Chapter 885: Debt
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Qu Lanxi and Chu Ming were engaged in merry conversation as they walked, but that soon came to an end when they entered the field and caught sight of their Ink-Sword Tree.
They had spent the last three years cultivating it, and in a few more days, they'd have been able to harvest the thirty-four ordinary gene weapons. But now, the tree had suddenly died.
It had once borne an abundance of emerald leaves, but now only a few yellow leaves remained stubbornly clinging to its withered branches. The ink swords that once inhabited the tree had all disappeared, too. Mounds of dead leaves and rusted blades were all that remained, scattered about.
"How did that happen?!" Chu Ming ran in front of the Ink-Sword Tree, digging through the leaves like mad. He grabbed one of the rusted swords that had broken in half, following its fall.
Qu Lanxi's face was robbed of all its color. The last three years of her effort had been squandered overnight. She wouldn't receive any of the fruits of her labor, so her heart and mood were swiftly crushed.
"Someone is here! And he looks injured." Qu Lanxi ran in front of the tree, looking at Han Sen as she came.
"A person?" Chu Ming was vacant-minded when he asked, unsure of how to respond to the tree's death. He looked over to where Qu Lanxi was pointing, and saw a man lying on the ground.
Chu Ming quickly ran over to him, grabbed him by the collar and shouted with great anger, "Did you destroy our Ink-Sword Tree?!"
Blergh!
When Han Sen was grabbed and shaken by the angry shouting man, his organs were injured. He tried to speak, but could only spill blood from his mouth.
"Did you do it? Answer me! Did you ruin our tree?!" Chu Ming continued to shout, shaking Han Sen. The tree's death had really thrown him for a loop.
"Are you crazy? Don't you see how injured he is? What, do you want to kill him?!" Qu Lanxi pulled Chu Ming away from Han Sen, and then knelt down to inspect him.
"Lanxi, this man has just randomly appeared in our garden on the same day our tree happens to be ruined. Put two and two together, would you? He is obviously responsible for this!" Chu Ming was consumed with madness.
"Chill out. Ask him politely first. He's human; a friend, at that. I don't think he'd try to harm us on purpose." Qu Lanxi said as she checked out Han Sen.
"But..." Chu Ming tried to say something, but fell short.
Qu Lanxi shook her head and said, "Ask him later. Right now, he is far too injured. Let's help him recover first; you can ask all the questions you desire later."
Qu Lanxi then summoned a turtle and told Chu Ming to help lift Han Sen and place him on the turtle's back. After that, they would depart the garden.
Chu Ming was struggling to accept the death of the tree, and he was fuming mad at the likely culprit. Still, he was willing to oblige her request, and he lifted Han Sen onto the turtle. Then, they returned to a wooden cabin that was not too far from the tree.
Qu Lanxi brought over some medicine and applied it to Han Sen's body. The medicine was intended for fixing simple things.
"He's too injured. We need a doctor." Qu Lanxi frowned.
"Doctor? This yahoo might have killed our Ink-Sword Tree! Who cares if he's injured? Why should we fix him on our penny? We spent everything we had on that tree, and toiled to nurture it for three years, with the dream that we'd live a better life once its fruit matured. But now? It's all gone. Where am I supposed to get that money now, huh?" Chu Ming was furious.
Qu Lanxi understood where he was coming from, but she was conflicted with the desire to help the injured man. She didn't know how to respond.
"I appreciate your concern, but I'll be fine in a few days." After the rest, Han Sen was feeling a little bit better, and his voice had now returned to him.
"Oh, so you can talk now? That's great news. Hey, tell me something here; did you destroy my tree? And if you did, why?" Chu Ming was keen to begin his interrogation.
"Don't hurt him." Qu Lanxi stopped Chu Ming, and then looked at Han Sen and asked, "Who are you, injured one? And why were you in our garden?"
Han Sen sighed and said, "My name is San Mu. I was attacked by a creature and ran this way. I saw the tree fall victim to that putrid beast, and I believe that is what caused it to die. It is my fault, though; do not worry, I will accept full responsibility and be sure to pay you back in full."
