Chapter 6: A Celestial Fruit

Thunderstorm is merely the son of an ordinary woodcutter, completely ignorant of the game of chess. Nevertheless, after looking around for a while, Thunderstorm still focused his attention on the chessboard. Perhaps it was because the two old men had been unable to finish their game for a long time, and Thunderstorm found the wait exceedingly dull.

Perhaps it is because the two old gentlemen are too engrossed in their game of chess. It seems that if one truly wishes to extract some information from these two elders, one can only wait until they finish their game. With a hint of helplessness, Lei Yu stands beside the chess table, patiently awaiting the conclusion of the match between the two old men.

Excuse me, gentlemen! Do you know how to get out of here

As she watched, Lei Yu felt an intense headache, her entire body drenched in cold sweat. In a daze, she unexpectedly fell asleep just like that

This fruit is truly a remarkable thing. After just taking a small bite, I felt a surge of energy throughout my body! By the way, I wonder how my younger brother is doing now! I should save the remaining fruit for him! Remembering my younger brother Leijie, whom I had hidden in the woods, Lei Yu carefully tucked the remaining half of the fruit into his bosom, gauged the direction, and then sprinted away.

After asking three or four times in succession, the two old men seemed to be oblivious to Lei Yu's words, showing no reaction whatsoever

"Forget it, even if this fruit is truly poisonous, I will accept it! Being poisoned to death is certainly better than starving to death!" Gritting his teeth, Lei Yu closed his eyes, picked up the fruit, and took a bite! The fruit melted in his mouth, and a wave of heat rapidly spread throughout Lei Yu's body with that small bite. At that moment, Lei Yu not only felt no hunger at all, but even the biting cold seemed to be not so unbearable as he had thought!

However, this is purely a feeling of a thunderstorm. If one were to ask what exactly is mysterious about a thunderstorm, or what makes it strange, the thunderstorm itself would be unable to articulate any rationale for it

However, upon waking up, Thunderstorm found himself even more confused, as what lay before his eyes was still a world of ice and snow, devoid of peach trees and peach blossoms, and certainly lacking that old man by the pavilion.

Amidst the dense peach orchard, a pavilion seemingly carved from a single block of white stone stands out, captivating attention in this vibrant landscape of red and green peach trees

Although Thunderstorm does not understand chess, focusing attention on the chessboard inevitably arouses great interest. To Thunderstorm, this chessboard seems to be a battlefield, where weapons clash and the atmosphere is filled with a sense of impending conflict. Each move made by the two old men appears to carry boundless mysteries.

Sometimes, the white pieces sweep across the entire battlefield, but due to a brilliant move by the black pieces, the entire situation is turned around. Just as the black side gains the upper hand, the white side suddenly strikes back. In the eyes of Lei Yu, both sides engage in a back-and-forth exchange, fighting with great enthusiasm

In the center of this pavilion, there is a table also carved from white stone. Upon this white stone table lies a chessboard, and at this moment, two elderly men are seated beside the table, one holding black pieces and the other holding white pieces, engaged in a game of chess

Crossing one peach tree after another, Lei Yu finally arrived at the pavilion. Upon seeing the two elderly men playing chess inside, Lei Yu could not help but feel a surge of joy and hurriedly approached them

Is there really such a thing as a paradise on earth? It seems that what I have seen before was merely a daydream! With a bitter smile, Lei Yu stood up and shook off the snowflakes from his body. However, at that moment, he suddenly froze, for he discovered that he was holding a crystal-clear, vividly colored fruit in his hand. Looking around, he found no fruit trees at all, let alone any fruits! Lei Yu stood up and shook off the snowflakes from his body again, but he was once more taken aback, as he realized he was still holding that crystal-clear, vividly colored fruit. He looked around again and found no fruit trees, nor any fruits! Regarding the origin of this fruit, Lei Yu was even more perplexed.

Could it be that this fruit is truly a celestial fruit? Was the Peach Blossom Spring I visited before real? Was I not dreaming at all? Looking at the remaining half of the fruit, Lei Yu's brows were tightly furrowed.

Time flows ceaselessly, yet how long has truly passed? Lei Yu can no longer discern, for at this moment, his mind and spirit are entirely immersed in this game of chess

Goo goo... goo goo... How long has it been since I last ate something? Lei Yu can no longer recall clearly. Touching his stomach, which was so hungry it felt like it was almost sticking to his back, a fierce struggle raged in Lei Yu's mind.

Peach Blossom Paradise, blooming once every thousand years! If you can enter here and meet us, it signifies your fate with us! I bestow upon you a celestial fruit; if fate allows, we may meet again in the future!" In a dream, Lei Yu seemed to hear the white-clad elder say these words to him, causing him to startle and suddenly awaken.

These two elderly men, one dressed in a white robe with a long white beard, and the other in a green gown, although differing in attire and appearance, share a common trait: they both exude an air of righteousness and an ethereal presence.

This fruit! I wonder if it is poisonous?" Looking at the fruit in his hand, Lei Yu couldn't help but hesitate about whether to eat it. He clearly remembered that a childhood playmate had died from bleeding from all seven orifices after greedily consuming an unknown fruit. Lei Yu did not want to follow in his footsteps