"Ha! I knew it!" Feng Bujue heard that and yelled at the strange face. "You monster! Show yourself!"
There was power behind that shout, but still, he did not inch any closer to the monster. The monster abandoned the ruse immediately. Since the disguise had failed, it abandoned the plan. The face changed as the thick and numerous wrinkles on the face turned into wood grains. Then, the head and the arm that was 'hidden' behind the true turned into two branches, and a little bell hung on the end of one. At the same time, on the tree trunk, facing Passing Rain's direction, two gaps that ran like wounds appeared suddenly. Like a pair of eyes, it peeled open. The eyelids were the bark, and underneath them was a pair of large black pupils.
"Such a busybody…" A thick, heavy voice came from inside the trunk this time. "If you dare, come over…"
Passing Rain did not reply. She had nothing to say anyway since she responded with action. Holy Seal flashed, and she waved her arms. A blade wave rushed forward. Passing Rain's skill was surprisingly strong as it managed to leave a wound about two meters long on the trunk. The tree was unable to move or evade. The tree trunk took it firmly. The bark peeled open, and a gurgle of corrupted blood flow out from it.
"Ah!" A wail came from inside the trunk like the monster was in deep pain. Feng Bujue had already circled to Passing Rain's side by then. He knew that he would not be in danger if he maintained a safe distance from the monster. Therefore, he made his move without worry.
"This monster looks like it has a weak defense…" Feng Bujue grumbled to himself. "And has a limited attack range as well…"
He turned to look at Passing Rain. "Its attack is probably very powerful. If we're close enough, it might one-hit-ko us."
"My skill earlier has a low cooldown but exhausts some Sorcery Points." Passing Rain understood Feng Bujue's meaning, but she had limited long ranged attacks.
"Hmm… leave it to me then," Feng Bujue said with a smile. His expression was one of anticipation.
Hearing that, Passing Rain put her blade away. "Please."
"You…" The tree seemed to sense the malicious intent from Feng Bujue and asked, "What… are you thinking?"
"Don't be scared. I'm just going to ask you a few questions," Feng Bujue said as he placed the bench down. He took out Mad Moxxi's Bad Touch and trained it on the bench to aim it at the large immobile target several meters away. Passing Rain stood and observed detachedly. To think that she would hear a player say something like 'don't be scared' to a monster. That was something that she did not imagine would happen.
"What if I don't want to answer?" The monster still used its wicked tone.
Ta ta ta…
The gunfire answered that question. Feng Bujue pulled on the trigger. Several bullets rushed out from the rifle's barrel. The gun's element was fire, and the description said that it was especially powerful against fleshy monsters. Obviously, whether the tree was an animal or a plant, it was perfectly threatened by this weapon.
"Ah! Ah! Ah…" The monster kept screaming. It was just several bullets, but they left bursts of fire on its body. If not for the blood that flooded the fire, the whole thing would have gone up in flames already.
"If you do not wish to be scarred, from now on, you'll answer my questions…" Feng Bujue used actions to ensure that the monster would not be able to reject. "First, what kind of monster are you, and what's your name?"
"I don't know," the monster replied.
"Good, gusty!" Feng Bujue prepared to fire again.
"Wait, I'm telling the truth!" the monster hurriedly explained.
"Is that so? Hmm, okay, it's not important what your name is anyway." Feng Bujue raised his hand and temporarily gave up his aiming posture. "Then… tell me what you meant by Forest of No Return."
The monster thought for a few seconds and asked back, "Will you let me go after I answer it?"
Ratatata…
"Ah! Fine! I'll tell you. Stop!" The monster begged for mercy. It was silent for a while as if waiting for the pain to pass and then said, "Several decades ago, the inhabitants of the town down the mountain appeared to fear this place very much, so they gave it the name Forest of No Return. No one dared come here, and once they entered, there was no leaving."
"Because there are many monsters like you in the forest?" Feng Bujue asked.
