Chapter 134

The hint of the river water, of course, wouldn't be that simple; what's simple is Li Li Zhuiyuan.

Because in life, the people and things that Li Li Zhuiyuan truly cares about are pitifully few.

This is his shortcoming; he himself finds it difficult to trigger karma, so he needs Tan Tan Wenbin and the others to help him make contact.

This is also his strength; he can stand from a third-party perspective to examine these clues, summarize them, and explore the laws.

However, this Professor Zhu before him counts as an exception.

Li Li Zhuiyuan had long since discovered that he had a higher acceptance and tolerance for certain specific groups of people.

Professor Zhu had gained Li Li Zhuiyuan's approval, and the youth was willing to make contact with him.

Others have to screen one by one through tens, hundreds, or even more causal clues every day, while the youth's quantity here is extremely limited. He finally accepted this line with great difficulty recently, only for it to have problems.

Unless the water droplets of the river didn't splash toward him, but as long as it splashed even a little toward him, even if it was just one drop, then in Li Li Zhuiyuan's perspective,

Professor Zhu... was already soaked through.

"Shall we go now?"

"Okay."

"Jiang Shui Walking Code of Conduct":

One: When the signs of a causal clue appear, the danger coefficient in the early stage is generally relatively low.

Two: Newly appearing causal clues need to be nurtured; follow its route and try as much as possible not to destroy its development, in order to obtain more information.

Therefore, Li Li Zhuiyuan didn't let Professor Zhu wait for him to call another companion to go together.

The other party only invited him, and his wife, who was seriously ill, only wanted to see him. If he brought someone else, the original development line might change.

The staff quarters where Professor Zhu lived were not on campus, but in an old staff residential area outside the school.

The residential area environment was good, with an artificial river in front, and Professor Zhu's house was on the first floor of the building facing the river.

The small courtyard attached to the first floor was full of flowers, which could be seen to have been carefully pruned and tended.

Pushing the door open and walking into the house, there was a smell of Chinese medicine inside, mixed with a faint orchid fragrance. It didn't smell too good, but compared to ordinary families with patients, this smell was really quite good.

"Little Yuan, shall I get you a drink?"

"Professor, I'll just drink water."

"Drink water? Okay."

Professor Zhu poured a cup of tea for Li Li Zhuiyuan. When he handed it over, Li Li Zhuiyuan got up from the sofa and took it with both hands.

Afterward, Professor Zhu pointed to the bedroom and indicated to Li Li Zhuiyuan that he would excuse himself. He first knocked gently on the door at the entrance, called out twice, and only after receiving a weak response from inside did he open the door and walk in.

Li Li Zhuiyuan, sitting on the sofa, examined the living room environment.

There were many books in the living room, not for decoration; the placement of each stack of books was convenient for people to take and read.

There was an easel in the corner, covered with a layer of white cloth, and there were stacks of drawing paper on both sides, with sketches and oil paintings.

The house wasn't big, and there were many things, making it seem a bit cramped, but the overall atmosphere was very comfortable.

On the way here, Professor Zhu briefly introduced the situation at home to Li Li Zhuiyuan. Because of his wife's health, the old couple didn't have children and had supported each other until now.

Li Li Zhuiyuan put down the teacup, leaned his body back against the sofa, sensed something falling on one side, and reached out to support it; it was a photo frame.

The photo frame was originally wrapped in oil paper, but it had been opened by someone, but when placed, the opening was deliberately turned inward, as if not wanting people to see it.

When it fell over, more than half of the photo frame inside slid out.

The photo frame was all black, and the frame was carved with underworld patterns. Combined with the black-and-white photo in the middle, it could be seen that this was a funeral portrait.

The woman inside was old, but her features were still gentle, and even the dense wrinkles on her face couldn't hide her dignity and generosity.

This should have been taken in advance after knowing her body wasn't going to make it.

Many elderly people would do this: one is to be prepared, preventing the family from being in a rush after they truly leave; the second is because people who leave due to illness generally don't have a very good appearance, so it is necessary to take it in advance while the state is still okay, leaving a decent appearance for themselves at the funeral.

It's just that the underworld patterns on this photo frame... seemed a bit too professional.

It wasn't just a simple resemblance; when rubbing with fingertips, one could clearly feel the fine internal branching under each underworld pattern. This was a standard Earth Scripture engraving.

Someone with this kind of craftsmanship could go and order ancestral spirit tablets for Grandma Liu's family.

In other words, the manual cost of this photo frame was very expensive, and sometimes it wasn't even a matter of money; one also had to invest human favors.

Besides this, there was another detail, and it wasn't known if it was the photographer's or the makeup artist's good technique, but the old lady in this black-and-white funeral portrait actually gave people a delicate rosy feeling.

This was a very eerie contrast, because it shouldn't have presented this effect at all.

Li Li Zhuiyuan tilted his body, wanting to see if there was anything special about the mirror of the photo frame, but after checking, he didn't find anything unusual.

But when re-examining this funeral portrait, it seemed to have changed slightly. She seemed to have moved, and the character's perspective inside also seemed to have shifted.

Li Li Zhuiyuan took out a "test paper" he had drawn from his pocket and stuck it on, but the talisman paper had no reaction.

This was truly strange; could it really be his illusion?

