170: Chapter 168 Tree Spirit 170: Chapter 168 Tree Spirit Zhu Fang felt dejected, seeing Chen Hai’s frail appearance.
She had initially believed that his divination had faced issues and yielded nothing.
But now, after hearing Chen Hai’s words, a sense of joy began to rise in her heart for no apparent reason.
“Chen Hai, have you figured out the root cause of why our little Yu cannot walk?” she asked.
With a hopeful expression, her gaze intensely focused on Chen Hai’s face.
The old Zhu Fang never truly believed in divination; that was the truth.
But now, with no other options, her hopes of healing her son rested entirely on Chen Hai’s divination.
True or not, she kept telling herself incessantly that Chen Hai would surely be able to help her.
Even if she were to be disappointed again, it would still be better than the despair she felt in her heart.
“Sister Fang, three years ago, on October 16th, when Yu was eight months old, did you take him on a trip to Yangshuo in Yuexi?” Chen Hai asked weakly, leaning on the sofa.
Ye Qingqing, who was beside him, might have been worried about Chen Hai feeling unwell; her small hands kneaded and massaged near his arms and shoulder blades.
Although she wasn’t professionally trained in massage, her efforts indeed provided slight relief to Chen Hai’s frail body.
“Something from three years ago?” Zhu Fang paused, furrowing her brows in thought.
However, she soon nodded and replied, “Chen Hai, I have a good friend from Yangshuo in Yuexi.”
“Three years ago, I accepted her invitation and indeed took our little Yu there.”
“What struck me most about that place was the thousand-year-old ancient tree in Gaotian Town.”
“I always thought the phrase ‘a forest from a single tree’ was an exaggeration, but after seeing that tree, I realized that some huge trees in this world can indeed form a forest by themselves.”
“Just a single canopy covered an area of over a thousand square meters.
Without seeing it firsthand, one cannot imagine how awe-inspiring that scene was.”
“That friend took me and Yu there, and I saw many people praying devoutly and making wishes under that ancient tree.”
“At that moment, on a whim, I followed suit and asked the ancient tree to bless my Yu, to help him start talking and to call me ‘mommy’ sooner.”
“You wouldn’t believe it, but the ancient tree seemed to work.
Less than a week after returning from Yangshuo, Yu could actually call me ‘mommy’…”
Recalling the past, Zhu Fang recounted the major events of her trip to Yangshuo three years ago to Chen Hai.
After listening to Zhu Fang, Chen Hai made a strange face and sighed.
“Sister Fang, generally speaking, when trees like these are very effective and revered by many, they’re no longer ordinary trees.”
“Borne from the faith of all living beings, they might have transformed into tree spirits.”
“Since returning from Yangshuo, you haven’t been back there, have you?”
“You made a wish to the thousand-year-old tree spirit, and it granted your wish.
Don’t you think you should have returned to fulfill your promise?”
“Do you think the tree spirit could bear a grudge against you and your son and inflict some punishment on Yu?”
…
Chen Hai explained to Zhu Fang with a bitter smile.
Ignorance breeds fearlessness.
At that time, Zhu Fang probably didn’t believe in such things; her wish in front of the thousand-year-old tree spirit was merely due to a herd mentality and a playful mindset.
Even when Yu started talking a few days after their return, she attributed it to his early development rather than the tree spirit’s influence.
Under such circumstances, Zhu Fang had offended the tree spirit without realizing it.
Had Chen Hai not spoken up and reminded her, she might never have connected her son’s inability to walk with that trip to Yangshuo.
After all, in her view, she had just taken her son Yu to visit a friend’s hometown and play around, and during that time, they hadn’t encountered any suspicious or strange events.
“People ought to maintain a necessary reverence for unknown beings they don’t truly understand—it would be better…,” Chen Hai remarked with a sigh, looking at the somewhat bewildered Zhu Fang in front of him.
On hearing Chen Hai’s explanation and realizing that her son’s disability might be due to her own mishandling of certain matters, Zhu Fang felt a wave of guilt and panic.
When she regained her composure, puzzled and probing, she asked Chen Hai, “Chen Hai, I wasn’t the only one making wishes under that ancient tree.”
“If that tree is really so effective, why doesn’t it blame others?
Why target our little Yu specifically?”
Hearing the doubts raised by Zhu Fang, Chen Hai chuckled with amusement, “Sister Fang, you know that many people have made wishes to the Thousand-year-old Tree Spirit.
