Chapter 412: Little Tree in Panlong City

The door opened, and Fu Jiu stepped inside, seeing that there were actually four people in the room. Three stood guard, while only one young man sat by the window. He had delicate features and bore some resemblance to Fu Shanyue.

The young man frowned when he saw him. "You came at this hour? It's not safe."

Fu Jiu knelt down. "Young Master Ji, the task is complete."

Young Master Ji was startled. He abruptly stood up, his voice rising three octaves. "What did you say?"

Fu Jiu took out the wooden sculpture from his storage ring and placed it in the center of the room.

Young Master Ji quickly stepped forward to examine it, saying, "Light more lamps, several more!"

Lamps lit up one by one. Young Master Ji stared intently at the wooden sculpture. "Tell me everything that happened."

Fu Jiu did as told.

Hearing the last few sentences, Young Master Ji interrupted him. "Wait a minute, you didn't personally see my brother transform into the wooden sculpture?"

"...Yes, but the Young Lord ran too fast at that time." Fu Jiu's heart gave a sudden lurch. "And yet, the face of this sculpture is clearly identical to the Young Lord's, even the clothes, the ring..."

"Put out the lights!" Young Master Ji ignored his explanations, only telling those beside him, "Leave this place immediately!"

The guards immediately went to the window and clapped twice.

The neighbors were also their people; these two claps were a signal to notify them to come out immediately.

However, after the clapping, there was complete silence.

The neighbor's doorway was silent; there wasn't a single person.

Young Master Ji decisively said, "Go!"

However, just as they opened the door, they saw six or seven people standing in the darkness. They were silent, but their eyes gleamed with menace.

These were all Fu Shanyue's subordinates.

"It's so late, second brother, where are you going?" A voice came from behind.

Young Master Ji spun around abruptly and was startled to see Fu Shanyue sitting by the window, in the exact spot he had just occupied, even mimicking his posture. His tone was very familiar. "Long time no see. Shall we catch up?"

Moonlight streamed through the window, illuminating the left half of his face, making it appear pale, while the right half was completely obscured in shadow.

As soon as he saw him, Fu Jiu's face also turned pale.

Fu Shanyue's gaze shifted to him. He smiled slightly. "Fu Jiu, you handled your assignment very well."

The guards behind Young Master Ji immediately glared at him.

Fu Jiu dropped to his knees with a thud. "Young Lord, I..."

Before he could finish speaking, a line of blood appeared across his throat.

After his body slowly collapsed to the ground, Fu Shanyue flicked the blood from his fingertips. He couldn't even be bothered to listen to a traitor's grievances.

"A good scheme, I almost fell for it." Fu Shanyue turned to Young Master Ji, making a small gesture with his fingers. "Does father know you made this plan?"

His eyes slowly turned red. Young Master Ji's fingertips were trembling. "Even if I die, Father won't pass the position to you!"

"Why don't we wait and see?" Fu Shanyue smiled. "Oh right, you won't get to see it."

Young Master Ji's eyes reddened. "I was wrong! We're brothers from the same mother, for Mother's sake... Uncle Da!"

He suddenly slapped the backs of the guards next to him, pushing them towards Fu Shanyue, then threw something onto the ground and burst out of the door.

Just as he landed and started to get up, he heard a huge explosion behind him, and a powerful blast wave rushed towards him.

The residence exploded.

This was a contingency he had prepared, not expecting it to be used so soon.

Young Master Ji was propelled several yards by the blast wave. Fu Shanyue's subordinates were also thrown back and couldn't gather themselves immediately. It was clear the amount of explosives was generous.

He stood up and patted his trouser legs, looking back at the shattered remains of the house.

Suddenly, a figure descended from the sky, landing beside him and scattering charred soil everywhere.

Young Master Ji was startled. He looked closely and saw it was Fu Shanyue's wooden sculpture.

The wooden sculpture was on fire, burning fiercely, but its dead-fish eyes stared fiercely at Young Master Ji, making the latter instinctively shiver.

He heard more sounds of wind from behind. He held his breath, gathered his energy, and turned back. He couldn't help but sigh in relief. "Uncle Da, you're here!"

"This, this is unbelievable, isn't it?" He Lingchuan rubbed his eyes, unable to believe what he saw before him.

He was standing in the South Gate Plaza of Panlong City.

This wide plaza, which he had walked dozens of times, suddenly had a new development today:

Above the huge spring pool, by the first bridge, a tree suddenly appeared.

Strictly speaking, it was a small tree, taller than a person.

He remembered that during his last dream, this spot was a permanent stall selling yellow rice cakes and soy milk. The stall owner, an elderly woman, had praised his handsome looks and always enthusiastically cut him an extra half-slice, persistently trying to introduce her daughter to him.

But now there was a tree here.

There were many trees in the South Gate Plaza, providing shade in summer. But He Lingchuan was so focused on this particular tree simply because it looked very familiar.

Those leaves, those branches, and those sparse, frail aerial roots stretching horizontally...

Isn't this a Juluo Tree?!

Although its size was pitifully small compared to the Treasure Tree King, a Juluo Tree was still a Juluo Tree.

The divine bone necklace consumed the spirit seed he provided. He Lingchuan had thought the energy within the seed would be absorbed by the Great Square Pot, just like the treasures it had consumed before.

But to his surprise, the spirit seed was an exception. Not only was it not consumed, but it was planted in Panlong City.

He had only been absent for a few days, and the seed had grown into a small tree. It truly defied the laws of nature.

