readbooksol Chapter 514 - 286: Ashes of Father and Mother, the Forgotten Three Years
Chapter 514 - 286: Ashes of Father and Mother, the Forgotten Three Years
Whoosh...
The fierce wind blows, carrying flying sand!
Bai Mo sits on top of the car, instinctively looking at the freshly arranged tea and snacks.
He covers the tea!
Points to the snacks!
"Quick, eat!"
The fur on the backs of the three disciples has already been stirred by the wind!
Swish!
Swish!
Swish!
Three pairs of paws fall onto the plates, working in harmony, each taking three pieces, instantly grabbing all the butterfly pastries!
Whoosh...
The wind and sand pass by.
The three foxes have blissful faces, their cheeks bulging, chewing with a "crunch crunch" sound.
The wind is strong, the sand coarse, even hitting Bai Mo’s windbreaker with a "pitter-patter".
Bai Mo grins, pats these little guys’ heads.
"In the future, when we’re outdoors, we can use a bottle or a cup with a lid.
"No need for snacks."
The three foxes nod repeatedly!
Bai Mo looks up at the banana leaves, suddenly realizing something is amiss.
"According to the records, these threaded banana leaves are plump and juicy, smooth on the surface, yet most fragile.
"Born within the wind walls, grown in the big courtyard, they’re most afraid of wind and sand.
"Once the flying sand arrives, they would be battered all over.
"But now..."
Bai Mo grabs the large banana leaf, looking at the top and the underside.
In his hand, the large banana leaf is pliable and sturdy, and after enduring the wind and sand, both the top and the bottom remain intact.
Bai Mo observes carefully and discovers, under dim light, that the chloroplasts inside its cells have undergone some changes, better adapting to this dim light.
Suddenly, Bai Mo imagines the scene at the beginning of the Ancient Immortal Dynasty’s downfall, with shattered mountains and rivers, species extinction, how desolate must the Immortal Grass have been?
On this vast earth, the slowly re-growing Immortal Grass, without the care of a planter, without sunlight, facing the fierce wind alone, what a sight it must be?
How did they continuously adapt to the environment over millions of years to ultimately survive, experiencing what kind of hardships, undergoing what kind of changes?
Thinking of this, Bai Mo grins.
He looks at the records in his hand, the banana leaves on the tree.
"Though millions of years have passed, differences arise between the records and Immortal Grass, not matching expectations, but I haven’t lost out.
"I can research better Immortal Grass!"
Thus Bai Mo sits atop the car, sometimes looking at the records, sometimes at the Immortal Grass, thinking, sometimes jotting down his revised notes.
Occasional gusts of wind bring flying sand; Bai Mo doesn’t block it at all, even getting more excited, staring with wide eyes at the banana leaves in the wind, seeing how they shed the wind’s force while swaying, seeing how their surfaces bounce off the coarse sand grains that fly with the wind.
The three disciples below the car, three fluffy heads gather together, "whimpering and chattering" not knowing what they’re discussing.
Overalls occasionally lift its head, looking at the car, then at the master on the roof.
Small and Big Eyes and Butterfly Knot gesture to one another, sometimes giving Overalls ideas.
...
"Alright, we’ve seen the banana leaves, let’s move on to the Green-laughing Cherry Tree."
Bai Mo puts away his tablet, pats the banana leaves, seeming to bid farewell.
He looks down, only to see there are only two disciples left.
"Whimper whimper!"
Small and Big Eyes rushes to the rooftop, tidying up the small table.
"Chatter chatter!"
Butterfly Knot rushes into the carriage, starts the car, slowly backs up, turns around, heading towards the Green-laughing Cherry Tree forest.
Bai Mo hugs Small and Big Eyes, "Where’s Overalls? Where did it go?"
Small and Big Eyes twists its mouth into a smile, not wanting to say, wanting to give the master a surprise!
Foxes are very cunning!
They all know, a surprise spoken is not a surprise anymore!
...
Not long after, the car stops at the edge of the Green-laughing Cherry Tree forest.
Overalls has picked a good spot, perfectly allowing a branch with lush leaves to reach the car rooftop, reaching the master in front.
Bai Mo holds the tablet, starting to study the Green-laughing Cherry Tree.
Just one glance, he notices the problem, laughing out loud.
"Ha, this..."
Whoosh...
The wind blows again, flying sand attacks. The branches sway, the leaves rustle, yet the delicate little flowers on the branches remain completely unharmed.
It turns out, over millions of years, Green-laughing Cherry Tree has evolved a special leaf arrangement, leaves and flowers at different heights, leaves are higher, flowers lower, the leaves can completely shield the flowers from the wind!
"How is this arrangement achieved, how is it formed?"
In the Ancient Immortal records, such a thing was never documented!
Bai Mo, filled with interest, pinches the flower branch, divine sense permeating, begins to observe, study, explore!
After a round of observation, Bai Mo writes long notes on his tablet.
...
The next stop, the car heads to the Shadow Leaf Forest.
Bai Mo sits atop the car, rubs his wind-dried face, looks at the branch reaching in front of him.
He sees all the leaves on this branch exist in pairs, stem connecting stem, leaf face facing leaf face, veins reflecting veins.
These leaves seem unchanged, but after Bai Mo’s divine sense probe, he suddenly discovers, over millions of years, they have changed too... the veins of two relative leaves are actually connected together!
Whoosh...
The wind comes, they shake together, pulling each other, jointly resisting the wind and sand.
Whoosh...
When the wind passes, they rest together, support each other, share nutrition.
Higher up, there are pairs of new leaves growing together, pairs of old leaves falling together.
Bai Mo smacks his lips.
"What a pity!
"If this thing were in the real world, as a trending tree species, it could make a bunch of girls cry their hearts out."
Bai Mo writes notes as he looks at the ground’s fallen leaves.
After death, the veins break apart, each leaf flies away.
Landing on the ground, decomposing into soil, perhaps absorbed by the roots again, perhaps growing again on the branches, becoming two leaves mutually guarding each other?