"Yes, but there aren't that many of us." The tree chuckled coldly. "I have no idea whether I'm a monster or not. I am just an old tree in this forest. It's because that child's resentment is too strong, soaking the whole forest in it, that I am in my current state…"
At this point, the gap that Passing Rain left in the bark cracked open. A rivulet of blood then rushed out. The things inside the tree appeared before the two players' eyes. The tree trunk was stuffed with dead people. They had horrible deaths with a shocked expression frozen on their faces. None of their bodies were complete, but they were preserved from decay. All the carcasses were bound together, and blood flowed from all their orifices.
"These people from Chang Ling Town (Hidden Bell Town) all deserved their end. Their descendants are meant to suffer," the monster said as the opening closed. "You're a Taoist sent here by the villagers to capture ghosts, right?"
"A monster tree know about the presence of Taoists in the world?"
"Many years ago, many experienced monks and wandering Taoists came into the mountain. They cleansed quite a number of us, but they still lost their lives at that child's hand," the monster replied.
"Just now, you mentioned Chang Ling?" Passing Rain chimed in.
Feng Bujue was about to ask that. He turned to the monster. "The town down the mountain is called Chang Lin Town. Why do you call it Chang Ling Town?"
"The place has always been called Chang Ling Town. When did it change to Chang Lin Town?" the monster replied.
Feng Bujue looked at Passing Rain and whispered, "Something must have happened here several decades ago. The truth at this abandoned town probably has something to do with the person who left those three large words at the village entrance."
Passing Rain followed Feng Bujue's train of thought, but for the time being, she had no conclusion, so she merely said, "Ask it about the ghosts."
Feng Bujue lifted his head to ask the monster, "The child that you mentioned was killed by the town's inhabitants, right? What really happened?"
"That, you will have to go and ask her. I only know that she is possessed by hatred and resentment, and she hates the townsfolk to her core. Looks like she died an innocent death, but how she died, I have no idea."
"Then, where is she now?" Feng Bujue asked again.
"The Temple of the Hidden Bell," the monster answered.
"Where is this temple? How do I get there?" Feng Bujue inquired.
"Take my bell and raise it above your eye. When you're facing the temple, it will jingle."
"Oh…" Feng Bujue's eyes moved to the bell hanging from the monster tree's branch. "Is it possible… for you to toss that thing to me?"
"I can't do that."
"Oh… Is that…" At this point, Feng Bujue suddenly stopped and showed a shocked expression as he pointed at the other side of the tree, "Ah, what is that‽"
Even Passing Rain was spooked. Even though she was standing just beside Feng Bujue, they had the same view, and she did not see anything wrong, the sudden reaction from Feng Bujue and the authenticity of his reaction caused her to become nervous as well. The monster tree did not know what happened. Its pair of eyes moved along the bark to turn to the other side like how a human would turn their head. At that moment, Feng Bujue activated Body Enhancement Spell and jumped into the air. With impossible speed, he stole the bell from the branch and dropped back to a safe distance.
The monster's last hope was dashed at that moment because its chance to strike was when the player got close to take the bell, but it had lost that chance. Feng Bujue had used a very juvenile trick like 'be careful of your back' to retrieve the quest item.
———
Item Name: Bell
Type: Plot Item
Quality: Normal
Function: Triangulate the Temple of the Hidden Bell's location
Can be taken out of the scenario: No
Remark: This bell seems to be echoing with some kind of powerful evil spirit.
———
"Okay, done, time to go," Feng Bujue told Passing Rain. He deactivated Body Enhancement Spell once he accomplished his target and put the bench and gun away. It was as if he knew that there was nothing of value that he could get from the tree again.
"Are we not going to kill it to save ourselves future trouble?" Passing Rain asked.
"Save some bullets," Feng Bujue replied as he raised the bell, extended his arms, and then slowly turned around with himself as the axis. When he was turned to the northern east side, the bell suddenly moved on its own to give a silvery tingle.
Feng Bujue turned to exchange a look with Passing Rain. The two did not speak and ignored the monster behind them, walking in that direction.
After the two walked away, the tree grumbled darkly, "After you're killed by the child, she'll come back to hang the bell on me…"
Then, all the strange phenomena about it disappeared, and it returned to become a normal tree.
