QT- I’m Almost Died
Chapter 271. The Treant Forest
Duan Xiaoyun not only sent many photos, but also several videos, all of which she recorded with her own phone.
In the first video, she is wolfing down an apple, core and seeds included, stuffing it all into her mouth and covering it with her hand. She tries to swallow, but her stomach rises and falls as if churning.
After finally finishing one apple, she picked up another, wiped it casually with her sleeve, but suddenly couldn’t bite into it. Tears began to stream down her face, and she choked out, “Teacher Fan, if I eat too much of this fruit, will I really be summoned away by the demon? I want to find my son, I want to know where he is.”
After saying that, she began to devour the apple again, but kept gagging. Her face was covered in snot and tears, and her eyes were filled with pain, but she dared not stop, nor did she want to stop. She had to find her son, even if she couldn’t, dying would be a relief.
The video ended before the second apple was finished.
Fan Jialuo clicked on the second video, only to see a patch of black earth and a pair of legs struggling to move in the shot. Judging from the clothing, it should be Duan Xiaoyun. She said nothing, yet her heavy, ragged breathing sounded as if it were right beside their ear, then, the camera began to pan upward to capture the surrounding environment.
This was a place shrouded in thick fog, with very limited visibility, one could only see objects within a meter. How Duan Xiaoyun got there was perhaps unknown even to herself, as she panicked and was spinning in circles, causing the camera to spin rapidly, making viewers dizzy.
Suddenly, a slender figure appeared in the thick fog in her field of vision, then vanished as the camera moved. Immediately, the camera swung rapidly back, locking onto that figure, while increasingly heavy, ragged breathing echoed.
Duan Xiaoyun panicked even more, and cried out in a trembling voice, “Who? Who’s there?”
She stood frozen in place, and the figure stood silently, just like her, neither approaching to explore nor to greet her. The thick fog surrounded the figure, making him appear and disappear intermittently, elusive and unpredictable.
Duan Xiaoyun finally took a step forward, tentatively asking who the other person was as she walked. This dark, foggy secret realm filled her with fear, finding a companion might be a good thing.
She got closer and closer to the person, and soon they were face to face. Then, she let out a piercing scream, and the camera shook and fell to the ground, where it was covered by wet soil and rotting leaves, turning into a black screen.
The second video ends here……
Fan Jialuo handed the phone to Song Rui. Song Rui understood his meaning without him saying a word. He sent the video to his laptop, opened it with police-specific video software, played it to the second before the phone fell, and pressed the freeze button.
Fan Jialuo leaned closer to the computer screen, glanced at it, then closed his eyes and sighed. Song Rui took off his gold-rimmed glasses and slowly wiped them, lost in thought.
Meng Zhong arrived at that moment, pushed past the two people, grabbed the laptop, looked at it several times, and then froze the frame at the second just before the screen went black, his face showing a look of horror and disbelief.
The figure standing silently in the thick fog was not a human figure, but a tree. A distorted human face grew on the tree trunk covered with burls, its eyes wide open and its mouth agape as if calling for help. Its legs, which had turned into withered wood, were twisted together and deeply embedded in the soil. Its hands were raised high, its ten fingers turning into dense branches that stretched out in the thick fog, reaching in an unknown direction.
Is this a person or a tree? If it’s a tree, it couldn’t possibly have a lifelike face that’s identical to a human’s. If it’s a person, it shouldn’t have the texture of dead wood and the markings like tree rings……
Meng Zhong stared intently at the screen, his throat and tongue numb with fear.
“This is a tree formed from a human body.” Fan Jialuo explained.
Meng Zhong’s breathing gradually became heavy and labored. So, it turns out this was originally a person, but later turned into a tree?
“Take a look at this video.” Fan Jialuo sent the third video to the system.
Meng Zhong remained seated, motionless, his body stiff as a stone. He dared not look.
Song Rui then carried the laptop over, placed it on the coffee table, and clicked play.
Duan Xiaoyun had already picked up her phone and was filming the tree-man. Her heavy breathing turned into low sobs. She staggered back, stepping on the rotting branches, then turned and ran. The constantly shaking camera captured her surroundings.
Within the thick, black mist, figures moved like ghosts. Duan Xiaoyun already knew what they were, so her steps quickened. Suddenly, the camera, panning up and down, captured an even more bizarre scene, pulling Meng Zhong from the previous extreme cold and plunging him into an even more terrifying abyss.
Several green vines suddenly burst from Duan Xiaoyun’s stomach, quickly wrapping around her body and gradually slowing her down. She threw down her phone and screamed as she tried to tear at the vines, but they only wrapped around her tighter.
The camera was angled at her, capturing the entire process of her transforming from a person into a tree in perfect clarity. She struggled forward, her legs sinking deeper into the mud with each step. After a long struggle, her hands, now sprouting branches, finally picked up her phone again and took a picture of the dense fog ahead, filled with countless figures.
The third video ended, but Meng Zhong was still trapped in that desperate situation that felt like he had experienced it firsthand.
