Chapter 565: Chapter 565: Conversation with the Ancient Tree_1
"Where did this thunder come from so suddenly... did... did that tree just move?"
Qin Wenjun was so shocked by what she had seen that she started to stammer, wearing an expression as though she had seen a ghost.
The one who was also scared was that Hundred Year Old Apricot Tree.
When the purple lightning suddenly descended, its branches nearly bent in fright.
By the time Li Qing had appeared, it had already sensed that this person was not ordinary.
But never had it imagined that this person could so casually summon purple lightning; this... was too terrifying!
"Little sapling, I’ll see where you can run to now!"
Li Qing barked sternly, softly uttering the word "formation" from his mouth.
Instantly, rolling white lightning fell from the sky, turning the entire river beach as bright as day in an instant.
White lightning as thick as a bucket enveloped the Apricot Tree almost in the blink of an eye.
The crackling sound accompanied by loud snapping noises erupted immediately.
The Apricot Tree’s branches, which were extremely hard, were like rotten wood under such lightning, instantly shattered into pieces.
Yet, the Old Apricot Tree seemed to have some strength left and tried to escape once more.
"You’ve hidden yourself deeply enough; this place is simply a geomantic treasure spot, to have produced two such treasures,"
Li Qing murmured, once again uttering several obscure and difficult syllables.
Suddenly, the white lightning dazzled, turning the river beach completely into daytime in an instant.
The Apricot Tree, entangled by several bolts of white lightning, finally couldn’t hold up any longer.
Amid the violent cracking sounds, the Apricot Tree broke into a pile of wood fragments, almost vanishing without a trace.
The ground was scattered with charred marks, and a deep pit deep enough for a person formed.
The lightning not only destroyed the main trunk of the Apricot Tree but showed no mercy to its roots either.
"Just now... what... what happened?" Qin Wenjun was so shocked her pupils quaked, her face pale as paper.
She had not yet realized that all of this was Li Qing’s doing.
But little did she know, the Hundred Year Old Apricot Tree behind her had already been scared stiff, its ancient branches shaking like they were having a seizure.
"Didn’t you realize what happened?" Li Qing asked, quite surprised.
This old woman’s comprehension skills are lacking, huh?
"It’s nothing, maybe the Heavens just found that tree disagreeable and decided to give it a little punishment," Li Qing said nonchalantly.
Qin Wenjun looked at Li Qing with a peculiar expression.
Although she couldn’t figure out what had happened, she wasn’t quite buying his explanation.
Li Qing, this bastard, was definitely hiding something from her.
"Are you going to talk or not?" Qin Wenjun asked angrily, "You definitely know something, right?"
"Hey, I’m not going to tell you, you ungrateful, vengeful old woman!" Li Qing said with a wicked smile.
This feeling of getting revenge was just too satisfying.
Li Qing’s mood suddenly cleared up.
He ignored Qin Wenjun, who was almost as puffed up as a pufferfish, and turned to walk towards the Hundred Year Old Apricot Tree.
"Even though both the Violet Cloud Thunder and Heavenly Punishment seem to ignore you, I think you still need to explain some things to me," Li Qing said gravely, "What was the deal with those people who were hanged on you before?"
"Don’t fool yourself into thinking you can deceive the heavens, even if you have some means to avoid Heavenly Punishment, human power can still shatter you into pieces like the scholar tree brother just now. We have plenty of ways to deal with you."
The Hundred Year Old Apricot Tree felt very aggrieved at this moment, its branches rustling as if it were eagerly trying to convey a thought.
"Daoist priest, those things truly had nothing to do with me... I didn’t want them hanging from me either. Their Yin Souls entwined with me, forcing me to expend decades of my cultivation to dissolve their resentments. As for why they wanted to hang themselves on me... it’s probably because my trunk just happened to be conveniently shaped for hanging."
"Just because it’s convenient?" Li Qing’s face carried an ominous aura as he patted the apricot tree’s trunk.
That trunk, growing horizontally about two meters off the ground, did indeed seem quite convenient for hanging.
With a rope thrown over it, one wouldn’t need to step on anything to hang themselves in that spot.
"Daoist priest, you can’t wrongly accuse a good tree... I really haven’t done any evil, I grew up listening to the ’Tao Te Ching’!"
The old apricot tree became somewhat frantic, and the thoughts it transmitted became much clearer.
"You grew up listening to the ’Tao Te Ching’? Who read it to you?" Li Qing asked in surprise.
This tree, from the sound of it, had some backstory!
The old apricot tree rustled its branches as it recounted its past.
Turns out, over three hundred years ago there was a Dragon King Temple here, and a destitute scholar who had encountered robbers lost all his travelling funds, hence he took up residence here and lived out his life.
This old apricot tree was planted by the scholar during the second year of his stay at the Dragon King Temple.
Although the scholar never achieved any official acclaim, he diligently kept to his writing throughout his lifetime, and even taught the village children to read and write for free.
At that time, the scholar’s open-air classroom was right beside this apricot tree.
Eventually, the old apricot tree became enlightened.
But after hearing this story, Li Qing still harbored some doubts.
One person hanging themselves from a tree might indeed be a coincidence, because the tree was well-suited for it.
But several in a row, that was definitely not ordinary.
However, Li Qing didn’t press the point further, pretending on the surface to believe the old apricot tree’s explanation.
Qin Wenjun watched Li Qing talking to the apricot tree, almost going mad on the spot.
Because Li Qing really looked like he was talking to the apricot tree.
"You... can you really talk to this apricot tree?" Qin Wenjun stammered in disbelief.
Li Qing looked at Qin Wenjun with a faint smile, purposely not answering her.
"Then... then what exactly is this tree? Is it a ghost...?" Qin Wenjun asked again, her face pale.
Li Qing smiled without a word.
Hehe, feeling desperate, are you? Uncomfortable, huh?
You old witch, now you ought to understand what it means when fortune turns!
Qin Wenjun really was getting anxious.
Li Qing’s behavior just now, coupled with the earlier incident of lightning striking the tree, made her feel that this place had suddenly become eerie.
A chill crept over her, making all the hairs on her body stand on end in an instant.
"Isn’t it enough that I said I was wrong? You, just tell me already, let’s just leave here quickly," Qin Wenjun said nervously.
"You go ahead first, I still have some things to take care of here," Li Qing said, pretending to be very busy.
Qin Wenjun glared at Li Qing, "Are you really that petty? I’ve already apologized to you!"
"You call that an apology?" Li Qing was astonished, "You’ve wronged me twice, causing family discord at home, and I almost got taken away. Do you think that’s trivial? I saved your life—if it hadn’t been for me coming down here with something to do, you’d be a corpse by now. And you still think I’m being petty?"
