Chapter 16

The Cat-Faced Old Lady stared at Li Zhuiyuan in great shock.

She couldn't believe that the words just now came from the mouth of this child in front of her.

Her hands unconsciously let go of the shoulders she had grabbed, and her body also retreated slightly by half a step.

At this moment, she even began to doubt:

Why compared to him, did she seem like the little child who only knew how to throw a tantrum?

She and him,

who exactly was the dead?

He spoke very confidently, very crisply, and he didn't stop; he continued:

"For the disabled one, pay attention to the part of the disability. It is recommended to be hemiplegia. According to the conditions here, it is impossible to use a wheelchair for him, and no one will specifically quit their job to push him around to relax and relieve boredom."

"After paralysis, he can only lie on the bed, curled up in dirty bedding, and needs people to take care of eating, drinking, and pooping."

"He must be able to speak, he must be able to cry and complain, and his hands must be able to pick up things to smash to vent."

"Only then will there be excitement to watch, the interaction will be strong, and the experience will be rich."

The Cat-Faced Old Lady nodded. Her hands unconsciously went to smooth the clothes on the boy that had been wrinkled by her earlier, but her hands were dirty, making the boy's clothes even dirtier. She even felt somewhat timid because of this.

"For the sick one, pay attention, it cannot be a terminal illness at the beginning."

"It must be made into that kind of stubborn disease that can recur repeatedly, can be controlled in stages at the cost of effort, but can never be cured."

"Control the degree of the illness well. It cannot be fatal, but it can make people suffer and endure torture."

"Also need to control the frequency of the illness. After each cure, let him rest for a while, let him experience the preciousness of health."

"But this interval cannot be too long. Cannot let him possess a complete usable labor cycle, cannot give him the opportunity to create value for the family."

"In this way, he himself, and his family, can fall into a vicious cycle of repeated illness torture and treatment investment, more easily stimulating family conflicts, tearing off disguises, and exposing the ugliness of human nature."

The Cat-Faced Old Lady retreated two more steps silently, folded her hands in front of her chest, and asked:

"Are... are there any more?"

"Most importantly, the one who is made crazy cannot be completely crazy. Being completely crazy is too cheap for her, which is equivalent to giving her liberation, which is meaningless."

"It must be made into that kind of intermittent madness. For most of the day, she must be normal, only going crazy for a short while, but her madness must have strong aggressiveness."

"I think her family should take mandatory control measures against her, just like she did to her mother."

"She should have enough sober time to scold, to wail, to curse, to be hysterical."

"She should repent, right? We don't need to understand her or substitute for her, but treat her repentance as one of the sources of happiness and enjoy it well."

Speaking of this, Li Zhuiyuan nodded to himself:

"The details that need attention are currently these. Do you have any supplementary suggestions?"

Cat-Faced Old Lady: "No... none."

"Actually, this plan originally had a certain risk. What if a great filial son really appeared among their three descendants?

However, it shouldn't happen. Just based on the fact that the old lady's grandchildren all felt that the old lady lived too long, sucked their fortune, and ruined their future.

This kind of child quality should still be reassuring."

Cat-Faced Old Lady: "Hmm, reassuring, very reassuring."

"Then, what do you think of this plan?"

"Ah? Good, very good, very good. I will follow your instructions and do so."

At this time, Li Zhuiyuan saw that black gas actually began to rise on the Cat-Faced Old Lady, a bit like the dry ice evaporating on the stage.

"What's wrong with you?"

The rising black gas began to converge rapidly.

"Because this plan is too good. It's so good that just thinking about it... my resentment actually had a trend of dissipating."

"Then can you still persist?"

"I can. My resentment is very heavy. I think, when the three of them reach the retribution ending they deserve, I will be able to be completely liberated."

"So, you have actually always been very painful?"

"Every moment, it's like being tortured in hot oil, enduring torture."

"If I couldn't speak, if I didn't have thinking, it might be much easier, unfortunately... I have, and this kind of pain will be multiplied several times."

"Really pitiful."

"No, not pitiful. We are this kind of... no, it's me."

"I, this kind of thing, can exist, can be born, is already not easy."

"Although every time I look up at the sky, I feel panic and fear, but I... am grateful to Him."

Li Zhuiyuan looked at the Cat-Faced Old Lady in front of him. Actually, he wasn't looking at the old lady, but at that black cat.

