Although he was mentally prepared, Zhou Jiayu still felt a shock in his heart when he heard what the residents of the town said about Sheshan.
The residents of the town seem to have a very good relationship with the Sheshan Xu Clan. When they talk about this, they are full of regrets.
"The night before yesterday, everyone in the town heard a loud bang." It was the aunt from the guest house who spoke, she was wearing a thick padded jacket and sighed, "Then black smoke began to rise from the sky, and it was too dark at that time. It was late, and no one noticed it, and by the time we found it, it was almost morning..."
"Has the fire been extinguished?" Lin Jue asked.
"It should be extinguished. I could still see the open fire before, but I can't see it now. Sheshan is far away from here, and the mountain road is rugged. Even if the fire is on, there is no way to go up for a while." The aunt said, "What is it like now? No one knows..." She said this and shook her head, "A few people from the Xu family have come down now, but they are all in the hospital, most of them are unconscious and can't ask the above situation."
Lin Jue asked some more news, and finally thanked the aunt, and the group hurried to the hospital in the town.
This town is located deep in the mountains, and the medical facilities are not advanced, and can only do the most basic treatment. After they arrived at the hospital, they saw the people from the Xu family who came down from the mountain in the mouth of the aunt. Most of these people were relatively young, and the oldest one seemed to be only fourteen or fifteen years old. They lay on the hospital bed, all in a coma.
"The doctor said it was inhaling poisonous smoke." Lin Jue inquired about the situation of these people as a relative before she came in. She said, "We should not be the only ones who came here. I heard from the doctor that there were also several groups of people who came here before. Pass."
"Yeah." Lin Zhushui said, "The people who are closer to here are here first, and they should have already climbed the mountain." He checked several Xu clan members who seemed to be in a coma, and determined that they were indeed inhaled. Toxic smoke, not a case of evil or something.
"Let's go too." Lin Jue said, "Hurry over as soon as possible. After all, not everyone who comes here is so kind." Xu's paper control skills are well-known in their industry. Dare to use their brains, but at this time of the disaster, it is inevitable that some people will save their minds.
"Okay." Lin Zhushui agreed.
So they immediately decided not to wait any longer and went straight up the mountain on foot. Fortunately, the temperature is not too low at this time, although snow falls, but it will not hinder walking.
The group made preparations in a hurry and began to rush to Sheshan.
The billowing black smoke became the target. Along the way, the little paper figurines shrank in Zhou Jiayu's arms, sobbing sadly. Zhou Jiayu was very distressed but could not comfort him.
The mountain road was difficult to climb, but they did not dare to slow down, because on the side of the road they found traces of other people coming. Obviously, some people had already climbed the mountain and went to Sheshan.
Zhou Jiayu prayed in his heart, hoping that there were still survivors on Sheshan.
Departing in the morning, they finally reached their destination when it was almost dark in the afternoon.
When he reached the end of the winding mountain road and saw that the place he once lived had turned into ruins, Zhou Jiayu stopped and breathed.
Shen Yiqiong and Shen Musi had been here before, and when they saw the scene in front of them, they were all unbearable.
"How could this happen." Shen Yiqiong said blankly, "Isn't their paper indestructible? Why are they all gone..."
The paper house, which was supposed to be able to easily withstand the fire, turned into black ashes, and white snow fell on it and mixed with the ashes to form a blood-chilling mottled color.
The only thing fortunate is that they were in the ashes and did not see the bodies of the Xu clan.
"Since you haven't seen anyone, you might still be alive." Lin Jue's expression was complicated, and she turned to Zhou Jiayu and said, "Jiayu, ask Xiao Zhi to see if Xiao Zhi has any clues."
Zhou Jiayu took the little paper out of his arms, and the little paper was shrunk into a ball, choking hard, looking very sad.
"Xiao Zhi." Zhou Jiayu touched its head, soothing its emotions, "Xiao Zhi, can you feel where the others are?"
Xiao Zhi shook his head and whispered, "It's gone, it's gone."
It seems to have been repeating this sentence since arriving at Sheshan. Zhou Jiayu opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but Lin Zhushui interrupted him softly.