“These are the photos she sent, take a look.” Fan Jialuo transferred dozens of photos to the system.
Meng Zhong opened and checked them one by one, his fear turning into numbness.
“This is Chang Qi.” Song Rui said, pointing to one of the photos.
Meng Zhong’s gaze froze, then he took a deep breath. In the photograph, Chang Qi’s legs were embedded in the mud, his hands transforming into dozens of vines that stretched into the endless fog. His face, covered in dark brown wood grain, was completely stiff, yet the expression of terror was forever frozen in the moment before his death. At first glance, his posture resembled Jesus bound to the cross, enduring endless suffering.
Is this the ultimate power he seeks? Is this the higher level of life form he often talks about?
Thinking of this, Meng Zhong didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Song Rui pointed to another photo and said, “This looks like one of your comrades-in-arms too?”
Meng Zhong looked at it carefully, then closed his eyes, covered his face, and dared not face this terrifying world any longer.
“Does this world in the photo really exist? Is it actually that close to us?” Meng Zhong’s heart trembled as he asked this question. He thought such a scene only appeared in apocalyptic movies.
“It has existed for many years, we have only just discovered it.” Fan Jialuo stabbed him in the heart, which was already in turmoil.
Meng Zhong let out a heavy breath, then clenched his teeth tightly, daring not to ask any more questions.
Song Rui was still scrolling down through the photos.
Suddenly, Fan Jialuo grabbed his wrist and said urgently, “Rewind it!”
Song Rui rewound by one frame.
“No, go back even further.” Fan Jialuo snatched the mouse and clicked a few times, then took a deep breath.
Song Rui enlarged the photo and displayed it on the entire screen.
Influenced by the somber atmosphere, Meng Zhong became even more nervous. “What’s wrong? Is there a problem with this photo?”
Fan Jialuo shook his head without speaking, his eyes fixed intently on the photograph. The tree in the photograph was unlike any he had seen before, it had no human face, nor any hands or feet. Its seemingly thick trunk was actually formed by thousands upon thousands of intertwined, green vines that transformed into dense branches that reached into the thick black mist and spread in all directions.
It is like the center of darkness, the deepest darkness, like the end of an abyss, an endless abyss. The image shown in the photograph is only a small part of it, and no one can clearly see how vast its canopy is.
“What kind of tree is this?” Meng Zhong was captivated by the dark aura emanating from the tree.
“I don’t know. The photo only shows a bunch of vines forming a tree trunk, not a single leaf, so I can’t tell what kind it is.” Even the erudite Song Rui was stumped.
Fan Jialuo stared at the photo for a long, long time, then finally displayed it on his phone screen and held it in his palm to feel it. His expression remained calm, but fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead and nose. It was clear that he was struggling.
This was the first time Meng Zhong had ever seen such a helpless and frustrated expression on Teacher Fan’s face, and the panic in his heart was growing exponentially. If even Teacher Fan couldn’t deal with this tree, what were they, ordinary people, supposed to do?
Oh, right! I heard Teacher Fan’s Shifu is here too. He even promised Chief Yan that he’d wrap this whole thing up perfectly. Teacher Fan’s Shifu has got to be way stronger, right? Can he take down this demon tree?
Just as Meng Zhong was thinking this, he heard Teacher Fan’s weary voice, “This tree is something even my Shifu, a literal demigod, would be powerless to defeat.”
“What?” Meng Zhong’s throat tightened.
Song Rui simply listened quietly.
“Summoning all the experts of the metaphysic society would only be a pointless sacrifice.” Fan Jialuo added.
Meng Zhong’s throat was so dry that even he found it grating, “You can’t deal with it, your Shifu can’t deal with it, the entire metaphysic society can’t deal with it, so what are we ordinary people supposed to do? Just offer ourselves up to be its fertilizer?”
“Who says I can’t deal with it?” Fan Jialuo put down his phone and spoke slowly.
“Didn’t you tell Chief Yan before that you aren’t confident? You just said yourself that even your Shifu is no match for this tree.”
“Just because my Shifu can’t deal with it doesn’t mean I can’t.” Fan Jialuo tapped the phone screen with his slender fingertips, “I already know what its true form is. In this world, besides me, I’m afraid no one can deal with it.”
“Really? Its true form……” Meng Zhong’s eyes blazed with intense light, but before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by a thunderbolt that pierced the sky.
The rolling thunder roared like a giant dragon in the sky, causing the sky and the earth to tremble. Meng Zhong looked around, his face full of astonishment and doubt. It was the dead of winter, where could there be such a loud thunder?
Fan Jialuo listened intently for a moment and said with certainty, “It’s my shifu. It seems he has already located that tree.”
“Don’t tell me your Shifu struck this lightning!” Meng Zhong exclaimed in surprise.
“His taoist name is Xuan Chengzi, also known as Lord of Thunder.” Fan Jialuo gave only a brief explanation before staring directly at Song Rui and asking, “You know what I’m planning to do, right? Do you have any objections?”
Song Rui took off his gold-rimmed glasses and wiped them, remaining silent for a long while.
