Chapter 205 Jinjiang
When Zhang Wubing hurried out of the room, there was still an apologetic look on his face.
He didn't know what was wrong with him. Since he had already discovered a rotting corpse in the river, he should have been on high alert.
But inexplicably, when he returned to his room, he couldn't think of anything and just wanted to fall into the soft bed and sleep.
It was as if his brain rejected all things that would make him tired and unhappy, and deleted all the images that made him alert from his memory.
It was not until he heard a series of cries for help that Zhang Wubing was suddenly awakened from his comfortable half-sleep state.
Then, he broke out in a cold sweat as the memories resurfaced in his mind.
How could this be... Brother Yan clearly reminded him when he left the small wooden building. He has never forgotten what Brother Yan said, and he knows that the only way to survive is to hold on to Brother Yan tightly.
But this time, he forgot it completely.
If it weren’t for Bai Shuang’s scream, Zhang Wubing even thought that he would just fall asleep and completely forget the danger around him.
Zhang Wubing was puzzled and hurriedly went to Bai Shuang and Zhao Zhen, asking about their situation with concern.
Zhao Zhen quickly comforted Zhang Wubing: "Director, I'm fine. That... gentleman rescued Bai Shuang and me in time and didn't let us get hurt."
“However, several staff members are not in good condition.”
Zhao Zhen pointed worriedly to the room he had just been in, and briefly explained what had just happened to Zhang Wubing and others who had come out after hearing the noise.
Zhang Wubing was stunned. He never thought that such a thing would happen to the staff of the program team.
The staff who had escaped the disaster by being in other rooms rushed to check on the people who had fainted in the room.
After seeing the wounds of varying severity on the bodies of the unconscious people, a cry of surprise was heard in the room.
The staff anxiously called out to their colleagues to get the medical kit, some shouted for flashlights, and some asked for help to carry someone so that they could bandage the wound.
The whole room was in a state of chaos and bustle.
By the time Zhang Wubing had settled things on the second floor and was going downstairs, Ye Li had already left the platform at the corner of the stairs, walked with his long legs to the sofa in the living room, and stood in front of Lu Xingxing.
Ye Li's tall and slender figure cast a shadow on Lu Xingxing under the light of the flashlight. Even though he said nothing, he still had an aura that made people dare not treat him casually.
Lu Xingxing, who was completely shrouded in Ye Li's shadow, was confused and frightened, and didn't know what had happened to Ye Li.
"Master, Master's aunt ahaha, haha."
Lu Xingxing touched his nose and moved himself out from under the quilt in what he thought was a stealth manner. He sat on the sofa with his hands and feet together, looking incredibly well-behaved, like an elementary school student in class.
He subconsciously shrank his neck, but he firmly believed that he was blown by the cold wind in the hall and was definitely not cowardly.
"Well, what's up, Auntie?"
Lu Xingxing’s smile was uglier than crying: “If you have anything to say, just tell me.”
The people around who had never seen Lu Xingxing be so well-behaved were a little surprised for a moment.
Everyone knows that Lu Xingxing is a well-known troublemaker in the music industry. People have always described him as young and hot-tempered, but no one has ever said that Lu Xingxing has such a well-behaved side.
When those people looked at Ye Li again, their eyes were filled with even more speculation and curiosity.
I wonder who could have scared Lu Xingxing to this extent? Was he from Haiyun Temple?
Ye Li has never had any feelings towards anyone except Yan Shixun, and is as cold as a statue.
But now, the look he gave Lu Xingxing revealed obvious disdain.
Ye Li: If this junior wasn’t too weak, he would have left the small wooden building to him and gone to find Shi Xun himself.
"You are so weak, can you be considered a Taoist priest?" Ye Li asked in a low voice.
Lu Xingxing: “???”
Auntie, did you come to me just to scold me?!
But Lu Xingxing didn’t dare to say what was in his heart. He pursed his lips, and his handsome cheeks puffed up with anger, like a puffer fish.
"I haven't even started my apprenticeship yet."
Lu Xingxing said in a muffled voice: "Not everyone is as perverted as Master..."
Even though Lu Xingxing's voice was as soft as a mosquito's at the end, Ye Li still heard what he said. He glanced at him and Lu Xingxing was so scared that he burped. He quickly thought of a way to change his mind.
"…Abnormal talent. My uncle is a demon with evil spirits in his bones. No one has survived for hundreds of years. He can be called a rare figure. How can the light of a firefly be compared with the brilliance of the sun and the moon?"
Lu Xingxing tried her best to force out her sweetest smile, trying to make herself look particularly sincere: "Aunt, you are just used to seeing people like Uncle, so it's naturally useless to see me again."