"Hmm, you have wealth? And you're willing to pay us back? Well, alright then. One ink sword's price is equal to that of a portion of ordinary creature flesh. We had thirty-four swords in total, so give me the flesh of thirty-four ordinary creatures. Do that, and I'll let you off the hook so you can sod off back to where you came from," Chu Ming said.
"Don't worry, a San always pays his debts. As soon as I'm back on my feet, I'll get to work on paying you back." After a brief pause, Han Sen continued to say, "Is there a shelter nearby, in which I could teleport back to the Alliance?"
The Blood-Pulse Sutra could fix him, but it was too slow. If he could return to the Alliance, he could heal at a much quicker rate.
When Chu Ming heard Han Sen was willing to pay him back, his mood had considerably brightened. He said, "You are joking? Haha! What a joker. The spirit won't let us go back."
Qu Lanxi looked at Han Sen and asked, "San Mu, which shelter do you come from? And which creature did you encounter?"
"Pah! Where else could he have come from, girl? He most likely came from the Thorn Forest; what other place has sordid creatures in these parts, eh?" Chu Ming interjected.
Han Sen sighed in relief. He believed Chu Ming to be the biggest idiot he had met in a long time. With that information, making a story wouldn't be so hard.
"Yes, you are right. But I haven't been in the Third God's Sanctuary long. I am unfamiliar with this area." Han Sen suddenly coughed up some blood.
"Oy! Don't die yet. You owe us money, remember?" Chu Ming was a little repulsed.
Chu Ming then thought something had to be amiss. He stared at Han Sen and said, "Wait, if you only just entered the Third God's Forest, where are you going to find us ordinary flesh?"
"Well, can I pay you back in the Alliance?" Han Sen asked.
"We can't leave this place, so what would be the point?" Chu Ming suddenly felt the clouds of doom return to fog the clarity of his mind and said, "Oh, no. No. Nooo! This guy can't pay us. He can't pay us!"
Qu Lanxi sighed and then said, "Well, let's just focus on fixing him first."
"No, you *sshole! Give me my tree back!" Chu Ming's mind returned to the three years he spent carefully tending to the tree. He looked like a broken man.
Qu Lanxi stopped him and said, "What would be the point in killing him? When he has healed, perhaps he can pay us back some other way."
"Geez, calm down, you two. I will pay you back." Han Sen couldn't blame them for their reactions, and he could tell they must have endured a difficult life where they were.
Having a three-year dream taken away from you was something no one could take very well, so Han Sen could understand their anger.
But Han Sen was confident he could get better, and once his health returned, paying them back would not be too difficult. All he was unsure about was how to adequately return the favor they did by saving his life, despite the trouble he had caused them.
Chapter 886: Old Dragon-Blood Tree
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Han Sen rested at their cabin for a few more days, and although he hadn't fully recovered, he could now walk around.
Han Sen had suffered tremendous injuries, and because there were no medical tools in the vicinity, he had to rely on simple medicine and the Blood-Pulse Sutra for healing. He wagered it would take another two whole months before he was back to a clean bill of health.
Over the past few days, Han Sen was able to obtain some information about the area he had ended up in from Chu Ming and Qu Lanxi.
The area belonged to Thorn Shelter. It was a royal shelter, and its namesake was derived from the nearby woodland: Thorn Forest.
Han Sen had ended up at the edge of Thorn Forest, near a Knight-class shelter called Qing Ming Shelter.
They were the only humans at Qing Ming Shelter. Qu Lanxi had been living there for eight years, whereas Chu Ming had been there for six years. They belonged to Qing Ming Shelter. The Knight-class spirit, Qing Ming Knight, made them sign a contract. Then, they became members of the shelter, and the shelter's master offered them a chance to survive by working for him.
Humans were the peasants of this land, treated like thralls, and treated even more poorly than creatures. After all, humans who ascended to this sanctuary would generally start off weaker than the lowliest of creatures.
They had no chance of competing against a spirit. There were Squire-class spirits in Qing Ming Shelter, and although some of them were weaker than humans, for as long as their spirit stone remained in the spirit shelter, they could fight without fear of death. As such, their bravery in combat was unmatched. Therefore, humans were considered peasants; particularly those who had just joined. When contracted, all they could be expected to do was hard, menial labor.
