Chapter 96: Innocent, Where the Locust Tree Is

【Snow River Collapse: Originally a blade soul, stained by the despair of the blade owner at the time of death, it became evil due to bloodthirst on the battlefield.

Snowflakes are the most humble, accumulating ten thousand layers to cover the river, collapsing in one night to shake the world, even with a thousand armies, it is difficult to save.

Characteristics, cold air covering the body, turbulent and restless, even if it is hundred-refined steel, it will collapse under the blade.】

As the head of the current Qingping Officials, Zheng Hui's mansion was built by the order of the monarch of Nanzhao himself.

The entire mansion covers an area of several hundred mu, divided into three parts. On the central axis, there are the main hall and back hall, wing buildings and back buildings, and in the east and west parts, there are five courtyards each.

In addition, there are gardens and lotus ponds, large houses and long corridors, stables and firewood rooms, everything is available.

Seeing Chu Tianshu and these people moved in, not to mention feeling crowded, they would even feel empty.

As far as Seeing Chu Tianshu is concerned, it is like living in some park.

As soon as he got up in the morning, he went out of his small courtyard and walked around casually. Everywhere there were rockeries, streams, and flowering trees.

"The feudal class still knows how to enjoy too much."

Seeing Chu Tianshu thought secretly, how much money would he need to get such a mansion in his hometown.

No, money is not the most important thing, the main thing is that there must be people.

He doesn't have many relatives and friends. Even if he picked up his second grandfather and the others to live in, such a large place would not have a taste of home.

He still needs to make more friends.

When Seeing Chu Tianshu was taking a walk just now, he wandered to the side door and heard about the monarch of Nanzhao posting imperial notices.

He also asked the gatekeeper where Zheng Hui usually stays in this mansion.

According to the gatekeeper, walking along this stream, he could find him.

At this moment, he is on his way to find Zheng Hui.

The stream slowly flowed into a plum forest.

Deep in the plum forest, there was a pavilion, stone tables and stone stools, and tea was being baked on a small stove.

Zheng Hui was indeed eating pastries and tasting tea in the pavilion.

According to the time, this might be his breakfast.

"Why did Physician Chu come?"

Zheng Hui found him and smiled, "Please sit down quickly. At this time, the food from the back kitchen hasn't been sent to everyone's rooms yet."

"I happen to have some pastries here, you try them first."

Seeing Chu Tianshu was not polite and sat opposite.

There were five plates on the table, not all pastries, but also candied dried fruits.

Seeing Chu Tianshu took a fancy to one of the plates, which looked like preserved plums, picked one up and tasted it.

It really was the taste of preserved plums.

But those few plates of pastries were just rice cakes, which were too soft to eat, and Seeing Chu Tianshu didn't like them very much.

"Lord Zheng is in a high position and well-informed. Do you know where there are wild soldier spirits?"

Seeing Chu Tianshu looked at the rice cake he had bitten, hesitated for a moment, but threw it into his mouth, swallowed it directly, and continued to speak.

"The leader of the Yuwen family was holding an evil blade inhabited by a wild soldier spirit when he fought me."

"I think, since there is his example, are there other wild soldier spirits that have been preserved by people?"

Zheng Hui was a bit surprised and said: "There are indeed such things."

"In these decades, the Tang army, Tubo, and Nanzhao have fought repeatedly, and there have been wild soldier spirits in many battles."

"However, most wild soldier spirits are fragile, and the puppets they control, once killed, the wild soldier spirit will also be damaged and cannot last long."

"That kind of wild soldier spirit that is powerful enough to change puppets repeatedly, if obtained by a family, is often kept secret."

The meaning is very clear. Such wild soldier spirits certainly exist, but Zheng Hui does not know which families have this thing.

Seeing Chu Tianshu was a bit disappointed.

In this world, other evil things are very difficult to find.

Wild soldier spirits should be relatively the easiest to find, but so far he has only obtained one "Snow River Collapse."

"Doesn't Physician Chu have his own soldier spirit? Why pay attention to evil weapons?"

