A week after Tingting's foot injury healed, she and Chubby met a new friend in the alley named Lu Pan. This Luban is one year younger than Tingting, the same age as Chubby. Although this person has lived in the alley for some years, he hardly leaves home except for school every day, and the school he attends is also a central primary school more than ten miles away, so Tingting and Xiaopang naturally have no chance to see him. And this time the three of them can become friends, thanks to the fate of an old tree.

At the end of the crooked main road of Huajie Lane, it will be divided into two paths, one of which does not have the usual paved bluestone slabs, but is just a loess path that is stepped on in the evergreen grass of the four seasons. The loess is as soft as sand, and the dust brings the eyes of pedestrians into the distance, and at the end of the path, there is a majestic temple. The temple is very peculiar, it is said that it was used by primitive magicians to worship decades ago, and it was once deserted and dusty, and the cobwebs were thick. But ten years ago, there was a family that moved some furniture in, and there were eight or nine people, who have been living until now. On weekdays, the man goes out with a briefcase in a suit every day, and his behavior is quite a bit of a social animal's complaint, he never responds to the greetings of his neighbors, and his head is bowed and his face is full of misanthropy. The hostess was a thin woman of about thirty years old, and she happened to take a girl who looked like a servant to the convenience store at the entrance of the alley to pick up some bags of snacks. The door of the temple is very large, and when it is opened, you can see most of the wide courtyard at a glance, and in the middle of the courtyard is a dark old locust tree, with almost no leaves, and only a handful of green shoots will be drawn every spring. From a distance, the intricately coiled black branches looked more like the roots of a tree underground, planted upside down as if the cart had been put before the horse. In the hot summer evening, there will always be three or two old people with similar faces lying on the rocking chair under the tree, the pu fan swaying slightly, driving the old man's silver wire to reflect, flashing the eyes of curious people in the distance.

Tingting and Chubby have little affection or interest in this mysterious but gloomy family, but the two often look at the strange old tree when they pass by. Tingting still remembers that when she first moved to Huajie Lane, it was a summer. When I first came to this old alley house, I felt that the deep environment here was very different from the life of the former factory dormitory, so I couldn't wait to visit everywhere, and plunged into the temple by mistake, and then I saw Lao Huai.

Originally, the two only thought it was an old tree with a strange appearance, but as time went by, it became a little strange. One day, they played too much and forgot the time to return home, and when they came back to their senses, it was already moonlight, and when the two of them walked near the backyard of Little Fatty's house, a pleasant nightingale made them look at the temple in the distance through the sparse old forest. Now Xiaopang is interested again, and he doesn't care whether Tingting wants to or not, he dragged her over. When you get closer, the wall on the side of the church can't hide the outstretched branches of the old tree, and there is a faint light around the branches, probably the slowly rising circle of moon.

"It's so beautiful." Chubby pointed to the old tree. Half of it was heartfelt, and the originally black and smooth branches reflected the moonlight as if they were sprinkled with silver.

Tingting nodded. The temples at this time must have been closed, they could neither stand too close, nor too far, too close to see, too far to see clearly. This scene aroused the doubt in Tingting's heart, "Little Fatty, do you know how many years this old locust tree has lived?" ”

"I don't know."

"I always felt that there was something strange about this tree, like the branches growing in the soil and the roots being exposed. I've never seen it grow leaves. ”

Xiaopang was silent for a while, his face was less pleasant and more serious, "Xiaoting, tell you something, you may not believe it." But I remember that the tree was nowhere near that tall before. ”

"Huh?"

No matter how you look at it, this tree looks like a dying old tree, and it took me an unknown number of years to reach this height. Xiaopang is only in his early tens, how can he witness the obvious growth of Lao Huai. Thinking like this, Tingting expressed disbelief, "This ...... Unlikely. It feels like this tree will die of old age at any time, you see that it doesn't even grow branches and leaves, how can it grow taller with the naked eye. ”

"It's true! I remember very well that when I was very young, this tree was not as tall as the courtyard wall. ”

"Maybe you were too short to see it." Tingting sneered, but sank his face in hindsight. Indeed, if you can't see the old tree from the little fat house, it must be covered by the wall, which has nothing to do with height. Thinking of this, she suddenly remembered the first time she accidentally broke into the courtyard temple, and the old locust tree at that time did not seem to be as tall as it is now. So, she changed her opinion, "Chubby, you seem to be right." ”

"Right." Chubby continued: "I thought it was strange, I asked my dad, but my dad didn't notice it at all. ”

"Wait!" Tingting realized that he had missed a very important point, "You say, this old tree was not as high as the courtyard wall before?" ”

The height of the wall was only three meters, but now the trunk of the old tree was level with the wall, and the entire crown was exposed by the forked branches that stretched upward. Tingting was a little shocked, why didn't he notice it earlier, he always felt that this was just an old tree that would collapse in a storm at any time, who would have thought that the old tree was still growing wildly. When did you have a preconceived idea that this is a locust tree? It's just the unanimous name of everyone in the alley, but now Tingting has doubts about it.

