bookrandom Chapter 59 The Willow Tree Spirit Awakens
Chapter 59 The Willow Tree Spirit Awakens
At this moment, Lin Yue and Gong Yong were overwhelmed with mixed feelings. Neither of them wanted their brother's child to suffer because of their own situation. Gong Qiang quickly drove his wife and child to Gong Yong's house. After arriving, he handed his wife and child over to Gong Yong and then quickly cooperated with the police searching everywhere.
Soon, 48 hours passed, and they still hadn't found them. Gong Qiang suddenly called Gong Yong and said, "Brother, actually, a group of people have been looking for me lately." Gong Yong asked, "What do they want from you?" Gong Qiang said, "Yes, they're looking for me. They want to buy spiritual flowers and herbs from me, and they want me to go to you and sister-in-law, hoping to get more from your villa to sell." Gong Yong said, "I haven't heard you mention this." Gong Qiang said, "I know those things were painstakingly obtained by you two, so I've refused many times. This time, they might have kidnapped my child just to get some of these spiritual flowers and herbs from me." Gong Yong said, "Then let's wait for news." Gong Qiang said, "Okay, then I've already put my phone on police surveillance. If the kidnappers want these things, I hope you can give them to them to tide you over." Gong Yong said, "No problem."
Time ticked by, and everyone was filled with anxiety and worry, hoping that their child would return safely soon.
Everyone assumed the kidnapping of Gong Qiang's child was for the spiritual flowers and herbs, but the truth was quite the opposite: the kidnapper was a high-ranking official. The spiritual vegetables and fruits that the old couple had taken from Lin Yue's villa were sent to central leaders for distribution, but the official only received a small amount. Greedy and wanting more, he realized that targeting Lin Yue and Gong Yong was too difficult, so he decided to target Gong Yong's younger brother's child. He had repeatedly tried to contact Gong Yong and Gong Qiang with thugs, but without success. This time, they took the child to an abandoned factory, hoping that Gong Qiang and Gong Yong would willingly hand over the items.
But the reality is harsh. Lin Yue is fiercely opposed to evil. After all, having grown up in a rural area and raised two children who have gone to university, she has experienced the harsh realities of society and doesn't have a good impression of some officials. Therefore, Lin Yue's cooperation with the state was out of necessity. Now, with someone threatening the lives of her brother's children, will Lin Yue and Gong Yong be willing to take responsibility?
At this moment, Lin Yue summoned all her spirit beasts and friends: the rat spirit, the two snow wolf spirits, and two or three pangolins. They were all assigned tasks to search. Gong Qiang gave Lin Yue several unwashed clothes his child had worn. Lin Yue let the rat spirit smell them, and then let the two snow wolves smell them too. After the eagle smelled them, they were sent out. Lin Yue accompanied the two snow wolves, while the rat spirit stood on Gong Yong's head. Although Gong Yong couldn't understand the rat's language, he went in the direction the rat spirit pointed. Soon, Lin Yue and Gong Yong each went in one of the four directions—east, west, south, and north—but were ultimately guided in the same direction. After confirming the direction by phone, the couple each drove their own car—Gong Qiang in one—following his sister-in-law Lin Yue, to an abandoned factory.
They saw a group of people standing at the door, carrying steel pipes and knives. After the three of them got out of the car, Lin Yue, Gong Yong, and Gong Qiang, who were unarmed and hadn't brought any police officers, began to negotiate. One of the men said, "We need something." Gong Yong said, "What do you want? Just say it. Let me see the child first." Soon, the child was dragged out. He was dressed in dirty clothes, his mouth was gagged, his hands and feet were tied, and he had some injuries on his body.
Seeing the child like this, Lin Yue's eyes reddened, and she gritted her teeth, saying, "What exactly do you want?" The other party sneered, "Hmph, if you want the child to be safe, hand over the spiritual vegetables and fruits." Gong Yong roared, "You bunch of bastards, for your own selfish desires, you've actually done such a heinous thing!"