"Let's go and have a look at the ancestral tree." Lin Zhushui said, "The people of the Xu family will protect the ancestral tree even if they sacrifice their lives."
This is true, Zhou Jiayu nodded.
"You guys stay here and see if there are any other people, Zhou Jiayu and I will go there and see." Lin Zhushui ordered, "That is the forbidden area of the Xu family, most people are best not to go in, you check the surrounding area. , and see if you can find something."
Lin Jue said, "Go, be careful."
Lin Zhushui took Zhou Jiayu to the direction of the ancestral tree. When Mr. Xu took them to the ancestral tree, he used the paper man to pull the sleigh as a means of transportation. Now that the paper man is gone, Lin Zhushui is there I found a few pieces of dead wood in the nearby woods, and then took out a few pieces of paper from my arms and folded them into the shape of a paper crane.
The paper crane made of paper flapped its wings and fluttered, then flew under the dead wood and lifted it up, while Zhou Jiayu sat on the wood and was lifted up by them together.
"Let's go." Lin Zhushui gave an order, and Zhi He rushed out. Their speed was so fast that Zhou Jiayu had to bend down and hug the wood under him so that he would not fall off.
Lin Zhushui was behind him, and the two rushed towards the place where the ancestral tree was.
Zhou Jiayu didn't know how long he had been on the wood, anyway, when the wood stopped, his whole face became cold, and he couldn't stop rubbing his cheeks with his hands.
Lin Zhushui quickly checked the surrounding situation, and then frowned: "Someone has come."
Zhou Jiayu said, "Someone went in?"
Lin Zhu was noncommittal and just walked forward.
Soon, the two of them arrived at the cave where the ancestral tree had been taken by Mr. Xu a year ago. As soon as he arrived at the door, Zhou Jiayu took a deep breath, because the huge iron gate that should have stood at the entrance of the cave had been destroyed. The door seemed to be slammed open by something, revealing an irregular hole big enough for two people to pass through.
Xiao Zhi suddenly jumped out of Zhou Jiayu's arms and rushed in towards the door.
"Little Paper!" Zhou Jiayu didn't catch it, and watched it run forward at an extremely fast speed. Zhou Jiayu chased after it and entered the iron gate.
Behind the iron gate is a winding tunnel. Zhou Jiayu remembered that Mr. Xu once said that these tunnels are measures to protect the ancestral tree. If you go the wrong way, you will never be able to get out. But Xiao Zhi's speed was too fast, but in the blink of an eye, Zhou Jiayu lost it.
"Little Paper!!" Zhou Jiayu was anxious as he called out Xiaozhi's name, and his voice echoed in the tunnel.
A pair of hands gently pressed his shoulders, and Lin Zhushui's voice came: "Zhou Jiayu."
"Sir, Xiao Zhi ran away." Zhou Jiayu worried, "Will it get lost?"
Lin Zhushui said, "No, Xiaozhi is the child of Ancestral Tree. He is born with senses and won't get lost." He took Zhou Jiayu's hand and said, "Follow me."
Zhou Jiayu was relieved.
Lin Zhushui led Zhou Jiayu forward. Along the way, Zhou Jiayu didn't see anything strange. There was no Xu family or outsiders. The tunnel was extremely silent, and they could only hear them stepping on the ground. footsteps.
The environment here is very similar, and there are forks everywhere. If people who are not familiar with come in, they will definitely get lost in it. But Zhou Jiayu had great confidence in Lin Zhushui. He held Lin Zhushui's hand and followed his footsteps, heading in the right direction.
About ten minutes later, a familiar huge rock entered Zhou Jiayu's eyes. Zhou Jiayu remembered this rock, and it seemed that as long as he walked around, he could see the ancestral tree growing in the pit.
"Xiao Zhi!!" Zhou Jiayu called Xiao Zhi's name again.
However, when he slowly bypassed the giant rock and reached the edge of the cliff where the ancestral tree should have grown, Zhou Jiayu was stunned by the scene in front of him.
I saw that the deep pit where the ancestral tree should have grown was empty at this time, the sturdy towering tree was gone, and there was no trace of it left around.
"The ancestral tree is gone??" Zhou Jiayu was incredulous, he quickly ran to the edge of the cliff and looked down.
