Not a god

Chapter 87: New people, ancestors

Speaking of this ancestral tomb, it was originally fine, so why did it catch fire?

Let’s go back in time a little bit.

The lazy uncle lit a few incense sticks and felt sore in his waist and legs. When he saw Jiang Wanwan standing next to him kicking stones, he waved to her.

"Come on, Wanwan, burn some incense for your great uncle."

Then he stuffed the incense in his hand into Jiang Wanwan's hand.

"Uncle, uncle, I..." Jiang Wanwan hesitated to speak.

"Hey, burn some incense for your great uncle."

"I, I burn incense..."

The uncle turned around and sat down to rest, nodding at Wanwan: "Yes, yes, yes, I've loosened the soil for you, that's it."

This is a bad thing. Can't you eat anything you want? Jiang Wanwan hesitated with the incense in her hand. Her uncle was urging her from behind. What should she do?

With eyes closed, she shouted, "Uncle, I am not someone else, I am Wanwan, and Wanwan is here to burn incense for you."

After inserting the incense stick into the grave, Jiang Wanwan opened her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief when she found that the tombstone did not crack.

But Chen Qinqin, who was burning gold ingots nearby, looked and said, "Hey, Dad, why is there smoke coming out of the grave?"

The second uncle replied: "What nonsense are you talking about? How can there be no smoke when burning incense?"

"No, it seems like there's smoke coming out of the grave."

When everyone looked carefully, they saw that it was true. Green smoke was coming out from the cracks in the soil on the grave.

Within a few seconds, a nameless fire suddenly broke out on the grave.

Jiang Wanwan was startled, "Brother, brother! Granduncle is on fire."

The uncle stood up immediately and asked: "What happened? What's burning?"

"What's the big fuss?"

Everyone was in chaos, but apart from anything else, it was clearly just a mound of earth with no combustible materials at all, yet the fire burned so vigorously for no apparent reason.

The wind outside is so strong, but it doesn't slant or spread, and it doesn't burn you when you get close to it.

There were many people from the same or neighboring villages nearby who were worshipping their ancestors. When they saw the fire, they all rushed over and were stunned.

"Weimin! What happened to your ancestral grave?"

Hearing the others' voices that sounded like they were watching a show, Old Chen became so angry that he blew his nose and glared.

Little Chen Yi in his arms looked at the fire, his eyes widened, and he muttered, "Fire, fire!"

"Be good and don't shake around." Old Chen held on to the younger generation and shouted:

"Put out the fire! Why are you all just standing there? Chen Pao! Stop throwing firecrackers at your great-grandfather's grave!"

My uncle is unreliable. "This fire is so weird, old man, it doesn't burn people when it burns!"

"Bullshit! You are using your grandfather as firewood! Put out the fire, put out the fire!"

Chen Hongying was smarter and threw away the sickle in her hand: "I'll go borrow a bucket from my fellow villagers!"

"I'm going too!" Chen De hurriedly followed.

Chen Xi was wielding an unparalleled shovel to tamp the earth over there. When he turned around, he saw that his ancestral tomb was on fire. The expression on his face was quite interesting.

He hurried back: "Get out of the way, get out of the way."

There were many people from the same village around, all coming to join in the fun, so there was no way we could just let them watch the show.

Chen Xi stood at the grave. There was a commotion all around him, and Chen Hongying wanted to pull him along to fetch some water.

He just raised his hand, and the flames flickered, like silk threads, continuously gathering together.

Chen Pao was still throwing firecrackers into the secret fire, but when he saw this, he lost control of the few firecrackers he had saved in his hand and they all fell to the ground with a clatter.

He raised his head, stunned:

"My second brother has become a god!"

Second uncle raised his hand and knocked on Chen Pao's forehead, telling him to stop talking nonsense, but like everyone else around him, he opened his mouth but couldn't speak, with his throat choked.

The faith cultivation seed of Emperor Yan in Chen Xi's body was slightly hot, but he was not releasing it. You can't blow it up by holding back the fire, right?
It lasted for about ten seconds without any danger, and he put out the fire at the ancestral grave.

