Daily Life in the Countryside After Being Reborn
Chapter 65 - 63

Chapter 65: 63

At ten o’clock at night, Xiao Xian listened to the even snoring sounds coming from Zhu Shijun in the neighboring room. Ever since the old man’s health improved, he had gotten rid of the bad habit of not being able to sleep at night, and had already gone to bed at this time.

Xiao Xian pushed open the window and slipped out of the room. Spring insects chirped, and a few night clouds drifted in the sky, casting a hazy moonlight on the path through the mountains.

Little Hai didn’t have the courage to accompany Xiao Xian to the temple for a test of bravery, but fortunately, Xiao Xian remembered the way there. Guided by the moonlight, she headed towards Black Mountain. The night, though with limited visibility, appeared as daylight to Xiao Xian; she could clearly see a layer of luminous green mist on the surrounding trees. During the day, Xiao Xian had deliberately slowed her pace to match that of Little Hai and the others.

Now it was night, and besides the trees, there was only Xiao Xian. She seemed to fly with her feet barely touching the ground and reached the temple in just half an hour, a full hour and a half earlier than the originally agreed time.

Yezi had not yet arrived, so Xiao Xian waited in front of the temple. The peach tree in front was blooming brilliantly, and a strange sound came from behind the temple. Xiao Xian turned her head and squinted her eyes. The temple, which seemed ordinary during the day, emitted a thick jade-like green color at night.

In Dongnan Miao Village, Yezi had waited until there was no more noise in Mama and father’s room. He tiptoed to the stairs, just about to go down when he saw the big moth raised by Mama.

"Go away," Yezi knew that as soon as he touched the stairs, the moth would go to inform Mama.

The moth still flapped its wings, closely monitoring Yezi’s misconduct. A tuft of fiery red swooped over, a golden-yellow bird beak struck the moth with unerring accuracy, and with a stretch of its neck, the bird swallowed the moth.

"Good job, Little Pig, you’re clever," Yezi exclaimed happily, then remembered he was still at the stairway entrance. He listened again for any noise in the house – it was still very quiet.

Yezi hurried down the stairs, with "Little Pig" following behind, both merging into the night.

When Yezi arrived beside the temple, the moon was directly overhead. From his viewpoint, the peach blossom tree looked no different from during the day, its crown still full of blossoms.

It was eerily quiet around, everything seemed as if it were frozen in time.

"Zhu Xiaoxian might be scared and hasn’t arrived yet," Yezi muttered to himself, the excessive quietness of the night felt unusual. Yezi noticed even the insects had disappeared; "Something’s not right, even the noisiest grasshoppers are silent." Walking back and forth in place, Yezi stepped on something. Looking down, it was a cluster of peach blossoms.

The peach twig, with two or three blossoms, which Yezi had secretly pinned to Zhu Xiaoxian’s braid after plucking from the peach tree during the day, should have wilted away from the parent tree by now, but the blossoms Yezi saw were still vivid as if alive. This twig also reminded Yezi of something; Zhu Xiaoxian has been here and then something happened which made her disappear.

I hope nothing has happened, Yezi could hear his heart beating rapidly. He stopped in place, clenched his teeth, and still headed towards the burial ground behind the temple.

The age-old peach tree shed some petals sporadically, a small head poked out from the tree; the face reflecting in the pond under the peach tree was tender and pink. "He really went towards the back, I see nothing unusual at the burial ground, but this peach tree seems strange."

Just before reaching the temple, Xiao Xian noticed the peach tree beside her looked different at night compared to the daytime. During the day, she observed the peach tree and estimated it to be around forty years old, but tonight, it was impossible to discern its exact age. Moreover, the tree was surrounded by thick green energy, similar to how the ’sugarcane seedling’ in the iron space absorbed Spiritual Energy.

A normal peach tree absorbing Spiritual Energy? That would indeed be strange. Suspecting something, Xiao Xian hid in the tree.

By then, Li Ye had gone to the back of the temple and hadn’t returned. Xiao Xian presumed he had gone there to test his bravery. Even if she went a bit later, it didn’t matter much.

After midnight, when the "Spiritual Energy" was at its richest, the sugarcane seedlings in the iron space began to devour large amounts of Spiritual Energy. By comparison, the peach blossom tree shook as if agitated, petals falling one after another, appearing like a beautiful woman crying, evoking pity.