Chapter 162

Although I haven't found what's manipulating the monster tide behind the scenes, I found a man sleeping deeply. Yu Su and Lu Yan still went back to Lu Shen Mountain.

The two flew on their swords, taking only two quarters to return from the monster forest to Lu Shen Mountain.

Qing Ze saw that Yu Su not only brought Lu Yan and Little Xuan Niao into Lu Shen Mountain but also brought in a man in a coma with a red robe. For a moment, he was puzzled, not knowing what Yu Su was up to.

Yu Su: "Lord Mountain God, this person is someone I rescued from the bottom of a pond in the monster forest. He is severely injured and close to death."

Yu Su briefly explained how he found this person.

Qing Ze looked at the man in the red robe, gesturing for Yu Su to put him down.

Yu Su looked at Lu Yan, and Lu Yan placed the man in the red robe on a large stone slab.

Qing Ze walked over slowly, looked around, and focused on the drop-shaped mark on the man's forehead. After a while, he lowered his head and touched the mark with his deer antler.

A powerful spiritual force surged into the man in the red robe.

Yu Su squatted down to check the man's pulse, finding that it had strengthened significantly.

"His breath has stabilized a bit," Yu Su said after putting down the man's wrist.

However, the man in the red robe still hadn't woken up, still in a coma.

Yu Su: "Lord Mountain God, Little Xuan Niao said this person's true form is a monster, and he feels familiar with the mark on his forehead, but can't recall. Do you know his origin?"

Yu Su thought that Qing Ze, willing to save this person, might know his identity.

Qing Ze looked at the man and said, "That is the emblem of the Jiao Ren Royal Clan. This person should be from the Jiao Ren Royal Clan."

Yu Su nodded: "Oh...?!"

He suddenly looked at Qing Ze in shock.

The clear and pleasant male voice just now... Qing Ze spoke!

"You can speak?!"

Yu Su was too surprised, and Lu Yan and Little Xuan Niao also looked at Qing Ze, but Little Xuan Niao's green bean eyes showed no surprise, probably guessed it earlier.

Qing Ze stood leisurely in place, looking at Yu Su with clear deer eyes, and the male voice sounded again: "Why do you think I can't speak?"

Yu Su stammered: "N-no... you haven't spoken all along, and I thought you couldn't speak..."

Qing Ze leisurely said: "That's because I didn't feel like it."

Yu Su: "..."

He always knew Qing Ze was a homebody, but he didn't know it had reached this point of laziness!

Knowing that Qing Ze can speak, Yu Su suddenly felt a bit awkward, remembering the foolish things he said in front of Qing Ze before, feeling like he wanted to crawl into a hole.

"Why didn't you say it earlier? I've been chattering in front of you, and you can endure it." Yu Su complained.

Qing Ze's reason was that he was used to it. Not speaking was nothing. Sleeping for seven or eight years was normal. Not speaking for a few years was nothing at all.

Yu Su sighed, very worried that Qing Ze might pull another silent act on him in the future. He quickly said, "Old man, you should speak more in the future. Your voice is so nice."

Qing Ze reluctantly agreed.

At this time, Yu Su thought of something else and asked, "Since you can speak, can you also transform?"

Qing Ze looked at him again as if he were looking at a fool. "What do you think?"

The Little Xuan Niao timely chirped twice, "Qing Ze is a Celestial-level spirit beast, has been alive for who knows how many years, surely can transform."

Yu Su: "..."

Yu Su was dumbfounded.

He sat down, looking at Qing Ze helplessly.

"Why don't you ever transform then?"

He remembered several times when he wanted to mess with Qing Ze, and now he regretted it a bit.

The only consolation was that he ultimately restrained his impulses, never daring to boldly reach out to touch him; otherwise, it would be truly outrageous.

But he seemed to have hugged Qing Ze once...

Hopefully, Qing Ze had forgotten about that.

In response to Yu Su's question, Qing Ze's reply remained the same; he was too lazy to transform.

Moreover, for Qing Ze, the original form was more comfortable than the humanoid form.

Looking at Qing Ze, curiosity surged in Yu Su's heart again.

"Can you transform for us to see?"

He was curious about what Qing Ze's humanoid form looked like.

Qing Ze, lazily, gave him a disdainful glance and didn't agree.

Yu Su raised a finger, "Just a quick look."

Qing Ze: "If I have the time for that, I'd rather go to the Isle of Life, get some spirit herbs from the Life Tree to save this person."

Yu Su, disappointed that Qing Ze wouldn't transform, felt a sense of unfulfilled curiosity. Qing Ze was an elder, and he didn't dare to force Qing Ze to transform. He could only regretfully drop the subject.

"Fine, I'll go, what spirit herbs do I need to ask from the Life Tree?"

Qing Ze mentioned the names of two top-tier spirit herbs.

Yu Su nodded, "I remember. Lord Mountain God, what kind of injury does this person have?"

Qing Ze: "He was injured by someone who used something to restrain the Jiao Ren Clan. As a result, his meridians couldn't heal, and his spiritual power kept dissipating, making self-healing impossible."

