The Embers of King's Teyvat Journey

"If you knew better, you wouldn't have been so reckless. Luckily, our village was mild-mannered. If it were another village, you might have turned into a hedgehog by now."

While directing everyone to put the sacks away, Washizu warned Dankiroku.

"Wow! It's changed a lot."

Seeing the busy crowd, Yu Jin sighed.

When I first came to Hiki Village, there were many simple tents around the village, but now those tents have been replaced by neat wooden houses.

Today, Hiki Village has expanded considerably and no longer looks like a village, but rather like a small town.

"Why is your village so bare? Where are those trees that could electrocute people?"

Yu Jin felt very uneasy seeing all this. Upon closer inspection, he realized that the nearby trees had all disappeared.

Apart from a few trees in the village that I don’t know if they were for landscaping, the surrounding area was completely bare, which looked very strange.

"Of course they were cut down." Washizu gritted his teeth; he had long disliked those trees that could electrocute people.

So after his physical abilities were enhanced, Washizu led the villagers to cut down all the trees in the vicinity.

Actually, this wasn't entirely due to Washizu's personal factors. Wood is essential for fuel and building materials.

After the outbreak of war, even wood became scarce. The wood near Hikiki Village used to be used as firewood, but now it was being used to build houses, thus upgrading its function.

Fortunately, the average person in Hikimura has superhuman physical fitness; otherwise, being constantly shocked by electric shocks while staying indoors would be unbearable for most people.

"Why is the tree I planted so small?" Yu Jin looked around and saw the twisted, golden tree growing among a cluster of wooden houses.

Seeing the few sparse leaves on the golden sapling, Yu Jin suddenly felt a sense of unease.

"This is still small?! After the evil spirit erupted, this tree grew like it was on steroids. It's not even a year old, and it's already the largest tree in Hikiki Village." Washizu exclaimed in surprise upon hearing Ember's words.

This is small? Then what about the other trees? Grass?

Shaking his head to clear his mind of these random thoughts, Washizu beckoned to Dankiroku:

"Come with me, I'll help you get rid of the evil spirit inside you."

"coming."

Tuan Guilu straightened his clothes, but when he saw the purple armor of the Shogunate on his body, he took off the armor and followed in wearing only a cloth robe.

"Let me see how you managed to grow the golden tree like this."

From afar, Yu Jin saw the "thin" branches of the Golden Tree. Actually, it wasn't exactly thin, but it looked rather thin compared to other Golden Trees of the same age.

Walking along the street into the village of Hiki, a massive, pale golden tree rises from the open ground.

The giant tree is not only different in color from other trees, but its shape is also very different from that of ordinary trees.

The thick trunk grows in a twisted manner, without any branching branches, just like a twisted steel bar stuck vertically into the ground, although this "steel bar" is a bit too thick.

Because it has no branches, this golden tree naturally has no crown. At its top, a few curled-up leaves stubbornly sway in the wind, as if declaring to the world its identity as a "tree".

"The Golden Tree has also been affected by the evil spirit?" Yu Jin ran over and looked at the obviously abnormal Golden Tree, unable to help but ask in surprise.

"Was this tree originally called the Golden Tree?" Washizu looked up at the giant tree standing in the center of the village.

Whenever he sees this ever-shining tree, his heart is filled with hope for the future.

As long as this great tree stands, Hiki Village has something to rely on for its survival. This is Washizu's only source of encouragement on the gloomy Hachiyū Island.

"The evil spirits must have affected it too, right? After all, we dealt with the evil spirits that infected us through this big tree." Washizu stroked the rough bark of the golden tree and answered somewhat uncertainly.

The evil spirits' outburst was silent and unexpected; at first, they thought it was just a rainy day.

It wasn't until large numbers of people in the village began experiencing symptoms such as vomiting blood and delirium that he realized it might be a manifestation of a malevolent spirit.

Fortunately, at that moment, the golden tree grew rapidly. The light it emitted drove the evil spirit away from the area of ​​Scarlet Wood Village.

Later, thanks to the research of Bao Ben, the only doctor in the village, they were able to find a way to remove the evil spirits from their bodies.

"I don't know if it will have any impact, but it's certain that this golden tree is malnourished."

Mongot walked up to the strange golden tree and couldn't help but sigh.

Where has the Golden Tree ever suffered such humiliation at the border? Wherever the Golden Seed takes root, the root tomb, the corpse storage pot, and the Golden Tree guards are all readily available and must be arranged immediately.

Unlike now, not only can we not get enough nourishment, but we also have to turn the energy we originally used to sprout into blessings and spread them to resist the omnipresent evil spirits.

"Gulu!"

Montgomery stretched out his strong arm and, with a swift stroke of his sharp fingertips, tore open a large gash in his pale, firm skin.

Crimson blood flowed from Mengget's wound, and amidst the flowing blood, a sense of oppression emanated from him.

Under this powerful pressure, the air through which the blood flowed seemed to distort, making the straight column of blood appear as if it were writhing.

