The scene of Li Dafu chopping down and burning trees was the same as matricide and dismemberment for Chen Yang, who witnessed the whole process of the old man planting himself. The difference was that there was no blood or flesh, and no drop of blood.
The body became a tree.
The living person who was talking to him just a moment ago mutated before his eyes.
First it was Aunt Liu's youngest son, and then it was Old Lady Li.
The dandelions that could not be burned flew down the mountain and fell inside and outside the house. They could not be completely removed. The old tree that was cut down in front of the door was left with only a thick root, which was burned into charcoal by the fire and could not be dug out.
The peaceful and tranquil life of this small island was completely shattered.
As outsiders, Chen Yang and his companions encountered two bizarre incidents on the island. They thought that Granny Qi wanted to kill people to silence them, but they didn't expect that she just wanted the captain to take them off the island.
In the past, fishing boats were very particular about going out to sea. They had to observe the high and low tides, take into account the gods at sea, and ask Granny Qi to predict the time. But this time, no matter what, they sent them away overnight, and did not care about the two missing tourists, as long as they left the island.
Zhao Yuantian really thought that from this perspective, Grandma Qi was kind and not a bad person.
No one paid any attention to him.
The captain drove Chen Yang and the others onto the boat like oxen plowing a field, and did not let them keep what they had seen to themselves or say anything about it.
Maybe they knew that even if they told it, no one would believe it.
The ship was the same one that came with it. Except for Li Dafu, the experienced crew members were all there, and it seemed that everything would go smoothly.
However, a thick fog suddenly appeared on the sea, and the ship kept circling the island and could not get out at all.
Chen Yang and his friends returned to the island.
The captain and the crew were all shocked as if they had seen a ghost. The fog came strangely and without any warning, and it was unlike anything they had ever encountered. They immediately notified Grandma Qi.
Chen Yang and a few others also went there.
Soon they were standing in the house and met Grandma Qi in advance.
Granny Qi did not greet them immediately. Instead, she lit three incense sticks, put them into the incense burner on the long table in the main hall, and bowed devoutly. Then she turned around, pinching her Buddhist beads, and asked them to sit down.
The old wooden chair is a set with the other furniture in the room. I don’t know what kind of wood it is made of, but it looks very ancient and has a light woody scent.
There were two kerosene lamps lit in the room, one on the left and one on the right of the incense burner, and the light was quite bright.
Granny Qi leaned back on the armchair, slowly playing with her Buddhist beads, and spoke with drooping eyelids, "I've heard about the fog from Xiaocheng."
The name Xiaocheng made Chen Yang and the others feel a little awkward. The bearded and ferocious captain sounded like a child in her mouth.
"The fog won't dissipate anytime soon, so we'll have to let you stay at Li Dafu's house." Granny Qi said calmly, "Now that something unexpected has happened on the island, I hope we can understand our poor hospitality."
It looked like he was just about to say "old man".
Granny Qi stopped counting her Buddhist beads, picked up the teacup gracefully and sipped the tea. Then she gently put the cup back. Her face was wrinkled and she looked over with a kind look.
"Also, no matter how beautiful the scenery on the island is, it is not as important as your own safety. I hope you all stay at Li Dafu's house and don't go out unless necessary. Don't touch the old tree in front of his house. When the fog clears, I will send a boat to take you out to sea."
He closed his eyes as soon as he finished speaking and started counting the Buddhist beads again.
Seeing that no one said anything, Zhang Yan asked, "Grandma Qi, how is Li Dafu now?"
Granny Qi: “Crazy.”
The room was filled with silence.
Chen Yang saw that the old man had a jade bracelet on his wrist, which was crystal clear, and there was also a blood jade ring on the hand that was picking up the Buddhist beads. They were all good things.
Set against the loose skin, it gives a feeling of being both fresh and old.
"What about Aunt Liu?" Chen Yang asked.
“That’s crazy too.”
Granny Qi sighed compassionately, "The crazy ones will hurt others, so I have no choice but to lock them up temporarily."
No one said anything. Two people died and two went crazy in one night.
Also, where are they being held? Are they really just being held
Chen Yang observed this over 100-year-old woman, wondering what role she played in this curse and whether she had noticed that the box was missing.
The curse had begun, and it was coming with such force that she would do something.
"Granny Qi, we all believe in science, but now something has happened on the island that we have never heard of. We are panicking, but we can't leave," Zhao Yuan choked up, "Are we going to be okay?"
As he spoke he shuddered, and he wasn't pretending; he was truly frightened to the point of losing his soul.
Granny Qi looked at him kindly: "As long as you cooperate, everything will be fine."
Zhao Yuan: “…”
This is even more frightening. Cooperate? How to cooperate? You won't make strange requests to them, right
Lin Yue, who had been silent for a long time, said coldly: "Is it really the work of the gods?"
The kindness and elegance of Granny Qi finally showed a crack, revealing the awe hidden underneath: "Girl, what you said is very disrespectful. How could the gods cause trouble? The gods can only bless and punish!"
Lin Yue pretended to be relieved: "If that's the case, then I'm relieved. We are not from the island. We have only been here for one day and have not done anything bad. I believe the gods will not harm innocent people."
"But..." She changed the subject and seemed to be talking to herself anxiously, "I just don't know if the one who killed Aunt Liu's youngest son and Li Dafu's mother was a punishment from the gods. What if it was an evil spirit?"
