novelraw Chapter 786: The Gardener
Chapter 786: The Gardener
"I am leading the invaders into the Serene Forest..."
The voice was just like that of the dying Professor Nuno Alexandrovich.
His curse, it seemed, had originated from this very place.
Rustle...
In response, the enormous tree rustled its crown.
"This is the Pioneer's directive..."
The wind carried the whisper.
The enormous tree obediently lowered its crown.
A figure woven from branches approached Lu Li.
"Invaders, follow me..."She turned and walked deeper into the forest.
The danger seemed to have passed. Lu Li got up, brushing fallen leaves from his clothes.
"My leg..."
A hurt sob came from beneath Elder Sister's distorted mask.
"Can it be fixed?" Lu Li asked, picking Elder Sister up.
"No..."
"I'll stitch it up when this is over." Lu Li placed her in the hood on his back and looked around.
The deep shadows of the forest surrounded him. The trees, rooted in fertile soil, were teeming with life, and if needed, they could transform into mighty warriors in an instant.
There was no path of retreat.
The roars of the Mother Model had not ceased, but she was nearly at her limit, and the sound of falling trees had long since faded. Soon, this forest would subdue her and turn her into nourishment.
Lu Li averted his gaze and followed the retreating, branching figure.
Rustle...
She walked ahead impassively, her feet treading on a thick layer of fallen leaves and mud.
The deeper they went, the thicker and taller the trees became, closing off the sky like a primeval forest. The accumulated fallen leaves rose to their knees, and the rustling was the only sound in the dark, silent woods.
It was impossible to know if these trees, like the ones at the edge, could also transform into warriors to defend their home from enemies.
Elder Sister clung tightly to the hood, while Lu Li followed calmly behind their guide.
After a while, naturally formed treehouses appeared in the depths of the forest's shadows.
Branches had naturally grown into the shapes of houses, with dark green leaves adorning their exteriors.
Many Plantpeople lived here, similar to the branching figure, with limbs sprouting from their bodies. They wore tattered cloaks from which branches pushed through. They were all young adults and children.
The older Plantpeople had taken root at the edge of the clearing. Some still retained their human forms, others had half their bodies turned to wood, and some had become entirely part of the forest.
The scene deep within the forest was filled with a strange tranquility and peace.
Sensing the outsiders, they watched with curiosity.
In the middle of the clearing towered a gigantic tree. Its trunk was thicker and its canopy higher, protecting this settlement just as the great tree protected Midnight City.
"The Pioneer awaits you..."
The branching figure stopped and turned to look at Lu Li.
Lu Li looked at the giant tree, upon which an old face was faintly visible, and stepped forward.
"Can we run away?"
Elder Sister was no longer shouting, but whispering quietly in Lu Li's ear.
"Only if you can fly," Lu Li said, approaching the base of the giant tree.
The face on the wrinkled bark slowly opened one eye.
"I feel... your scent... I remember you..."
A whisper of memories rustled through the trembling branches.
"Exorcist... Lu Li."
"Who are you?"
Lu Li studied the face, trying to recall something from its old, furrowed appearance.
The Pioneer answered Lu Li slowly.
"Twenty-four years ago... Reintown... Little Lina... Do you remember?"
The face on the tree's bark gradually matched the image of a little girl from Reintown, one who had been infected by the plant plague and had lost an eye.
Lu Li nodded slightly.
"I'm glad to see you're still here..."
Little Lina... or rather, the Lina-Tree, shook her crown slightly, expressing her joy.
"But why has your scent... weakened... I almost didn't recognize you..."
"Something happened," Lu Li answered curtly.
At that moment, Elder Sister poked her head out of the hood. "You two know each other?"
"From twenty-four years ago," Lu Li said, glancing around.
"Are you their leader?"
The tree's crown rustled.
"I am not their leader. I am Her subject."
"Her?"
A branch lowered, pointing gently deeper into the forest. "The one who lives in the heart of the forest, our Lady, the Essence of the Ancestors."
While Lu Li gazed calmly into the distance, the Lina-Tree called to the branching figure standing nearby.
"Pioneer..."
The branching figure bowed her head respectfully.
"Lu Li... will be our... guide..." the Lina-Tree said slowly.
"I... don't understand..." the branching figure raised her head.
"I have heard of him... He pruned our branches so that we would remain ugly... and not grow..."
"No... child..."
The Lina-Tree gazed at her affectionately.
"Pruning makes trees flourish... Lu Li is our gardener..."
This time, the branching figure bowed her head again and said to Lu Li:
"Guide..."
In any case, the crisis had passed. Lu Li and Elder Sister would no longer be used as fertilizer and buried beneath the ground.
The Lina-Tree asked Lu Li where he was headed next.
"To the Port of Storms," Lu Li replied.
The settlement of the Plantpeople was some distance from the Port of Storms, and arriving there safely was still a problem.
"Please, rest here... It will be dark soon..." the Lina-Tree advised him.
There were less than two hours until nightfall.
The Lina-Tree asked the inhabitants of the settlement to clear out the treehouse closest to her for Lu Li, and also provided him with branches and dry leaves so he could build a fire for protection against the dark.
The Plantpeople, who were curious about Lu Li, kept their distance from the treehouse; they did not like fire.
A fire was lit in the treehouse, dispelling the gloom that shrouded the silent forest.
He was not alone. Near him...
...in the crackling of the fire, the face of the Lina-Tree gradually appeared on the wall of the treehouse.
"Can we talk?" the old face asked hopefully, like a little girl.
Lu Li did indeed have questions. "Did that anomaly leader die?"
"Not yet..." The Lina-Tree's answer revealed just how resilient and difficult to fight the anomaly leader was.
"The children are draining her strength..."
Lu Li also asked about Professor Nuno Alexandrovich's curse, but the Lina-Tree replied that she did not remember the name or his story.
"We do not intend to invade... but the wind will carry the seeds..."
The settlement of the Plantpeople rarely had contact with the outside world and did not attack people, much like a tree.
"Do you have seeds?" Lu Li asked.
"I have already removed them..." said the Lina-Tree.
The seeds were a blessing for Her subjects, but a curse for all humans.
Unfortunately, if Professor Nuno were still alive, his curse could have been lifted...
"Mister Lu Li... what do you think of this place..."
The old face suddenly looked like a child who had finished a task and was waiting for praise from an adult.
Lu Li looked out at the dark, silent clearing and the forest beyond the tree hollow, and shook his head slightly.
"Lifeless."
"Why?"
The Lina-Tree was bewildered.
"There are only trees here."
No animals, no insects, no other plants, no flowers.
Besides the trees, there was nothing else in this forest.