Although coming here was to find information clues, the youth truly didn't expect that touching a funeral portrait as soon as he entered would get him stuck.

To the point that even he himself fell into a triangular relationship of science, art, and metaphysics, unable to grasp it accurately.

Footsteps of two people came from the bedroom. Li Li Zhuiyuan put the funeral portrait back, stuck it behind him, and prepared to let it fall over again when he got up later, so as to take the opportunity to ask.

Professor Zhu helped his wife out.

The old couple shared the same surname, both surnamed Zhu.

After being awakened earlier, Mrs. Zhu should have simply combed and dressed up, but from her face, one could still see the morbidity.

She was truly at the end of her life; she might not have reached that age, but her body was already approaching a certain critical point.

"Hello, Grandma Zhu."

Li Li Zhuiyuan stood up to greet her, and the funeral portrait behind him fell over again.

Mrs. Zhu looked at Li Li Zhuiyuan with a smile, reached out to pat her husband's hand gently, and said:

"You were right, this child is indeed good-looking, with that scholarly temperament that makes people like him."

Everyone has their own aesthetics; looking at the furnishings inside and outside this house, as well as Mrs. Zhu's profession before retirement, one could tell her interests and preferences.

However, this was the first time Li Li Zhuiyuan had been called to have a scholarly temperament.

Come to think of it, those dead things and evil spirits who died at Li Li Zhuiyuan's hands wouldn't open their mouths to express opposition to this.

"Child, sit down."

"Okay, Grandma."

When Li Li Zhuiyuan sat down, he touched the photo frame of the funeral portrait, and he reached out to tidy it up.

Mrs. Zhu didn't avoid this at all, but instead took the initiative to ask: "Does it look good?"

Professor Zhu got up, wanting to tidy up the funeral portrait photo frame. He was a bit dissatisfied that his wife asked a child this, but he just smiled dotingly; he knew his wife didn't like those constraints.

"It looks good." Li Li Zhuiyuan said to Mrs. Zhu while handing the photo frame to Professor Zhu, "It feels like it was taken better than you look in person now."

"Hahaha." Mrs. Zhu covered her mouth and laughed. This time it was no longer reserved; she was truly happy.

If one said to other women that she looked better in the photo than in person, she would probably be unhappy, but what Mrs. Zhu pursued was this effect; being praised and acknowledged made her feel at ease and secure in her heart.

"Grandma's body isn't good, so I thought about taking it better, so that even if I'm not here, when our Mr. Zhu sits at home and misses me, looking at my photo, he won't be too bored."

Professor Zhu echoed: "Right, right, right, it's very beautiful, very beautiful, yo. I won't put it on the offering table at night; I'll hold it and sleep on the bed."

Grandma Zhu blushed and spat: "Pah, the child is here; what nonsense are you talking about."

Fearing that this topic would slide away, Li Li Zhuiyuan hurriedly asked: "Where was the photo taken? A photo studio? An older brother of mine is planning to go take artistic photos with his partner, and he's worried because he doesn't know which one to choose."

Grandma Zhu said: "At the intersection of Zhengyang Street, Pingju Photo Studio."

"Oh, okay, I've remembered it."

"Although the boss is a young one, his technique is extremely good, very detailed and responsible." Grandma Zhu added, "The price isn't expensive either. You can actually recommend your brother to take his partner to try it."

"Then this photo frame, was it also matched in the photo studio?"

"That's for sure. This photo frame is exquisite, and I like the stripes. The price isn't expensive either, but your brother definitely won't choose this style; there are other styles."

A rehired professor and a retired professor—their food and drink naturally didn't have to worry, but they also didn't have anything to do with wealth. Their profession also made it very difficult to earn extra money.

Things that could make them feel cheap definitely wouldn't have a high price.

Selling expensive things at a cabbage price meant there was a problem with the photo studio.

Next, Grandma Zhu asked Li Li Zhuiyuan what books he had read. Li Li Zhuiyuan naturally wouldn't put Wei Zhengdao out.

He catered to the old lady's preferences and mentioned some books. Grandma Zhu also asked a few questions, and Li Li Zhuiyuan answered them all.

Grandma Zhu was very pleasantly surprised and signaled Li Li Zhuiyuan to follow her into the study, where she examined the youth's calligraphy and painting again.

Professor Zhu pushed the door and said: "Lunch is ready, how are you two?"

Grandma Zhu said with a bitter smile: "I wanted to give the child some pointers, but this child's calligraphy and painting attainments are higher than mine. If it weren't for the fact that my body isn't good and I don't have the energy now, I would have wanted to take this child as my teacher."

Li Li Zhuiyuan's calligraphy had been practiced very well. When he was very young, Li Lan was working in the study, and the floor was piled with stele inscriptions that had been rubbed; he would crawl on them.

As for painting, he learned it from A Li.

The youth was proficient in both calligraphy and painting, but he was far from a master level, but Grandma Zhu was also a person with wide hobbies, proficient in everything but also loose in everything, which instead reflected the youth's professionalism.

Li Li Zhuiyuan helped Grandma Zhu leave the study and sat down to eat.

Two vegetable dishes and one meat dish plus one soup; the dishes were simple and the taste was light.

Grandma Zhu only ate a few mouthfuls, drank half a bowl of soup, and put down her chopsticks.