At first, Lin Yue thought it was outsiders wanting some spiritual flowers and herbs, but little did she know that they had already eaten her spiritual vegetables and fruits. Lin Yue thought for a moment, and aside from the spiritual rice, noodles, vegetables, and fruits she had sold to the old Taoist priest and Ouyang Hanrui, she had only recently sent some to the central government. That meant that Ouyang Hanrui's group hadn't encountered this situation for several years. It must be that recently, the distribution to the central government was uneven, and some people were envious and were making schemes behind her back. In the end, Gong Qiang and Gong Yong both resisted the temptation and didn't give in. The two old people also knew that the vegetables and fruits in the villa were important, so they didn't sell them to outsiders. These people then grabbed the children to get these things.
Lin Yue's spirits all stood in a row in front of them: two snow wolves, a rat spirit, an eagle spirit, and three pangolins, sitting right in front of the three men. Ironically, these three small animals didn't attract any attention from the man in front carrying a steel pipe, knife, and axe, since the two snow wolves and the eagle spirit had shrunk in size, looking like ordinary dogs and eagles standing there.
Suddenly, Lin Yue heard the little willow tree spirit's call in her spiritual consciousness. Lin Yue was instantly overjoyed; the willow tree spirit had actually awakened. The little willow tree spirit waved its branches in the space, saying, "Lin Yue, let me out, I can tie them all up." Lin Yue said, "You've leveled up?" The little willow tree spirit said, "I've grown a bit." Lin Yue saw in the space that the willow tree spirit had several more leaves on its head, fifteen in total. It seemed it had recovered quite well this time. Lin Yue quietly placed the willow tree spirit behind her back and took it out.
The little willow tree spirit activated its power, quietly causing one or two willow trees, along with some other trees and vines around the factory, to grow wildly. The group of thugs, arrogantly wielding steel pipes and axes, didn't notice. They continued shouting, demanding that Gong Yong and Gong Qiang produce a certain amount of spiritual vegetables and fruits, already asking for quantities measured in tons. Lin Yue was startled; even taking everything from her spatial storage wouldn't amount to that much. Just as they were negotiating haphazardly, Lin Yue and the willow tree spirit suddenly activated their power, instantly binding the dozen or so people in front of them with several branches. The ten men stared wide-eyed. Gong Yong and Lin Yue rushed over, disarming them and setting aside all their knives, axes, and steel pipes. Gong Qiang was also shocked; he had never seen anyone bind people with tree branches for no reason. Gong Yong said, "This is a small case."
At this moment, the bound man began to beg for mercy, and Lin Yue and the others quickly went to rescue the child. After being rescued, the child hugged Gong Qiang tightly and cried loudly. Soon after, the police arrived and took the group away. This incident made Lin Yue and the others more vigilant and more appreciative of their current life.
Because Lin Yue had instigated the willow tree spirit to bind these people, the police were quite surprised when they arrived, but under orders from their superiors, they said nothing. Lin Yue made a phone call to report to her superiors that the willow tree spirit, who had been undergoing tribulation in the park, had awakened and had played a significant role in rescuing the children. The cultivation leaders from the central government said they wanted to meet the willow tree spirit, and Lin Yue said no problem. They also asked about the willow tree spirit's abilities, to which Lin Yue replied that she didn't know.
The little willow tree spirit is currently growing in her home, and it's still very small. Lin Yue hopes that the central leaders won't harm this willow tree spirit; they all say they won't, after all, it's rare for a plant to become a spirit.
Then, the cultivation leaders from various places arrived in Rongcheng and came to Lin Yue's villa. Lin Yue skipped and hopped into the courtyard with the little willow tree spirit, letting these cultivation bigwigs see her. The little willow tree spirit walked back and forth among the crowd, striking poses like a little girl, extremely happy. When the willow tree spirit realized that she couldn't communicate normally with the dozen or so cultivators around her, she returned to Lin Yue's side and said, "Why can I only talk to you? They are also cultivators, why can't they understand me?" Lin Yue said, "I don't know either."
