When Liu Hai and Zhang Nu finally arrived at the village chief's house, they were startled to find that all the protective barriers surrounding the house had disappeared. The village chief's home was now completely exposed, with a crowd of villagers gathered around it.
The village chief, an elderly man leaning on a cane, slowly emerged from his house.
For most of the crowd, this was their first time seeing the chief in person, and they were shocked to discover how old and frail he had become. They still remembered when the village chief had first assumed his position—he had been a vibrant and handsome young man. But in just four or five short years, he had aged drastically into his current state.
Why did this happen? Why had such an eerie transformation occurred?
“Who are you?” one young man demanded, his voice trembling. “Where is the village chief? Why are you in his house?”
The chief turned his gaze to the young man, his expression tinged with familiarity, as though he was seeing a reflection of his younger self.
“Tie Dan, it’s me—Xiao Hu,” the chief replied, his voice weary but kind.
Tie Dan stumbled back in shock, his face paling as the realization dawned on him.
The crowd murmured in disbelief, all stepping back in unison. They couldn’t comprehend how Xiao Hu, someone their age, could have aged so drastically in such a short time.
“How is this possible? How could you become like this? You were the same age as me, weren’t you?”
“This… this doesn’t make sense…”The chief gave a bitter smile and sighed deeply.
This was the consequence of becoming the village chief. Every day, he had to divine fortunes and misfortunes for the villagers. He had also expended a great deal of energy daily, which naturally caused him to age faster than an ordinary person. Moreover, every divination he performed consumed a portion of his own lifespan.
“I had hoped this secret would remain hidden forever, but it seems the truth has come to light today.”
The villagers stood in stunned silence, their curiosity about the earlier tremors now mixed with unease about the chief’s revelation.
“What happened earlier, chief? Why did the village suddenly shake like that?”
Tie Dan’s question broke the silence, his tone filled with urgency.
The chief looked at him, his aged eyes clouded with the weight of knowledge.
“I suppose it’s time you all learned the truth,” he said solemnly. “Have you never wondered how the village chief gained the power to foresee fortune and misfortune, or to protect the village so effectively?”
The crowd exchanged uneasy glances, their collective confusion evident. It was true—they had often wondered how an ordinary person, upon becoming village chief, could suddenly gain such extraordinary abilities. Most had assumed that the position itself conferred some sort of supernatural awakening, a belief that had driven many to aspire to the role.
“Why is that? What gives the village chief such powers?” Tie Dan asked hesitantly.
The chief’s smile grew even more bitter, his voice trembling with the weight of the secret he was about to reveal.
“Becoming the village chief isn’t a blessing,” he said, his voice heavy with sorrow. “It’s a sacrifice. A village chief’s power comes at the cost of their lifespan.”
“The ability to divine fortunes, to foresee dangers, and to protect the village—all of it drains the very life out of us.”
“This is why every ten years, the village gets a new chief. Because by then, the old chief is dead.”
The crowd gasped, stepping back in fear and disbelief. They had never imagined the truth could be so grim. For years, they had believed that retired chiefs simply left the village to live in peace elsewhere. Some had even heard stories of former chiefs moving to distant lands. But now they realized those tales had been lies, fabricated to make the role of village chief seem desirable.
Only now did Tie Dan understand why the chief had aged so quickly.
Zhang Nu and Liu Hai, overhearing everything, finally grasped the reality of the situation. This village hadn’t been blessed by divine protection—it had survived thanks to the selfless sacrifices of its chiefs.
The Life Tree might have been a blessing for the village, but for the chief, it was a curse.