The Rise of the Divine Oracle

Chapter 3 - The Wishing Tree

.

They reached the city council hall and were greeted with a bow and warm welcome from the village leader. He introduces himself as 'leader Mao' and invites them to have a seat. A few weeks back, Wangji received a letter requesting that Cloud Recesses should send a capable cultivator to solve an issue that they have with a Wishing Tree. This tree was so old that no one alive knows how many seasons it has seen. People from all around the city pay pilgrimage to it and offer it food and wine, with hearts full of prayers for good luck. Recently, the villagers complained that the tree is starting to wither and die. Leader Mao knows that this tree is the heart and soul of the village and without it, their livelihood will be compromised. It was the deity that grants all their dreams and wishes. Without it, all hope will be lost.

Leader Mao took Wangji and Wuxian to the tree. It was located at the edge of the village, where the forest starts. Wuxian noticed that while the way to the tree was heavily dense with wild vegetation, the road was well traveled. As they got near the tree, golden leaves start to fall all around them. Both men looked up and saw that even though they cannot see the trunk of the tree yet, the branches and leaves are looming above them.

Wuxian was impressed: "How big is this tree?"
Leader Mao: "The Wishing Tree has been around for many generations. Each month it grows under the full moon to cover a few more paces. It used to be so lush that the branches will fully cover the sun and the golden leaves reflect the light as if it's glowing to guide the villagers way to it's root. As you can see, the leaves have been falling for quite some time and the branches have stopped growing for many moons. We don't know what sins we've committed but we are willing to do whatever it takes to bring it back to its glorious state."

Wangji stops suddenly and extends his palm to let one of the falling leaves land on his hand. As soon as it touches his skin it evaporates into a golden mist and disappears. Wangji looks at Wuxian in wonder hoping that he might have an answer to this odd phenomenon, but the crease between Wuxian's brows reveals his confusion too.

As they continue their walk towards the roots, Wuxian asks: "How come I have never heard of this magnificent Wishing Tree before? Lan Zhan, did you know about this tree?"
Wangji just shakes his head and looks at Leader Mao for an explanation: "I wouldn't expect you to know about it. The villagers cherish this tree to the point of worship. They will protect it with their lives and would not wish for outsiders to know or harm our tree. It's a well kept secret and unless you're close to a native villager, you wouldn't know about its existence. It's the reason why I asked for discretion when I sent the request letter to his Excellency."

As expected, the tree trunk was as wide as the river in the city. It would take quite some time just to walk around it from its size. Wuxian couldn't stop ogling it with wonder as he went around to explore every side. Wangji turned to Leader Mao and asked: "Other than the fallen leaves and the halted growth, why do you think this tree is dying?"
Leader Mao gestured for Wangji to follow him and led him to a small hole near the root of the tree. As Wangji neared it, he saw that this side of the tree was char black as if it was burned. He saw Wuxian approach them, halt, grab his head and start to waver as if he's about to faint.

Wangji rushes to catch him before he falls and calls out: "Wei Ying?"
Wuxian shakes his head, trying to clear his thoughts and whispers: "I can hear it crying."
Wangji sets Wuxian on the ground and walks around the tree trying to figure out what is causing such a reaction from Wuxian. Other than the odd hole and the char black marks on the tree, nothing was out of place.

Leader Mao sees Wuxian on the ground holding his head in pain and sits next to him: "Young master, are you alright?"
Wuxian takes a deep breath and looks back at Leader Mao: "I sense a very strong emotion of grief. Something wrong happened here and the spiritual power of this tree has been corrupted."
With the help of Leader Mao, Wuxian gets up and makes his way to Wangji as they both start looking around the tree trying to find anything out of place.

Within the dark marks on the tree, Wuxian spots a marking glowing from a far. He calls out: "Lan Zhan, look!" He points to where the green light is coming from and gets closer to examine it. Wangji follows him but doesn't see anything other than the charred black parts on the tree trunk: "Wei Ying, what are you looking at?"

Wuxian turns around and sees both Wangji and Leader Mao staring at him. "The green markings.. it's glowing. Can't you see it?", Wuxian replies. Both men looked at where Wuxian is pointing and shook their heads.

Wuxian rubs his nose with his finger and whispers: "Interesting.." He gets closer to the markings to see if he can recognize what they are but as he gets closer the light gets more intense, to the point of blinding. He covers his eyes and as a reflex places his hand on the markings to protect the others from its painful light. The moment his hand touches the tree trunk, he's filled with sparkling energy and everything around him turns white.

Wangji yells his name and rushes to catch him as he falls. "Wei Ying!" He kept calling his name while cradling his body in his lap. He tried to wake him up but he was getting no response. Wangji is seconds away from losing his composure when he feels something brush his mind and whispers: "Let him help me please."

.