Do you think it has the leisure to fulfill every one of their wishes?”
“Besides, some people make wishes that are simply unrealistic.
If they ask the tree spirit to bless them with official promotions, wealth, or long life, even if it wanted to fulfill their wishes, it simply doesn’t have the capacity.”
“Therefore, regarding making wishes, the tree spirit only selects one or two lucky individuals from among the crowd of wishers, under feasible circumstances, to fulfill their expectations.”
“There’s no free lunch in the world, it needs to gain something in return for what it gives.”
“In full view of everyone, your going back to fulfill your promise helps spread its fame and propagate belief.”
“Beings like these, born from the belief of all living beings, actually care not for physical offerings like supplies, but for belief and the willpower of all living beings…”
Pondering with closed eyes, Chen Hai explained with a smile to Zhu Fang.
Just by sending down a force, it immediately caused Yu to trip while walking.
This might have been because Yu was too young and his soul too weak.
Yet, being able to do just this shows the immense power of the Thousand-year-old Tree Spirit.
It was for this reason that yesterday, after Chen Hai genuinely noticed something entwining around Hai’s leg, he became so cautious.
Perhaps, Yu tripping could have been due to some unknown force disorienting his senses and causing him to feel like he was tripping before actually falling to the ground.
But in Chen Hai’s view, the tree spirit’s interference in reality having reached this extent, meant that its strength was already not far from truly interfering materially with the soul.
However, after knowing the whole story, Chen Hai felt much more relieved in his heart.
This kind of existence born from belief, when said to be strong, is indeed very powerful; when said to be weak, it indeed has its vulnerabilities.
Before becoming a spirit, the thousand-year-old ancient tree in Yangshuo was the original form of the tree spirit.
After it truly became a spirit, it entered the True Realm and the thousand-year-old ancient tree was merely left as its empty shell.
A True Realm Spirit needs to meet certain specific conditions to project its power into the Material World.
Zhu Fang made a wish under the thousand-year-old ancient tree, and the tree spirit helped her fulfill that wish.
However, she did not go back to make a return offering.
Originally moving on two parallel tracks, the tree spirit and Zhu Fang’s son Yu developed a connection, meeting the specific conditions before allowing the tree spirit’s power to successfully affect Yu.
To combat such a spirit, the simplest and most direct method is to sever its connections with the Material World, cutting off all its beliefs so it naturally becomes rootless.
In no time, its power would likely diminish, sinking into slumber until it completely perishes.
Nevertheless, after pondering for a long time, Chen Hai didn’t suggest Zhu Fang do so.
After all, the presence of this thousand-year-old ancient tree has apparently become a major attraction locally.
He suggested that Zhu Fang find someone to destroy this ancient tree and to manipulate public opinion to brand it as an evil entity, altering its image in people’s minds.
Regardless of whether she was capable of doing all that, it would definitely be very troublesome.
“Sister Fang, to resolve the situation with Yu, I think you can simply make a trip to Yangshuo!”
“With banging gongs and drums and offering three animals and five fruits, make it lively and sincerely make an offering under the ancient tree.”
“As long as the tree spirit is satisfied, Yu’s condition should return to normal.”
After calculating for a while in his heart, Chen Hai spoke up and suggested to Zhu Fang.
“Is it that simple?”
“Yes!”
“Chen Hai, why don’t you accompany me on a trip to Yuexi, Yangshuo?” Still carrying some skepticism, Zhu Fang requested.
“Sister Fang, it’s just making an offering.
Chen Hai already said, just make it grand.”
“This little thing, you could just ask a few people to go help.”
“Helping you with the divination, Chen Hai is already in such a weakened state, he definitely needs to rest for a while.”
Glancing at Chen Hai with a pained expression and out of concern for him, this time, Ye Qingqing didn’t ask for his opinion and had already responded on his behalf.
It seems that in Ye Qingqing’s heart, sisterly affection still falls short of her feelings for Chen Hai.
“Sister Fang, I really need to rest properly these days!”
“If you’re not in a hurry, after I recover, I can accompany you to Yangshuo.”
“If you’re really anxious, you can take people there yourself.
I’ll still be in Haizhu City for a few days.
If there’s anything, you can call me directly!”
Naturally, Chen Hai wouldn’t undermine Ye Qingqing.
Moreover, with his health not yet recovered, he wasn’t interested in running around and just wanted to rest.
After a slight hesitation, he followed behind Ye Qingqing and spoke up.