Yin Shou Shu

Chapter 237 The Non-existent Giant Tree
They were, after all, just three teenagers.

Even after overcoming numerous obstacles and facing countless dangers, their playful and curious nature will not disappear.

And so, Ran Qing led the two of them, along with Xiao Mianhua, to the riverbank.

When the surging Zangke River reaches the foot of Laowang Mountain, the river slows down and forms a wide, deep pool.

The green lake water is pleasing to the eye, like a green gemstone.

Ran Qing had seen similar scenes since she was a child, so she no longer found them novel.

But Long Zongshu... and even Mo Li, this girl who has traveled all over the country, were excited about the sights here.

There is a ferry crossing by the lake, where two families from the village ferry people across the river every day.

Some villagers would go fishing on weekdays, but the place is too remote, so even if they caught fish, they couldn't sell them.

Therefore, the villagers have little interest in fishing and pay more attention to tending their fields.

Only a few households go fishing in the lake, and not even every day.

Ran Qing originally planned to borrow fishing nets from a villager she knew.

Fortunately, when he arrived, the Tian family had just returned from the lake with several large fish.

Upon hearing Ran Qing's words, Uncle Tian immediately and warmly presented Ran Qing with two fresh, large grass carp.

Ran Qing stood at the door and chatted with this Uncle Tian for a while before leaving with the two grass carp she had picked up for free.

But the smile on Ran Qing's face vanished immediately after she left.

He looked up at the distant mountains and forests, his expression complex.

Mo Li and Long Zongshu tacitly avoided disturbing Ran Qing, and simply discussed grass carp happily.

Ran Qing learned some news from Uncle Tian.

His father, Ran Jianfei, has been in the village for many days.

But Ran Jianfei didn't live in the old house; instead, he drove a car and slept in it every day.

During the day, he would wander around the nearby mountains and forests, as if looking for something.

Uncle Tian was very curious: "Your dad has been wandering in the mountains for more than a week, sleeping in the car every night... What is he looking for?"

"If he needs help, just have him come to the village and call out."

The villagers are simple and friendly. Although Ran Jianfei left the village many years ago, it did not affect their goodwill.

Ran Qing recalled what Uncle Tian had told him, his expression incredibly complicated.

It wasn't exactly gloomy, but it was hard to stay calm.

Because Uncle Tian also mentioned something else.

"...Oh right, your stepmother is here too, and she brought your little sister with her."

"The little girl is quite cute, she looks just like your Ran family."

"Her mother set up a tent with her by the car, but they didn't go into the village to stay."

"The dew is so heavy in the mountains, and such a young girl has to sleep in a tent every day... It must be so tough."

Uncle Tian's tone was filled with emotion, and also with heartache.

His youngest daughter is about the same age.

Everyone knows that Ran Jianfei left the village and had a falling out with Ran Qing's grandmother.

Therefore, it was not surprising to everyone that Ran Jianfei did not stay in the old house of the Ran family after returning.

On her way back, Ran Qing greeted the villagers she met along the way with a smile, and occasionally stopped to chat for a while.

With this stop-and-go approach, it took more than forty minutes to get back to the old house.

Ran Qing didn't say much, and immediately started boiling water and cooking rice.

After processing the scales and internal organs, a large grass carp was braised.

Another fish is kept in the pond, to be eaten tonight.

"Shall we go straight to that tree?" Mo Li asked, burping after finishing breakfast. Everyone tacitly avoided mentioning Ran Qing's father and stepmother.

But on the way back and while cooking rice and fish, Ran Qing seemed somewhat dazed and restless.

Upon hearing Mo Li's question, Ran Qing remained silent for a few seconds before nodding: "Let's go find the tree first. That tree is strange; it might be in a remote area."

The area around Laowang Mountain is mostly covered with shrubs. There are some rugged and difficult-to-access forests, but there are no towering trees like those in my dream.

Ran Qing grew up here, and if there were a towering tree in the nearby mountains, everyone would know about it long ago.

Therefore, Ran Qing felt a sense of apprehension and confusion regarding the strange giant tree that appeared in her dream.

It's incomprehensible how such a colossal tree could be hidden in the mountains and forests.

Moreover, in the dream, the soil under the tree was filled with countless bones, and countless living people had become fertilizer for the giant tree.

So many people died, yet not a single word spread; that's very strange.

On the way here, Ran Qing chatted with Uncle Tian and several elders in the village who were close to him, but none of them had heard of any towering trees nearby.

Not only have I never seen one, but there isn't even a corresponding ghost story in the old folk tales.

This seems a bit strange.

It does not exist in reality, has never been discovered, and is not mentioned in any of the local legends passed down from generation to generation.

Does this giant tree not exist in reality?
The midday sun is the safest time to go out and search for ghosts.

Ran Qing and the other three went out, passed through the entire village, and soon arrived at the end of the village, where there was a dense forest ahead.

The mountains ahead are treacherous and the terrain is rugged; the yellow fruit trees planted by the villagers disappear here.

Further on, only a few scattered plots of land in the mountains were cleared for growing vegetables, making it impossible to grow Huangguoshu fruit trees.

After passing through scattered vegetable plots and several overgrown graves, leaving the village behind completely out of sight and no longer in sight, Ran Qing and his group finally entered the depths of the forest.

However, the trees in sight were not particularly thick, let alone those colossal, towering giants.

Fortunately, Ran Qing had a guiding tablet to lead her way.

He took out the Life Master's Tablet, and after a slight sensing, the somber blank wooden tablet emitted a cool texture.

Soon, a faint directional guide appeared ahead.

Ran Qing, guided by the life master's tablet, walked at the very front.

They walked deeper into the forest, and the further they went, the fewer traces of human activity they found.

At first, there was a dirt road made by people's footsteps, but as you walk, you can no longer see the road.

The dense bushes were hidden among the trees as the four of them walked through them, with rustling sounds coming from the bushes from time to time.

Those were the sounds of small animals and lurking snakes in the bushes, quickly fleeing after hearing the approach of living people.

Ran Qing and the others walked further and further into the wrong direction, and they walked like this for more than an hour.

Finally, they arrived at a completely unfamiliar region, one that Ran Qing had never been to before.

Mo Li muttered under his breath, "So tired... Haven't we arrived yet...?"

That's going way too far.

Just as Ran Qing was about to speak, a strange bell sound suddenly came from the woods ahead.

Jingle Bell--

The sound of bells grew closer, and a disheveled Taoist priest dressed in a black robe suddenly appeared in the forest, shaking a bell in one hand and holding a banner in the other.

The moment the two met, the filthy Taoist priest froze for a moment and then took a half step back.

"A spirit medium?!"

"An exorcist clan?"

The Taoist priest looked at him with a ghostly expression: "What are you doing in these mountains?"

(End of this chapter)