Mr. Lu sighed and said, "Zhao Mang, this is fate. You've made it this far, who can blame you? Hurry up and spy on those people. lest the timing be lost. ”

I shook my head. He said, "I don't dare to go, those old people can sense my soul." If they find out, they'll have to get me back. ”

Mr. Lu smiled: "The living can hide their breath, and so can the soul. You try to hold your breath down. ”

I said confusedly, "I'm just a soul now." Where does the breath come from? ”

Mr. Lu smiled: "There is breath, you just can't feel it." If you don't have breath, those old people won't be able to catch you. You relax and give it a try. ”

I followed the method that Mr. Lu taught me and tried to suppress my breath. After a while, he said, "I don't seem to feel anything." ”

Mr. Lu said: "I have feelings. You hold back your breath just like you did just now. Those old people will never find you. ”

Then, he smiled at me and said, "You're so good, I'll go first." "Look for a number all year round.

He didn't push open the door, but put his hand on the courtyard wall, jumped and flipped in.

I stood outside the wall and wondered, "Can a little ghost suppress his breath too?" So how are we going to catch ghosts in the future? ”

I just thought about it for two seconds. I won't dwell on this issue. Because I have more important things to do.

I lowered my breath and quietly walked down the street. I feel that I am too bold now, and I am actually alone to spy on a group of demons and monsters who don't know what they are.

After a few minutes, I found the original mark. This time I didn't go down the alley, but climbed along the wall to the roof.

I slowly climbed to the eaves against the roof and looked down.

I saw that the old men were still kneeling on the ground, but they were muttering intricate syllables in their mouths, as if they were singing some song.

Their voices are weird enough, plus this murmuring song. Those who listened were creepy.

After a while, they stood up. Then they lined up and put the lanterns in a corner one by one.

The lanterns were stacked higher and higher, and finally became a mountain of lanterns.

White paper lantern with candles burning inside. After stacking like this, the temperature gets higher and higher. Soon it was burning.

The courtyard was lit with fire, and the surrounding area was as bright as day. I quickly shrunk my neck and lay on the roof, not daring to move.

I heard an old man shouting in the courtyard, as if directing the crowd to carry something. I'd love to see what they're up to, but I know that if I show up, they'll probably find out. Now I have to endure it.

I lowered my breath and lay quietly on the roof. It wasn't until the fire in the courtyard was extinguished that I poked my head out again.

I saw people coming out of the courtyard in droves. They crowded next to each other, as if they had converged into one river. And in this river, there are two papier-mâché coffins.

I wondered, "Are these old people going to the funeral?" Can a papier-mâché coffin hold a person? ”

I climbed down from the roof and followed at the back of the line. The old men didn't notice me.

I followed them all the way out of the village. A few hundred steps to the west. Granny Ai didn't lie to us, and there was indeed a large apple field to the west of the village.

The old men carried the paper coffin and walked into the apple field. I heard two old men walking in front of me talking.

The old man said, "Two more fruits." ”

The old woman said, "I don't know how long I can live, and I may not last until then." ”

The old man said, "Wait slowly. It's a blessing to wait, and if you can't wait, it's nothing. Just contribute to other people. ”

The old woman lamented: "If we continue like this, we may have to kill each other." ”

The crowd walked for a while, and then stopped. I saw a huge apple tree in front of me, and they put the coffin under it.

The old men sat down around the apple tree. He kept muttering as if he were reciting some scripture.

I sat at the back and listened to them with my head down. I got fragmented information from their words, and when I pieced it together, I gradually guessed what they were going to do.

These people believe that when a group of people get together, someone will be the emperor. A group of beasts gathered together, also with a leader. And the same is true of grass and trees, in this apple field, the tallest tree is the king of trees here.

The larger the scope of the apple land, the higher and stronger the skill of the tree king, and the strongest can absorb the essence of the sun and the moon, breathe and breathe, no different from the gods, foxes and ghosts.

These villagers believed that by offering their souls to the king of trees, the king would bear fruit. This fruit is equivalent to the peach of the Queen Mother, or the ginseng fruit of Zhenyuan Daxian. After eating, it can increase the life expectancy by 100 years.

If I had heard this kind of talk elsewhere, I would have scoffed at it and laughed at this group of foolish men and women. But not here. Because these old people are so weird, I feel that what they say may be true.

The old man's chanting was over. I heard them start whispering.

I listened for a while, and then I learned another piece of terrible news.

All along, I felt strange that from the moment we entered the village, we only saw old people. Are there any young people in this village? Or are the young people hiding in their homes and refusing to come out?

After listening to the old man's conversation, I finally understood what was going on.

When these people discovered the secret of the tree king, they began to compete for the fruit above. Almost every one of them has eaten that particular apple. It's just that the speed at which apples grow is far from keeping up with the speed at which they age.

And this tree king needs a soul to nourish him. In order to survive, these men killed their sons and daughters and buried them under apple trees. Use this vicious method to make the king of trees bear fruit and prolong his life.

I was dumbfounded, as the saying goes, tigers don't eat their children, and these people actually killed their children in order to survive.

I was shocked for a moment, then slowly relieved. This village is very closed, and the consensus of civilized society may not be able to take root in them. Maybe they have their own morals.

Perhaps these people feel that their children are like their own products, and they can dispose of them at will, without the slightest guilt in their hearts.

I suddenly understood the conversation between the old man and the old lady before.

The old man's "contribution to everyone" is nothing more than saying that if the old lady dies, bury her soul under the tree, so that the king of the tree can bear fruit so that others can live longer.

And it is not difficult to understand what the old lady said, "If this continues, everyone may kill each other". The king of trees bears fruit too slowly to keep up with the speed at which they age, and now they are all too old to have any more children. Some people, in order to live forever, may kill their neighbors and bury them under trees.

This kind of thing can't begin, and once it does, the whole village will be plunged into blood.

I thought to myself, "This village looks peaceful, but in fact the dark tide is raging, and a small thing may upset the balance and put them in a situation from which they will never recover." ”

I want to learn from Mr. Lu's methods to sow discord and let them kill each other. But I didn't know what to do, so I had to wait and see.

A few minutes later, everyone stood up. It turned out that two large pits had been dug under the apple tree. They put down the papier-mâché coffin.

I don't know who is in the coffin, but I guess they can't hold the neighbor who died first.

The old people began to circle around the tree, singing strange syllables in their mouths.

I can follow them when they're walking in a line, but I can't follow them when they're circling in a circle.

I quickly found a tree, climbed it and hid it.

After a while, these people slowly stopped. They looked at the tree king reluctantly, and then walked back slowly