"Master… Is that really you?"
Zhou Zaizhi turned his head sharply towards where the voice had come from, he found not a person, but a tree.
It was the lone gingko tree from earlier, swaying gently without wind beside the stone table.
'... A talking gingko tree?' Zhou Zaizhi found himself thinking of a ridiculous possibility.
A normal person would think someone was hiding behind the tree or used some tricks to project their voice from there. This wasn't hard on Earth where there existed phones and bluetooth speakers, much less a world where dragons exist.
'I must have lost my mind.' Thought Zhou Zaizhi self deprecatingly.
"Master?" The voice called out again, this time Zhou Zaizhi caught it clearly, loud and clear.
It was indeed coming from the gingko tree. He also noticed that the tree would swayed in rhythm when the voice spoke. He was convinced it was indeed the tree that spoke to him.
'I can't reveal my identity and the truth of my possession of this body now. This tree called me master, who know what its reactions would be once it finds out that the original owner is actually dead and I'm just a ghost possessing this body.' Zhou Zaizhi warned himself with alarm, 'I can't be exposed!'
Though inside he was filled with panic and caution, outside his expression has not exchanged an inch.
'Perhaps it was because my soul has not fully settled yet, or perhaps dragons don't have the same muscles for facial expressions as humans? Afterall, I have never seen a snake smile or frown before' Zhou Zaizhi pondered inwardly while slithering around the tree using his abdominal muscles, his eyes never left it.
By now, he had already got a feel of how to slither and move like a snake.
'It's actually quite similar to swimming. My body feels like it's eighty percent spine and abs, I barely need to move my hands and feet at all.' Zhou Zaizhi moved with practiced ease the longer he went on, as if he has always been a snake!
Seeing Zhou Zaizhi remained silent, only to coil around it while staring daggers, the gingko tree instantly panicked.
"Master, forgive this disciple, I was wrong!" The tree cried out in apology, its trunk shaking, gingko leaves fell everywhere.
'You were wrong?' Zhou Zaizhi thought to himself with amazement, 'What did you do that was wrong?'
Nevertheless, he still kept a stern expression, asking in a deep voice, "Oh? What did you do wrong?"
For some reason, the gingko tree became much more calm after hearing this, as if it was a normal thing.
Finally feeling a bit more at ease, the gingko tree swayed with slow rhythm, "In my amazement, this disciple forgot to greet his master." It paused, "Your disciple, Tian Yisong, greet the master! Congratulations on your great breakthrough!" The gingko tree spoke with joy.
For some reason, Zhou Zaizhi felt a great sincerity in the tree's words, like they came from the bottom of its heart and not just mere fawning words.
For some reason, he was certain of this feeling.
'But whether a tree has a heart or not in this world remains to be seen… After all, I'm a dragon, and this tree just talked to me. The possibility of it having a beating heart is not low at all…' Zhou Zaizhi contemplated the possibilities, but still maintained what he believed to be a stern expression while nodding in approval at the tree.
He did not speak words of self boasting nor false modesty, merely nodding in terse acknowledgement.
'Afterall, I don't know what the original owner was like.' Zhou Zaizhi paused, suddenly thinking of the dream he had just moments before possessing this body, 'Perhaps I do know what he was like…'
Mimicking the tone he had used in the dream and what little he remembered, Zhou Zaizhi spoke:
"Song'er, how long have I been in seclusion?"
The gingko tree stopped swaying as if caught in surprise, its branches and leaves dropped down a little for a moment then went back again. It swayed I'm rhythm as its voice rang out, "Reporting to master, it has been ten years since you entered seclusion. Disciple thought… thought that master might have perished due to his injuries."
The gingko tree's branches bent down again as if in shame, but it soon went back up. This time more straight than usual, its branch soaring towards the sky, appearing lively, "But it was my own foolishness, daring to gauge the divine with my meager insights. Not only did the master survive the Dao injuries, you even achieved a great breakthrough!"
"Now that master has achieved great enlightenment, perfected his Golden Core, few in the world are his match!" The tree said excitedly.
Zhou Zaizhi committed every word to memory, finding this situation quite bewildered. He could feel the tree's sincerity through its words, though there are some complicated feelings in them hidden as if behind a veil, he could at least tell that it was telling the truth.
He thought to himself: 'What great enlightenment? What breakthrough ? The original owner suffered from the injuries and died in the cave mansion. According to the dream, his wounds never recovered, and he was poisoned by his own pill to boost.'
And that was how he was able to possess this body. He reckoned that if the flood dragon was alive, his possession would not have been this easy.
Towards this he still felt complicated. There was guilt of using the dead body of others as his own, but also happiness of gaining a new chance at life.
