Chapter 274 Jinjiang
The people who stayed in Uncle Bai's yard never imagined that after the earthquake, the entire yard and the village would collapse.
The ground began to crack inch by inch, and the White Paper Lake not far away began to flood back. The cold lake water submerged every inch of land and spread to everyone's feet in an instant.
Everyone suddenly panicked and wanted to go to higher ground to avoid the rapidly rising lake water. However, just as they were about to run upstairs, they heard a loud muffled sound coming from the abandoned house next to them. The already dilapidated building completely collapsed into the lake.
Everyone was stunned. They looked at the house of Uncle Bai San next door with trembling eyes, swallowed their saliva, and finally did not dare to take the gamble this time.
What's worse is that it was not just the lake water and the earthquake. After the wall collapsed, they saw that just outside the yard, there were actually a number of wooden puppets standing quietly, staring at them silently with dead eyes. They didn't know how long they had been standing there.
When An Nanyuan thought that these wood sculptures were standing outside while they were talking and laughing just now, and they were still unaware, he felt his scalp tingling, and his eyes turned into fear when he looked at the wood sculptures.
Those wooden sculptures that look just like real people, yet they lack any life at all, and are dead and empty.
Being stared at by such eyes, An Nanyuan took a few steps back unconsciously. All the horror movies he had seen before automatically played in his mind, making his hair stand on end.
Because of Annanyuan's abnormality, others curiously followed his gaze and noticed the wood carvings outside the yard. They immediately exclaimed "Fuck!"
Lu Xingxing was immediately furious and raised his hand to cast a seal to deal with the wooden sculptures, but was stopped by Zhao Zhen next to him.
"Wait, Star, did you see anything else?"
Zhao Zhen looked towards the village outside the wall with a serious expression: "I remember that Brother Yan and his wife went to the other side? But now..."
The yard of Zheng Shumu's house has become a ruin and was submerged by the lake. Only a small part of the bricks and stones are left, and a little tip can still be seen.
The wooden sculpture's arms stretched out from the water, pointing straight to the sky, but hung limply.
The skull was half hidden and half visible between the bricks and stones, its dark eye sockets empty and without a spot beneath the water's surface.
Zhao Zhen accidentally made eye contact with the half skeleton, and was frightened by the eerie chill.
"This doesn't look like an earthquake..."
Nan Tian muttered absentmindedly: "It seems that the world constructed by ghost energy is collapsing."
After Nanming Mountain, the witch bloodline of Nantian, which had been deliberately forgotten, was slowly reawakened because of the secret magic notes given by the orphaned sisters of Nancun.
Although Grandma Nan sent him out of Nan Village in order to help him avoid death, and since then, his brain seemed to have turned on a self-protection mechanism, making him deliberately forget many things.
But he had been with Grandma Nan when he was young, so he was influenced by her and had the witch's blood, so it was easy for him to pick her up.
Thanks to this, Nantian learned a lot from the notes about another mysterious field that he had not known before.
Even Lu Xingxing couldn't help but look sideways at Nantian's rapid progress and felt a deep sense of crisis.
“Ghostly aura…”
Lu Xingxing repeated blankly, and then he suddenly thought of the shadow puppet museum before, and what Yan Shixun had told him, that they were not in the real world now but in the shadow puppet show.
"Could it be that Brother Yan broke the shadow play? Then can we get out now?"
Lu Xingxing suddenly became excited and rubbed his hands together as if he couldn't wait any longer.
Nantian didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but he didn't relax his vigilance around him.
"Since we are now in a shadow play, it means there must be someone behind the scenes manipulating everything. Brother Yan and that gentleman should be going to deal with the person behind the scenes, but I think that if the other party can do this, they should not ignore us who are in the shadow play."
Even when surrounded by wooden puppets, Nantian still maintained his composure. In the absence of Yan Shixun by his side, he tried to rely on himself and analyze the current situation in order to save himself.
"We are now Brother Yan's weakness. If the other party gets a hold of us, we will be like hostages for them to threaten Brother Yan."
Nantian said calmly: "We can't do anything else, but at least we have to protect ourselves before Brother Yan comes back and not cause trouble for him."
Lu Xingxing scratched his head and looked at Nantian with horror and admiration. He felt that Nantian was about to catch up with him.
Is this what it means to come from behind and win?
