Christmas

Hearing what Shi Xie said, everyone suddenly realized.Since the problem with Yang Pei and the others was because they were on a boat and encountered flash worms that day, the old man who punted the boat should indeed know something.

"Then let's go together."

Duan Qinghe put down his teacup, looked at him and said.

"I went with Xia Yao, it's inconvenient because there are too many people."

Shi Xie shook his head and refused. They were looking for clues, and if there were too many people, they would be tied up.And if something happens, Shi Xie is not sure that he can protect everyone well.

"Well, Mr. Shi, we need to do something."

Li Jie pursed his lips. Among the three of them, he is the only one who can be regarded as the most normal.Since he wanted to protect his friends and lovers, he had to take on this responsibility.

"I think it's a bit strange at the ancestral hall. You go to investigate and investigate together. Holding this talisman paper can protect you at critical moments."

Shi Xie took out four talisman papers from his pocket and distributed them to Wu Meng, Park Zhenghao, Hu Ting and Li Jie respectively.

"Wu Meng, Hu Ting and Li Jie, you three go to the ancestral hall; Park Zhenghao and Duan Qinghe, go to the town and ask the villagers here about the origin of the flash worm and whether similar things have happened before."

After calmly arranging everyone, Shi Xie drank the last sip of tea and stood up, Xia Yao also stood up quickly.

The others didn't have any objection to Shi Xie's arrangement, and even Duan Qinghe was obedient from the beginning to the end. Maybe this matter really couldn't be answered with the professional knowledge he had learned.

Shi Xie and Xia Yao went out with Xiao Shen, and it was completely dark now.

The sky was like ink washing, pitch black without a single star, even the moon was hiding in the thick clouds, stingy not showing a ray of light.

Xia Yao took Xiao Shen's hand and stepped on the bluestone path. The night breeze brought a little coolness, and he slightly pulled his clothes.

Xiao Shen was also rarely quiet tonight, looking around obediently, but didn't ask any questions.

The family of three came to the place where they were waiting when they took the boat, and soon saw a little light shining on the surface of the river, swaying towards them.

The boat is pointed, and slowly across the river, breaking through the thick night.

Standing at the bow of the boat is a boatman wearing a coir raincoat, supporting a long bamboo pole and wearing a bamboo hat.I couldn't see his expression clearly, but I could tell from his figure that he was probably an old man.

He is like this endless river of bitterness, whose origin and whereabouts are unknown.

"Stranger, take a boat?"

The boatman asked them hoarsely, with a strange tone in his voice.Neither hard nor soft, but pleasant to the touch

Office.

After negotiating the price as last time, the family of three boarded the boat.

After untying the rope that moored the boat, the boatman stretched his pole and said again loudly.

"Sailing a mile

The voice is deep and distant, with a sense of vicissitudes of time.

He yelled like this every time, probably even he himself couldn't remember how many times he yelled.

He just yelled, year after year.

I don't know how long he has wandered on this bitter river, and I don't know how many different people he has met.

But in the end, those are just strangers, and only the boundless bitter river and the deep river water accompany him all the time.

The boatman still didn't say a word, just silently supported the long pole, and the boat slowly rowed across the river, causing ripples for a while.

Xiao Shen lay on the side of the boat looking at the small fish in the water curiously, Xia Yao had no choice but to hold his clothes to prevent him from falling.

Shi Xie stood up and came to the boatman's side, looking at the green light group not far away.

Same place as last time.

The boat slowly rowed past, and some flash worms did not leave but went directly to Shi Xie's side.

Rubbing his clothes affectionately, Shi Xie looked at him expressionlessly, and stretched out his fingers to touch.The Flash Worm flapped its wings, and the fine green powder stained his fingers.

Shi Xie felt a line of sight from the side, but he didn't care.

After flicking the powder off his fingers, a three-inch-high bright blue flame burst out from his palm.

The flames rose higher and higher, and the scorching temperature did not affect Shi Xie.Until all the flash worms are shrouded in it.

The bright blue flames illuminated the entire river, and Shi Xie looked up at the flash worms that were burned to death in the flames, with a calm expression

After an unknown amount of time, the flame slowly disappeared without a trace, as if it had never appeared before.

The boatman stretched out the pole in his hand, and the boat stopped slowly, mooring alone on the river.

"Young man, you are amazing."

Shi Xie didn't answer his question directly, but asked a question that had nothing to do with that at all.

"How long have you been rowing here."

"It's been so many years, so long that I almost forget it."

The boatman said in a hoarse voice, full of melancholy and sadness that Shi Xie and the others did not understand.

He raised his hand and slowly took off the hat on top of his head, bent his body and turned to Shi Xie.

