Although it was unintentional, Shu Yao still felt extremely embarrassed. He had never lost his composure like this before. He was already three hundred years old this year. The two little kids in front of him were only three or four years old, yet they had made him lose control in public. The five - hundred - year - old old tree beside him had started to cackle at him. Its leaves fluttered and fell one after another from the half - grown tree sprite's head, withering and turning to dust.
"Shu Yao, Shu Yao. As a tree sprite, I never thought you'd be so easily flustered by a little kid. It's really laughable, laughable."
Shu Yao blushed instantly, but under his gray - black bark, only he could see his embarrassed state.
"Stop talking nonsense. I just, just..."
"Just what?" the old tree sprite teased.
"Just..." Before he could finish, the kid below suddenly took off his pants and urinated right at the old tree sprite's feet in a splashing stream.
"Ah, Zixin, you're so naughty!" The girl immediately covered her eyes and turned around, refusing to look at this indecent scene.
"This stinky kid dared to pee at my feet!" The old tree sprite looked as if he had seen something unbelievable. The leaves on his head trembled so fast that he was almost bald.
The situation took a sudden turn. Shu Yao couldn't help but burst out laughing: "Old tree sprite, don't be so hasty in your words. I think this kid is quite smart. He knew you were listless and deliberately peed at your feet to wake you up."
"Don't call me old tree sprite. I'm just two hundred years older than you. In human years, I'm just eighteen. Don't call me like that."
Shu Yao scoffed silently. He thought this was just like the saying 'the magistrate may burn down houses while the common people may not even light lamps'. The old tree sprite had never been replied to when it taunted him before, but now, just because he added a 'old' in a joking way, it got so angry. It really had no tolerance.
When the two kids gradually walked away, Shu Yao closed his eyes and began to meditate in peace.
"Why did I have to be born beside you? If you hadn't lured those kids here, he wouldn't have peed at my feet." The old tree sprite still brooded over this and kept complaining about Shu Yao's faults.
"Alright, alright. Do you think I wanted to be born beside you? It's predestined by heaven that we're together. Just accept your fate."
"I don't want to accept it..." The old tree sprite's tone suddenly became sad. "Look at that spiritual tree on the mountain peak. So many people go to worship it and make wishes. It has been here for thousands of years and still stands firmly. The spiritual core of that tree must have become a god and is enjoying endless glory in the sky. But we're still growing in this remote and sunless place. Why on earth?"
Shu Yao opened his mouth but didn't say a word. He never expected the old tree sprite to say such a thing. Usually, it was lazy and irresponsible, occasionally making some out - of - line jokes, but it had never seriously talked about the gap between them and the spiritual tree on the mountain peak like today.
Why was it acting like this?
"It's the will of heaven. We can't envy. Among so many spiritual trees, there must be one that becomes a god. The others may practice for thousands of years but still end up as sprites. If we say what the meaning of our existence is, maybe it's just to give us a chance to feel this world."
After hearing his answer, the old tree sprite didn't say a word for a long time. After a long silence, the leaves on its head stopped trembling. At this moment, a cold wind blew and blew off a few more leaves. The old tree sprite stared at the green leaves for a long time and fell into a fit of melancholy.
"On ordinary days, I disdained these withered things. But tonight, I don't know why, but I've become a bit fond of them."
Something was wrong. It was so abnormal. The old tree sprite was acting as if it was possessed today. If it weren't for the fact that they had been companions for over a hundred years, Shu Yao would even suspect that it had gone crazy, driven mad by the desire to become an immortal.
"You're tired. Let's talk about it tomorrow."
"Um..." The old tree sprite replied listlessly, closed its eyes, and fell into a deep sleep.
When he woke up the next day, the old tree sprite was gone. Shu Yao searched everywhere for its figure but only found a few remaining tree roots on the ground.
The place where the old tree sprite had been was now an uneven pit. Its roots had been brutally cut off, leaving only a mess of fallen leaves.
What had happened to the old tree sprite?
"Mom, mom, our tree has been dug up!" The little girl with twin buns from yesterday stumbled out of the house. When she reached the place where the old tree sprite had been, she tripped and fell headlong into the pit.
She roughly wiped her face, then shouted at the top of her lungs, with a few tears streaming down her face: "Mom, come out quickly and take a look. Our tree has been dug up, wuwu..."
A chubby woman heard her shouting and rushed out of the house in a hurry. When she saw the remaining roots and fallen leaves of the old tree sprite, she got extremely angry: "Oh, which heartless scoundrel cut down our spiritual tree and even uprooted it? This tree was spiritual. Damn it..."
After hearing the woman's words, Shu Yao knew that the old tree sprite had been dug up alive. With its cultivation, it couldn't leave this place at all.
But why didn't the old tree sprite make a sound when it was dug up? Although he had also fallen asleep last night, he was a light sleeper. Why didn't it wake him up for help?
"Girl, you must watch over the spiritual tree beside it from now on. Call that kid from the west village to take turns guarding it, so that those heartless scoundrels won't come to dig the tree again."
The girl sobbed and nodded. She raised her sleeve to wipe the tears on her face and, with her eyes swollen like walnuts, trotted quickly to the west village to call that unruly kid.
Seeing the girl's swollen and red eyes, Shu Yao suddenly felt a pang in his heart. Was she crying for the old tree sprite? Why was she so sad after the old tree sprite was dug up?
He didn't know that after the girl left, his own face was also wet.
So this was how it felt to lose a companion one had been with day and night. He suddenly missed the days when he used to bicker with the old tree sprite.
Being dug out alive must have been extremely painful, but the old tree sprite had endured it silently. Why on earth had it done that?
Shu Yao thought about it but couldn't figure it out. But after thinking about the old tree sprite's rambling words yesterday, he suddenly understood.
It couldn't find the meaning of its existence. It had been doing boring cultivation day after day. It was so lonely that it could only be compared to his three - hundred - year - old elm - like self. As a spiritual tree, it didn't receive the due worship, so it didn't have enough merits to cultivate into an immortal.
When it was dug up last night, it must have felt boundless despair. It didn't call him just because it didn't want him to see its embarrassing state.
The old tree sprite had always been proud and couldn't tolerate being laughed at.
Shu Yao suddenly felt a deep sadness in his heart. Why didn't it wait a little longer? This girl clearly cared about it so much...