Chapter 10: The Big Tree That Refuses to Communicate, Conversation, and the Big Tree's Little Gift

"This... thing... is... un... think... able."

The surrounding rustling sounds gradually transformed in Jier's mind into these meanings he could understand.

"You are speaking to me, aren't you?"

Jier carefully retracted his raised gaze, not letting his eyes pass through the canopy of Bio the Big Tree to see the sky.

He looked at the human face formed by the bark on the surface of the big tree's trunk; at a glance, the face looked full of the aged feeling of tree bark, but looking closely, one could see the entire big tree was in the image of a young man.

Perhaps in the entire life journey of Bio the Big Tree, it was still very young.

Jier coughed twice, trying hard to maintain respect: "Thank you for the Prophecy Poem you gave us before. It was of great use and could be considered to have saved this operation to rescue the villagers."

Jier shook his head: "If not for this Prophecy Poem, I estimate this trip would not have been so smooth, and I would have had to suffer a great deal."

When Jier spoke of these things, Bio the Big Tree instead stopped making sounds to communicate with him, as if what Jier had heard before was just his hallucination.

"Consider that I owe you one; is there anything you need my help with?"

Jier pricked up his ears attentively, but after waiting for a while, he did not hear a response from Bio the Big Tree.

Looking up, the leaves and branches of Bio the Big Tree were no longer swaying, as if there was no longer a breeze blowing through here.

He waited a while longer, and seeing that Bio the Big Tree did not provide any further response, Jier sighed helplessly and leaned against the roots of the big tree. He closed his eyes slightly and put away the Yamila no Me he was holding.

Keeping his thoughts as stable as possible, he stopped thinking about anything else, emptied his mind, and began Meditation.

He attempted to communicate with Bio the Big Tree through this method.

But after a while, other than his entire body's state being adjusted to an excellent condition, Jier failed to successfully establish communication with Bio the Big Tree during Meditation.

"Are you refusing to communicate with me?"

After Jier muttered this question, he saw a large number of leaves on the treetops swaying, emitting a rustling sound.

Jier hurriedly took out the Yamila no Me again, attempting to capture the 'words' of Bio the Big Tree.

"Qui... et, please... be... qui... et."

"Humans... are... still... too... lively."

Upon hearing this, Jier's expression was a bit strange: "It's just this? Since that's the case, I won't disturb you. If you want to communicate with me, just enter my dreams tonight. Please don't forget, I owe you one; if you need my help, you can come find me."

He had still wrongly judged the difference in the way of existence between humans and big trees.

Although Bio the Big Tree would intervene in human life and occasionally respond to humans who prayed to it for wisdom.

But Bio the Big Tree clearly did not like humans who took the initiative to approach it to communicate. It seeking others out was one thing, but being sought out by others was another matter entirely.

Heh, never thought it would be such a shy and introverted peculiar existence.

Or perhaps, in the eyes of Bio the Big Tree, humans were truly a group of tiny, short-lived, and overly lively little things?

Just like how he viewed the long-haired lynx Beast.

He had communicated with Yongqi Maomao and knew that the lifespan of long-haired lynx Beasts was basically between ten and eighteen years old, and thirteen or fourteen and above was already a long-lived Maomao. And many Maomao Warriors had lived less than five years or so until they died in battle.

Five years old, in the eyes of humans, is still an age where they know nothing and spend all day peeing and playing in the mud.

Yet Maomao Warriors were already adults, had children, and had sacrificed themselves heroically in an important battle.

This is a significant difference between species, and it is difficult to change.

Of course, many trees often only live for a dozen to several decades, and humans naturally have powerful Mages who can live for several hundred years; these all exist.

Knowing that Bio the Big Tree did not like humans to actively disturb and contact it, Jier did not stay long in the courtyard where Bio the Big Tree was located and returned directly to the backyard. He took a letter written by Bata'er Jiaoshi to Feilina Jiaoshi from his carriage and took the initiative to go find the female Priest in front of the Church.

There were more children from Changmai Cunzi in the backyard; these children had come on their own to ask about the situation of the trip, and everyone told them the result directly, informing these children that it wouldn't be long before they could leave here and return to Changmai Cunzi to reunite with their families.

Most of the children were happy and cried with joy, causing everyone to be in a flurry, not knowing what to do. Some older children, however, were a bit reluctant to go home and reunite with their families, because the discipline here was much more relaxed than at home, and while living in the Church, Feilina Jiaoshi had also taken very good care of them; they were all a bit reluctant to leave here.