Growing geno seeds was one such task. Qu Lanxi and Chu Ming had been sent to a garden to grow such seeds, and to avoid the cruel punishment of Qing Ming Knight, they would had a quota of produce to deliver.
It was tough in the beginning, but fortunately, Qing Ming Knight did not require much, and any bonuses they produced could be kept for themselves.
For the first few years, when they did not have much experience, times were tough. Their punishments came often, but after getting a grip on things and learning to grow the seeds effectively, they had much produce leftover. As a result, they were able to save up what they wanted.
Three years ago, they pooled all of their savings together to purchase an ordinary Ink-Sword Tree seed. Over the next three years, they labored to grow it and spent even more on its healthy cultivation. They would have been able to harvest its swords in a matter of days, but before that, Han Sen showed up and ruined all they had slaved to accomplish.
Growing geno seeds was not easy, and their level was important. You needed a lot of resources and spare time to grow and care for them.
Ink-Sword Trees had to be watered with Black-Scale Blood. With that, the tree would grow healthily.
When they first planted the geno seed, they had to bury the bodies of Black-Scale Beasts near it. Their corpses would provide the necessary nutrients for its initial growth.
Black-Scale Beasts were only ordinary creatures, but obtaining a bucket of their blood everyday was a trial-and-a-half for them.
After all, Qing Ming Shelter's creatures mostly belonged to Qing Ming Knight. They could not kill Black-Scale Beasts randomly. Instead, they had to trade for the blood and flesh.
If they wanted to hunt creatures, they would have to venture into Thorn Forest. But that territory was home to the most rancid of monsters. With their power, any encounter with a beast from that place would be dangerous. Even mutant creatures were known to live there.
They thought by growing an Ink-Sword Tree, their lives would become considerably easier. They never expected the disaster that awaited them, following Han Sen's arrival. This was also why Chu Ming was never nice to Han Sen. After all, Han Sen had just crushed their hopes and dreams.
Han Sen was remorseful, and did feel very sorry for what he had inadvertently done, but there was not much he could do. He never expected the black crystal to suddenly start absorbing the tree's lifeforce.
Han Sen got out of bed this day, and went outside to sunbathe.
The yard was skirted by a wooden fence, and Lanxi said that the house once belonged to an old spirit. The spirit used to be in charge, but after he passed away, Qing Ming gave it to Lanxi.
Qu Lanxi and Chu Ming were both toiling in the garden that day. Although the sword tree had been destroyed, there were many other trees they had to take care of. Of course, the rest they grew were only enough to keep them going and allow them to live hand-to-mouth. They wouldn't provide the benefits that the Ink-Sword Tree would have.
Han Sen, in his observation of the yard, did not see a chair he could recline on. But he did see an old crooked tree, bent low near the ground. He was able to sit down there.
Han Sen approached the crooked tree and sat on its branch. He had been cooped up in the house for far too long, so his opportunity to sunbathe felt extra good.
The tree looked solid, and was dark red in color.
But the tree had no leaves, and it looked bald and dead.
As Han Sen sunbathed, he tried casting dongxuan aura. If he could simulate the holy light, he could heal faster.
But when he tried to cast it, he was unable to. His body and the energy inside him was too much of a mess.
Although he might not have been able to cast skills, his general senses had recovered quite a bit. He sat down on the tree and felt a small lifeforce stemming from the tree's root.
It was very faint, though. It was too weak and looked likely to die soon.
But Han Sen felt that the tree's lifeforce was special.
"Was this tree grown by a geno seed?" Han Sen wondered, as he brushed the tree root with his fingers.
"This is the Dragon-Blood Old Tree. It grew from mutant class seeds. The old spirit that used to live here wanted to grow this tree, and to do so, he had to venture into Thorn Forest to collect the necessary nutrients for it. Unfortunately, he perished someplace within that perilous, knotted domain. A few days following his demise, the tree died, too." Qu Lanxi approached and told Han Sen.