Chapter 24: Li County Pear Blossom Lantern Festival (6)
Liu Sheng had transformed into a tree.
The sky was bright, and she could see the shimmering green water of the small pond below, a few koi swimming freely, lotus leaves standing tall above, and snow-white fallen blossoms floating on the surface.
Next to it was a small pavilion, with a plaque reading “Zui Bai Pavilion” hanging above it, surrounded by a picturesque scene of forests, rocks, and clear pools, with winding corridors and paths intersecting.
Her body was still very slender, only about the thickness of a bowl.
Everything was different from the later Zui Bai Garden; she didn't know how many years ago this was.
“Mother, I want to try one more time!”
Suddenly, a man's furious roar echoed from the carved hall in the distance, so loud that even Liu Sheng, as a tree on the rockery, could hear it, filled with unwillingness and indignation.
“My son… are you trying to force your mother to her death… Your father is no longer here, and you know your mother’s physical condition; I truly cannot afford for you to study anymore… You’ve taken the examination three times… The world isn’t only about the imperial examinations…”
Liu Sheng vaguely heard a weak, aging female voice say.
As a tree, her hearing was truly excellent.
“No, I don’t care!”
A man in a green robe, about thirty years old, ran out of the flower hall, covering his face, and only stopped when he reached Liu Sheng, collapsing to the ground as if his energy had drained away.
He furiously pounded the ground: “Why! Why! I’ve already worked so hard! Why can’t I pass the examination?!”
After a few pounds, his delicate hands, accustomed to studying and never having done heavy labor, were bleeding profusely from the gravel on the ground.
The man looked at his bleeding hands: “Thirty years of arduous study, only to have a belly full of ink, unable to do anything, unable to do anything at all!”
Then he prostrated himself on the ground, weeping bitterly.
He cried either from sorrow or from the pain in his hands.
As a tree, the concept of time was very vague for Liu Sheng.
She seemed to have witnessed many things happening in Zui Bai Garden, yet she couldn't quite remember them, only fleeting past her eyes like phantoms.
After an unknown period, it was again Liu Sheng's flowering season, with white blossoms piled everywhere.
Zui Bai Garden was also adorned with white everywhere.
The man, dressed in white, sat in the pavilion, silently weeping.
He looked older than the last time she saw him, and his aura was much more dejected.
It seemed as if he was the only one left in the world.
“Mother, you wouldn’t let me sell Zui Bai Garden, but I am the only one left in this garden; it’s empty and tiresome to clean…”
As he spoke, he began to weep uncontrollably.
Liu Sheng shook her branches, and pear blossoms fell like rain.
It seemed a few more years passed, and Zui Bai Garden became increasingly dilapidated.
The man was sitting in the pavilion, diligently making lanterns.
The lantern frames were made from slender branches taken from Liu Sheng, polished and bent, then covered with cut Xuan paper, and finally, flower and bird patterns were carefully painted on them, with inscriptions added at the end.
The next lantern had a painting of a lady.
He painted each lantern with extreme care and precision, and the inscriptions were written with all his might, as if to display all his talent to the world through these small lanterns.
The man's face had more wrinkles than before, his clothes were covered in clumsy patches, his fingers were no longer as delicate as they once were, his skin was dark and rough, and he had many small cuts on his hands from making the frames.
Finally, he wrote many slips of paper, muttering to himself with each one he wrote.
“Riddle: A family of five, with a tree planted beside it, guess what it is!”
“Hahaha, can’t guess? It’s ‘Wu’!”
He seemed quite excited talking to himself.
Finally, he left with the lanterns, satisfied, with the riddle slips attached.
Late at night, he returned covered in blood and footprints, clutching the last lantern whose frame had collapsed, and lay hunched on the ground beneath Liu Sheng.
He kept muttering: “Are my lanterns ugly? Not at all ugly, not at all ugly… These petty people, they have eyes but cannot see…”
His tears flowed down the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes.
Liu Sheng could do nothing.
The man lay on the ground for a day and a night, and when he regained consciousness, he was much weaker, but there seemed to be something more in his eyes.
Later, Liu Sheng watched as the man’s lanterns became increasingly bizarre.
