TRYMBPIETM 29: The Ancient Tree’s Deep Shade(23)

Chi Xiaoyuan ended the call, opened the “Scenery Along the Way” live stream, and watched for a while. Although Chi Qingning kept repeating the same actions he had done when Chi Qingzhou was brought back home, he still didn’t say anything inappropriate.

A large number of viewers flooded into the live stream, watching Chi Qingning continuously talk to himself. At first, they were amused, but as time went on, their mood shifted to confusion and fear.

Many people couldn’t help but ask in the live chat:

【Why do I feel like Chi Qingning’s gaze isn’t right? It’s like he ate some poisonous mushrooms and is hallucinating.】

【Did he really not hit something dirty?】

【Oh my god, this is terrifying! Chi Qingning doesn’t look like he’s acting anymore. He really seems to think there’s someone in front of him!】

【He must have eaten bad mushrooms, right? Didn’t they fry wild mushrooms yesterday? Are you sure they cooked them thoroughly?】

【I remember something about a celebrity being bitten by a snake going viral the day before yesterday? Could Chi Qingning have been bitten?】

Many viewers and online users felt uneasy, and some people with more spiritual sensitivity insisted they saw white mist in the live stream.

Of course, few people believed this, and Chi Xiaoyuan wasn’t inclined to believe it either.

He had personally seen taoists before and knew just how extraordinary they were.

But that’s also why he was more certain that no matter how powerful a practitioner was, their influence couldn’t stretch far enough to make so many people see an anomaly through the internet.

It was most likely nonsense.

However, this did remind Chi Xiaoyuan that Chi Qingning indeed seemed to have been affected.

Could there really be a practitioner in the small village of Yinping?

Chi Qingning’s doubts from last night went through his mind again. He quickly switched over to Chi Qingzhou’s live stream.

Chi Qingzhou had just split up with Song Yuzhi and was exploring a forest. He looked nothing like a practitioner, lacking the imposing presence that should come with such a role.

Chi Xiaoyuan shook his head, dismissing it as Chi Qingning being overly sensitive, overthinking things.

Since his adopted younger brother graduated from university, he had been more jumpy, no longer as calm as he used to be.

It was probably because of the blood of those bottom-tier people running through his veins.

He switched back to Chi Qingning’s live stream and thought about how he could explain things to his family or business partners if they asked. He could always say that Chi Qingning had gotten food poisoning from bad mushrooms or something about hitting something dirty.

While Chi Xiaoyuan was considering this, his phone suddenly rang.

He looked at it—it was a call from Fu Wenman.

Fu Wenman was the heir to the Fu family in the capital. According to an agreement between the two families’ matriarchs, he was supposed to be Chi Qingzhou’s fiancé.

However, due to some special circumstances, Fu Wenman had always had a closer relationship with Chi Qingning since childhood, and he only recognized Chi Qingning as his betrothed.

Even though the Fu family’s matriarch had firmly rejected Chi Qingning, the Chi family still acknowledged the engagement because of Fu Wenman’s insistence. They even turned a blind eye to the gossip surrounding the matter.

With Chi Qingning’s recent behavior, Fu Wenman had called to ask for an explanation. Chi Xiaoyuan could understand, though he wasn’t particularly pleased.

Chi Qingning had been causing trouble, but he was the one who would have to clean up the mess!

He muttered under his breath, cursing Chi Qingning, before answering the call with a friendly tone.

Fu Wenman, however, didn’t mention anything about Chi Qingning’s actions. Instead, he got straight to the point and asked, “You saw the hot search, right? This could seriously damage Qingning’s reputation. Do you have any thoughts on how to fix it?”

Chi Xiaoyuan was somewhat surprised that Fu Wenman cared so much about Chi Qingning’s reputation, especially considering the situation.

After a moment of thought, he realized that this was a good thing for the Chi family. At least Fu Wenman seemed to be taking charge of the matter.

He calmly reassured Fu Wenman for a while, then shifted the conversation, pretending to hesitate. “I do have some ideas, but you know how my parents feel about my younger brother…”

Fu Wenman’s voice immediately grew cold. “Your parents are not getting any younger. This is a small issue, no need to trouble them. If it’s inconvenient for you, I’ll handle it from here. Don’t worry about it.”

Chi Xiaoyuan hurriedly said, “Wenman, don’t rush. Let’s talk about it some more—”

Before he could finish, Fu Wenman hung up.

