A True Friendship Demands a Touch of Chivalry

"Wei Yuanzhong! Do you know who I am?"

The voice suddenly rang out in the quiet house, scaring Wei Yuanzhong so badly that his legs nearly gave way beneath him.

Lin Jue was pulled out of his thoughts, too.

"I... I don't know..."

Wei Yuanzhong was frightened and bewildered, completely at a loss.

"Thud!"

Another wooden lump flew out, struck the floor with a dull thump, and rolled a few times.

"Still don't know?"

The voice grew sharper.

"I don't know... I really don't... I don't know how the Wei family offended you. Please, honored elder, just tell me what you want!" Wei Yuanzhong nearly dropped to his knees and kowtowed.

"Smack..."

Another twig was thrown out through the wooden wall.

It was thin, and its shape matched the marks on Wei Yuanzhong's body. It seemed this was what the monster had used to whip them.

"What about now?!"

The voice turned even sharper, yet beneath that sharpness was a hint of bitterness.

Wei Yuanzhong was still baffled.

"Could you be the stump in the courtyard?" Lin Jue couldn't bear to watch any longer and offered a guess.

"Huh?"

Wei Yuanzhong immediately raised his head, his face drained of color.

He had never imagined that the tree which had accompanied him since childhood, right there in his own courtyard, had become a spirit.

"Hmph..."

A cold snort came from within the wall.

That was as good as an admission.

In his terror, Wei Yuanzhong dropped to his knees with a thump, calling out to the Peach Tree Lord and saying he shouldn't have cut it down.

Lin Jue watched from the side, simply tucking the Firewood Knife behind his back without saying a word.

"If an ordinary household cuts down a tree, no one can say much about it. But I grew in your family's courtyard for nearly a hundred years. Your great-grandfather planted me, watered me, and tended to me as I grew. But throughout the century that followed, I also did my best to repay your family."

The voice from inside the wall carried a note of sorrow.

"Before I became a spirit, before I had thoughts of my own, I was muddle-headed. Those years don't count. But once I gained awareness, I worked all the harder to sink my roots deep and seek out nourishment.

"I learned that your father loved peaches, so I tried to bear more and bigger ones. I endured the pain of thinning my own fruit, kept my lower branches from sprouting, and secretly drove the birds away.

"You and your brothers were more playful than your father as children. You loved climbing trees to pick peaches. It was dangerous, but the sweetest peaches were always at the very top. So I deliberately bore the most fruit up there, chose the best spots, and bent my branches down when the peaches ripened so you could reach them.

"I knew raking up fallen leaves was a nuisance, so I always let them drop in one place, or waited for just the right autumn day, when the winds were high and fierce, to blow them away.

"Twenty years ago, when your family fell on hard times and had to make a living selling peaches, I didn't hesitate to damage my own cultivation. I filled every branch with fruit, and that was how I helped your family through the crisis.

"Your family treated me with kindness for generations. I still remember you brothers swinging beneath my branches as children. Your father even told you that I'd been with your family for three generations and that you should take good care of me when you grew up. Who would have thought that your generation would be made up of ungrateful wretches!"

Wei Yuanzhong could no longer stop himself from trembling.

But the voice from within the wall continued:

"Your father was gravely ill. You neglected him in his final days and spent all your time quarreling. Then, as soon as he died, you rushed to divide the household. For a mere few hundred coins, you even cut me down. How could I accept that?!"

Lin Jue couldn't help frowning as he listened, but still said nothing.

If what the Peach Tree Lord said was true, then this family had indeed benefited from the tree's kindness, and the tree had indeed given a great deal in return. But the Wei family didn't know it had become a spirit, nor did they know all the care it had put into repaying them. They had probably thought the tree simply bore fruit and shed leaves as trees naturally did, and that everything was coincidence. That was likely why they cut it down after dividing the household...

It was certainly wrong to do so. Even if it had been an ordinary peach tree, after a hundred years of being passed down through generations, cutting it down just like that would have earned them a few scoldings from the neighbors.

