WTYTIAAN Chapter 37
by VolareAlong the way, they solved several waves of monsters. Yan Yunqing followed Henry, leeching experience points, and leveled up to twenty-one.
This leveling speed…
Yan Yunqing was tempted to have Henry take him through the entire dungeon, repeatedly, thinking he might painlessly level up to twenty-five.
But he knew it was impossible. Dungeons always gave generous experience the first time, but after leveling up, they became stingy.
Continuing deep into the forest, turning at a fork, Yan Yunqing keenly noticed subtle changes in the surrounding environment. The gradually increasing monsters had disappeared, and the forest’s birdsong was completely gone.
Climbing over a small hill, pushing aside the bushes blocking their path, the scene suddenly opened up.
An ancient giant tree rose from the ground, thick vines and branches intertwined and spiraled upwards, its massive canopy lush and dense, blocking out the sky. Sunlight only filtered through the gaps between leaves and vines, like scattered starlight. The gnarled roots gripped the soil, embracing the land.
Yan Yunqing stared, momentarily speechless at the awe-inspiring scene. Lillian was even more astonished. As an elf, her perception of wood elements was more acute. The vibrant scene carried an undeniable air of death.
The giant tree simultaneously possessed life and death? Half-alive? What strange characteristic was this?
Could it be rebirth through death?
“We’re here.” Henry’s voice interrupted Yan Yunqing and Lillian’s shared daze. His gaze was fixed on the top of the canopy. Yan Yunqing followed his line of sight, spotting a ball entangled with vines.
“What do we do next?” Yan Yunqing asked.
Henry smiled and pointed to the canopy, “I need to climb up and remove that tumor—only I can do this. You can’t get near the tree.”
“Well, you can wait for me under the tree for a bit?”
“That place…” Lillian looked in the direction Henry pointed, frowning. “Such a strong aura of death.”
If the giant tree simultaneously contained life and death, the vine-entangled ‘tumor’ was the most concentrated source of death.
Yan Yunqing asked, “Why can’t we approach the tree?”
Henry scratched his head, embarrassed. “I… I don’t know, but I think you can’t get close.”
“So, has no one else been here besides you?” Yan Yunqing mused. “Is removing the ‘tumor’ from the giant tree your job?”
Henry’s face showed confusion. “Yes, yes? It’s dangerous here. Few people come… Removing the tumor is my job, my responsibility.”
“Although I don’t know why, the tumor on the giant tree gives birth to monsters. If they aren’t removed in time, the monsters will threaten the village,” Henry said. “I’m the village guard. This should be my responsibility.”
“Do you have to come every day?”
“Of course.”
Yan Yunqing took a step back, nodding to Henry. “Then go ahead. We’ll support you from below.”
Henry gave a grateful smile. “Thank you so much. Once I’ve cleared the tumor, I’ll treat you to roasted Lulu pork!”
Yan Yunqing nodded, thinking: So, roasting Lulu pork is a skill passed down in old Jason’s family.
He watched Henry walk towards the giant tree and begin to climb the vines.
Lillian was uneasy. “What does Henry mean? That tumor creates monsters? But monsters are born from the bones of gods, right? Could that tree be transformed from the bones of a god?”
Yan Yunqing gently shook his head. “I don’t know, but I have a guess.”
As he spoke, Yan Yunqing took two steps forward. Lillian startled, quickly following. “What are you doing?”
“Testing if the tree really won’t let me get close,” Yan Yunqing said, trying to walk towards the giant tree. Unlike Henry, who smoothly approached and began climbing, Yan Yunqing, when he got within ten meters of the tree, encountered what felt like an invisible wall. He couldn’t move forward at all.
Yan Yunqing reached out, trying to feel the air wall, but sensed nothing.
Lillian also tried to fly inside, but was similarly blocked.
“What is this… Is it a magic array?” Lillian looked around, but found no trace of any magic array.
Yan Yunqing was lost in thought, lowering his head to ponder. Suddenly, he heard Lillian cry out, “Careful!”
Yan Yunqing looked up, seeing a monster, a [Corrosive Poison Serpent], had appeared beside Henry and was attacking. Henry, to dodge the attack, had accidentally lost his footing and was falling backward.
Yan Yunqing: !!!
Yan Yunqing instinctively wanted Lillian to cast a levitation spell on Henry, but in the next second, the falling Henry reached out, grabbed a drooping vine, twisted his waist, and swung himself back onto the giant tree in an incredible pose.
A Tarzan of the apes?
Sensing Yan Yunqing’s worry, Henry glanced in their direction, waved, and shouted, “Don’t worry, I’m very used to climbing this!”
