Pillar of Yita

As he read further, Fang Hong more or less understood that these people were invited because they had completed some rather important tasks for the Tree People. Listening up to this point, Fang Hong felt that the highest-ranking task among all of them was the one completed by the Magic Guided Conductor ’Tomorrow’ at the beginning.

However, they actually didn’t receive the Leaf of the World Tree as a reward. Fang Hong couldn’t help but become more curious about what that seed actually was. But to speak honestly, none of these tasks compared to the one they were currently helping to investigate, though unfortunately, that task was still stuck in the investigation and evidence-gathering stage.

Ever since they met those miners, the task hadn’t had much progress—of course, after that, the Crystals launched a large-scale attack, and they had no opportunity to complete the task. But according to those miners, those people with the Dark Aura should have long since left, and Fang Hong wasn’t sure if it was even worth continuing the investigation.

Still, the Tree People’s endless rewards left him somewhat numb. Although he knew this Heart of Tree might have a ”spend thousands to buy a skeleton” kind of implication, Fang Hong couldn’t help but feel:

The Tree People are really wealthy.

The people in the square left one by one, becoming fewer and fewer.

Finally, Moenyalit called out the name of Miss Knight.

”Miss Mei, please come to me.” An elderly voice echoed in the minds of several people.

The gift from the Heart of Tree to Miss Knight was a shield—to be precise, it was a shield crafted from the wood of the Holy White Oak Tree, called the ”Heart of the Oak.” This thing truly made Fang Hong’s eyes widen; it was actually a Lesser Divine Artifact.

Even Mei was taken aback when she received the shield: ”Mr. Heart of Tree, this is...”

”Please do accept it, Miss Mei,” replied Moenyalit’s elderly voice: ”After all, it is insignificant compared to the Heart of Chongshan. The Heart of Holy White symbolizes purity and integrity; leaving it here would be like gems gathering dust. I believe that being with a righteous knight, fighting against evil together, is a blessing for it as well.”

Miss Knight opened her small mouth, her face turning red, feeling a bit embarrassed all of a sudden—she had just said that she wasn’t in it for rewards, especially such a precious gift. But she couldn’t help but love this shield, especially since it bore an ancient adage:

’The Oak Listens to Whispers—’

In the Giant Tree Hill, the Holy White Oak had a special meaning. Knights needed to swear oaths under the Heart of Holy White, using Morning Dew to cleanse their Longsword, thus completing their baptism. The so-called virtues and oaths all transformed into whispers, listened to by the Oaks in the rustling woods.

This is precisely the origin of the Oath of Holy White.

Mei herself was a knight from Sanxiak and naturally understood this tradition deeply.

This Oak Shield could be said to have deep ties with the knights of Giant Tree Hill, though it was unknown why it ended up here. But Miss Knight held it, her face red, and after a long while, stammered, ”I, I will do it justice, Mr. Heart of Tree.”

Moenyalit smiled faintly.

Fang Hong and Alice also chuckled on the side, translating her words into two characters: ”True Fragrance.”

Once Mei carried the shield and blushingly walked down from the front, Fang Hong took her hand and asked, ”Miss Mei, what story did Alice tell you?”

Mei thought for a moment before replying, ”Miss Alice said, long ago, there was a person, he was called Zi... Zi...”

In her nervousness, even her puerile original voice came through.

”Alright, alright, I get it.” Fang Hong interrupted her quickly. He had heard the story of Zi Gong redeeming someone; his uncle had also told him this tale.

Mei nodded with a red face.

And it was at this moment that Fang Hong heard a voice in his mind: ”Young human, favored by the Lord Goddess, what do you wish for as a gift?”

Fang Hong was slightly startled and couldn’t help but look in that direction. This question truly stumped him—logically speaking, he certainly wanted a seed of some kind of plant spirit, just like the Magic Guided Conductor. But a Lesser Divine Artifact also seemed nice, though saying that out loud felt a bit like never satisfied with enough.

Fang Hong couldn’t help but think about that story of the golden axe, silver axe, and iron axe, but he would never admit that he was just too shy to ask. Of course, Moenyalit was merely asking casually; it smiled faintly, and a ball of light appeared in front of Fang Hong.

”I’ve thought carefully about what I should give you,” began the elder voice of the Heart of Tree: ”But thinking it over, this thing ought to suit you best, young human.”

Fang Hong looked at the light ball, his eyes widening unconsciously.

What is this?

A piece of dead wood?

...