The ease with which the willow branch was pulled out made me wonder, and I soon discovered another problem, the base of this willow branch was particularly smooth and flat, a bit like it had been cut from a tree.

To confirm this suspicion, I pulled out the second and third roots...... All the willow branches have been cut and the knife edges are different.

Apparently this is a willow branch cut out by man.

I think of Xie Ling's opening remarks when she formally taught me the Tao, she said that not all strange things in the world can be attributed to ghosts and gods, and some people do strange things in the name of ghosts and gods.

Zhao Shanlong definitely did not die from the manifestation of the willow tree, but from murder.

However, I would rather believe that Zhao Shanlong was killed by the manifestation of the willow tree than that he was killed.

If it were a human being, how cruel would that person be?

Kill Zhao Shanlong first, and after the corpse cools and stiffens, strip off his clothes and dig a pit and bury it in the soil. Finally, he used a sharp weapon to stab countless blood holes in his body, inserted willow branches, and created the illusion of revenge of the willow tree.

I didn't dare to touch the willow branches on Zhao Shanlong's corpse anymore, and walked to the door silently.

"Uncle Zhao, I can't save this revenant."

As soon as he heard me say this, Zhao Shanhu showed a relaxed expression on his face, and he was obviously more worried about offending the Willow God than he was worried about his eldest brother's ghost.

When the villagers heard my words, they began to talk again. They said I didn't have the ability to pretend to be scared.

"Daoist Xiaoye, since you can't go over, then I'll quickly burn the corpse. It's going to be twelve o'clock soon, and if I don't burn it again, I'm afraid that my eldest brother will really make trouble. Zhao Shanhu said.

"Corpses must never be burned." I hurried to persuade him. If the body is burned, Zhao Shanlong's case will not be solved.

"Why? You can't go over, why don't you stop us from burning the corpses? Zhao Shanhu asked me with a glare.

I took a step forward and whispered in his ear, "Uncle Zhao, your eldest brother was not killed by the willow tree manifestation at all, but by someone. ”

I didn't dare say this out loud because I couldn't be sure that the killer wasn't there. Who knew that Zhao Shanhu didn't understand what I meant at all, and as soon as he heard me say that his eldest brother was killed, he immediately shouted loudly.

"What? You say my eldest brother was killed? , how could this kind of death be done by a human! When Zhao Shanhu screamed, everyone heard it.

"Uncle Zhao, even if you don't believe me, you have to report to the police if someone dies, right?" I continued to persuade him.

"No, the willow tree is haunting, and the police can't control it. This matter cannot be delayed any longer, and the corpses must be burned immediately. Since the death of my nephew Zhao Qing, my eldest brother is depressed every day and lives better than death, and now he is also relieved. Let me Zhao Shanhu come to see my eldest brother on his last journey! ”

After speaking, Zhao Shanhu held a gasoline drum in one hand and a shovel in the other, and strode towards the courtyard. It seems that Zhao Shanhu has already prepared to burn the corpse, and the gasoline is prepared in advance.

I wanted to stop him, but I knew that whatever I said wouldn't change his mind. None of the villagers believed me, and everyone thought it was the willow tree that appeared, so what else could I do.

Zhao Shanhu first dug out the whole body of his eldest brother from the soil, and then poured all the gasoline on it. When he was done, he stood far away, lit a match and threw it at the corpse.

I only heard a bang, and the flames burned.

The whole process Zhao Shanhu did very smoothly without the slightest hesitation, which was very different from the appearance he had cowered at the beginning.

After the corpses were burned, the villagers also dispersed, and Zhao Shanhu and I began to walk back.

In fact, there was one thing that Zhao Shanhu forgot to do, and I deliberately didn't remind him. If you want Zhao Shanlong not to make trouble after his death, you just need to burn all the clothes he wore before his death.

"Daoist Xiaoye, why didn't you run away?" On the way back, Zhao Shanhu asked me.

yes, why didn't I run away?

Liu Lao Dao will not come, Xie Ling will never return, and it is almost useless for me to stay here. When Zhao Shanhu burned his body, I had many opportunities to leave here.

Before I came here, I was thinking about how to escape, but now I don't want to leave at all.

I became the only witness to the real cause of Zhao Shanlong's death, and I wanted to stay and see who he would ask for his life. He died so miserably, he was still killed, and he would definitely turn into a ghost when the time came.

If he doesn't succeed in turning into a ghost, I'd like to try the spiritualism I learned from my uncle!

The corpse was destroyed, the evidence of the crime was completely eliminated, and there was no way to convict the murderer in the world. At this time, if I can help him avenge, I am doing the right thing for heaven.

Merit is sure to skyrocket!

"What are you thinking, why don't you reply to me?" Seeing that I was silent for a long time, Zhao Shanhu asked me again.

"Uncle Zhao, in fact, you really shouldn't have come to show me your eldest brother's corpse today, his death really has nothing to do with ghosts and gods, it was done by people."