Zheng Hui advised, "I see that Physician Chu's soldier spirit is upright and vast, and the future is extraordinary. Evil weapons are ultimately side-door paths. It seems like taking a shortcut, but it actually destroys a person's potential."

Seeing Chu Tianshu raised his left hand and shook his head: "I am a person who cultivates both methods and arts. This sword is created by methods and arts, not a soldier spirit."

Zheng Hui was surprised: "You, don't have a soldier spirit yet?!"

"Not bad."

Seeing Chu Tianshu said, "Without a wild soldier spirit, then I have to continue looking for places with deep yin energy to practice the blood-refining weapon art."

"I used to practice in the mass grave outside the city before."

Zheng Hui pondered and suddenly said: "The yin energy in the mass grave is mixed and not pure. Actually, if you want to find a place with deep yin energy that is contained but not exposed, there is one in my mansion."

He lifted the teapot, revealing the small stove charcoal fire underneath, and splashed a cup of tea on the charcoal.

Hiss!!

A tea fragrance mixed with the smell of charred charcoal rose intensely.

Zheng Hui took a deep breath, turned around and said: "Follow me."

Seeing Chu Tianshu got up and followed.

After passing through four courtyards, Zheng Hui took him to a cold courtyard.

The courtyard was paved with bluestone bricks, except for a piece of soil about a zhang in size left in the northwest corner.

A vigorous and tall locust tree grew tenaciously in that soil, stretching inch by inch.

In such a warm environment as Nanzhao, this locust tree had lost all its flowers and leaves, leaving only branches.

But the moistness of the branches showed that this bare big tree still contained powerful vitality.

Seeing Chu Tianshu felt a unique atmosphere.

This courtyard was like a small cage, everywhere rejecting this big tree, not letting its roots go deeper, not letting its branches reach higher.

But it still grew up, and in the confrontation, silently grew a kind of rugged strength.

"This is the courtyard where my mother was alive."

Zheng Hui put his hands behind his waist, standing straight to look at the big tree.

"After we were abducted to Nanzhao, my mother accidentally discovered that there were a few locust tree seeds in the tear of her clothes."

"I don't know if it was the tree in front of our house, but it must have come from a locust tree in our hometown."

"My mother planted it with her own hands, and it took decades to grow into such a big tree. Ten years ago, the monarch wanted to move the capital. I knew my mother loved this tree very much, so I asked someone to dig it out, roots and soil, and transport it here."

"But maybe it was still unacclimatized, the leaves of this tree fell off. My mother watered it every day, but she didn't see the day when the leaves grew back."

Zheng Hui fell silent.

Seeing Chu Tianshu was looking at the texture of the tree, from the part of the tree roots exposed on the ground, extending to the bark, gradually looking at the branches, and did not speak.

"I noticed that the yin energy of this tree is getting heavier and heavier. I suspect whether this mansion underground was also a big grave many years ago?"

"I wanted to move the tree away and let my mother change to a place to live, but my mother insisted on not letting me toss this tree anymore."

Zheng Hui said this, his voice became slower, and he sighed long.

"She still watered the tree every day, touched the tree and talked, and slept under the tree in a rattan chair."

"The yin energy stained by this tree actually became pure under my mother's company, and it could take root here and grow new branches."

"I saw that with this tree here, not only would it not hinder my mother's health, but it could also let her enjoy her old age, and I was both surprised and happy."

"It's a pity, she still didn't see the day when it grew leaves again and bloomed."

Zheng Hui pointed to those tightly closed doors and windows.

"At the time of her death, my mother asked me to open that window. She looked at the tree through the window, full of reluctance."

Sunset on the Chang'an road, autumn locust flowers everywhere.

In terms of methods and arts, the locust tree belongs to yin, but since the Spring and Autumn period, Guanzi said that the five fertile soils are suitable for locust trees.

By the Great Tang, the fashion of planting locust trees spread to thousands of households among the people.

Locust is wood ghost, locust belongs to yin, but in the hearts of Tang people, having a locust tree at home, the ghost of locust wood, is also the spirit of ancestors, the connection of ancestors.