It was still dark under the cliff, and it was difficult to see what was going on inside, but the only thing that was certain was that the lifeblood of the Xu clan, the huge ancestral tree, was gone.
Zhou Jiayu stood still, unable to understand the scene in front of him for a while.
Lin Zhushui also walked to Zhou Jiayu's side, but he didn't seem to focus on the cliff, but tilted his head slightly, his eyebrows twisted into an unpleasant arc.
"Xu Jinghuo." Lin Zhushui suddenly said.
When Zhou Jiayu heard the name, he looked in the direction Lin Zhushui was facing, and actually saw a figure slowly emerging in the dark.
"Long time no see." Xu Jinghuo's voice was hoarse, he stood against the light, making it difficult to see his appearance.
Zhou Jiayu asked sharply: "Xu Jinghuo, did you do all this? Where did you get the ancestral tree? Where is Xiao Zhi?!" It was the first time he was so angry with a person, He even wanted to roll up his sleeves and beat him up.
Xu Jinghuo laughed out loud when he heard the words, but the laugh was worse than crying, he said, "I, Xu Jinghuo, belonged to the Xu family, and died to the ghost of the Xu family, and everything I did. , they are all right about their own Xu family."
Lin Zhushui said, "I believe you."
Zhou Jiayu didn't expect Lin Zhushui to say this, and was about to ask a question, when he heard Lin Zhushui continue: "If you betray the Xu Clan, you will never have a chance to be resurrected again."
It turns out that Zhou Jiayu vaguely remembered that Lin Zhushui had said this before, but he had almost forgotten it.
Just when a few people were talking, Xiao Zhi, who didn't know where he was going, appeared behind Xu Jinghuo. It was holding Xu Jinghuo's leg and was choking and crying, like a wronged man. child.
"Little Paper—" Zhou Jiayu called it worriedly.
Xu Jinghuo heard Zhou Jiayu's call, reached out and patted Xiao Zhi's head lightly, his voice sounded a little gentle, and he said, "Go."
The paper did not move.
"Go." Xu Jinghuo said, "The ancestral tree is gone. There are only branches left in your father's place, enough to support you to grow up..."
When Xiao Zhi heard Xu Jinghuo's words, he opened his mouth and cried a few times, and finally moved slowly and walked towards Zhou Jiayu.
Zhou Jiayu quickly stepped forward to catch it, hugged it firmly in his arms, and said that it was all right.
"The Xu family is gone." Xu Jinghuo said, "I expected this day long ago." His eyes fell into the bottomless abyss, "But fate is like this, you know what will happen to it, But there's nothing I can do." He said with a smile, "It's a joke."
Lin Zhushui frowned, "Xu Jinghuo, what did you encounter?"
Xu Jinghuo said, "Mr. Lin, do you think the Xu family will have this disaster?"
Lin Zhushui shook his head.
Xu Jinghuo said: "The calamity that you can't even count has happened." He said, "But I already knew it, I knew it for a long time, I told Elder Xu and he knew it, but he did it. Wrong choice." He roared, "No matter how important the ancestral tree is, it is just a tree. If there are no people, it will be gone—what if the Xu family can't control paper? Without paper, we can't live on. Is it?" His shoulders shook violently, and it could be seen that his emotions were extremely intense at this time.
"Where did the fire come from?" Lin Zhushui said.
Xu Jinghuo said: "The fire from the sky will destroy the ancestral tree." He said hoarsely, "The Xu family can choose to leave, but they didn't. They wanted to protect the tree, but they died here in the end." Speaking of this, it seems that I want to understand something, "Yes, this is numerology, it is the way of heaven, and it is no wonder that no one can calculate-"
But Xu Jinghuo knew about this fate that no one should know about.
Zhou Jiayu listened to the conversation between Xu Jinghuo and Lin Zhushui, and felt that there was too much information hidden in it, and his mind was a little confused for a while.
Lin Zhushui sighed lightly, and said, "Xu Jinghuo, for some clans, if they lose their roots, they lose everything. The Xu clan has controlled paper for a hundred years, and paper is the root." He pointed to Zhou Jiayuhuai. Little Paper, who said nothing, "What would you do if you saw these paper figures turned to ashes in front of you?"
