chapter35

She couldn't remember how many years it had been since she last saw plum blossoms. Now that she was seeing them again, she felt both shocked and touched.

"Wow, Grandpa Plum, you're blooming this early in the year? That's so beautiful."

While Ran was still feeling emotional, Smoliv's excited voice sounded again.

"When do plum trees usually bloom? It's already winter, isn't this when they're supposed to?"

Ran got curious after hearing Smoliv's question. She only knew that plum trees bloomed in winter, but she honestly wasn't sure which specific month they bloomed fully.

"We usually bloom around December, but I'm already old, so my blooming time isn't fixed. Sometimes I can't even bloom at all."

The plum tree's tone was a bit melancholy as it spoke. It hadn't bloomed this brightly in years.

It had thought it wouldn't bloom again, since time was no longer on its side. It hadn't even grown flower buds, yet somehow, this two-legged creature in front of it helped restore its vitality.

"Thank you, kind two-legged one," the plum tree said gently, speaking a little awkwardly as it thanked Ran.

"You're welcome. Also, you can call me Ran, that's my name." Ran couldn't help twitching her lips at what it called her. What in the world was a two-legged one?

Was that really how she'd be addressed from now on? Wasn't that a bit careless?

Just then, the old plum tree moved. It stretched out two branches like hands, reached up into its canopy, fumbled around for a bit, then pulled out three peaches and shoved them into Ran's arms.

Its voice softened as it said, "You helped me regain my youth. I'm not an ungrateful tree, so these are for you."

Ran blinked her big eyes, staring in confusion at the juicy peaches stuffed into her arms. She then looked up at the old plum tree, swallowed hard, and asked in a drifting, disbelieving voice, "A plum tree can actually grow peaches?"

Plop.

"Ow."

Just as she finished speaking, a branch from the plum tree tapped her on the head. Although it didn't hit hard, Ran still let out a small yelp and looked at it unhappily, holding her head.

"Why'd you hit me?"

"For being dumb," the plum tree said, grinding its voice. "What in the world is going on in your head? I'm a plum tree, how could I possibly grow peaches? I really want to open your head and see what's in there."

"Then what is this?" Ran asked, looking at the fruit in her arms with confusion.

The fruit in her arms looked exactly like a fully ripe honey peach, in both size and shape.

"These are my fruits. Plums," the tree said calmly.

"How is that possible? How can plums be this big?" Ran was shocked, her eyes wide with disbelief. She looked down at the fruits in her arms again and gasped.

"Even Smoliv and I can talk. What else do you think is impossible?" the plum tree replied, clearly annoyed. If it had eyes, it would be rolling them at her right now.

"Y-yeah, that's true," Ran said awkwardly with a small laugh. She actually thought the plum tree made a good point.

Ran held up the plum in her hand and swallowed a mouthful of saliva. She had never seen such a large plum before and suddenly really wanted to taste it.

As if it could tell what she was thinking, the plum tree gave a soft snort and said in a calm voice, "I advise you not to eat it casually."

"Why?" Ran looked up and asked curiously, "Is there something special about this plum?"

"You might not know this, but these three plums took Grandpa Plum a hundred years to grow. Not only can they extend life and improve appearance, but just a small piece, after being nourished by the sun and moon for a hundred years, can even cure people born with weak bodies."

Before the plum tree could answer, Smoliv jumped in excitedly to explain, his tone full of pride.

"I didn't expect these plums to be that amazing!" Ran looked at the plum she was tightly hugging in disbelief and said with amazement, "These effects are almost as powerful as the peaches from the heavens!"

"What are heavenly peaches, sister?" Smoliv suddenly turned into a curious child and kept asking questions.

"Heavenly peaches are the divine peaches of the Heavenly Realm, growing in the Peach Garden..." Ran continued to explain while setting up a tent on a nearby open space, telling them about the Peach Garden described in Journey to the West.

"Wow! I didn't know the heavenly world actually exists!" Smoliv gasped with wonder, "Even though Grandpa Plum's plums can't help someone live as long as the heavens and earth like heavenly peaches do, they can still extend life, so they're already a rare treasure!"

"Mhm!" Ran glanced at the plum tree. Even though it didn't have eyes, she could still feel that it was looking at her.

So she generously praised it, "Actually, there's no such thing as a heavenly realm in this world, so naturally there are no heavenly peaches. That's why a tree like this plum tree, which can grow something that extends life, is truly one of a kind!"

Even though the plum tree didn't say anything in response to her praise, Ran could still clearly sense its pride.

The constantly shaking branches clearly showed its happiness.

Once the tent was set up, Ran looked at the sky, which was gradually getting darker. While there was still some light left, she quickly gathered many dry branches and lit a campfire outside the tent.

With this kind of weather, Ran just wanted to have some hot soup. She took out a fish she had caught earlier and a small stove from her space.

She cleaned the fish, lit the fire quickly, added oil to the pot, and then fried the fish on both sides until it was golden. Then she added some bottled water and waited quietly for the delicious soup to cook.

She chatted with Smoliv and the plum tree for a while. When the smell of the fish soup filled the air, Ran immediately opened the lid and looked at the creamy white soup inside.

She couldn't help swallowing a mouthful of saliva. She quickly took out a bowl and chopsticks, scooped a bowl of soup, gently blew on it, and took a small sip.

A fresh and rich taste spread through her mouth, making her eyes light up with delight. After finishing the bowl of soup, Ran felt much more comfortable.

Just as she was about to put down her bowl and chopsticks, she suddenly stopped. She looked around, but it was already too dark.

Everything around was pitch black, and she couldn't see anything. Still, she could feel like something was watching her.

"Smoliv, plum tree, do you sense something watching us?" She couldn't see anything, so she asked them for help.

"A pack of wolves just arrived nearby," the plum tree said calmly. "No wonder I felt like multiple eyes were staring at me!"

Now that Ran knew she was surrounded by wolves, her nervous heart strangely settled down.