"Clang—"
The hum of clashing metal echoed in everyone's ears. Amidst the flying sparks, streaks of golden light flickered.
Washizu was quick. He extended his arm so fast that only an afterimage could be seen.
"Phew—, this tree of yours is really hard. If I could peel off some of its bark and forge it a bit, it would definitely make a divine weapon!"
Washizu opened his palm, and a handful of golden powder appeared in his hand. If one didn't look closely, they might really think it was powder made from gold.
"Is this how you treat this tree?" Ember ran over and touched the gash on the Golden Tree's trunk, asking in shock.
"What's wrong? It's just a bit of bark; it won't affect this tree at all."
Washizu stuck his samurai sword, which had a piece missing, into the ground. This Golden Tree was good, but it was just too hard.
Every time he came to "collect medicine," he'd break at least one samurai sword.
If it weren't for the crystal marrow, an excellent weapon forging material, near Higi Village, the village wouldn't be able to produce so many weapons.
"No? Haven't you tried collecting the golden specks scattered by this big tree?" Ember couldn't help but feel a bit exasperated. Collecting drops of grace would be so much more convenient, and it would be better for both the Golden Tree and Higi Village's swords.
"Specks? What specks?" Washizu looked very confused. He pointed to the Sky. Besides the golden radiance emanating from the Golden Tree, what else was there in the Sky?
"Ah? Something went wrong?" Ember also saw this scene. He scratched his head, not knowing what was happening.
The Golden Tree was something the Greater Will made. He only knew how to plant it, not how to create it.
"You wait, I'll go ask." Ember thought for a long time but still didn't know what had happened to the Golden Tree.
So he simply leaned his head against the Golden Tree's trunk and began to try and communicate with it.
"Is that so… I understand…"
"You need to change… Not changing?"
"If you don't change, I'll call your older brother to come and beat you? Oh, no, it should be your younger brother."
…As Ember spoke, he felt that Inazuma's Golden Tree was so pathetic. It had clearly hatched first, but it grew so slender.
Compared to its younger brother, who was born a few months later, it was practically not even a sprouting sapling.
"It's decided then. From now on, I'll call your younger brother to share some nutrients with you! Now you can be obedient, right!"
"Besides, in a few decades, he'll be gone. He'll definitely be buried at your feet then, and his soul, no…"
Ember opened his palm, casually squeezed a few times, then patted the Golden Tree's trunk and whispered.
Just like that, Washizu's soul was sold by Ember without his knowledge. In return, golden specks once again rained down.
This meant grace, and it also meant vitality.
A land blessed with grace would never lack life.
"Hey, hey, hey? How do I feel so much better?"
"That means this tree… the medicinal powder works, we need to increase the dosage."
When Washizu heard Dan Oni Roku's words, he wrapped the bandages on him even tighter.
"Your treatment methods are really quite novel." Ember saw Dan Oni Roku wrapped up all over and remembered the bodies he had seen in the cemetery before.
Many bodies liked to bind themselves tightly with bandages and the like, which made Ember puzzled.
But he was too lazy to delve deeper; it didn't hinder Ember from rummaging through graves anyway.
"Novelty is nothing, usefulness is king!" Washizu heard Ember's words and confidently patted his chest.
This was a treatment plan he and Yasumoto had discussed for a long time. Although it was a bit strange, it used the least amount of medicine and had the greatest therapeutic effect.
Washizu could guarantee with his character that within two days, the tatarigami in Dan Oni Roku's body would be completely eliminated.
Of course, as for the "minor" problems like growing hair and horns afterward, he and Yasumoto still had no solution.
"You won't have to go through so much trouble anymore." Ember looked at the swords standing at the foot of the Golden Tree and suddenly felt a toothache.
"If this continues, this place could open a scrap metal refinery."
"Then what do you suggest?"
Washizu actually felt that this wasn't good. Not to mention whether it would cause any DMG to the Golden Tree, just the scrap rate of the swords alone made the village heartbroken.
This was wartime, and the village's crystal marrow had to be exchanged for other more useful things.
It was already very difficult to spare a little specifically for forging weapons.
"This will do!"
Ember molded a sunken circular disk out of the mud on the ground, which looked like the reflection of the stars and moon.
Of course, this was only how it appeared in Ember's own vision. In other people's eyes, it was just a mud plate.
After molding the simple altar, Ember placed two empty holy grail bottle on it.
"These two flasks, if nothing unexpected happens, should be one red and one blue."
"The red one treats the body; the blue one treats the mind. As for treating tatarigami disease…"
Ember pondered. Was tatarigami a problem with the mind or a mental problem?
"You just use both of them together!" Ember waved his hand. Why think so much? A two-pronged approach, he didn't believe it wouldn't get better!
"How amazing!" Dan Oni Roku, wrapped in bandages, stared at the empty holy grail bottle at his feet, filled with curiosity.
"Amazing, right? But I don't know when these two flasks will be filled. For the specifics, you'll have to see what this guy means."
Ember pointed at the Golden Tree's bare trunk and said.
The golden specks filling the Sky perfectly avoided the open mouths of the two holy grail bottle.
It seemed the Golden Tree had strong opinions about Higi Village.
"See what it means?" Washizu looked up at the golden snowflakes falling from the Sky.
Perhaps because it was too obvious to target Washizu, the specks falling from the Golden Tree did not avoid his body.
The golden specks fell on Washizu, turning into an imperceptible warm current that seeped into him.
One speck might not be noticeable, but with countless snowflakes-like specks falling together, Washizu immediately noticed the changes in his body.
He only felt as if there was a furnace inside him, constantly emitting heat and providing strength.
This gave Washizu an illusion: that he could throw Dan Oni Roku a hundred meters away with one heave!
Previously, this distance was fifty meters.
As a martial artist, how could Washizu not understand the changes in his body? These golden specks were rare wisps of vitality.
For a martial artist, this was an extremely rare opportunity.
"So that's it, I understand!" Washizu immediately understood what he should do. He clenched his fists, looking as if he had understood something.
"What do you understand?" Dan Oni Roku saw Washizu's spirited look and wondered if he had accidentally ingested some medicinal powder while being bandaged, causing hallucinations.
"Higi Village should have built a public latrine a long time ago. I've decided, it will be built right here!" Washizu pointed at the foot of the Golden Tree, full of drive.
"Good! Genius!"
Ember clapped his hands, "But this seems to be the center of the village. What village builds a toilet in its center?"
After praising, Ember pointed out a flaw in Washizu's plan.
"Uh… well, I think we can move the village center later." Washizu also thought this was a problem, but it wasn't important!
The village center could be moved, but the Golden Tree couldn't.
As soon as Washizu finished speaking, the ground began to shake.
"Rumble!"
To everyone's shocked gaze, the Golden Tree pulled its roots from beneath the ground. It extended its thick roots towards the distance and then, in a flash, ran off into the distance.
"It seems Higi Village's center won't need to be moved after all." Ember ran to the deep pit in the ground, exclaiming.
It was the first time he had seen a Golden Tree run away.
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