Chapter 6

The old man skillfully typed on his phone, and from the speed, it was clear he was quite adept at it.

Then he converted the text into a male voice with a slight theatrical tone.

"Thanks, I just picked these fruits, take some."

Uncle哑 (Uncle Mute) grabbed a handful of mountain fruits for the two men. After Feng Yi got out of the car, Uncle Mute also gave him a few cherries-sized mountain fruits.

Feng Yi had never tasted them before. Seeing the two men in the car enjoying them, he took off his gloves, wiped the sweat from his hands and the small mud spots on the fruit, and tried them.

They were sweet, full of water, and tasted great.

The two men soon drove away.

Uncle Mute took off his straw hat and fanned himself, then threw the hat into the bamboo basket. He sized up Feng Yi and quickly typed on his phone, converting it to voice: "Follow me."

Feng Yi hurried to follow.

"Uh... What should I call you?" Feng Yi asked. Calling him Uncle Mute directly seemed disrespectful.

"Just call me Uncle Mute!" the phone voice said.

Seeing that the other party really didn't mind, Feng Yi didn't dwell on it and looked around at the scenery and the smooth road.

"I see the road up the mountain is well-maintained. Haven't you bought a car for convenience?"

Uncle Mute typed on his phone: "I have food, drink, and internet. Why do I need a car?"

Feng Yi: "...That makes sense."

After some thought, Feng Yi decided to be straightforward.

"Uncle Mute, you know why I'm here, right?"

"Know~ I've been waiting for a long time!"

"How do you mean?" Feng Yi pressed.

But Uncle Mute didn't want to elaborate and turned on the music on his phone.

"Who is singing, warming the loneliness..."

He walked forward, jumping to the rhythm.

Feng Yi: "..."

It was clear, he was a healthy and lively old man.

Before long, Feng Yi saw the "Feng Family Ancestral Home" that the old butler had mentioned.

This was the first time Feng Yi saw the legendary ancestral home, which looked a bit like the old buildings in historical dramas.

It wasn't very large, but the bricks and tiles were very ancient and well-maintained, clearly cared for by someone. Uncle Mute was indeed doing his job diligently.

Uncle Mute walked into the house, put down the bamboo basket, and gestured for Feng Yi to follow.

As they walked in, he quickly typed on his phone, converting a long text into voice.

The voice with a slight theatrical tone echoed in the quiet ancestral home.

"See that sign with the Feng character? That room is where the Feng family worships and honors their ancestors, with some of the ancestral tablets placed there."

Feng Yi pushed open the door and walked into the room, scanning the area. There was nothing particularly special.

It was clean and the space was relatively large.

He saw some tablets with the names of the Feng family ancestors, which indeed had a sense of ceremony. However, these names were not mentioned by his elders or others. Going back three generations, there were few people who remembered them.

He looked around the room again.

To be honest, there was nothing too surprising, and from the layout, it was clear that no outsiders had been there for a long time. In this era, few people cared about such ancestral worship, but...

A hundred million yuan task!

Is this it?!

It wasn't that he didn't respect the deceased, but in recent decades, people had gradually simplified the process of ancestral worship. For a generation like Feng Yi, if not for this task, he wouldn't even have the concept of an ancestral hall. He had only seen such things in TV dramas and never associated them with himself. During the Qingming Festival, he rarely paid attention to ancestors beyond three generations.

It was hard to imagine that a hundred million yuan task was in this place?

But since he was already there, Feng Yi didn't immediately look for the family genealogy. He looked around, and there were no kneeling pads or incense and paper as seen in TV dramas. So, Feng Yi stood in front of the tablets and bowed.

Then, Feng Yi was about to search for the family genealogy and ask Uncle Mute for clues. He turned his head and saw Uncle Mute waving, and a voice came from his smartphone:

"Alright~ Just a formality, come over!"

Feng Yi: ???

What does "just a formality" mean?

Seeing that Uncle Mute had already walked out, Feng Yi quickly followed.

Uncle Mute led Feng Yi to another room, where there was a wall of green bricks that looked no different from the surroundings.

Uncle Mute pulled open a hidden compartment, revealing a fingerprint lock.

Feng Yi: !!!

Uncle Mute pressed his thumb on the fingerprint recognition interface, then stepped back and gestured for Feng Yi to do the same.

Feng Yi, bewildered, walked forward and pressed his right thumb on the interface as Uncle Mute did.

With a beep, a door in the middle of the wall opened.

This time, Uncle Mute didn't go in, but gestured for Feng Yi to go in alone.

Feng Yi mentally prepared himself, feeling that he was about to discover something significant.

Looking inside, it didn't seem particularly special, but the mysterious setup made him increasingly nervous.

But since he had come this far, Feng Yi didn't plan to back out.

He took a deep breath and stepped into the room.

As he walked in, the door closed again.

Feng Yi became even more nervous.

As the door closed, many lights in the seemingly small room turned on. They weren't glaring but provided enough illumination.

Thanks to these lights, Feng Yi could see clearly. The room was not as small as he had thought.

However, there were no ancestral tablets or any items for worship. There were some paintings on the walls, some resembling snakes, others with strange shapes, all in an ancient style.

After a quick scan, Feng Yi walked along the walls but still didn't find the family genealogy.

The family genealogy...

Where is it?

Muttering to himself, his gaze fell on a circular area in the center of the room.

On closer inspection, it wasn't a regular circle but a snake biting its own tail, forming a ring.

As Feng Yi stepped into the circle, the flower coin he wore around his neck automatically suspended itself.

