Lou Qingzhuo left. After leaving behind such a sentence that made Zhaozhao lose her soul, he walked away.
The fruit yogurt made by Senior Brother Xiaowu was still sitting on the dining table. Zhaozhao propped her chin and thought for a long time without taking a single bite. Cheng Sang felt so heart - aching seeing her like this. He waved his hand in front of Zhaozhao. Seeing that she showed no reaction, he turned around and went to the kitchen to get another spoon. He scooped up a big spoonful of the fruit yogurt and held it up to Zhaozhao's lips.
"Zhaozhao... Stop thinking about it. Eat something. That guy's words may not be true."
He said these words to console Zhaozhao, but in fact, he knew very well in his heart that the words of that Eastern Clan's young master, Lou Qingzhuo, were most likely true. Even if not, Zhaozhao must have some connection with the Returning Soul Tree he mentioned.
Zhaozhao had no appetite. She took the spoon from Senior Brother Xiaowu and put it back in the bowl. With her head down in deep thought, she kept silent for a long time, which made Cheng Sang both anxious and helpless.
Cheng Sang had no other way. He walked up to Zhaozhao, crouched down halfway, and looked up at her, trying to catch her attention. "Zhaozhao, say something. Don't be so silent. Your senior brother is really worried about you."
"I'm sorry, Senior Brother Xiaowu. I didn't mean to make you worry." Zhaozhao lowered her head, picked at her fingers, and apologized to Cheng Sang, looking like a child who had done something wrong.
Her obedient look only made Cheng Sang feel more heart - broken. "There's no need to apologize. Zhaozhao, you've done nothing wrong. Your senior brother just hopes that you can talk. If there's anything bothering you, say it out. Don't keep it all to yourself. Let's figure it out together, okay?"
Zhaozhao nodded, looking a bit more perked up.
From the moment she heard the words "Returning Soul Technique" from Lou Qingzhuo's mouth until he left the apartment, Zhaozhao immediately looked up information about the Returning Soul Tree. Cheng Sang was there with her at that time. When she saw some records about the Returning Soul Tree, Zhaozhao didn't show much of a reaction. But there was one thing that made her face turn deathly pale instantly.
The scroll recorded such a passage: "In the Juku Continent, on the ground between the hours of 3 - 5 pm and 5 - 7 pm, there is a big tree, similar to the maple tree, but its flowers and leaves give off a fragrance that can be smelled for hundreds of miles. It is called the Returning Soul Tree. Boil its juice in a king's cauldron, and it will turn into a black sticky substance, named the Returning to Life Incense. Its fragrance can be smelled for hundreds of miles. When a corpse lies on the ground, upon smelling this fragrance, it will come back to life."
This short passage encompassed all the records of the Returning Soul Tree in this world and also explained the innate ability of the Returning Soul Tree - bringing the dead back to life.
Zhaozhao didn't believe that such an ability could exist in this world. Bringing the dead back to life was inherently wrong and violated the laws of heaven. She was just an ordinary little tree. Even though Master said that she might be a bit unusual, how could she be so against the heavens?
But if this wasn't the case, there seemed to be no way to explain why Master didn't want to tell her what her true form was, why he had been hiding so many things from her all these years, and why he told her to protect herself well and never reveal to anyone that she was a demon. Even though almost everyone in the Medicine Administration Bureau he worked in was a demon, Master was still afraid that others would find out her identity and do her harm.
Bringing the dead back to life... So many people were eager to obtain such power. Only this could explain it...
But if that passage only made Zhaozhao feel a bit sad, then the line that followed in this scroll completely plunged her into the abyss, making her shiver from head to toe.
"Since this tree violated the ethics of heaven and caused chaos in the world, it was regarded as inauspicious. Therefore, the will of heaven took action, sending down thousands of thunderbolts, and it was destroyed from the world."
This short sentence brought back the most painful memories in Zhaozhao's heart. She used to think of those pains, the pictures she saw, and the large expanse of scorched earth on the ground as a nightmare. But later, reality kept reminding her that it had really happened.
