Chapter 176: Quiet Time

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“I believe I am being punished.”

Taking care of the Reverse Tree is the one task in the Apothecary no one particularly enjoys. While it is a source of valuable ingredients, it is also an ill-tempered tree that will do its best to drain the life out of whatever it can get its branches on. To make matters worse, the chamber of the Reverse Tree is permanently submerged in darkness as only in darkness can the Reverse Tree grow.

To harvest its ingredients, one must do so in total darkness while also avoiding damaging the hostile tree. It is an annoying duty that rotates between the disciples who have been in the Apothecary long enough to be trusted.

Liu Jin had assumed going to the Dead Plains meant he’d get some leeway on missing a few of his shifts. Alas, he had no such luck. Upon finishing his multiple-day nap, Liu Jin had been told he would be in charge of harvesting materials from the Reverse Tree for the rest of the day.

“You agree with me, right?”

The Reverse Tree does not offer any answers. It keeps trying to catch him with its many branches, not that it ever comes close to doing so. Liu Jin effortlessly weaves between them as he cuts down another fruit and tosses it to the large basket strapped to his back. While other disciples would find the lack of light troublesome, Liu Jin’s senses are good enough that there is never any danger of being caught by the Reverse Tree.

“Elder Xue is definitely angry with me. Or perhaps she just wants to keep me safe down here.”

It is probably both, which explains why she made him meet all the important people who might have wanted to thank him during his first day back. The only people who could take him out of the Apothecary now would be the Patriarch or Lord Feng Gui.

“Have you ever wondered how things are outside?”

A sharp branch tries to take his head off. Liu Jin leaps over it and prunes a few vines.

“It has been on my mind since I woke up,” Liu Jin continues. “Patriarch Feng’s decision should have already become public. Depending on how it is handled, and even if handled well, the Eternal Flame Clan could experience an upheaval.”

How long have the Feng siblings been covertly and not-so-covertly competing to become the next Patriarch? Years? Decades? More? How can Feng Shang be expected to silently accept it’s all over now and all his effort was for naught?

There is also the matter of the spies in the Eternal Flame Clan. Elder Xue did not seem surprised when he got to that part of the story, meaning she already suspected, or maybe she already knew. Maybe all the important people know. Regardless, if Lord Feng Gui’s ascension proves to be a problem for them, there is no telling what they will do.

“I guess I am just worried. About everything.” Liu Jin sighs as he backflips. “Sorry, I should not be heaping my troubles on you. It’s unseemly of me, and….”

Liu Jin trails off. One of the tree branches is held out towards him. By sheer happenstance, it happens to be one with a large fruit.

“Are you… offering this to me?” Liu Jin asks, tilting his head to the side. “Are you sympathizing with me?”

The branch shakes, almost making a so-so motion.

“I am grateful for your kindness, but I am also worried that you have somehow reached the point where you can understand words,” Liu Jin points out, taking the fruit. Shockingly, the tree doesn’t try to get him this time. “No, not words. More like… feelings. Is that it?”

If so, he wonders just how far along the tree is in its evolution. Perhaps they will have to worry about it becoming a demon in a few centuries. Liu Jin frowns as soon as the thought appears. No, it is not quite so simple. The process toward becoming a demon has stages, and they all take time.

“But maybe…”

“Are you trying to make friends with the Reverse Tree?”

“Senior Brother Luo,” Liu Jin says as he blurs all the way to the entrance, well out of the Reverse Tree’s reach. “I was not expecting you.”

Senior Brother Luo is an Inner Disciple who works at the Apothecary. He specializes in translating the old texts they have stored. Before the contest, he approached Liu Jin with a proposition that led them to cooperate in rediscovering the elixir that allowed Senior Brother Guo to surpass the limits of the Earth Realm.

“You did not answer my question,” the older disciple points out.

“I find myself needing to air my thoughts,” Liu Jin says, casting a look at the Reverse Tree. The idea that Elder Xue may have fed him something that has made him more honest is considered but swiftly discarded. Not only would he have sensed something like that, but Elder Xue doesn’t need to rely on that sort of method to compel the truth out of someone. “The Reverse Tree proved an able listener.”

“It tries to drain the life out of anyone who enters this room,” Luo points out.

“A listener only needs to be silent.”

“Only you, Brother Jin.” Luo shakes his head. “Only you.”

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“I will take that as a compliment. Did Senior Brother Luo wish to talk to me about something?”

“Yes,” he says. As he approaches him, Liu Jin notices his eyes are red, and there are dark circles under them. “There is one particular matter I need your help with.”

~~~

Squawk!

Soaring Feather leaps into Liu Jin’s arms as soon as he enters the room. It would have been cute a few months ago, but Soaring Feather is almost as big as a horse now. His wings are so large that they completely hide Liu Jin’s body as they close around him in a facsimile of a hug.

“I missed you too,” Liu Jin tells the Black-Winged Imperial Eagle. He scratches the back of his head, and the bird croons softly. “I am sorry for not coming to pick you up sooner.”

Shameful as it is to admit, between what happened with the Patriarch, Elder Xue parading him around, Bei Hong’s party, and his very long nap afterward, Liu Jin had completely forgotten about visiting Soaring Feather.

“What have you been feeding him?” He asks Luo. “He was not this big when I left.”

It is not just Soaring Feather’s size that surprises Liu Jin. The Spirit Beast has grown in cultivation while he was away. While Soaring Feather’s physical growth has always been quick, he was never particularly strong as a Spirit Beast. That is why Liu Jin did not take him to the Dead Plains and instead left him in Senior Brother Luo’s care.

However, if his growth keeps following this pace, Liu Jin will not have to worry about that in a few more months.

“Feeding him! Ha!” Luo lets out a harsh laugh. “If only it could be so simple. No, let’s call it what it is, Brother Jin. This bird of yours has been extorting me!”

That draws a raised eyebrow from Liu Jin. He slowly shifts his gaze to Soaring Feather, who squawks in indignation.