885 Debt

Qu Lanxi and Chu Ming were engaged in merry conversation as they walked, but that soon came to an end when they entered the field and caught sight of their Ink-Sword Tree.

They had spent the last three years cultivating it, and in a few more days, they'd have been able to harvest the thirty-four ordinary gene weapons. But now, the tree had suddenly died.

It had once borne an abundance of emerald leaves, but now only a few yellow leaves remained stubbornly clinging to its withered branches. The ink swords that once inhabited the tree had all disappeared, too. Mounds of dead leaves and rusted blades were all that remained, scattered about.

"How did that happen?!" Chu Ming ran in front of the Ink-Sword Tree, digging through the leaves like mad. He grabbed one of the rusted swords that had broken in half, following its fall.