubtedly be an attack on Qiuling County.

Even without the earthquake, Qiuling County was bound to face major upheaval. The people from the Si family’s businesses were fine, but those like Zheng who relied on the county government for their livelihoods didn’t know what fate awaited them. The line between fortune and misfortune in this world was truly hard to distinguish.

Upon hearing about the Si family’s rebellion, the people of Qiuling County stopped clamoring for vengeance or compensation from the Si family. Instead, they grew anxious and wanted to escape. The camp was in chaos, and Liu Dan was carried back under such circumstances by his personal guards.

“The general is injured and needs rest.”

The guard of General Liu approached Constable Zheng and asked, “Is there a Physician here?”

Zheng hesitated and said, “I did see a Physician last night, but with so many people around, it became chaotic, and I don’t know where they went…”

Before he could finish speaking, an elderly woman who was taking care of the patients interrupted, “The Physician is over there. I saw him.”

The guard instinctively looked over and then…

“…”

No, he had grown accustomed to it.

The general must have grown accustomed to it too.

The guard looked at Liu Dan, realizing that his commander was gravely injured and unconscious.

Author’s Note:

General Liu: I can’t get used to it!! I have something to say, the author deleted my lines!!

Author: The last encounter in Pingzhou, are you happy? Farewell… Oh well, let’s just knock him out and bring him up. The set is ready, let’s start shooting.