Chi Xiaoyuan stared at his phone’s dark screen and let out a small smile.

He knew Fu Wenman’s actions might force his parents into an uncomfortable position.

But so what?

His parents had never hesitated to embarrass him.

Sometimes, he felt like he wasn’t the heir they had painstakingly groomed.

They gave him the best education, but he never felt any expectations from them; they said everything in the Chi family belonged to him, but he only heard indifference in their tone.

They proudly introduced him to every business partner, gave him big projects to handle, and handed over the CEO position early, but he never felt any sense of importance.

It was contradictory, strange.

This strange feeling always made him uneasy, making it hard to calmly deal with the return of Chi Qingzhou.

It also made it impossible for him to maintain the same face his parents cared about.

Chi Xiaoyuan glanced at his computer screen, grabbed his suit jacket from the side, pushed the chair back, and went downstairs.

Since Fu Wenman had called, it meant the younger generation in their circle was probably aware of the incident.

If he didn’t leave now, was he just going to wait in the office for others to gossip about his family?

He ignored his secretary, who was about to speak, and took the elevator to the first floor.

It was still not yet 9 AM, just the last stretch before most people had to clock in.

Workers hurriedly ran through the lobby, some even losing their shoes, hopping while calling out to their colleagues to hold the elevator.

The whole lobby was busy and noisy.

Chi Xiaoyuan, somewhat disdainful, avoided a few employees rushing by and quickly walked toward the exit.

His driver should be waiting for him outside the office building.

He straightened his tie, walked out, and was about to head down the stairs when suddenly a white mist filled the air in front of him.

The thick fog obscured his vision, and everything more than a few inches away became blurry.

He paused, confused, unable to stop in time.

In the next second, his foot slipped on the steps, and he fell backward, landing hard on the edge of the steps and sliding down.

A sharp pain shot up from his tailbone to the top of his head in an instant.

Chi Xiaoyuan was drenched in cold sweat, and soon his shirt was soaked through, but he refused to cry out in pain.

The driver and building security, seeing his wide eyes, rushed over and carefully helped him up.

His lips trembled as he weakly whispered, “Go, go to the hospital.”

The driver quickly assisted him to the back seat of the car, and they sped off in the Ferrari.

Chi Xiaoyuan secretly sighed in relief. The white mist in front of him dissipated just as suddenly as it had appeared.

He suspected it was an issue with his vision and considered scheduling an appointment with an ophthalmologist, but little did he know, after he left, the crowd outside the building burst into loud laughter and discussions.

Many people had seen the trending topic and instinctively suspected that Chi Xiaoyuan’s anxiety was connected to the fake young master incident.

More and more people started talking about it, and somehow, a rumor spread along with photos of him, suggesting that “Chi Xiaoyuan, CEO of Chi’s, seemed guilty and hurriedly fled the building, causing him to fall due to his trance.”

This was backed up by pictures. Not long after, a new trending topic emerged.

Like Chi Qingning, Chi Xiaoyuan also gained a lot of attention, but it was hard to say if it was the kind of attention they wanted.

…

A few minutes ago, at the altar of the Puluo tribe’s territory.

Chi Qingzhou took a step back, and his long staff traced a smooth arc through the air.

Dense yin energy mixed with human-like spiritual energy surged into the staff, causing the tip to tremble.

Amidst the faint humming sound, he leapt into the air, thrusting the staff forward with the force of his body’s weight, slamming it hard against the ground!

The stones that made up the altar couldn’t withstand the impact of the spiritual and yin energies, emitting a cracking sound as several large cracks spread out like a spider’s web in the blink of an eye.

Tiny pebbles shot out, grazing Chi Qingzhou’s cheek and leaving behind a faint white mark.

Without even blinking, Chi Qingzhou expertly swung the staff in a circular motion, bringing it down again with great force onto the stream-filled ditch!

Water splashed everywhere.

The sound of stones cracking rang out continuously, and in just a few breaths, the patterns on the altar’s steps were filled with fissures, and the stream water flowing toward the central indentation spilled onto the soil, spreading into a large patch of dampness.

The makeshift altar could no longer contain the ghostly energy that originated from Xing Shuangzhan and collapsed with a loud crash.

Chi Qingzhou didn’t stop moving; he swiftly lifted his staff and headed straight for the dragon brain tree in the center of the altar.

