Chapter 31: Tree Spirits

"I'm sorry, I really didn't think it was like that." Wu Xiao was shocked by the fact that he could see ghosts as a child, but he had hardly been exposed to them since he was old enough to think that he had lost the ability to do so, but he hadn't realized that he had been in contact with them all along, only he didn't realize it.

Wu Xiao looked at Lu Qingjiu and said seriously, "I would like to offer you a generous compensation for your dismissal, and I would like to invite you back to the company again if you are willing".

Lu Qingjiu refused, and he did so openly: "You don't have to feel guilty, in fact, even if this hadn't happened, I would have resigned myself."

"Why," Wu Xiao asked suspiciously, "you're not doing this to comfort me, are you?"

"Of course not." Lu Qingjiu laughed, "I'm not a child who has to go to his parents when he's being bullied, if I really didn't want to leave, I would have asked you for an explanation for my dismissal." The misunderstanding could have been solved when the claim was made, so naturally there was no need to perpetuate it to this day.

When Wu Xiao thought about it, that was indeed what had happened. After he had informed Lu Qingjiu that he would either be dismissed or fired, Lu Qingjiu had accepted the truth calmly and had not even argued. At the time, Wu Xiao thought he was being weak, but now he thinks there was something else going on. The reason for his dismissal was not because Lu Qingjiu was gossiping, but because Wu Xiao had overheard Lu Qingjiu in the toilet describing in great detail a project proposal that the company was about to finalise, and after hearing this, Wu Xiao was determined to fire Lu Qingjiu.

Seeing the complicated look on Wu Xiao's face, Lu Qingjiu naturally guessed what his boss was thinking, he patted Wu Xiao's shoulder and smiled, "You really don't have to feel too guilty, I chose to resign."

"Then why did you resign?" Wu Xiao said, but she still didn't want to leave it at that.

"There's something going on in my family." Lu Qingjiu's response to this was perfunctory, and he clearly did not intend to explain the reasons in detail to Wu Xiao.

Wu Xiao was about to ask again when the old tree that had been ignored in the toilet called out, "Wine, wine, you're finally back, I missed you so much, no one has talked to me since you left, I'm so bored." He used the same Lu Qingjiu voice, only in a very different tone, more like a naive teenager.

It is said that the old trees have lived here for almost two hundred years and that their roots have spread to many places, except that although two hundred years is enough of a change for humans, for them it is but a snap of the fingers, and it is not without reason that the old trees claim to be a small child.

But Lu Qingjiu has taken to calling him Lao Shu.

"Well, I'm off, and I'll probably be back very rarely." Lu Qingjiu said to the old tree, "Take care of yourself."

The old tree was silent for a moment: "Where have you been?"

"I'm going back home." Lu Qingjiu said, "Wait, I'll come over to see you later."

The old tree said, "Yes, do come oh."

Wu Xiao listened to the conversation between the one man and the tree with a look of envy in his eyes as he said, "Does he talk every day"

"Yeah." Lu Qingjiu said, "Talking every day."

Since he discovered that Lu Qingjiu could hear him, the old tree began to talk to him every day in the toilet, and when Lu Qingjiu went in to use the toilet, he would occasionally talk to him when no one was around.

"I've heard it three or four times in six months," Wu Xiao says. Wu Xiao says, "and one of those times was about me."

Lu Qingjiu said, "What did they say about you?"

Wu Xiao coughed dryly and digressed, "Enough about that, is there a way I can hear him more often?"

Lu Qingjiu thought about it and didn't say anything. He really didn't have any ideas, but he could ask Bai Yuehu if there was anything he could do, and in fact Wu Xiao was a good person, quite righteous, and had no major flaws except that he had a temper and liked to target himself.

"Mr. Wu, that's all for today then." Lu Qingjiu said, "I have something else to do, so I'll leave first."

Wu Xiao said, "Okay, if there's anything you can do to help, just say so." Although Lu Qingjiu said he didn't care about being expelled, Wu Xiao still felt guilty.

Lu Qingjiu nods and turns to go.

After leaving the office, he did not rush to drive home, but went to the park near the office where Old Tree was located. There was something else he wanted to talk to Old Tree about, but Wu Xiao was there and he could not ask.

It was eleven o'clock in the evening and the streets were beginning to empty, the wind following suit and becoming cooler, hitting one's face in a way that was inexplicably pleasant. Lu Qingjiu walked into the park and before he could enter, he saw a large, lush tree. Because it was the height of summer, the leaves on its canopy covered the sky and almost half of the square. Lu Qingjiu showed a smile and walked up to the tree, sat down on the flower bed and reached out his hand to tenderly touch the rough trunk: "I'm back."

The trunk of the old tree trembled as if it had been tickled, and huge swathes of leaves fell from the sky in a shower like a downpour.

