Chapter 17: THE TREE AWAKENING

Observing the fish still swimming in the nearby water with no intention of returning to its former home, Ray left it to play by herself and began unloading his supplies from the raft to the land after securing the raft to the nearby rocks.

Ray swiftly carried the supplies up the mountain and reached his home.

Ray swiftly unlocked the house's front door and carried all his supplies back into the house. 

Soon Ray unpacked the supplies and transferred the rice into the rice vats and the vegetables to the fridge, while the flour into the flour vats.

After completing all the household chores, Ray sat on the sofa in the living room and began reflecting on his entire journey, laughing at the ridiculous excuses he had made when questioned about his details.

Although he doubted, they believed his fabrications, they were gracious enough not to inquire further and even arranged a pleasant room for him to stay in for the night.

While visiting the outside world he felt weaker than usual and felt his mind and body got imprisoned in a shell.

It felt like the shell was protecting others by covering him and he shouldn't break free from it as that action might harm others near him.

And the protective film around him vanished after he entered the mountain passage.

He did not know why but Ray felt he should roam less outside the mountains. This might be the last time Ray would visit the outside world after the old man and his village moved to other cities.

Ray felt sad when he thought he wouldn't meet the kind old man and the others in the village again at the later appointed time.

While Ray was lamenting about the cruel reality of him becoming a shut in the mountains, a knock was heard from the front door.

At first, he believed he was imagining the sounds of someone knocking on the door, considering his solitary presence on the mountain.

As he lamented his situation, experiencing the auditory illusion merely from the thought of living alone, a series of knocks came, followed by the initial knock.

Ray might be feeling down for him to think he was hallucinating for the first knock, but Ray is sure someone is knocking on his door when he hears the following knocks.

Ray stood up and walked to the front door, peering through the peephole, he did not see anyone.

While Ray was bewildered by the situation, he again heard someone knocking on the door impatiently this time, he did not find anyone outside.

Gathering his courage Ray opened the door with a bang with the axe in his hand to combat any danger outside.

At first, he saw no one at the front door but as he shifted his eyes towards his feet, he found a small girl sitting beside his door with tears in her eyes.

Ray immediately put aside his axe and squatted beside her to ask about her.

"Hello, young lady. Who are you? How did you arrive here? Where are your parents?" Ray asked the little girl a series of straightforward questions in quick succession.

After hearing those questions, the little one cried again with a grievance. The expression on her tearful face indicated, "Seems you didn't recognize me."

Unable to stop the girl from crying Ray carried her into the house and offered her some available chocolates.

The girl stopped crying while observing the package she received and held it cautiously close to her.

Ray sighed a sigh of relief as he watched the little girl stop crying and begin recalling if he knew her.

The little girl, approximately 10 years of age and draped in a green floral dress, had two ponytails that swayed with her head movements, creating an endearing sight.

After a moment of reflection, he realized that he did not truly know her and did not want to risk making her cry by asking the question again.

While grasping his hair to solve this problem, he realized he could have solved this problem just by using the spirit eye to solve his doubts.

Ray gazed at the girl, who cautiously examined the chocolate package, and he employed his spirit eyes on her.

Name: "????"

Race: Immortal tree/Immortal species

Type: Elemental tree/Fortune tree

Life span: "???"

Ability: Increase the crop growth and AVATAR creation.

Realm: Mahayana Peak

Master: Ray crown

Ray was shocked by the revelation and the last part "master" was what concerned him the most.

Ray attracted the little girl's attention and asked, "So you are the tree in the backyard."

The little girl nodded her head up and down, indicating her affirmative response to his question.

"How did you transform into this, and why didn't you enter speak, by chance you don't know how to speak." Inquired Ray.

To these questions, the girl asked Ray to get closer and bend a little to tap his forehead and transfer the information to his head.

Ray followed suit and received the information.

According to the information he obtained, she was originally a plant specifically born on the immortal plane. She was cultivated in the secret realm by the former owner of the hidden realm, who died outside the realm, rendering it ownerless.

I suddenly arrived here with my house, and later, during her tribulation, the secret realm collapsed and merged with this world.

The tribulation had proceeded smoothly, but the reward for crossing the realm was not granted, leaving her gasping with wounds all over the body. Then the earthquake further aggravated her injuries, and then he saved her by forming the contract.

Ray, astonished by the details transmitted to him, noticed that the little was still cautiously holding the chocolate. He asked her to eat it, assuring her, he had plenty more while gesturing to the jar on the dining table.

The little girl nodded her head and kept the chocolate in her pocket.

Ray felt compelled to assign her a name, as he could not continue addressing her with informal terms such as "hey." He observed her and inquired

"Whether she would like to be given a name. If she consented, he would bestow upon her a name."

To which she happily agreed, and Ray named her "Ruby."