Professor Zhu enthusiastically greeted Li Li Zhuiyuan to continue eating.

After the meal, Grandma Zhu signaled Li Li Zhuiyuan to help her into the bedroom. Under the bookcase in the bedroom, she took out a set of hardcover books as a gift for Li Li Zhuiyuan.

Although it wasn't an antique, it also had value. For an ordinary family, this could be considered a generous gift.

Li Li Zhuiyuan accepted it and thanked her earnestly.

Grandma Zhu was very happy and held Li Li Zhuiyuan's hand to talk for a while longer.

Because he had to hurry to the photo studio to take a look, Li Li Zhuiyuan used the excuse that he still had classes in the afternoon and had to return to school.

This actually stunned Grandma Zhu, who hurriedly called Professor Zhu to ask: "Is Little Yuan a student?"

"Ah?" Professor Zhu was also confused, "He must be in school."

"You're confused; I didn't mean that." Grandma Zhu looked at Li Li Zhuiyuan: "Are you a university student?"

"Mm, yes."

Professor Zhu slapped his forehead: "That's right, that's right. It was mentioned a long time ago that the school had admitted a child prodigy in advance. Is that you, Little Yuan?"

Li Li Zhuiyuan: "It might not necessarily be me."

"Wasn't it also the college entrance examination top scorer?"

"Then that should be me."

"Haha." Professor Zhu laughed, "I thought you were a child of some faculty member who liked to attend my class; I didn't expect you to really be a student of this school."

Grandma Zhu reached out and touched Li Li Zhuiyuan's face again: "Oh my, so it's our top scorer; no wonder you're so amazing."

Saying goodbye to the two elderly people, Li Li Zhuiyuan left the residential area and took a taxi to Zhengyang Street.

If Grandma Zhu's health problem was caused by some evil spirit, he would have helped solve it along the way, but it wasn't.

She was truly at the end of her life, and the only thing that could extend her life was evil arts.

Wei Zhengdao severely and exhaustively criticized this kind of evil art, and Li Li Zhuiyuan inherited the criticism and also learned it very exhaustively.

But there was really no need to use this; throughout history, he had never seen anyone who used evil arts to extend their life truly get a good ending as expected.

The two elderly people themselves had long since seen through it and could calmly face this temporary separation one after another.

The only thing he could do was probably to take Lu Runsheng and Brother Binbin to help when holding the funeral, after all, they had no descendants.

This counted as a very peaceful transition of clues. The only clue guide in Professor Zhu's house was that photo studio.

But here, a problem on the timeline appeared.

It was because he took many of Professor Zhu's classes on his own initiative that he attracted his attention, and Professor Zhu went home to tell his wife, so Grandma Zhu was curious and wanted to see him, and the deterioration of her physical state accelerated this process.

If one had to extend it backward, it should be that he discovered the peculiarity of this funeral portrait at Grandma Zhu's funeral, and then the timeline could be generously moved backward.

But this logic didn't hold.

He only triggered the subsequent invitation to visit because he went to Professor Zhu's class. If he didn't go to Professor Zhu's class... the two of them probably wouldn't have had any intersection, and he wouldn't have gone to Grandma Zhu's funeral later.

Therefore, if it were confirmed next that the wave he received was real, then this time, he didn't have the good luck he had during the Yu Yu Yu Xuzi big fish incident last time, solving the problem so long in advance.

In other words, this time, he didn't have the first-mover advantage.

Li Li Zhuiyuan turned his head and looked at the street scene constantly passing by outside the car window.

Was it because his behavior of entering the examination room in advance last time was truly too exaggerated... so the Heavenly Dao targeted him and patched this loophole?

If that were really the case, he would have to consider revising the "Jiang Shui Walking Code of Conduct."

Because the version had been updated, the code would have problems with incompatibility.

Secondly, he had to seriously consider controlling his score.

Otherwise, he would study utilizing the rules, and the Heavenly Dao would follow up and patch the rules; wouldn't he be building a wall to block his own future path?

"Zhengyang Street is here; where are you getting off?"

"Master, get off at the intersection ahead."

"Okay."

The taxi pulled over, Li Li Zhuiyuan got out of the car, turned around, and saw this Pingju Photo Studio.

The photo studio wasn't big, and the decoration and layout were very warm. When Li Li Zhuiyuan walked in, he saw the boss who was sweeping the floor.

The boss was very young, under thirty, not tall, wearing a thin windbreaker and a brown beret, looking very spirited.

"Taking photos or picking up photos?"

"Taking photos."

"Taking ID photos?"

"Mm."

"What size?"

"Two-inch."

"Okay, follow me upstairs."

Li Li Zhuiyuan followed the boss up the stairs; the stairs were very narrow and had many turns.

After going up to the second floor, the space was much more spacious, and Li Li Zhuiyuan sat down in front of the blue background cloth.

The boss didn't rush to fiddle with the camera, but took a comb in his right hand and walked over, first using the comb to comb it, and then his right hand grabbed and pushed it again.

"You'll definitely be a handsome guy when you grow up; well, actually, you already are, little handsome guy."

Li Li Zhuiyuan returned a shy smile.

The boss walked behind the camera: "Come, let's get ready, just like this, don't move, one, two, three!"