He secretly complained that even among the young Taoist priests of the same age in Haiyun Temple, he was considered to be extremely talented. But can a person's talent be compared with a brilliant genius? Impossible.
If Yan Shixun is used as the standard, then only Taoist Li and Li Chengyun can be considered Taoists in the world; the rest are doomed.
Ye Li looked straight at Lu Xingxing, as if he wanted to see through his soul. After a while, Ye Li's eyes rarely showed a smile. Although he looked at Lu Xingxing with disdain, he also felt that Lu Xingxing was quite pleasing to the eye.
Most people don't know themselves and can't put themselves in the right place. But Lu Xingxing, although he is dull, is self-aware and respects Shi Xun from the bottom of his soul.
This made Ye Li feel that Lu Xingxing was not bad.
"come over."
Ye Li's low voice sounded, signaling Lu Xingxing to stand up and walk in front of him.
Although Lu Xingxing was confused and afraid that Ye Li was going to beat him - just like Yan Shixun beat Jing Xiaobao, he did not have the courage to refute, so he had to move forward in front of Ye Li step by step.
But then he saw Ye Li raising his arm, and his slender fingers formed seals flexibly, with an ancient and mysterious beauty that made Lu Xingxing stare in amazement, his heart surging with fear.
It’s not that Lu Xingxing has never seen Taoist priests make seals, because his master and grandmaster were both leaders in their respective generations, so he had the privilege of seeing many advanced techniques that others didn’t have the chance to see. He also witnessed with his own eyes the power of flying sand and rocks when his grandmaster made seals.
However, those feelings paled in comparison to the scene he saw at that moment.
It was as if, in Ye Li's palm, were the rotating sun, moon, stars, and the great road of heaven and earth.
This, this!
What kind of person did Yan Shixun find for himself as his master's aunt? He knew that his master's aunt was no ordinary person, but he never expected that she would be so extraordinary!
Lu Xingxing only felt like a bolt of lightning struck him, electrifying his entire brain.
After he regained his senses, he looked at Ye Li with even more respect and fear.
Lu Xingxing couldn't help but hold his breath, fearing that he would disturb Ye Li.
Then he was surprised to feel a powerful force suddenly fall on him, like a mountain pressing down on his head and being carried on his shoulders.
Lu Xingxing looked at Ye Li in surprise, only to see the other party slowly lower his arms.
"I'll lend you my power temporarily, and I'll leave this place to you as well."
Ye Li lowered his eyes, stared at Lu Xingxing, and asked him word by word: "Can you do it?"
It was a rare occasion for Ye Li to have a peaceful conversation with another stranger, but it made Lu Xingxing feel a chill.
Lu Xingxing felt like a statue that was gradually being frozen, with his hair standing on end.
The expression on Master's aunt's face... clearly meant, 'If you can't do it, I will kill you'.
Lu Xingxing was so frightened by his own thoughts that he trembled. He quickly agreed: "Master Aunt, just leave it to me. I will protect everyone. Master Aunt, you can go after Master Uncle. A reliable person like me will definitely not have any problems."
Although Lu Xingxing had no confidence in himself, he felt his body which was now so light that it did not seem like that of an ordinary person, as well as the strength lent to him by Ye Li, and suddenly he felt that he was able to do it again.
——Even if he can’t do it, can’t he trust the power of his master’s aunt?
Lu Xingxing now realized that Ye Li had a crush on Yan Shixun, but his uncle, who had inherited the Haiyun Temple's tradition of remaining single, had not yet realized this.
In that case, with Yan Shixun around, does he still need to worry about his aunt harming him?
Lu Xingxing patted his chest to make a promise and thought happily that after returning this time, he could tell his master and ancestors about this.
Lu Xingxing was a man whose facial expression could not hide his true feelings. Ye Li glanced over and could see clearly what he was thinking.
However, Ye Li was happy to see this happen and did not intend to explain anything.
When Zhang Wubing came over, he heard Lu Xingxing say that Ye Li was leaving, and he was immediately shocked.
"No way. Relying on Lu Xingxing? If he is reliable, then there will be no unreliable people."
Zhang Wubing brought his previous habit of getting along with Yan Shixun with him, and rushed to Ye Li habitually: "Brother Yan is not here, and if you are not here either, then we are doomed!"
Ye Li looked over coldly.
Zhang Wubing slammed on the brakes and was shocked to the spot, not daring to get close to Yeli again.
Ye Li withdrew his gaze indifferently, turned around and walked out.
The others reached out their hands behind his back as if they wanted to keep him, but no one dared to step forward and really stop Ye Li.
The door of the small wooden building was pushed open, and the cold and damp mountain wind immediately blew into the living room, making a whistling sound.
Ye Li frowned, realized something, and looked towards the direction of the village.