Lu Xingxing felt like crying but had no tears, and secretly clenched his claws, resolving that when he returned to Haiyun Temple, he would work harder to learn from his uncle Taoist master, and would never skip classes or be distracted again.
Otherwise, wouldn't it be too embarrassing for him, a serious Taoist priest of Haiyun Temple, to be not as good as Nantian, who changed his career halfway?
What if Master's aunt also dislikes him in the future, doesn't trust him and trusts Nantian instead?
As Lu Xingxing thought so, his fighting spirit burned fiercely.
The whole village was sinking into the lake, and the place where they stood was soon swallowed up by the water. The water level continued to rise and had reached their waists.
Lu Xingxing formed seals with his hands, mobilized the power lent to him by Ye Li, and chanted the ghost-exorcising spell.
If it was normal water, he really didn't know how to protect everyone from the natural disaster. But after confirming that this was a shadow play, Lu Xingxing also realized that although the surrounding grass and trees looked the same as in reality, they were all made of ghost energy.
In this case, the lake water is also closely related to ghost energy.
It is even possible that it was transformed from ghost energy.
In this way, as long as he doesn't let the ghost energy get close to them, the lake water will not be able to flood and endanger them.
Lu Xingxing thought so, and the situation after the talisman took effect also confirmed that his guess was correct.
The lake water quickly engulfed the entire village, but avoided where they were.
The water level on all sides was getting higher and higher, and everyone even had to look up.
They were like standing in a dark bubble, sneaking at the bottom of a deep lake, and when they looked up they saw the scene under the lake.
The wooden puppets that had originally surrounded them were also dispersed by the lake water and had no time to attack them anymore.
Annanyuan was stunned. He pointed at the cross-section of the lake next to him and shivered. His mouth opened and closed, but he didn't know what to say.
“Here, this.”
After a long while, An Nanyuan managed to utter: "Xingxing is amazing!"
Lu Xingxing raised his head happily, like a Husky wagging its tail wildly after being praised, feeling extremely happy and proud.
But before Lu Xingxing could feel proud for a while, everyone's attention was suddenly attracted by a bright light not far away.
The flames burned quietly in the lake.
The yard of Zheng Shumu's house and the ruins of the house were completely engulfed by the lake water. The orange-red flames gradually expanded on the ruins until they completely engulfed the entire ruins. It still refused to stop, but spread rapidly to the surroundings with the lake water, as if it was not water, but gasoline.
The cold lake water was dark blue, flickering with bright orange-red flames.
It was like a sun falling into the deep sea.
It is breathtakingly beautiful, but also extremely dangerous and creepy.
Everyone fell into dead silence for a moment. No one spoke first. They just stared at this weird scene in amazement.
After a long while, Lu Xingxing asked in a trembling voice with tears in her eyes: "Isn't that where my brother Yan and Auntie went? Why is that? Will nothing happen to them?"
This question expressed what was in everyone's mind. Song Ci was so worried that he kept looking at the fire, refusing to look away.
Not only Brother Yan is there, but also Xie Lin...Xie Lin must come back safely.
The young master was feeling irritated and anxious, and seemed restless.
His unusual behavior also attracted the attention of others. After looking at each other, they knew what the young master was worried about and couldn't help but sigh silently.
Anyone who is in the entertainment industry knows that the Song family is behind Xie Lin.
In this circle that is most afraid of being out of date, Xie Lin has been able to stand on the altar for decades, and no one dares to say anything nonsense about Xie Lin.
In addition to the musical world created by Xie Lin himself, which is so powerful that no one has been able to surpass it for many years, he also has the protection of the Song family.
The young master of the Song family favors this singing god who created the golden age.
Some reporters also interviewed the young master with a gloating look and asked him whether this was the most unprofitable investment he had ever made.
Everyone thought that the God of Songs would be able to make a comeback, create another myth, and become a cash cow that makes a lot of money, but unexpectedly, the God of Songs became a waste, unable to recover and crying for a sister every day, like a three-year-old child.
When the young master heard this, he immediately turned hostile.
The company was soon acquired by Song Corporation, and the entertainment reporter was never seen again in the circle.
However, some people have leaked details from that interview.
Before leaving, the young master seriously refuted the reporter's questions.
"I never do this for investment. I just don't want a star to lose its own dazzling brilliance."
