Chapter 553: In One Night, All the Plants on the Mountain Turned into Demons (First Update)
Chapter 553: In One Night, All the Plants on the Mountain Turned into Demons (First Update)
Chapter 553: Chapter 553: In One Night, All the Plants on the Mountain Turned into Demons (First Update)
Mount Qingmang.
Inside the Daoist Temples of Lihua Valley.
Priest Zhai was awakened by wafts of floral fragrance.
“Strange, in this season everything should wither, why is there such a strong scent of flowers?” murmured Priest Zhai as he shuffled out of his room with his shoes half on.
When he stood in the courtyard, he was stunned by the sight before him.
Overnight, the withered pear trees on the mountains had sprung back to life with leaves and blossoms.
A gentle breeze swept through, causing the pear flowers to sway uncertainly, and the whole mountain resembled a sea of flowers, undulating beautifully and captivatingly.
Priest Zhai gaped in amazement.
What’s going on?
This was the cold winter month of December when snow was about to close off the mountains.
How come the pear trees all bloomed at this time?
Last time Xue An came, although he also made the pear flowers bloom all over the mountain, that was done using a secret technique!
Could it be that Xiao Anzi is here again?
With doubts in his heart, Priest Zhai slowly walked into this sea of flowers on the mountain.
Wandering through it, he felt increasingly that something was amiss.
Because these pear flowers were simply too beautiful, breathtakingly so.
Priest Zhai had seen the pear flowers of Lihua Valley bloom year after year for more than forty years and had grown accustomed to them, feeling nothing special anymore.
But unexpectedly today, getting a closer look, even Priest Zhai couldn’t help but be intoxicated.
As he gazed, he couldn’t help but reach out to touch the pear flowers.
That’s when he heard a tender rebuke, “Hey, old man, keep your dirty hands away!”
Priest Zhai was jolted, thinking he had misheard.
“Who? Who’s talking?”
“I’m right in front of you, can’t you see? And I’ll say it again, don’t touch me!” said a naive and sweet female voice.
This time, Priest Zhai heard clearly and retreated a few steps in fright.
“Who? Show yourself whether you’re human or demon, and speak if you dare!” Priest Zhai said uncertainly.
“Oh dear, I’m standing right in front of you. What a nuisance!”
As she spoke, the pear flowers on the tree moved without wind, their petals falling like rain and coalescing into a tiny girl.
The girl was no bigger than an adult’s palm but with distinct eyebrows and eyes, and she was quite a pretty little maiden.
Floating in mid-air, she pouted and said to Priest Zhai, “Old man, after being neighbors for so many decades, don’t you recognize us?”
“You are a… pear tree?” Priest Zhai finally realized and trembled as he spoke.
The little girl laughed coquettishly, “Yes! Did you just figure that out? You really are a big dummy!”
With her laughter, all the pear trees on the mountain gently quivered, emitting waves of laughter.
At the same time, many more pear flowers fell like rain and formed little girls who flew close to Priest Zhai, chattering and discussing loudly.
“This old man used to be quite handsome when he was younger, how come he’s so scruffy now?”
“I’ve seen him go a year without bathing, you know, how can he not be scruffy?”
“Heavens, that’s so dirty!”
Being discussed by so many beautiful flower maidens (this time real flower maidens), even Priest Zhai couldn’t help but blush.
“Ahem, such matters as baths should not be too frequent, once a year is best!”
“That’s just you being lazy!” the Flower Demons mercilessly revealed Priest Zhai’s pretexts.
Priest Zhai quickly changed the subject, although his heart was full of questions at this moment.
As a Daoist priest who had received orders from his master to guard Jiaolong (also known as Xiao Sha) for life, Priest Zhai did not oppose demons.
But even becoming a demon should follow the basic rules, right?
Where is it said that just yesterday they were ordinary pear trees, and overnight they all turned into Pear Flower Demons?
“Ahem, you… are all pear trees?”
“That’s right and wrong!” the Flower Demons said with a giggle, and then they pushed out a few young girls wearing green grass skirts, their faces flushed with shyness.
“These are all Grass Demons!”
“Grass can turn into demons?” Zhai Lao’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Why can’t grass turn into demons? This is pure discrimination against the little grass! Stinky old Daoist!” a little Grass Demon said indignantly.
Zhai Lao felt his mind couldn’t quite make sense of it all, “Uh… I didn’t mean that… it’s just that if even the wild grass can become spirits, then wouldn’t other animals have an even greater chance of transforming?”
Just as he finished speaking, he heard a pleasant female voice laughing from above, “You got that right, old man!”
Zhai Lao looked up and saw a magpie talking to him with a smile.
Then from the bushes jumped out a wild rabbit, who groomed its fur with its tongue, and angrily said to Zhai Lao, “Old man, do you remember me or not?”
Zhai Lao was at a loss for how to respond and could only stare blankly.
“Hmph, last time I was almost caught by you and turned into stew, and now you don’t remember me, you heartless, scummy Daoist!” The wild rabbit glared fiercely at Zhai Lao before hopping into the bushes and disappearing from sight.
Zhai Lao felt his head spinning, and he instinctively took a step back, seeking to lean against a tree to collect himself.
Then he heard a sharp voice from underfoot shouting, “Excuse me, you’re stepping on me!”
Startled, Zhai Lao hurriedly lifted his foot, and a bright green grasshopper jumped out, muttering discontentedly, “Really no manners, don’t you look where you’re walking?”
The grasshopper then hopped a few times and disappeared behind a tree.
“This… this… could it be that the entire Mount Qingmang’s flora and fauna have become spirits!” Zhai Lao murmured to himself.
“Hee hee, pretty much!” the first Flower Demon who appeared said.
“Then you… how did you suddenly become like this?” Zhai Lao asked.
The Flower Demons chattered among themselves and then said in unison, “We don’t know either, we just felt like we went to sleep and then knew everything when we woke up!”
That answer… was surprisingly on point!
Zhai Lao didn’t dare to go further inside, as he feared encountering even more bizarre spirits.
He turned around and went back to the Daoist Temples, sat down under a tree and was about to take a sip of tea to calm his nerves.
The ancient tree, older than even the Daoist Temples, said, “Hey, interested in a game?”
Zhai Lao had just taken a sip of tea when he sprayed it all out with a puff.
“What?”
The ancient tree rustled its branches and leaves, “I mean, do you want to play a game of chess?”
“You… play chess with me?” Zhai Lao wasn’t surprised that the ancient tree had become a spirit, but he was taken aback.
“Yeah! To tell you the truth, I’ve been here for hundreds of years, and your chess skills are the worst I’ve seen among the various temple heads!” the ancient tree remarked disdainfully.
Zhai Lao: “…”
Was he being scorned by a tree?
“Fine, let’s play, who’s afraid of who!” Zhai Lao said with an unconvinced expression.
The chessboard was set up.
Zhai Lao sat on one side.
The ancient tree, on the other hand, stretched out its long branches, as flexible as human hands, and picked up the chess pieces with ease.
At that moment, Zhai Lao was full of determination, thinking that no matter what, he was a member of the mighty Human Clan, how could he possibly lose to a pile of dry wood?
One game, lost!
Well, he had been a bit careless.
The second game, still lost!
Sweat appeared on Zhai Lao’s face. It seemed he couldn’t afford to hold back anymore.
The third game, the fourth game…
By the tenth game, Zhai Lao was soaked with cold sweat.
Then the ancient tree just threw down the chess piece, said with a lack of interest, “Let’s stop, you’re too weak, it’s no fun winning!”