In his sight, under the cover of darkness, one rotten corpse after another was slowly walking towards the villagers' houses.
The howling mountain wind covered up the tiny friction sounds of the rotting corpses as they walked.
They either bent down and crawled into the empty space under the small wooden building, or climbed over the fence into the yard, and silently hid their swollen and pale bodies in the corners of the house.
The villagers seemed to have fallen asleep, and no one noticed that behind the cabinets in their homes, under the floor... in all the neglected corners, there were hideous corpses.
Ye Li quietly withdrew his gaze and ignored it.
The cycle of cause and effect, that’s all.
"Bang!"
The door of the small wooden building was closed.
Suddenly, Lu Xingxing fell back onto the sofa, limp, as if all his bones had been pulled out.
"I was scared to death."
Lu Xingxing reached back and wiped the cold sweat from his back, then heaved a sigh of relief: "I almost thought I was going to get beaten."
Zhang Wubing kept looking at Lu Xingxing with his eyes and said hesitantly, "Can you... do it?"
"Why don't we invite that person back?"
Zhang Wubing said sincerely: "Although he looks very scary, if he stands on our side, we will feel at ease. We will definitely be fine. But Xingxing, you..."
Lu Xingxing’s mouth twitched: Director Zhang, you don’t have to be so honest, really.
However, when Lu Xingxing turned his eyes, the drowsiness caused by his deep sleep had already been blown away by the cold wind that blew in when Ye Li opened the door, making him feel more alert.
The power that Ye Li temporarily lent to Lu Xingxing also made his mind clear.
He realized that it was abnormal for him to fall asleep.
It was strange that the reason he chose to stay in the living room was to make himself more awake and able to see the danger as soon as possible.
Besides, the living room was so cold, the wooden structure of the small wooden building was leaking air everywhere, and the open space could not retain heat at all, so he shouldn't have fallen asleep.
——Who would want to sleep in a place where they are shivering with cold? A warm and secure place will make people let down their guard and fall asleep.
But Lu Xingxing still fell asleep defenselessly while repeatedly reminding himself in his heart.
and……
“I forgot a lot of things before.”
Lu Xingxing said blankly: "But I even forgot that I forgot something."
Zhao Zhen, who had just come downstairs, was startled and immediately walked over quickly, asking anxiously, "Did you forget something too?"
He handed the old notebook in his hand to Lu Xingxing, his expression serious: "I found this in the room upstairs."
Zhao Zhen should have forgotten the existence of the notebook. When he just walked out of the room, he forgot that he had found the notebook.
But at the moment when Ye Li used his power and the dark beast tore the rotten corpse into pieces, Zhao Zhen suddenly remembered a lot of things vaguely.
It was like frosted glass that had been soaked in water. Although there was still glass between us, I could still see a little bit clearly.
"Not only is your memory flawed, mine is too. And it's not just us... The same thing happened to the hiking group that lived here many years ago. It's just."
Zhao Zhen paused before continuing, "It seems that all of them are dead."
As soon as these words came out, the air in the living room fell into deathly silence.
Lu Xingxing reached out his hand in surprise and took the notebook. After quickly flipping through it, his expression became serious.
"Same situation as us."
Lu Xingxing looked up and made eye contact with Zhao Zhen: "The notes kept mentioning that there was something wrong with the water. They had several accidents after getting close to the river."
"But, I clearly went to play in the river at noon, why am I fine?"
Zhao Zhen was also very puzzled by this.
But just when Zhao Zhen was thinking hard, Lu Xingxing suddenly realized something and quickly lowered his head to search his pocket.
Lu Xingxing took out a pitch-black object from his pocket and held it in his palm.
Zhao Zhen was puzzled: "What is this?"
Lu Xingxing's palm trembled slightly: "Do you remember that when we were outside the mountain, the owner of the B&B gave us a small folk ornament? This is it."
Zhao Zhen looked at the charred remains and a cry of surprise choked his throat.
He remembered very clearly that those hand-woven accessories were all in beautiful colors, colorful and very beautiful.
But this pile of...
"Maybe, it was because it blocked it for me that I didn't get into trouble."
Lu Xingxing asked: "Who are the staff members who had the accident upstairs?"
As Zhao Zhen said their names and facial features, Lu Xingxing's expression became more serious.
"I was playing in the water at the time. Zhao Zhen, you were on the shore the whole time and I didn't meet you. But I brought back a big bottle of river water. I originally wanted to give it to Brother Yan, but they stopped me halfway and said they were thirsty."
Lu Xingxing had a wooden face, with a trace of self-blame in his eyes: "I saw they were all thirsty, so I gave them water."
"If there really is something wrong with the river water, then the crazy staff you saw, Zhao Zhen, must have been acting strangely because of this."
