You said you would tell fortunes, so you can catch ghosts and exterminate zombies easily?

When Su Chen and Zhao Dongsheng were talking, Zhang Ming pricked up his ears to listen.

When he heard they were going to Qingshan Village, his eyes lit up and he quickly took a step without making a sound: "Let's go."

As they walked, he asked, "Captain Lin, are you coming with us?"

Lin Jingchun laughed dryly: "No, no need, we... still need to wait for the informant."

Damn informant.

But we are all from the police force, so everyone knows it.

Zhang Ming raised his hand and waved: "Come and have some tea with me when you have time."

After seeing Zhang Ming and the others leave, Lin Jingchun looked at Su Chen.

"Grandmaster……"

"Go."

Lin Jingchun's eyes lit up and he nodded repeatedly: "Then we'll go first."

Zhao Dongsheng watched Lin Jingchun and Amin going down the mountain and couldn't help scratching his head in confusion.

What is Captain Lin doing going up and down the mountain?

As soon as he looked up, he met Su Chen's clear eyes.

"Today, we haven't seen them."

"……what?"

Zhao Dongsheng was stunned for a moment, then finally reacted: "Oh, oh, I understand."

"Let's go."

After dealing with the evil ghost on the mountainside, Su Chen was no longer in a hurry to continue his journey.

When I saw some unfamiliar plants on the roadside, I observed them with great interest, picked some leaves and tasted them before continuing.

Zhao Dongsheng also has sharp eyes and can always find some wild fruits in the small bushes around him, such as wild kumquats and black rice... The former is sweet and sour, while the latter tastes black in the mouth, as if it were poisoned.

Su Chen also ate a few and they tasted pretty good.

"I didn't expect there were such things on Longshan Mountain. In my hometown, they would probably be picked up by October. My parents, uncles and aunts used to go up the mountain to chop firewood and always bring some back for us."

Thinking of Zhao Dongsheng, he sighed.

"They are all old now. Forget about going up the mountain. When it rains, their whole body aches."

"Rheumatism."

"Well, I took them to see a doctor. In the early days, we didn't have thick clothes to wear, and we had to go to the sea and work in the fields. Isn't it rheumatism? I went to so many doctors, but none of them worked. I bought ointments for them, but they thought it was too expensive and couldn't bear to spend it..."

Su Chen smiled and said, "I'll make some medicinal wine later. You can take it back and give it to them. It should help relieve the pain."

"Really? Thank you so much, Master."

"No, I can use it while I'm soaking my family, by the way."

With this idea in mind, Su Chen began to look for usable herbs on the way. Seeing that he had picked a lot, Zhao Dongsheng took out the small knife tied to his calf, cut thin bamboo and cut bamboo strips, and quickly weaved a basket.

"Master, the shape isn't very pretty, but it should be usable, right?"

Su Chen gave a thumbs up.

When the two of them wandered to Qingshan Village, Zhang Ming and his men had already walked through most of the village.

Unfortunately, after asking around with the poppy fruit, everyone shook their heads. Some even took the fruit and looked at it carefully, curiously, and asked what it was used for.

What is the use?

It can expose us to the hail of bullets.

When Zhang Ming was feeling a little discouraged, he saw Zhao Dongsheng carrying a large basket and accompanying Su Chen to the big banyan tree at the entrance of the village.

The banyan tree is at least a hundred years old. Its diameter looks to be about three meters, and its branches extend outward, covering the entire land temple next to it.

Zhang Ming asked someone to continue asking questions while he trotted over.

"Old Zhao, why did you come just now?"

Zhao Dongsheng leaned over and showed him the basket full of herbs, grinning, "Master picked some on the way, so it's late."

"Your mouth..."

"Hey, Black Rice Eats It."

Zhang Ming held his forehead with his hand: "How old are you? You still eat this stuff."

"Leave me alone!"

Zhao Dongsheng pointed towards the other side of the village and said, "Captain Zhang, did you get the result?"

Zhang Ming shook his head.

"If you ask me, these elderly people probably don't know. Some of them have never been to the city in their entire lives, let alone understand this. Ask them if there are any young people who go out to work, or who have smuggled themselves across the border and then returned."

Zhang Ming rolled his eyes: "Do you need to tell me? I've already asked, and there's no answer."

"Alright, Captain Zhang, you guys are very experienced, so I'll stop complaining and just follow the master."

