Chapter 24: Friendship Must Carry a Touch of Heroism

“Wei Yuanzhong! Do you know who I am?”

The voice suddenly erupted in the silent house, making Wei Yuanzhong nearly collapse from fear.

Lin Jue was also pulled out of his thoughts.

“I… don’t know…”

Wei Yuanzhong was both terrified and confused, utterly at a loss.

“Crash!”

Another lump of wood was thrown out, striking the wooden floor with a dull thud, rolling a few times.

“Still don’t know?”

The voice grew sharper.

“I don’t know! I truly don’t know! Please, sir, tell us plainly—what sin has our Wei family committed against you? Give us a swift answer!” Wei Yuanzhong nearly knelt down to beg with his head banging the ground.

“Snap…”

Another twig was flung out from the wooden wall.

This twig was slender, matching the marks on Wei Yuanzhong’s body—clearly the monster’s weapon.

“Now do you know!?”

The voice grew even sharper, yet carried a faint tinge of sorrow.

Wei Yuanzhong remained bewildered.

“Are you the tree stump in the courtyard?” Lin Jue, unable to watch further, ventured a guess.

“Huh?”

Wei Yuanzhong instantly lifted his head, pale with shock.

He never imagined it was a tree from his own yard, raised since childhood, that had become a spirit.

“Hmph…”

A cold snort came from within the wall.

It was, in a way, an acknowledgment.

Overcome with terror, Wei Yuanzhong fell to his knees with a thud, crying out “Lord Peach Tree!” and begging forgiveness for cutting it down.

Lin Jue watched from the side, quietly slipping his hatchet behind his back, saying nothing.

“If any ordinary family cut down a tree, no one would blame them—but I’ve grown in your courtyard for nearly a hundred years. Though your great-grandfather planted me and tended me as I grew, over the ensuing century I’ve quietly repaid your family in kind.”

The voice from the wall grew more bitter.

“Before I became a spirit, before I had thought, I was mindless—those days don’t count. But once I gained awareness, I worked twice as hard to root deeper and seek nourishment.”

“I learned your father loved peaches, so I bore more and larger fruit, deliberately thinning branches and suppressing side shoots, secretly scaring off birds.”

“You and your brother were more playful than your father as children, climbing trees to pick peaches—dangerous, but the sweetest fruit grew at the very top. So I made sure the topmost branches bore the most, choosing ideal positions; when ripe, I bent the branches low so you could reach them easily.”

“I knew you found leaf-raking tedious, so I made leaves fall in clusters, or waited for autumn winds to carry them away.”

“Twenty years ago, when your family fell into poverty and had to sell peaches to survive, I sacrificed my own cultivation, forcing every branch to burst with fruit—helping your family through that hardship.”

“Your ancestors before you treated me with respect. I still remember you boys swinging on the swings beneath me, and your father teaching you: ‘This tree has served our family for three generations—when you grow up, care for it well.’ But I never imagined you, this generation, would be ungrateful wolves!”

Wei Yuanzhong trembled uncontrollably.

The voice from the wall continued:

“When your father lay dying, you didn’t even care for him properly—then you quarreled constantly, and after his death, rushed to divide the estate. For a few hundred copper coins, you cut me down! How can I accept this!?”

Lin Jue frowned, still silent.

If what this spirit said was true, the family had indeed owed the peach tree. The tree had given much. But the Weis never knew it had become a spirit, nor understood its silent efforts—they likely thought it was merely natural, mere coincidence—and so cut it down after dividing the estate…

To call this act good? Certainly not. Even if it were an ordinary peach tree, after a hundred years of generational care, cutting it down would draw neighborly scorn.

To call it a grave sin? Perhaps not so much.

But the tree’s century of devotion, its hard-won enlightenment, suddenly shattered by those it had nurtured—its resentment was understandable.

Such a complex matter—why should I judge it?

So Lin Jue remained silent, letting them argue.

His only lingering question: how had this peach tree convinced the City God to win its case?

The answer came quickly—

“You ungrateful descendants, neglecting your father, obsessed only with dividing the estate—so much so that even the City God himself granted me permission to whip you for a hundred days, not a single day less! No one you summon can save you!”

So that was it.

Lin Jue understood.

Yes—in this age, filial piety and fraternal duty reigned supreme; even most emperors could not escape their grip.

Disobedience was sin.

Lin Jue knew this, but only superficially—understood in theory, not lived in the marrow of his bones.

Now, hearing it, he felt a flicker of clarity.

This, too, was a facet of this world.

Whether the City God was just, or whether his moral standards aligned with his own—such thoughts were dull.

He knew only that if this tale spread, it would surely nudge people toward filial piety, harmony, and self-reliance.

After pondering this, seeing the two sides still locked in one weeping for mercy, the other raging in curses, Lin Jue felt a pang of pity for the peach spirit.

Though not a kind or benevolent being, it was no monstrous fiend—it vented anger, sought revenge, repaid kindness. In truth, it was better than most humans. To attain spirithood within a human home—surely not easy or common, or such tales would flood the land. Yet now it was cut down—would its path endure?

Moved by pity, he spoke his thought aloud:

“You’ve achieved enlightenment within this city—that’s no small feat. To be cut down by your descendants through mere chance… it’s truly tragic. Is there no way to save you?”

