Chapter 5: Wen Yumeng's Past in Zhuying Palace "Is it Little Tree-kun who has returned? ...
"Bang!"
The stone fell into the water with a thud, startling the ox so much that it jumped up from the water. It swung its body left and right, scattering water droplets that transformed into ice blades in the air and flew in all directions.
Huang Niu shouted, "Who is causing trouble?"
Seeing this, Wen Yu quickly raised his hands and formed an invisible barrier to block the attack. He made a flattering sound and laughed repeatedly, "Immortal Lord, please spare my life! Immortal Lord, please spare my life!"
"Wenyu?"
The ox, following the sound, looked toward Wen Yu, then pounced out of the pond, picking up the bell from the stone table. Wen Yu heard only a tinkling sound. The ox had transformed into a tall, brown-haired young man. He wore a small, delicate silver ring on the wing of his nose, and three or five silver armlets adorned each of his bare arms. The bell that had rang earlier now hung on his chest, its sound fading, leaving only a lingering sound.
"You heartless firewood stick! You still remember to come back?"
The name of this ox is Chi Huang, and it is the mount of her master Ju Mang. He is very advanced in Taoism and far surpasses other immortals in the East Heaven Court. He is an old friend of the Temple of Spring, and his seniority is tens of thousands of years higher than Wen Yu.
However, he is outspoken, generous and casual, and in the past he could get along well with Wen Yu, who is also simple-minded.
"Da Huang, I have important matters to discuss this time, so I came to find Master." Wen Yu said quickly.
"It's Chi Huang! Not Da Huang! How can Da Huang embody even a fraction of my majesty?"
Chi Huang's eyebrows furrowed in a frown, clearly displeased with Wen Yu's description of Da Huang. Wasn't that a name only given to the common dogs that roamed around in the human world? Humph! Chi Huang felt indignant. Did they really think he had no interest in worldly matters?
Wen Yu sneered and muttered back, "Didn't you also call me a fire stick?"
This was not the time to be bothered about titles, so Wen Yu addressed him respectfully:
"Oh! Master Chi Huang!"
Wen Yu hugged Chi Huang's arm and shook it, the movement was a little too big, causing the strands of hair on his forehead to rise slightly. "Just tell me!"
Chi Huang hurriedly raised his hand to pull Wen Yu down, complaining as he did so: "I don't think your original form is a firewood stick! It's just a puppy! Your nose is so sharp——"
"The Divine Lord has only been out of seclusion for a couple of days, and you've already smelled the scent and are here."
"Why is Master in seclusion?" Wen Yu stood up straight, thought for a moment, and didn't have time to think about it any further.
She said, "I'm going to find my master!" and then picked up her skirt and hurried to the back hall.
Walking around the winding corridor, there is a pool of water surrounded by spiritual energy in the courtyard, which is hidden among the intertwined and blooming green pear trees. The clustered flowers bend the branches, and the branches sway up and down. The fallen petals turn with the wind and gently slide into the water, breaking the smooth surface like a mirror. For a moment, the waves are rippling and the grass and trees are silent.
Wen Yu looked around and thought that Chi Huang had cleaned the courtyard quite well! Then he looked everywhere for Ju Mang, but after wasting a long time, he didn't even see a piece of his clothes.
She was only concerned about finding her master as quickly as possible, and hadn't even thought of how to start the conversation. How could she say that she had met an immortal who looked exactly like Song Linsheng?
Would the master believe it, or would he tell her not to indulge in such fanciful ideas?
How could there be such similar people in this world?
Wen Yu only now had time to catch his breath and figure out what was going on.
Unable to think of anything, she simply lay down on the green jade stone beside the pool, looking at the blue sky, and her mood gradually calmed down.
Song Linsheng... She was thinking about that good-looking man, but his speech and actions were like Song Linsheng... like... and not like... Wen Yu's heart was in a tangled mess, unable to make sense of it.
At this moment, only in the Temple of Spring did she feel a moment of peace.
The moment of silence was quickly broken by a male voice:
"I haven't even had the chance to talk to you yet, why are you running away in such a hurry?"
There were bursts of panting sounds not far away. Wen Yu turned around and saw that it was Chi Huang. He was leaning on his knees with his hands and breathing heavily. It was obvious that he had been chasing him all the way. There was a hint of anger in his words:
"You firestick, you don't even let me finish my words—"
"The Lord God is not currently in the Spring Temple. Today, there was some unusual movement in the Immortal Tree in the Zhuying Temple, so the Lord God went to investigate."
"What happened to the immortal tree?"
But after a moment of stunned silence, Wen Yu quickly turned around. She jumped up from the green jade stone and felt something was wrong. Without waiting for Chi Huang's answer, she flew towards Zhuoying Palace, leaving Chi Huang's call behind.
The Immortal Tree is the lifeline of the Eastern Heaven, and is related to the plants and trees in the mortal world and the fate of mortals. In the past, it has been guarded by the two star gods, Si Nan and Bei Dou. The so-called "Southern Dipper is responsible for life, and Northern Dipper is responsible for death". The two of them are in charge of life and death respectively. A mortal's life span goes from Southern Dipper to Northern Dipper, and the life span is controlled by the two of them. The fate is determined by the Immortal Tree.
When Wen Yu first entered the East Heaven, he was quite naughty. He and Chi Huang were playing together and accidentally bumped into the immortal tree. They broke the longevity branch of a mortal, ruining the person's lifespan and destiny.
Therefore, the two of them had dealt with the two star gods of the north and the south.
