This discovery puzzled Qingmu, yet also filled him with excitement.
He knew that the reason the savage shaman could manipulate the island's Mental Power Field was because of the Divine Wooden Staff in his hand. Of course, the name "Divine Wooden Staff sacred wooden staff" was given by Qingmu; the savages called it a wooden stick for communicating with the gods, or perhaps it didn't have a name at all.
Now, Qingmu discovered that the willow branch in his hand also had a similar function. However, compared to the old wizard's shiny black stick, the willow branch's connection with the island's Mental Power Field was still very weak, and the power to mobilize the island's spiritual energy was much smaller.
He stared blankly at the willow branches, wondering why.
When Petru planted the bullet in Tapu, it was imbued with a faint Mental Power. Could it be that the willow branch, carried in his bag for so long on the island, also acquired this Mental Power?
But why are there only willow branches and not cigarettes? He picked up the cigarette again, smelled it, and shook his head.
Petru, who was standing nearby, thought he was having a craving for a cigarette and laughed, "Stop smelling it. It's so wet, even if it dries, it won't smell good."
Qingmu asked him, "How did you come up with the idea of planting the bullets under Tapu?"
Petru said, "I buried a lot of weapons in the area with Tapu, just in case. There's a China saying, 'A cunning rabbit digs three burrows,' and Somalia proverb, 'A clever pirate never buries his treasure on one island.' I never imagined the bullets would be tainted with Mental Power."
"Have you ever noticed that the bullet's Mental Power changes? For example, does it get stronger or stronger?" Qingmu asked.
"There might be a little bit, but it won't be obvious," Petru said. "I estimate that if it's buried for several hundred years, things might change, and maybe it could even develop consciousness!"
Qingmu looked at the willow branch in his hand, thinking about its characteristics, and then thought of the wooden stick in the old man's hand; they were both made of wood.
He suddenly stood up, walked to a large tree not far away, broke off a branch, closed his eyes to sense it, threw the branch away, then dug away the fallen leaves and soft soil on the ground, forcefully pulled out a section of gnarled tree root, closed his eyes to sense it again, shook his head and threw it away.
He wandered around in the woods, sometimes plucking a blade of grass and smelling it, sometimes picking up a stone and listening to it.
Seeing Qingmu's appearance, Petru asked the Boss Coal, "Where did you go just now? Did your master suffer some kind of trauma?"
The Crow had already noticed Qingmu's unusual behavior and said to Petru, "I guess... he's homesick, quack."
"Missing home?" Petru paused for a moment, and said, "Missing home already?" He shook his head, feeling that this was not the Qingmu he knew.
The Crow stared intently at the willow branch in Qingmu's hand, Guagua as it recited a poem. "Endless trees Liuying Lane, only the weeping willows witness parting; the willow branches are broken, the blossoms have all flown away, I ask the traveler, will you return...?"
Petru couldn't understand its Chinese, mumbled "Crazy crow," and then continued cleaning its gun.
After wandering around in the woods for a while, Qingmu came back and sat down, lost in thought.
"Hehe, doesn't your head hurt anymore when you think about things?" The Crow flew to his head and tapped it with its claw. "Did the landlady grant you this power?"
Qingmu ignored him, instead holding the willow branch in his hand and examining it over and over.
Just then, Su Huilan's voice came from the other end. "Are your clothes dry yet? We're all done."
Petru and Anderson took the clothes that were hanging out to dry, put them on without caring whether they were dry or not, and said, "Okay, okay."
Su Huilan and Alice helped Mrs. Larry out. Seeing Qingmu return, she asked, "Did you see the savage?"
Suddenly, Qingmu said to Su Huilan, "Come here for a moment."
Su Huilan didn't know what he was going to do, so she walked over and sat down next to him, looking at him with a puzzled expression.
Qingmu handed her the willow branch. "Take this."
Su Huilan knew that this was brought from Qingmu's backpack; she had seen it a few times before when she opened the bag. Although she had never asked him, she knew the story of breaking off a willow branch. Moreover, the Crow had just recited a few lines of classical Chinese poetry in its uniquely magnetic voice, which immediately reminded her of the origin of the willow branch.
She didn't know why Qingmu had given her the willow branch. She took it in her hand, looked at it, and asked, "This... what's wrong with it?"
Qingmu asked, "Didn't you sense anything unusual?"
"What's wrong?" Su Huilan asked, looking completely bewildered.
"Like mental fluctuations or something?" Qingmu said.
"Mental fluctuations?" Su Huilan said in surprise, "You mean there are mental fluctuations on these willow branches? How is that possible! You can sense the Mental Power of plants, but I can't. And even if plants have Mental Power, they have to be alive, right...?"
She wanted to say it was a dead tree branch, but remembering the meaning behind breaking off a willow branch, she felt that would be hurtful, so she swallowed her words.
Qingmu was somewhat disappointed and increasingly puzzled that Su Huilan hadn't sensed the connection between the willow branch and the island's Mental Power Field. Still unwilling to give up, he handed the willow branch to Petru: " Petru, why don't you give it a try!"
"Try what?" Petru asked, puzzled, but still held the willow branch in his hand and shook it. "You want me to use my Mental Power to make this thing sprout? I'm not that capable! If you can't do it, I certainly can't!"
Qingmu reluctantly took back the willow branch and put it in the pocket of his trench coat.
Su Huilan asked, "What exactly happened?"
Qingmu didn't want to hide it, and there was nothing to hide. Whether everyone could leave this place alive was still unknown, and it seemed that only he possessed this ability.
He recounted how the wizard manipulated the island's Mental Power Field and his recent discovery of the willow branches.
The others didn't understand Mental Power, so they didn't react much, but Su Huilan and Petru both understood what this meant and were extremely surprised.
"So, you're as strong as that old man now?!" Petru said.
Qingmu shook his head and said, "No, that thing in his hand is much better than my willow branch."
"I thought I could get my revenge!" Petru sighed in disappointment, putting a dry blade of grass in his mouth. He glanced furtively at Mrs. Larry, remembering the savages' barbaric behavior, and forcefully spat the grass stem that had been bitten off by their teeth onto the ground.
Su Huilan was silent for a while, then rested her chin on her hand and looked at Qingmu: "You're not really a blockhead, are you?"
No one could come up with a reasonable explanation, Petru said, "Why think so much? It's not a bad thing. If you ask me, let's steal that old savage's stick too. Without that cheating device, I'll wipe out their entire lair!"
As he spoke, he picked up the parts on the ground and quickly assembled them into a pistol. He held it in his hand, pointed it forward, and pretended to fire, making "bang bang" sounds.
Qingmu said, "They're setting up camp over there, looks like they're about to fight another group. I suspect this is the territory of another savage tribe. Let's sneak over and see what's going on; if they start fighting, we might be able to pick up some bargains."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Petru shouted as he assembled the guns that had already dried.
At this moment, Mrs. Larry spoke up, "Wait, I saw something... strange in that altar. I think I should tell you; it might be helpful."