The old lady worked hard to raise the three children and helped them bring up their grandchildren.

But in the end, the one who truly felt the old lady's kindness, and even didn't hesitate to endure huge torture every day to take revenge for the old lady, was actually the old, ugly, and disabled cat that the old lady took in.

Perhaps, the biggest difference between humans and beasts is probably that the lower limit of humans can be lower than beasts.

"However, are you sure that telling... reminding me of these things, you won't have any trouble yourself?"

"Me?" Li Zhuiyuan shook his head, "How could I have any trouble? I am clearly doing good deeds."

"Doing good deeds?"

"Yes."

Li Zhuiyuan pointed to the three Niu siblings still kneeling in the room and continued to explain:

"You, this dead evil spirit, want to kill them, but I saved their lives. Isn't this doing good deeds and accumulating virtue?"

The Cat-Faced Old Lady opened her mouth, revealing a mouth of rotten teeth.

"Can... can it also be explained like this?"

"Actually, I haven't entered the door yet. I'm still reading basic books. I actually don't know if my explanation is correct. To know the result... I can only wait for me to go back and continue reading the books."

"I'm still young, my grades in this area are not good, I have to study hard."

Cat-Faced Old Lady: "You... still want to continue studying?"

"Hmm, I have to."

"Thank you."

"Don't thank me. I advised you to do this, and I also have my own selfishness."

"My Great-Grandpa and the others came to the Niu family to sit at the funeral. If all three of these people had accidents and died today, then the signboard that my Great-Grandpa and the others rely on for a living would be smashed."

"Great-Grandpa, he is really good to me."

"Actually, your Great-Grandpa, he has already lifted his hand."

"What?"

Cat-Faced Old Lady: "Don't worry, I know what to do."

Li Zhuiyuan revealed a childlike innocent smile: "Thank you, Grandma."

At this time, shouts came from afar. It was Great-Grandpa and the others who had found their way near here.

Li Zhuiyuan waved at the Cat-Faced Old Lady, and then walked onto the road.

"Little Yuan Hou! Little Yuan Hou! Where are you, Little Yuan Hou!"

Hearing the shouts of the figures in the distance, Li Zhuiyuan felt very comforted and enjoyed it. When he first came to his old home, he was not used to adding "Hou" after his nickname.

But generally, it was the elders who called him like this. In this tone particle of local dialect, it carried the elders' closeness and love for him.

Professor Xu, a professor of Chinese literature at the faculty dormitory, was from Guangdong. He once said that with economic development and population movement, dialects would gradually withdraw from the historical stage.

Pan Zi, Lei Zi, and Ying Zi, they were also speaking Mandarin at school now.

Therefore, Li Zhuiyuan knew that when the elders gradually passed away, this "Little Yuan Hou" calling him would only be able to be found in the depths of memory to savor in the future.

"Great-Grandpa! Great-Grandpa!"

Li Zhuiyuan raised his hand and began to respond.

Li Sanjiang and Runsheng ran over, followed by Shan Shan Daye, Liu Jinxia, and some villagers.

"Little Yuan Hou, are you okay?" Li Sanjiang touched Li Zhuiyuan from head to toe, confirming that his great-grandson was not missing any arms or legs.

Runsheng's face was full of sweat, and he was smiling very happily.

They had separately grabbed Niu Fu and Niu Rui, but after a while, they discovered that the two of them were pressing down on two bundles of straw.

Looking up again, Little Yuan Hou was gone, so they were so anxious that they immediately came out to search.

Shan Shan Daye was injured, but he felt he could still help. Liu Jinxia didn't intend to come out, but she didn't dare to stay in the tent alone.

As for the villagers behind, many were willing to come out to help find the child after hearing the shouts, and more villagers were gathering here from behind.

It had to be said that the folk customs here were still very simple, but no matter how good a fruit tree was, it couldn't avoid bearing some crooked fruits.

Some villagers had already started shouting that the Niu family was gone. Seeing that it had been so long after midnight and people hadn't returned, the families of the three Niu siblings also started to go out to search.

"Great-Grandpa, inside there, in the old house." Li Zhuiyuan in Li Sanjiang's arms pointed softly, ensuring only Great-Grandpa could hear.

Li Sanjiang nodded, pushed Li Zhuiyuan to Liu Jinxia's side, and he himself raised a peach wood sword, his figure suddenly becoming much more majestic.

