| PN | I Don't Understand | 168
The shadowy figure, being a puppet imbued with resentment upon its death, was already filled with intense hostility and had a deep-seated hatred for humans.
Even when facing Qi Chao, it struggled to completely relax, let alone now, when there was a stranger standing under the tree—a man who, at a glance, exuded danger.
[Baby, what’s that freaky thing up in the tree?]
Qi Yang felt that, based solely on the "cute" remark, he shouldn’t have even bothered asking his brother this question.
[I don’t know, but I think it’s these shadowy figures that make the trial grounds so terrifying.]
The system was practically useless, basically just dead weight.
But it was this very uselessness that Qi Yang liked about it.
Qi Yang paused for a moment. "Brother, I still don’t understand your earlier explanation. What is the mother tree? What are these shadowy figures? And what do you mean by being the incarnation of the mother tree?"
Qi Yang had too many questions.
As the elder brother, Qi Chao didn’t show any signs of impatience. He looked at Qi Yang and gave a simple explanation.
He briefly described how he possessed the memories of the mother tree, as well as the connection between the mother tree and the puppets.
“I’m unwilling to leave with you directly because neither I nor the Mother Tree can abandon all the puppets on Blue Star.”
Qi Yang couldn’t understand why his brother was so deeply attached to the puppets. He opened his mouth but, in the end, only said:
“But, brother, can you be certain that the Mother Tree before us is the most energy-rich existence on Blue Star? If the Mother Tree isn’t that existence, it won’t be able to stop this plane from self-destructing.”
“Yes, I’m certain.”
It was a peculiar feeling. Qi Chao looked at the giant tree, one of the embodiments of the Mother Tree, standing before him. Its deep green leaves swayed gently without any wind, as if affirming his words.
A faint smile appeared in his eyes.
Qi Yang didn’t say anything more. Instead, he clenched his fists tightly, his dark eyes dimming.
He didn’t understand how his brother, a human, had become an incarnation of the Mother Tree, but Qi Yang knew one thing: he couldn’t simply leave as he’d originally planned.
Because no one could predict what would happen to Qi Chao, the incarnation of the Mother Tree, if this plane were destroyed.
Qi Yang took a deep breath.
“Brother, let me emphasize once more: to restore the world’s consciousness and help it grow, an immense amount of energy is required. If the Mother Tree truly is that existence, it must be in peak condition, or it risks being drained completely by the plane.”
“Mm, I understand.”
Qi Chao had known this ever since his brother mentioned it that morning. He was well aware that his current priority was to help the Mother Tree gather enough energy to return to its peak state.
“You don’t need to worry,” Qi Chao said as he ruffled Qi Yang’s hair. “I brought you here to help you mentally prepare in advance. Now that you know, head back to the villa and rest. I will take care of it.”
Qi Yang wanted to stay but didn’t respond. The next second, Qi Chao gave him a light tap on the head.
“Don’t make me force you. Can’t you see how terrified those children are of you?”
Hearing this, Qi Yang looked up at the shadows on the branches. Those ominous presences were glaring at him intently, their sharp cries piercing the air. It was as if they could pounce at any moment and snap his neck.
Yet, something seemed to be holding them back, keeping them from making a move.
No matter how he looked at it, Qi Yang felt their behavior had nothing to do with fear. On the contrary, they seemed more focused on figuring out the best way to kill him.
"Did you hear me?"
Qi Yang got another smack on the back of his head.
"I heard you," he muttered, covering his head and taking a few steps back. His brother really was his real brother—barely a few hours had passed, and his brother was already starting to dislike him.
Qi Yang pouted, mumbled something under his breath, then turned and left.
The system, watching this scene unfold, found it rather intriguing.
In that moment, Qi Yang truly resembled a normal human being.
Baby, when you brought my brother here, he was human, right?】
【Yes.】
Hearing the question, the system quickly snapped back to attention. 【I’m also curious why the host turned into the incarnation of the Mother Tree.】
【Is that so?】
Qi Yang rubbed his chin thoughtfully, his eyes darkening. No matter what his brother had turned into, he was still his brother. But from the looks of it, getting his brother out of here was going to be far more complicated than he’d initially thought.
【Are we heading back to the villa now?】
The system knew that this lunatic couldn’t stand the villain in the villa. Without the host mediating, there was no way the two could get along.
【Of course, we’re going back. I haven’t forgotten what you told me—that villain toyed with my brother for a long time.】
Though the priority right now was figuring out how to get his brother out of here, clashing with the villain didn’t contradict that goal in the slightest.
As soon as he stepped back into the villa, the gazes of several puppets on the sofa immediately fixed on him.
Qi Yang’s back stiffened, his body instinctively ready to attack these dangerous entities. But then he realized that these puppets were temporarily non-threatening.
Some of them were even his brother’s creations. Forcing himself to relax, Qi Yang managed to put on a smile.
“Hello there.”
