Peach Blossom Divine Medical God Chapter 2324 - 2280: An Unusual Mountain Village

Most of the buildings here are wooden structures, supplemented by piles of rubble.

But some things, even from a glance, clearly have a significant origin.

For example, the woman who just spoke.

There is a stone pedestal placed at the entrance of her house.

The pedestal is carved with patterns, although eroded by time, it is no longer what it once was.

Yet, upon close inspection, one can still see that if it were intact, it would be exceptionally exquisite.

Definitely not something that ordinary households would possess.

Let alone being here in this small mountain village.

Additionally, they noticed that some people even have large bronze vessels in their homes.

Ancient and heavy tripods, bells, and other weighty objects; traces of these could be seen everywhere here.

Obviously indicating significant origins.

"This village is quite peculiar." Chen Yang spoke casually while walking.

"Tripods and bells are significant objects that are not commonly found in regular homes. It seems this village was once prospering," Jing Kang remarked directly.

Born into the Royal Family, Jing Kang was well-acquainted with items like tripods and bells, and his insight allowed him to deduce that the village had a glorious past.

Chen Yang thought along similar lines, but didn’t voice it out loud.

"Hey, Chen Yang, Jing Kang, look, what’s that?" Tu Qi, walking ahead, suddenly pointed to a side area and spoke in surprise.

Following Tu Qi’s direction, Chen Yang and Jing Kang looked over.

Immediately, they saw an enormous tree stump rooted in the center of a square.

The stump was at least three to four meters wide but only a few dozen meters tall.

There were evident fracture marks on the top of the stump... indicating that the tree had been broken for some reason, leaving only this stump.

And around the stump, there were solemn offering tables made of bronze.

Judging from the offerings on the tables, this stump seemed to be regularly worshipped by the villagers.

"Such a large tree?"

Chen Yang was also a bit startled.

"Shall we go and take a look?" Tu Qi’s curiosity was piqued.

Such a large tree was not something often seen.

With a width of three to four meters, if it were not broken, its height could easily have reached several tens to hundreds of meters.

"Let’s go."

Chen Yang was also curious.

But it wasn’t the size of the tree that intrigued him.

He was curious why the village would worship a tree stump.

Moreover, he sensed from afar that although the stump was broken, seemingly lifeless, it actually retained a slight vitality.

But this vitality was feeble, like it could dissipate at any moment.

Like a candle flickering in the wind, ready to extinguish at any time.

The three strolled forward to the stump.

Sure enough, in the crevice of the stump, there was a sprout, looking as if it had just recently emerged.

"Such a large tree must take many years to grow. It’s really not easy and I wonder what broke it," Tu Qi said boldly, not noticing anything else amiss.

His attention was entirely on why there was such a large tree.

"Brother Chen Yang, can you tell what kind of tree it is?" Tu Qi turned his head and suddenly asked Chen Yang.

After carefully observing, Chen Yang shook his head, "I don’t know."

Because apart from the stump, nothing was left of this tree.

The stump was bare and possibly dead for so long that the bark had worn away.

There’s no way to tell what type it is.

"If I am not mistaken, it might be an ancient locust tree," Jing Kang spoke then.

"A locust tree?" Tu Qi was stunned and then asked, "How do you know it’s a locust tree?"

"Just a guess."

Jing Kang replied.

"..."

Tu Qi was speechless.

"What kind of guess is that? You might as well say you’re making stuff up."

"Let’s go and ask the village chief, what exactly is this place."

After a brief look at the stump, Jing Kang didn’t want to stay long. He wanted to leave quickly.

Having satisfied his curiosity, Tu Qi had no intention of looking further.

In his view, it was just an ordinary tree.

The only difference was its somewhat larger size.

"Alright, let’s go." Tu Qi nodded, and the three left the open space, walking straight along the path to the end.

At the end of the village, there was indeed a house built entirely of stone.

The courtyard wall was also neatly stacked with stones.

And hanging on some of the outer walls of the house were animal furs and similar items.

From the looks of it, it could be the home of a hunter.

"This should be the place," Tu Qi thought aloud and stepped forward to knock on the door.

"Who is it?"

A hoarse voice immediately came from inside.

"Hello village chief, we are travelers who got lost nearby. We would like to ask you for directions," Tu Qi answered politely.

"Travelers?"

Upon hearing ’travelers’, the old voice clearly showed emotional fluctuation.

Soon, footsteps were heard approaching from inside.

After a while, the house and courtyard doors opened one by one.

An aged man, hunch-backed, leaning on a cane, appeared in front of the three.

The elder was old, but his eyes were still quite bright.

Seeing Chen Yang and the others standing outside the door, his gaze showed emotions that were complex.

Surprise, wariness, and other emotions.

"Greetings, elder. Sorry to bother you. We’ve lost our way nearby and came to ask for directions," Tu Qi spoke first, inquiring politely.

"How did... you enter?"

The village chief of Qin Mountain Village didn’t directly answer but asked such a question first.

"Um..." Tu Qi hesitated slightly, unsure if he should reveal how they entered.

"Elder, we performed a secret technique, entered a space, and woke up in this vicinity," Jing Kang answered.

"Secret technique?" The elder paused and then nodded as if he had figured out something, "I see."

"Yes, elder. May I ask, where does your village reside? How far is it from the Dajing Dynasty? And how do we leave here?" Tu Qi nodded and immediately followed up with another question.

Yet again, the elder didn’t directly respond, instead smiling slightly and inviting the three inside to sit and discuss.

The three found it odd, sharing a look among themselves.

Ultimately, they accepted the elder’s invitation and sat down in the courtyard.

After seating them, the elder generously poured them tea.

"Are you from the Dajing Dynasty?"

Before Chen Yang and the others could taste the tea, the elder asked with a smile.

"Yes, elder. During a skirmish with enemies, we performed a secret technique and accidentally ended up near this place," Tu Qi nodded again, repeating what he had said earlier.

"Then may I ask, who is the current Emperor of Dajing? Do you know his name?" the old village chief inquired further.

The three already found the elder somewhat odd.

Now hearing this question made it even stranger.

The elder’s tone seemed as if he had not heard about the outside world for many years.

Moreover, his tone conveyed a sense of concern for the Dajing Royal Family.