The roots, tender branches, leaves, flowers, fruits, and resin of the locust tree can all be used as medicine. In the famine years, locust is also life-saving food.

The wind blew through the courtyard, and the locust branches swayed slightly.

Seeing Chu Tianshu said: "Your mother was missing her hometown."

"Yes."

Zheng Hui said, "The older people get, the more they miss the old. But after leaving their hometown for decades, even if we return to that county, where can it still be considered our hometown?"

"We Tang people were transplanted here. In order to fight for life, we have already taken root in this unacclimatized land and grown new branches."

"This is already our home, it is the new home we reclaimed land together, watered, and planted."

Zheng Hui stared at the tightly closed window.

"So my mother missed her hometown so much, but even after Nanzhao and the Great Tang formed an alliance, she didn't let me send her back to her hometown."

"She missed her hometown, and she also missed this place."

"Where the locust tree is, it is already our home, and she didn't want to be tossed anymore."

Seeing Chu Tianshu opened his spirit communication perspective and looked around.

The yin energy here is like a quiet and clear spring water spread underground, and the locust tree is the spring eye.

It is indeed an excellent place, much better than the mass grave.

If he could practice "Blood River Chariot" here, even if the cultivation method had not been deduced, it would definitely be faster than in the mass grave. 【100】 "But..." 【101】 Seeing Chu Tianshu thought for a while, "This is your mother's former residence. It's not very good for you to let me take yin energy here to practice, right?" 【102】 "Is there no other place?" 【103】 Zheng Hui said: "This is the best place." 【104】 "The shade of the locust tree is to protect the descendants. The legacy of the ancestors is originally to be left to the descendants." 【105】 Zheng Hui walked to the tree and stretched out his palm. 【106】 The morning light and breeze gently sent the shadow of the branches to his hand. 【107】 "Physician Chu, whether you are an Inner Guard is actually not that important. At least I can see that you must be a Tang person. Your accent even sounds like a Jianghuai person." 【108】 "You cure diseases with needles and could have charged sky-high prices, but you only charged them a little money, and only prescribed prescriptions for those who could afford big money." 【109】 "You and Captain Cheng don't have many acquaintances on this land, but you are also angry about the rumors, just one using coldness and cruelty, and one using leisure and combativeness as a facade." 【110】 Zheng Hui's fingers closed, as if holding the shadow branch, and turned back to reveal a smile. 【111】 "You are helping the Tang people on this land, hoping that everyone will not be tossed, and you are fulfilling my mother's wish." 【112】 "If my mother knew in heaven, she would definitely welcome you very much." 【113】 Seeing Chu Tianshu was slightly startled, looking into the wind, as if smelling the fragrance of thousands of locust trees. 【114】 (End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 97 =====

"But..."

Seeing Chu Tianshu thought for a moment, "This is the former residence of your late mother. Is it not quite right for you to let me draw Yin Qi here to practice?"

"Is there no other place?"

Zheng Hui said, "This is the best place."

"The shade of the locust tree is meant to protect descendants; the legacy of ancestors is meant to be left for those who come after."

Zheng Hui walked toward the tree and stretched out his palm.

The morning breeze gently carried the shadows of the branches onto his hand.

"Physician Chu, whether or not you are an Inner Guard is not actually that important. At the very least, I can tell that you are definitely a Tang person; your accent even sounds like someone from Jianghuai."

"You cure illnesses with a single needle and could have charged sky-high prices, yet you only take a pittance from them, only writing prescriptions for those who can afford to pay a lot."

"You and Captain Cheng actually don't have many acquaintances in this land, yet you are both angry about the rumors; it's just that one uses coldness and cruelty, and the other uses leisure and combativeness as a facade."

Zheng Hui curled his fingers as if grasping that shadowy branch, then turned back and smiled.

"You are helping the Tang people of this land, hoping everyone will not be tormented, and are fulfilling my mother's wish."

"If my mother knows of this in heaven, she will surely welcome you immensely."

Seeing Chu Tianshu was slightly startled. He looked into the wind, as if smelling the fragrance of ten thousand locust trees.

(End of chapter)