Lu Xingxing covered her face with her hands dejectedly, and said angrily: "I shouldn't have given it to them... If they hadn't taken the water away at that time, but had given it directly to Brother Yan, maybe Brother Yan would have noticed something was wrong at that time and stopped this from happening in time."
Zhao Zhen was silent for a moment, then walked up and patted Lu Xingxing on the shoulder: "Don't blame you, you were just soft-hearted because you saw they were thirsty. None of us could have thought that there would be problems with the river water."
"But this folk fabric."
Zhao Zhen looked at the ball of black ash thrown aside by Lu Xingxing and recalled the scene before entering the mountain: "Isn't Nantian very familiar with these? Let's go and ask him what these are and why they can protect you."
Lu Xingxing answered listlessly, with her drooped brows and eyes showing no trace of her former proud and bright look.
He accepted the criticism from his master and ancestors calmly because he knew that he had indeed not met their requirements.
However, he could not accept that he had gone against his own conscience and hurt the life that he was supposed to protect.
He indirectly caused the accident of those staff members...
Zhao Zhen discovered that something was wrong with Lu Xingxing.
He held Lu Xingxing's shoulders with both hands and looked at him seriously: "Lu Xingxing, Brother Yan and that gentleman have left. Now you are the only one among us who can protect us, understand? Lu Xingxing, you are not a child anymore!"
"I don't understand what you Taoists mean by whether you have completed your apprenticeship or not, but Lu Xingxing, there are people waiting for you to protect them."
Zhao Zhen's words were like a heavy hammer, causing Lu Xingxing, who was originally upset, to wipe his face and try to cheer himself up again.
"You are right. Master Aunt trusts me and has temporarily lent me her power. I cannot let Master Aunt down."
Lu Xingxing nodded solemnly: "I want to let my uncle and master see that I am worthy of being entrusted with important tasks."
The previous mistake has been made, but next time, no one can... no one can get hurt again!
Since his master's aunt has handed this place over to him, he will hold it up even if the sky falls.
Lu Xingxing gritted his teeth and made a decision in his heart.
Seeing Lu Xingxing regain his usual proud look, Zhao Zhen also laughed.
Because the place where they were standing was just within the shooting range of the live broadcast main screen in the living room, the audience in front of the screen also saw this scene.
The audience, who were originally worried because most of the guests turned off their split screens, can finally put their minds at ease.
[It's good to be safe, it's good to be safe! ]
[Just now everyone went to wash up and go to bed, but the split screens were turned off one after another. When I heard the shouting from the main screen, I was almost worried to death. Can the production team let the brothers and sisters turn on the split screen? ]
[It’s so strange, I can’t contact the production team. There should be a staff member responsible for operating the platform, but now no matter how many messages I send, they are all unread.]
[Just now I saw Xingxing sleeping like a little pig in the living room. I was almost mad to death. I wanted to crawl out of the screen and wake him up. But from what Xingxing and Zhao Zhen said, could it be that he was sleeping for some other reason?]
[Shit…did someone put sleeping pills in the water? Is this a shady shop?]
[Why isn’t Brother Yan here?! I’m so worried.]
[I used to like the Longevity Village very much. I read a lot of travel guides and they all said it was a good place for recuperation. But now it seems a little weird. I'm a little scared...]
[You are not alone!]
Unlike Lu Xingxing and the others, Zhang Wubing still felt that his head was a mess. He could remember things sometimes and forget them the next.
But he remembered that he was the director and was responsible for everyone's safety, so he gritted his teeth and persevered, repeating in his mind the information he wanted to remember.
Lu Xingxing looked at Zhang Wubing, who was muttering to himself, with sympathy, then turned around, took out two talismans from his heavy backpack and stuffed them into Zhang Wubing's hands.
Only when you have experienced the situation where your brain can't remember anything at all, you will know how uncomfortable and helpless it is.
"My master gave it to me before I left."
Lu Xingxing reminded him, "Director Zhang, you didn't take the folk fabric that the boss lady gave you. Although we still don't know what it is or what it is used for, you should take it as a replacement just in case."
Several people stood in the living room and quickly discussed countermeasures, and then took action separately.
Lu Xingxing went to the room on the first floor and wanted to find Nantian to ask for clarification.
As soon as he opened the door, he was shocked.
The window facing the river in the room was opened at some point, and a damp and chilly mountain breeze blew in from outside, blowing up a corner of the pure white bed sheet.
The room was eerily quiet, with only some ashes remaining on the white wall in the corner and on the floor, which were caused by Ye Li's previous power.
...There used to be evil here.
Nantian lay quietly on the bed with his hands crossed on his abdomen and his eyes closed.
There were several chrysanthemums piled on his chest.
Yellow and white.
Like a body that died peacefully in a mourning hall.
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