Old Tree said, "Did it go well at the old house"

"It went well." Lu Qingjiu, "The old mansion is quite nice, I just don't have a clue about what I want to know."

Old Tree said, "That thing might just be a guess too."

Lu Qingjiu said, "Even if it's a guess, I'll have to try." He leaned against a tree trunk and murmured lowly, "I'm the only one left now anyway."

From the accidental death of his parents to the death of his grandmother due to illness, Lu Qingjiu's connection with the world has become increasingly thin. Although his workmates had a good relationship with him, there were things he couldn't talk about. This is when Lu Qingjiu meets Old Tree, a nagging tree spirit who likes to talk but can't find anyone to talk to.

Later on, when Lu Qingjiu had something to say, he used to talk to the old tree, and the old tree told him a lot of things he wanted to know and didn't want to know.

Unlike humans, tree people are born with inherited memories and know many intimate things and ways of doing things.

Six months ago, Lao Shu awakened a new ability to divine the fortune of a person based on their birth date. At that time, Lao Shu had wanted to divine Lu Qingjiu, but in the end Lu Qingjiu refused, not wanting to know his future through the trigrams. Instead, he gave Lao Shu his parents' birthdate and allowed him to divine a fortune.

He said, "It's strange, your parents' fortune is very good, and their destiny is a match made in heaven, but why is it like this?"

Lu Qingjiu said, "It shouldn't be like this."

"It's really strange to be flying around." The old tree said, "Alas, or maybe I didn't count correctly, don't take it seriously"

Lu Qingjiu didn't say a word after hearing this, but soon went to the office and resigned, intending to return home.

The old tree knew that Lu Qingjiu had taken his words to heart, but he didn't know how to persuade Lu Qingjiu, and seeing that Lu Qingjiu was determined to go, he could only wish Lu Qingjiu a good journey.

But now it seems that Lu Qingjiu's return to the old house is not such a bad thing, at least Lao Shu feels that he is flourishing again, much better than the feeling he gave when he was working at the flat.

"I met a lot of people at the old mansion." Lu Qingjiu said with a smile and the old tree, "and met a nice fox spirit."

The old tree said, "Vixen really fake I haven't seen a vixen yet."

Lu Qingjiu said, "Naturally, it's true." He told Lu Qingjiu many more interesting stories about the old mansion, and Lu Qingjiu listened with great interest, saying enviously, "I envy you guys for being able to go everywhere, I want to see other places too."

"Will you be able to take shape later?" Lu Qingjiu asked.

"I don't know." The old tree said, "But even if it takes shape, it will be a thousand years from now," he said, his tone dropping, "and I don't know what the human world will be like then."

Lu Qingjiu stroked his rough skin: "It's okay, time will pass quickly."

The two of them talk about many things, and Lao Shu also tells Lu Qingjiu about the gossip that has happened in the company since he left, such as the fact that a and b had an office relationship and were afraid to disclose it, only to find out that both of them had cheated on each other and had other lovers in private. For example, Wu Xiao's haemorrhoids have recently cleared up a bit, but he almost ended up in hospital because of acute blood loss after a drink last week.

Lu Qingjiu had to call a halt when he saw that Lao Shu was going on and on, but with his verbosity, he could go on for a whole night about such trivial matters.

"I'll be back in the morning." Lu Qingjiu was still thinking about the two people at home who couldn't cook, "I'll go back and ask if there's a way to make Wu Xiao hear you."

The old tree said, "And you're off," and he shook the leaves.

Lu Qingjiu said, "Let's go."

"And come back," the old tree asked again.

Lu Qingjiu laughed, "Naturally I will be back, at least once a year, to see you." His parents' graves were still in the city, so naturally he had to come back.

"Good." A leaf slowly drifted down above Lu Qingjiu's head, and the old tree's voice was gentle, "I'll wait for you to come back."

Lu Qingjiu smiled and said, "Hmm."

After talking to Lao Shu for so long, Lu Qingjiu was in a good mood and drove his minivan back to Zhu Miaomiao's house. Zhu Miaomiao sent him a number of text messages asking about the situation, fearing that Lu Qingjiu and Wu Xiao might get into a fight, because after all, judging from their size, Lu Qingjiu might not have an advantage in a real fight.

Lu Qingjiu, fearing that she might be worried, called her back and told her that he and Wu Xiao had cleared the air and had no intention of fighting.

But Zhu Miaomiao was still uneasy and waited for Lu Qingjiu's return with the lights on at home.

When Lu Qingjiu arrived home, he saw Zhu Miaomiao slumped on the sofa, and when he heard him enter, he said in a daze, "Qingjiu, you're back."

Lu Qingjiu said, "Why don't you go to bed?"