“Uncle, is Dad not back yet?”
Xiang Yue stood up, his canine ears atop his head twitching slightly as he failed to spot his father. His red eyes fixed intently on Qi Yang.
“No...”
Qi Yang had little interest in puppets, but out of respect for his brother, he was just about to answer when he noticed Shen Yuxi coming down from the second floor. His tone immediately shifted, and he said meaningfully:
“My brother won’t be back for a long time. Brother-in-law, since you’re not in the best health, let me cook tonight.”
When Qi Chao had left earlier, he hadn’t explained where he was going.
In normal circumstances, hearing this remark most people would instinctively prompt them to ask, Where did Qi Chao go?
But Shen Yuxi didn’t ask. He could already predict that if he spoke up, Qi Yang would seize the opportunity to make a sarcastic remark. Shen Yuxi would never allow himself to fall into such a trap.
After a brief pause, Shen Yuxi replied softly, his expression gentle, “There’s no need. You’re a guest, and as one of Qi Chao’s three beloved younger brothers. I can’t possibly let you cook.”
Three younger brothers?
What three younger brothers? His brother only had one sibling, and that was him!
The unexpected jab hit Qi Yang right in a sore spot, nearly causing the darkness in his heart to boil over. He shot Shen Yuxi a cold glare but said nothing, turning abruptly to head upstairs.
Meanwhile, Shen Yuxi, standing by the stairs, didn’t look particularly pleased either. His thoughts lingered on Qi Chao’s whereabouts.
Back in the kitchen, Qi Chao had been acting completely normal, giving no indication of what he was planning to do.
No, something wasn’t adding up.
Shen Yuxi’s mind turned to Qi Chao suddenly learning about the world’s consciousness. His eyes narrowed slightly as he connected the dots.
He had become slower after all.
Shen Yuxi with a pale face, thought to himself, Is that existence already starting to affect my intelligence?
“Father?”
The puppets on the sofa noticed Shen Yuxi lingering in place and looked at him with concern. “Father, are you feeling unwell again?”
The trial grounds didn’t currently require the puppets’ supervision, so the living room was crowded.
Besides the reclusive Xuan Jian, Shuang Jian, and Moss, the other seven puppets were all present.
As soon as those words were spoken, the three puppets who had been upstairs quickly emerged from their rooms as well. It was clear they were just as worried about Shen Yuxi’s condition.
In an instant, ten puppets had surrounded Shen Yuxi, forming a tight circle around him.
“I’m fine.”
Shen Yuxi paused as he looked at the puppets around him, their concern plainly visible in their gazes. He seemed slightly uncomfortable with the atmosphere.
In the past, Moss and the others wouldn’t have expressed their care for him so openly.
Or rather, Shen Yuxi’s coldness and emotional distance had instilled a fear in the puppets, preventing them from showing their feelings.
“Ayu, set up a surveillance feed and send it to the trial grounds.” Shen Yuxi distanced himself from the puppets, his voice cool as always. “If you find where your Dad is, let me know. I’ll head upstairs to rest for now.”
His tone remained indifferent, as usual. Only Qi Chao might be able to guess what was truly on his mind.
However, Qi Chao wasn’t present, and in fact, Shen Yuxi's words were meant to help him trace Qi Chao’s whereabouts.
Meanwhile, far away in the trial grounds, Qi Chao was trying to find a way to provide energy to the Mother Tree.
The Mother Tree supplies energy to the Mother Stone.
Once the puppets fall into an eternal slumber, they would return to the Mother Tree, nurturing it and providing it with immense energy.
This was a cycle that never changed.
In reality, the Mother Tree hadn’t received any energy from the puppets in a long time. The sleeping puppets had long since transformed into shadowy figures due to their resentment, unable to return to the Mother Tree and having lost the qualifications to reincarnate.
Shen Yuxi and his teacher had created the trial grounds with the goal of allowing the shadowy figures to vent their anger through humans, thereby reducing their resentment and enabling them to return to the Mother Tree.
The fact that the Mother Tree continued to live even after losing one of its cores was proof that their intentions hadn’t been misguided.
However, Qi Chao couldn’t bring himself to carry out such actions.
He lifted his gaze to the shadowy figures in the branches, contemplating a solution.
Dense black mist swirled around the shadows, a thick, dark mass. They crouched together, watching Qi Chao in silence.
They seemed both wary and, at the same time, hesitant to approach, as if they wanted to get closer but lacked the courage to do so.
“Would you like to come down and talk to me?”
Qi Chao attempted to ease the tension with the shadowy figures.
The shadows on the tree let out high-pitched shrieks.
He couldn’t understand them.
Ever since he first encountered these shadows, it seemed like the only sound he could hear from them was this sharp, piercing cry.
Qi Chao had enough reason to believe that these "lovely children" were responding to him with enthusiasm.
But he also understood that the shadows were terrified of humans, and their shrill cries might very well be a form of rejection.
