Chapter 237: taboo topics

Chapter 237: taboo topics

Chapter 237 Taboo Topics

Seeing the tree man in front of him, Xia En raised his eyebrows and instinctively showed a defensive posture.

But soon, Xia En discovered that the appearance of this tree man was very different from other tree men.

Its bark is dry and shriveled, extremely rough, and shows a faint reddish color.

It's like the color of the mangroves that live at the interface between land and sea.

The branches and leaves were withered and yellow. They did not maintain the green color like other tree people, and their vitality was extremely declining.

Like a piece of rotten and damp dead wood.

It can even be described as "ugly"

If it weren't for the pair of dim eye sockets and a small mouth on its old trunk, it would be difficult for Xia En to regard it as the same species as those tree people.

Although the appearance of this tree man is surprising, Xia En is not a person who judges people by their appearance.

He took the initiative and said, "Thank you, senior, for your help."

"…Um?"

Hearing his voice, the declining tree man was surprised: "This kind of voice... have you ever swallowed [Seed of Sea Sound]?"

The reason why Xia En was able to master the ability of [Underwater Conversation] was precisely because he received the [Seed of Sea Sound] given by Tracy in the [Emerald Ancient City].

Now, listening to the tone of this tree man, it seems that he also knows this strange seed?

This undoubtedly further proves the connection between the [City of Giant Trees] and the Elf clan.

Xia En nodded and admitted: "I did swallow one by chance."

"It seems that your origin is not simple."

The old tree man's eyes flashed with a faint light as he continued.

"But no matter who you are, if you want to survive, leave [City of Giant Woods] as soon as possible."

"This is no longer a place where living people should come."

Xia En didn't explain too much, just said: "I have a reason to go deep into this city."

A flash of surprise flashed in the old tree man's eyes.

He has clearly seen the scene where the whole forest was agitated just now, but this outsider still has the courage to say such a thing?

This cannot be described simply as "praiseworthy".

However, the old tree man used all his strength just to maintain his own survival.

Saving this man casually was already considered a great act of kindness, and I really had no energy left to meddle in his business.

Thinking of this, the old tree man said directly: "In this case, I can only wish you good luck."

"This forest has long been the home of those traitors. As long as you are in it, you will be discovered by them sooner or later."

"However, the intelligence of the woods is limited after all. If you disguise yourself as us, you can last longer... Do you understand?"

At first, Xia En thought the old tree man was just saying goodbye.

But after listening to these words carefully, he realized that the other party was actually teaching him how to hide in the forest.

Shane was in a weird mood.

This old tree man looks like an awkward old man. He wants to express his kindness, but he also wants to go in a circle.

However, based on this detail and its help just now, Xia En can basically judge that the old tree man is probably a "good person."

Regardless of appearance or personality, they are very different from those tree people who are willing to sacrifice other creatures at every turn.

and…

"traitor?"

Xia En noticed the word spoken by the old tree.

"The betrayers refer to the tree people who believe in the [Giant Wood God]?"

A thought flashed in Xia En's mind, and he quickly sketched out the general outline of the matter: "Did the tree people betray their original beliefs? Betrayed the Elf Goddess?"

"In other words, this old tree man is still a supporter of the Elf Goddess?"

When Xia En was about to ask, he saw not far away, a small tree man about two or three meters high, floating down from the sea like a jellyfish.

Compared with its kin, its body shape is naturally petite and exquisite.

"Grandpa Hunter, I'm back!"

"Huh? This guy is..."

In the process of getting close to the old tree man, the little tree man naturally discovered Xia En's existence.

The face made of tree trunks showed a surprised look and exclaimed at the same time.

"Human! Grandpa Hunter, is this human!"

"Shh! Keep your voice down!"

The old tree man Hunter glared at the young tree man and looked around warily.

Fortunately, there were no tree people who believed in the [Giant Wood God] nearby, so no tragedy occurred.

The little tree man also realized that he had almost caused a catastrophe, and quickly lowered his voice and said: "Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to do it."

"This is the first time I've seen a living human being, so I'm a little excited."

