Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Squeak!
The door was closed. When the female apprentice had left, Xu Que threw the elixir into the System package. Although it was quite ordinary, it was a token of their affection, and he wouldn’t waste it. But Xu Que was surprised by the female apprentice’s words. He had just come to the Heaven Continent. How could they have news about him in such a short time?
D*mn! I guess Buttface and Duan Jiude have spread the news about me in the outside world! Xu Que frowned.. However, after careful consideration, he decided that this could not possibly be right. After all, Buttface and Duan Jiude had so many enemies on the Heaven Continent. They would definitely keep a low profile now. So how did the Jade Lake get news about him? Xu Que couldn’t figure out the answer. So he shook his head and decided that he didn’t want to think about it anymore. Anyway, he would know the answer tomorrow.
That day, Xu Que lived in the Jade Lake. However, according to his character, he couldn’t act as a frail old man for very long. After staying in his room for several hours, he felt so bored because the Jade Lake was so quiet. Although there were so many female apprentices here, he didn’t dare to do something reckless for he would be seen through immediately.
“Oh, my God! If I had known this from the start, I would have chosen to be a lady! Maybe I could even take a bath with those young girls in the lake!” Xu Que said wistfully and thought his plan was unwise this time. Although he could earn sympathy easily by acting as a frail old man, it was too boring. So, he regretted having made such a decision.
Forget it! Let me go out and hang out. I believe Buttface and Duan Jiude are hiding something from me for they kept urging me to come to the Jade Lake! This issue couldn’t be as simple as it looks! After pondering it for a while, Xu Que decided to hang around in the Jade Lake.
After all, Jiang Hongyan, Buttface, and Duan Jiude used to stay here. If it was still too boring here, he would go to find Liu Jingning directly. After all, Liu Jingning and the rest of the members of the Utopia Faction went to the Heaven Continent following Jiang Hongyan. Then they found a Patriarch of the Utopia Faction had also set up a sect on the Heaven Continent. So all of them joined that sect and didn’t stay in the Jade Lake. Now, Xu Que knew he was not powerful enough to find Jiang Hongyan by rushing into the Heaven Palace Academy. However, it would be easy for him to find Liu Jingning. If Buttface hadn’t urged him to the Tianxiang Celestial Realm, he would have arrived at the Utopia Faction already.
“Hey, Elder Xu, what brings you here?” When Xu Que stepped out of his room, a female apprentice who passed by saw him and asked him with concern. Xu Que sighed with a kind smile as he looked up at the sky, “Nothing! I am old, so I want to spend some more time to see this world and enjoy its beauty. So, I decided to take a walk here!”
“You must feel bored in your room. Let me show you around in the Jade Lake!” The female apprentice said immediately. She said that out of kindness. Also, she worried Xu Que would go into some forbidden places that were not open for outsiders.
“Okay, thank you! You are a good girl!” Xu Que nodded his head with a smile. He didn’t plan to make troubles in the Jade Lake. So he didn’t care whether this girl would follow him or not. He just wanted to kill time by hanging around in this place. Also he was trying to figure out why Duan Jiude and Buttface had urged him to the Jade Lake!
Led by the female apprentice, Xu Que walked forward slowly. After passing by several pavilions and corridors, they arrived at a big lake. The water in the lake was green and clear, and looked like the surface of a smooth emerald mirror. Many peach trees were planted around the lake. The trunks of the trees were shiny, but the leaves of the trees were withered, which made the trees less vibrant.
“Are these peach trees sick?” Xu Que asked.
The female apprentice, who was walking beside him, replied with a smile, “Elder Xu, those are the Hundred Soul Peach Trees of our Jade Lake. Those trees bear fruit every 1,000 years and their fruits are the Hundred Soul Peaches, which are full of Celestial Core Power and enhance people’s cultivation achievements. Those who eat the peaches can also comprehend some Rules of Heaven and Earth!” The girl paused a bit. Then she said bitterly, “Several hundred years ago, these peach trees withered inexplicably. Even the Holy Mother couldn’t figure out the reason. After that, we spent countless precious resources to keep these trees alive. But they have not been able to bear any peaches since then!”
“Oh? Could it be that these trees are suffering from insect damage?” Xu Que asked curiously.
“No, we’ve checked all the peach trees carefully and didn’t find any insects! Also, we invited the descendants of the Divine Farmer to check the reason. They said the soil in the Jade Lake was not fertile enough. We should transplant the trees to a new place. So these peach trees are just ornamental plants!” The female apprentice said, shaking her head. Previously, this place had been the most important area of the Jade Lake. Even ordinary apprentices like her couldn’t come to this place, let alone outsiders. Now, this place had become simply a scenic spot.
Xu Que was shocked by the girl’s words. The descendants of the Divine Farmer? He didn’t expect such a powerful family could exist in the Heaven Continent! He had found the Jade Lake and the Divine Farmer here. Maybe he would find the Fuxi, the Yellow Emperor or Chiyou in future! However, this was just an idea in Xu Que’s mind. For example, the Jade Lake was totally different from the one he knew about in the mythology.
“I see! What a pity!” Xu Que replied.
The female apprentice also nodded her head. “Right! The history of these peach trees is over several hundred thousand years, which is as long as that of the Jade Lake. It is really a pity to abandon them. However, the Holy Mother is finding a new place to transplant the peach tree. I believe the Jade Lake will have a new peach garden soon, which will even be better than here!”
“Right!” Xu Que nodded his head inattentively. He had little interest in these peach trees, and he didn’t want to plant a peach tree. After all, it only bore fruit every 1,000 years, which was too long for Xu Que. However, when he was about to move forward, he stopped and he raised his eyebrows. To his surprise, he found a small paw print on the trunk of a peach tree. It seemed the print was left by Buttface! It was quite difficult to see that paw print. When Xu Que saw it, he checked it with his Soul Strength and sensed Buttface’s aura immediately. Apparently, Buttface used to hang around in this place.
“Hey, look! I found a paw print on that tree!” Xu Que said as if he had just found it.
When the female apprentice saw the paw print, she was not surprised but said with a faint smile, “It was quite weird that Buttface and Duan Jiude were quite interested in these peach trees when they were here. They even wanted to buy these trees. And we ignored their proposal for we thought it was just a casual remark! Buttface said something precious was under these peach trees. And he tried to dig it up here. His action annoyed Deacon Lin. After that, Buttface and Duan Jiude robbed our treasure house and escaped!”
Then the female apprentice said, shaking her head, “Under these peach trees, only sludge can be found. We’ve cleaned this place so many times in these years. Deacon Lin also checked this area with her Soul Strength. There is nothing under these trees. So, it was just the excuse of Buttface and Duan Jiude who tried to rob our treasure house!”
“Right! Those two guys are too villainous!” Xu Que said, nodding his head in agreement. Then his eyes lit up. Something good is definitely hidden under these peach trees!
