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Chapter 17 Duir - The Tree Cutters

At this moment, Tom, whose identity is unknown, came to the location of the old willow tree after answering Dui.

As Tom sang just now, the flames on the old willow tree had long been extinguished, leaving only two parts of the trunk that were burned black and looked lifeless.

Bombadil looked at the old willow tree, sighed, and said:

"Old Willow wasn't originally like this. It's just that over the past thousands of years, he's witnessed countless of his own kind being cut down and burned. His long-standing resentment has driven him mad, and he now hates all creatures that enter the old forest."

Then he walked over to the old willow tree, patted the lower stump with his hand, and said, "Sleep well, old willow! Remember the lesson of today and don't do any more mischief, or Bombadil will not care whether you live or die!"

Hearing Tom Bombadil's words, Dewy looked at the half-broken stump in surprise.

"You mean, Mr. Bombadil, that the old willow tree is not dead?"

"Old Willow is the most powerful Huorn in the old forest. He won't die so easily unless you dig out his roots and burn them all. Otherwise, as long as there is water and soil, he can grow again." said Tom.

Well, Dui wanted to wipe out the roots, but since they wanted to protect the old willow tree, he had to give up.

Anyway, the old willow tree has been severely injured by him, and it is unknown how long it will take for it to wake up and recover.

By then he will definitely be stronger than he is now and will not be afraid of the old willow tree at all.

"Okay, everyone, I'll send the old willow tree back to where it belongs first." Tom easily lifted the lower half of the old willow tree stump with one hand. It looked like an ant lifting something dozens of times heavier than himself. It was weird and shocking.

Then he smiled and invited Dui: "If you have time, you are welcome to visit my home anytime. Just walk upstream along the Willow River and you will reach my home."

Dui was flattered and nodded. "Thank you for the invitation. I will do it if I have the chance."

After saying goodbye to everyone, Tom Bombadil carried the old willow root, hummed a song and walked happily towards the old forest, and finally disappeared into the night.

Rory Brandybuck watched Tom disappear and couldn't help but sigh, "No matter how many times I see him, he's always the same, always full of joy!"

Hearing Rory's exclamation, Dui curiously tilted his head and asked, "Mr. Brandybuck, are you familiar with Tom Bombadil?"

Rory nodded and explained with a smile, "Actually, many people in Buckland know Tom. Unlike the trees in the Old Forest, he's a very friendly neighbor. He's helped many people who strayed into the Old Forest out of trouble. It's said that my ancestor, Gohendad Old Buck, received help from Tom when he first came here, which is why he decided to establish Buckland here."

"Then do you know his true identity?"

Rory shook his head and narrated in an epic tone, "Tom is very old, even older than the history of us Hobbits. We once curiously asked about his identity, but he always said that Tom is Tom and has no other identity.

If you ask him where he came from, he says he was here before rivers and forests appeared. He remembers the first raindrop and the first acorn. He is the master of trees, mountains and rivers.

Hearing Rory's words, Dui took a cold breath, shocked and even more curious about Tom's identity.

This passage reveals a lot of information. Tom said that he existed before the rivers and forests appeared, and even remembered the first drop of rain and the first acorn, which means that he existed when the world was born!
The identity of the owner of trees, mountains and rivers is even more unusual, and Dui even began to doubt his previous judgment.

Could it be that Tom is really the incarnation of Ilúvatar?

After all, no Valar has such great authority that he dares to say that he is the master of trees, mountains and rivers.

Dui felt that his mind was in a mess and he had no idea what to do.

If he couldn't figure it out, he stopped thinking about it and refocused his attention on the upper half of the old willow tree's trunk. Tom Bombadil had only taken the lower half of the old willow tree earlier, and now, although the remaining upper half was charred black, the exposed heartwood at the break point caught his attention.

He came to the place where the trunk was broken and found that the heart of the old willow tree was a jade-like milky white. When he knocked it, it made a crisp sound like metal hitting stone.

Dui was delighted. This tree heart was obviously extraordinary. If it was used to make a magic wand, it might be more effective than willow branches.

However, he was now exhausted and could not use magic to deal with the upper half of the trunk, so he could only ask Rory Brandybuck for help.

"Mr. Brandybuck, could you please do me a favor and take the core out of this tree trunk?"

Luo Rui naturally agreed very readily and immediately organized the best carpenters in Bucks Town to cut the tree trunk.

At the same time, Duy and the whole town were invited to attend the victory banquet in Brandy Hall.

At the banquet, Dui unsurprisingly became the most popular person.

Drogo Baggins took advantage of the situation and sat next to Dewy. Next to him was Rory's daughter Dora Brandybuck. The beautiful Dora instantly caught Drogo's attention and he couldn't take his eyes off her for a while.

"Everyone, let's raise a toast to today's hero, Duyle the Lumberjack!" Rory Brandy Deer stood up, raised his glass, and shouted happily to everyone.

The other hobbits also raised their glasses and looked at Dee at the top with burning eyes.

"To Duir the Tree-cutter!" everyone shouted in unison, and the deafening sound echoed throughout the Brandy Hall.

Dui responded to everyone with a smile, but he was complaining in his heart.

Tree feller? What kind of a title is that? It sounds like someone who cuts down trees. Couldn't they have discussed this with me before starting?

The banquet lasted until very late, and Dui and Zhuo Guo returned home reluctantly.

The very tired Dui fell asleep as soon as he touched the bed. When he woke up again, it was already time for afternoon tea.

After sleeping for so long, Dui's spirit has recovered a lot, but he is still a little weak, as if he has overused his brain, and his whole body is drowsy.

Moreover, the aftereffects of the magic explosion made the magic power in his body somewhat unstable, so he tried not to use magic power these days and wait until the magic power stabilized.

Unable to use magic for the time being, Dui had nothing to do for a while, so he simply picked up the wood and continued carving the wand.

Not long after, there was a knock on the door.

It was a few Hobbit militiamen who brought the heart of the old willow tree to Dewy under the orders of Lord Rory Brandybuck.

According to the militia captain, because the trunk of the old willow tree was too thick and hard, dozens of carpenters took a long time to split the trunk and take out the innermost core.

"Lord Duyle, we didn't know how long the heart tree would take, and we didn't dare to make a decision on our own, so we brought you the entire heart tree."

What caught my eye was a white tree core that was almost four or five meters long and was carried by two Hobbit militiamen.

Unlike the huge trunk of the old willow tree, the heart of the tree is only as thick as a wrist, with a milky white color like jade and fine wood grain, which is beautiful and full of mystery.

(End of this chapter)