Chapter 887: Amazing Waterdrop
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
"This is a mutant geno tree?" Han Sen said, as he looked at the old tree.
"Yes. If we could tend and cultivate it successfully, we should be able to grow Dragon-Blood Fruit. They bear mutant-class pet beast souls, called Dragon-Blood Snakes. They could all be sold for riches," Qu Lanxi said.
"Selling just one of those would make us rich." Qu Lanxi paused for a brief while before continuing, "But such thoughts are pointless, even if the tree was alive. It requires the blood of ordinary beasts, each and every day. I have heard that the blood of Blood-Scale Snakes is the most beneficial. But unfortunately, Qing Ming Shelter does not possess any such snakes. The old spirit that once lived here perished in the Thorn Forest in search of them."
"That is a shame," Han Sen said, feeling sorry in his heart.
"Even if such blood was available for sale, we couldn't afford it. This tree is a lost cause on us," Qu Lanxi said.
Han Sen smiled and looked at her.
She was an elegant woman. Although she was not stunning, she was beautiful and fair. Her appearance was delicate and comforting, and her company was something many people would want for.
Even amidst such dreary circumstances, she looked after herself well and kept herself tidy and neat. Even though the color of her clothes had long since faded, she didn't look ragged; despite her apparel and surrounding environment, she looked natural and fair.
She might not have been the prettiest woman to look at, but she had an inviting appeal. She exuded a sense of comfort, and Han Sen found himself quite attracted to her.
"Where is Chu Ming?" Han Sen looked past her, but did not see him.
"He went to buy food in the shelter; he'll be back soon." She then observed Han Sen with a stare, and went on to say, "Your wounds have healed quickly."
"My hyper geno art can heal." Han Sen had a prepared response for her curiosity.
He had healed almost too quickly. His body had been broken, with organs damaged and bones snapped. Yet, after but a few days, he was back on his feet. No one would believe he had healed this quickly via natural means.
"Healing powers? You can heal people?" Qu Lanxi asked Han Sen with shock.
"If I am fully recovered, I can impart healings on others. But that would depend on who or what; while it is fairly strong, I don't imagine my healing ability would prove sufficient for a wounded super creature," Han Sen said, modestly.
"It is rare to find people who can heal others of the same tier. When you have recovered, you might be able to find a job over on the ranch. Healing abilities are cherished at such a place, so you'd be paid handsomely," Qu Lanxi told Han Sen.
Han Sen was interested in this prospect, so he asked, "Ranch? What ranch?"
"Well, it's more of a colosseum, really. Spirits trap creatures that are unable to be tamed and pit them against each other, for the entertainment of humans." Qu Lanxi sounded as if she did not think fondly of such venues. After her brief explanation, she returned to the house and tidied up.
Han Sen remained near the Dragon-Blood Tree, evaluating what his next move should be.
With his power, he should have been able to kill ordinary creatures without any hassle. But now that he had learnt the creatures of this area were owned, he couldn't kill as freely as he might have wanted to.
Heading to Thorn Forest would be too dangerous in his current condition, as well, and if he ended up squaring off against a mutant creature, he could very well be killed.
Han Sen had thought repaying the debt would be a trivial task, but there were a few complications involved that would make it much harder than he initially thought.
"Oh, black crystal. Why would you absorb the lifeforce of that Ink-Sword Tree? Why-oh-why, troublesome black crystal? You used to be quite helpful, so why are you working against all of us here?" Han Sen was a little upset over his predicament.
As these feelings of sadness came over him, he felt the black crystal in the Sea of Soul tremble. One of the bountiful waterdrops it had excreted earlier, now exited the Sea of Soul and dropped onto the root of the tree.
Han Sen was shocked at this sudden turn of events. He witnessed the dying, crooked tree absorb the waterdrop without delay. And almost immediately, the weakened lifeforce of the tree was ignited. It was coming back to life.
Han Sen's mood made a quick turn-around, and he exclaimed to himself, "These waterdrops can raise old, dead wood back to life?"
The tree didn't recover its life immediately, however. It was still slowly absorbing the waterdrop.