However, considering the tree guards the Treasure Tree King deployed across the kingdom, they too grew from spirit seeds in just a few days.

As soon as He Lingchuan entered Panlong City, he appeared in this spot. It was clear the dream wanted him to see this tree immediately.

The Great Square Pot would not act without purpose.

Two children were playing ball under the tree. He Lingchuan walked over and asked them, "When was this tree planted?"

The children looked at him, shook their heads, and looked bewildered.

He Lingchuan had no choice but to go to a nearby shop and ask the uncle selling groceries, "Who planted that tree?"

"Huh?"

"That sapling," He Lingchuan pointed it out to him. "When was it planted?"

"Oh... I don't know," the uncle looked puzzled. "Hasn't it always been there?"

"How long is 'always'?" He Lingchuan pressed. "There must be a limit; you can't mean forever."

The uncle thought hard, then shook his head. "Who could remember that? It's just a tree, isn't it? With so many trees in the plaza, could I remember the age of each one, or who planted each one? Are you kidding me?"

His inquiries yielded no results. He Lingchuan returned to the sapling and patted it.

It looked no different from an ordinary small tree. It was hard to imagine it growing into a towering and magnificent body like the Treasure Tree King. On that note, could spirit seeds grow into tree guards in the Panlong dream realm?

He recalled the characteristics of the Juluo Tree, vaguely understanding why the spirit seed could be transplanted by the Great Square Pot:

Juluo Trees had always possessed the characteristic of adapting to the underworld.

The Heart-Protecting Mirror called Panlong City the City of the Dead. So, for a Juluo Tree to grow in the City of the Dead, it didn't seem out of place, did it?

Of course, its being planted here might have another profound meaning. He Lingchuan had nowhere to ask about this.

He could only pat the tree trunk. "Good luck."

In Panlong City, what kind of nutrients would a Juluo Tree need to grow?

Counting the days, it seemed it was his turn to guard Arena Number Seven today.

If he didn't go soon, he would lose his title as arena master.

Passing by Yunling Island, which was the shop he had rented out, the stout shopkeeper Bai Guo was talking business with someone at the entrance. His eyes lit up when he looked up and saw He Lingchuan, and he rushed over. "Little Brother He, you're finally here!"

He Lingchuan watched his nimble footwork, which seemed completely at odds with his corpulent figure, and immediately wanted to leave. "I'm not buying anything."

This cunning merchant always tried to push magical artifacts on him, hoping to earn back the rent. He Lingchuan had indeed been talked into it twice, and after buying them, he'd slapped his forehead, thinking, 'What the hell do I need these for? As if I'd ever actually use them.'

"Oh, today we don't have many good goods. The border of Xiji Country is stirring up trouble again, and several batches of goods are held up there, unable to pass... Those cursed people will get their comeuppance sooner or later."

Bai Guo gave a dry laugh. "Brother He, I just have something to discuss with you."

This fellow actually claimed he had no good merchandise. That must mean something serious was up. He Lingchuan turned to leave. "I also have something to do, another time perhaps."

Bai Guo shoved a delicate small bamboo tube into his hand. "Wait!"

He Lingchuan looked at it—chewing tobacco.

And it was domestic chewing tobacco from Beijia. Now he could accurately distinguish the brands of chewing tobacco. This must be from the Treasure Tree Demon Country!

Bai Guo took the opportunity to pull him into the shop.

"I want to ask a favor of you!" Since no one was in the back hall today, Bai Guo began to talk freely. "Business hasn't been so good recently..."

He Lingchuan waved his sleeve. "Reduced rent is out of the question."

"No, it's not that." Bai Guo's smile froze. "I wanted to ask you, um, if, um..."

"Um?" It was rare to see this sly merchant stammer. It seemed something serious was indeed happening.

Bai Guo sighed and said directly, "I'd like to terminate the lease, and I wanted to give you advance notice."

He Lingchuan asked in surprise, "I thought your business here was quite good, often crowded with people." It was already generous of him not to raise the rent.

Besides, shops on Wanglin Street weren't available for rent at any time. You had to queue if you wanted to open a shop here.

"Ah, to be honest, I received some news, great news." Bai Guo had sighed earlier, but now the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up. "We might, might be able to return to our country!"

"Huh?" He Lingchuan didn't immediately grasp it. "Return to your country?"

Which country?

"Xiluo!" Bai Guo's face became even rounder as he smiled. "Back to our homeland."

He Lingchuan's mind buzzed. Wasn't Panlong Wasteland an exclave, already cut off from its mother country?

"How so?"

"It's like this, I have a reliable source that says the monarch is considering moving everyone from Panlong Wasteland back!" There were voices in the front hall, so Bai Guo quickly lowered his voice. "Once the relocation order comes down, we can return to our country!"

"That's not right, is it?" He Lingchuan, however, showed no joy. "Where's the path back? An exclave is called an exclave precisely because it's blocked on all sides."

"There is, there is," Bai Guo said. "I heard that Baling Country will temporarily open the Jinxi Corridor, allowing us to relocate back to our country."

He Lingchuan chuckled twice. "Can you trust anything Baling Country says?"

"This particular matter seems very credible, and highly likely to succeed." Bai Guo was beaming. "I'll give you an extra three months' rent personally, then I'll go to the authorities to terminate the lease. How about it, if you agree?"

"What if I don't agree?"

"If you don't agree, once the relocation order comes, everyone in the city will leave sooner or later anyway. Then you won't collect any rent either."