Genius Club-Chapter 553 - 8: Dark Moon and High Winds

"That should be a pomegranate tree, right, Lin Xian?"

Gao Yang, excited, patted Lin Xian on the back:

"It hasn’t borne any pomegranates, so I can’t tell, but this tree clearly doesn’t fit in with the environment here. It’s completely out of place!"

Lin Xian nodded:

"Don’t worry, that is definitely a pomegranate tree. I’ve seen pomegranate flowers and pomegranates grow up since I was young. I can’t be mistaken."

Bright red flowers.

Like fire, like blood, like the sunset.

That was the unique shape and color of a pomegranate flower, absolutely unmistakable!

"Hurry, let’s go down quickly."

Lin Xian and Gao Yang turned back and found a downhill path, successfully arriving at the valley below.

The two of them didn’t care about the dry branches and prickly bushes under their feet. One after the other, they waded through knee-high greenery, striding toward the long-sought pomegranate tree!

Before long,

The two of them had trampled out a deep and shallow path on the smooth lawn, successfully reaching the side of the pomegranate tree with its bright red flowers.

Panting, they looked up at the massive pomegranate tree, several meters tall, even nearly ten meters.

"Can... can a pomegranate tree normally grow this tall and big? Isn’t this exaggerated?"

Gao Yang bent over, hands on his knees, and exclaimed:

"I’ve never seen such a big pomegranate tree before, not in reality, not in movies or TV shows. This one must be a mutant, right?"

Lin Xian shook his head:

"Clearly, this is what happens when a cultivated variety is left to grow in the wild without anyone pruning or intervening."

"Normally, the pomegranates we eat, the pomegranate trees we see, are all cultivated and selected varieties, naturally branching out and bearing more fruit. And my grandpa used to prune pomegranate trees regularly because when you cut a branch, it sprouts two or three new branches at the cut, naturally bearing more fruit."

"But look at this tree now... It has such a great growing environment, there are no large trees around to block the sunlight, no thick roots to compete with it for nutrients, these wildflowers and weeds can’t set deep roots either."

"So, such a good piece of land, nutrients, water, sunlight, all belong to this pomegranate tree. Add to that no one pruning it, letting it grow freely for 24 years, it’s no surprise it’s grown so big. However, truth be told, the fruits of such a pomegranate tree generally won’t taste very good, as the nutrients are used in the wrong places."

Hisss...

Gao Yang shivered:

"Even if it tastes good, who would dare eat from a tree on a grave?"

He turned on his phone, found that there was still a signal, made a map mark, so the next time they came, they wouldn’t get lost.

Lin Xian circled around the pomegranate tree.

Intuition... People generally wouldn’t plant a tree in front of a grave, right? It should be planted behind the position of the buried coffin, or directly above would make the most sense.

If it’s right above, then there really would be trouble. Such a large pomegranate tree, without large machinery, just by their little shovels, there’s no way Lin Xian and Gao Yang could handle the trunk and roots.

But it’s not absolutely impossible, since it’s a pomegranate tree, not a thick poplar or willow. If they brought a chainsaw, they could still manage.

"How prepared are you with the tools? Do you have everything needed?"

Lin Xian looked back at Gao Yang:

"I trust you, so I never asked you before. Although sometimes you lead me astray... you’re actually quite reliable."

Pop!

Gao Yang snapped his fingers:

"Don’t worry, no problem at all. Moreover, I contacted a local car rental before coming, rented a Toyota Prado that can handle cargo and off-road conditions. Later, we’ll just drive the car as close to here as possible and then manually move the stuff over."

"Honestly, Lin Xian, for better or worse, we should thank Zhang Yuqian’s parents for choosing such a good geomantic spot, away from villages and shops, secluded and hard to discover... That’s why we have this chance to dig up a grave."

"Otherwise... if it really was buried in the ancestral grave in the hometown fields according to custom, forget about digging up the grave— I guess we wouldn’t even make it there carrying shovels before getting killed by their clan."

Lin Xian nodded:

"A blessing in disguise, I suppose. But this situation was inevitable."

He explained to Gao Yang:

"Think about it, why would Zhang Yuqian’s father bury her here, in such a secluded place? That means he was feeling guilty! If he wasn’t feeling guilty, if there was nothing shady about that car accident or Zhang Yuqian’s body, he could have buried his daughter openly in the family grave."

"That way, it would be even better, at least implying... in Zhang Shi’s panic, criminals always return to the scene of the crime, so when we open Zhang Yuqian’s coffin this time, no matter what’s inside, we won’t leave empty-handed, we’ll definitely find out some truths."

"Let’s go back now and get ready, you can drive the car, handle the equipment. I’ll check the surroundings again to make sure we’re completely safe; I’ll also buy us some clothes for physical labor so that we don’t have to come back with cuts all over, then get some flashlights, food, and water as physical work is tiring."

"So, let’s contact each other by phone later, make sure everything is ready. Around... six or seven o’clock in the evening, let’s meet at the entrance at the foot of the mountain?"

Gao Yang, after listening,

thoughtfully,

walked around the pomegranate tree twice, his right hand forming a strange gesture, muttering:

"Seeking dragons, dividing gold, looking at the coiled mountains... Each coil is a barrier..."

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