"Snap!"

The moment the shutter was pressed, Li Li Zhuiyuan only felt his vision go black, and "gurgling" sounds came from all around.

The youth maintained his original sitting posture, didn't move at all, and didn't even tremble his eyelids, but at the same time, on this basis, he activated Yin-walking.

In the Yin-walking perspective, the camera turned into a huge eyeball.

On the eyeball, it was covered with dense bloodshot eyes, and it was constantly turning, carefully examining him up, down, left, and right.

Gradually, on the big eyeball, Li Li Zhuiyuan saw his own face, from blurry to clear, and even, it presented a bit of a three-dimensional feeling.

It saw him, and it remembered him.

"Okay."

The boss's voice sounded, the big eyeball shrank back into the camera, and Li Li Zhuiyuan also ended the Yin-walking state, and everything returned to normal.

"Do you want it now or come pick it up tomorrow?"

"I want it now."

"Then wait a moment, I'll go wash it for you."

"Thank you, sorry to trouble you."

"You're welcome."

The boss walked down the stairs, Li Li Zhuiyuan stood up and followed him out, but when passing by the camera that was set up there, he still turned his head and took a look.

The lens opening facing the user of the camera seemed to have white pus residue, and after accumulating to a certain extent.

"Snap."

It dripped onto the ground.

Li Li Zhuiyuan went downstairs.

"Sit for a while, there's candy there, have some candy."

"Okay, thank you, boss."

The boss lifted the curtain, opened the door inside, and walked in.

Li Li Zhuiyuan took a candy from the tray on the coffee table, held it in his hand, and then walked to the cabinet.

The most things displayed in the photo studio were photos, with children's, young people's, and elderly people's, each age group representing a different photography style.

Children and young people used ordinary photo frames, but the funeral portrait photo frames for the elderly all had underworld pattern stripes.

There were price tags below, none of which were expensive, and were prices that ordinary people could consume normally.

Was there some special twist in this that he hadn't seen?

But earlier at Professor Zhu's house, he had picked up Grandma Zhu's funeral portrait and checked it carefully, but didn't find anything unusual.

And the funeral portrait photo frames displayed here also didn't reveal any specific weak points.

This shop, of course, had problems; when the boss was taking photos for him earlier, he had already seen that big eyeball.

But the problem was, to harm people... you always have to have a harming action, right?

Underworld pattern stripes were funeral details that only high-ranking officials and nobles could pursue in ancient times, and people had lowered them to civilian prices for you.

Besides being overly delicate and realistic and having a certain dynamic visual sense, the funeral portrait also had no harm. Regardless of whether people used special means to take them, from the consumer's perspective... it was just that the boss had good technique.

Grandma Zhu's body was at the natural end of her life, not possessed by evil spirits.

So, what was it plotting?

Actually, Li Li Zhuiyuan could have taken action when taking photos.

Even to be safe, he could call people to gather now and directly storm this photo studio.

But he held back.

The less first-mover advantage there is, the less impatient one should be, because if one goes the wrong way, it might be too late to remedy it.

In the pitch-black back room, the boss stood in front of the chemical pool, motionless.

"Gurgle... gurgle..."

In the pool, there came a collision sound.

The boss reached his hand in, took out two round things, and pressed them into his own eyes respectively.

"Clatter!" "Clatter!"

After the boss blinked, he reached out and took out the photos from the pool.

Turning around to walk out, at the doorway, he stopped.

He touched the position under his eyes, and red, greasy liquid was dripping; it was blood.

He walked to the water pool, dug out the two eyeballs again, and then picked up a water pipe, connected one end to the faucet, and inserted the other end into his eye socket.

Leaning his body forward, he turned on the faucet, and the water flow began to flush the eye socket.

In through the left eye socket, out through the right eye socket.

"Whoosh..."

After flushing for a while, he pulled out the water pipe, switched to inserting it into the right eye socket, and continued to flush.

After confirming it was washed clean, he turned off the faucet and pressed the two eyeballs back in.

"Squish!" "Squish!"

Picking up a dry towel, he began to wipe his face, focusing on wiping the eye area.

Walking to the doorway again, stopping, waiting, raising his hand to touch, confirming there was no problem, only then did he push the door open.

"Creak..."

The boss came out, walked to the counter, began to cut skillfully, and finally took out a small envelope and put the photos inside.

"Here you go."

The small envelope was thick.

The boss didn't ask him how many he wanted, but this thickness definitely wasn't the lowest version.

"How much?"

"The shop's rule: taking photos for little handsome guys is free."

"But that doesn't fit my habit."

"You have already paid; when taking photos, I enjoyed it, so we are even." The boss crossed his hands and waved them.

"I also need to buy a photo frame."

"Buy a photo frame? Which kind?"

"This one." Li Li Zhuiyuan pointed to the black one, "Just this size."

"You'd better change to another one; this is for funeral portrait photo frames."

"I just want this one; I like this style."

The boss showed a difficult expression. After thinking about it, he finally nodded, took out the photo frame, and wrapped it in oil paper.

There was a price tag under the photo frame, and Li Li Zhuiyuan paid the money. The boss didn't say anything else and accepted the money.

"Boss, goodbye."

"Take care, little handsome guy."