He drew his fine iron sword and slashed fiercely at the [Corrosive Poison Serpent]. The monsters on this tree seemed fragile. He quickly chopped off its head, and it fell, landing among the roots and soil, turning into starlight.
It was clear he was extremely skilled at this task.
Henry continued to climb. Yan Yunqing retracted his gaze and focused on the air wall in front of him. He thought for a moment, then pulled out [Henry’s Longsword] from his backpack.
Since meeting Henry in the dungeon, he’d kept the sword in his backpack.
Not because Yan Yunqing wanted to claim it, but because Henry was clearly a wraith unaware of his own death. Even his wounds bled like those of a living person.
And to have this wraith constantly wandering here, repeating this task every day, it must be something very important to him.
Yan Yunqing wanted to know the significance of this task without alarming the wraith. Once a wraith remembered their death, they could easily become uncontrollable.
No matter how strong their will in life, wraiths might not be able to face their death calmly.
As for why Yan Yunqing was taking out the sword now, it was based on his guess—
As expected, after Yan Yunqing took out the longsword, the air wall in front of him disappeared. He could now freely walk towards the giant tree.
Lillian was still trapped in place, and seeing Yan Yunqing able to go inside, she anxiously spun around. “Wait, how did you get in? What about me? Are you going to leave me behind again?”
Yan Yunqing paused, reluctantly turning back, grabbing Lillian and stuffing her into his pocket. “What do you mean, ‘leave you behind again’? When have I ever left you behind?”
Lillian stuck out her tongue, obediently perching on the edge of the pocket, sticking out her small head. “I was just anxious! Don’t mind me!”
Yan Yunqing ignored Lillian, grasped the longsword tightly, and walked towards the giant tree. This time, with the longsword clearing the way, Yan Yunqing and Lillian successfully crossed the ten-meter distance and reached the base of the giant tree.
Looking up, the tree was even more enormous. Countless branches and vines intertwined, crisscrossing, out of sight.
Lillian commented, “Not as good as our elven Mother Tree. Next time, I’ll take you to see our elven Mother Tree. It’s much more impressive, and full of life, with no death at all!”
Yan Yunqing was speechless. “Isn’t your elven Mother Tree in the sacred land? Is that place open to outsiders?”
The elven Mother Tree was the most important place for elven reproduction. Generally, elves weren’t allowed inside. Only the current elven king, elven elders, and newborn elven teachers were qualified to enter and exit.
Lillian looked innocent. “But you’re not a bad person.”
Yan Yunqing was speechless.
“Be careful. Don’t let someone trick you into an auction house bottle again.”
Lillian hummed twice, quieting down. Seeing Yan Yunqing start to climb, she suddenly said, “Really, come back to the elven territory with me later. I’ll take you to see the branch where I was born. It’s the most beautiful branch on the Mother Tree!”
Yan Yunqing ignored her. He wasn’t curious about the elven territory. He’d spent his early days in *Demon King* in the elven territory. He’d even made a comb out of the branch where Sylph was born and used it to comb his hair every day.
Though it was the game’s controller combing, not himself now.
Yan Yunqing climbed quickly. All the monsters’ attention was focused on Henry, who was closer to the tumor. They ignored Yan Yunqing below. So, while Henry was fighting a bloody battle, Yan Yunqing easily climbed to below him.
Spotting a [Ghoul Bird] diving at Henry, Yan Yunqing slashed, cutting down the not-so-small, decaying bird.
“Eh?” Henry finally noticed Yan Yunqing nearby. “How… how did you get up here?”
Seeing that he hadn’t noticed the sword in his hand yet, Yan Yunqing simply slung the sword behind his back. “I just came up. I must have been anxious when I saw you were injured, so I rushed in.”
Henry: Huh?? Is that something you can just rush into?
Henry’s thoughts were momentarily confused, but since the vine tumor was right in front of him, he didn’t say much. “Okay, then stick close to me. Falling from up here can cause serious injuries.”
Yan Yunqing silently nodded.
Together, they killed all the attacking monsters. Sensing the danger, these monsters attacked more desperately, like moths flying into a flame.
Yan Yunqing took out his magic wand, cast a shield on himself and Henry, hung on the tree, and sniped with fireballs from above.
His aim was excellent. One ball, one monster, they screamed as they fell.
Henry had approached the vine tumor exuding the aura of death. He took out his dagger and began to cut along the edge.
Several sizzling sounds rang out. Yan Yunqing turned his head to see that the dark green liquid spraying from the tumor was corrosive. It landed on Henry’s clothes and exposed arms, emitting puffs of white smoke.