Li Zhuiyuan saw clearly, it was the one he brought.

"Come, there are many of us, everyone follow me, charge, beat the dead, save people!"

Li Sanjiang took the lead and charged toward the old house. Runsheng followed without a word. Shan Shan Daye stamped his feet and also bit his lip to follow.

The villagers behind were somewhat timid. They were willing to come out to help find the child, but charging at that kind of thing, they were really scared.

However, there were many people after all. Even if they hesitated, they all slowly followed.

But after Li Sanjiang and the three of them rushed in, a harsh cat cry and fighting sound immediately came from the old house, and during the period, it seemed to be mixed with the old lady's screams and scolding.

Some villagers heard it. This was Old Lady Niu's voice.

But wasn't Old Lady Niu already dead, and dead for half a year?

With this kind of battle, no matter how brave the villagers were, they didn't dare to go forward, and could only stand on the spot waiting for the result.

Fortunately, the screaming gradually stopped. After a while, Li Sanjiang carried one on his back, and Runsheng carried two, walking out from under the old locust tree in front of the broken house.

"People are saved!"

"My God, the Niu family is really here!"

"The dead has been collected!"

Li Sanjiang threw the Niu Lian on his back, and with a "thud," Niu Lian fell directly onto the gravel road.

Runsheng followed suit, loosened his arms, and Niu Fu and Niu Rui slid down, rolling and lying steady.

A crowd of villagers immediately surrounded them to watch the curiosity, asking this and that. This was the talk after dawn, and even more an important experience to show off to people from other areas in the future. At that time, one could light a cigarette and pretend to be mysterious:

"Hey, what you just said doesn't count as anything. Let me tell you about something that happened in our village back then..."

These three Niu siblings suddenly disappeared and all appeared in the old residence, and now they were still unconscious. Didn't this clearly mean they encountered evil things?

The villagers' eyes looking at Li Sanjiang and the others carried admiration and respect, constantly offering compliments. This was truly having great ability.

Who could guarantee that they would be smooth sailing for a lifetime without encountering any miasma? Even if they didn't encounter it, what about their family, relatives, and friends? People with this kind of special ability, as long as their brains weren't flooded, would treat them politely.

Shan Shan Daye looked at Li Sanjiang standing at the front being praised by everyone, feeling indignant and his lips itching.

Just now he rushed in together, and saw a Cat-Faced Old Lady standing at the door of the old house. Li Sanjiang stopped with the peach wood sword raised, waiting for himself and Runsheng to go first.

As a result, the Cat-Faced Old Lady didn't know what kind of madness she was having, pounced on Li Sanjiang, and was directly pierced through by the peach wood sword in Li Sanjiang's hand.

Then it was a ghost crying and wolf howling, cat crying and old lady crying, and finally... it was actually gone!

At that time, Shan Shan Daye himself wanted to give himself two more slaps to see if he was blind. A corpse demon that could confuse them all and make him learn to pee like a dog... was destroyed just like this?

Li Sanjiang himself was somewhat surprised. He even reached out and flicked the peach wood sword in his hand, sighing:

"It should be real peach wood. The quality of the state-run furniture factory is indeed trustworthy."

"Make way, make way!" Li Sanjiang pointed to the three people lying on the ground, "They were possessed and haven't woken up yet. Everyone go to the nearby porcelain vat and scoop some golden juice, burn it hot, and pour it into them."

Actually, Li Sanjiang knew that Blind Liu was best at removing evil, but firstly, Blind Liu was injured and in a bad state, and secondly, he knew what these three were. It served them right.

At the moment, the villagers were divided into two groups. One group was responsible for carrying the three Niu siblings back to the tent where the funeral service was held, and the other group went to dig out the porcelain vat to prepare to burn golden juice. The latter was clearly more excited and brisk, walking with wind.

In the tent, it was suddenly crowded. Some villagers who were still sleeping were also awakened by the movement or called by neighbors to come over and watch the excitement.

During the day, the funeral service here was cold and clear, but in the second half of the night, it was bustling with people.

Shan Shan Daye and Liu Jinxia were sitting on chairs, being asked about their well-being by the villagers.

In the eyes of the villagers, they were definitely injured while fighting the dead!