Zhu Yantong, observing secretly, turned pale.

His master, Qu Feng, was asleep in that tree, with the ghostly energy stolen from a world-ending evil spirit still veiling his master’s soul. This was the key reason his master was able to deceive the tribe’s bloodline detection.

If Chi Qingzhou completely broke the altar, his master would likely suffer a backlash from the tribe’s territory.

Zhu Yantong’s eyes were filled with hatred. He glanced at his severed arm and, disregarding his heavy injuries and the exhaustion of his life-saving methods, gritted his teeth and charged forward.

Chi Qingzhou was even more ruthless than he had imagined. One end of his staff had already pierced the root of the dragon brain, seemingly about to uproot the entire tree.

His heart trembled, and beads of sweat formed on his forehead without him noticing.

Zhu Yantong had no time to think further. He couldn’t waste a second, so he used the last two of his ghost controllers to pounce on Chi Qingzhou.

Chi Qingzhou’s eyes flickered, and his movement paused as he turned to look back.

“Is your master Qu Feng?”

Zhu Yantong gritted his teeth but didn’t answer, quickly dodging.

The two ghost controllers floated towards Chi Qingzhou, their claws extending, nails growing long, as they aimed for his throat.

Chi Qingzhou gave a slight shake of the staff, effortlessly swatting aside the two weightless, insubstantial ghosts. His shadow on the ground suddenly surged upwards, flowing toward the towering tree’s shadow like a bolt of lightning, heading straight for Zhu Yantong’s feet.

Zhu Yantong was instantly reminded of a memory from half an hour ago, and a chill ran through him. He screamed and turned to flee.

A dense white mist suddenly rose from the root of the dragon brain, and Zhu Yantong’s heart leaped with joy. He hadn’t even had time to inform his master when a cold laugh echoed in his ear.

The overwhelming ghostly energy surged once again from Chi Qingzhou’s shadow, and in midair, the figure of Xing Shuangzhan began to take shape.

With a swift motion, he shook his wide sleeves, tearing apart the two ghost controllers still attempting to approach Chi Qingzhou. He then raised his eyes to look at the dragon brain tree in the distance.

Zhu Yantong, shaken by the ghostly energy, had blood pouring from his eyes, and everything before him blurred.

He heard Xing Shuangzhan speak in a nonchalant tone, “I don’t care about the little bit of stolen power, but my little contractor is angry. The consequences of his anger are something no one would want to see, so I have to appease him.”

What?

Zhu Yantong felt a bit confused.

Before he could think deeply about Xing Shuangzhan’s words, he heard a dull thud from the direction where his master was sleeping.

The next moment, the sound of a giant tree toppling made his mind go blank, unable to maintain coherent thought.

Frost spread from the shattered altar, constantly extending outward, turning stones and plants into ash. A massive wave of ghostly energy surged into the air. Even though Zhu Yantong couldn’t see clearly, he could feel the terrifying pressure.

Chi Qingzhou stood a few meters outside the altar, his head tilted back. He saw the ghostly energy gather into a cocoon, completely enveloping Xing Shuangzhan in the center, and slowly revealed a sincere smile.

Brothet Su finally retrievied his ghostly energy. How nice.

The white mist, growing denser, spewed from the broken root of the dragon brain , sweeping across the entire Yuhua Mountain.

Even the staff and rescue teams at the foot of the mountain couldn’t escape its influence.

Chi Qingning was immediately pulled into a hallucination, and the rescue team’s instruments went haywire, with continuous warning sounds echoing throughout Yinping Village.

The system cautiously peeked its head from the shadows, whispering to Chi Qingzhou.

[Host, it’s strange. There’s a kind of power entering my program that I can’t identify…]

The dense mist gradually engulfed Chi Qingzhou.

Before his figure was completely obscured, he let out a pleased chuckle.

“I gave it to you. The mission where I slapped Teacher Song’s face… I haven’t claimed the reward, right? You can claim it for me.”

The system trembled pitifully and, glancing at Chi Qingzhou’s slowly fading figure, cautiously replied: [Okay… okay. If you have something to do, then I’ll choose random mode for the reward target, okay?]

Chi Qingzhou didn’t respond.

The system withdrew into the shadows, glanced at the backend, where it clearly stated:

[Mission completed, reward issued. Final random reward target: Chi Xiaoyuan.]

