The boy's eyes were shining and he nodded enthusiastically.
"My father, mother, and the adults in the village all say that the prophet can really live forever. Of course, that is if there are no accidents."
Now something unexpected happened, the prophet of immortality was "killed" by a ghost.
Xiaolan turned away with some dissatisfaction, "I don't know."
"But you are a prophet..." The boy hesitated, "Don't you know that too?"
"You have buried him, and you still ask me if he can live forever?" Xiaolan spread her hands impatiently, "I'm afraid even he himself doesn't know."
"The adults said," the boy shrank back, "the prophet was originally able to live forever, and because he got married to you..."
Xiaolan sighed.
She had heard this theory from Er Mao.
Could it be that this kid told him?
"To be honest, I really don't know," Xiaolan said truthfully, "I may not know as much as you do about things related to the prophet."
The two fell silent.
After a while, the boy muttered, "About the prophet..."
His voice was so low that he seemed to be talking to himself, so Xiaolan didn't hear him clearly.
"What?"
"That's right..." The boy sat up straighter, "It seems that the prophets have been written down in books by the adults."
"Book?"
Xiaolan thought of the thin booklet under the altar in the ancestral hall.
"It should be... there are so many books..." The boy raised his eyes and paid attention to Xiaolan's expression, and said hesitantly.
How many copies? Sure enough, there is more than one?
"How many copies are there?"
"Probably...three books," the boy recalled, "I'm not sure."
"Have you read what's in the book?"
"Of course I haven't read it. Those books were written by adults after the prophet died. I shouldn't know. I just... I just accidentally saw the cover of the book," the boy said, "
You must never tell anyone."
What I want to say is, who can I talk to?
"Where are those books now?" Xiaolan couldn't sit still after hearing the useful news, "Are they at your house?"
"Not at my house. The books were placed in the prophet's coffin and buried with the prophet." The boy blinked. "The prophet's coffin was not placed by you..."
That's right, he was poached by himself.
No, it was poached by the fire lotus.
But there was no book in the coffin, and the first remaining book was returned to the ancestral hall. What's going on?
"Didn't you see?" the boy asked tentatively.
I saw it and asked you?
Seeing Xiaolan's eyes roll, the boy also closed his mouth knowingly.
But he only closed it for a while. Within a few seconds, he couldn't help but ask, "Did you drop it somewhere? Why don't you go look for it?"
This plan sounds outrageous, but it seems... it makes some sense.
After all, it seemed that if he wanted to know what happened to the prophet, other than rushing directly in front of the adult villagers who had a grudge against him, he could only go through those books.
Seeing that Xiaolan's expression became more relaxed, the boy said, "I can help you find it together."
Xiaolan immediately glanced at him sideways.
"I...I mean...after all, the village is so big and the mountains are so big, it should be difficult to find..." The boy said guiltily, "I can...can come with you..."
"Why are you helping me?"
The boy hesitated for a while, seeming to be considering whether to tell the truth to Xiaolan.
"Tell the truth." Xiaolan ordered.
"I'm just... very curious," the boy's shoulders slumped, "about immortality..."
Xiaolan crossed her arms and accidentally poked her waist with her broken finger, which made her almost cry out in pain.
Why is this child so curious about immortality?
"Why are you curious about this?"
"Just... curious." The boy muttered.
Xiaolan looked at the little fat man in front of her.
A round belly, plump cheeks, and those smart eyes.
Hey, why does it look familiar?
Xiaolan tilted her head and tried to look at him from a different angle.
This face looks a bit familiar.
Where have you seen it?
"I can also help you avoid them," the boy thought for a long time, and finally put forward his biggest bargaining chip with a firm face, "that is, my mother and the others."
"Your mother?"
The boy nodded vigorously, "It was my mother who led the other aunts to arrest you."
After saying this, he realized that he couldn't say such words in front of the wanted person, but it was too late to regret it, Xiaolan's face had already changed.
"Did your mother take care of you?"
"Uh... um... um..." The boy raised his hand, "That's because my father is the village chief, and my mother doesn't hate you."
Nonsense, she went to arrest me herself last night.
The boy thought Xiaolan was angry. In fact, Xiaolan was frowning and thinking carefully about the boy's words.
Let him follow you, it seems... in the worst case, you can still be a hostage.
However, Er Mao has been killed by Huolian. If he lets this little fat man follow him, will it...
But you can't actually control the fate of others, can you?
"Do you really want to follow me?"
The boy's eyes lit up and he nodded so hard that his head almost shook off.
"Then if we really meet other villagers..."
"I'll protect you," the boy patted his plump chest, "If that doesn't work, you can still use me to threaten them."
Hey, ok, this guy has a good understanding.
"Then..." Xiaolan landed on her feet and stood up, "I'm ready to leave now."
"I'll go, I'll go," the boy also jumped out of bed, "Everyone in the village should be looking for Ermao now. It's quite safe. I'll take you on the path..."
The boy pulled up Xiaolan's sleeves enthusiastically, and this enthusiasm made Xiaolan feel at a loss.
"You don't have to hold me, I'll just follow you..."
"Then you have to bend down and be careful. I'll take you to the road I usually take with Ermao."
"By the way," Xiaolan said, "What if your parents come back and find you are not here?"
"They won't suspect it," the little fat man waved his hand casually without turning his head. "They will just think that I went to find Er Mao... and I guess they won't come back today."
"Is that so?"
"Yes, the mountain is so big, it's very slow to find someone." The boy opened the door and went out to look around. "The people in the village have been looking for you for a long time."
Ah, like this.
In the end, he was even run away by himself.
"They said you ran into the ghost forest, is that true?" Before going out, the boy turned to ask Xiaolan one last question.
"Ghost Forest?"
"It's the black woods across the pond."
"Ah, oh, is that a ghost forest?"
The boy nodded.
"I entered there..."
After hearing Xiaolan's affirmative answer, the boy became even more excited. He almost cheered, "Then let's start from the ghost forest and let's go."