Before Li Li Zhuiyuan walked out of the photo studio, his gaze swept over the business license stuck in the corner; the name below... Deng Chen.

Out of the shop, he walked to the opposite side of the road.

Li Li Zhuiyuan turned around and looked at that photo studio again.

The boss stood behind the glass display window; on the shelf at the height of his face, on the left was an old lady's black-and-white funeral portrait, and on the right was an old man's funeral portrait.

He stood in the middle, just watching the youth.

The two pairs of eyes met.

Suddenly, the funeral portraits of the old man and old lady on the left and right seemed to have smiled.

Li Li Zhuiyuan closed his eyes, opened them again, and those two funeral portraits had returned to normal.

But this time, the smile transferred to the boss's face; he grinned, revealing two rows of big white teeth.

His body seemed to be shaking.

Li Li Zhuiyuan made a gesture to take a step forward, as if he were about to cross the street again. Inside the display window, the amplitude of the boss's body shaking increased, and his smile also became more and more forced.

Li Li Zhuiyuan didn't continue forward, but reached out and hailed a taxi that happened to pass by, and sat in.

The boss's body relaxed, as if he had let out a sigh of relief.

"Master, Haihe University."

After saying the location, Li Li Zhuiyuan didn't turn his head to look outside the car window again, but closed his eyes, as if resting.

He had a feeling,

this time, the question type had changed.

By the window in the library, the sun was just right.

Zhou Yunyun was reading, and the soft light spread over her, rendering a clear and clean beauty.

The shadow of the poisoning incident had dissipated. Zhao Mengyao left a "confession letter and poison" and disappeared. In the subsequent investigation, it also involved the whirlpool of her college entrance examination identity being impersonated...

In one by one...

The school controlled public opinion, and Zhou Yunyun obtained the qualification for postgraduate recommendation.

However, for her, these were not the most important things.

She raised her head and shifted her gaze from the book to the young man sitting opposite her.

It wasn't that there were no couples in the library; there were those whispering, those exchanging glances, those reading seriously with a distance between them, and also this one in front of her... sleeping soundly.

He wasn't snoring, but she could hear his breathing; he was truly sleeping soundly.

Hmm, the way he slept looked so cute.

However, there was a girl who was originally sitting diagonally opposite, who should be a senior, who had been looking here since earlier.

Now, she even took the initiative to walk over, stood beside him, and carefully examined his sleeping face.

Zhou Yunyun shook her pen, making an inquiring expression.

The senior gathered her courage and reached out to push Tan Tan Wenbin.

Zhou Yunyun didn't expect the other party to be so direct.

Moreover, after Tan Tan Wenbin was pushed awake, the senior seemed to have confirmed something and hugged Tan Tan Wenbin who had just sat up.

Most importantly, Tan Tan Wenbin was groggy and just woke up, thinking it was Zhou Yunyun hugging him, and he even reached out to touch the other party's head.

While touching, he suddenly found that the girl sitting opposite him looked so much like his partner.

Then...

"Clatter!"

The senior was pushed away, bumped into the table next to her, and fell to the ground.

The attention of nearby students was immediately attracted here. After seeing the picture of one man and two women, with one woman sitting on the ground, even the students most obsessed with studying didn't feel disturbed at this moment.

Because this combination was truly too classic.

Tan Tan Wenbin could be sure that it was this girl who took the initiative to hug him.

He looked at Zhou Yunyun, his gaze asking what was going on; Zhou Yunyun shook her head and spread her hands, indicating she didn't understand either.

Tan Tan Wenbin stood up and signaled Zhou Yunyun to tidy up her things.

Zhou Yunyun nodded, quickly put the books and stationery into her bag, and then followed Tan Tan Wenbin out of the library.

Just after going out, chasing sounds came from behind; it was still that senior.

"It's you, right? It's you, right? It's you, right?"

"My father?"

"Yes, it must be you; I remember you!" The senior made a gesture as if she wanted to pounce on Tan Tan Wenbin.

Fortunately, this time Tan Tan Wenbin was prepared and reached out in advance to press the other party's shoulder, keeping her at an arm's length.

"It's you, I remember you, I've seen you!" The senior was so anxious that her eyes turned red, and her voice carried a crying tone, truly revealing her feelings.

This emotion was so sincere that Tan Tan Wenbin even began to doubt whether he had been drunk and messy.

On the contrary, Zhou Yunyun just looked at this scene very calmly and asked: "Hello, classmate, can you make things clear? There might be a misunderstanding here?"

Tan Tan Wenbin was truly moved in his heart; his partner trusted him more than he trusted himself.

The senior said: "Have you been to Zhengmen Village? Zhengmen Village, you've been there, right? Right?"

Hearing the key term "Zhengmen Village," Tan Tan Wenbin finally remembered who this girl was.

She was one of the university student teams that went to Zhengmen Village to explore.

The reason he didn't recognize her earlier was very simple: at that time, these university students were all dirty, reduced to puppets under control, and when they were rescued, they were dragged on boards and were all bruised and swollen from collisions.

Now that the girl's injuries had healed, she had cleaned herself up, and most importantly, she had put on makeup.

If he could recognize her at a glance, that would truly be seeing a ghost.

"What kind of place is Zhengmen Village? I don't know, and I haven't been there. Classmate, I think you must have recognized the wrong person."

