The Ginkgo Tree's Language! (Please Vote With Recommendation Tickets)

Blood covered the earth. At a glance, more than twenty corpses lay sprawled across the vegetation.

Strangely, all their bodies had turned into mummies, their eyes hollow, as if they had suffered some indescribable impact before death.

Beside these corpses stood four men with different expressions. Some looked vicious, some were as still as calm water, but the same evil aura radiated from all of them.

"These are still too few. Nowhere near enough to heal my wounds." The one speaking was a middle-aged man nearly one point nine meters tall, yet as thin as a skeleton. His eyes were a mix of white and black, like a yin-yang wheel, and faint black deathly energy seeped from his body.

The black-clothed man beside him shifted slightly and said, "The Body Sect is pursuing us too closely. We don't have any good chances to look for blood food either. For now, we should rest for a while and lie low. What I'm worried about now is that old thing Du Busi might have come too. He's famously protective of his own."

"Tsk, tsk." The black-clothed man leaning against a tree smacked his lips, seeming to reminisce about something. "No wonder the Body Sect likes Body Martial Souls. The taste really is amazing."

The skeletal middle-aged man glanced at the speaker and said, "Amazing? Don't let Du Busi catch you. His methods are even more brutal than ours."

Buzz!

A faint ripple sounded in the air.

In an instant, the expression of the only black-clothed man among the four who had not spoken changed drastically. He hurriedly shouted, "Go, now! They're catching up."

"What!" Hearing this, the other three were also shocked. The people from the Body Sect had caught up so quickly.

Among them, the black-clothed man who had been smacking his lips showed fear in his eyes, and his earlier evil look vanished in an instant.

The four did not dare linger. They hurriedly activated their Soul Power, and soon, only the more than twenty corpses remained in the dim forest.

Before long, two figures descended from the sky and landed around the corpses. Looking at the wretched state of the dead, they frowned deeply. "Damn it. We're too late."

"They can't have gone far. Chase them!" said the Elder with crimson hair.

"Good!" The person beside the red-haired Elder also nodded slightly. Unfortunately, they had arrived just a few steps too late. That Evil Soul Master with the Nightmare Martial Soul truly had terrifying perception; even before reaching the Soul Saint level, he could sense the arrival of two Soul Douluo like them in advance.

Maple Leaf Village.

Time flowed like mountain streams gradually converging into a great river, never to return.

For some unknown reason, the leaves of the Ginkgo Tree with several hundred years of history were constantly falling toward the earth. Its brilliant golden leaves were like an incomparably beautiful oil painting.

Inside the house, a large crowd had gathered.

At a glance, there were probably no fewer than ten people.

Qin Ze sat by the bed, his eyes faintly red. He reached out and tightly held Zhu Xiyan's thin, withered hand, ravaged by the years.

Zhu Xiyan lay quietly on the bed. Yet her originally aged face had inexplicably gained a trace of rosiness, and her eyes had become very clear.

Village Chief Ke Lan's wrinkled old face was full of sorrowful sighs. Wasn't this exactly the final flare of life before death?

None of the people present spoke. The room was so quiet that only breathing could be heard.

A month had passed, and Zhu Xiyan's body had grown weaker and weaker. Today, she had even fallen unconscious several times.

Just now, Zhu Xiyan had woken up, but everyone knew clearly that the time for farewell had arrived.

"Village Chief, I want to talk with A Ze alone," Zhu Xiyan said calmly as she looked at Ke Lan. She did not seem at all like an old person whose life was about to reach its end.

Hearing this, Ke Lan froze for a moment. In the end, he glanced at her, then nodded.

"Let's go out first," Ke Lan said.

After speaking, Ke Lan staggered out of the room. Seeing this, the others all followed him out.

Click!

The door was gently closed, leaving only Zhu Xiyan and Qin Ze in the room.

Zhu Xiyan stretched out her other hand and patted Qin Ze's palm, saying in a low voice, "Do you remember what Grandma told you?"

Qin Ze raised his head, revealing eyes misted over with tears. He nodded heavily. "A Ze remembers!"

"Silly child, didn't Grandma tell you? Birth, aging, sickness, and death are the natural order of life. How could there be anyone in this world who lives forever? Grandma only hopes you can grow up happy. In another year, you'll awaken your martial soul. Though Grandma won't be able to see that day, Grandma believes my grandson will surely make his name known across the continent. Grandma has to go down and find your grandpa now. Then I can have a good talk with that fellow about you. That fellow left me behind for decades. Grandma is going to settle the score with him." Zhu Xiyan revealed a tired smile. At this moment, she actually looked exceptionally relaxed.

Hearing this, Qin Ze subconsciously turned his head away. Where she could not see, tears had already slid down his cheeks.

Zhu Xiyan smiled and raised her head to look at the ceiling. She was very grateful to the heavens that, in the final stretch of her life, she had been able to gain such an obedient grandson.

"Grandma!"

Suddenly, Qin Ze let out a trembling cry.

Zhu Xiyan slowly closed her eyes. Her lips were moving, as if she were saying something, and a faint smile still rested on her face. A few seconds later, Zhu Xiyan closed her eyes completely.

"Grandma!" Qin Ze held her hand and lowered his head with hollow eyes. He simply held Grandma's hand like that, motionless.

Outside the house, a wisp of cool breeze drifted by, carrying away an old woman's soul.

The leaves of the Ginkgo Tree fell even faster.

Two days later.

In the open space beside the Ginkgo Tree, two graves connected to each other appeared there. The graves were covered with Ginkgo Tree leaves, giving off a somewhat brilliant glow under the sunlight.

The language of the Ginkgo Tree was longevity, nobility, beauty, maturity, and perseverance.

Just like the course of an old woman's life.

Qin Ze knelt before the graves. Behind him were Village Chief Ke Lan and the other uncles and aunties, several dozen people in total, filling the open space.

Yesterday, all the villagers of Maple Leaf Village had sent off this highly respected old woman.

"A Ze!" Ke Lan looked worriedly at Qin Ze, who had been kneeling on the ground ever since Zhu Xiyan was buried. This little fellow was only five years old. How could he endure it?

"I'm fine, Village Chief Ke Lan. Let me stay here and keep Grandma company." Although Qin Ze's physical constitution was excellent, his body was also in some pain from kneeling for so long, but he did not show it.

Hearing this, everyone looked at one another.

After a long while, everyone left. Qin Ze stood up after Ke Lan and the others persuaded him, but as everyone departed, he knelt back down again.

The strands of hair at his forehead swayed gently, revealing Qin Ze's exceedingly delicate face. With a solemn expression, he gazed at Grandma's grave. "Grandma, stay with Grandpa first. Wait until your grandson becomes a god. At that time, not only you, but Grandpa too—we'll be reunited."

Thump, thump!

After speaking, Qin Ze heavily kowtowed nine times toward the grave, striking his forehead until it turned red.

Whoosh!

The Ginkgo Tree swayed gently a few times. A leaf fell onto Qin Ze's head, as soft as if Grandma were stroking his head.

One more update!