"Introduce yourself, my name is Mumu, what is your name?"

Shane took a serious look at the little tree named Mumu and found that although it sounded young, its trunk was as skinny as Hunter's, with wrinkled bark and sparse and shriveled leaves.

There was an air of aging and depletion all over his body.

This surprised Xia En.

He originally thought that Hunter's decline was because he had lived for a long time and was about to reach the end of his life.

But judging from the similar qualities in Mumu, it seems to be for another deeper reason?

At the same time, Xia En also noticed that Mu Mu's branches had obvious signs of breakage, as if they had been broken by external force.

There were also several wounds on the body that seemed to have been whipped, but they were mixed with the wrinkled bark, making it difficult to distinguish them.

Before Xia En could answer, Hunter on the side suddenly changed his expression and asked.

"Mumu, where did these injuries on your body come from? They bullied you again, right?"

Hearing this, Mumu's high mood suddenly dropped and he hesitated.

"No, no, my brother and sister are joking with me."

"They are no longer your brothers and sisters!"

Hunter's expression was solemn, with a hint of anger in his tone: "From the day they knelt down to the [Giant Wood God], they are no longer our kind!"

"But, Grandpa Hunter, why must we stick to our belief in the goddess of life?"

Mumu was confused and aggrieved, so she couldn't help but ask.

"Obviously as long as we accept the [Seed of Life] given by the [Giant Wood God], our bodies will not have to continue to rot, and we can become taller and stronger."

"Besides, grandpa, you can live longer..."

"Shut up!"

Hearing this, the old tree man Hunter finally couldn't help but said angrily: "You don't understand! This is a betrayal of God! One day he will be punished by God!"

"Besides, do you think [Giant Wood God] is a good thing? That guy..."

Hunter originally wanted to continue talking, but seemed to be concerned about the peaceful forest around him, so he finally just said.

"No matter what, as long as I am still alive, I will never allow you to accept the [Seed of Life]!"

"If you say one more kind word about [Giant Wood God], I will treat you as my grandson!"

"Don't let me see you again!"

Mumu originally wanted to care about Hunter, but instead, she was scolded so harshly, and her grievance suddenly burst out.

"Huh! If you don't see me, you'll see me! I'll go to the head office!"

After leaving these words, Mumu turned around and left.

"…you!"

The old tree man Hunter was stunned.

He vaguely felt that he had gone too far, but he had just scolded her, and with his temperament, it was impossible for him to soften his attitude on the spot and persuade Mumu to come back.

It wasn't until Mumu's figure disappeared from sight that Old Hunter let out a long sigh.

"Children these days are becoming more and more troublesome." It turned to Xia En and said, "Sorry, I made you laugh."

"Old man, your relationship with your grandson is really good."

Xia En sighed softly.

Watching the quarrel between Hunter and Mumu, he was inexplicably reminded of some past events on earth.

Therefore, he knew that Hunter would never say such harsh words if he didn't really take it seriously.

Similarly, Mumu persuaded Hunter to accept the so-called [Seed of Life] for similar reasons.

But at the same time, Xia En was inevitably a little curious.

What exactly is this so-called [seed of life]?

It seems that it is because of its existence that the tree people have the ability to live such a nourishing life underwater.

In this case, why is Old Hunter so afraid of it?

"Ahem, young man, I want to ask you a favor."

At this moment, Old Hunter coughed twice and said, "My grandson has a stubborn temper. I don't know how long it will take for this awkward situation to subside."

"If those betrayers instill bad ideas and take the opportunity to plant the [Seed of Life], it will be over."

"I see that you are quite capable. Can you help me take care of it and give it some advice?"

The old tree man said this somewhat euphemistically, but Xia En immediately understood its intention.

Obviously, after saying these words, Old Hunter actually regretted it a little, but he just couldn't bear to apologize to his grandson.

That's why he approached Xia En, not only to protect Mumu, but also to act as a lubricant to ease the relationship between grandfather and grandson.

"He is indeed an awkward old man..."

Xia En thought to himself: "I'm afraid your grandson's character is just like yours!"