Yu Su thought it was quite tragic. Since this person was from the Jiao Ren Royal Clan, could it be an assassination by hostile forces?

Seeming to guess what Yu Su was thinking, Qing Ze said, "Although the Jiao Ren Royal Clan has rare bloodlines, their strength is not weak. If he were attacked by external enemies, he could have contacted the Jiao Ren Clan to rescue him by returning to the sea. However, he came here to hide and heal. Perhaps it's related to the Jiao Ren Clan itself."

Yu Su: "Ah? Should we still save him?"

While he wanted to help, he didn't want to invite trouble to his people. Faced with a choice between his people and this outsider, he would choose his own people.

Qing Ze: "Since you've decided to save him, go all the way. Why hesitate?"

Yu Su scratched his head, "I'm just afraid of provoking retaliation from the Jiao Ren Clan."

Qing Ze lifted his head slightly, arrogantly saying, "Just the Jiao Ren Clan, nothing to fear."

Yu Su thought, "Wow," giving Qing Ze a thumbs up. Truly a Celestial-level spirit beast, so domineering.

"Then I'll follow your advice and go get the medicine."

After obtaining the medicine, Yu Su and Lu Yan had to return to the Monster Beast Forest, so they didn't delay much, leaving after informing Qing Ze.

After they left, Qing Ze looked at the man in the red robe lying on the stone slab, showing a thoughtful expression. He then retrieved the box Yu Su left behind.

The box that Yu Su couldn't open effortlessly opened in Qing Ze's hands.

After glancing inside, Qing Ze closed the box again.

"As expected."

...

Isle of Life.

When Yu Su and Lu Yan came, the Life Tree quickly sensed them.

The tree spirits bounced over:

"Yu Su!"

"It's Yu Su who came!"

"And Lu Yan and that little yellow bird."

The Little Xuan Niao chirped, "What little yellow bird? I am a divine bird!"

Unfortunately, the tree spirits couldn't understand its chirps and insisted on calling it a little yellow bird, surrounding Yu Su and Lu Yan as they walked towards the Life Tree.

The chief of the tree spirits said to Yu Su, "You said you'd come back to see us last time, and it's been so long. Did you forget about us?"

Yu Su coughed lightly, feeling a bit guilty. "How could I forget? I'm here now."

To be honest, if Qing Ze hadn't asked him to come, he might have temporarily forgotten to come.

Fortunately, the tree spirits were simple and didn't sense Yu Su's guilt, warmly escorting him and Lu Yan to the place where the tree spirits lived, offering them plates of fresh and tender spirit fruits.

Yu Su couldn't decline their kindness and chatted with them.

The tree spirits usually stayed on the island, rarely going out, and knew very little about the outside world. Therefore, they were curious about the outside and kept pestering Yu Su for stories.

Yu Su signaled to Lu Yan with his eyes, and Lu Yan nodded.

While Yu Su was telling the tree spirits about the events happening outside, Lu Yan walked towards the Life Tree.

The Life Tree remained the same. Sensing Lu Yan approaching, it opened its eyes and looked at him. The old but wise face seemed to see through something. "What brings you here? Let me make it clear; I only have one life fruit, and that little guy, Yu Su, already ate it."

Lu Yan bowed to the Life Tree before saying, "We are here on behalf of Lord Mountain God to request two spirit herbs from you."

After hearing the names of the spirit herbs from Lu Yan, the Life Tree showed a disdainful expression. "These are treasures I've cultivated for thousands of years. That guy asked for them as soon as he opened his mouth. What does he want to do?"

Lu Yan hesitated for a moment. Since Lord Mountain God didn't instruct them not to disclose this matter, it should be okay to inform the Life Tree. He briefly mentioned the situation of saving a person.

The Life Tree sighed, "That's just giving it away for nothing. Saving people is always a loss. I've saved many people before, but unfortunately, they don't know gratitude. They try all means to take away my treasures. If they could find where I hide, I would have lost my peace long ago."

Lu Yan understood the meaning of the Life Tree. He said, "If there's a problem with that person, I'll kill him."

The Life Tree replied, "Killing him would waste my medicine. Be smart; extort a hefty sum from him and make him repay his debt."

Lu Yan: "...Oh."

The Life Tree probably found Lu Yan's few words boring, so it stopped talking. It straightforwardly handed over the two spirit herbs to Lu Yan.

Lu Yan thanked the Life Tree.

The Life Tree said, "No need to thank me. This favor is owed by Qing Ze. Just make sure he remembers to repay it."

Lu Yan: "I will convey the message."

After thanking the Life Tree, Lu Yan put away the spirit herbs and bid

farewell to the Life Tree.

The Life Tree closed its eyes.

Seeing this, Lu Yan turned and left, returning to where the tree spirits lived.

Yu Su was still telling stories to the tree spirits. Seeing Lu Yan return, he knew that Lu Yan had obtained the medicine. After finishing the oral story, he prepared to say goodbye.

The tree spirits were reluctant:

"Are you leaving so soon?"

"You've only told three stories; we want to hear more."

"When will you come again?"