No one knew who started the applause, but the people in the Chen family applauded loudly. The atmosphere was so tense that Chen Xi bowed to the people around him and said, "I'm so embarrassed. I'm so embarrassed."

His uncle gave him a thumbs up and said, "Second brother is awesome!"

My aunt also praised: "Those who graduated from famous schools are amazing, Hongying! Look at your brother!"

"What school teaches this!?"

As a young person who usually watches Douyin, Chen Hongying must know what is going on in Jiangcheng now, so she asked him:

"Chen Xi, what's wrong with you? Have you really become a superman? Didn't you say that your ears have become more sensitive?"

Well, go home and pretend to be a pig and eat the tiger. Not only did you study better than me before, but now you also have super powers!
Chen Hongying's teeth are itching because of the jealousy!
She wanted to go up and question him, but Old Chen glared at her.

The old man is still very dignified. He comes out to preside over the meeting and tells everyone to do what they are supposed to do.

As for what happened to Chen Xi just now, he didn't ask a single question.

At this moment, something unexpected happened.

The fire at the ancestral grave was out, but smoke began to rise, with green smoke curling straight up.

The uncle looked and said, "Old man, there is smoke coming out of the ancestral grave!"

"What are you yelling about? I don't have eyes?!"

You said if there was a fire, you could put it out, but how could you deal with the smoke? And just now a big fire broke out in the ancestral tomb, but the soil on the tomb was not burnt at all. This is strange and new.

The old man has seen everything in his life, including this!

He looked at Chen Xi, who spread his hands and said, "I don't know either."

I don't know who suggested that the green smoke coming out of the ancestral grave was a good omen, and when the old man heard it, he smiled again.

And if you look closely, the smoke rising from the grave is actually quite beautiful.

The uncle clapped his hands and said, "Don't worry about it. Smoke is coming out of our ancestors' graves. It's a good thing. We'll have an extra meal tonight!"

The eldest aunt glared at him: "What else do you want to add to the New Year's Eve dinner?"

If you say that the Chen family has a bright future, it’s because of this mentality. If they don’t have a bright future, whose family will?

The old man thought about it for a long time, and then he came up with an explanation. He said:
"Our ancestors saw that we were having a lot of fun here, so they came to say hello to us during the New Year."

This explanation is both reasonable and pleasant to the ears, so let’s continue burning incense and offering sacrifices!
In fact, his explanation is not wrong at all.

Chen Xi saw that the green smoke from the grave continued to rise up and sway in the wind, as if it hit some invisible objects, outlining some human figures.

Some are clear, some are blurry, there are shadows of people, they are looking down, laughing and chatting.

But they were too far away, and even he couldn't hear clearly.

Chen Xi quietly asked Wan Wan, "Who are they?"

Jiang Wanwan whispered, "These are thoughts, the thoughts of the living for the deceased, which allow the souls that once stayed there to continue to stay in the form of thoughts... It is a very common form of existence of what we usually call ghosts."

When no one remembers them anymore and the last trace of thought about them disappears, they will disappear completely.

The figures of those people were blurry, they were looking at their children and grandchildren below, talking and laughing.

"Is this for the people? You're so old?"

"Such a good goose, if I don't use it to make a big goose stew in an iron pot and offer it to my ancestors...Alas! I can't eat it!"

“So many dolls.”

"Hey! Can you hear me? Hey--"

"It's been a long time since I've eaten goose stewed in an iron pot."

"Let's go, let's go..."

The man is gone, the living are like this;
I only wish you well;

Another string of firecrackers was thrown out, echoing throughout the hilltops. From afar, they could hear their third aunt calling them to go back for dinner.

The old man standing on the grave and looking at the tombstones was wondering what he was thinking, but at this moment he looked up at the sky.

The moon has risen above the willows, the stars are shining, and the blue smoke is curling towards the Milky Way.

Just now... it seemed like he heard someone calling him, but it also seemed like no one was there. All that was left was the noise of his children and grandchildren around him, and bursts of firecrackers that came and went.

(End of this chapter)