Not only that, some children had even made friends with the children here in Big Tree Cunzi, and they did not want to leave these newly met friends.

When Jier found Feilina Jiaoshi in the main hall in front of the Church, the Priest had already finished the evening prayer and was currently talking to some devout believers who had not yet left.

As for the content, it was naturally about Jier and his group, as well as the matters of Changmai Cunzi in the south.

"Hi, Feilina Jiaoshi, this is a letter written by Bata'er Jiaoshi before I left Changmai Cunzi; he asked me to pass it to you. It records the experiences of this trip, as well as the final result."

Jier walked over, greeted the Priest, and handed a thick letter to Feilina Jiaoshi.

"Did Luosa say when the children here should be taken back? It's not that I want them to leave, but children should always be with their families; I am very clear about the pain of separation." Feilina Jiaoshi took the letter with a bitter smile on her face.

She opened the letter directly, quickly browsed through the content of each page, and immediately frowned.

Clearly, the content above, especially the division of the villagers of Changmai Cunzi, was something she had not expected either.

"It seems he encountered trouble over there."

Jier shrugged: "Then, Feilina Jiaoshi, if it were you, how would you solve these problems?"

"This is already very good. Rather than forcibly making villagers who have grudges live in the same village, it is better to take a portion of the people who want to leave and go with him, and leave Changmai Cunzi to those who do not want to leave. Our other Cunzi Priests will encourage the young people in the village to go to Changmai Cunzi to venture out in the coming years. Once the population is replenished, in a few years, Changmai Cunzi will be like it was before."

She pointed in the direction of the west and said to Jier: "Also in Sasi County in the south, there is a village in the west, Xinxingcao Cun. This village had an outbreak of plague ten years ago. That plague even spread to other nearby villages, causing many people to pass away."

"And in the five years that followed, we villages in the east continuously had villagers migrate there on a small scale and in a limited way, filling the population of the villages in the west, especially Xinxingcao Cun."

"The matter of Changmai Cunzi this time may be a tribulation, but fortunately, with the efforts and rescue of you and the Warriors under your command, there was an almost perfect result. This is already very good. But if the outcome of the matter was not good..."

Feilina Jiaoshi frowned and said with a firm and determined expression: "There is also a way to solve the matter—we will send people to rebuild Changmai Cunzi."

Jier nodded, clearly seeing the will and strength of these Cunzi Priests of the Agricultural God Church. They might not be able to influence or reverse too many things in various sudden situations, but there were more than a dozen self-governing villages of the Agricultural God Church here; if these Cunzi Priests wanted to do something, the strength they could exert was not to be underestimated.

Especially when they intended to do something with perseverance.

"When I passed by Lanse-Qingting earlier, Old Priest Ruiduokasi seemed to have the idea of letting each self-governing village establish its own village Militia to guard against such situations that might arise in the future." Jier mentioned another plan he heard from the Old Priest.

"Is that so? I have no problem with it here, and I believe the other villages have no problem either. Before, the teacher could never make up his mind, fearing that doing so would arouse the suspicion of the Baron family in the north. They were already very difficult to influence the south, and once we each established a village Militia, things would become more complicated."

As if thinking of something, Feilina Jiaoshi pointed to the letter in her hand: "Thinking that Luosa will stay in New Hope Town further north later, he is closer to Yemei Town in the north; I imagine the pressure on him will only be greater. I hope he can hold on."

The devout believers who had not left also heard the conversation between the two. Seeing that Jier did not intend to drive them away, they gathered around to discuss Changmai Cunzi, the village's future Militia, and whether they should still honestly pay grain taxes to Sasi Baron once the village had sufficient armed forces.

Last year's grain tax was increased by fifteen percent on the original basis by the Baron's order due to the preparation for war.

This made the villagers, who believed that the war had nothing to do with them, extremely dissatisfied. If it weren't for Feilina Jiaoshi using some nearly expired old grain from the Big Tree Cunzi Grain Warehouse to make up for the increased grain tax, everyone would have rioted last year.

And once they had village Militias, they could protect themselves; using the protection of the people as an excuse, would they still have to pay the grain taxes collected by the various villages?

