Stealing the Pen: Kirin's Primordial Lotus

Chapter 634

"What a crappy place! How come there's not even a village chronicle here!" Xie Yuchen complained angrily. He and Hei Xiazi brought a few people to rummage through the ancestral hall, searching almost every corner, but there was no sign of the village chronicle.

Hei Xia Zi scratched his head and said doubtfully: "Hua'er, do you think that the people of this village might have taken the village chronicles with them when they moved?" He really couldn't think of any other possibility. After all, this village looked like it had been abandoned for a long time, and the village chronicles might have disappeared long ago.

However, Xie Yuchen shook his head, his expression somewhat serious. He slowly said, "No one in this village left alive. They all died in the war that year, regardless of their age."

He was stunned when he heard this. He stared at Xie Yuchen with his eyes wide open in disbelief. After a while, he came to his senses and muttered, "Is there no one who was hidden and escaped alive?"

Xie Yuchen gave a bitter smile. He knew that Hei Xiazi still held onto a glimmer of hope, but he still shook his head and said in a heavy tone, "No, not a single one. The war back then was too brutal. This village could not have been spared."

Hei Xia Zi fell silent, an indescribable sadness welling up in his heart. He knew the cruelty of war, but hearing about the fate of this village still made him feel extremely sad.

Xie Yuchen didn't dare to look at Hei Xia Zi any longer. He turned his head and his gaze fell on the ground, as if he could see the blood and tragedy of that year through the thick dust.

"How could no one, not even a child, escape?" Hei Xiazi muttered to himself, his voice filled with disbelief and despair. His lips trembled, as if he was praying silently in his heart, hoping that a miracle would happen and that a child would be able to escape the terrible disaster.

"Perhaps, the child who was rescued back then has returned, taking with him the last bit of hope he had left?" A glimmer of hope flashed in Hei Xiazi's eyes. He imagined the child growing up quietly in some distant place, then returning to the land that had once nurtured him, taking with him the last relic left to him by everyone in the village.

However, Xie Yuchen's words were like a bucket of ice water, ruthlessly extinguishing Hei Xiazi's hopes. "No one is alive, because according to the investigation report, after burning, killing, and looting here, they set a huge fire, burning everything that could be burned." Xie Yuchen's voice was low and heavy, and his tears dripped onto the soil like beads from a broken string.

Hei Xia Zi's body trembled violently. He could not accept this cruel fact. He stared at the burned village in front of him with wide eyes, his heart filled with pain and sorrow.

The horrific scene of those innocent villagers struggling in pain and screaming in the raging fire kept appearing in his mind, as if the horrific scene was right in front of him, filling his heart with unspeakable pain and sorrow.

"But if no one really survived, then where did all these intact houses come from? Weren't they all burned down in that terrible fire?"

One of the people following Xie Yuchen and Hei Xiazi suddenly asked this question, his voice revealing deep confusion and puzzlement.

"Yeah, boss. If this place really suffered such a fierce fire, what we would see when we came here should be a pile of ruins, and the land would have turned to ashes long ago. But when we came here, the houses here were clearly intact, and the roads were even paved with cement." Another person echoed, also very surprised by the scene before them.

Faced with everyone's doubts, one of them thought for a moment and put forward his own opinion: "Maybe it was the people who fled famine in that era who renovated this place after the fire? Later, after the founding of the country, the officials took them all out?" This explanation seems a bit far-fetched, but in the absence of other more reasonable explanations, it can only be regarded as a possibility.

"That's absolutely impossible! How could someone fleeing famine have such conditions? At most, they could have built some simple houses out of wood, but look here, all the houses are made of cement, with no trace of wood at all! And these houses clearly weren't built long ago, they must have been built in the past few years."

The person who spoke had a firm tone and seemed to be convinced of his own point of view.

However, another person immediately retorted: "That's not necessarily true! Maybe these houses were not built by refugees, but temporary residences built by the people in the mountains?" As he spoke, he pointed to the concrete walls and tiles, as if this could prove his guess.