"If I had known you would say that, I wouldn't have brought you here. Originally, I wanted you to say that the willow tree killed my eldest brother, after all, you are a Taoist priest, and it is easy to characterize this matter. ”

"Why don't you believe me?"

"How do you want me to trust you? Daoist Xiaoye, I really underestimated your courage today, I didn't expect you to really dare to pull out the willow branches on my eldest brother's body. ”

I don't know if it's my delusion, but I always felt that he said this in a tone with a hostility.

Back at Zhao's house, Zhao Zhi was sitting in the living room waiting for us.

"Dad, how did my uncle die?"

"It's late at night, you two should rest early, and we'll talk about it tomorrow." After Zhao Shanhu finished speaking, he looked at me deeply.

I understood the meaning of his eyes, he was afraid that Zhao Zhi and I would say that his uncle was killed by someone, so as not to scare Zhao Zhi. After all, Zhao Shanlong's way of death is still acceptable due to ghosts and gods, and if it is attributed to humans, anyone who hears it will feel creepy.

Actually, I didn't bother to say it, the corpses were all burned, and there was no evidence, even if I shouted all over the street, what was the use.

I was tired in the middle of the night, so I went back to the room with Zhao Zhi to rest.

"Daoist Ye, how did my uncle die?" As soon as I returned to the bedroom, Zhao Zhi immediately closed the door and asked me in a whisper.

"The willow tree appears to haunt you." I didn't want to ask for trouble, so I followed the unanimous conclusion of Zhao Shanhu and the villagers.

"No, it's impossible, you must be mistaken." Zhao Zhi immediately vetoed it.

"What do you mean, do you know the cause of your uncle's death?" Zhao Zhi's reaction surprised me.

"I don't know, but I do know that the willow tree in our village won't be a problem. It's just a tree, no matter how many years it grows, it doesn't make a difference. ”

"How can you be so sure?" I'm more curious.

Zhao Zhi first looked embarrassed, and then seemed to have made up his mind, and finally slowly opened his mouth: "Daoist Ye, there is a reason why the willow trees in our village can't be a monster, I deliberately concealed it in the first half of the night and didn't tell you." Now I don't have long to live, so I'll tell you all these things in my heart. ”

Next, Zhao Zhi started with the Japanese buying trees, and gradually solved a mystery that had been trapped in my heart for a long time.

Because Liu Shutun often does business with the Japanese, Zhao Zhi enrolled in a Japanese training class by the way when he was studying in a vocational high school in the city in the past two years.

He is not stupid, and he really studied hard, so he quickly learned to speak Japanese fluently. That day, when the Japanese customer came to buy willow trees, Zhao Shanhu specially called him back from the city to negotiate.

At first, the Japanese were only willing to pay 2 million, but it was Zhao Zhi who heard the importance of the willow tree from the Japanese conversation of their group, so he stubbornly raised the price to 10 million.

"Ten million? How did your dad tell me it was bought for five million? Hearing this, I interjected and asked.

"The remaining five million were swallowed by my father."

"Oh, your father is really good at being the village chief! Let's go on, what is the secret of this willow tree that can make a shrewd Japanese give up even 10 million. ”

"I only heard them say that this is a quiet soul wood, which is priceless at first sight once in a thousand years, and it is the coveted raw material of Japanese onmyoji. As for what exactly is Soul Wood, I only found out on the Internet not long ago. It turns out that the Soul Wood is also called the Resentment Absorbing Wood, and there is a place where it grows, which can calm the grievances of all the dead within a radius of ten miles. ”

Zhao Zhi said that the reason why the willow tree smelled bad was because the body absorbed a lot of resentment.

It is precisely because it absorbs too much resentment that it causes the Dao heart to be blinded, and it will never be able to comprehend the cultivation and become a monster.

"Alas, if we had known that it was a Soul Tree, even if the Japanese gave us 20 million, we would not have cut down the tree." At the end, Zhao Zhichang sighed and said.

Yes, if it weren't for cutting down the willow tree, Wang Fang's red soul wouldn't have been troubled at all, as long as he waited a few more years, all the grievances would have been melted away.

At that time, not only will Zhang Youde and others not die, but Zhao Zhi may really be able to be a new person.

After telling the story of the Silent Soul Wood, Zhao Zhi, who was deeply remorseful, did not rush to ask about the cause of his uncle's death. And I was really sleepy, and as soon as I stopped talking, my eyelids started fighting.

Just when I was in a daze and wanted to fall asleep, a big event suddenly occurred in my mind that I almost ignored!

Since Zhao Zhi knew that the willow tree would not do anything, then Zhao Shanhu should also know it.

But his performance tonight was determined to blame the cause of his eldest brother's death on the Willow Manifestation. Even when I told him plainly that he had died of murder, he insisted on setting fire to his body.

is so eager to cover up the truth, could it be that Zhao Shanlong's death has something to do with him?