The side of the coin with the snake pattern emitted a blue light, and a high-frequency sound came from it.

Feng Yi could barely hear it, as the frequency of the sound gradually exceeded the range his ears could detect.

At the same time, a pillar about a meter high rose from the ground near him. The seamless stone pillar unfolded, revealing a square object that resembled a book.

Why "resembled"? Because the cover of the book looked too strange!

Snake skin!

He might not be able to identify other skins, but he would never mistake snake skin!

The pattern was unlike anything he had seen before, but it felt different from the skin directly peeled off. It seemed more like it had naturally shed...

Snake molt!

Feng Yi even imagined how big a snake would be if such scales existed on it!

No, his focus shouldn't be on that!

Looking at the flower coin still suspended and emitting blue light, and the pillar that seemed to have grown from the ground, his gaze finally focused on the book on the pillar.

He couldn't identify the material, but it had an ancient and eerie aura.

The pages turned automatically, flipping quickly.

Feng Yi couldn't see what was written, only that each page had a few short words, in different fonts and handwriting.

Is this the signature the old butler mentioned?

Is this the family genealogy?

"This family genealogy... is very different from what I imagined."

Even if he was usually indifferent to cutting-edge technology, Feng Yi knew that what he was seeing was not something ordinary people could access!

At this moment, Feng Yi realized he was in for a big deal!

He stood there, his hair standing on end.

The fear came from the unknown.

He also realized that he was facing a path he had never thought of or understood.

He had a feeling, no, more like an instinct.

An instinct to know what to do.

Like a chicken hatching eggs, a bird building a nest, a spider weaving a web, or a bee making honey.

An innate ability!

A memory etched in his genes!

If this "family genealogy" was a door, signing his name would be the moment he truly opened the door to the unknown.

The "family genealogy" stopped flipping, and a blank page opened.

Feng Yi extended his hand and used his index finger to write his name on the open page.

As the last stroke was completed, a mist seemed to suddenly disperse.

Through the mist, Feng Yi saw a blurry shadow, like a coiled snake.

His consciousness gradually lost control, as if running back and forth between the edges of ancient and future, dream and reality.

Outside the room.

Uncle Mute stood quietly at the door. His phone buzzed with new messages, possibly from online card friends or acquaintances from the nearby villages, but he paid no attention to it, completely ignoring the notifications.

After a while, Uncle Mute smiled silently, stretched, and checked the sky. He then took out his phone and sent messages to several groups:

"The weather in the mountains will change tonight. There will be strong winds and rain. Go down the mountain early, don't go to the top, and those living on the mountain slopes should bring in valuable items from outside. Gather the chickens and ducks early, close the doors and windows, and park the cars in the garage. Don't go out. Those at the foot of the mountain don't need to worry, just collect the clothes early, as the humidity is high."

These groups were for residents and staff living in or near the mountains.

Seeing Uncle Mute's message, people started to respond.

"Is it true? The weather forecast says it will be sunny."

"The weather in the mountains changes quickly. Uncle Mute is an old-timer here, so listen to him. He's always right."

"I just bought a waterproof car mat with a bit of smell, and I put it under the rain shelter in the yard to air it out for a few days. Should I bring it inside? I'm staying on the mountain slope tonight."

"Bring it in. Uncle Mute said the wind will be strong tonight. What if it blows away? Even if it doesn't, the leaves and mud from the mountains won't be good for it."

People in the groups chatted while some looked at the sky.

"There's not even a cloud. Will it really rain?"

It wasn't that they didn't trust Uncle Mute. People who had lived or worked in Xiaofeng Mountain for a long time knew that Uncle Mute was very accurate in predicting the weather. He always warned them in advance, much more accurately than the weather forecast on their phones.

This time, Uncle Mute's prediction seemed exaggerated, and many were skeptical.

However, as time passed, everyone noticed the sky was changing.

"Isn't it getting dark too early today?"

"I woke up to find the sky overcast."

"The weather has indeed changed. The humidity is high. My outdoor humidity meter has given me several notifications."

"The weather in the mountains is unpredictable. Listen to Uncle Mute and get moving!"

By the time it was dark, people staying on the mountain slopes were eating dinner and looking out the windows. Visibility was less than five meters.

Turning on the yard lights, they could see nothing.

"What a thick fog!"

"Does fog always mean rain?"

"It depends on the conditions. There's a type of fog called pre-frontal fog."

"Is it normal for this type of fog to appear in this season?"

"Never mind if it's normal. I'll take a video first!"

The person took out his phone, opened the door, and started filming the outside.

"The snakes by the isolation net are gone!"

The usually aggressive king snakes were nowhere to be seen, and the only sound was the rustling of leaves in the wind.

The wind grew stronger.

Raindrops hit their faces, stinging.

The fog didn't dissipate, and the air was humid, making breathing uncomfortable.

The person couldn't stand it and reluctantly went back inside.

Soon, the rain intensified, hitting the windows with a loud pattering sound.

The phone signal dropped from full to one bar.

In places they couldn't see,

The clouds thickened and pressed down from above!

Rolling thunder sounded like a giant beast stomping overhead.

The wind whipped up the fog, raging through the mountains, fierce and violent.

The person couldn't bear it and reluctantly went back inside.

Soon, the rain intensified, hitting the windows with a loud pattering sound.

The phone signal dropped from full to one bar.

In places they couldn't see,

The clouds thickened and pressed down from above!

Rolling thunder sounded like a giant beast stomping overhead.

The wind whipped up the fog, raging through the mountains, fierce and violent.