Thread on the Tree

@tylee

During the Ancient Yuan Era, between 169,400,000 and 171,300,000 years, the void shattered, the world collapsed, and spiritual energy became scarce, leading to the outbreak of a war among all races. The powerful beings from the domains of demons and monsters broke through the void and invaded the human realm. Under their assault, the human realm suffered continuous defeats.

In the 171,300,000th year of the Ancient Yuan Era, the demon domain launched a massive invasion of the northwest continent of the human realm—Longdao Continent. The entire Longdao Continent was engulfed in flames and filled with wails, with rivers of blood and corpses strewn everywhere. The void turned blood red, countless families were destroyed, and people were separated. Eventually, a human warrior known as the Dragon Emperor arrived on Longdao Continent and annihilated the invading demon forces, bringing a brief dawn to the continent.

In the 179,300,000th year of the Ancient Yuan Era, the three realms of humans, demons, and monsters reached an agreement, ending nearly a million years of war and ushering in a golden age for humanity.

Longdao Continent, Winter.

In a remote mountain village named Shucun, deep in the mountains, the houses were covered in white snow. The villagers worked from dawn to dusk, each family laboring hard. The young men went out hunting, the women cooked, and the children played in the village. On a wide plaza covered in snow, dozens of children were playing, while in a corner, a seven-year-old boy with bare feet quietly watched them, holding a dragon-shaped jade pendant around his neck.

The boy wore a gray coarse wool sweater, making his already small and weak frame appear even smaller. His eyes were dull, his body frail, his face pale, and his hair disheveled, with traces of tears in his eyes.

No one knew what the boy was thinking as he stared blankly ahead, squatting in the corner.

"Qin Sa, what are you thinking about?"

At this moment, an old voice came from the left. An elderly man with a cane approached Qin Sa. Despite his age, his eyes shone brightly, and he smiled as he came to Qin Sa's side. This was the village elder, Li Shuhe, known as Old Tree by the villagers.

"Grandpa Tree, I'm not thinking about anything. I just want to stay quiet for a while," Qin Sa said with a pure smile, wiping the tears from his eyes with his small, white hands, then stood up to support the old man.

"You little rascal, trying to fool your Grandpa Tree. I think you're hungry, right? Come on, let's go home and eat," Old Tree said, patting Qin Sa's messy hair with a smile, treating him like his own grandson. Even if Qin Sa didn't say it, he knew what was on his mind.

"Okay, Grandpa Tree," Qin Sa replied happily, jumping up.

"Let's go," Old Tree said, taking Qin Sa's small hand and leading him away.

Under the setting sun, the silhouettes of an old man and a young boy disappeared, leaving behind two sets of footprints in the snow, evoking tears from onlookers. The women watching from the side shook their heads in sympathy. Originally, they didn't live deep in the mountains but in a distant county. When the demon tribe invaded, they burned, killed, and plundered, causing countless deaths, including Qin Sa's parents and Old Tree's family.

When the human warriors finally arrived and killed all the demons in the county, the survivors dared to come out. At that time, the Qin family was the first family in the county, but only six-year-old Qin Sa survived.

When people found him, he was covered in blood, staring blankly at the bodies around him—those of his brother, the maid who played with him, and his parents. Everyone he knew had been killed in one night, leaving only six-year-old Qin Sa.

On everyone's advice, they moved to the deep mountains and established a small village, naming it Shucun.

Now, after a year of reconstruction, Shucun was becoming a real village. The villagers lived in peace and harmony, with clear divisions of labor.

In Old Tree's house:

"Here comes the fragrant chicken soup~" Old Tree said, bringing a bowl of aromatic chicken soup to Qin Sa's table. The smell made Qin Sa's mouth water.

As the aroma grew stronger, Qin Sa's stomach growled, and his eyes gleamed at the chicken soup.

"Hahaha, you're hungry, aren't you? Let Grandpa serve you a bowl," Old Tree said with a laugh, ladling a bowl of hot chicken soup and placing it in front of Qin Sa.

"Drink it while it's hot, Qin Sa. It won't taste good if it gets cold."

"Okay, thank you, Grandpa Tree."