Chapter 7

"Student Yu Tu, thank you for your contribution to the protection of endangered animals." A man who looked like a policeman shook hands with Yu Tu. "I haven't heard of black panthers on the barren mountains in recent decades, but you still have to pay attention to safety at night in remote towns, and try not to wander around alone in the future."

The child in front of him had just reached adulthood and was at an age with a strong curiosity. It was not known whether it was lucky or unfortunate that he was out for a stroll late at night and was frightened by a black panther and fell down with injuries. It was an unexpected disaster, but the leopard had been entangled by vines on its limbs and neck on the way down the mountain, and it bumped into a tree and knocked itself unconscious, and had no time to pose a threat to him at all.

When they first heard about this, they and animal protection experts had only one thought in their minds:

outrageous.

But when you actually arrive at the scene and eliminate all the impossible, the incredible answer that remains is actually the truth.

It couldn't be that the child was fighting the black panther with a thin cane and strangled the panther to death, right?

Not to mention that the child's body was covered with scratches from falling, this guess alone was even more outrageous than Black Panther knocking himself unconscious.

Yu Tu nodded obediently: "I just had insomnia at night, and I went out for a walk because I couldn't sleep. I won't do that again in the future."

He turned his head and looked at the black panther tied to a stretcher by animal protection experts, rolling his eyes and sticking out his tongue. "What are the experts going to do with him?"

Professor Qin, an expert who arrived with the police, heard what he said. The half-gray-haired old man smiled and replied, "Take it to the animal protection station for a health check first. If there is any problem, cure it and then release it back into the forest."

After he finished speaking, he looked at the black panther on the stretcher, his eyes unconsciously filled with worry, and the smile disappeared: "To be honest, in all these years of working in animal protection, I have never seen a leopard that knocked itself unconscious... Looking at this shiny fur, it doesn't look like a mentally handicapped animal..."

"Maybe he was smart before, but has become stupid recently!" The policeman who was talking to Yu Tu interrupted, "I've heard of waiting for rabbits by the tree, but this is the first time I've seen waiting for leopards by the tree!"

Yu Tu: “…”

Yu Tu felt so guilty that he dared not speak.

Professor Qin's assistant took 360-degree photos of the tied-up black panther. After collecting enough footage, he joined their chat group:

"If he is really mentally retarded, then he is not suitable for release. He can only be sent to a zoo. At least he can live in peace for the rest of his life."

"The black panther is a first-class protected animal in the country and is also an endangered species." Professor Qin's assistant is a young man. He smiled and said, "Thank you, we have more research materials."

Yu Tu: “You’re welcome.”

After confirming what happened, the animal rescue vehicle left the town first. The police who stayed behind gave Yu Tu many warnings, telling him not to go out alone at night as he could easily get into danger. After Yu Tu repeatedly assured that he would never make a similar mistake again, the police took his statement and left.

After seeing everyone off, Yu Tu did not return to the small building where he lived, but went to the teahouse he had planned to visit last night. The teahouse was at the deepest end of the quietest street in the town, and there was a large, lush locust tree forest separating it from the house in front.

When Yu Tu arrived at the center of the locust tree forest, he saw an ancient carved wooden door and blue-gray walls extending from both sides of the door - it looked more like a private residence than a teahouse.

Yu Tu placed his hand on the pattern in the center of the door. After a slight "click" sound, the door slowly opened to both sides, revealing the scene inside.

He had been in this town for only ten days. First, he was forced to accept the mission of saving the world that fell from the sky. Later, he was busy settling down in the town temporarily. Then, he suddenly met the male protagonist, tested his spiritual power, got the acceptance letter, and completed the entrance test... He only hurriedly came to confirm the location of the teahouse on the first day of his arrival, and had no time to carefully explore the mysteries inside.

Yu Tu walked into the teahouse. The floor of the teahouse was paved with white stone bricks. About ten steps ahead, there was a very short bridge. An ordinary person only needed three or five steps to get from one end of the bridge to the other. The sound of gurgling water could be heard under the bridge, but the surface of the water was covered with a layer of hazy white mist, so the scene in the water could not be seen clearly.

Across the short bridge, there are some randomly scattered tables and chairs. They are a bit old, with a sense of antiquity and nostalgia after the passage of time.

Behind these tables and chairs, there is a "background wall".

Looking down, the roots of the wall are deeply rooted in the ground. Looking up, several branches extend from the wall, lushly covering the sky above the house.

The tree is covered with branches and leaves, which should be an extremely depressing scene. However, when you are actually in it, and the specks of sunlight fall on the ground through the gaps between the branches and leaves, forming patches of light, it makes you feel a kind of quiet and beautiful moment of leisure from your busy life.

Yu Tu casually pulled a chair and sat down, looking up at the lush branches and leaves. The tree that seemed to block out the sun and sky inside the teahouse was not a locust tree, and Yu Tu could not recognize its species. But staying in the shadow formed by the branches and leaves of the tree, he felt inexplicably at ease, and the wounds on his body didn't seem to hurt so much anymore.