"Clap!"

As soon as the blood fell to the ground, it seeped downwards at an abnormal speed, like a long-dried sponge frantically absorbing any possible moisture.

"This should be enough." Mongot counted the time in his mind. After three to five seconds, the cracked skin on his arm healed instantly.

"Wow...so amazing!" When Tuan Gui Liu saw how easily Mengget had healed his injuries, coupled with the strange phenomenon that occurred when he bled earlier, he suddenly felt that this orc hidden under the cloak was unfathomable.

"Is it impressive? If you don't heal the evil spirits that corrupt you, you'll be going to the underworld to witness this amazing scene."

Washizu patted Oniroku on the shoulder and pulled him to the side of the Golden Tree.

"How do we cure it? Should we ask Yu Jin to come and perform a ritual?" Tuan Gui Liu pointed at Yu Jin, who was observing the Golden Tree, and asked.

"No, the point isn't the embers, it's this golden tree."

Washizu looked down at the brownish-red earth, which looked exactly the same as usual. Even the strange blood of Montgomery that had just seeped into it had not brought about any change.

There wasn't even a trace of red.

I looked up at the golden tree again; this familiar tree seemed even brighter now.

Of course, Washizu wasn't very sensitive to subtle changes in light. What he noticed first was the smoothed bark of the golden tree.

Previously, the bark of this golden tree was pitted and uneven, as if it had been gnawed by countless mosquitoes.

But now, it looks no different from ordinary trees.

"Looks like I can store up more medicine powder again," Washizu muttered to himself.

"What did you say?" Dan Oniroku, who was standing to the side, picked at his ear. Washizu's voice was very soft, and he couldn't hear him clearly.

"It's nothing, just that you can take a larger dose of medicine later, and you'll recover faster." Washizu drew his katana from his waist, the gleaming blade making Dankiroku's eyes sting.

"What are you going to do?" Tuan Gui Liu asked, taking a few steps back with suspicion.

"Get the medicine!"

Washizu shouted loudly, then swung his sword at the golden tree.

Now, Ember and Mongot knew another important reason why the Golden Tree couldn't grow, besides malnutrition.

Chapter 412 The Escape of the Golden Tree

2024-01-13

"Chong-"

The clanging of metal against metal echoed in everyone's ears. Amidst the flying sparks, streaks of golden light glittered.

Washizu reacted with lightning speed, extending his arm so fast that only a blur could be seen.

"Phew—this tree is really hard. If we could peel off a little bark and forge it a bit, it would definitely be a divine weapon!"

Washizu opened his palm, and a handful of gold dust appeared in his hand. If you didn't look closely, you might really think it was powdered gold.

"Is this how you treat this tree?" Ember ran over and touched the notch on the golden tree trunk, asking in shock.

"What's wrong? It's just a little bit of bark, it won't affect the tree at all."

The two Washizu brothers stuck their chipped katana into the ground. This golden tree is good, but it's too hard.

Every time he came to "collect medicine," he would break at least one samurai sword.

If it weren't for the presence of crystallized bone marrow, a superior weapon-forging material, near Hiki Village, the village wouldn't have been able to produce so many weapons.

"No? Didn't you try collecting the golden shards that fell from this big tree?" Ember couldn't hold back any longer. Collecting the Grace Dewdrops would be so convenient, and it would be good for both the Golden Tree and the Hikimura's sword.

"Debris? Where's the debris?" Washizu looked utterly bewildered. He pointed to the sky, but apart from the golden light emanating from the Golden Tree, what else was there in the sky?

"Huh? Something went wrong?" Yu Jin also saw this scene. He scratched his head, not knowing what was going on.

The Golden Tree is a creation of the Supreme Will; it can only plant, not create.

"Wait here, I'll go ask." Yu Jin thought for a long time but still couldn't figure out what had happened to the Golden Tree.

Fortunately, he simply pressed his head against the trunk of the golden tree and began trying to communicate with it.

"I see... I understand..."

"You need to change it... or not?"

"If you don't change, I'll call your older brother over to beat you up? Oh, no, I should say your younger brother."

……

As Yu Jin spoke, he felt sorry for Inazuma's golden tree, which had hatched first but was so slender.

Compared to its younger sibling, which was born a few months later, it wasn't even a sprouting seedling.

"It's decided then. From now on, I'll have your younger brother come over and share some nutrients with you! Now you can listen to me, right?"

"Besides, in a few decades, he'll be buried under your feet, and then his soul will be..."

Ember spread his palms and casually squeezed them a few times, then patted the trunk of the golden tree and whispered.

And so, Washizu's soul was betrayed by Ember without his knowledge. In return, he was showered with golden shards once more.

This signifies both grace and vitality.

The blessed earth will never lack life.

"Hey? I feel better now?"

"That means the powder is effective on this tree; we need to increase the dosage."

Upon hearing what Dankiroku said, Washizu wrapped the bandages around his body even tighter.