…

The white mist pouring from the root of the dragon brain incense was filled with intense resentment.

The powerful hatred continuously flowed toward all the living in the mist, easily bringing up their strongest emotions and deepest memories.

Chi Qingning and Chi Xiaoyuan were both affected by the white mist and the system reward imbued with it, but only Chi Qingzhou remained unaffected, standing unfazed in the mist.

Not only was he unaffected by the memories, but he also saw Qu Feng’s past in the thick resentment.

When Qu Feng was young, he was handsome, extraordinarily gifted, and entered the world of exorcists under the guidance of a master exorcist.

He learned quickly, and by around fifteen, he had surpassed his teacher.

The old exorcist, seeing nothing more to teach, closed his eyes in peace.

Before his death, the old master left a wish for Qu Feng to carry on the exorcist lineage.

Qi Feng promised readily, but after burying his master, he turned to the business of making money by exorcising ghosts for others.

Unlike other upright exorcists, Qi Feng was willing to do anything for money, regardless of morality.

Having committed numerous sins, he eventually realized he could not extend his life.

Finally, he devised another plan.

Since he couldn’t live, he would try to become something else and pursue immortality.

He changed his appearance, did extensive research, and decided to follow the Puluo tribe’s methods to repair his body.

He was patient, waiting for over half a year near Lingxian County to carefully choose his target—a young and isolated shamab, NuoQi.

When Qu Feng was young, he was rich and powerful, having seen many beauties and learned many schemes.

He pretended to be an ordinary exorcist fleeing from an evil spirit, joining forces with Nuo Qi. Through a series of events, they grew close, and he convinced her to marry him.

Nuo Qi’s family was different from other shaman families. Her parents never became shamans, and only her brother shared her gift.

Her parents, not understanding as much as she did, supported all her decisions.

Her brother, Nuo Xin, disliked Qu Feng from the start.

However, Qu Feng was willing to do anything for his goal, and when Nuo Xin tried to make things difficult for him by offering a life-saving talisman, he immediately activated it.

The life-saving talisman, as the name implied, was meant to save one person by having another die in their place.

Nuo Qi’s parents, and even her brother, were shocked, and their objections were no longer as forceful.

What they didn’t know was that Qu Feng had tampered with the talisman.

The first time Qu Feng met Nuo Qi, he secretly used a special spell on her during a moment of weakness, and over time, the influence of the spell deepened.

Gradually, Nuo Qi became bound to Qu Feng, but he didn’t stop there.

He noticed the spell prevented him from being recognized as a fated person by the tribe, so he focused on her brother.

Since Nuo Xin was male, just like him, he changed the talisman to bind his life to Nuo Xin’s.

To ensure his plans went smoothly, he adopted Zhu Yantong.

To Zhu Yantong, he was kind and indulgent, but it was all part of the plan. He needed someone who would loyally carry out his schemes.

He secretly taught Zhu Yantong everything he knew, slowly draining his life over many years.

This is why Zhu Yantong is barely alive today, more like a walking corpse.

Finally, fifteen years ago, everything was ready.

Qu Feng orchestrated a terrible disaster, and Nuo Qi’s family was killed in the most painful way, struggling for hours before dying.

Qu Feng himself didn’t fare well, dying just minutes before Nuo Xin.

At the moment of his death, Nuo Qi broke free from the spell.

In the brief moments of clarity, Nuo Qi was devastated by the realization that her husband was a scoundrel and that her family had died because of her negligence.

Looking at Zhu Yantong, who had no regard for her, she couldn’t bear it any longer and went mad.

Zhu Yantong felt no sympathy for his master’s wife. Instead, he was overjoyed.

Because Qu Feng needed powerful, intense, and related resentment, and his master’s wife was the perfect source.

He knew his master’s wife wanted to die to atone for her sins, but she couldn’t.

She couldn’t die, because Qu Feng needed her resentment.

“I’ll take good care of you. You’ll live long, and my master and I will be fine, don’t worry.”

At that moment, Qu Feng’s soul opened his eyes, watching his wife curse him as a scoundrel, and smiled faintly.

“I am indeed a scoundrel. I admit it. But what’s wrong with being a scoundrel? You and Nuo Xin may be upright, but look at what happened to you in the end.”

One is dead with no place to be buried, and the other lives a fate worse than death.

“Compared to that, it seems being a scoundrel is better, doesn’t it?”