Some children had sharp eyes and saw Shan Shan Daye's soaking wet pants, and were scolded by their adults, saying it was soaked by the water on the dead after fighting the dead.

There were also villagers passing by the grave mound who came to pass the message, saying that Old Lady Niu's grave had been dug open, and there was nothing left inside.

This news immediately pushed the discussion atmosphere in the tent to a climax, even more lively than when showing open-air movies.

The busiest was still Li Sanjiang. He was still holding the peach wood sword high and walking and waving, performing the ritual.

His movements were not so standard and refined, nor were they coherent and elegant, much worse than the Daoist priests and monks of the funeral troupe in terms of viewing, but the villagers all knew that the funeral troupe was just performing to fool people, and the old man in front of them had true ability.

Li Sanjiang slashed here, stabbed there, walking and stopping, stopping and walking, and chanting some old words in his mouth.

These words were chanted very vaguely. In Li Zhuiyuan's ears, it was a bit like "Yang Family Generals" played on the radio that Great-Grandpa listened to when sitting on the terrace to enjoy the cool at night.

Li Sanjiang was well-rested, and with so many people paying attention and cheering around, he danced even more vigorously.

When a foul smell came, Li Sanjiang decisively stopped:

"Alright, the ghost atmosphere has been removed, the demon qi has been cleared, everyone can rest assured, there will be nothing wrong here in the future."

Everyone applauded and cheered together.

Li Sanjiang stood with the sword, smiling implicitly.

He himself knew that the set of performance movements earlier were all meaningless, but he didn't collect extra money, did he? That didn't count as promoting feudal superstition for profit, just purely seeking peace of mind for the villagers and providing emotional value.

The golden juice in the plastic bucket was sent over, rising with mist, still hot.

Many villagers nearby started to retch after smelling the odor, and some even vomited, but even so, not a single one wanted to avoid the scene!

Especially those who grabbed the inner circle, the smell was the strongest, but they still pinched their noses and watched seriously. Those in the outer circle kept jumping, afraid of missing the famous scene.

This could truly be considered smelling foul but looking fragrant.

Li Sanjiang's own stomach was churning, but he still had to force himself to instruct the villagers to pour it.

Several nosy villagers had long wrapped wet cloth strips on their noses, first prying open the mouths of the three Niu siblings, and then carefully pouring it in with the big spoon used for the pig trough;

This hand was not shaky at all, truly very steady, not a single drop fell or overflowed;

Just like pouring hot water into a thermos, one could even hear the sound of "drip-drop."

Niu Fu, who was poured first, woke up. He first lay on the ground and vomited.

Then it was Niu Rui and Niu Lian.

Soon, the three siblings vomited together, and their own children also brought clear water for them to rinse their mouths.

The surrounding villagers were all beaming with joy, praising one after another. Although the smell was not good, it was truly effective.

After the three Niu siblings finished vomiting, or were called gradually adapted, they all cried and ran to Li Sanjiang's knees, hugging Li Sanjiang's legs and wailing in gratitude.

They had a little memory of when the incident happened, and they all saw their own mother coming to claim their lives. If Li Sanjiang and the others hadn't been here to sit at the funeral today, they would have really been taken away by that heartless mother.

This was crying for their narrow escape from death, so they cried exceptionally genuinely. Niu Lian was even full of words, praising Li Sanjiang as her own rebirth parents.

Her two older brothers followed the sister's tail and echoed, just like when they were crying at the funeral during the day, like harmony.

Li Sanjiang tried to persuade them while trying hard to push them away. Firstly, he disliked the smell on them now, which was too strong, and secondly, Li Sanjiang felt it was unlucky to be their rebirth parents. Which one was this gratitude? It was clearly cursing himself!

However, with the personal testimony of the three Niu siblings after waking up, it was equivalent to adding another layer of halo to Li Sanjiang, along with Shan Shan Daye, Liu Jinxia, and others, in the hearts of the villagers.

After this, people in this village or nearby villages who encountered things would probably come to Siyuan Village to find the Li family corpse-salvagers.

After a series of crying, pouring out, and pulling, Li Sanjiang received the final payment from the three Niu siblings.

Actually, the final payment wasn't much, because the rules for this kind of thing were to pay most of it in advance, but this time the final payment was extra thick, really not a little.

It seemed that these three Niu siblings were only stingy to their own mother, but very generous to their own lives and outsiders.

