Chapter 9: I So Want to Hold You

When the Peng family was searching for Ying Shu, she had already returned home and crouched inside the front gate, tentatively asking the dragon blood tree, “Can you hear me?”

The dragon blood tree remained silent.

“Can’t hear me?”

Ying Shu stubbornly poked the trunk with her finger. “If you can hear me, just give a little squeak.”

[She’s actually talking to me, a tree. Has she had too much to drink? Or has she gone mad?]

[Sigh, Grandma Ying has passed away, Dad Ying is dead too, Grandpa Ying and little brother and little sister are seriously ill. All the pressure falls on Qi Zhen and Ying Shu—it’s only natural she’s losing her mind.]

Ying Shu’s face lit up with joy.

Sure enough, she really could hear the voices of plants. She had come back to try again because hearing the trees speak before had seemed too fantastical, lacking in reality.

“I’m not drunk, nor am I crazy. I’m just talking to you to see if I can hear your voice.”

At her words, the dragon blood tree’s leaves trembled.

[Ah—]

[Help! Ying Shu can actually answer me! Have I withered away and gone mad? Am I hallucinating?]

Ying Mei chuckled, “You haven’t withered, and it’s not a hallucination. Your voice sounds as innocent as a three-year-old’s.”

[You, you, you really can hear me? How come you can hear me now when you never could before?]

Ying Shu gently tugged at its leaves. “From now on, I’ll always be able to hear you.”

[It’s so wonderful that you can hear me! Hurry and water and fertilize me.]

“All right.”

Instead of fetching water to pour, Ying Shu used her wood-element abilities to channel wood-element spiritual energy into the dragon blood tree.

The tree couldn’t help but moan softly: [Wow, this feels so good. Ying Shu, what did you do to me? I feel as if I’ve been reborn, in better condition than ever before. You make me feel so close, like a mother—I want to hug you.]

Ying Shu laughed through tears. “I released wood-element spiritual energy to help your decayed parts regrow, making you better than before.”

[Really? My leaves are greener and fresher than ever.]

“That’s enough for today. We’ll continue next time.”

Ying Shu stopped channeling energy and turned to look upstairs at her grandfather and the others.

—

[Ying Shu, don’t go! I still want wood-element spiritual energy. Ying Shu, come back! Little Shu, Shu Shu, Shu Ma, Ma, Ma, come back and cherish your child.]

Hearing its affectionate names for her, Ying Shu’s mouth twitched sharply.

After confirming that her grandfather and the others had eaten lunch, she returned downstairs to open the shop.

Business was slow. Bored, she took out her phone and checked the errand platform.

[Name: Ying Shu]

[Age: 22]

[Merit: 0]

[Points: 300]

[Level: 1]

[Skills: Clairvoyance, Wood-element, Spatial, Psychic]

With so few points and a low chance of winning, Ying Shu had little interest in the lottery. Instead, her psychic ability caught her attention.

During the disaster world, Su Xining had briefly taught her to use wood and spatial abilities.

Currently, her spatial capacity was five cubic meters, enough to hold many items. Even if she switched to a small electric vehicle later, she’d have plenty of storage.

Other spatial skills would need to be developed after leveling up.

What troubled her most was that Su Xining didn’t know Ying Shu had psychic abilities, so she hadn’t been taught how to use them.

Ying Shu couldn’t help but sigh. Had this been two days earlier, she would never have believed in supernatural abilities or that such things would happen to her.

“Is anyone here?”

At that moment, a voice came from the door.

Ying Shu looked up to see two police officers enter.

One was the officer who had responded before. The other was tall and handsome, with commanding, sword-shaped eyebrows, piercing black eyes like an eagle’s, and thin lips pressed together in a cold expression. His gaze was like a cold star on an autumn night—icy and profound. His entire bearing radiated authority, making it clear he was the superior of the other officer.

Ying Shu saw they weren’t customers and asked directly, “I’m here. What do you want?”

The responding officer smiled, “Young lady, we’re here to ask you some questions.”

Ying Shu frowned, “Is it about the previous staged accident?”

“No, no. That matter is over. We want to ask about the cameras. How did you find out there was a camera hidden in the tree?”

They wanted to hold the old man accountable, but since he refused to admit to the staged accident and was elderly, the matter was dropped.

However, the Peng family was outraged and didn’t want to let the culprit off, so they demanded a surveillance investigation to find evidence.

The investigation revealed the camera wasn’t under the state system’s jurisdiction—it was privately installed but still functioning.

They questioned nearby shop owners, but no one knew about the camera. Even if someone wanted to install one, they wouldn’t point it at the street. Clearly, someone wanted to monitor the alley entrance.

Using the camera’s coverage, they pinpointed a resident on the second floor of a self-built house near the alley entrance.

They confronted the person, who turned pale upon hearing about the surveillance but said nothing.

Half an hour later, the superior officer found him and asked how he discovered the camera. He had no choice but to come to Ying Shu.

“I… I came home late once and accidentally saw someone installing a camera. That’s how I knew about the one in the tree.”

Ying Shu hadn’t wanted to get involved, but thinking of someone risking their life to protect the people, she couldn’t stay indifferent.

The police asked again, “Did you get a good look at that person?”

“At the time, yes. But it’s been over a year now, and I can’t clearly recall his face. I only remember he looked like a drug addict—dark circles under his eyes and very thin.”

The camera had been installed over a year ago, as the tree had told her; the rest was Ying Shu’s fabrication.

“Thank you for telling us this,” the officer said.

The other officer hadn’t spoken the entire time but kept his gaze fixed on the dragon blood tree.

After asking a few more questions, they left.

Ying Shu watched the tall figure walk away, clicking her tongue in admiration. A shame he wasn’t a celebrity.

Look at that face, that figure...

Just as the thought crossed her mind, she suddenly widened her eyes in shock.