As Han Sen observed the tree, Chu Ming returned home with a filled sack. Seeing Han Sen sunbathing near the old tree, he was quickly brought to anger. He marched forward and said, "How unfortunate it was for us to meet you! You destroyed our Ink-Sword Tree, and to top it off, we have to babysit and feed you! I'm warning you. You better get well soon and pay us back!"
"Stop yelling and come in for lunch." Qu Lanxi had prepared food, and called them both in to eat.
Chu Ming frequently complained to Han Sen, but Han Sen understood why and thought it was reasonable. But now, Han Sen was curious about what state the old tree would soon be in, after receiving the waterdrop.
If all was successful, and it was indeed brought back to life, it'd be a mutant geno tree. The Dragon-Blood Fruit could be sold for a high price, solving all the problems Han Sen currently had.
The black crystal's waterdrops were incredibly powerful. If it could continue producing such waterdrops, they'd provide Han Sen a lot of help in the times to come.
Han Sen did not know what it took to produce those waterdrops. All he knew was that the black crystal absorbed the lifeforce of the Ink-Sword Tree and was able to produce three such waterdrops.
"Three waterdrops for a tree that had been growing for three years. Is that a coincidence?" Han Sen thought to himself.
After eating lunch, Qu Lanxi went back to working in the yard. Han Sen returned to the tree and watched for any further changes intently.
Although it was slow, Han Sen could feel the tree greasing the cogs of its existence. Slowly but surely, it was coming back to life. He wasn't sure when it'd be back to full health, but he did indeed feel it coming.
The next day, Han Sen woke up on the wooden board he had been given for a mattress. He woke up to the sound of Chu Ming shouting.
"Lanxi! Come out and take a look! The Dragon-Blood Tree is growing."
Chapter 888: I'll Call Him Big Boss
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
"Chu Ming, it is too early for jokes. Go get washed and get ready for work," Qu Lanxi said as she walked outside in her misty-eyed haze. She glimpsed the Dragon-Blood Tree and her mouth dropped.
"You weren't joking. How in the sanctuaries did the Dragon-Blood Tree spring back to life?" She ran in front of the tree and noticed the presence of small, newly sprouted leaves adorning the branches of the tree.
Although there weren't many leaves, the significance of the new ones that had appeared was astounding, and it heralded the fact that the tree was not truly dead.
If it was alive, that meant it could grow. If it could grow, it'd have a chance of bearing fruit.
Han Sen exited the house and saw the tree's overnight developments. He sensed the lifeforce, and felt the bounty of energy that had returned to it.
Qu Lanxi and Chu Ming were in the middle of exuberant joy, extremely excited over the prospects of the tree's revival.
Han Sen walked in front of the tree and touched its trunk. He wanted to examine the lifeforce with greater accuracy, and when he did, he frowned.
The tree had been revived enough for it to come to life and spawn leaves, but it had absorbed every ounce of energy the waterdrop had given to it. The energy would not be enough for the tree to produce fruit.
It took normal geno seeds a few months to grow harvestable fruit, but ordinary geno seeds took one to ten years.
Han Sen feared mutant geno seeds might take one hundred years to grow, and the old spirit had already been growing it for ninety years when he perished and it came into the possession of Qu Lanxi and Chu Ming. It could very well take another ten years for the fruit to develop.
Having this tree alive and not growing fruit would be useless, though.
Two days later, the tree had fully come to life; it looked like it was going to fully regrow.
Another two days passed, and on that day, they noticed the leaves start to lose their color and turn yellow.
"Oh, no! Why is it dying again?" Chu Ming asked in saddened shock.
Qu Lanxi, with a wry smile, said, "I don't even know why it came back to life in the first place. But I suppose without the proper nutrition it needs, its death ought to have been expected. Unless we can find the blood of Blood-Scale Snakes, it'll just wither and die again."
Chu Ming heard this and was upset; he exhaled like a leaking balloon. "This is an empty happiness. But where might we find the blood of Blood-Scale Snakes? The old spirit was a knight class spirit, and was almost as strong as Qing Ming Knight. Yet, on his venture into the Thorn Forest, he died. It'd be nothing more than suicide for us to voyage into that wretched tangle of overgrown shrubbery."