He closed his eyes slightly, and suddenly felt something on his eyelids. He raised his hand and touched a... leaf.

This is a very beautiful leaf, with a beautiful shape, beautiful color, and a vibrant vitality.

Yu Tu held it between his fingertips, and it slowly dissipated into light green spots on his fingertips and melted into his eyes.

Suddenly, there were some "things" in Yu Tu's sight.

For example, the green vines that are all over the teahouse and entangled on this unknown tree; for example, the dense and unclear patterns on these quaint tables and chairs; for example, there is an unusual ripple on the tree that serves as the "background wall"...

Yu Tu only looked for a short while before he felt his eyes getting hot. He closed his eyes, paused for a few seconds, and then opened them again. The strange vision in front of him disappeared completely.

Yu Tu still remembered the strange fluctuations on the "background wall" that he had seen before. He walked over to the location in his memory and stretched out his hand—

After the world spun around, he appeared in a new place. Unlike the bright and spacious place outside, this place was dimly lit and had a gloomy and depressing feeling.

Old museum shelves were lined up in a long row, immersed in the darkness where no light could illuminate. There were many things on these shelves, some of which looked like antiques from a long time, some like small gadgets that could be seen everywhere on the street, and some like stones, flowers and plants picked up randomly in the mountains... But no matter what it was, it was covered with a thin layer of dust.

Yu Tu saw that his pocket was glowing slightly—it was Emperor Liujiang.

He took out the olive-shaped Emperor's Plasma. The surface of the Emperor's Plasma was covered with a layer of soft, transparent film-like substance, and inside was a silvery flowing liquid. At this time, the liquid flowed faster and faster, and the light became brighter and brighter. Finally, in his hand, it was as bright as a small sun.

The energy in the Emperor's Plasma is extremely powerful. Yu Tu only absorbed one thousandth of it last night to subdue the Black Panther, but now, he feels that the energy in the Emperor's Plasma is dissipating at a terrifying speed. In ten seconds at most, the Emperor's Plasma will be completely consumed.

As the master of Emperor Liuxun, Yu Tu could have taken action to stop it and cut off this inexplicable consumption of Emperor Liuxun, but he didn't.

He just watched the Emperor's Lasma fade from bright to dim in his hands, and finally disappear without a trace.

The dim light seemed to be brighter. On the first shelf, a lamp had lit up with a little flame, but the flame was so weak that it seemed that it could be blown out by just breathing lightly on it.

Yu Tu moved closer. It was an exquisitely carved bronze lamp. The lamp base was a phoenix with its wings spread out, ready to fly. The faint flame was lit on the phoenix's heart.

Somehow, Yu Tu felt that he seemed to have some deeper connection with this teahouse, but he couldn't really say what it was.

The intricate patterns on the carved wooden door gradually turned pale green, but only lasted for a few moments before quickly fading away. At the same moment, the faint flame in the bronze phoenix lamp went out.

The light that had just become brighter turned dim again, and the phoenix lamp was covered with a thin layer of dust again.

So strange.

Yu Tu reached out to touch the lamp, but suddenly found something extra in his sight—

A dangling mirror chain with a green leaf hanging at the end.

He actually didn't know when he cut the vest into beads.

Having stared at the flames for a long time, Yu Tu felt a little uncomfortable in his eyes. He took off his monocle, rubbed it with his hand, and then put it back on.

The reason why he found a monocle to wear on his vest was to prevent himself from losing control of his facial expressions, because when wearing a monocle, if his expression is too rich, the glasses will move slightly.

Yu Tu picked out and checked some things that looked familiar to him on the several museum shelves that were illuminated by the light.

Those were the "treasures" he had collected happily in his childhood.

A beautiful stone with an odd shape, a straight twig, a multi-petal plum blossom made into a dried flower...

Yu Tu: “…”

He was surprised at first, then silent.

He had no memory of this place. Why were the things he collected in his childhood appearing on the antique display shelf?

Obviously... they have all been thrown away.

What is this? Lost and found?

Yu Tu raised his hands, and his childhood memories seemed to come back to him at this moment, but he stared at them for a while but did not pick them up.

———That’s all in the past.

It was a long, long time ago.

The appearance of these things was like a huge puzzle. Yu Tu had only grasped a tangled thread in the puzzle and had not yet sorted out all the clues.

But he was happy to see these things.

The corners of Yu Tu's lips slowly curled up into a smile. There was still plenty of time in the future, and he would always have a chance to figure it out.

He turned and walked out, passing through the "background wall". The light spots on the white bricks had disappeared, replaced by slightly darker dots.

The sky was clear just now, but now a rainstorm came without any warning and covered the whole sky.

In an instant, the world was like a waterfall.