Chapter 37: Lunar Eclipse

"Oh? Some things can't be touched? What things? Isn't this just flowers, grass, and trees?" I asked.

Chen Jiansheng shook his head. "Let's talk as we walk."

After walking for about ten minutes, he stopped before a massive tree. It stood over a dozen meters tall and had a strange appearance—it possessed a trunk and branches, but was completely bare, devoid of a single leaf.

He pointed at the tree and turned back to us. "Look. I used this tree as a landmark before because it’s easy to recognize. I named it the 'Bachelor Tree.' It sits directly opposite the exit of the cave crevice; as long as you can see it, you won't get lost inside."

"Hm, Carpenter Chen, that’s certainly a clever method," I praised.

Mole looked up at the tree, staring blankly for several minutes before saying in a low voice, "Because of my interest, I took botany as an elective in college. I heard an old professor talk about this tree. It isn't called a 'Bachelor Tree'—it has a name. It’s called a Yunyang Tree."

"Oh, I didn't expect you, Logistics Officer Chen, to be a college student," Chen Jiansheng laughed. "I don't know about any Yunyang Tree, but since it doesn't have a single hair on it, I think 'Bachelor Tree' is much more fitting."

"If you're ignorant, don't talk nonsense!" Sister Hong glared at him. "Yunyang is what the ancients called it. This type of tree was actually grafted by accident in ancient times. The person who discovered it was a scholar named Yunyang, which is why it’s referred to as the Yunyang Tree in *Records of Strange Objects*. However, all of that was just because people in ancient times didn't fully understand grafting techniques."

"So, by your logic, this Bachelor Tree—no, this Yunyang Tree—was planted by humans?"

"That can't be right. I've been here many times, and let alone people, I haven't even seen a ghost of a shadow. You must be mistaken," Chen Jiansheng insisted, shaking his head repeatedly at the suggestion that the tree might be man-made.

"Alright, Earthwork Chen, whether this tree is wild or grafted doesn't matter. Let's hurry up and head to the place you wanted to show us."

"Fine, let's go. Stick to the left. Watch out for the weeds underfoot; some of them have thorny hooks."

He led us onward. Along the way, I saw many plants I had never encountered before.

Sister Hong explained them to me from time to time: "This flower is called Aconitum. Don't touch it; if you do, your skin will itch."

"This is Strychnos, and that over there is a red Cockscomb. These are all very rare flora."

Suddenly, I noticed a dark yellow insect crawling on a red Cockscomb flower. It looked very similar to a cicada from the wild fields near my village. I reached out and caught it with a snap.

Holding the insect, I examined it carefully, puzzled. "What... what is this? It's not a cicada. Why doesn't this thing have legs?"

I wondered how I had managed to catch it so easily; it turned out the creature had no legs and couldn't crawl away.

"Earthwork Chen, do you know what kind of bug this is?" I asked curiously.

He took a look and scratched his head. "No idea. It's useless to ask me; I haven't seen everything. There are plenty of strange little bugs in here."

The insect seemed incapable of making a sound. It had a pair of black, sesame-seed-like eyes on its head and looked quite bizarre.

Chen Jiansheng said he didn't know it, and Sister Hong also shook her head, saying she was only knowledgeable about plants and knew very little about insects. I didn't pay much attention to it and tucked the bug into my pocket. It wouldn't bite, and since it had no legs, it wouldn't crawl around anyway. I simply kept it because I found it strange and had never seen one before.

"By the way, are you two hungry now?" Chen Jiansheng suddenly turned and asked.

"It's alright. We can keep walking; not particularly hungry," I replied truthfully.

He rolled his eyes. "Of course you're not hungry, you kid! You ate the fish I caught!"

"This..." I felt a bit embarrassed and rubbed my hands together awkwardly.

"Fine, fine. Since we're here, let's grab a bite."

He pointed to a small tree on the right. "The red fruit on this tree is edible. I've eaten it before; it's fine. There's nothing else good to eat around here, so I'll go pick a few to stave off the hunger." With that, he walked off toward the fruit tree.

A few minutes later, he returned, cupping his shirt.

"Here," he said, handing one to Mole.

"Who knows if it's safe to eat? No thanks," Sister Hong refused.

"Ha! Then you can just stay hungry, Logistics Officer Chen." He picked up a fruit, wiped it on his clothes, and brought it to his mouth, taking a large, crunchy bite. The juice spilled out, and it looked incredibly sweet and fragrant.

I swallowed instinctively.

Noticing my behavior, he shook his head and tossed two at me.

After hesitating, I took a cautious bite. It had the texture of an apple—crisp—but tasted sweeter and juicier.

"It's fine, Sister Hong. Have one. It's actually quite delicious. You haven't eaten much, and we have to keep walking. Eat one to replenish your sugar," I said, handing her a fruit.

This time, she took it.

"Heh..." the man chuckled. "How about it, Logistics Officer Chen? Sweet, isn't it? Good flavor?"

She kept a cold face and didn't reply.

After eating the fruit, we all felt a refreshing sensation in our throats, easing the dryness.

Chen Jiansheng found an open space and said we should sit for a while and rest; there was no need to rush.

I asked in confusion, "Earthwork Chen, we haven't walked that far since we came in..."

"Ah," he waved his hand. "Kid, there are things you don't know. Listen to me, just sit here for a while and you'll understand. I'm going to show you something good in a moment." His words were vague and mysterious.

Having no choice, since the guide said to rest, we rested. I also wanted to see what this "good thing" he promised was.

We sat in silence on the ground. Every so often, Chen Jiansheng would look up at the sky, though I couldn't tell what he was watching.

After an hour had passed, I couldn't sit still anymore.

I stood up abruptly and demanded to know how much longer we were going to rest and if we were going to get back to business. Sister Hong also turned to look at him.

Chen Jiansheng was leaning back on his hands, a piece of weed hanging from his mouth.

"Pah," he spat out the weed. "I saw that scene once and could never forget it. Don't be impatient. It's about to get dark. Soon, very soon..."

"Dark? In here?" I looked around at our surroundings.

The environment looked like twilight; the light was dim, but things were still visible.

"Haha, here it comes! Look!" Chen Jiansheng suddenly pointed toward the direction we had just come from.

I saw that the area we had just walked through was sinking into darkness, bit by bit, as if undergoing a total lunar eclipse—shifting from dusk into night.

Furthermore, this cloud-like darkness was in a transitional state, spreading toward the three of us.

In less than three minutes, the entire space around us had darkened. It became pitch black, so dark I couldn't even see my own fingers.

"Earthwork Chen!" I shouted, unable to see him in the gloom. "What exactly are you trying to show us!"