Granny Qi looked at her expressionlessly, and the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes were all knowing.
Sensing danger, Lin Yue's nails that were digging into the armrest of the wooden chair broke, and her fragile nerve endings were trembling. She couldn't help but want to take the initiative and picked up the chair to smash it.
"Granny Qi, we're leaving first!"
Chen Yang stood up immediately, pulled up the boy who was dozing with his head down, winked at Zhang Yan and Zhao Yuan without saying anything, and asked them to call Lin Yue.
The group left quickly.
Lin Yue was not in a good mental state, and no one held on to her impulsive and risky attempt.
There were some gains as Grandma Qi's reaction was as they expected.
The key is to know what evil is.
There are lights on in every household on the island. Now no one goes out, and no one dares to blow out the lights, for fear that something will run into the house, so they just keep them lit.
Chen Yang said as he walked: "The fog must be caused by a curse. Just like what Old Lady Li said before she passed away, no one can leave. No one can leave."
Zhao Yuan's face turned pale, and he comforted himself: "It's okay. The fog won't dissipate. It's the people on the island who are trapped, not us."
"The mission is to stay for two days. We can hold on for one more day. When the time is up, we don't need to take the boat. We can go back directly in the blink of an eye."
Zhang Yan's voice came from behind: "I'm afraid it's not that simple."
Several people stopped to look at him.
Except for the young man, he was still walking forward with crutches, and Chen Yang grabbed his clothes from behind.
Zhang Yan said to Chen Yang: "When I was on the boat, I heard from you that Li Dafu said we were going to stay on the island for two days, so I thought it was a mission and we could complete it as long as we lived long enough."
Zhao Yuan couldn't help but interrupt: "Isn't it?"
"Now it seems that I was misled by the information." Zhang Yan said solemnly, "The mission should be to find out the curse, which has nothing to do with time."
Zhao Yuan shuddered, "That is to say, even if we stay here for two days, or three days, or four days, as long as we don't find out what the curse is and can't stop it, we will still have to stay on the island and face the curse outbreak? Then we are doomed, right?!"
Zhang Yan was about to say something when Lin Yue interrupted him: "What is there to discuss?"
"We'll know tomorrow morning whether the mission is to survive on the island for two days or not." Lin Yue's mental state became worse, his face was distorted, and his voice became cold and shrill.
Zhang Yan looked at her from behind and frowned, "Hey, her mood is getting more and more unstable."
A worried tone.
Zhao Yuan sighed from the bottom of his heart: "You two are friends for life."
Chen Yang, who was a few steps behind, said: "..."
Lin Yue was the first one to arrive at Li Dafu's house. She didn't go in, but stood in front of the door without looking around, waiting for others to arrive before going in.
Zhang Yan and Zhao Yuan didn't look at it for long and hurriedly crossed the threshold. They ignored the tree roots that were burned by fire in front of the door.
Chen Yang took a look and found that the soil around the tree roots had been dug up into a mess, but the black roots were firmly embedded in it. It was unknown how deep they had gone and they could not be dug out.
The people on the island didn’t dare to dig anymore, and it became like this.
Charcoal tree root nails are usually nailed in front of the door.
Chen Yang turned around and asked the boy behind him: "What do you think?"
The boy's voice was filled with sleepiness: "No."
Chen Yang felt a little sympathy for him when he saw him walking a long way with crutches tonight without saying a word. But then he thought that he was most likely the reason why he was put in this hellhole, an illegal resident, and his mood became even more complicated.
"Do you have any more of the milk tablets I gave you?"
The young man paused, stared at him for a while, then raised his cane and pointed at the tree roots in silence: "Death and rebirth."
Something flashed through Chen Yang's mind, but he couldn't grasp it: "What do you mean?"
The boy said nothing.
Seeing that he didn't say anything more, Chen Yang touched his nose and said, "Two people died tonight. The curse spreads very quickly. I don't know what will happen tomorrow."
The boy opened the wooden door wider, put his crutch in, and then his right foot: "Come in, close the door."
Chen Yang sighed at an inappropriate time. The man's pronunciation had become smooth without him noticing, and there was no trace of the initial awkwardness. He trotted after him and asked, "Do you have any plans?"
Young man: "Go into the mountains at daybreak."
Then he said, "Just you and me, no one else."
"Okay, let's go secretly."
When Chen Yang turned around to close the door, he saw something and his breathing suddenly stopped.
A thin green branch grew out from the black roots, swaying vigorously towards him in the night.
It was like the old lady was waving to him.
Chen Yang seemed to have lost his mind. He took a step toward that side, but a strong force from behind pulled him back.
He was still a little dazed: "The old lady has something to tell me."
The young man pulled him, and added strength to his five fingers: "What did you say?"
Chen Yang came back to his senses in pain. He looked at the still shaking branch and felt a chill down his spine: "... Let me fertilize her?"
The boy released his arm.
Chen Yang felt that the carbonized tree roots were reviving, and his heart began to beat wildly: "There is fertilizer in the utility room, how about I go get some and try?"
Boy: "Those fertilizers cannot be moved."
"Why?"
"You'll know tomorrow." The boy pulled him in, pushed the wooden door with his crutch, and slammed it shut.
As soon as the door closed, the tender branch drooped down.