The two then looked at Su Chen and saw that he was squinting his eyes and looking up at the branch of the banyan tree. There, a large branch was visibly broken.

"I just heard from an old man in the village that there was a sudden thunderstorm a few months ago, and the banyan tree was struck and a branch fell off."

Zhang Ming sighed as he spoke: "I'm afraid this tree won't survive."

"Can't survive? How is that possible? Aren't all the leaves green?"

Zhang Ming looked at him like an idiot: "It looks green to you, but it will probably turn completely yellow after a while."

"When I was working in the countryside, there was also a big banyan tree in the village. It was struck by thunder and rain. The branches that fell off were smaller than this one. We all thought it was fine, but after half a year, it suddenly dried up."

Zhao Dongsheng scratched his head. "I thought that as long as the tree wasn't cut down, burned, or infested by insects, it would generally be fine."

"How is that possible? Look at bamboo. As soon as it blooms, it dies. Trees also die when they reach a certain age."

As soon as the words fell, the two heard Su Chen say: "No, they will go through the tribulation, and only after they have survived it can they continue to live."

The two of them looked at the same time and saw Su Chen raised his hand and touched the tree trunk above his head.

His gaze fell on the still burning incense, his eyes full of surprise.

This world is indeed different.

It was obvious that the banyan tree could not survive this disaster. From the perspective, although the banyan tree was lush and full of green, it was also filled with death.

But it was this incense stick, the fragrance it emitted seeped into the tree trunk, and actually produced a bit of green in it. The green was obviously growing. Su Chen believed that next year it would be able to break through the trunk and be reborn.

It's amazing.

The world's faith seems to be quite powerful.

Just one stick of incense can do this.

That land temple...

Su Chen entered the land temple.

The temple was deserted. There were many incense sticks in the incense burner, much more than in front of the banyan tree. However, the statues of the Earth God and Earth Goddess were standing there, but he could not sense any breath of the gods.

Su Chen frowned.

There are offerings to the land god everywhere in Cuicheng, which is even more common than Zigu. How come there is no sense of any of the gods there?

Niuwei Village also has a land god shrine, right next to the mountain road leading to the town. Su Chen carefully sensed it every time he passed by these days, but found nothing.

Is it because there are too many shrines to the land god? Is it because the land god will not come easily?

Or is it that orthodox gods will not easily attach themselves to statues?

Or maybe... only sincere faith can gain the favor of the gods?

After all, from the original owner's memory, Su Chen also knew that although most villagers worshipped the land, they had regarded it as a task. They worshipped during festivals, but they were very perfunctory.

The original owner did just that, lighting the incense, bowing three times and leaving. Every time, the original owner didn't even see the land image clearly.

But...this is how they treat the land, let alone the banyan tree.

That incense...

Su Chen found an old man near the land temple and asked him, only to find out that a child in the village had adopted a banyan tree as his godparent.

"Goudan is in such a plight. His father went to work in the south last year and only sent money home once. He's rarely seen. His mother had a fever during her confinement period after giving birth to him this year. As a last resort, the Sun family brought the child to Rongshu to be adopted as their godparent."

Zhao Dongsheng and Zhang Ming came over and listened when they saw what was happening.

"It really works. Ever since Goudan accepted this tree as his godmother, his fever has gone away. He's become plump and healthy this year. It's a pity that his mother couldn't bear it. She ran away a few months ago. I couldn't find her when I went to her family's house."

"Back then, there were those heartless gossipers who kept telling Goudan he had no mother. The little boy kept crying and couldn't be soothed. The old Sun family thought of this godmother and came over with incense and food. They only coaxed him after paying their respects."

"The tree at the back was struck by lightning. They're worried that Goudan, their godmother, will be gone too. They light incense every morning, noon, and night. Old Sun even comes over frequently to check, fearing that the incense might be pulled out by some kid and something bad might happen to Goudan again."

Su Chen understood.

Cuicheng has the custom of adopting godparents, and they often choose huge rocks, big trees, and wells that seem to have the potential to be alive.

This kind of behavior by the Sun family is not uncommon.

Su Chen and Zhao Dongsheng both disagreed.

Zhang Ming frowned.

"The Old Sun family? Uncle, is that the Old Sun family that lives next to the village committee?"

"That's not right. We asked him if any young people in his family were working away from home, and he said no."