Demon King's Repayment - chapter 173

Yuan Xiang suddenly woke up from the dream with red ears, only to feel her heart pounding, as if she had forgotten something.

There was no penny tree at all, and there was no beautiful picture under the tree. Nan He curled up beside her, closed his eyes, and slept soundly. He vaguely sensed Yuan Xiang’s movement, and covered her up with his tail tightly to prevent her from falling. 

Yuan Xiang hid in his warm hair and covered her red face. Knowing that she was greedy for Nan He’s body, was she so wretched that she could have that kind of dream for no reason?

***

“Ah, there is such a small shrine,” Yuan Xiang pushed aside the grass, and she found a small house under a thick sycamore tree.

The tiny tiles were covered with moss, and it was impossible to see what Gods were enshrined under the dim eaves.

“Most of them are dedicated to tree Gods.” Hu Qing squatted beside Yuan Xiang, “In the past, humans worshiped and revered all powerful creatures. Whether it was spirits, demons, monks, as long as they could get close to and bless humans, humans would build large and small statues for them. From the great powers who reached the sky, to the plant demons and beasts gathered in the village, there were people who worshiped them.”

That huge tree was alone in the barren mountain. It had grown for hundreds of years, and its brown trunk was so sturdy that dozens of people couldn’t close it together.

It may be a village where humans once lived, but now all traces of human beings around it had long since disappeared, except for that small shrine under that tree that had been left alone.

Yuan Xiang stretched out her hand and pulled the vegetation in front of the shrine. A ray of sunlight filtered through and shone into the small room. She could vaguely see a simple ribbon carved into the hair of the small statue in the shrine. It was a plane tree. The tree spirits once grew up in human villages and were loved and respected by human beings.

She couldn’t help thinking of the plane tree in her courtyard that grew up with her.

A demon lived on the tree, her shifu taught herself to draw talismans on the stone table beside the tree, Wu Yuan and Li Yu played seesaw under the tree… The layers of greenery witnessed her countless joys.

Yuan Xiang stood up and looked up at the plane tree in front of her, and gently touched the rough trunk.

“Thank you,” a slow voice sounded in Yuan Xiang’s ear.

Yuan Xiang’s eyes flashed, and at that moment, she was suddenly brought into the perception world of another creature.

The scene in front of her seemed as if she was looking down from a high place. Countless human beings sang and danced happily under her feet. She seemed to have become a big tree. People hung colorful banners on the branches, brought sacrifices, built a shrine, kneeled under the tree and prayed.

“Tree God, brother Ashan will come to my house to propose marriage tomorrow, please let everything go well. I like him so much. I hope to be with him in this life,” a young girl stroked the trunk of the tree, praying with a red face. Yuan Xiang could feel her soft and warm hand.

“Lord Tree God, I will give birth to a baby soon, bless me this time with a boy,” a pregnant woman who was about to give birth looked up under the tree with a happy face, protecting her bulging belly.

“My cow is lost. Lord Tree God, please help me find it. Otherwise, I will be beaten to death by my father.”

People’s joys and sorrows seemed to have infected Yuan Xiang, or the tree as she was now, making her feel happy and joyful when she saw such a lively scene.

She didn’t know since when, but the neighborhood gradually became deserted, and fewer people came under the tree.

“Lord Tree God, we are going to move, I don’t know why there are more demons here recently. It is said that the land in the east is suitable for human survival, and we plan to move there and have a look. In the future, if we have an opportunity, we will come back to see you, Lord Tree God.”

The girl who had blushed and sought marriage under the tree had become a mature woman. She held a package with her children big and small, standing under the tree to say goodbye.

Soon human beings relocated. There was no more noisiness nearby. It was completely silent, and no humans appeared again. Even the houses left by humans were collapsing and disappearing little by little. In the dust, no more traces could be seen.

“Humans are really ruthless creatures. I have grown up among them since I was a child, but they bullied me for not having moving legs. They just walked away and left me here for hundreds of years.”