Shan Shan Daye held the red envelope of the funeral gift, and his lips couldn't be pressed down, revealing black tooth holes.

But turning his head to look, he found that the one in Li Sanjiang's hand was much thicker than his own, and it was another chest tightness. It was like this every time, every time!

Liu Jinxia was still okay. She wasn't very happy, nor very sad. It was just that her face was still burning with pain. She didn't know if her face skin wasn't as thick as Shan Shan Daye's, or if that boy named Runsheng didn't hold back on her.

The three Niu siblings also wanted to recognize Li Sanjiang as their godfather, but were refused by Li Sanjiang without hesitation.

For this reason, Li Sanjiang also pulled out a set of fate theories, saying that he was born with a lonely fate of having no children, not suitable for recognizing dry relatives.

This set of rhetoric Liu Jinxia was familiar with. People in this line all had a bit of commercial image on them.

Before leaving, Li Sanjiang also specifically exhorted and reminded the three Niu siblings in public:

"Anyone, whatever they do, every account is registered with God. This time I violated the rules to save you, which is already considered going against God."

"Next, you must do good deeds, be pious and do good, and strive to accumulate virtue. If your heart is not sincere and your thoughts are not pure, I am afraid you will encounter some disasters not long after."

"That is not something I can manage. I can only help up to here."

This was actually just a piece of official jargon in the industry, collecting the current profit and name first, and then drawing a line with future things.

But these words were recalled by the villagers not long after, and they gave a thumbs up to Li Sanjiang's ability again, and some even shouted the respectful title of "Old Immortal Li."

So much so that later, the families of the three Niu siblings respectfully invited Li Sanjiang to "see a doctor" again.

However, these were all later stories, and I won't mention them for now.

In short, when the messy things were completely finished, it was already past four o'clock in the morning.

Runsheng pushed the flatbed cart out. Li Sanjiang, Shan Shan Daye, and Liu Jinxia sat down in order. Li Zhuiyuan also wanted to go up, but heard the sound of a bicycle bell coming from behind. Turning his head, it was Qin Shu.

"Great-Grandpa, I'm going to sit on Qin Shu's bike."

"Go, go, go back and rest early."

Li Zhuiyuan came to the 28-inch bike. Qin Shu picked him up and placed him on the front crossbar, then he pushed the bike for a distance, stepped on the pedal, and got on the bike.

A bit sleepy, Li Zhuiyuan simply leaned against Qin Shu's chest and dozed off.

Qin Shu lowered his head and looked at the boy in his arms, somewhat surprised. He actually didn't ask if he had been on the scene the whole time.

This caused the rhetoric he had prepared to not be used.

From Shigang back to Siyuan Village, the horizon was already fish-belly white.

"Uncle, rest early."

"Hmm, you sleep early too."

Li Zhuiyuan ran into the house, came to the second floor, and went directly to take a bath.

In the east bedroom, Qin Li, who was originally sleeping, heard the movement coming from the embankment and sat up.

"Sleep, don't go see him now. He just came back, and he is tired. Let him rest well. If you go find him now, he still has to spend his mind and energy on you."

"Once or twice is fine, but if it happens too many times, anyone will be unable to bear it and will feel annoyed."

Qin Li looked at Liu Yumei, with doubt in her eyes.

"Be good, child, Grandma won't lie to you. If you want to be playmates for a long time, then when two people are together, both must feel comfortable and happy, understand?"

Qin Li lay back down.

"By the way, don't be too anxious to enter his room to wait for him tomorrow morning. Wait until he wakes up before you go. It's best, let him come down to pick you up."

Qin Li, lying on the bed, began to tremble her eyelashes.

"Alright, alright, wait until he wakes up and walks out of the bedroom door, then you go up."

Qin Li closed her eyes and began to sleep.

Liu Yumei helped her granddaughter cover the quilt, then walked to the middle room and opened the door. Qin Li was standing at the door.

After coming in, Qin Li whispered the things that happened today. Liu Yumei nodded, and Qin Li left.

"Sigh..."

Liu Yumei turned to look at the place where the spirit tablets were enshrined. She had the habit of chatting with the spirit tablets every day, but today, just as she had brewed her emotions, she was interrupted by a smell.

It was the duck egg with a cracked shell placed on the mourning hall. In this weather... it had already started to stink.