Qu Lanxi, who was equally upset, said, "I have heard that a veil of darkness shrouds Thorn Forest. They say an evil presides there, one that moves unseen. Qing Ming Knight himself would never dare venture there. The old spirit's death there is quite telling, and he never traveled much further than its outskirts."
Chu Ming nodded and said, "I have heard murmurs that coincide with what you speak of. Any spirit that enters there is killed, and their spirit stones somehow self-destruct immediately after."
They both looked very depressed, contemplating these matters. Going to Thorn Forest to slay Blood-Scale Snakes was not a wise course of action. They lacked the power to compete with that domain's mysterious monsters.
When the mutant geno seed tree sprang back to life, it delighted them to witness its rebirth. Now, they could do naught but watch it wither. They had to watch it perish alongside their newfound hopes and dreams for fruit that would allow them to escape their current poverty. They felt terrible.
Han Sen suddenly interrupted them and said, "I know a thing or two about restoring trees. Would you like to give my methods a try?"
Chu Ming immediately rejected Han Sen, by saying, "No! No! No! No! Do not mess things up any further. You have only just arrived in the Third God's Sanctuary, so how would you know about geno trees? Do you think these are akin to your finely trimmed hedges in the Alliance? Do you think you can sprinkle some tap water on the tree and everything will be fine and it'll grow?"
Qu Lanxi was more composed, and she instead simply asked, "Do you really know how to help us with this?"
Han Sen answered, "I have learnt much about botany from a certain professor I used to know. Of course, I was taught these methods back in the First God's Sanctuary. I am unsure whether or not these methods can be applied to successful results in this place. Provided you don't have any other methods you'd like to use first, would you like to try mine?"
"Which botany professor did you learn these things from?" Qu Lanxi asked.
"Professor Sun Minghua," Han Sen answered. When he protected Sun Minghua, he actually only learned how to identify plants. He wasn't taught anything about growing trees.
Han Sen used this reasoning as a guise, so he could apply another waterdrop from his black crystal onto the tree.
"Professor Sun? He is a respectable teacher. I didn't know he accepted students; I just thought he was a lecturer." Qu Lanxi, knowing about the professor, looked at Han Sen in shock.
Han Sen waved his hand and said, "Oh, I wasn't his student. I just learnt a thing or two off him, every now and again."
Qu Lanxi did not ask any further questions, but just pointed at the tree and told Han Sen, "Well, take a good look. Are there any other ways we might keep it alive, without having to feed it the blood of Blood-Scale Snakes? We don't require that it grow fruit, and just keeping it alive would be more than enough."
"Pah! You really believe in this yahoo? Look, it needs beast blood to grow. End of story. Nothing else will make it grow," Chu Ming rebutted.
"But we're out of options; so, let's allow San Mu to try what he can," Qu Lanxi said.
Han Sen walked in front of the tree and circled it. He told Qu Lanxi, "I will do what I can. But if I do bring this tree to life, will that wipe the slate clean of my debt?"
"If you can grow it, then yes. That would more than make up for the debt. And if we sell the fruit for a good price, we'll even cut you in for a portion of the sales," Qu Lanxi said.
"Then I will try my best! Here's to hoping it works." Han Sen grabbed a bucket.
"What are you doing?" Chu Ming asked.
"I am collecting water from the river. I'll be right back!" Han Sen said.
"Why? Do you really believe water is all that it takes to bring this tree back to life?" Chu Ming said, with eyes wide open in disbelief.
"Yes. If there is no blood, then we must use water." Han Sen smiled.
Chu Ming's started to get feisty once again, and he barked, "Are you here just to bullsh*t us? This is a mutant gene tree, you dipsh*t. It's not a palm tree of the Alliance, so using water on it is pointless."
"Well, do you have any beast-blood I can use?" Han Sen asked, sarcastically.
Chu Ming did not respond. They couldn't even afford normal beast blood.
They spent all the money they had on the Ink-Sword Tree, and it had emptied their wallets. Before the harvest, they only had a small amount of money to afford the basics.
"Lanxi, are you really going to let him do this? How can he think of using water on this tree? If it works, I'll kiss his feet and call him Big Boss. Pah!" Chu Ming mocked, as he watched Han Sen head towards the river.
"Well, there's no harm in letting him try," Qu Lanxi said.