“-----and then ----bzztjhfjh---tdjgbzzt---- hahaha…..------don’t tease!hjhjhjh----bzzzzzzzzt…----khgkgolip[pompompiugjimmortals------defeated---”

Vague words strung themselves on a tattered thread as they weaved together into a blanket of confusion and uncertainty.

“Sha..sha..sha…” The vibrations of a spin wheel echoed.

‘W-what’s that …?’ A tiny soft-spoken voice resounded in uncertainty, it was faint and barely recognizable…It soon drowned by waves and waves of indecipherable threads.

“---the demon-----he swung----piercedddddd bctxxxx----bzzzzt---- rwoufgdahj---- duiefagjsdkilledtheclanandwentonarampageusydfvcbiaufgiafba-----”

“Sha…sha…sha…sha…creak!”

‘Urg… hurts…’ hurts…what is hurt? ….w-what..?What hwathathawhatwhatwhat..whattt…whhhasttt

An Impulse.

….

‘It…hurts….’

…

..

Throbbing.

…

“---riiiistusriuiguhriofgfvhiu----righteousness----g-r-gr-g-rg-eefgseiugh0sg0sgh0s-g-rgh-gs-rg-“

…

Numbing.

………

…..

…

.

.

.

A soft, calming breeze fluttered by… carrying with it the gentle kisses of spring.

It was warm… Comfortable. Flowing…

It lit the world up in an instant.

Tiny minuscule specks of life fluttered about and ran. They ran far and wide as if playing a casual game of catch, free of worry from the harshness of reality. Youth. Innocence.

They soon touched the sinews of others and came sprinting back, afraid. What was this? It was soft, supple and full of vigour…. It seemed …young?

How about this? It was rougher, and coursed with age…A frail surface yet it did not hide the strength within… and this? Hard, cold yet chilling. How startling.

…How startling.

As they ran and ran… back and forth, gaining more and more confidence ….their tiny voices blended smoothly into a mirage of serenity…A beautiful painting.

A bundle of small creatures gathered joyfully, even bouncing occasionally in their respective spots. Their little bums were placed snugly atop dewy grass… Their eyes were sparkling in awe, gazing at a slightly bigger and older creature in admiration as it spoke.

Then it stopped.

A faint smile threaded itself across its lips… It lifted its head upwards, and… looked at me?

How startling!!

Very Very Startling!

I tried to run, tried to sprint away from those scary eyes…letting my view darken…

…yet I can’t!! Why can’t I move?

I tried to hide, tried to flee but I could only move back into a single spot!... My shell, my tiny barrier…

A soft chuckle sounded out.

I-it laughed! How cruel! It must want to eat me!!!!! QAQ *Cries*

“Grandpa Shu! Grandpa Shu! Why are you suddenly laughing?” A pitched voice called out.

“Yeah!! Grandpa Shu is soo weird!!” Another small bundle exclaimed and laughed.

“Hmm… cheeky little ones! Grandpa had just thought of something amusing.” He redirected his gaze to the small naughty group.

“A-muh-zing? Is it funny? Hey! Hey Grandpa!! What did you think of!?”

“Yeah..! Tell us! Tell us!” The others chirped.

“Alright, alright. Hmm… There is a strange animal that lives in the southern plains. It’s a tall, big bird…” He trailed off.

“Oh!! It must be big and strong, isn’t it! It must be because of how easily it can defeat its enemies that you found it funny! ”

“Ohh! That makes sense!” Another piped in.

“Ow!!”/”Ouch!” They were hit on the forehead by a pebble.

“Naughty kids, don’t interrupt others when they're are speaking!"

“Sowwy….” They held their slightly redden heads with tears in their eyes. So adorable…

“Ahem!” He coughed for attention. ”But unlike other birds of its kind…that fight or flee when facing enemies stronger than it.... it freezes up and closes its eyes when he’s scared!”

“Ehhh!!! But he would be eaten!!!!”

“Yeah! If you can’t see, you’ll die!!! The enemy would still be there! What a dummy!” A kid stood up in exasperation.

“Hmm~ So, the moral of the story is that you should always be brave and face your fears!” Grandpa Shu smiled.

… ‘!!!’ Is he making fun of me!!!?? Even if I'm backed to a corner like this...I can still hear you!!! QAQ! Humans are mean! I hate them!!!

“B-but! How about our scary Martial arts Uncle? He’s blind, but he can still tell where we are!!” Another child questioned. He would always get caught by this scary uncle. How infuriating!

“Ahh… that’s because he uses his spiritual awareness.”

“Oh-ohhh!! It’s the thing that immortals use to tell where their enemies are hiding? Uncle can do that?”

“Haha… you’ll also be able to if you train hard enough!” The old man baited, amused. This is one of the reasons why his daily storytelling still exists.

“Ohh!!! I’ll go train now!! That’s so cool!”

“Me too!! I’ll ask Uncle to teach us!!”

In a fit of excitement, the little ones left to bother the scary uncle to teach them…whether they had succeeded…. Just say they went through multiple levels of hell from their greed…

With the kids gone, the rowdiness from before dissipated into a more serene atmosphere.

Grandpa Shu slowly stood from the Stone he sat on and gazed longingly to the tree.

“7000 years…” he muttered. Has it already been 7000 years?

Time sure flies… Even the sapling that was left behind had gained spiritual awareness, so…why hasn’t he returned?

The old man frowned and stood silently under the tree. Watching...waiting...All for a familiar silhouette...

'...It was creepy that the human was staring so sadly at me... w-why? D-does this mean that he won't eat me!? H-he won't... right? ... The human just looked so sad...'

Feeling a familiar warmth flow through my meridians... Instinctively, I guided them around... From the roots and to the tips of my leaves… It was comfy… I liked it.

“Good little sapling…” The old man murmured, patting the trunk. “As long as you take in spiritual energy regularly and course them around, maybe... you’ll gain a mobile form in another 1000 years…”

The advice took me by surprise. So much so that I stopped regulating my spiritual energy. H-he knows that... I just 'woke' up? What a scary human!

Sensing a sudden disruption in spiritual flow, the old man laughed.

"Don't worry... No one will hurt you as long as we're here. You are our precious shade from the sun!"

'!!!' I'm being exploited! QAQ Mean human! Bad human!

Another year passed… the tree blossomed and saturated the air with the sweet fragrance of adolescence.

Yet the one that should’ve returned, did not…

XXXX

Years passed, clouds settled and left… The tree spirit had gradually become a bit more confident. He no longer retracts his spiritual sight when the old man visited. The children had also grown up and left, every so often being replaced by smaller, younger ones.

…Cheekier ones too..

One even ate his flowers!!! QAQ

At least they’re better than the old man… he even took his leaves too! How terrible!

The tree spirit scowled in distaste as he gazed at his body parts being soaked in a pot. It was weird. It’s like someone boiling a human’s hair to drink… shudders*

At least he doesn't beg me to become a hermaphrodite unlike the little ones... shudders violently*

The years after he had gained consciousness was both scary and joyful. After observing the creatures coming and going, he soon found them a comfortable companion. They made funny faces and seemed to enjoy conversing to each other. It was peaceful…

The daily story-telling was the most enjoyable… He learned many things about the world from them. The existence of immortals, spiritual techniques… They were all amusing and seemed fun…but he was but a tree, even if he could understand them…he couldn’t talk to them… the most he could do was make more flowers.

He liked how happy they were when they looked at them, sometimes they would even gift them to other humans… It was weird… but their smiles cheered him up.

He liked how things were.

He….loved it.

But, one day...that all changed.

They left.

And never came back.