Dawn broke, painting the eastern sky white. Villagers, weeping tears of blood, arose one by one.
They folded their quilts, swept their homes and courtyards, pasted up Fu characters, and sealed their doors and windows. Then, leading their families, they walked to the Five Goddess Temple and knelt outside.
The morning light did not reach them.
Fangyuan Village was silent.
Wang Laoshu knocked open the main door of the communal hall, and the Night Guard filed out.
The eight Night Guards stared at the villagers kneeling before the Five Goddess Temple, a growing sense of dread gripping them with every step.
The villagers’ blood-tears streamed onto the ground, mingling together.
The ground before the Five Goddess Temple was a sea of blood-red.
Wang Laoshu spoke as he walked. "This morning, we will first take the young master to plant his tree. This is an old village custom: plant a great tree, determine a name, and finally, select a future. The tree, you see, is like a person’s roots. Once planted, the roots are set, and the person can stand firm. The name is like the tree’s shadow. Without a tree, where would the shadow come from? Don’t you agree?"
Wang Laoshu was smiling his usual beaming smile, as if he didn’t notice the dark red tears of blood slowly streaming from his own eyes.
The Night Guards exchanged glances, saying nothing.
Hao Yunsheng nervously touched the Life Substitution Wood Child hidden in his robes. He stuck close to the Captain, his posture much more stooped than usual.
The group arrived outside the Dark House in the West Courtyard and immediately spotted the Sunshine Boy, a look of complete resignation on his face.
He currently looked to be about eleven or twelve years old, yet he was still being held aloft by two large white hands, rocked gently back and forth.
An intimate, gentle humming, like some unknown nursery rhyme, drifted from behind the black curtain.
"Mother, we have company," said the Sunshine Boy.
"Oh? My son is growing up, learning to be shy," the Deceitful Mother said cheerfully. "Very well, Mother won’t trouble you." She carefully set the Sunshine Boy down, as if he were a goose feather she was afraid the wind might carry away.
Nanny Xiang bowed. "Mistress, it is now time to plant the tree."
"Bring out the seeds. Let my son choose."
"As you command."
Wang Laoshu took out a long, white cloth bag. It had been sewn into a series of small, connected pouches, arranged in a single row.
The name of a tree species was written on each small pouch.
Sophora, Poplar, Willow, Pine, Fir, Bamboo, Ginkgo... thirty-six types in total.
The Sunshine Boy glanced toward the Book Listener, who shook his head.
He then looked to Hao Yunsheng.
Hao Yunsheng hesitated for a moment before shaking his head as well.
The Sunshine Boy opened his Spiritual Eye Deceitful Dragon. To his sight, all thirty-six pouches were identical, each containing a wisp of the same Deceitful Qi.
After a moment of thought, the Sunshine Boy said, "I choose the ginkgo tree."
The Deceitful Mother’s cheerful voice drifted from behind the black curtain. "Ginkgo for longevity. My son is destined for a life of riches and honor, to live for ten thousand years."
Wang Laoshu reached into the pouch labeled "Ginkgo" and pulled out a shriveled, peanut-sized seed.
The Sunshine Boy looked closer. It wasn’t a seed at all, but rather what looked like a miniature, shriveled heart.
"Follow this old one, Young Master. Plant the tree wherever you please." Nanny Xiang took the Sunshine Boy’s hand and led him outside.
Wang Laoshu followed close behind, cradling the ginkgo seed, with the eight Night Guards bringing up the rear.
As they left the West Courtyard, the Sunshine Boy suddenly asked, "Nanny Xiang, Wang Laoshu, where is the best place to plant this seed?"
Wang Laoshu just smiled his beaming smile and said nothing.
Nanny Xiang replied, "In my opinion, planting it behind the Five Goddess Temple would be better than some messy spot in the desolate wilderness."
The Sunshine Boy didn’t answer. He walked along slowly for a long while before finally saying, "Then let’s listen to Nanny Xiang. We’ll go behind the White Tower."
The two of them and the eight Night Guards went around the White Tower and into the back courtyard.
A pebble path split the courtyard into east and west. To the west stood a rockery of black and white stone; to the east sat a pond covered in duckweed. The rest of the grounds were lush with green grass.