Zhu Miaomiao said, "I'm afraid you'll get beaten up."

Lu Qingjiu laughed: "I told you he wouldn't beat me up."

Zhu Miaomiao said, "Why not? You don't know that he hates you, and Yun and I even wonder if he would secretly sack you if you were walking alone on the road."

Lu Qingjiu couldn't hold back his laughter as he said, "It's all right, my misunderstanding with him is cleared up." I think Wu Xiao thought he was spreading the word about his jugular discomfort around, so naturally he hated him with a passion.

Zhu Miaomiao, seeing that Lu Qingjiu was indeed fine, did not dwell on the subject and said, "You'll go back tomorrow."

"Well." Lu Qingjiu said, "We'll go back tomorrow."

"Not for two more days" Zhu Miaomiao said, "Mr Zhang just found out you were back today and said he wanted to treat you to a meal."

Lu Qingjiu said, "No, I can't. I'm busy at home and I can't be away for long."

"Okay." Zhu Miaomiao said, "I have to work tomorrow, so I won't see you off."

Lu Qingjiu nods his head.

After sweeping the graves and meeting the old ones, it was time to go home. Lu Qingjiu had not contacted Yin Xun for the past two days and did not know how things were going at home. Early the next morning he drove his minivan with a trunk full of specialties and set off again.

It was still a journey of more than ten hours, Lu Qingjiu left at six in the morning and by the time he arrived home it was almost ten in the evening.

Bai Yuehu was still lying in his rocking chair, and Yin Xun found a mat to lie next to Bai Yuehu. If you don't come back, I'm going to die here."

Lu Qingjiu said, "What's wrong?"

Yin Xun cried, "Bai Yuehu is not human, he quietly ate everything the night you left."

Lu Qingjiu: "Isn't there still kimchi?"

Yin Xun says: "Including the noodles."

Lu Qingjiu :""

Bai Yuehu listened to Yin Xun's complaint and chillingly said, "I've left you here, haven't I?"

Yin Xun fakes tears of grief.

Lu Qingjiu, who was getting a headache from the two of them, said, "Okay, okay, I've brought you a lot of food, so take it and pamper yourselves while I go to the kitchen and make you two a bowl of noodles."

Yin Xun cheered happily.

Lu Qingjiu put his things away and went into the kitchen in his apron, only to be shocked by the miserable state of the kitchen when he entered. Everything he had made had been eaten, even the bottle of hot sauce. The fridge was empty, not even a hair in it.

The little fox, who had been asleep, was also woken up and came up to Lu Qingjiu's feet, rubbing its soft head against Lu Qingjiu's ankles.

Lu Qingjiu simply put down two bowls of egg noodles and handed them to Yin Xun and Bai Yuehu, who ate them straight away without even leaving any soup.

Yin Xun finished his meal and went home satisfied, dragging his mat with him, while Bai Yuehu got up from his chair. According to Yin Xun, he had been stuck to the rocking chair since he had finished Lu Qingjiu's food, but he couldn't tear it off, and of course, Yin Xun didn't dare to do so.

"Have you had enough?" Lu Qingjiu wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Hmm." Bai Yuehu responded, "It's late, go to bed."

Lu Qingjiu said, "Good."

Bai Yuehu said, "Thank you for your hard work."

Lu Qingjiu laughed, "It's not hard."

Lu Qingjiu curled his eyes and said, "Good night."

Bai Yuehu said gently, "Good night."

After a good night's sleep, it was time for the next day. The twittering foxes took over the function of the alarm clock and roused Lu Qingjiu from his bed. Lu Qingjiu knew they hadn't eaten well for days, so he got up early and cooked a pickled vegetable noodle dish, intending to make up for the two of them.

The noodles are kneaded and cut into chunks, which are placed in a soup with a base of sauerkraut and freshly made meat, which is covered with a layer of sweet potato flour. The noodles were kneaded in-house and were very al dente, especially on a hot summer day, so you couldn't ask for a better bowl.

After making the noodles, Lu Qingjiu made minced meat for the young foxes and the three of them sat down to eat their breakfast, Bai Yuehu being the first to finish and then going to the fields.

Lu Qingjiu called Chao Qianyu to come and take away the extra grapes, which were so ripe that they would fall to the ground in a few days and it would be a waste for the three of them to eat them all and watch them rot.

Knowing that they had been hungry for a few days, Lu Qingjiu cooked an all-meat meal for lunch, including stir-fried pork, braised beef, cold chicken and sliced boiled pork.

Yin Xun and Bai Yuehu were very satisfied with their food, and Yin Xun said that he had finally made up for the blood he had lost over the past few days due to hunger.

Bai Yuehu did not say anything, but it was clear from his expression that he was satisfied.