Fan Jialuo watched him quietly, waiting with infinite patience. He would not take it upon himself to do anything dangerous without mutual consultation——an unspoken understanding that had formed somewhere along the way.
Song Rui put on his gold-rimmed glasses and said calmly, “I won’t stop you from doing whatever you want, but you have to take me with you. I’m going to pick up Yangyang now and take him to Wennuan’s place, and then we’ll set off.”
“Okay.” Fan Jialuo picked up a thick coat and handed it to him, “Put this on, it will be very cold there.”
Song Rui put on his coat, took out his car keys, and strode away.
Unable to understand their cryptic message, Meng Zhong immediately chased after them, repeatedly calling out, “Hey, hey, hey, where are you going?”
“Going to deal with that demon tree.” Fan Jialuo said casually.
“Do you know where it is?” Meng Zhong was stunned for a moment, then quickly squeezed into the car and said urgently, “Take me with you, I want to go too!” He then took out his phone to call Chief Yan and report the situation.
Chief Yan immediately dispatched a special forces unit and had Meng Zhong lead them there.
Xu Yiyang was already used to his Gege’s busy schedule. Seeing that he and Dr. Song both looked like they were in a hurry, he took the initiative to say, “I want to go to Nuannuan Jiejie’s place.”
He didn’t complain at all, which only made Fan Jialuo feel more guilty. It seemed he couldn’t give the child a stable life.
They arrived at Song Wennuan’s home. Fan Jialuo carried Xu Yiyang out of the car, gently placed him on the ground, put his hands on his shoulders, and said solemnly, “Yangyang, do you still remember what your Gege told you?”
Xu Yiyang looked into his dark eyes and quickly realized something. His eyes immediately welled up with tears, “Re…… remember.” He opened his mouth, but his voice choked with sobs, “Gege, you’re going to do the right thing again, aren’t you?”
“Yes.” Fan Jialuo knelt down in front of him, pressed his forehead against his brow, and whispered softly, “Remember this moment, remember this feeling. Gege wants to give you the very best the world has to offer. If I don’t make it back, go to the basement of the old residence, I’ll still be there, and I will always protect you.”
Xu Yiyang was enveloped by an extremely warm current of air, which seemed to be carrying him up to the heavens, allowing him to forget all his sorrow and only remember happiness. The immense reluctance and sadness slowly subsided in this comforting embrace, eventually transforming into complete support and unwavering courage.
“Gege, you go ahead. Yangyang won’t hold you back.” Xu Yiyang also put his hands on his Gege’s shoulders, and they touched heads, forming an arch.
Fan Jialuo smiled. Failing to save the child had once been his greatest regret, yet defying the laws of nature to bring the child back to life was the one thing he regretted least. The two shared a heart-to-heart conversation, ultimately emerging with more open minds and greater resolve.
Just then, Song Wennuan ran downstairs to open the door, cheerfully leading Xu Yiyang into her home. She then impatiently waved to her cousin and Teacher Fan, signaling them to leave quickly. If she had known what they were going to do, she probably wouldn’t have acted so carelessly.
Fan Jialuo and Song Rui stared at the lights on the second floor for a long time, their faces expressionless, but their hands were clasped together.
Meng Zhong dared not disturb them, for he felt the atmosphere was thick with the sorrow of parting, a sorrow that brought tears to his eyes and made his nose and eyes sting. Who knew if they would return alive after this journey? But if they didn’t go, who would?
This world always needs certain people to save it. Some people are destined for a simple yet happy life, others possess extraordinary abilities and deserve to shoulder greater responsibilities. This is how society and nations have operated since ancient times, which is why humanity has survived to this day.
“Let’s set off.” Meng Zhong said as he transmitted the muster command to his squad.
“Wait a minute, let me compose a private message.” Song Rui turned to ask Fan Jialuo, “Is three days enough time?”
“That’s enough.” Fan Jialuo nodded, “If we’re not back in three days, have Wennuan take Yangyang back to the old residence and put him in the basement. He can’t be away from that place for too long. Wennuan will have to take good care of Yangyang from now on. My will is in the safe in the second floor’s study. The password is your birthday.”
“What a coincidence, my will is in the safe in the third floor’s study, and yes, the password is your birthday.” Song Rui chuckled softly.
Neither of them spoke much, yet they understood each other deeply. They had both prepared for death and had already made arrangements for the only person they cared about.
Hearing this, Meng Zhong finally understood. The two of them set out fully prepared never to return, they left their final words in their Weibo inboxes, scheduling them to be sent at a later time. They had even prepared their wills, knowing that in their struggle against the darkness, they could lose their lives at any moment.
The so-called courage and fearlessness seem so pale compared to these few short and bland lines of dialogue.
Meng Zhong’s eyes welled up with tears, and he almost cried.
At the same time, Fan Jialuo withdrew the space within his dantian, allowing the vines, which had been imprisoned and were on the verge of madness, to burst out of his abdomen.
Meng Zhong was terrified when his face was splattered with blood, while Song Rui silently closed his eyes.
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