At this moment, Tom, whose identity was unknown, came to the old willow after answering Luke.
During Tom's song just now, the flames on the old willow had long been extinguished, leaving only two sections of its trunk charred black on the outside, looking lifeless.
Tom Bombadil looked at the old willow's miserable state, sighed, and said, "The old willow wasn't like this originally. It's just that for thousands of years, he witnessed countless of his kin being cut down and burned. The long-standing resentment and anger drove him insane, making him hostile towards all creatures entering the Old Forest."
As he spoke, he walked to the old willow, patted the lower half of the stump with his hand, and said, "old willow, sleep well! Remember today's lesson, and don't cause trouble again, or else Tom Bombadil won't care if you live or die anymore!"
Hearing Tom Bombadil's words, Luke looked at the half-stump in surprise.
"Mr. Tom Bombadil, are you saying that this old willow isn't dead yet?"
"The old willow is the strongest Huorn in the Old Forest. He won't die so easily, unless you dig out all his roots and burn them. Otherwise, as long as there's water and soil, he can grow back again," Tom said.
Well, Luke had a mind to nip it in the bud, but since he wanted to protect the old willow, he could only give up.
Anyway, the old willow had already been severely injured by him. It would take an unknown amount of time for him to reawaken and recover.
By then, he would definitely be stronger than now and completely unafraid of the old willow.
"Alright, everyone, I'll first send the old willow back to where it stays." Tom effortlessly lifted the lower half of the old willow's stump with one hand, looking like an ant lifting something dozens of times its weight, appearing eerie and shocking.
Then he smiled and invited Luke, "If you have time, you are welcome to visit my house anytime. Just follow the Willow River upstream, and you'll reach my home."
Luke was flattered and nodded, "Thank you for your invitation. I will if I get the chance."
After bidding farewell to everyone, Tom Bombadil carried the old willow's root, humming a song cheerfully as he walked towards the Old Forest, finally disappearing into the night.
Rory Brandybuck watched Tom's disappearing figure and couldn't help but exclaim, "No matter how many times I see him, he's always the same, always full of joy!"
Hearing Rory's exclamation, Luke curiously turned his head and asked, "Mr. Brandybuck, are you very familiar with Tom Bombadil?"
Rory nodded and explained with a smile, "In fact, many people in Bucklebury know Tom. Unlike the trees in the Old Forest, he is a very friendly neighbor. He has helped many people who accidentally wandered into the Old Forest out of trouble. It is said that my ancestor, Gohendad Old Buck, received Tom's help when he first came here, which is why he ultimately decided to establish Bucklebury here."
"Then do you know his true identity?"
Rory shook his head, narrating in the tone of an epic, "Tom is very ancient, older than the history of us hobbits. We have also curiously asked him about his identity, but he always said that Tom is Tom, with no other identity.
If you ask where he came from, he said he was here before rivers and forests appeared, he remembers the first raindrop and the first acorn, he is the master of trees, mountains, and rivers."
Hearing Rory's words, Luke gasped, shocked and even more curious about Tom's identity.
The information revealed in this passage is not small. Tom said he existed before rivers and forests appeared, and even remembered the first drop of rain and the first acorn, which means he existed when this world was born!
And the identity of the master of trees, mountains, and rivers is even more extraordinary. Luke even doubted his previous judgment.
Could Tom really be the incarnation of Iluvatar?
After all, no Vala possesses such immense authority as to claim to be the master of trees, mountains, and rivers.
Luke felt his thoughts were a mess, without a clue.
If he couldn't figure it out, he wouldn't think about it. Luke refocused his attention on the upper half of the old willow's main trunk.
Just now, Tom Bombadil only took the lower half of the old willow. Although the remaining upper half was charred black on the outside, the exposed heartwood at the break caught his attention.
He came to the broken part of the trunk and found that the old willow's heartwood was a milky white, like jade. When tapped, it made a crisp sound like metal striking stone.
Luke was delighted. This heartwood was clearly extraordinary. If used to make a magic staff, it might be more effective than willow branches.
However, he was currently exhausted mentally and temporarily unable to process this upper half of the trunk with magic, so he could only ask Rory Brandybuck for help.
"Mr. Brandybuck, could I ask you for a favor, to extract the heartwood from this section of the trunk?"
Rory naturally agreed very readily and immediately organized the best carpenters in Buckleberry to cut this section of the trunk.
At the same time, he invited Luke and everyone in town to attend the victory celebration banquet at Brandy Hall.
At the banquet, Luke, without surprise, became the most watched person.
Zhuoguo Baggins also basked in the glory, sitting beside Luke. Next to him was Rory's daughter, Dora Brandybuck. The beautiful Dora instantly captivated Drogo's gaze, and for a moment, he couldn't take his eyes off her.
"Everyone, let us raise a toast to today's hero, Luke the Tree-Feller!" Rory Brandybuck stood up, raised his glass, and happily shouted to everyone.
The other hobbits also raised their glasses, looking at Luke at the head table with shining eyes.
"To Luke the Tree-Feller!" Everyone shouted in unison, their deafening voices echoing throughout Brandy Hall.
Luke smiled and returned the toast to everyone, but inwardly, he was complaining.
Tree-Feller? What kind of weird title is that? It sounds like someone who just cuts down trees. Couldn't they have discussed it with him before giving him this title?
The banquet lasted until very late, and Luke and a reluctant Drogo returned home.
A very tired Luke quickly fell asleep as soon as he touched the bed. When he woke up again, it was already afternoon tea time.
After sleeping for so long, Luke's spirits had recovered a lot, but he still felt mentally weak, as if he had overused his brain, and his whole body felt sluggish.
Moreover, the aftereffects of the magic burst made his magic unstable, so he tried not to use magic these past few days, waiting for it to stabilize.
Temporarily unable to use magic, Luke felt somewhat idle for a while, so he simply picked up wood and continued carving magic staffs.
Not long after, there was a knock at the door.
It was a few Hobbit who, by the order of Lord Rory Brandybuck, brought the old willow's heartwood to Luke.
According to the Hobbit captain, because the old willow's trunk was too thick and hard, dozens of carpenters spent a long time splitting the trunk to extract the innermost heartwood.
"Lord Luke, we didn't know how long of a heartwood you needed, and we didn't dare to make our own decisions, so we brought you the entire heartwood."
What met his eyes was a white heartwood, almost four to five meters long, carried by two Hobbit.
Unlike the old willow's enormous trunk, the heartwood was only wrist-thick, a milky white like jade, with fine woody grain, beautiful and full of mystery.