Zhaozhao told herself, consoling herself in her heart, that it might just be the tribulation she had to go through when transforming. Master also said that she was special. She was a divine tree, so it was only natural that the tribulation she had to face was much more severe than others.
But she had never thought it would end up like this. Was it really to kill her...
In a daze, she seemed to recall the voice in her dream again. That voice told her that she shouldn't have existed in this world, that she shouldn't be alive.
But Zhaozhao thought and thought but couldn't figure out what she had done wrong.
If she was really that Returning Soul Tree, having such an ability wasn't her wish. Why was she regarded as an inauspicious thing, and why were all the mistakes pushed onto her? Was it also her fault because of the evil thoughts born out of other people's greed?
She really couldn't figure it out...
"Senior brother, I have nothing to do with that Returning Soul Tree, right? I'm not the Returning Soul Tree. You know that, right?" Zhaozhao fixed her eyes on Cheng Sang. She was eager to get an answer, an answer that would deny her connection with the legendary Returning Soul Tree. She didn't want to be the Returning Soul Tree at all. She just wanted to be the little junior sister on Wutong Mountain.
Even if she was a bit stupid, a bit slow, even if she could never successfully transform and her body would always be incomplete, she was willing.
Cheng Sang's heart ached seeing her like this. "No, our Zhaozhao is not the Returning Soul Tree. Zhaozhao is just Zhaozhao. There are so many kinds of divine trees in this world. Who says our Zhaozhao must be the Returning Soul Tree? It doesn't matter. Don't be afraid. No matter what, your senior brother will be with you, and everyone on Wutong Mountain will be with you. If our Zhaozhao wants to be the Returning Soul Tree, then be it. If not, it's okay. It's not a big deal..."
Listening to her senior brother's gentle consolation, a sour feeling welled up in Zhaozhao's heart. She had so many people who loved her. She wasn't an inauspicious disaster. It must be a lie in this book!
Tears welled up in her eyes, and Zhaozhao tried hard not to let them fall. She didn't want to look so vulnerable, being crushed just because of a few words of unknown authenticity in the book. She stubbornly raised her head, trying hard to hold back the tears.
Zhaozhao was still in the middle of her grief when the doorbell rang again. She heard it, but she didn't have the heart to deal with it for the moment. Cheng Sang, of course, also didn't care. All his attention was on his little junior sister. Right now, comforting his little junior sister was his top priority. As for whoever was outside the door, let them wait.
However, the person outside the door didn't wait quietly. After waiting for a long time and seeing no one come to open the door, she took out the key, turned the lock, and pushed the door open.
It was Song Yao, whom they hadn't seen for a long time.
Song Yao had the Matchmaker Stone in her pocket, and her heart felt heavy. She had been feeling a bit dejected, but when she looked up, she saw a strange man squatting in front of her younger sister in the room. And her silly younger sister's eyes were red and moist, looking like she was about to cry out of grievance.
The protective - sister - crazy Song Yao's depression vanished in an instant, replaced by the anger rising from the bottom of her heart.
She rushed a few steps forward in a hurry, pushed the strange man who seemed to come out of nowhere away, and protected her younger sister behind her. She stared at Cheng Sang fiercely with wide - open eyes. "Who are you, you scoundrel?! How dare you bully my sister, Song Yao's sister!"
Zhaozhao didn't even have time to be sad anymore. Seeing this situation, she naturally thought of Song Yao's previous behavior and instantly realized that her cousin had misunderstood. She fumbled to pull Song Yao away and said anxiously, "Cousin, don't do anything! This is my senior brother. He didn't bully me!"
"Se... Senior brother?" Song Yao was completely stunned on the spot. She looked at the man who had been pushed to sit on the ground on his buttocks by her, then turned to look at her younger sister. A flush of heat rose to her face.
Help! This is so embarrassing! She wanted to dig a hole in the ground and bury herself in it...