Sitting down on the ground, Qi Chao wasn’t worried about the fierce shadows on the branches attacking him. Or rather, he knew they wouldn’t attack him.
“If you don’t want to come down, that’s fine. We can just chat like this,” he said, smiling up at the shadows. His emerald green eyes were gentle and sincere, carrying the warmth of an elder’s affection.
His posture was relaxed, with his elbow resting on his knee and his palm supporting his cheek. “Chatting is all about comfort. We can do whatever makes you feel comfortable.”
The shadowy figures, surrounded by dense black mist on the tree trunk, let out a shrill cry. It seemed like a warning, urging him to stop making the sounds that were irritating them.
Qi Chao couldn’t understand, but he continued to engage in a one-sided conversation with the shadows. The more they reacted, the more he felt it was their way of responding, which only made him more enthusiastic.
At first, the shadows continued to emit harsh shrieks, but when they saw that their cries had no effect, and that the being below them—whom they both feared and loathed—was instead growing more excited, the shadows fell silent.
They wanted the humanoid Mother Tree to leave.
Yet, at the same time, they didn’t want him to leave.
It was undeniable—the voice of this humanoid Mother Tree was incredibly pleasant. Even though it spoke words they didn’t understand, the sound was still captivating, far more so than any human voice they had heard.
When Qi Chao stopped speaking, some of the once quiet shadows began to stir restlessly.
Why did he stop?
The shadows hissed at Qi Chao, their surrounding black mist swirling and floating anxiously in the air, filled with irritation and a sense of unease.
They were worried that Qi Chao might leave.
However, Qi Chao had no intention of leaving.
It was still early in the evening, and he wanted to spend more time communicating with the shadows. This way, he could hopefully find a method to purify the black mist sooner. The only reason he stopped speaking was because he noticed the deformed puppets lying on the ground not far away.
From their appearance, these were deformed puppets.
According to the memories passed down to him by the Mother Tree, the shadows would latch onto these deformed puppets, using them to wreak havoc on humans and vent their resentment.
The deformed puppets were trash that Shen Yuxi had picked up.
Qi Chao looked at them, intending to approach and start a conversation. However, as soon as he stood up, the deformed puppets rustled and disappeared into the forest, replaced by the hissing cries of the shadows.
He paused, unsure whether the shadows were calling for him to leave or trying to stop him from leaving.
After a moment of hesitation, Qi Chao sat back down. "Let's continue our chat."
The shadows once again began to howl with sharp, mournful cries.
The children were a bit difficult to handle.
With that thought, Qi Chao’s gaze landed on the eyeball that had been hiding in the grass since earlier.
“Dad will be home late today. Tell your father to eat on time and not to skip meals, okay? There’s food I made earlier in the fridge.”
Qi Chao’s senses were heightened, especially within the trial grounds. He didn’t feel much about the arrival of the eyeball but found the lack of signal in the trial grounds to be quite inconvenient.
The eyeball, suddenly noticing it had been discovered, stiffened for a moment. Then, it rolled up and down, seemingly acknowledging his presence.
Meanwhile, Shen Yuxi, upon hearing from Ayu that Qi Chao was chatting with the shadows in the trial grounds, furrowed his brow. He didn’t understand what Qi Chao was doing.
But Qi Chao had always been someone who did strange, inexplicable things, so Shen Yuxi didn’t find it too surprising.
What really bothered him was whether Qi Yang understood the purpose behind these actions of Qi Chao.
If Qi Yang knew, and he remained in the dark, Shen Yuxi knew he would be very displeased.
His eyelashes trembled slightly, and he let out a self-deprecating smile, gaining a deeper understanding of his own possessiveness.
On the other side of the wall, Qi Yang was almost overflowing with negative emotions.
He stared at the newly acquired lightbrain, his eyes filled with killing intent. On the screen, the social media accounts of three people were linked together.
Qi Chao, Qi Feng, Qi Ye.
The three brothers of the Qi family, the richest family in the area. The latter two were the leaders of the fan clubs for his brother, in the third and fourth groups, respectively.
Even his brother’s fans affectionately called them “little brothers,” constantly urging them on their accounts to post more updates and photos of Qi Chao and the puppets.
It was utterly laughable.
It was clearly his brother.
Qi Yang thought to himself, irritably biting his nails as he tried to calm down. He couldn’t bring himself to talk to his brother about this.
He had already revealed part of the truth to his brother, and if he brought this up now, his brother would definitely have a completely new understanding of him. There was even a chance he might ignore him altogether.
Thinking back to the time when he tried to explain how he knew so much and saw his brother’s dark expression throughout, Qi Yang could only swallow his frustration for now.
The system in his sea of consciousness watched quietly as Qi Yang struggled, then silently activated its shielding mechanism. Based on its experience, it knew that in moments like this, it was better not to speak up, or else it would be the one to suffer.
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