At this time, another person spoke tremblingly: "But...but, even if the people in the mountains built temporary houses, they would not use such high-end materials as cement, right?" His voice trembled a little, and it was obvious that he was not very sure about his opinion.

Xie Yuchen and Hei Xiazi exchanged glances, each seeing a hint of doubt in the other's eyes. Indeed, the construction style and materials used in these houses were far different from the temporary homes of famine refugees, and judging by their age, they certainly didn't look like they had weathered the elements for years.

"Well, everyone's exhausted from searching today, so let's stop arguing." Xie Yuchen said, his voice remarkably clear in the quiet atmosphere. Upon hearing this, everyone stopped arguing and turned to look at Xie Yuchen, their faces showing a hint of fatigue.

Seeing this, Xie Yuchen felt a little relieved and continued, "Let's go back and rest first. As for this village, we can come back tomorrow to explore it in detail. After all, everyone is exhausted after a day and not in good spirits. Continuing to explore now may not yield any good results."

Hei Xia Zi looked at his watch, then at the people around him. Seeing that no one had any objection, he decided to follow Xie Yuchen's advice and return to their current temporary residence and make a decision after discussing the results.

After returning to their temporary residence, everyone went back to their own rooms to rest. However, Xie Yuchen had no intention of resting at all. He hurried towards Hua Yu and Zhang Qiling's residence.

Hei Xiazi watched Xie Yuchen dash off like the wind and couldn't help but shake his head with a helpless smile. He knew Xie Yuchen must have something important to discuss with Hua Yu and Zhang Qiling, so he could only quickly follow him.

"Dad! I have a new discovery to tell you!" Xie Yuchen trotted all the way to the residence of Hua Yu and Zhang Qiling. He didn't even have time to knock on the door. He pushed it open and walked in, shouting loudly.

At this moment, Hua Yu was curled up in bed, ready to have a good sleep. Hearing Xie Yuchen's yelling, he suddenly sat up from the bed and looked at the door helplessly.

Zhang Qiling had just finished a shower and was still damp as he sat by the bed, drying his hair. Hearing Xie Yuchen's voice, he turned and looked toward the door.

The two looked at each other, their eyes meeting, and they both caught a glimpse of helplessness in each other's eyes. Hua Yu sighed helplessly and said softly, "It's all because of you that you spoiled him. He's such a grown-up, but he still acts so recklessly. I don't know how you can stand him!"

Zhang Qiling smiled faintly and reached out to pull Hua Yu, who was still lying in bed, seemingly showing no intention of getting up. He then carefully put a coat on Hua Yu. Although it was midsummer, the night in the forest was still chilly.

"Okay, get up quickly, don't catch a cold." Zhang Qiling said softly.

Hua Yu reluctantly crawled out of the bed, mumbling, "Didn't he go with Hei Xiazi to find Cun Zhi? Why is he here at this time? Can't he wait until tomorrow?"

Zhang Qiling smiled helplessly and said, "Didn't you hear what Xiaohua just said? He said he had some new discoveries to tell us."

Hua Yu then said "Oh" as if waking up from a dream, and then followed Zhang Qiling to open the door.

As soon as the door opened, a figure rushed in like a whirlwind. A closer look revealed it to be Xie Yuchen. He rushed to the table, picked up the cup, and without caring about his appearance, gulped down a full glass of water and drank it all in one gulp.

After drinking the water, Xie Yuchen turned around and his eyes fell on Hua Yu, who had finished washing and was wearing pajamas, and the quilt on the bed. These details all told him that his father had been lying comfortably in bed, ready to rest, but he was forced out by his shout.

Xie Yuchen was a bit confused when he heard his father's words, holding the teacup in his hand, not knowing how to respond. He hesitated for a moment and asked, "Dad, are you going to bed so early?"

Hua Yu smiled slightly and explained, "We don't go to bed so early, it's just that it gets dark too quickly here. If you have nothing to do, just wash up early. Your father and I have discussed and plan to go to the woods again tomorrow." As he said that, he reached out and pulled Xie Yuchen to sit down at the table.

