Chapter 15: Tree Shepherd

After the incident with the female assassin, Yang Ling returned to the elf tribe and fell asleep immediately. Even though he knew that Sofia had misunderstood him, it would be difficult to explain the situation fully. Since it was hard to explain, and further explanation would feel too much like an excuse, he decided to let fate take the wheel for the time being.

Even though Yang Ling could not find his way back to Earth, he had decided to adapt to this environment, rather than grumble all day long.

His life was currently leaping from the frying pan into the fire; but since he was already in mid-air, he might as well enjoy the heat from the flames. As he was falling asleep, Yang Ling recalled that classic sentence he had seen on the internet a few years ago.

Even though Yang Ling was a little surprised that Ymir would employ an assassin to take his life, he did not become overly fearful. After all, what was going to come would come regardless of what he did. The only way to deal with this was to quickly increase his abilities. This was similar to how one would never know what beast one would come across when hunting in the forest; only hunters who were strong enough could survive the repeated attacks.

Sofia is beautiful. It seems… that female assassin was beautiful too!

Yang Ling recalled Sofia’s large, glistening eyes and her slender, huggable waist. The scene soon changed into the female assassin’s icy cold face.

Some time later, Yang Ling heard a fleeting tune in his daze. Amidst the rustling of the trees, he could faintly hear the cries of a young girl. The sounds also seemed to be the incantations of a priest in prayer.

After listening intently to the sound, Yang Ling silently headed in the direction where the sound was coming from. Stepping on the dew covered grass and making his way past a clear stream, he arrived at a vast pine forest.

Sofia, who was dressed in white, walked around a majestic tree barefoot. She was silently muttering something using the ancient language of the elves. It sounded like a folk song of the elf tribes, but also like she was whispering something toward the ancient tree. Her eyes were watery, tears falling after every round.

Be it coincidence or an illusion, Yang Ling felt the ancient tree creak with every tear Sofia dropped, as if it was responding to Sofia.

“Sofia!” Yang Ling could not help but shout when he saw the pitiful elf girl and her tear-covered face.

“Yang Ling, you… Why are you here?” After wiping the tears off her face, Sofia quickly stopped circling the tree, her face red.

“I dreamed of a beautiful woman just now and heard your song!” Yang Ling smiled and walked over with large strides. He sat beside Sofia. “So, beautiful elf lady, you spoiled my dreams. Tell me, how are you going to compensate me for my losses?”

“Compensate, my foot!” Sofia blushed when she saw how Yang Ling was joking with her. She hesitated for a moment before silently asking, “What are you doing out here so late at night? Are you not going to accompany the woman you are dating?”

Dating?

Seeing Sofia’s teary eyes, Yang Ling seemed to have understood something. He shook his head and laughed bitterly. “Sofia, that woman was an assassin, and I nearly died in her hands earlier. Which part of that sounds like a date?”

“Hmph, you humans are all the same. You men are all more of a casanova than Hasmere!” Sofia’s eyes were red, clearly not believing Yang Ling. What female assassin would give her target her petite shoe? It was rumored that humans were incredibly flirtatious and would often look at other ladies despite having a beautiful wife. It looked like those rumors were true.

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Lies were more believable than truths, and it looked like that was the same for both worlds.

After shaking his head and letting out a bitter smile, Yang Ling understood that he was going to make the situation worse if he explained himself further. He quickly changed the subject. “If this tree truly has spiritual qualities, then you spinning around it like that would surely make it giddy, even if you are not!”

“Giddy my foot!” Sofia burst into laughter. “This is the oldest tree in our tribe, having over eight thousand years of history. Even though it is unable to nurture Withered Tree Guardians, it has the highest spiritual qualities. It can understand whatever I tell it!”

An ancient tree with spiritual qualities?

Seeing Sofia lean toward the ancient tree as she was explaining it, Yang Ling became excited, also leaning over. Suddenly, an indescribable ripple spread toward him from the tree. The ripples resonated with the rhythm of his heartbeats, as if it was saying something.

A spirit born from an ancient tree?

Yang Ling recalled the ghost stories he had heard when he was young, and he suddenly had an idea. The mysterious wizard techniques could tame Magical Beasts; they might work on tree or mountain spirits too.

Secretly, Yang Ling bit on his right index finger and pressed it down on the tree. In that instant, the wound seemed to have come into contact with a bottomless pit, his blood and wizard powers flowing out like the Yellow River.

“Ah, Yang Ling, what happened to you?”

Seeing Yang Ling trembling and turning pale, Sofia shouted in shock. But just as she was about to step forward and support him, Yang Ling let out a low grunt and swallowed a bunch of blood red orbs he had taken out of his robes. Following which, the giant tree vanished without a trace.

In his daze, Yang Ling once again unintentionally arrived at the mysterious space of the Wizard’s Pagoda. All he saw was a giant tree in front of the tall Wizard’s Pagoda. Groups of Horned Bee Beasts and Evil Eyes were circling the tree. Some of them even climbed straight up the trunk of the tree, resting peacefully on its branches.

The tree had lush, green leaves. For some reason, Yang Ling felt a sense of familiarity. He walked over and softly stroked the bark of the giant tree. Quickly, an indescribable ripple spread from the trunk of the tree, as if it wanted to express something.

Before Yang Ling could make sense of the ripples, his mind suddenly jolted. His consciousness slowly slipped out of the mysterious space. When he opened his eyes, he saw that the elf elder had rushed over to where they were. The magic staff in his hands was releasing a pale green light, as if he had just cast a spell.

“Yang Ling, are you alright!” Sofia finally heaved a sigh of relief when she saw Yang Ling open his eyes. She did not understand how the giant tree could have vanished without a trace, nor did he understand why Yang Ling would be rendered unconscious. In her panic, she had rushed to the tribe and informed her grandfather.

Seeing the huge crater where the ancient giant tree used to be, then recalling the giant tree he saw in the mysterious space, Yang Ling had a thought. He instinctively formed a hand gesture. In the blink of an eye, a Withered Tree Guardian about twenty meters tall appeared before him, a giant club in its hands.

“Lebrock pays respects to its master!” Just as the crowd was in shock, the Withered Tree Guardian knelt before Yang Ling, tossing up a large amount of dirt. Its deafening voice nearly shattered the eardrums of those present.

Unlike the Withered Tree Guardians Sofia summoned, the giant groveling thing before Yang Ling had countless green shoots sprouting from its body. Its watermelon-sized eyes had a soulful glow. Those, coupled with its rippling, granite-like muscles, made it look incredibly sturdy.

“Oh lord, a Withered Tree Warrior with spiritual qualities!” The elf elder let out a shocked shout as he pointed at Yang Ling. “Yang Ling, you… you are a Tree Shepherd?”