'I will use your body and try to make some goods, so that your departed soul in the underworld would have some merits and good deeds… Since you are dead and I am alive, let's not have anything to do with each other from now on.' Zhou Zaizhi closed his eyes and prayed for the deceased flood dragon, feeling a weight lifted from his chest.
The tree seeing its master closed his eyes as if contemplation, dare not disturb. It remained silent throughout until after a long while, Zhou Zaizhi opened his eyes and spoke:
"Song'er, what happened during the time of my seclusion? Anything of note? Do not skip on any details."
Seeing its master in a better mood, the tree sighed in relief and relaxed a little, "Reporting to master, there has been no significant changes in these past few years. There were tensions between the three human empires, but nothing major happened. The nine sects and seven clans had their conflicts like usual, the Myriad Demon Ridge did request your presence in a conflict between them with the Glazed Lotus Pavilion, but I suspected they harbored ulterior motives so I turned them down on your behalf."
The gingko tree paused, then as if remembering something trivial, it continued on, "Other than that, there were a few minor cultivators here and there who were sent to probe, but they were all dealt with. It was a peaceful decade, Master."
Zhou Zaizhi pretended to nod in understanding, but inside he was dumbfounded. What three human empires? What nine sects and seven clans?? He has never heard of it even in the dream.
Then he realized something he had overlooked, something so obvious that it was almost stupid for him to not have realized it sooner.
'Dreams have discrepancies. Although the dream I had before might be some kind of prophecy dream of my new life after my death in the original world. That, or it was the lingering memories of the original owner before their death.'
'In the end, I still have to rely on myself.' Zhou Zaizhi thought helplessly about his current situation when the gingko tree spoke again, interrupting his train of thought.
"But there is one pressing matter, Master… Do you remember the matter entrusted to you by that Great cultivator, True Daoist Chu Fu, master?" The gingko tree spoke with hesitation and unwillingness, but its voice was also filled with sorrow and helplessness.
Zhou Zaizhi raised an eyebrow, intrigued by this "That Great cultivator" the tree mentioned.
In that instant, thoughts raced through his mind like flashes of lightning:
'Who's this Chu Fu? What is a Great Cultivator? True Daoist?'
The flood dragon shook its head, "It has been such a long time since I entered seclusion, I've focused all my strength and efforts to heal my injuries. Then through a stroke of inspiration, I've achieved a breakthrough, and I've been comprehending it ever since. Where would I find the time nor the energy to care about other matters? I've long since forgotten it."
The gingko tree swayed back and forth as if nodding in agreement, it spoke words of agreement.
"Master is absolutely right! With enlightenment at hand, what other matters could possibly get your attention? To seize every opportunity with all his might was just like Master." The gingko tree spoke with obvious pride in its words, just like children bragging about their parents.
But then it hesitated, its voice noticeably softer.
"But this matter… Hold great importance to True Daoist Chu Fu. In the past decade, he had visited again and again, the duration between each visit shorter than the other. At first I thought he was merely probing and he doesn't really need the pill, now I'm afraid it was both."
The gingko tree grew more hesitant, it can barely form complete sentences now.
"He also said…"
The flood dragon frowned, it raised its voice slightly, "He said what?"
The gingko tree had no choice but to say it, though in its heart it knew this would enrage its Master and made him feel humiliated. It hesitated for a long time, but ultimately could not go against that burning gaze of the flood dragon.
"He said… If you don't complete the pill in ten years, he will destroy your Dao, peel your scales, drink your blood and eat your Golden Core… It has been three years since."
The tree felt completely silent after it finished speaking, completely still without any sway.
'These are words of threats that should not be spoken lightly, even if it was not I who originally said it, I still muttered to Master. If Master ever fell, I would have to bear part of the karma.' The gingko tree thought with great sorrow.
Peeling skins and drinking blood was one matter, they could grow back and replenish, merely a matter of time and effort s. But shattering one's Dao is a matter of life and death, a soul deep execution. It was a matter that could ignite a blood feud that spanned nine generations.
Unexpectedly, the flood dragon merely snorted. Much to Tian Yisong's bewilderment, the flood dragon even stopped its coiling around the tree trunk and slithered away elsewhere before asking:
"So, what's the pill that he needed so badly? Bring me the ingredients, let me examine them."
The gingko tree swayed as if nodding. It broke one small branch, that branch flew away down the mountain and came back with a woman in tow. The entire process didn't even take one minute.
Zhou Zaizhi was surprised by this speed of transportation, but then realized that he was in a different world, and accepted it quickly.
The flood dragon turned its head, gazing down at the tiny human and said with puzzlement, "Who are you? What are you doing here?"
The woman glanced back at the gingko tree in puzzlement, as if asking for guidance.
The gingko tree swayed softly, as if it had lost all energy.
The woman sighed then turned to the flood dragon, "I am Wan Zhaolu."
"Chu Fu's medical ingredient."