After Xu Jinghuo's expression froze for a long time, he moved his lips slightly: "Am I wrong?" He looked at the small paper, and then at the abyss in front of him, the whole person's breath began to become extremely weak, as if What a huge blow, which even made him lose his desire to live.
"Fire comes from the sky, enters the ancestral tree, and burns the Xu family." Xu Jinghuo said, "Man-made disasters can be avoided, natural disasters can be avoided, and ways to control rigidity are inevitable.
Lin Zhushui frowned, "Even to understand Xu's calamity, you've got too many lives on your hands."
"I know." Xu Jinghuo said, "I know, I did what I should do and what I shouldn't do, but it's useless, useless." After saying this, he took out a transparent bag from his pocket. The bag, Zhou Jiayu saw that the bag was full of black ashes, which looked like it was formed after the paper was burnt out by fire.
"My paper figurines are gone." Xu Jinghuo said, "They have been with me for twenty-six years." He slowly bent over and pressed the bag tightly to his chest, "I am the last Xu family. Adult, Mr. Lin, I have something to trust."
Lin Zhushui said, "You say it."
Xu Jinghuo said: "Please look at Old Xu's face and take care of the few remaining members of the Xu family. They are still young and can integrate into the world..."
Lin Zhushui said, "Where are you going?"
Xu Jinghuo didn't answer.
Lin Zhushui seemed to want to say something, but there were footsteps running from the depths of the tunnel. Zhou Jiayu looked towards the entrance of the cave and saw several people in Taoist clothes appear at the entrance of the cave. They were inside, also showing surprised expressions.
"Mr. Lin." The man in the lead with white beard and white hair, holding a whisk, stepped forward and called.
"Master Zhang." Lin Zhushui's tone was a little cold.
"Your movements are really fast." The person who was called Daochang Zhang by Lin Zhushui walked in slowly and saw Zhou Jiayu, "What did you find?"
Zhou Jiayu turned his head to look at where Xu Jinghuo was originally, but found that he who was supposed to be there was gone.
"No." Lin Zhushui said, "Let's go, Jiayu."
Zhou Jiayu hummed and followed Lin Zhushui.
The Taoist's eyes turned to Zhou Jiayu. He saw the paper figurine in Zhou Jiayu's arms, and his eyes suddenly became hot: "Did Mr. Lin find a way to control paper?"
Lin Zhushui pointed at the cliff behind him.
Zhang Daoren said, "Mr. Lin, what does this mean?"
Lin Zhushui said, "You can find it by jumping down."
Zhang Daoren: "..." He heard his expression twisted, obviously he understood that Lin Zhushui was deliberately mocking him.
"Mr. Lin..." Zhang Daoren was about to say something, but Lin Zhushui had already led Zhou Jiayu out. Although he was dissatisfied, he didn't dare to be hard with Lin Zhushui, so he could only order his disciples angrily. They checked around to see if they could find any clues about the Xu family's paper control.
Zhou Jiayu followed Lin Zhushui out of the cave where the ancestral tree was, and he said, "Sir, is it okay to keep those people inside?"
"Well." Lin Zhushui said, "The ancestral tree is gone, let them go."
Zhou Jiayu said, "What exactly are they trying to do?"
Lin Zhushui said: "Whenever an ancient family falls, some people are like vultures hovering above, wanting to share. Although these people hate it, they are unavoidable."
Zhou Jiayu understood, and his impression of those people inside suddenly became extremely bad.
After Lin Zhushui took Zhou Jiayu out of the cave, he went straight to the river connected to the underground river in the cave. in the freezing river. Zhou Jiayu actually saw the bodies of the Xu clan.
Of course, the number of these corpses was not large, but Zhou Jiayu saw Old Xu, the patriarch who gave him the paper.
The moment Xiao Zhi saw Old Xu's body, he lay down by the river and began to cry. He cried extremely sadly, and his tears fell to the ground. When he left the Xu family, although Xiao Zhi followed Zhou Jiayu since childhood, this land was its source.
Zhou Jiayu touched it and didn't speak, he knew that the language was pale at this time.
