Books and Trees

The figure wrapped from head to toe headed straight underground beneath the library. He passed through every checkpoint without obstruction, clearly possessing extremely high-level access.

The person was keeping himself hidden, obviously unwilling to let anyone see his face.

A bee flew past him. The little bee seemed rather curious, fluttering about in the air in a figure-eight pattern.

The figure gave a cold snort. “A bee? Hmph. More of these little tricks. Never mind. I have business to attend to today, so I can’t be bothered with it.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the bee fainted and plummeted to the ground.

After leaving, Chen Miemie returned to the shop and began another round of discussions.

The meeting was very brief. In the end, the think tank reached a conclusion: there was no need to hurry. They could simply wait for the customer to return.

Chen Miemie did not have to wait long.

The next Hengyue night, Kong Rong once again entered the shop.

This time, Kong Rong was noticeably more talkative than during his previous visit.

“Shopkeeper, I must apologize. When I came to the shop last time, I was suspicious and didn’t say much.”

Chen Miemie waved his hand, indicating that Kong Rong needn’t worry about it.

“Mr. Kong, you’re not the only one. One previous customer was even more cautious than you when she first came here. In the end, however, she chose to seek the shop’s help and achieved what she wanted.”

Kong Rong nodded with a smile. “I received word that Xia Chong has fully recovered and been discharged from the hospital. He recently joined the Scholars’ Academy and has published several groundbreaking theoretical studies in succession. He even opened a trading company. In barely half a year, he has won one battle after another and established himself in the construction and investment industries.”

“Oh? Has it already been more than half a year? He recovered his health and succeeded in his career as well. That’s certainly worth celebrating.”

“Others may not know it, but I know very well that you, Shopkeeper, are responsible for all of this, aren’t you?”

“No. Don’t make things up. It has nothing to do with me.” Chen Miemie hurriedly denied it three times in a row. He would absolutely never admit to having even the slightest connection with the trading company.

Kong Rong laughed heartily and did not pursue the subject.

After the pleasantries came the real matter.

“Mr. Kong, the fact that you’ve come back means there’s something troubling you. And the fact that you were willing to open the shop’s door again means you’re prepared to ask me for help this time.”

Kong Rong was straightforward this time. “Yes. I want to post a commission.”

“Please tell me the details.”

“I have two students I value most. One is Xia Chong, a representative of natural talent. The other is Shi Buyi, a model of diligence.

“Last time, I said I had come for Xia Chong. That was three parts sincerity and seven parts testing the waters.

“This time, I’ve come for Shi Buyi. This time, I truly want to give him a helping hand.”

Chen Miemie interrupted him.

“Mr. Kong, you’ve consistently referred to both of them as ‘students,’ rather than ‘disciples.’

“That means they’re merely two among the many students you’ve taught at the school. You don’t even have a private teacher-disciple relationship with them. Even if you cherish their talents, you wouldn’t normally go this far.

“Before we continue, please resolve this doubt about your motives for me.”

Kong Rong did not hesitate in the slightest.

“I’m not doing this because I cherish their talents. I’m doing it for myself. Shopkeeper, do you know what I am?”

If he had been asked this question last time, Chen Miemie would have been stumped. Fortunately, his investigations over the past few days had made some progress, and he had done his homework.

“You’re a spirit race being, born from the great banyan tree at Evergreen Academy.”

Kong Rong waited several seconds. Seeing that Chen Miemie had no intention of saying more, he picked up the thread.

“The shopkeeper has an astonishing eye for detail. I’m impressed.

“What you said is correct, but not entirely so.

“I am a spirit race being, but I was not born solely from the great banyan tree.

“The great banyan tree has been rooted at the school for more than a thousand years. It has weathered countless storms. Generations upon generations of students have read, recited, studied, and played beneath its branches. Over countless days and nights, the classics and histories of the world merged with the shade of that ancient tree, as a thousand-year-old tree and centuries of cultivated minds reflected one another.

“I was born from ‘books’ and ‘trees,’ becoming the Spirit of Book and Tree. There is a ‘Kong’ in books and a ‘Rong’ in trees, so I gave myself the name Kong Rong.

“I have not been born for very long. What you see, Shopkeeper, is my true age and appearance. From a human perspective, I look like a middle-aged man, but by the standards of the spirit race, I have not yet reached adulthood.

“I have personally witnessed only a few students. From the time I learned basic knowledge to when I began observing them, I saw no more than five or six cohorts.

“Before I had watched them for long, I received some unfortunate news: the great banyan tree was nearing the end of its life.

“Members of the spirit race live long lives, but even our lifespans have limits. If the thing that gave birth to us perishes, we will die along with it.”

At this point, Chen Miemie let out a soft, appropriately timed sigh.

Kong Rong merely smiled.

“It doesn’t matter. I am not the Spirit of the Tree. I am the Spirit of Book and Tree. That means I can make a choice.”

“A choice?”

“Yes. The Spirit of Book and Tree is a composite spirit made up of two parts. I have one opportunity to choose.

“I can cast away one part of myself and become either the Spirit of the Book or the Spirit of the Tree.

“If I sever the ‘tree’ from myself, I will completely cut my connection with the banyan tree. After that, even if the banyan tree dies, I will not perish with it.”

“When life and death are involved, there’s no need to choose.”

Kong Rong sighed.

“Yes. Here in the Library of Sealed Books, abandoning the ‘tree’ and becoming the Spirit of the Book is practically the same as gaining eternal life. At first glance, it seems like a decision that requires no thought at all.

“But when our spirit race casts away a part of itself, we are not merely severing a connection. A part of our temperament is severed as well.

“Books are the crystallization of wisdom. They represent the idea that one can improve day by day through learning. Trees are clumsy things that sink roots deep into the earth, representing tireless perseverance carried out in silence.

“If I cast away the ‘book’ and retain the ‘tree,’ I will have little time left to live. I will no longer be clever, and my progress in learning will become steady but slow.

“If I cast away the ‘tree’ and retain the ‘book,’ I will survive and live for a very, very long time.

“Just as I was preparing to choose the latter without a second thought, I discovered, from the banyan tree’s perspective, two students who were particularly special.

“Xia Chong, who was clever but fond of playing, and Shi Buyi, who was clumsy but hardworking.

“They are my ‘book’ and my ‘tree.’”