According to rumors, the young master said: "I see in Xie Lin the possibility of achieving the next pinnacle of music. I hope he can return to the altar, but I will not force him - everyone has the freedom to waste their talents at will. No matter how others feel sorry and sad, that is his own choice."
'He's not a three-year-old, he just gives his love to one person. He's protecting his family and I don't think that's wrong.'
After knowing that Xie Lin would join this shoot, Zhao Zhen also asked his friends in the circle about Xie Lin and Song Ci, and also heard about the previous rumor from his friends.
Zhao Zhen didn't believe it at first.
After all, Song Ci has always had the temper of a young master, and even his own brother has only been scolded by him. How could there be someone who could get so much attention from him?
But now seeing Song Ci's anxious look, Zhao Zhen sighed lightly and finally believed it.
Nantian next to him shook his head silently at Zhao Zhen and mouthed: Don’t worry, Brother Yan is here.
As long as Xie Lin doesn't want to die, he will be safe with Brother Yan around.
Nantian believed so.
But soon everyone lost the energy to worry about Xie Lin anymore.
Following the lake water, the flames quickly spread to where they were.
Lu Xingxing screamed and frantically formed seals with his hands, trying to stop the fire.
However, he was already weak due to excessive blood loss, and because he was still alive, his power attributes were completely opposite to Ye Li's. Even if he tried his best to grit his teeth and hold on, he could not exert the power that Ye Li lent him to the fullest.
Under such high-intensity power output, Lu Xingxing's face soon turned as pale as paper money, and his body was shaky.
Nantian looked at Lu Xingxing's back worriedly, with his hands stretched out on both sides of Lu Xingxing's body, fearing that he would fall down.
Lu Xingxing’s weakness soon manifested itself in the effect of the talisman.
The sound of shattering rang in everyone's ears. They looked in the direction of the sound and found that the outer shell that had originally wrapped them and prevented them from falling into the lake actually had tiny cracks.
It's like the bubble can't bear the heavy pressure and is about to burst.
The spider veins were still spreading, making everyone terrified.
An Nanyuan looked up at the cracks above his head, and the scene of lake water pouring back emerged involuntarily in his mind, making him feel uneasy.
To make matters worse, as the effect of the talisman faded, the wooden puppets that were originally submerged in the lake were attracted closer, like sharks that smelled blood, and knocked on the already shaky transparent shell.
Black talisman patterns kept flashing on the invisible cover, but they were still like a screen with poor contact, flickering, as if they would go out completely in the next moment.
Lu Xingxing knew the seriousness of the situation, so he didn't dare to relax at all. Even though his teeth bit deeply into his lips and blood flowed down his lips, his face soon turned pale and gray, and his body temperature dropped drastically, but he still didn't stop.
He could clearly feel that the power lent to him by Ye Li was competing with his own vitality in his meridians. It seemed that the closer he was to death, the more he could exert his power to the maximum, otherwise he would only use a little bit of that power.
As long as I am infinitely close to death, I can, I can protect everyone...
Lu Xingxing strained his teeth, relying on the pain to clear his foggy brain again, trying desperately to hold on.
But even though he knew it in his heart, his physical condition went against his will.
His body soon reached its limit and his vision went dark.
Lu Xingxing felt as if he had drunk a whole bottle of liquor in one breath. The whole world was spinning before his eyes, flickering in and out of focus, making it impossible for him to find a fixed point to support his body.
The darkness finally came.
Lu Xingxing couldn't hold on any longer, and the string that was stretched to the extreme finally broke.
He fell backwards suddenly, his hand seals scattered, and he collapsed to the ground limply.
Everyone exclaimed and subconsciously reached out to catch Lu Xingxing's falling body.
At the same time, the transparent cover that protected them shattered instantly.
The cold lake water rushed in from all directions, and the rotten corpses wandering in the lake also stretched out their hands, trying to grab everyone.
Nantian, who had been watching Lu Xingxing, took a step forward and quickly picked up Lu Xingxing's soft body into his arms.
As soon as he touched Lu Xingxing's skin, Nantian was shocked. The temperature was too low, and he felt like he was touching a corpse.
He quickly lowered his head to look at Lu Xingxing in his arms, only to find that the other person's face was blue and black, as if all his vitality had been exhausted and his body was devoured by ghostly energy.
In such a short period of time, Nantian was so worried about Lu Xingxing that he had no time to react.