"No, I remember you; you put your face in front of me, and you even touched me!"

I was just checking if you were still alive!

"Classmate, I think you need to rest more." Tan Tan Wenbin turned his finger in a circle at his temple.

Then, he took Zhou Yunyun's hand and continued to walk out.

That senior kept following behind.

Tan Tan Wenbin and Zhou Yunyun walked out of the school gate, and she also followed out of the school gate.

"I said, classmate, I've already said I don't know you, you recognized the wrong person, so can you please not follow us anymore?"

The senior nodded: "It's okay if you don't want to admit it, but I would like to ask you... ask you to have a meal, to express my gratitude, okay?"

"Really, it's not necessary."

"Then I'll keep following you."

"I'm not from your school."

"Then I'll follow her." The senior pointed to Zhou Yunyun, "She's from our school, right?"

Tan Tan Wenbin was silent and stuck out his tongue to lick his lips.

The senior backed away two steps in fear, waving her hands constantly, her voice lowering: "I don't mean to threaten you; I don't have that meaning. I really just want to express my gratitude.

They all said we inhaled poisonous miasma and had hallucinations, saying we actually never entered Zhengmen Village, but they don't remember, while I remember some scenes.

Since these days, I often dream about it at night.

I really, from the bottom of my heart, am grateful. Even if you aren't him, even if I recognized the wrong person, I still want to invite you to have a meal.

Sorry..."

The senior bowed to Tan Tan Wenbin,

"Even if you refuse, I won't pester her. Sorry, it was just that my emotions were too agitated just now."

Tan Tan Wenbin looked at Zhou Yunyun, and Zhou Yunyun nodded.

"Okay, where are we eating?"

"Go to... my family's restaurant?"

"Not going."

"Then I'll choose one nearby?"

"Okay."

It was said to be nearby, but they walked some distance, and finally came to a community shop at the side door of a residential area, with "Jianghu Stir-fry" written on the sign.

Although the location wasn't good, the business was very good. At this time, it was close to mealtime, and it was already full, and there were people queuing outside.

Tan Tan Wenbin said: "Since it's full, let's forget it."

"Don't, it's okay, I'll take charge." The senior walked into the shop to communicate, and then immediately turned around and waved, signaling Tan Tan Wenbin and Zhou Yunyun to come in.

Zhou Yunyun: "The business here is so good, it shows the food must be very delicious."

Tan Tan Wenbin: "I'm telling you, she really recognized the wrong person."

Zhou Yunyun: "I believe whatever you say."

"Okay, then let's go taste the food here; if it's delicious, we'll come often."

This shop opened a small door leading into the residential area, and inside, a small shed was also set up. Although it was already full, they still temporarily arranged a small table and three small stools opposite the kitchen.

The senior went to order dishes first, then went to get drinks, and after sitting down, took out paper towels to wipe the table.

Tan Tan Wenbin's gaze looked toward the kitchen, where a half-bald master near fifty was stir-frying, controlling several pots alone, his movements flowing like water, and as if to deliberately express a kind of calm, he was actually stir-frying with his eyes closed.

Amazing.

Zhou Yunyun took the initiative to communicate with this senior. After all the trouble, everyone finally knew each other's names.

The senior's surname was Luo, named Luo Mingzhu, and she was in the same department as Zhou Yunyun, a junior.

Luo Mingzhu introduced her hobbies, specifically mentioning "loving adventure."

When hearing this, Tan Tan Wenbin was drinking soda and almost sprayed a mouthful of soda out of his nose.

What "loving adventure," it was clearly loving to send herself to death.

Their table should have been specially arranged, and the dishes were served very quickly.

Tan Tan Wenbin picked up his chopsticks and tasted it; the taste was truly very good, the kind that could be tasted to have skill.

Bring A You to eat next time.

The soup was also served quickly, and the small table was already full.

Nearby guests waiting for meals complained about why this table was served so quickly, when they were clearly here first.

The waiter auntie explained that these were family members coming to eat, so they naturally had to be served first.

Hearing this reason, the guests at several nearby tables stopped arguing.

Zhou Yunyun asked: "Is this your family's restaurant?"

Luo Mingzhu shook her head: "No, it's opened by my fourth uncle. My fourth uncle originally worked as a chef in my family's restaurant, but later, seeing my parents cutting corners on ingredients and using inferior goods, he got angry and came out to open this shop on his own."

Tan Tan Wenbin took the initiative to ask: "Quickly tell me the name of your family's restaurant, so I can avoid it in the future."

Luo Mingzhu: "Mingzhu Grand Restaurant on Yushan Street."

Zhou Yunyun: "Did your parents open it using your name?"

Luo Mingzhu: "I was originally named Luo Mingyu, but later my parents changed my name to Luo Mingzhu; I'm just borrowing the name of my family's restaurant."

"Hahaha!" Tan Tan Wenbin was amused.

Seeing Tan Tan Wenbin laugh, Luo Mingzhu also laughed along.

The little "misunderstanding and grudge" between the two earlier was, at this moment, completely dissipated.

Actually, this senior had a very outgoing personality. Her adventure ability was poor, but she also had special points. Others had basically forgotten the experience of Zhengmen Village, but she could still remember some scenes.

