Chapter 38: The Gardener's Path
Recap: The Council's scholars studied the Trees and found no weaknesses. Fang Yuan gave a Water Sprite to Stillwater and continued his journey, calling himself a gardener.
---
The road became a garden.
Fang Yuan walked through fields of wildflowers that had not been there a year ago. He passed forests of saplings that had grown from seeds scattered by the wind. He crossed rivers that ran clear and cold, their waters purified by roots he had not planted.
The land was healing. Not because of him—because of the Trees. He had only started them. They had done the rest.
That's the difference between power and growth. Power forces. Growth spreads.
He reached a hilltop and looked south. The sea glittered in the distance, blue and endless. He had not seen the sea since he left Eastern Sea City, months ago. The Tide Caller's arena was still there, he imagined, empty now, its platform crumbling.
I should go back. See how the Trees have grown there.
But something held him. Not fear. Not doubt. Just... stillness. The sense that he was exactly where he needed to be.
He sat on the hilltop and released his Subjects. They spread out around him—the Moonlight Dragon curling at his feet, the Storm Phoenix circling overhead, the Frost Serpent slithering through the grass, the Magma Tortoise basking in the sun, the Solar Dragon blooming beside him, the Stone Dragon rumbling contentedly.
Forty-seven Subjects. Forty-seven creatures that had chosen to stay.
The Spring Autumn Cicada hovered before him, its wings buzzing, its eyes gold. It pulsed with time power, dormant but present.
"What should I do?" Fang Yuan asked it.
The Cicada did not answer. It never did. But it turned toward the south, toward the sea, and pulsed once.
South. The sea. Something waits.
He stood and recalled his Subjects.
---
The coastal village was called Saltford.
It was small, its houses built from driftwood, its streets paved with shells. The people were fishermen, their skin weathered, their hands calloused. They had heard of the Trees but had not seen one. The sea was their life, and they did not trust anything that grew on land.
Fang Yuan walked to the shore and looked out at the water. Waves crashed against the rocks, their foam white, their sound steady. Beneath the surface, he could feel something—not a Tree, not a seed, but something else. Something old.
The sunken city. The fragment I took from the throne room. Something remains.
He reached into his pocket and touched the cracked stone. It was warm, pulsing—not with the First One's power, but with memory. The sea remembered what had happened there. The door. The fragment. The trial.
I should go back. See what's left.
He released his Deep Turtle Gu. The massive creature materialized in the water, its shell wide, its eyes calm. Fang Yuan climbed onto its back, and the turtle dove.
---
The sunken city was darker than he remembered.
The white coral had turned gray, the statues had crumbled, and the streets were choked with seaweed. Fish swam through the ruins, their scales dull, their movements slow. The throne room was still there, its black stone pedestal empty, its walls cracked.
But something else was there too.
A Tree. Small, no taller than his waist, its leaves silver, its roots wrapped around the pedestal. It had grown from a seed carried by the currents, planted by the sea itself.
Fang Yuan approached it. The Tree's leaves turned toward him, and he felt its recognition—not of him, but of the connection he carried. The cracked stone pulsed.
This Tree is different. It's not from my seeds. It's from something older.
He reached out and touched its trunk. The Tree's light flared, and images flooded his mind—the First Emperor, kneeling before the door; the fragment, pulsing with dark light; the sea, rising, swallowing everything.
And then, silence.
The Tree's light dimmed. Fang Yuan withdrew his hand.
The fragment is gone, but its memory remains. This Tree grew from that memory. It's not a Tree of creation. It's a Tree of remembrance.
He looked at the Tree for a long moment. Then he turned and swam back to the surface.
---
Saltford's fishermen were waiting for him on the shore.
"You went to the sunken city," one of them said. "No one goes there. The sea claims anyone who tries."
Fang Yuan climbed off the Deep Turtle and recalled it. "There's a Tree down there. Small, but growing. It will protect the city. And the waters around it."
The fishermen exchanged glances. "A Tree? Underwater?"
"It's not like the others. It's a Tree of remembrance. It holds the memory of what happened there. It will keep the past from repeating."
The old fisherman who had spoken first stepped forward. "What happened there? The sunken city—why did it fall?"
Fang Yuan looked at him. "Someone tried to open a door. Someone who should have known better. The sea closed it for him."
He turned and walked toward the village. "The Tree will remind you. So you don't make the same mistake."
---
He stayed in Saltford for three days.
He helped the fishermen repair their nets, mend their boats, and build a small shrine around the spot where the underwater Tree's light reached the surface. The villagers were wary at first, but they warmed to him. He was not a demon. He was not a planter. He was just a man who had seen things and wanted to help.
On the third day, a ship appeared on the horizon.
It was large, its sails white, its hull black. It flew no banner, but Fang Yuan recognized the design—a Council ship, sent to investigate the coastal villages.
The fishermen grew afraid. "The Council never comes here. What do they want?"
Fang Yuan watched the ship approach. "Me."
He walked to the shore and waited.
The ship anchored in the bay, and a small boat rowed to the beach. A woman stepped out—tall, her hair white, her eyes sharp. She wore the robes of a scholar, but she carried a sword at her hip.
"Fang Yuan," she said. "I'm Scholar Lin. The Council sent me to find you."
"They've sent others before."
"They sent scholars to study the Trees. I'm here to study you."
Fang Yuan tilted his head. "Why?"
"Because the Council is divided. Half want to destroy you. Half want to negotiate. I'm here to decide which half is right."
She drew her sword—not to attack, but to lay it on the sand between them.
"I'm not here to fight. I'm here to understand. Will you help me?"
Fang Yuan looked at the sword, then at her. She was young, maybe twenty, her eyes bright with curiosity and something else—hope.
"Walk with me," he said. "I'll show you the Trees. And you can decide for yourself."
She nodded, picked up her sword, and followed him into the village.
---
End of Chapter 38