When the lake water hit his face, all he could do was to subconsciously lower his head and hold Lu Xingxing tightly in his arms, not wanting the already critical condition Lu Xingxing to suffer more harm from the ghost energy.
Nantian closed his eyes tightly, and had already predicted what was going to happen in his mind.
However, the expected cold and suffocation from drowning did not come.
There was no other noise around except the sound of the talisman losing its effect, like the sound of glass breaking.
Nantian was surprised and tentatively opened his eyes slowly and looked around.
Then he was surprised to find that everything seemed to be frozen in place.
The fragments of the talisman that had been scattered after being broken were still flying around and suspended in mid-air, and the lake water that had been blocked by the talisman also maintained its turbulent appearance of splashing water droplets, stagnating at the state at the moment the talisman was broken, but did not flow back in as expected.
Both time and space stopped at this moment.
What…is going on?
Nantian held Lu Xingxing's body, which was as cold as a corpse, and looked up blankly, and found that he was not the only one who was surprised.
Everyone had surprise in their eyes and looked in the same direction, with shock on their faces that they had never expected.
Nantian also looked in the direction they were looking.
But when their eyes met, the person was Zhang Wubing.
No……
That's not Zhang Wubing.
The young man stood tall and straight on the spot, his old gown fluttering slightly in the wind created by his strength. The ferocious beasts and evil spirits embroidered on his gown were baring their fangs and claws, looking hideous and terrifying. As the gown moved slightly, they seemed lifelike as if they would roar at you in the next moment.
He held up his narrow sleeves, his long eyelashes drooped slightly, and his eyes were half-closed and half-open, like a breeze breaking through the surface of a lake, with a cold mist shimmering on the water, making it impossible to see the true emotion in his eyes.
There was mist lingering around the young man, and there was a faint smile on the corners of his lips, like the compassion of a ghost or god looking down on him, but upon closer inspection, there was only coldness.
Everyone looking at this young man held their breath at the same time.
It was clearly the same face as Zhang Wubing's, but no one would have thought that when the usually playful and cute Zhang Wubing no longer smiled, the face that made everyone feel good about him would actually have such a terrifying deterrent power. He was handsome but cold, and no one dared to approach him to offend him.
The invisible might suppressed the temperature of the air, and everyone dared not even breathe loudly, for fear of alarming the young man.
Until the young man moved his ears slightly, as if he heard some sound, and raised his eyes with a smile, his raised chin line was neat and elegant, containing the power and nobility accumulated over thousands of years.
His gaze passed over the crowd and looked straight at the dark blue and cold lake behind them.
The next moment, Zheng Shumu's house was burned to ashes in the flames, and then the flames went out, and the lake water splashed around like an explosion.
The waves were surging and the sound was as powerful as a tsunami.
Two slender figures jumped out of the flames and rushed out of the lake hand in hand.
Then, everyone saw a flash before their eyes, and the lake disappeared in an instant. They stood on the ground again, as if they had experienced a high tide and a low tide.
The Martin boots stepped firmly on the ground. Before Yan Shixun could catch his breath, he suddenly heard a call from behind him.
"Yan Shixun."
There was a low laugh mixed in with the magnetic voice, and when the simple syllables came out from the lips, they seemed to carry with them a mellow and intoxicating flavor that had been accumulated over thousands of years.
Yan Shixun was stunned, and then doubts arose in his heart.
No one in the production team should call him by his full name, right? And listening to this voice...why does it sound like Zhang Wubing?
Has this little idiot finally gone mad?
Yan Shixun turned around in confusion and looked in the direction of the voice.
But when he saw the figure standing not far away, his eyes widened slightly.
The one who called his name was Zhang Wubing.
But, it’s not Zhang Wubing.
But it was something else inside Zhang Wubing's body.
The man gathered his sleeves and stood there leisurely and calmly, but it seemed like an independent ghost town.
There was no trace of haze between his clear and elegant eyebrows, as clear as the mist in the mountains and forests. But when everyone saw him, they would know——
Behind him lies a mysterious, ancient and profound history.
Yan Shixun's sharp brows immediately turned gloomy.
"Get out of Zhang Wubing's body."
He gritted his teeth and spoke word by word: "Unknown things."
Zhang Wubing was not angry, but smiled and narrowed his eyes.
He slowly took his hand out from his sleeve, put the closed folding fan to his lips, and whispered, "I am Zhang Wubing."
“Always.”
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