Chapter 960 There Will Always Be
In the remote mountains, there is a quiet and quaint village. The village is surrounded by dense forests, and a clear stream flows in front of the village. Behind the village, there is an ancient forest with towering trees that block out the sun. In the middle of the forest, there is a thousand-year-old tree. Its trunk is so thick that it takes more than a dozen people to hug it. There is a huge tree hole on the trunk, like the entrance to another mysterious world.
Over the long years, this old tree absorbed the essence of heaven and earth, gradually gained spirituality, and cultivated into a spirit. The old tree spirit is kind and gentle by nature, and has been silently guarding this mountain forest and village. Although it has magical powers, it never reveals them easily. It just quietly watches the people in the village work from sunrise to sunset and rests at sunset, feeling their joys and sorrows in life.
There was a child named Xiaohu in the village. He was smart, but his parents died early, so he had to rely on his elderly grandfather for life. Xiaohu was very sensible, and at a young age he helped his grandfather with farm work at home. One day, Xiaohu went to the back mountain to collect firewood as usual. He hummed a little tune, shuttled through the woods, and waved the axe in his hand rhythmically. Unconsciously, Xiaohu walked farther and farther, deep into the depths of the forest.
Suddenly, the sky was covered with dark clouds, lightning and thunder, and a heavy rain poured down. Xiaohu was caught off guard by the sudden rainstorm, and he looked around for a place to take shelter. In a panic, he found the thousand-year-old tree, and quickly ran to the tree hole and crawled in. The tree hole was big enough to accommodate several people. It was dry and warm inside. Xiaohu breathed a sigh of relief and sat in the tree hole, waiting for the rain to stop.
However, the rain was getting heavier and heavier, with no sign of stopping. Xiaohu waited for a long time, and gradually became anxious. He thought that his grandfather was still at home and must be worried about him, so he decided to go home in the rain. Just as he was about to walk out of the tree hole, he suddenly heard a painful groan. Xiaohu looked in the direction of the sound and saw a wounded fawn lying in the mud not far away, its leg caught in a trap, bleeding profusely.
The tiger's heart tightened, and he ran over and tried to open the trap. But the trap was very strong, and he tried very hard but failed to open it. The tiger was very anxious, and tears welled up in his eyes as he looked at the injured deer. At this time, a gentle voice sounded in his ears: "Child, don't worry, let me help you." The tiger looked around in surprise, but there was no one in sight.
"I am this old tree. You don't have to be afraid." The voice sounded again. Little Tiger realized that it was the old tree that was speaking. A branch of the old tree slowly stretched out, and the front end of the branch turned into a delicate tool, which easily opened the trap. Little Tiger quickly carried the deer into the tree hole, tore a piece of cloth from his clothes, and bandaged the deer's wound.
Under the careful care of the tiger, the deer's injury gradually recovered. The tiger also became good friends with the old tree spirit. He often came to the tree hole to share his daily life with the old tree spirit, and the old tree spirit would also tell him some interesting stories in the mountains and forests. Days passed like this, and the village was peaceful and tranquil.
However, the peaceful life did not last long. One day, a group of greedy merchants came to the village. They heard that there were precious medicinal herbs and rare woods hidden in this forest, so they had bad ideas. They brought a lot of tools and manpower, ready to cut down the forest and capture wild animals.
The old tree spirit sensed the danger and was extremely anxious. It knew that if these merchants were allowed to do whatever they wanted, the forest would suffer a catastrophe, the village would lose its natural barrier, and the villagers' lives would be in trouble. So the old tree spirit decided to stand up and stop the evil deeds of these merchants.
That night, the old tree spirit cast a spell to fill the forest with thick fog. The merchants lost their way in the fog and ran around in all directions. They were horrified to find that no matter how hard they tried, they could not get out of the forest. At the same time, the old tree spirit also summoned wild beasts in the mountains to guard the intersections and stop the merchants from moving forward.
The merchants were trapped in the forest, tired, hungry, and filled with fear. They began to realize their mistakes and regretted destroying the beautiful forest for profit. Just when they were desperate, Xiaohu learned about this. He remembered the old tree spirit, so he came to the tree hole and asked the old tree spirit to let the merchants go.
"Old Tree Grandpa, they already know they are wrong, please forgive them." Xiaohu said sincerely. The old tree spirit looked at Xiaohu's kind face and sighed slightly: "Child, I wanted to teach them a lesson and let them know the consequences of destroying nature. But since you plead for them, I will give them another chance."
The old tree spirit took back the spell, the fog gradually dissipated, and the merchants finally saw the way out. They fled the forest in a panic, vowing never to come here to destroy again. After this incident, the village and the forest returned to their former peace. The old tree spirit consumed a lot of spiritual power because of this spell and fell into a deep sleep.
Xiaohu was very worried about the old tree spirit. He would come to the tree hole every day to visit the old tree spirit. He believed that the old tree spirit would wake up. Under Xiaohu's careful care, the old tree spirit's spiritual power slowly recovered. Finally, on a sunny day, the old tree spirit woke up.
The old tree spirit looked at Xiaohu with relief in his eyes: "Thank you, child. Your kindness made me feel the warmth of the world." Xiaohu smiled happily: "Grandpa Old Tree, you taught me to love nature and respect life." Since then, Xiaohu has become the guardian of the forest. Together with the old tree spirit, he guards this beautiful forest and the quiet village.
Many years later, when Xiaohu grew up, he still guarded the edge of the mountain forest. The old tree spirit also received the blessing of heaven because of his many good deeds. His practice has made further progress, and he is getting closer to the day of achieving enlightenment and becoming a god. But the old tree spirit has never forgotten his original intention. He still silently guards this land, witnesses the changes in the village, and passes on kindness and love to everyone.
After Qi Tongwei finished telling this story, everyone was immersed in a warm atmosphere. The children showed innocent smiles on their faces, and the adults were also thoughtful, feeling the power of karma and reincarnation and kindness. At this time, a breeze blew, and the branches and leaves of the old locust tree swayed gently, as if applauding this beautiful story. Someone in the crowd whispered: "There are gods above our heads in this world. Do more good deeds and you will always be rewarded..."