When Li Zhuiyuan finished bathing, Great-Grandpa and the others hadn't returned yet, so he went into the bedroom and lay on the bed to sleep.

Waking up from sleep, it was almost noon.

He looked at the chair in the bedroom, but didn't see that figure, feeling somewhat lost in his heart.

Don't know what clothes she was wearing today.

Getting up, taking the washbasin, pushing the door open, she wasn't standing at the door, and there was no figure of her on the stool in the northeast corner where she read books.

Li Zhuiyuan walked to the edge of the terrace and looked down.

The girl was wearing a chest-high pleated skirt today, with red on top and goose yellow on the bottom skirt. Her hair was draped softly on her shoulders, more lively and playful than usual.

She was still sitting inside the threshold, with a pair of embroidered shoes stepping on the threshold.

The girl sensed something, looked up, and looked at the second floor.

"Steady, A-Li!"

Qin Li stood up and walked into the house.

Leaving Liu Yumei sighing and covering her head behind.

Qin Li came to Li Zhuiyuan on the second floor, her eyes looking at him.

"I came back late last night and overslept."

After explaining, Li Zhuiyuan began to wash up, then held Qin Li's hand and went downstairs. It was time for dinner, and he was hungry.

Downstairs was very lively. Li Sanjiang, Shan Shan Daye, and Liu Jinxia had already started drinking against a plate of peanuts and a bowl of fish jelly.

Liu Jinxia and Shan Shan Daye's wounds were bandaged, and ointment was applied to their faces.

They didn't go to the clinic. People in their line of work shouldn't easily go to the clinic, especially Liu Jinxia. Many people still came to her to "cure diseases."

However, Liu Jinxia always had a sense of proportion in doing things. Knowing how much she weighed, every time she asked patients to drink the talisman water she made with boiled sugar water and black sesame paste, she would ask the family members to take the patients to the health center to continue seeing a doctor or continue taking medicine, stating that this was just a small way to cooperate with the doctor.

Li Zhuiyuan knew that the one who applied medicine to them should be Auntie Liu. Last time Auntie Liu applied medicine to Great-Grandpa, her craftsmanship was very good.

"Where is Brother Runsheng?"

"Runsheng, ah." Shan Shan Daye hiccuped, just about to speak, when he saw Runsheng and Qin Shu returning from the field outside.

Runsheng, went to farm.

Looking at him carrying a hoe, barefoot, and sweaty, Li Zhuiyuan suddenly felt that he was a bit like someone eating for free, although he indeed was.

"Eat, eat!"

Auntie Liu greeted everyone to eat.

Liu Yumei and the others were at one table, Li Sanjiang and the others were at one table, Li Zhuiyuan and Qin Li sat at a small table, and... Runsheng sat at a table alone.

That table was in the loneliest corner, with a large rice basin in front of him, and in the basin were vegetables poured from the big table, with a large incense stick as thick as an arm inserted on top.

Runsheng smiled very contentedly. Don't know if it was for the food or the incense, or in his eyes, there was no difference at all.

Therefore, it wasn't that everyone isolated him, but that the large incense stick would smoke people's eyes if they got close, so they couldn't eat at all.

Li Sanjiang also joked with Shan Shan Daye:

"Hehe, look, Runsheng Hou's appetite is getting bigger and bigger. In the future, when eating, he will have to burn pagoda incense directly!"

Shan Shan Daye hummed twice and buried his head in eating porridge.

He couldn't eat dry food even if he wanted to now, because his teeth were gone.

After dinner, Li Zhuiyuan took Qin Li back to the old place on the second floor to read books.

At this time, a tricycle came up to the embankment. The one riding the tricycle was Li Juxiang, and the one sitting in the back was Cui Cui.

"Mom."

"Grandma."

As soon as the mother and daughter entered, they ran to Liu Jinxia, looking at Liu Jinxia like this and expressing anxiety and concern.

It seemed that Liu Jinxia returned here in the morning to treat her wounds and then took a nap. Afraid that her family would worry, she didn't go home first.

"Mom is fine, fine. Grandma is fine, why cry, don't cry."

Liu Jinxia comforted her daughter and granddaughter well.

Cui Cui wiped away her tears and stopped crying, but her gaze was wandering here.

"Go find your Brother Yuan Hou to play, he is upstairs." Liu Jinxia pointed upward.