I saw his gray hair, which was sparsely attached to the top of his head.

There was a terrible scar on the wrinkled face like a ravine, from the corner of the forehead across the bridge of the nose to the other side of the face, making the boatman look a little more ferocious.

Moreover, his face is gray and white, with some dark spots on it, not ordinary age spots, but corpse spots.

"I shouldn't have been alive long ago."

The boatman spread his palms like dry branches, without any vitality.Except for a simple grip, he doesn't feel pain, and he doesn't know hot or cold.

Just like a walking dead, he has already lost all the joy of being alive, and it is no different from being dead.

"Sure enough, although you still have the breath of a living person on your body, a dead person is a dead person after all."

"You're right, but what can you do if you know?"

The boatman raised his head and looked straight at Shi Xie. The originally calm river around the boat suddenly became violently windy, and the waves became rough.

Xia Yao, who was sitting in the back, hugged Xiao Shen and hid in the middle.

Seeing that Xia Yao and the others would be fine for the time being, Shi Xie frowned, and looked at the boatman impatiently.

"Why are you doing this?"

"I'm also a matter of loyalty, I can't help myself. When this time is over, it's time for my old bones to return to heaven and earth

"

〇

The boatman laughed unexpectedly, and a big crater suddenly collapsed in the river not far away, and the turbulent river was flowing down.Of course, the boat was no exception, and it was about to go into the big pit when it was carried by the river.

"Xiao Shen, quickly change back to your original body."

Seeing that the boatman didn't stop, Shi Xie turned his head and shouted back, Xiao Shen immediately turned back into his body and shrank into Xia Yao's arms, touching Xiao Shen in his arms, Xia Yao stumbled to Shi Xie .

At this time, Shi Xie just finished reciting the incantation, and saw that his attire changed rapidly.He wiped his waist, a green light flashed, and the black brush appeared in his hand.

Shi Xie threw the brush into the sky, only to see that the brush suddenly grew to the size of a boat.

Just when the boat was about to fall into the big pit, the brush finally landed, Shi Xie pulled Xia Yao and jumped up.

It was only then that Xia Yao realized that there was a space where they were standing, and they would not worry about falling.

"Shall we go back now?"

Xia Yao pulled the corner of Shi Xie's clothes and asked in short breath.Although Shi Xie had already told him that there would be an emergency when he boarded the ship, and he was also prepared.

But when he saw the big pit, he was still subconsciously afraid. At this time, human beings are afraid of nature and surrender from the heart.

Shi Xie looked around calmly and answered what he said.

"The boatman didn't stop us just now, which means we definitely didn't leave so easily."

"Haha, young man, you are really smart."

As soon as Shi Xie finished speaking, the voice of the boatman suddenly sounded in the void.It came from all directions and could not find a fixed place.

Shi Xie frowned and took out a compass, but the pointer on the compass was spinning rapidly without a fixed point.

This also means that something around is disturbing the magnetic field, so the compass can't detect anything.

Taking back the compass, Shi Xie observed the surroundings vigilantly, and suddenly paused when his eyes turned to a point in the void.

The right hand made a handprint quickly and suddenly shot a burst of golden light in that direction.

I saw that the void suddenly fluctuated like the surface of water, and Shi Xie didn't stop after hitting him.Instead, he made persistent efforts to take out the purple gold long sword from the jade pendant, and rushed towards that point extremely quickly.

Just as the sharp sword tip touched that place, there was only a sound of "broken--".That place suddenly looked like a large piece of pudding, shaking violently.

Feeling resistance from the tip of the sword, Shi Xie quickly chanted a spell.A burst of purple-gold light burst out from Zijin's long sword, and the long sword pierced fiercely.

Shi Xie swiped his wrist forcefully, a big hole was suddenly opened in the void, and brilliant stars and moonlight poured out instantly.

Xia was surprised to see that the large river below Yao began to dry up quickly, as if it had never appeared before.

Hearing a muffled groan, Shi Xie withdrew his long sword sharply, only to see the boatman lying on the dry ground clutching his wound.

"Why are you."

"As I said before, old age is just a matter of loyalty, and now it can be regarded as achieved.

And even if I do my best, it's only a matter of time before you defeat me, so why should I. "

The boatman smiled and shook his head, only to see that his face gradually turned gray, and his feet quickly turned into pale bones.

Ash.

Shi Xie watched him silently until he was completely turned into a handful of white ash, and finally disappeared completely in a gust of wind. "This can be regarded as fulfilling his thoughts."

Xia Yao walked to Shi Xie's side and looked at the boundless dry land in front of him together.There is no longer a vast river here, and it has restored its original appearance, and it will never change.

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