But the strange thing is that Chi Huang is the god of agriculture and animal husbandry, and his attack power is not strong, and Wen Yu is just a spirit that has just transformed. With the power of the two of them, it is impossible for them to hurt the immortal tree. But for some reason, they easily caused disaster that day.
To this day, Wen Yu still hasn't figured it out.
But now the Immortal Tree was moving again. Wen Yu was anxious and could not help but quicken his pace. He entered the Zhuoying Palace in a few hurried steps.
Every palace in the East Heaven Palace has its owner, like her master's Spring Temple, the Seven Star Temples of the two star gods Si Nan and Bei Dou, and so on. However, this Zhuoying Temple, except for the immortal tree guarding it, seems to be an ownerless temple.
When Wen Yu entered the hall, she saw the immortal tree from afar. It was indeed an ancient sacred tree, with strong branches reaching into the sky. It was covered with luxuriant orchid leaves, surrounded by fairy mist, and its leaves also had a unique golden scale color. It was indeed much more majestic than its original body.
A man was standing with his back to the tree. Wen Yu could only see his straight back and a green robe woven with lotus flowers. Needless to say, this must be her master, the God Ju Mang.
"Master!" Wen Yu called out hurriedly, full of anxiety.
Ju Mang turned around in response, revealing half of his profile. The lines on his profile were straight and smooth, like a long mountain range or an empty and quiet valley, making people feel exquisite and beautiful.
"Is it Little Tree-kun who's back?"
Ju Mang turned his head and saw Wen Yu's flying skirt, which was as graceful and elegant as a ball of blue cloud. He responded to her gently, but without smiling.
The master seemed to be troubled by something, with a lingering worry between his brows, which made people feel even more hesitant.
Wen Yu came to Ju Mang's side, thinking about how to start the conversation. He had met a Wood Element Immortal Lord who looked exactly like Song Lin in the underworld. However, as he got closer, he saw the half-broken branch floating in the air in front of Ju Mang.
The withered trees were destroyed with great force, and the wood was corroded.
It was rapidly weathering at a speed visible to the naked eye. If it weren't for Ju Mang's divine power barely maintaining it, it would have disappeared in an instant... No wonder Master didn't even have a smile on his face...
Wen Yu's pupils tightened, and she no longer cared about any questions. She recognized this half branch. She had been injured by it in the past, and she had been nurturing it with the healing power of the plant spirits.
Song Linsheng's longevity branch!
Each branch of the Immortal Tree is connected to the lifespan of a mortal. When a mortal dies, the branches wither and weather, vanishing. In the past, Song Linsheng died, but his branches did not completely disappear. Therefore, Wen Yu always believed that his spirit still existed, and she searched for a hundred years in the underworld, hoping to find his reincarnation.
Now, his longevity branch is about to disappear!
Wen Yu didn't dare to think about what this meant, nor did she want to think about it.
She stretched out her hand, trembling, wanting to touch the branch. Her heartstrings were tense, as if thousands of hands were playing the piano, the sound was high and rapid, and then suddenly dropped.
Wen Yu whispered, "How could this happen? I've always taken good care of my Master...how could this happen?"
"Everything comes and goes, it's just cause and effect." Ju Mang replied calmly, but the sadness between his brows betrayed his mood.
Even if one has supernatural powers that can change the color of the sun and moon and shift the mountains and rivers, one cannot force things that are meant to die to stay. Everything in the world has its own destiny.
Ju Mang looked down at Wen Yu. He sensed the unusual movement of the Immortal Tree today and guessed that this branch was about to disappear. He barely used his divine power to maintain it, but he knew that Wen Yu would definitely come back and wanted to see her again.
However, going against the will of heaven is not a good idea. He sighed inaudibly and withdrew the divine power in his hands.
The branch melted even faster.
The music in Wen Yu's heart became more and more urgent, and when it reached its most rapid moment, it suddenly stopped.
She used to take care of this half branch, hoping that Song Linsheng would be reincarnated as a human. Even though she had to wait in the underworld for three hundred years, she was still full of hope.
But now, she watched as Song Linsheng's longevity branch turned to ashes and disappeared in the wind and smoke, as if the breath that had been supporting her had also been extinguished...
She no longer had anything related to Song Linsheng... This was her sin, and she hadn't fully paid for it yet. How could it be like this...
Wen Yu felt a dull pain in her chest, and she couldn't help but feel grief. Then a sweet and fishy taste clung to her throat. Her blood surged, her mind was in turmoil, and her consciousness began to slowly fade. In a trance, her legs and feet gave way, and she fell backwards.
"Xiao Yu!" Seeing this, Ju Mang eagerly reached out to help Wen Yu.
Wen Yu laughed out loud in anger, tears streaming down her temples. She slowly closed her eyes, and before she was lost in darkness, she seemed to see her master's anxious face...
She only felt her body go cold. In the end, it was nothing but an empty illusion, a pillow of peace... She still couldn't save Song Linsheng...
This worldly joy and happiness can never escape the impermanence of nature.
Wen Yu had no strength left.
In a trance, she fell into an extremely strange yet familiar embrace, feeling very dry and comfortable, just like the feeling of her and Song Linsheng lying on the window sill to bask in the sun after the rain.
That feeling was like a dream... She leaned on the man's chest, listening to his strong heartbeat, and couldn't help but lean towards the source of the soothing sound.
Tears hung on her long eyelashes, like jade crow feathers, like dewdrops on frosted leaves on a spring morning, crystal clear and adorable, but fragile and fleeting.
The author has something to say:
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From the next chapter onwards, we will officially enter the past chapter and open the "Jade Tree and Cold Wind" mortal copy!
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