But if one said it was a great sin, that didn't seem quite right either.

The peach tree had devoted itself for a hundred years, gained the Dao against all odds, and then been cut down for no reason by people it had watched grow up. It was understandable that it felt resentful.

This was such a complicated matter. Why should he be the one to judge?

So Lin Jue stayed silent and let them argue it out.

He had only one question: how had this peach tree convinced the City God to the point of "winning its case before the City God"?

The answer soon came—

"You worthless descendants! You neglected your father and cared only about dividing the household. Even the City God himself expressly allowed me to whip you for a hundred days. Not one day less! You can call whoever you want; it won't help!"

So that was how it was.

Lin Jue understood.

Indeed, in this era, filial piety, fraternal duty, and ritual propriety stood above all else. Even most emperors couldn't escape their bounds.

Failing to honor one's parents was a crime.

Lin Jue knew this, but his understanding was only superficial. He knew of it, but didn't deeply grasp it, having never grown up fully immersed in such an environment—not until it had become as natural to him as fish in water.

Hearing this, he was enlightened.

It was another side of the world he now lived in.

As for whether the City God was fair, or whether the moral standards he used matched Lin Jue's own, there was little point in dwelling on it.

He knew only that if this story spread, it would surely help urge people to be filial, live in harmony, and stand on their own two feet, amid the endless stream of similar tales.

After reflecting on it, he saw that the two sides were still acting out the same scene: one weeping and begging for mercy, the other hurling curses without relenting. Lin Jue couldn't help feeling sorry for the peach tree demon.

It wasn't particularly magnanimous or benevolent, but neither was it a vicious monster. It vented its anger and avenged its grievances, and it knew how to repay kindness. All things considered, it was probably better than most people in this world. It must have been neither easy nor common for a tree to become a spirit in someone's household. Otherwise, tales like this would be flying everywhere. And now it had been cut down just like that. He didn't know whether its cultivation could continue.

Feeling sorry for it, he voiced his thoughts:

"It can't have been easy to attain the Dao in the city. For you to be cut down through a twist of fate by the next generation is truly a pity. Is there any way to save you?"

As soon as he spoke, the voice inside the wall fell silent.

He had likely struck a painful nerve.

Wei Yuanzhong, on the other hand, seemed to have seized a lifeline and hurriedly asked, "That's right, Peach Tree Lord. Is there any way to make amends?"

"Even if I die, I'll beat you until your skin is torn and your flesh is broken!"

For all its words, that answer showed there really was a way to make amends.

Its tone had also softened a little.

"We were wrong! We shouldn't have done it! We know our mistake. Tomorrow, we'll kneel before Father's grave and apologize. But please, don't let all that hard-won cultivation you worked so hard to gain go to waste!

"Please give us a chance to make amends...

"..."

Wei Yuanzhong pleaded and pleaded.

At last, the Tree Demon in the wall sighed.

"You cut down my trunk. My cultivation was nearly complete, but I can no longer grow in this courtyard. Making amends won't be easy."

"Please tell us what to do, Peach Tree Lord! We'll do our best!"

"Two hundred li from here, in Luosu County, there is a Green Emperor Temple. The Green Emperor governs all the plants and trees under heaven, as well as the coming of spring. If you can bring back a talisman from the temple and dissolve it in water, perhaps I can sprout again. But after what happened, I can no longer stay in this city. Even if you obtain the talisman, you'll have to move me to a mountain outside the city."

"Two hundred li! We'll go ask for it right away!"

"You must be sincere for your plea to reach the Green Emperor. You'll need to spend some money to persuade the temple priest."

"We'll go! We'll go!"

By then, Wei Yuanzhong felt that until he had carried out the task, he had no face—and no nerve—to stay here any longer. He added, "I'll go out tonight and tell the family. We'll try to take a cart to Luosu before dawn and fetch what the Peach Tree Lord needs."

After he finished speaking, he couldn't help turning to Lin Jue.