The Sunshine Boy looked around, then pointed to the area behind the pond. "East corresponds to Wood, and North to Water. Wood is nourished in the northeast. We’ll plant it behind the pond."
"The Young Master has a sharp eye. That must be a place of great geomantic fortune."
Everyone walked over to the spot behind the pond, where Wang Laoshu handed the ginkgo seed to the Sunshine Boy.
"Do I need to dig?" the Sunshine Boy asked.
Wang Laoshu chuckled. "The Young Master only needs to toss it on the ground."
The Sunshine Boy clutched the ginkgo seed, took a small step away from the pond, and dropped it.
The seed vanished the moment it hit the ground. A green sprout then burst from the soil, heaving up the turf as it grew with astonishing speed.
In moments, it was taller than a man, its branches spreading and leaves unfurling. It had a white trunk and green, fan-shaped leaves identical to a ginkgo’s, but other parts of it were slightly different.
Slowly, the roots began to swell. Bright red root bark pierced the earth. Within the translucent, tubular roots, a grayish-yellow current could be faintly seen flowing upward into the trunk, all the way to the tips of the leaves, staining them yellow.
The treetop gradually changed shape, resembling two hands slightly bent and clasped together like a Treasure Tower. It bulged on the sides and tapered to a point, much like the form of the Daoist Great Golden Light Technique.
From the center of the interwoven branches, a five-petaled Blood Lotus emerged, opening flat toward the sky.
Atop the lotus, a green, egg-shaped fruit began to grow.
On the surface of the fist-sized green fruit was, shockingly, a wrinkled infant’s face, like the shell of a walnut.
Wang Laoshu and Nanny Xiang laughed in unison.
"Congratulations, Young Master, on planting your great tree. Your future is sure to be boundless."
The Sunshine Boy turned to leave, but Nanny Xiang said, "This place still needs a Tree Guardian, one who will watch over it until the Young Master comes of age. Let’s choose a sturdy one."
Before anyone could speak, Nanny Xiang’s gaze swept over the Captain. The Captain’s Fu character burst into flames.
She then glanced at the tall foodie, whose Fu character also burst into flames.
Finally, Nanny Xiang’s eyes settled on the blacksmith. "You are strong and robust. You are the most suitable to guard the tree here."
The blacksmith sighed. "To have lived to see the final day is its own kind of blessing. Brothers, take a message to my family for me. Tell them I acted with honor and died in peace. I did not disgrace the Night Guard, nor did I disgrace my family."
After speaking, the blacksmith removed his sprig of Mugwort and handed it to the Sunshine Boy.
"Take care of yourself. Survive. At least live a little longer than *some people*!" With that, the blacksmith walked to the base of the tree, sat down with his back against the trunk, and closed his eyes to await death.
"Young Master, let’s return to your room."
The two of them and the seven remaining Night Guards turned and left the courtyard.
Beneath the ginkgo tree, four roots suddenly shot out from the ground, plunging into the blacksmith’s back. They burrowed into his four limbs and began to drink his blood with a sickening, gurgling sound.
The Sunshine Boy and the others faintly heard a scream from behind them but continued back to the Dark House in the West Courtyard in silence.
Before they even crossed the threshold, they saw that the rug inside the house was covered with rectangular, yellowish-brown wooden tokens, which seemed to have words carved on them.
The Book Listener counted them. There were fourteen wooden tokens in total.
As they drew closer and saw the words carved on the wooden tokens, a chill ran down everyone’s spines.
The cowherd, the water-carrier, Denggao, the blacksmith...
On the fourteen wooden tokens were carved fourteen names.
The others remained outside as Nanny Xiang took the Sunshine Boy by the hand and led him into the room.
"Is my son back? Come, let Mother hold you."
Two large white hands reached out from the fluid black curtain and, without waiting for an answer, wrapped around the Sunshine Boy, affectionately caressing his face and hair.
The Sunshine Boy’s face was taut; he said nothing.
After a long moment, the Deceitful Mother finally spoke. "You’ve planted your tree and set down your roots, so now you must choose a name. Mother has never read any books and can barely read a word. You will choose one of the names from these tokens to be your proper name."