Something happened. This is not going to be bloody.

After the crowd dispersed, the five-member team had a brief discussion and decided to slowly approach the location where the willow tree had just disappeared.

Fang Zhen said in a low voice:

"My dad told me that this willow tree is over 500 years old. As we all know, ordinary willow trees only live for 30 to 40 years, and there are almost no willow trees that live for over 100 years. But this tree has lived for over 500 years. The villagers regard it as a sacred tree and worship it during festivals. Even the children in the village know that they cannot harm this tree. Everyone respects it very much."

Li Xu answered:

"This is really strange. What happened to those people? How did they jump out of the tree alive and kicking? They can't be ghosts, right?"

Fang Zhen replied:

"It shouldn't be a ghost. I see they are all familiar faces from the village. Now it's the end of the world, even ghosts don't want to stay in the human world."

When everyone heard this, they nodded in agreement.

Because Zhou Leng didn't give any warning, Ye Chaoqiu felt that there was no danger here. She just looked at her husband worriedly, then held his hand tightly to comfort him.

The five-man team arrived at the place where the willow trees disappeared. Nothing was left except a deep pit and dead branches all over the ground. If you hadn't seen the scene with your own eyes, you really wouldn't have believed the devastation at the moment.

After Ye Chaoqiu approached the deep pit, Zhou Leng used her vine to pick up a small branch. This was the essence of the willow tree left after it dissipated. It could be condensed and used as a weapon in the future, similar to a wizard's staff, and could communicate with more wood elements between heaven and earth.

Seeing this, Ye Chaoqiu could only reach out and grab the branch. Although she had no idea what it was, in everyone's eyes, she had picked it up with her supernatural power. She explained stiffly:

"I like it very much. I think it has some use."

No one doubted her. Everyone was curious about what had happened in the village. Led by Fang Zhen, they walked towards the old house of the Fang family.

The village seemed to be paused, and everything remained at the moment when the end of the world happened. Now someone broke in and broke the stillness.

Fang Zhen looked at the intact house and the empty yard. He stopped at the door. He had already accepted many possibilities in his mind, but at this moment he couldn't bear to go any closer.

If you don't know the truth, you will always have beautiful expectations in your heart.

In the yard next door, a woman was holding a little boy as if looking for something. Her suppressed sobs were clearly heard by several people. The fragility and helplessness in her crying made people's hearts tremble.

The five people felt heavy-hearted. They stepped into the yard and walked into the house one after another. There was no one in the house, not even a corpse or any damage, as if the people had disappeared out of thin air.

The room was covered in dust because no one had lived in it for a long time. The dusty items formed a sharp contrast with the thriving vegetable garden. The vegetables planted by the people who once lived here grew lushly, but the people who planted the vegetables were nowhere to be found, and their whereabouts were unknown.

Fang Zhen asked the three to stay at home to clean up, and he took his wife to visit the neighbors.

When the two of them went out, the mother and child were no longer in the neighbor's yard.

After the couple walked into the next yard, Wang Lin saw someone outside the window. She wiped her face casually to make herself look more energetic. She walked to the door and carefully identified the person. She said:

"Fang Zhen, I haven't seen you for a while. You two can come in and talk. I only know half of what you are talking about."

"Hey, let's go inside and talk."

Both parties sat down on the wooden benches in the main room, and the little boy sat obediently next to his mother.

Fang Zhen got straight to the point and asked, "My parents?"

Wang Lin hesitated for a moment and did not answer the question. Instead, she asked, "How is it outside? Did you have a good trip back from the city?"

Fang Zhen wanted to continue asking.

Ye Chaoqiu interrupted her husband's questioning and told Wang Lin word by word about the cruelty, hunger and death outside. She didn't know whether the other party wanted to hear it, but the shocked expression and clenched hands showed that the other party was not at peace inside.

After Ye Chaoqiu finished speaking, both sides fell silent. Those who had experienced it had become accustomed to such a world, while those who had not seen it were shocked by the unpredictable nature of the world.

After a few minutes, Wang Lin said in a hoarse voice:

"I don't know much. One day, someone in the village suddenly turned into a monster and attacked us. Then the old willow tree at the entrance of the village seemed to come alive and dragged all of us, the living and the injured, to its side. We don't know what happened after that. When we woke up again, it was today. Everyone was gone. Only those of us who survived at that time were still alive. We even...we even had the superpowers you mentioned, but those villagers who turned into monsters and the old willow tree were all gone. No one was seen alive, and no one was seen dead!"

Fang Zhen asked again: "My parents?"

Wang Lin replied: "I turned into a monster. When they attacked, I was dragged away by the willow tree, and I have never seen it since. Maybe they were killed by the old willow tree like my husband and mother-in-law. After all, they can't survive. Instead of living as a monster, it's better..."

Fang Zhen's shoulders dropped. Even though he had anticipated the ending, he still felt a little dejected at this moment.

Wang Lin added:

"Sometimes it may be harder for the living. Most of the young people in our village have left, and only those of us who have no ability remain in the village. But now a virus has taken away those who have been guarding here. If it weren't for the old willow tree, we might all die. Now it's even more chaotic outside, and I don't know what will happen in the future?"

Fang Zhen lowered his head and did not answer. No one could answer what would happen in the future.

Ye Chaoqiu asked, "Are the twenty or so people we just met left in our village?"

Wang Lin nodded.

Ye Chaoqiu sorted out his thoughts and said:

"Let's just live well now and don't think about the future. Sister-in-law, you and the children should clean up at home first. Fang Zhen and I will go back first. Let's discuss how to build a higher earth wall outside our two houses. If anything happens, just shout towards our yard. We have three friends who have gone to the village together, so we can take care of everything."

Wang Lin nodded and thanked him. Now that they had said everything they needed to say, the three of them were not in the mood to chat.

When the couple returned to their yard, the trio was cleaning the house. The Fang family's old house was a typical farmhouse, with a main room and two side rooms for storing sundries. There were vegetable gardens in front and behind the house.

Ye Chaoqiu briefly explained what happened in the village. Everyone felt sad. In this society where everyone is deceitful towards each other, there is still such an ignorant plant that saved so many people and protected a village.

There is an old saying that those who are loyal are mostly butchers, and those who are unfaithful are mostly scholars. This shows that when people's thoughts are enriched and weighing the pros and cons becomes the norm, there will not be so many touching things.