Lin Jue thought for a moment, then said, "It's the middle of the night. Lord Wei, please let me finish my sleep."

"All right!" Wei Yuanzhong paused in surprise, then agreed. "Young sir, please rest here."

"Clatter."

The door soon opened, then closed again. Footsteps clattered down the stairs.

Before he heard the door downstairs open and close, Lin Jue turned to the wall beside him. Faint, blurry light and shadow could still be seen within it: the Vital Energy of the Tree Demon flowing about. But before he could say anything, he heard the Tree Demon's voice.

"I have to thank you for today."

This one certainly knew how to reason.

Lin Jue had once heard that whether a demon could become a spirit in someone's home was tied to the virtue of the household's master. He wondered whether there was any truth to that.

"Why have you remained inside the wooden walls all this time?"

"My cultivation is still shallow. I haven't reached the point where I can transform freely. Now that my true body has been cut down, only my spirit and Vital Energy remain. Fortunately, I came from plants and trees, so I have a natural gift for hiding and moving among other plants and trees. I feel more at ease inside wooden walls and doors."

"Is that some kind of magic?"

"I don't know if it counts as magic. I've heard that among the people of the Human Realm, there are Daoists capable of this sort of thing, called the Five Elements Evasion Technique. This is my innate Divine Ability; I didn't have to learn it afterward. The two may not be exactly the same, but the principles behind them must be connected." The Tree Demon spoke with him as casually as ever.

Just then, Wei Yuanzhong finally left the courtyard. The door slammed shut in a hurry.

"To be honest, I've always been fascinated by immortals, demons, ghosts, and magic. I've long wanted to see more with my own eyes. Would you let me see what you can do?"

"Why not?"

In an instant, a section of the wooden wall bulged out, vaguely resembling a withered human figure.

After a series of contortions, the withered figure turned into a tree. The transition was smooth.

At the same time, it moved from the wall on the right to the wall on the left. When it took human form, it looked as though a person was walking inside the wall; when it became a tree, it looked as though a snake were swimming through it.

Throughout the process, Lin Jue could see the Vital Energy flowing, but it was all very indistinct, and he felt no particular reaction in his heart.

"My true body has been cut down, so I won't show myself. In any case, it's just a minor trick," the Tree Demon said. "There's not much to see in this. But I can also pull plants and trees—even people—into wooden walls. If you have the nerve, you can try it yourself."

"Why wouldn't I?"

"You should know that when I pull things like wooden lumps and twigs into a wooden wall and throw them back out, it's because they're also plants and trees. Pulling a person inside is a method we use against people. A person can't breathe inside wood, you know. You'd suffocate to death."

"The night is long, and it's hard to bear. If I get to experience something this strange, then the night won't have been wasted."

Lin Jue found it fascinating, and he couldn't help hoping it might be possible.

Could a person's body really hide inside a piece of wood?

What would it feel like?

If he learned this trick, then whenever he ran into bandits or fierce beasts in the wild, couldn't he simply find a big tree and slip inside while they weren't looking? He'd be safe.

"Are you sure you're not afraid? Suffocating to death is agonizing. And apart from suffocation, once we pull you inside and release our grip, you'll be stuck in the wood."

"You're no evil demon. What is there to fear?"

Lin Jue spoke without the slightest doubt in his voice.

"..."

The Tree Demon in the wall fell silent for a moment, then finally agreed. A branch slowly reached out from the wooden wall, no different from an ordinary peach branch. "Grab the branch, relax your mind, empty it of all distracting thoughts, and don't strain. I'll only pull one of your hands inside, so you can get a feel for it."

"All right!"

They were both utterly frank and at ease with each other.

Lin Jue immediately walked over, took hold of the peach branch, and let it draw him slowly toward the wall.

Now that they were so close, it seemed the Tree Demon was pulling him into the wall, but Lin Jue was the one holding on to it. He suddenly realized that, while he had trusted the peach tree, hadn't the peach tree trusted him as well?

It was just as the saying went—

"Make friends with a touch of chivalry, and live with a heart kept pure."