"Haven't your family been living here all along? At the current rate of growth of this tree, your father will surely find out after so many years. ”

Chubby scratched his head, "It's true that I was born here, but my parents didn't stay here for long. It seems like I was born not long after they moved here. ”

The two of them knew very little about the old tree, and their random speculation was just in vain. So Xiaopang slammed his palm with his fist, his eyes full of excitement, "Yo Xi, the old tree investigation team is officially established!" Vice Captain, let's find a chance to investigate a good wave. ”

"I didn't say I wanted to join."

"Hey, hey, you don't want to know the secret of this tree? Maybe this tree is an endangered species that few people know about, maybe it's still a new species, don't you want to discover new species? If you are indispensable, it will be named after you when the time comes, and it will be called 'Xianting Tree'. ”

Tingting was frightened by Chubby's mysterious appearance and nodded. She was still very curious about it. Soon, the two of them stopped talking, and both quietly watched the moon slowly emerging from the branches. In the night, the tiles connected by the eaves of the temple are like fish scales, glowing with a row of faint light, and the withered cotton remains on the wall are polished and brought to life, and the whole temple looks beautiful and mysterious.

The next Sunday, the two took advantage of the open door of the temple to look around and go in to disturb them, and there were still two old men and an old lady sitting inside. Chubby politely asks them about the old locust tree, but is thrown out of the hospital after a few blank eyes. Just as the two of them were angry and disappointed, the sharp-eyed little fat saw a little boy squatting and playing with dead branches on the side of the outer courtyard, which was Lu Pan.

Xiaopang looks like he is familiar with himself, learning from the landlord's son who is pacing with his back to his back, and bowing his hips, which is a nonsense meal. This Lu Pan usually doesn't have any playmates, but at the beginning he was nervous about being startled, and then he chatted with Xiaopang. The two hooked shoulders and put their backs together, talking and laughing, and Tingting on the side only listened to the topic between the boys, and couldn't insert a word, so they could only laugh silently.

At first, Xiaopang was chatting with Lu Pan about the latest cartoons, but as he chatted, he found that Lu Pan really lived in the temple. Lu Pan also told the truth that his family lived, and the old man and wife there were his grandparents and second grandfather (Lu Pan's grandfather's second brother). So, Xiaopang took the opportunity to inquire about the situation of the old tree, but at first Lu Pan refused to say anything. However, seeing his dodgy eyes, the shrewd little fat asked again and again, patted Lu Pan's shoulder vigorously, and stood up to look old, "Just tell me, we just became friends, what is the most important thing between friends?" Etiquette! You know. I've told you a lot about me and my family, now it's your turn, don't hesitate, boy, be generous! ”

This Lu Ban seems to be a little ignorant of the world, and finally made a neighbor friend of the same age, and his heart is very happy, and he can listen to the little fat pout, he is ruthless, regardless of the admonition of his father and grandfather, and tells the truth at once.

It turned out that this old locust tree was an heirloom of the Lu Pan family and was spiritual. The old tree will die naturally after ten years of growth, and then a new seedling will be born in the middle of the trunk, and the new seedling will grow back into an old tree, and so on, ten years after ten years. Lu Pan also said that he had seen the new seedling when he was very young, and he remembered that the trunk of the old tree would naturally split in half as if it had been split by an axe, revealing a small and inconspicuous black mass inside, and the small ball would suddenly pull out a slender twig, and then the twig would gradually glow, and it was actually a leafless seedling. At that time, he was still being held in his father's arms, and it stands to reason that the things he saw at that age had long been forgotten. But the emerald brilliance of Xinmiao's whole body was deeply engraved in his mind like an imprint, and even when he closed his eyes, he would emerge. Ever since he saw the new seedlings, Lu Pan's father would peel some tree buds and grind them into powder for him to take before going to bed, and there would always be some strange dreams.

Those dreams were real and terrifying, because he had dreamed that he was an orangutan-like monster with horned wolf face, wreaking havoc and eating human blood everywhere. The monster was large enough to overlook the curvature of the horizon, and he could feel the ground tremble slightly as soon as he lifted his foot. He would also dream of walking with strange beasts in the form of lions and giant elephants, but they all seemed to be simply killing.

These dreams troubled Lu Pan very much, and the dream pictures often flashed during class, causing him to have difficulty concentrating, and his academic performance was also below average, and he was always blamed by his parents. But these grievances seem to be compensated, Lu Pan has never been sick since he was born, even in the coldest winter, running naked in the snow does not have to worry about catching a cold, he feels that most of this is the drug factor of the old locust tree to make himself healthy.

Speaking of this, Lu Pan looked like a thief, and told Xiaopang and Tingting not to tell others, saying that if his father knew about it, he would definitely cut him. Although Xiaopang is usually an unreasonable person like a little bandit, he is not a bad guy to the bone, at most he communicates and shares with Tingting, and he will definitely not tell others, so he quickly nodded and patted his chest in agreement.