"Alright."

"Don't play too long, we will take your grandma home soon. You come specifically to find Little Yuan Hou to play in two days."

"I know, Mom."

Cui Cui walked up the stairs, came to the second floor terrace, and saw Little Yuan brother and a girl with very beautiful clothes sitting together reading books.

She rarely went out to play in the village on weekdays. Li Sanjiang's house was also a place where people in the village rarely went when they had nothing to do, and Qin Li would never go out at all. So she had only heard a word from her grandmother before, saying that a long-term worker lived at Sanjiang Great-Grandpa's place, bringing his own mother and daughter.

Today, it was Cui Cui's first time seeing Qin Li.

"Cui Cui, you're here."

Li Zhuiyuan stood up and greeted Cui Cui.

Qin Li also turned to the side. She didn't look at Cui Cui, but continued to look at Li Zhuiyuan.

Cui Cui saw the girl's face. She covered her mouth, but still exclaimed directly:

"Wow, so good-looking, so beautiful!"

Before, she only felt the clothes were good-looking, like the kind she had only seen on TV. Now that she saw the person, she was really too good-looking.

Even though she heard Cui Cui's

Li Zhuiyuan walked up to Cuicui and introduced her, "Cuicui, this is Qin Li, Grandma Liu's granddaughter."

"Hello! My name is Cuicui, Li Cuicui."

Qin Li followed Li Zhuiyuan, and seeing Cuicui take the initiative to approach her, her eyelashes began to flutter.

Li Zhuiyuan held her hand, and she calmed down, but she still made no response to Cuicui's enthusiasm.

Cuicui felt a bit awkward.

"Cuicui, Ali has a shy personality. She isn't targeting you; she's like this with everyone else."

"Is that so!"

A smile appeared on Cuicui's face again. Hearing that Ali didn't dislike her, but rather disliked everyone, she felt very happy.

After all, everyone else in the village just disliked her, but Ali treated her the same as everyone else!

Li Zhuiyuan put away his books for the moment, took out some snacks, and everyone started chatting.

In reality, it was just Li Zhuiyuan and Cuicui talking, while Qin Li remained silent.

And because Cuicui was nearby, Li Zhuiyuan had to keep holding Qin Li's hand, otherwise she might suddenly lash out.

Cuicui ate while her gaze drifted from time to time between Brother Xiaoyuan and Sister Qin Li, focusing mainly on Sister Qin Li, because she was truly too beautiful.

As for other thoughts, she had none. She didn't even have that kind of possessiveness common among playmates—the "you must play with me and aren't allowed to play with her" type of thing simply didn't exist in Cuicui's heart.

She was very happy to make another friend today, especially after hearing Brother Xiaoyuan explain that Qin Li had always been alone and had no friends in the past. She felt very sad and distressed; she felt that this beautiful sister was even more miserable than herself.

Soon, Liu Jinxia's voice came from downstairs; it was time for them to go home.

"Goodbye, Brother Xiaoyuan; goodbye, Sister Ali. I'll come back to play with you in two days."

Li Zhuiyuan waved at Cuicui, then picked up Ali's hand and waved it as well.

He could feel a slight resistance from Ali.

After Cuicui left, Li Zhuiyuan lowered his head to look at Qin Li in front of him and said:

"I know you have already adapted to that self-enclosed darkness, but I still suggest you try to step out and feel the outside world, and then make a decision after experiencing it, whether or not to go back."

Qin Li didn't speak, just looked at Li Zhuiyuan earnestly.

Having experienced that inexplicable feeling a few times recently, Li Zhuiyuan felt more and more that Ali's present might very well be his own future.

No, looking at his mother's current state, his own future would only be more severe than Ali's.

Next came the quiet time for reading.

With the accumulation from his previous reading, plus the practical perception of having seen the dead twice in reality, Li Zhuiyuan now read "Records of Jianghu Strange Tales" at the speed of flipping through a comic book.

For every chapter and every page, his keen eyes captured keywords and special points to form cognitive memory, then he flipped the page quickly.

With suitable comparative reference points, other dead were just variations of the basics, with some additions and subtractions.

Li Zhuiyuan found the feeling he used to have when flipping through newly issued textbooks.

One volume flipped through quickly, then he switched to the next.