Tan Tan Wenbin knew that such people were born with spiritual perception exceeding ordinary people by a notch, and were more sensitive.

Everyone ate dishes and chatted, and Luo Mingzhu no longer insisted on Tan Tan Wenbin admitting the Zhengmen Village matter, instead chatting more and more speculatively with Zhou Yunyun, and the two left each other's dormitory numbers.

Tan Tan Wenbin ate dishes silently; he knew that the senior was making a roundabout attack.

His own silly class monitor actually accepted it, but it might also be advancing by retreating.

He also knew clearly not to be deceived by the seemingly intimate and enthusiastic relationship between two women.

The mealtime passed, and the peak period for guests ended.

The boss who stir-fried finally got a chance to rest, walked out of the kitchen, and while wiping sweat with a wet towel, stood behind Luo Mingzhu:

"Zhuzhu, are these your classmates and friends?"

"Mm, yes. Let me introduce you; this is Zhou Yunyun, this is Tan Tan Wenbin."

Zhou Yunyun: "Hello, Uncle, the food you cooked is really delicious."

Tan Tan Wenbin looked suspiciously; he found that this fourth uncle was still closing his eyes now.

"Haha, thank you. Since you are Zhuzhu's friends, if you want to come eat in the future, just come in and say hello; no need to wait."

Fourth uncle took out a cigarette case from his pocket, pulled one out, and handed it to Tan Tan Wenbin.

Tan Tan Wenbin got up to take it and asked: "Uncle, is your eye injured?"

"Haha, didn't Zhuzhu tell you?"

Luo Mingzhu said: "My fourth uncle has been blind since childhood, but his cooking skills—my father and my other uncles can't compare to my fourth uncle; they are far behind."

"Haha." Fourth uncle laughed very happily; he was very satisfied with the praise and recognition from his niece. "Even if you can't see, you can still stir-fry. Just use your ears. How is the heat, how much seasoning to add—my ears can hear it clearly."

"This is a real skill, amazing."

Tan Tan Wenbin praised sincerely.

The last one he saw with amazing hearing was his own Little Yuan Ge.

Little Yuan Ge's hearing—even if you whispered from far away, he could hear it clearly.

Tan Tan Wenbin's mind immediately flashed the picture of Little Yuan Ge stir-frying with his eyes closed, pfft...

While laughing, Tan Tan Wenbin took out his lighter to light a cigarette for the fourth uncle, regardless of anything else, having tasted such good craftsmanship from others.

"Oh, okay, thank you."

Fourth uncle bit the cigarette, lowered his head, and accurately sent the cigarette butt toward the flame.

Out of politeness, the fourth uncle's hands covered Tan Tan Wenbin's hand holding the lighter.

As soon as their hands touched.

Tan Tan Wenbin's shoulders instantly turned cold, and the crying sounds of two infants sounded instantly!

Under this stimulation, he immediately went into a trance.

In the Yin-walking perspective, the fourth uncle's pair of ears turned into two centipedes folded and coiled there.

These two centipedes seemed to feel the peeping, turned their bodies, looked at Tan Tan Wenbin, and made a gesture as if to pounce.

Tan Tan Wenbin immediately let go of his hand, and the Yin-walking state was lifted.

The cigarette in the fourth uncle's mouth also fell to the ground.

Thinking that this table of dishes was made by this guy, Tan Tan Wenbin recalled the roasted pig skin and boiled shrimp he had eaten in a daze when he first arrived at Grandpa Li's house.

He immediately reached out to pull Zhou Yunyun and ran toward the residential area behind, with the fourth uncle at the exit.

"Hey, what's wrong, what's wrong?" Luo Mingzhu was a bit confused.

Fourth uncle reached out, placed it on Luo Mingzhu's head, and with a "clatter," Luo Mingzhu immediately fainted on the ground, knocking over the small table and shattering the bowls and dishes.

But the guests at nearby tables seemed to have seen nothing and continued to eat and drink.

Fourth uncle's face was gloomy as he walked into the kitchen, and when he came out, he was holding two kitchen knives, chasing straight into the residential area.

Li Li Zhuiyuan got out of the car at the school gate and walked into the school.

Arriving at the living area, he entered the flat-price shop.

Lu Yi sat behind the shop counter and greeted Li Li Zhuiyuan: "Hey, child prodigy brother."

He had been calling Li Li Zhuiyuan this way from the beginning, and later, seeing Tan Tan Wenbin and Yin Meng also call Li Li Zhuiyuan "brother," he continued this form of address.

"Where's Mengmeng?"

Lu Yi: "Lu Runsheng suggested this morning that Mengmeng go find her best friend to go shopping; I guess she won't be back until night."

"What about Lu Runsheng Ge?"

"Lu Runsheng was originally here, but today that fellow villager, Sun Hua, right? The one Lu Runsheng calls Hua Hou—he had bad luck today. In the morning, when he walked here..."

Lu Yi leaned out and pointed to the steps outside.

"He was raising his hand and shouting 'Lu Runsheng Hou' while slipping and falling, 'bang'—his back of the head hit the steps, and he bled a lot.

After Lu Runsheng bandaged him, he borrowed a tricycle from the cafeteria and carried him to the hospital; he hasn't returned yet.

The blood on the ground was still cleaned by me."

"Is the person okay?"