Tingting, on the other hand, had another question about Lu Pan's words, "Since it is a family heirloom, what kind of value does this tree have?" Is it really just to get fit? In that case, your parents and elders should be taking it too. ”

Faced with questions, Lu Pan couldn't answer specifically, only saying that he had never seen anyone other than himself take it. In this way, Tingting knew that his father must have deliberately concealed something. Since this tree is ground into a powder that can strengthen the body after taking it, it is really puzzling that the rest of Lu Pan's family members did not benefit from it. And their family is so mysterious and secretive, where to live is not good, they have to live in this dilapidated temple, and they plant a strange tree that is constantly reborn, there must be a reason for it, but it must not be asked from Lu Pan's mouth.

When it comes to the value of ordinary plants as family heirlooms, there are only two possibilities. One is as an expensive wood, such as the furniture of golden silk nanmu; The second is the highly effective medicinal value, such as thousand-year-old Ganoderma lucidum ginseng. And Tingting's thoughts don't stop there, since she came into contact with the term magician, ordinary life has always fluctuated in her eyes, she suspected that this old tree might have something to do with magic, so she then asked, "Lu Pan, did anyone in your family ever have a magician?" ”

Lu Pan blurted out, "Yes, my dad is, he goes to the office every day." I've been there, and there are a lot of other magicians under him. Oh, and my grandfather and second grandfather used to be, but now they are both retired and no longer working. ”

Now Tingting dared to be sure, although Lu Pan couldn't say why, this unreasonable old tree must have something to do with their family's magician bloodline. The trip was "fruitful", Tingting said goodbye to Lu Pan with satisfaction, but Chubby was a little disappointed, probably because he felt that he had missed the opportunity to discover new species.

When the three of them said goodbye, they categorically never thought that this was one of the few opportunities for them to talk and cherish.

After school on Friday the following week, Tingting and Chubby decided to go to Xunluban to play again, and when the two of them reached the door of the temple, they found that the gray-purple gate was closed. Chubby muttered a few swear words, indeed, at this point in time, it was a little unusual to close the door tightly, as if he knew in advance that they were coming and deliberately closed the door to thank customers. With his right hand, he picked at Liu Ding, who had a large bowl on the door, and angrily kicked the threshold that wrapped around the lower edge of the door, leaving a shoe print with strange rules. Tingting saw that Xiaopang was so irritable and arrogant, so he pulled his clothes and comforted, "Let's go back today, anyway, we live here, and we can see him sooner or later." ”

"How does this work?"

Chubby is not a person who is afraid of things, he thinks it's a big deal to call Lu Pan out. So he raised his hand and grabbed the lion's bronze ring in front of the door, slammed the door hard, and screamed, "Is there anyone? Anyone? ”

No one answered.

Seeing Chubby grinning in front of the door like a monkey, Tingting always felt that this kind of behavior was a bit disturbing to the people, she looked around and said, "Maybe Lu Pan hasn't arrived home yet, isn't he studying in the central primary school, it seems to be quite far away......"

Chubby was stunned for a moment, scratching his head with embarrassment, "yes, that's what I said." ”

Just as the two of them took two steps back, the originally closed door actually "creaked" and slowly moved. The gap was not large, and a plainly dressed woman could be glimpsed inside, squinting at the two of them, the girl who always accompanied Lu Pan's mother. The girl looked disgusted and then closed the door, which made Tingting and Chubby look confused.

Chubby reacted first and shouted at the top of his voice, "I'll me!" They didn't see us on purpose! A pack of dogs than ! He scurried to the door, picked a sparse wooden spot on the door and struck it, the sound was strange, as if his little fist could smash through the door at any moment. What about people? Are you so afraid of seeing me? Hurry up! Come out and lick my shoes for my master! ”

"Smack!"

The door opened suddenly, and the strange-looking woman just now had an angry face on her face and shouted at Xiao Fat, "You are the little fart boy from last time, right?" Roll as far as you want, don't come here again! ”

"Why? Are you a chicken? I came to find Lu Pan, I didn't want to see you this thing, hurry up and call him out, the master wants to play with him! ”

Tingting was frightened by this scolding formation, she grabbed the little fat who kept leaning forward, and persuaded, "You talk well, maybe this is his sister...... Tingting sometimes sees Lu Pan's mother going out with this woman, but she doesn't have the term "servant" in her cognition, she just thinks it's Lu Pan's sister.

"Whatever." Chubby looked angry.

The woman grimaced and sneered twice, "Are you embarrassed to come to the young master?" He's locked up by you! ”

"Huh? By me? Chubby also greeted him with a sneer, "Funny, what am I doing?" I had a few conversations with him last time, and it was about me. ”

The woman pointed at Xiaopang, trembling and wanting to say something, but was preempted by Xiaopang, "Young master, your young master lives in a temple?" It's big, but it's not magnificent. Tsk, can't you play with us civilians? It seems that lonely people still can't get rid of that inexplicable sense of superiority, right? Chubby stuck her waist in a weird tone, choking the woman so much that she couldn't say a word, she glared at Chubby viciously and slammed the door shut. "Knock knock" twice, it seems that the lock behind the door is also closed.

No matter how Chubby abused, the door didn't open again.

A mysterious family that does not interact with the outside world, the magician bloodline, and may also be a former lonely nobleman, a strange tree that can be constantly reborn, and a tree bud powder that can strengthen the body, all these information stimulate Tingting's imagination and make her inexplicably a little excited.