"What kind of village is this? So much martial prowess?" Dan Oni Roku rubbed his backside and grumbled after falling from a tree.
"We can't afford to lack martial prowess. In this world, no one knows what tomorrow will bring."
Washizu helped Dan Oni Roku up from the ground, speaking as if in self-mockery.
"Indeed." Dan Oni Roku nodded, indicating his understanding.
"If you know that, then don't be so reckless. It's fortunate our village is lenient; if it were any other village, you might be a pincushion by now."
Washizu advised Dan Oni Roku while directing the others to put the sacks down.
"Whew! It's changed a lot."
Ember looked at the busy crowd and remarked with emotion.
The first time he came to Higi Village, there were many crude tents next to the village, but now, those tents had been replaced by neat wooden houses.
Higi Village had expanded, looking less like a village and more like a small town.
"Why is your village so bare? Where are those trees that shock people?"
Ember felt extremely out of place seeing all this. On closer inspection, he realized that the nearby trees had all disappeared.
Aside from a few trees in the village that might have been for landscaping, the surroundings were completely bare, making it look strange no matter how he looked at it.
"Of course, we cut them down." Washizu ground his teeth; he had long disliked those shocking trees.
So, after his physical fitness improved, Washizu led the villagers to cut down all the nearby trees.
Actually, this wasn't entirely due to Washizu's personal reasons. Wood was essential for fuel and building materials.
After the war broke out, even wood became scarce. Previously, the wood near Higi Village was used as firewood, but now it was used to build houses, which was an upgrade in function.
It was also fortunate that the average physical fitness of Higi Village residents was superhuman now, otherwise, if they were constantly shocked while staying indoors, ordinary people truly couldn't endure it.
"Why is the tree I planted so small?" Ember looked around and saw a twisted, Golden Tree growing amidst the wooden houses.
Seeing the sparse, small leaves of the Golden Tree sapling, Ember suddenly felt a sense of foreboding.
"This is small?! After the tatarigami outbreak, this tree grew like crazy. It's less than a year old and has already become the largest tree in Higi Village." Washizu exclaimed in surprise when he heard Ember's words.
This is small? Then what are the other trees? Grass?
Shaking his head to clear these random thoughts, Washizu waved to Dan Oni Roku:
"Come with me, I'll help you remove the tatarigami from your body."
"Coming."
Dan Oni Roku straightened his clothes, but upon seeing the Shogunate purple armor on him, he took it off and followed in plain cloth instead.
"Let me see how you managed to grow the Golden Tree like this."
Ember saw the "thin" trunk of the Golden Tree from afar. It wasn't exactly thin, just a bit slender compared to Golden Trees of the same age.
Walking along the street into Higi Village, a robust, pale golden giant tree rose in an open space.
The giant tree not only differed from other trees in color but also in form from ordinary trees.
Its thick trunk grew twisted, with no branching limbs, like a twisted steel bar vertically embedded in the ground, though this "steel bar" was a bit too thick.
Because it had no branches, this Golden Tree naturally had no canopy. At its top, a few curled leaves swayed stubbornly in the wind, seemingly declaring its identity as a "tree" to the world.
"Is the Golden Tree also affected by the tatarigami?" Ember ran over, looking at the clearly abnormal Golden Tree, and couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
"Is this tree called the Golden Tree?" Washizu looked up at the giant tree standing in the center of the village.
No matter when, whenever he saw this perpetually bright tree, his heart would fill with hope for the future.
As long as this great tree stood, Higi Village would have something to rely on for its existence. This was Washizu's only encouragement on the overcast Yashiori Island.
"The tatarigami, it should have affected it too, right? After all, the tatarigami we were infected with were all dealt with through this great tree." Washizu stroked the rough bark of the Golden Tree, answering with some uncertainty.
The outbreak of tatarigami was silent. At first, they thought it was just a period of gloomy, rainy weather.
Only when symptoms like vomiting blood and madness appeared on a large scale in the village did he realize that a tatarigami outbreak might have occurred.
Fortunately, at that moment, the Golden Tree grew rapidly. The light it shed dispelled the tatarigami from the vicinity of Higi Village.
Afterward, through the research of Yasumoto, the village's only doctor, they found a way to remove the tatarigami contamination from their bodies.
"Whether it's affected or not, I don't know, but this Golden Tree is definitely malnourished."
Morgott walked up to this peculiar Golden Tree and couldn't help but sigh.
In The Lands Between, how could a Golden Tree suffer such indignity? Wherever a Golden Seed took root, Root Graves, Burial Watchdogs, and Golden Tree Sentinels would immediately be arranged, all in place.
Unlike now, it couldn't absorb sufficient nutrients and had to convert its original energy for growth into blessings to spread and resist the omnipresent tatarigami.
"Gurgle!"
Morgott extended his strong arm, and with a swipe of his sharp fingertip, a large gash opened in his pale, firm skin.
Crimson blood flowed from Morgott's wound, and within the flowing blood, a powerful, oppressive aura surged forth.
Under this strong pressure, the air where the blood flowed seemed to twist, making the straight column of blood appear to writhe.
"Splatter!"
As soon as the blood hit the ground, it seeped downwards at an unnatural speed, like a shriveled sponge that had been dry for a long time, frantically absorbing any possible moisture.
"This much should be enough." Morgott silently counted the time in his heart. After three to five seconds, the cracked skin on his arm instantly healed.
"How... how amazing!" Dan Oni Roku saw Morgott heal his injury so easily, coupled with the strange phenomenon that occurred when he bled, and immediately felt that this beast-man, hidden beneath a cloak, was unfathomable.
"Amazing? If you don't treat the tatarigami contamination on your body, you'll be seeing this amazing scene in the underworld."
Washizu patted Dan Oni Roku's shoulder and pulled him next to the Golden Tree.
"How do we treat it? Do we need to invite Ember to perform a ritual?" Dan Oni Roku pointed at Ember, who was observing the Golden Tree, and asked.
"No, the focus isn't Ember, but this Golden Tree."
Washizu looked down at the brown soil, which was exactly the same as usual. Even after Morgott's peculiar blood had seeped into it, there was no change.
Not even a trace of red.
He looked up at the Golden Tree again; this familiar tree seemed even brighter.
Of course, Washizu wasn't very sensitive to small changes in light. What he noticed first was the smoothed bark of the Golden Tree.
Previously, the bark of this Golden Tree was pitted and uneven, as if gnawed by countless insects.
But now, it looked no different from an ordinary tree.
"Looks like we can store more medicinal powder." Washizu muttered to himself.
"What did you say?" Dan Oni Roku, who was beside him, cupped his ear. Washizu's voice was very soft, and he couldn't hear clearly.
"Nothing, just that you can use a larger dose of medicine later, and you'll recover faster." Washizu drew his katana from his waist, and the gleaming blade made Dan Oni Roku's eyes ache.
"What are you going to do?" Dan Oni Roku stepped back a few paces, asking with suspicion.
"Obtain medicine!"
Washizu shouted, then swung his sword at the Golden Tree.
At this, Ember and Morgott realized another important reason, besides malnutrition, why the Golden Tree wasn't growing large.
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