Chapter 199 (1/2)
The Gnarled Grove was a mysterious place.
Ecologically very distinct from the outside world, the grove gave people the illusion that they had entered an alien forest. There was no green whatsoever. All the vegetation glowed with a metallic lustre of fuchsia, which looked a bit flirtatious at first glance, but mysterious after subsequent looks. Most of the plants were tall and gnarled. Also, there was a kind of bush as tall as a human, growing like a flame in a spiral. Under the thick bushes, on the compost, strange fungi grew across the terrain. They looked a bit like a combination of mushrooms and moss: a large coat of lavender-coloured fungi covered the rocks and the surface of other plants with umbrella-like structures growing abruptly above them. These fungi grew strong and bright in dark corners. But, it is not certain whether the rule of thumb applied here: the better it looks, the more poisonous it is. The ground was covered with a thick layer of fallen leaves and other dead plants. All the plants grew naturally and wantonly, indicating the lack of disturbance from humans.
In addition to the shorter, secondary vegetation, there was only one kind of tree in the Gnarled Grove: the tall, gnarled and broad-leafed tree. Its bark was iron gray. The lower trunk had no branches and grew straight up in a helical shape but at the upper trunk, branches burst out explosively. The crown of the tree was full of broad, oval-shaped, fuschia leaves. These trees were abundant in the forest and looked the same—theie gnarls, twigs and branches were all carbon copies of one another, except that their sizes may have been different. Hao Ren had spotted these unusual characteristics from the beginning. He studied the crown of two different trees and they were exactly the same.
The group moved on via the “official route” in the Gnarled Grove. The Church had spent enormous manpower and resources to build this road several hundred years ago. Generations of people had contributed their efforts in maintaining this narrow road. Since several hundred years had past, the ferocious monsters in the Gnarled Grove had gotten used to the existence of the road and they would stay away from the watchhouses along the road: the road had become part of the ecological system, even the forest gave way to it.
This had provided a buffer zone to travellers who traversed through the grove. As long as they did not stray away from the magic formations lined along the road, they would be safe.
“These trees have no scientific name, they’re just a part of the huge Gnarled Grove, like fur on a beast. Anyway, mercenaries and adventurers call them ‘spiral trees’. They look like that, don’t they?” Becky had noticed Hao Ren staring at the strange-shaped trees, so she took the initiative to explain. “All these trees are connected as one. Their roots are entangled and grow together while the exposed parts receive sunlight. A group of elf scholars studied the Gnarled Grove back in the day. It’s said that before the world was destroyed, the Gnarled Grove was the goddess’ backyard. Back then, Lorrisa, the elf mage-emperor, stole the life gene from the Gnarled Grove and used a root from the tree to clone the tree of life. However, the tree of life was destroyed by fire due to the end of the world. Only its charred remains were left. It’s hard to tell how similar they looked like now.”
“You say that the entire forest’s a plant..,” said Nangong Wuyue. She snuffed. The high humidity in the grove made the siren feel more comfortable. “…but, it’s a huge forest. I wonder how much of it’s hidden underground?”
“No idea. But, it’s said that the roots of the Gnarled Grove extend all the way to the centre of Beinz Blood Lake in the west, and the bottom of Dragonspine Ridge in the east. This whole area was built upon the roots of the Gnarled Grove. There’s a legend that some 100 years ago, some dwarf miners tried to mine chrysotile in Dragonspine Ridge; they were digging a tunnel and while they were digging, they stumbled upon a huge black root near the Blood Lake. Half of them went mad. The Church came up with the explanation that residues of wrath from the goddess, who ended the world were trapped underneath. It would take a few thousand years before the residues could be cleaned up by the forest. Since then, mining hasn’t been allowed in the west of the mountain range. You need permission from the Church even if you want to extract well water there.
Hao Ren was amazed by these giant trees. It was hard to imagine that there was a massive life form hibernating underground just by looking at the surface. All he could see were some exposed roots, functioning as its breathing organ. But one thing was sure, and Becky was right, there was no credible explanation to the amazingly identical trees, except that they were not of natural occurrence but organs of a large living body.
“Please excuse me for a minute.” Something suddenly came to Hao Ren’s mind. He took his pot and walked off the road. Becky asked, “Where’re you going? It’s dangerous!”
Hao Ren waved and said, “I won’t be long. And, I won’t go far.”
Becky was not convinced. Lily then tried to explain. “He’s just taking a leak. He’s got a kidney problem…”
Vivian was pretty shocked. “How do you know that?”
“Doesn’t he have DI, diabetes insipidus since we visited the village of the mountain people a few days ago?
Everyone was speechless.
Maybe the maiden’s mind had a little short circuit and she was still stuck in that particular moment.