Complaints are complaints, and for the sake of Hunter's previous help, Shane will definitely help him.

"give it to me."

After saying that, Xia En was ready to catch up in Mumu's direction.

"Wait, don't move yet, I'll give you some disguise."

Later, Old Hunter picked some branches and leaves from nearby trees and decorated them with Shane.

Not long after, Xia En completed a very rough disguise.

It looks like…

how to say…

Kind of like Vietcong in the jungle?

Although from Xia En's point of view, this disguise could not be more clumsy, anyone can see the difference between him and the tree man.

But according to Hunter, this level of camouflage is enough to hide the will of the forest.

If it encounters other tree people, it can quickly pretend to be a harmless bunch of flowers and plants.

Xia En endured the strange feeling and walked through the underwater forest.

Needless to say, after being covered with this layer of leaves, most of the looming malice around him has indeed dissipated.

Don’t worry about whether it’s ugly or not!

Just tell me if it works, right?

…

…

It didn't take long.

Xia En caught up with the little tree man Mumu.

In fact, at the speed of this little tree man, he couldn't run very long.

At this time, it was leaning against a big tree, kicking the sand under its feet and humming.

"Humph, stinky grandpa, bad grandpa!"

"It's obvious that I can't hold on much longer, yet I still refuse to use the [Seed of Life]."

"No matter what side effects there are, it's better than dying, right?"

As he spoke, Mumu's tone suddenly dropped.

"I just want grandpa to live..."

At this time, Xia En walked out of the woods and asked directly.

"What exactly is the [seed of life] in your mouth?"

"Whoa!"

Mumu had obviously not noticed Xia En in disguise before, so he couldn't help being startled and said in surprise.

"You...are you the human just now?"

"How did you become like this?"

Xia En's mouth twitched, not wanting to answer this question.

Mumu seemed to be very interested in human beings and immediately came up to touch him.

This feeling is somewhat similar to how people feel when they go to an aquarium to see those rare animals.

After getting closer, Xia En could see Mu Mu's rough and decaying body and the scars more clearly.

—It seems to be the marks left by the whipping of vines.

Xia En immediately thought of other tree people's attack methods.

Obviously, those who hurt Mumu were the tree people who accepted the [Seed of Life].

Xia En couldn't help but ask: "Why did those tree people beat you?"

"Alas, isn't it because grandpa and I refuse to absorb the [Seed of Life]?"

Mumu sighed and said, "Do you know why I swam down from above?"

Xia En cooperated: "Why?"

"Because those of us tree people who don't have the [Seed of Life], if we want to live in the sea, we must regularly go to the waters near the sea surface to absorb sunlight and store energy."

Mumu explained: "It was in the process of absorbing sunlight that I met a tree man who believed in the [Giant Wood God]..."

"Anyway, it's just a mockery of us being old-fashioned and not knowing how to adapt."

"But one of the guys spoke really unpleasantly and even scolded Grandpa Hunter. I couldn't help but said something back to him, and that was it."

Mumu looked a little sad and puzzled.

"Sometimes I really don't understand. It's obvious that those guys just received the [Seed of Life] not long ago."

"How come you can turn around and say such vicious things?"

Shane said: "Probably all traitors are like this."

"So, [Seed of Life] can solve the problem of your tree people living in the sea?"

"But aren't you and Hunter still alive? Is it because of... the power of the Elf Goddess?"

"hiss…"

Upon hearing the name "Elf Goddess", Mumu's expression suddenly changed and she quickly covered Xia En's mouth with her hands.

"Are you crazy! How dare you say that name here?"

"He has become a taboo subject in our city."

"Once discovered by other tree people, they will be taken away directly by the executioner!"

Xia En was suddenly surprised.

He didn't expect that a single name could cause Mumu to have such a big reaction.

But it can also be seen from this that there is strict control over belief in [City of Giant Woods].

Tree people who still believe in the Elf Goddess will most likely be regarded as heretics!

This also shows from the side that the relationship between the [Giant Wood God] and the Elf Goddess is by no means harmonious.

at this time.

There was a rustling sound coming from the forest nearby...

(End of chapter)