During his nap time, Lu Qingjiu told Bai Yuehu about the old tree and asked him if there was any way to make Wu Xiao hear it.

Bai Yuehu thought about it after hearing it and said, "Yes, there is."

"There really is," Lu Qingjiu said in surprise.

"Well." Bai Yuehu said, "You just tell that tree to feed that man a little of its essence."

Lu Qingjiu: "What" he thought he had heard wrong.

"It's called tree spirit for short." Bai Yuehu saw Lu Qingjiu's bewildered face, so he explained again in great patience, "It is a white liquid hidden inside the core of the tree, after eating this liquid, Wu Xiao will be able to hear the tree tribe speak."

Lu Qingjiu: ""After listening to Bai Yuehu's explanation, Lu Qingjiu felt guilty for his own violent thoughts, "But the old tree can't be moved, so what can we do?"

Bai Yuehu said, "You tell Wu Xiao to go and talk about it in front of the old tree, and then just put your mouth down and take a bite out of the trunk."

Although Wu Xiao cannot hear the old tree, the old tree can hear Wu Xiao. If the old tree wants Wu Xiao to hear itself, it will secrete its own essence, and Wu Xiao will then be recognized by the tree tribe and will be able to communicate with the tree tribe from then on.

Lu Qingjiu didn't expect this method to be quite simple, but he didn't know why Lao Shu didn't mention it himself, so he didn't think much of it.

Wu Xiao listened and decided to go to the park after work to look for the old tree, and from the tone of his voice, he sounded rather fist pumped.

Lu Qingjiu thought it was over, but at noon the next day he received a phone call from Wu Xiao, who spoke in a hoarse voice and in a blood-curdling tone, yelling, "Lu Qingjiu, you've gone too far.

Lu Qingjiu said inexplicably, "Ah"

Wu Xiao said, "I sacked you, but I apologised and I'm willing to pay you compensation, you don't have to screw me like that."

Lu Qingjiu said, "What did I do to you?" He looked puzzled and then thought of the method he had asked Wu Xiao to try yesterday, "What's wrong with you?

It was because his voice was so innocent that Wu Xiao's tone took on a hint of suspicion: "You really don't know, then where did you get that method?"

Lu Qingjiu said, "The godmother in my village told me about it." When he finished with the godmother, he also looked at Bai Yuehu, who was glued to his rocking chair, alone and happy.

"Wu Xiao," said the goddess.

Granny didn't say anything else"

Lu Qingjiu said, "What else? The other goddesses just said that if they did this they could hear the tree people speak, but they didn't mention anything else, what's wrong?

After listening to Lu Qingjiu's explanation, Wu Xiao fell silent.

Lu Qingjiu fed several times before he heard a quiet sigh from the other end, and then Wu Xiao squeezed two words out of his teeth, "Nothing."

Lu Qingjiu: ""Mr. Wu, it doesn't look like nothing is wrong.

Wu Xiao wanted to say something, "I'll let it go."

Lu Qingjiu: "So, can you hear the tree now?"

After he asked this, he heard the sound of grinding teeth on the other end of the line and he said, "Yes, I can hear it now."

Lu Qingjiu: "Well, if you can hear me, then why are you so angry, did something unpredictable happen in the meantime? Lu Qingjiu was tempted to ask this, but in the end he wisely refrained, as Wu Xiao was in a very bad mood and hung up after a few low curses.

After hanging up the phone, Lu Qingjiu glanced at his phone screen and thought for a moment before walking over to Bai Yuehu, who was still asleep.

"Bai Yuehu ." Lu Qingjiu called him.

Bai Yuehu opens his eyes and looks at Lu Qingjiu.

"There are no after-effects to that spell you said you could hear to make people hear the Tree People, are there?" Lu Qingjiu blinked and asked the question that should have been asked yesterday.

Bai Yuehu says slowly, "Aftermath"

Lu Qingjiu nods his head.

"Sort of." Bai Yuehu's tone is light as he says, "If the tree clan agrees, the two are mated."

Lu Qingjiu :""

Bai Yuehu, seeing Lu Qingjiu's jaw drop in surprise, raised an eyebrow and said, "What?"

Lu Qingjiu finally understood what the pain in Wu Xiao's voice was all about and he burst into tears, "Why didn't you tell me then?"

Bai Yuehu is very open about it, "Because it's not an after-effect."

Lu Qingjiu couldn't help but applaud his vixen's logic, should he call Wu Xiao again to congratulate him on his 100th bride?

Author's Comment: Bai Yuehu: How do you know he's happy with a 100-year-old bride and not a groom?

Lu Qingjiu: Mr. Wu, I'm sorry.

Wu Xiao cries out in pain: I have fucking hemorrhoids ahhhhhhh