Chapter 240: Life 73, Age 38, Martial Grandmaster Peak
After leaving Mount Jiang, I headed directly for the Verdant Forest Sect, and as soon as I arrived, I went straight to SuYin’s house.
When I had left, SuYin’s position in the sect had seemed stable. She didn’t have any enemies, and there wasn’t any reason for anyone to cause trouble for her. She was simply a rather talented herbalist worthy of nurturing. I had been gone for two years, but none of that should have changed. She shouldn’t have run into any serious problems, but the moment I saw her house, I couldn’t help but feel that something was wrong.
It could have been something in the glances of the people as they passed by. It could have been the overly thick coating of dirt on the windows that showed they hadn’t been cleaned in a long time. It could have been the undisturbed layer of pollen on the ground around the front door that showed no one had used it for several days. I wasn’t sure what it was, but something about SuYin’s home gave me the feeling that it had been abandoned.
As I neared, I looked through a window and saw that the inside of the house was a disordered wreck. This made my heart leap up into my throat, but just as I was about to force my way in and investigate, I heard sounds coming from behind the house.
Without hesitation, I dashed around the house with all the speed I could muster.
The sight that greeted me was beyond my expectations, but it allowed me to relax, if only just a little.
Bao was running around a garden in a ragged, dirt-stained green robe.
As I watched the young man frantically rush from place to place, I couldn’t help but notice the plants that surrounded him. Every one of them was vibrant and full of life. The greens of their leaves and stems showed no hint of disease or infestation, and the reds, blues, and yellows of their fruits and flowers possessed an indescribable luster that made me feel like I was looking at precious gemstones.
A short tree in the back corner of the garden caught my eye. Its branches held a small crop of nine-pointed starfruit. While a normal starfruit would be about the size of my fist, the ones on this tree were larger than my head.