"There shouldn't be any big problems, except for losing a lot of blood, but who can say for sure about head matters? It's safer to send him to the hospital for examination and treatment."

Li Li Zhuiyuan nodded.

Lu Runsheng didn't send the person to the school infirmary but to a large hospital outside the school because Lu Runsheng knew very well that Divine Doctor Fan could only treat people with special constitutions like him and Lin Lin Shu You.

If ordinary people had any big problems, sending them to Fan Shulin for emergency treatment would not only harm the patient but also ruin the divine

It's just that this accident happened a bit too coincidentally.

Especially since, at the very moment he confirmed receiving the spray of the river water, things were also happening around his companions.

"Lu Yi, help me page them. Mengmeng, Tan Tan Wenbin, Lu Runsheng—page them all. Tell them to return to school right now."

When they bought the car last time, the remaining money was used to equip everyone else with pagers.

Li Li Zhuiyuan had one in his schoolbag, too.

"Alright, I'll page them for you."

Lu Yi picked up the receiver and dialed the paging station.

Li Li Zhuiyuan walked back to the dormitory, and when he pushed open the room door, he saw Lin Shu You sitting at the desk, reciting the "multiplication table."

Every time Tan Tan Wenbin went to find Zhou Yunyun, Lin Shu You would be temporarily left to his own devices by Tan Tan Wenbin.

Therefore, Tan Tan Wenbin had also gone out.

This couldn't be considered wrong; letting everyone maintain normal social interactions to find leads on karmic clues was, after all, the established strategy.

"Brother Xiaoyuan, you're back. Have you eaten?"

"I've eaten." Li Li Zhuiyuan paused. "How is your reciting coming along?"

"It's alright... combining the chants with the movements, I'm working hard at it."

"Keep working hard."

Lin Shu You: "Got it! Understood!"

"Also, don't leave this dormitory for now."

Lin Shu You: "Understood! Got it!"

Li Li Zhuiyuan closed the dormitory door and walked out.

His pace noticeably quickened as he went down the stairs. He arrived at the discount store again, stood at the entrance, and pointed at the telephone for Lu Yi.

Lu Yi shrugged and shook his head, signaling that he had paged them all, but no one had called back yet.

Either there just happened to be no phone booth nearby and they were looking for one, or they were temporarily unable to return the call, or perhaps they couldn't even receive the message.

A sentence that the "it" under the peach tree had relayed to him—something Wei Zhengdao had once said—suddenly echoed in Li Li Zhuiyuan's mind:

"He suspected that infinite blasphemy against the Heavenly Dao would eventually invite the true resentment of the Heavenly Dao."

Li Li Zhuiyuan arrived at Liu Liu Yumei's house.

He pushed open the courtyard gate, pulled back the sliding glass door, and saw A Li sitting on the bed.

Although the girl immediately turned her head to look at him after he appeared, her eyes bright and clear.

She had clearly been in a daze just before.

Li Li Zhuiyuan reached out his hand toward A Li, but this time, A Li did not voluntarily offer hers.

"A Li, give me your hand."

The girl shook her head.

Li Li Zhuiyuan smiled: "You don't trust me?"

A Li hesitated.

Li Li Zhuiyuan raised his right hand, spread it open toward A Li, and tapped the center of his palm with the index finger of his left hand.

The burn from back then had long since healed, leaving not even a scar.

But A Li clearly knew what this meant.

The girl seemed to make up her mind, and finally, she reached out her hand.

Li Li Zhuiyuan grabbed her hand and closed his eyes.

He opened them again.

The familiar bungalow, with the offering table in the back covered in broken spirit tablets.

Outside the threshold, the white mist—which had retreated to the periphery after the two consecutive incidents involving Granny Yu and the big fish—had now actually encroached back toward the threshold, stopping just a yard away.

From within the white mist came all sorts of jeering, cursing, and mockery, creating a stifling pressure.

Li Li Zhuiyuan stepped out over the threshold.

The sounds in the white mist ceased instantly.

They were, after all, still afraid.

Li Li Zhuiyuan reached out and pulled the white lantern from the crack in the wall.

Let me see,

this time,

what exactly you are!

Li Li Zhuiyuan gripped the lantern pole and swung the lantern into the white mist before him.

Soon, a powerful pulling force came from the other end.

It had grabbed on, with plenty of strength, carrying a clear provocation. Moreover, this strength was constantly increasing, layer upon layer, escalating in intensity.

Li Li Zhuiyuan's feet were actually dragged, sliding forward.

Suddenly, Li Li Zhuiyuan deliberately let go of the tension, letting the lantern slacken forward. The next moment, Li Li Zhuiyuan exerted force again and jerked it backward violently.

This time, the opponent's strength was much smaller; clearly, it hadn't expected him to pull such a move.

The thing in the white mist was yanked out by Li Li Zhuiyuan.

One, two, three...

Looking at this long string being pulled out, Li Li Zhuiyuan's gaze grew solemn.

Because,

this wave,

had actually brought five!

———

This month, the first seven days are all double monthly ticket days, so the outcome of this month's monthly ticket competition depends on this first week.

Nothing else to say, let's get to work!

Tomorrow, a 20,000-character explosion!

Everyone, please cast your monthly tickets now!

(End of chapter)