At this moment, a powerful cultivator smiled and said, "Perhaps it is because you and Lin Yue have a special affinity and understanding that you can communicate without any obstacles." Everyone nodded and began to carefully observe the little willow tree spirit, their eyes full of curiosity and inquiry.
Through this incident, Lin Yue realized that if Gong Qiang were placed far from his home, similar incidents would likely occur more frequently. Lin Yue thought for a moment, then went to a real estate agent and inquired about the apartment in the building next to his house—a two-unit building with no residents or renovations on the opposite side. She asked if the agent could find the owner and inquire if they were selling. The agent said they would contact them; it was a business owner from Haicheng who had bought it. Because property prices in Haicheng were much higher than in Rongcheng, they had bought it as an investment and were now having trouble selling it, so the asking price was a bit high. The agent suggested contacting them.
Through communication with the contact person in Haicheng, it turned out that the boss there was currently short of funds. Suddenly, a real estate agent in Chengdu contacted him asking if he was selling his house. He initially said he would only sell for 230 million yuan, and Lin Yue thought about it and decided to buy it for 230 million yuan. The agent said that the house in Rongcheng was only a little over 100 million yuan, but he was asking for over 200 million yuan, several hundred thousand yuan more, and they would negotiate the price. Lin Yue said, "Then you go and negotiate. How much of the price you get down for me, I'll give you 20% commission on the reduction."
Then the young real estate agent proactively told the owner in Haicheng about the house prices there, mentioning that a similar unit across the street had just sold for the same price, and that the owner was selling it to his brother who wanted to buy the same property. Finally, they negotiated the price to be the same as the unit Lin Yue had previously owned, and Lin Yue agreed. The owner in Haicheng quickly returned to Rongcheng and completed the property exchange with Lin Yue, who gave him cash. After the agent completed all the formalities, Lin Yue gave him 20% of the extra several hundred thousand yuan. The agent was very happy and said, "Sister Lin, just tell me what kind of house you need, and I'll be there as fast as I can." Lin Yue said, "Of course, thank you. I'll call you again if I need anything." The house across the street was an unfurnished apartment.
Lin Yue told Gong Yong about it, and the couple discussed it. They asked Gong Yong to call Gong Qiang and have them bring their child to Lin Yue's hot pot restaurant for a family meal. During the meal, Lin Yue didn't tell Gong Qiang about the house purchase, but instead asked him what style he wanted for the new house. Gong Qiang thought for a moment and said he liked a Chinese style, a modern Chinese style. Lin Yue didn't say anything, and neither did Gong Yong. Everyone understood what she meant. Then Gong Yong said, "Gong Qiang, you should temporarily move from that house to your parents' house for safety reasons. We'll buy bunk beds and put them in the small study for the child's convenience. It'll only be for a month." The couple agreed quickly; they were worried about leaving their brother and sister-in-law's house and potential problems. Gong Qiang knew his father's side was always protected by armed police. Gong Qiang and his wife went back and quickly packed up their belongings, found a truck, and brought them over. They only took some personal items; everything else was empty. Gong Qiang quickly rented out his house and then came over.
Lin Yue quickly contacted the contractor who had previously done the renovations and requested that the renovations be completed in a modern Chinese style within a month. After the blueprints were completed, Lin Yue gave them to Gong Yong, asking him to show them to Gong Qiang and his wife. After get off work, Gong Yong took the blueprints to the house where his parents and Gong Qiang lived, showed them to them, and asked Gong Qiang if he had any requests.
Gong Qiang said, "Brother, could we leave a small door in the rooftop garden area of our two houses? It would be convenient for me to go over and tend to your vegetables and fruits." Gong Yong said, "Sure, I'll discuss it with your sister-in-law. It shouldn't be a big problem. But those are spiritual vegetables and fruits, different from the vegetables ordinary people eat." Gong Qiang thought for a moment, "Can I grow some too?" Gong Yong said, "As long as you can grow them, eat them yourself, don't sell them. You know how dangerous it is if you sell these things." Gong Yong showed them the blueprints, there was nothing that needed to be modified, so he returned them to Lin Yue, only telling Lin Yue that he hoped a small door could be left in the rooftop garden area, and Lin Yue agreed.