At this moment, a teasing voice suddenly came from outside the door: "Hey! You have finished taking a bath so early? Aren't you afraid that you will have to take a bath again at night?" This voice was made by Hei Xia Zi, and it sounded a bit mean.

Zhang Qiling was obviously very dissatisfied with Hei Xia Zi's teasing. Without saying a word, he directly elbowed him. Hei Xia Zi was caught off guard and was hit by the elbow. Hei Xia Zi held his stomach and slowly squatted down.

He raised his head with a look of pain, looked at Zhang Qiling in disbelief, and stammered, "Mute! You..."

However, Zhang Qiling didn't even give him a chance to explain and interrupted, "Stop pretending! Don't you know how much force I used? You were already holding your stomach when I bumped into you."

As soon as Zhang Qiling finished speaking, he seemed to completely ignore Hei Xia Zi, who was still acting, and walked over to sit next to Hua Yu. His eyes then turned to Xie Yuchen, who was sitting beside him, absentmindedly picking at a cup, and asked, "Didn't you say you had a new discovery? Why are you suddenly silent now?"

Xie Yuchen was snapped out of his trance by Zhang Qiling's question. He quickly placed the cup on the table and replied, "Oh! Right!"

Then, as if remembering something important, he turned to look at Hua Yu and asked, "Dad, do you still remember the information we collected back then?"

Upon hearing this, Hua Yu looked at Xie Yuchen blankly, clearly puzzled by his nonsensical question. "What information?"

Zhang Qiling quickly reacted upon seeing this and interrupted to explain, "Xiaohua must be talking about information about this village."

Xie Yuchen nodded repeatedly and continued, "Yes, that's the information about this village. We finally found Pangu's lair and conducted a detailed investigation of the surrounding areas, including this village."

Hua Yu suddenly realized, "Oh, that's true. But, didn't I remember saying that the village was deserted? What's going on? Is there something wrong with this village?"

When Hua Yu was listening to his subordinates' work reports, he seemed to be concentrating on more important matters at hand, so he didn't pay too much attention to the content of the reports.

"In that brutal battle, no one in this village survived and all suffered misfortune. Not only that, it is said that those people set a huge fire before evacuating, burning the entire village to ashes." Xie Yuchen succinctly summarized the key information in the report.

Hua Yu couldn't help but feel puzzled and asked, "Aren't you going to look for the village chronicles? Why are you suddenly investigating the affairs of this village again?" He really couldn't understand why Xie Yuchen's actions deviated from the original goal.

Xie Yuchen explained, "At first, Hei Xia Zi and I both thought the village chronicle would be stored in the ancestral hall, so today we specially led people to turn the ancestral hall upside down. However, the result was disappointing. There was no trace of the village chronicle at all. Later, thanks to Hei Xia Zi's reminder, I suddenly realized that the village had been burned down long ago."

After Xie Yuchen finished speaking, he glanced thoughtfully at Hei Xia Zi beside him. Hei Xia Zi seemed to understand what he meant. He quickly sat down as if receiving an order, and then continued to explain: "Since the information we have investigated shows that the village was burned down, then where did all these houses come from?"

His voice was deep and powerful, as if he was questioning everyone present. Hua Yu originally thought the question was a little funny, and he raised the corner of his mouth slightly, and was about to answer, but suddenly realized that things might not be that simple.

"Where did it come from? It must have been built by someone! How could it be..." Hua Yu's words stopped abruptly in his throat, and his smile gradually disappeared, replaced by a look of confusion.

Seeing this, Hei Xiazi's mouth curled up slightly, revealing a barely perceptible smile. He stretched out a palm, pointed directly at Hua Yu, and said, "That's right! If someone built a house, then why was this village abandoned?"

This question was like a flash of lightning that streaked through the night sky, instantly throwing Hua Yu's mind into chaos. He shook his head and muttered to himself, "Why was it abandoned?"