Lin Zhushui took out a talisman paper, lit it, and threw it directly into the river. The flame on the talisman paper was not extinguished, but directly ignited the corpse in the river, and then burned it to ashes. Zhou Jiayu watched that the ashes were not washed away by the water, but slowly sank under the riverbed.
Lin Zhushui's lips pursed into a straight line, and his expression was full of solemnity. Finally, he nodded slowly to the place where the ashes were in the river.
"Let's go." Lin Zhushui said.
Zhou Jiayu hummed.
On the way back, Zhou Jiayu asked Lin Zhushui, saying that the ancestral tree is so big, even if it encounters a fire, shouldn't there be some wreckage left.
Lin Zhushui just said that the feasibility is very small, because as long as the branches are left, there must be a paper figurine that is still alive. If the paper figurine is gone, then the ancestral tree still has wreckage. It should not exist.
Zhou Jiayu touched the small piece of paper when he heard the words, and his mood was a little complicated. He had always thought that the ancestral branches given to him by Mr. Xu were too valuable, but now that he thinks about it, he thinks that Mr. Xu may have expected the Xu family today. Doomsday.
It's just that he didn't understand what the natural disaster in Xu Jinghuo's mouth actually meant.
They left the ancestral tree and returned to the place where the Xu family was to meet with Lin Jue and the others. Zhou Jiayu didn't expect that when they went back, there were actually a lot of people on the top of the mountain. Most of these people should be dressed in feng shui families, and they appeared to be in a hurry.
Lin Jue was talking to someone, Zhou Jiayu looked over, and found that Xu Ruizang and his family had actually come. Lin Jue was talking with Xu Ruizang's master Xu Jian.
"I'm back." Seeing them, Lin Jue turned around and asked, "Is it going well?"
Lin Zhushui shook his head.
Lin Jue sighed, knowing that something must have happened to the ancestral tree, she said, "How could this happen..." With the ancestral tree gone, the Xu family is completely over. This clan will be crossed off from the roster of Feng Shui masters. Although the method of paper control is still circulating among the people, the disappearance of the biggest clan is probably a foregone conclusion. In a few years, those magical paper figurines will probably only become legends that later generations will doubt.
"Let's go, go to town and see those children." Lin Zhushui said.
"Okay." Lin Jue nodded.
They were about to leave when Xu Jian stopped him, "Mr. Lin."
Lin Zhushui said, "Yes."
Xu Jian said: "Mr. Lin, I have something to ask."
Lin Zhushui said, "You ask."
Xu Jian said: "Xu's trouble, is it a natural disaster or a man-made disaster?"
Lin Zhushui said, "Natural disaster."
His answer made Xu Jian look surprised. Obviously, he did not expect that the Xu family had wiped out the clan because of a natural disaster. "Can Mr. Lin reveal what kind of natural disaster?"
Lin Zhushui raised his eyes slightly: "We can only guess one or two, maybe it's Heavenly Fire." But it doesn't matter what it is now, they can't seek revenge from God.
"So what?" Xu Jian sighed, "It's really a pity..."
Lin Zhushui nodded at Xu Jian and planned to leave. It's just that the people on the mountain all seemed to want to ask Lin Zhushui something. At first, a few senior people found Lin Zhushui, but Lin Zhushui reluctantly perfunctory. Without saying a word, he continued to walk forward with a few apprentices.
Lin Jue was also annoyed. On the way down the mountain, he kept cursing in a low voice, saying that he would not be afraid of retribution if he eats the dead.
Lin Zhushui didn't answer, he just told Lin Jue to contact the hospital outside. He wanted to transfer the remaining minor Xu clan members out for treatment.
Lin Jue said ok, but she was a little worried that those people on the mountain would disagree. After all, these people might keep the last secret of the Xu family.
"I need their approval?" Lin Zhushui sneered, "I want to see, who would dare to stop me."
The author has something to say: Zhou Jiayu: Good, Xiao Zhi is not sad anymore, touch, touch.
Lin Zhushui: I'm not happy either.
Zhou Jiayu: Then, then I will touch Mr.
Lin Zhushui said: Help me touch where
Zhou Jiayu's face flushed instantly.