A month later, the renovation was completed. Gong Qiang would occasionally go up to check on the progress and found that it was done very quickly, in just one month. The roof layout was done according to Gong Qiang's requirements, and space was even reserved for raising chickens, ducks, and fish. The gardener also did the waterproofing.
When Gong Qiang moved in, his parents wanted to come with him. Gong Yong said it was no problem, because his family had one less child and the house was big enough. Downstairs there was a master bedroom and two secondary bedrooms, and upstairs there was a large master bedroom. Gong Qiang planned to have his parents live in the large master bedroom downstairs, give each of his children one of the two secondary bedrooms, and live in the large master bedroom upstairs with his wife. They would grow vegetables on the rooftop and plant some flowers next to it.
After the agreement was settled, they began moving, relocating entirely from Lin Yue and Gong Yong's old house. Lin Yue left her old house vacant in case her parents came to stay in their old age.
Lin Yue started worrying about security, but then the elderly couple moved in. Living in the same building meant they could visit each other anytime, which meant Lin Yue couldn't hide the fact that she said the house was rented. Gong Yong still hadn't told his parents that the house was bought. His younger brother did buy the house, but it wasn't registered in Gong Yong's name, nor Gong Qiang's; it remained in Lin Yue's name. Therefore, she only had the right to reside in the house, not ownership.
Gong Qiang felt at ease living there, but the elderly couple were not. They wanted Lin Yue to transfer the house to Gong Qiang's name, and Gong Yong overheard them discussing this inside the house. Gong Yong came from the rooftop garden to find his brother, saying he wanted to plant spirit flowers, spirit herbs, and spirit fruits, and was going to bring him some seedlings. Hearing his parents say this, Gong Yong became very angry.
As he came down the stairs from the rooftop, he heard Gong Qiang's statement again. Gong Qiang said, "Mom and Dad, we've already taken such a big advantage from my sister-in-law and brother. We're lucky we even have a place to live. What are you thinking, wanting property rights too?" His parents said, "They've already let you live there, so we'll give you the property rights. What's wrong with that? It's not like we're taking a piece of their flesh. They have money." Gong Qiang said, "Even if they have money, it belongs to my brother and sister-in-law, not me. I know how to earn my own money. That small house over there is for our son to use after he gets married. My sister-in-law lives next door here. She won't kick us out until you all pass away."
Gong Yong had just come down the stairs and overheard everything. He knew his younger brother was a good person, and since his sister-in-law hadn't said anything yet, it was hard to tell. But his parents' views were wrong. Gong Yong said directly, "This property belongs to Lin Yue, and Lin Yue paid for it. This son of yours is only capable of making five to seven thousand yuan a month. Don't count on Lin Yue for your old age. When Lin Yue needed you the most, you didn't help her once, not with money or your presence. You didn't raise her, you only raised me. I have an obligation to support you and take care of you in your old age. But Lin Yue didn't. Although she's my wife, her parents raised her for the first twenty-odd years. She didn't marry me to suffer. Every time you come, it's chaos, and you argue every day. Is that meaningful? We rent the house across the street, but Lin Yue bought this house. We bought this house for Gong Qiang's child's safety. We let you live here after it was renovated. What more do you want?"
Gong Yong was very angry at the time, and said, "Recently, Lin Yue has been helping Gong Qiang's two children transfer schools. You two are thinking about the property, while my wife is busy with her brother's children's school enrollment. I don't know what bad luck my wife had in her past life to marry me and end up with parents like you."
The elderly couple looked embarrassed and ashamed after hearing this. Gong Yong finished speaking and turned to leave. A silence fell over the room.