At his words, the voice in the wall fell silent.

Clearly, it had struck a wound.

Wei Yuanzhong, hearing this, seized it like a lifeline: “Yes! Lord Peach Tree—is there a way to make amends?”

“I’d rather die than stop beating you until your skin is torn!”

Yet even as he said it, the tone softened—proof that a remedy existed.

His voice grew milder.

“We were wrong! We shouldn’t have! We know our fault—we’ll kneel before our father’s grave tomorrow and beg forgiveness! But don’t destroy your hard-won cultivation!”

“Give us a chance to atone…”

“….”

Wei Yuanzhong pleaded desperately.

At last, the tree spirit in the wall sighed:

“You cut down my trunk. My cultivation is nearly complete—but now I cannot grow again in this courtyard. To restore myself won’t be easy.”

“Command us, Lord Peach Tree! We’ll do anything!”

“Two hundred li from here, in Luosu County, lies the Green Emperor Temple. The Green Emperor governs all plants and the coming of spring. If you can obtain a talisman from the temple, dissolve it in water, perhaps I can sprout anew. But now, after this, I can no longer stay in this city—even if you obtain it, I must be moved outside, into the mountains.”

“Two hundred li! We’ll go at once!”

“You must go with true sincerity—only then might the Green Emperor hear you. You’ll need to spend money to appease the temple priest.”

“We’ll go! We’ll go!”

Wei Yuanzhong, feeling he could no longer stay here until the matter was settled, added: “I’ll leave tonight, tell the family, and set out by cart before dawn to reach Luosu and bring back what Lord Peach Tree needs.”

After speaking, he couldn't help turning to look at Lin Jue.

Lin Jue paused, then said: “It’s deep night—please, Master Wei, allow me to finish sleeping.”

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“Fine!” Wei Yuanzhong hesitated, then agreed. “Rest well, young sir.”

“Clatter.”

The door opened and shut quickly; footsteps clattered down the stairs.

Before the sound of the outer door opening and closing reached him, Lin Jue turned again to the wall—faint, blurred light still shimmered there, the spirit’s qi flowing—but before he could speak, the spirit’s voice came first:

“Thank you today.”

This one, indeed, understood reason.

Lin Jue had heard that spirits forming in a household were tied to the family’s virtue—whether true, he didn’t know.

“Why do you remain within the wooden wall?”

“My cultivation is still shallow—I cannot change form at will. My true body is cut; now I exist only as spirit and qi. But as a plant spirit, I have a natural gift: I can hide and move within other plants. Staying within wood and doors feels more natural to me.”

“Is this a technique?”

“I don’t know if this counts as a technique. I’ve heard some Daoists in the human world practice something called the Five Elements Escape Art. Mine is innate—no cultivation needed. Not identical, perhaps, but the underlying principle must be the same.” The spirit spoke calmly, as if conversing with a friend.

Below, Wei Yuanzhong finally stepped out the gate—door slammed shut.

“To be honest, I’ve always longed to see spirits, demons, immortals, and cultivation arts—I’ve always wanted to witness them. Could you show me something?”

“Why not?”

Instantly, a bulge rose on the wooden wall—faintly taking the shape of a withered human figure.

It twisted and shifted, the withered form melting into that of a tree—transformation seamless.

Simultaneously, it moved from the right wall to the left—when human-shaped, it seemed to walk through the wall; when tree-shaped, it slithered like a serpent.

Though Lin Jue saw the flow of qi, it was blurred—he felt nothing.

“My true body is gone—I won’t appear. It’s just a minor trick.” The spirit said. “This shows little. But I can pull plants—or even people—into the wood. If you have the courage, try it.”

“Why not?”

"You must understand: pulling in something like a wooden block or a twig and throwing it out works because they’re also wood. But if we pull a person into the wooden wall, it’s a method we use against humans—remember, a person can’t breathe inside wood; they’ll suffocate to death."

"The night is long and unbearable; if we can experience something so strange, this night won’t have been wasted."

Lin Jue found the idea strange, yet he harbored a glimmer of possibility.

Could a human body truly hide inside wood?

What would that feel like?

If I learned this trick, whenever I encountered bandits, robbers, or wild beasts out in the wild, couldn’t I just find a large tree, slip inside while the enemy wasn’t looking, and be safe?

"Are you really not afraid? Remember, suffocating to death is excruciatingly painful—and once we pull you in and release our grip, you’ll get stuck inside the wood."

"Aren’t you an evil demon? Why fear?"

Lin Jue spoke these words, his tone utterly without doubt.

"…"

The tree spirit within the wall fell silent for a moment, then finally agreed. Slowly, it extended a branch from the wooden wall—indistinguishable from an ordinary peach branch: "Grab the branch, relax your mind, clear your thoughts, don’t force anything. I’ll only pull one of your hands inside, so you can feel it."

"Good!"

Both sides were remarkably calm.

Lin Jue immediately walked over, gripped the peach branch, and let himself be drawn slowly toward the wall.

With them so close now, it seemed as though the tree spirit was pulling him in—but in truth, he was the one holding on. Lin Jue suddenly realized: to say he trusted the peach tree was no different than saying the peach tree trusted him.

It truly proved the saying: to make friends, carry a touch of chivalry; to live, hold a thread of purity.