These bold words made Feilina, the Cunzi Priest of the Agricultural God Church, feel a moment of embarrassment, for the Agricultural God Church is by no means a small church; or rather, there is no church in human society larger than it. The matter here might only be a sesame-sized trifle, but if it spreads, it would affect the Agricultural God Church of the entire region, and even the entire Saint Hors Kingdom.

How would the ruling Nobles of other regions view the Agricultural God Church?

Oh, you are allowed to organize autonomous Villages in remote, undeveloped places, and now that you have grown strong, you want to organize a Militia to resist taxes, is that it? Considering the influence of the Agricultural God Church, what if other places follow suit? How would the Nobles in other places view the Agricultural God Church within their territories?

Or are you, the Agricultural God Church, trying to establish a Divine Kingdom on earth again? In the Saint Hors Kingdom?

Presumably, that would be an uprising even more tragic than the current war between the Southern Province and the Ophirine Kingdom to the south? A large-scale war to suppress a rebellion?

"The diocese above will surely not agree to this so easily." Shaking her head, Priest Feilina whispered to Jier.

Jier shrugged, not looking like a Warrior of the Agricultural God at all, but like an outsider with no stake in the matter: "The development of society is just like this; taking three steps, one step is wrong, one step is taken and then retreated, and often only one step can be taken steadily."

Priest Feilina then added: "But many times, things are not that easy. Taking three steps, perhaps all three steps are wrong. Or perhaps one must retreat four steps instead. And the successful step is long in coming."

"And every step taken, every step retreated, or every wrong step taken, is the life of countless people, the lives of countless people."

Jier smiled: "Then that is something for the big shots above to consider and bear."

Since Bio did not intend to contact him again, Jier did not linger in Big Tree Cunzi. When he slept that night, besides releasing the Spirit of the Shadow Bird to kill the lingering souls and grievances of the Defeated Soldiers pestering him, he just waited for the other party to come looking for him.

But Bio did not appear. His soul clearly felt the approach of an external force, but in the end, the other party did not make contact with him.

What would he want with Jier? Bio had likely learned of everything on Jier's journey south through various strange means, and there was temporarily nothing left on Jier that interested it.

However, when Jier woke up the next day, he still found a tree seed the size of a fingernail in his hand.

This thing looked small and light, but in reality, Jier could feel that it possessed a significant amount of power inside, as well as a strange vitality.

"What does this mean? A gift? Or a souvenir for barely knowing each other? It couldn't be asking me, an outsider, to take this tree seed far away to another place and then find a spot to plant it, could it?"

Jier could not understand Bio. The last time he came, it spoke a lot to Jier and his group at once, reciting poems to explain its origin and experiences, and leaving them with a Prophecy Poem like a riddle.

As a result, when they met again this time, it did not communicate at all.

Jier did not think about it further, nor did he go to ask Bio why it did this, so as to avoid getting a cold shoulder again.

He put the tree seed into the inner pocket of his clothes and left the tent to direct the caravan to prepare for departure.

Bidding farewell to Priest Feilina, the children staying temporarily in the Church, and the Villagers outside the Church preparing for their short morning Prayer, the caravan ate their breakfast and set off north as early as possible while the temperature was still cool.

On the road, Jier showed Xueya Site the tree seed that Bio had given him.

This made Xueya Site quite dissatisfied: "Jier, why didn't I get a gift like that? If I had one, I would definitely plant it in my backyard. Maybe when I get old, there would be a tree in my backyard that is just as magical and just as wise."

"Ah, with its presence, my children, my children's children, and even more of their descendants could all receive the help of this tree's wisdom."

Jier laughed out loud after hearing Xueya Site's words: "Siter, you would actually seek wisdom from a plant so much younger than you? Even if you planted it now, its age would still be younger than your children, right? How much wisdom could it provide your children?"

"Then my grandchildren! That should work, right? And my grandchildren's children." Xueya Site thought for a moment, then said affirmatively.

Jier shook his head: "Don't think so beautifully. The reason Bio is wise is because it has already lived for a thousand years. Over a long period of time, it has seen too many things, and only then could it appear in the image of a wise elder."

Jier pointed at the tree seed in his hand: "If this tree seed wants to become as powerful as Bio, then you and your family have a long wait ahead. Twenty years for a generation, even if we assume a new tree needs at least three hundred years to accumulate wisdom, how many generations would have passed by then?"

Jier calculated the result instantly, while Xueya Site counted on his fingers for a while before saying with a look of regret: "It would actually take fifteen generations. Fifteen generations... I can't even name my own grandfather..."

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