At first, he painted terrifying and bloody human tragedies on the lanterns.
Later, he even used dark red paper directly, but they weren't festive red lanterns; instead, they were red dolls, coffins, hands…
Or they were made into twisted shapes, such as a turtle with a hand in its mouth, a doll without eyes, a rabbit with a human head on its back…
The man himself also became increasingly deranged, his hair disheveled and matted with grease, completely obscuring his wrinkled and dirty face, and his clothes were no longer patched, becoming tattered beyond repair.
He would always make lanterns while muttering to himself and then cackling strangely.
The entire garden was piled high with various lanterns, leaving almost no room to step.
Later, it was a cold late spring.
Liu Sheng’s pear blossoms fell onto the snow, covering the lifeless man in a thick layer, surrounded by those ugly and terrifying lanterns…
...
Name: Pear Tree Wraith
Analysis Completion: 100%
Effect Description: The main body can project a scene with predefined rules and pull the target into it. Once the target violates the rules, it can devour the target to convert it into energy. It uses flowers as eyes and seeds for reproduction, constantly strengthening the scene's effects. The duration and range of the effect depend on the amount of energy. Current rule set: Must guess lantern riddles.
Influence Rank: B
Analysis Evaluation: Everything originated from a poor scholar named Zhang Hengyuan… He was truly poor…
Points Gained: 3 (Current 7)
Analysis Reward: Zhang Hengyuan's Custom Lantern
high dimension Analysis Count: -1 (Remaining 0 times)
That man must have been the very poor Zhang Hengyuan.
This time, perhaps because Liu Sheng had transformed into a pear tree, she took no action whatsoever.
But she didn't need to act; the high dimension Analysis was completed.
Perhaps the Pear Tree Wraith's thoughts were truly simple.
It merely watched Zhang Hengyuan, feeling sad for him, and nothing more.
But under the influence of Guai Qi, it slowly grew into a Rank B weird objects, ultimately harming many lives.
According to this effect description, the Guai Qi here is abundant; her Ghost Qi Detector has been wildly alarming until its energy ran out. So wouldn't that Weird Domain be able to last indefinitely?
Plus, with so many living beings inside it, once they are all devoured, this Weird Domain could expand to an unimaginable extent.
Therefore, its energy source must be broken first.
This also aligned with Liu Sheng's goal of saving people.
Moreover, according to the analysis description, its main body actually has no other means. The part about projecting scenes has already been passed by Liu Sheng with “Wisdom,” so at this point, only physical attacks should remain.
Having confirmed there were no other traps, Liu Sheng could now consider how to take action.
Additionally, Liu Sheng now had another lantern in her hand, which was the so-called analysis reward.
But it actually looked very normal.
It was an ordinary four-cornered lantern, with a few freehand strokes depicting a graceful pear blossom tree, and a few strokes below outlining pavilions and ponds.
The inscription read: “Two words of fame trapped, a pond of white pear blossoms.”
Both the painting and the calligraphy, according to Liu Sheng's observation, should be of Great Master level.
Liu Sheng had originally thought that based on what she had seen and heard along the way, “Zhang Hengyuan's Custom” should have that aesthetically lacking appearance.
Liu Sheng then analyzed this lantern again.
Name: Zhang Hengyuan's Custom Lantern
Analysis Completion: 100%
Effect Description: Activated by Guai Qi, wherever its light reaches, it can make blooming plants heartbroken.
Influence Rank: D
Analysis Evaluation: Flowers shed tears when lit (Emphasis: reference, not plagiarism)
As expected of “Zhang Hengyuan's Custom”!
It was truly a pillow when one was sleepy, just in time!
But this was still the first time Liu Sheng had seen an item activated by Guai Qi.
This should be called a “weird objects,” right?
As Liu Sheng was thinking about how to activate it with Guai Qi, Little Tentacle reluctantly put down all the lanterns it was holding, took this lantern, and held it high.
The lantern instantly ignited with a cold light, illuminating its surroundings.
It could be done this way?
“Mommy” is truly amazing!
Liu Sheng no longer hesitated and tiptoed forward.
At this moment, everything was still peaceful, and pear blossoms continued to drift.