Finally, just before Liu Yi called for dinner, Li Zhuiyuan finished flipping through the forty-second volume of "Records of Jianghu Strange Tales."

On the bottom right corner of the last page of the final volume, a few lines of small print remained:

【This book is the result of my spirit wandering the heavens and earth, traveling across rivers, mountains, lakes, and marshes. Ordinary people who read it will only treat it as strange tales to add to their tea-time chatter; if one truly savors it with relish, then their fate is truly full of twists and turns.

I can only wish you good luck, my friend.

—Wei Zhengdao.】

Li Zhuiyuan leaned back on the rattan chair, placed one hand behind his head, and sighed inwardly:

The author of this book is truly an interesting person.

As for what the author said at the end, Li Zhuiyuan could understand it. Ordinary people who hadn't seen the dead would just read it as ghost stories, but if they had truly seen them... well, wouldn't that just mean their fate was bad?

At this moment, Li Zhuiyuan felt a soft little hand slip behind his head, its fingertips interlocking with his own. It was Qin Li.

Li Zhuiyuan smiled at her, then closed his eyes, preparing to nap for a while. After dinner, he could go to the basement to find new books.

Hmm, it seems more comfortable when resting on something other than his own hand.

Qin Li looked earnestly at the boy in front of her with his eyes closed, from his hair to his forehead, to his eyes, his nose, and his mouth, and then she brought her gaze back to start counting his eyelashes one by one.

At dinner, Shan Shan Daye said that tomorrow he would have Runsheng push him to the town health center to get a set of dentures, and then push him home. In two days, he would have Runsheng come to Li Sanjiang's place.

Once there was business, he would entrust someone to call Runsheng back to fish for corpses.

Li Sanjiang was so angry he slammed his chopsticks down and cursed:

"So you're keeping your mule at my place, taking it away when you need it, and putting it back here to eat my fodder when you're done?"

If it were just eating regular fodder, that would be one thing, but this guy's appetite alone exceeded everyone else's!

In the past, when Ting Hou cooked, there was only a shallow pot of rice, but when he was here, she had to cook a separate pot just for him.

Shan Shan Daye puffed on his water pipe, glanced at Li Zhuiyuan, who was eating with the beautiful young girl at the small table, and laughed: "I say, Sanjiang Hou, you're at this age now, you have to count on someone to take over. If you aren't counting on Runsheng Hou, are you counting on this little Yuan Hou?"

"Bullshit!"

"Heh, whether it's bullshit or not, listen to me first. I know you found little Yuan Hou's grandfather to take care of your old age and funeral, and I believe your judgment as Sanjiang Hou won't be wrong. But you've lived a comfortable life your whole life; you wouldn't want to be bedridden when you're truly old and still have to suffer, or start selling off your belongings, would you?

What if you sell off all your belongings and you still haven't died? Drink porridge and thin gruel every day?

Yes, Han Hou will share half of whatever he has to eat with you, but look at the life Han Hou is living now.

If you want to live comfortably and well in your old age, you need not only someone to serve you sincerely, but also..."

Shan Shan Daye rubbed two fingers together at Li Sanjiang.

"You also need income. Runsheng Hou might eat a bit much, but he's a good hand at fishing for corpses and doing work. This kid is much more capable than me.

Besides, you, Sanjiang Hou, aren't short of this bit of rice and grain. If you just give him a little less meat and a little less vegetables, as long as there's enough rice, won't that be fine!"

"What about incense?"

At this moment, Liu Yi, who was bringing the soup, smiled and chimed in: "I know how to make incense using traditional methods. Not only will it be enough for him to eat, but we can also have a little extra business."

"Uh..." Li Sanjiang rubbed his nose, suddenly feeling that this was actually quite good. But then he turned to ask Shan Shan Daye, "If Runsheng Hou is given to me, what will you do for your old age? You old rascal, you aren't thinking of coming to my place to sponge off my retirement, are you?"

"Don't worry, I won't have a good end."

"What kind of talk is that?"

"The truth. I've seen through it. I don't have your good fortune to be able to lie in bed and have a peaceful end."

"What nonsense are you spouting? If you have Runsheng Hou break your legs now, won't you be lying in bed and heading toward a peaceful end?"

Shan Shan Daye: "..."

After some cursing, chatting, and shilly-shallying, this matter was considered tacitly agreed upon.

Li Zhuiyuan was quite happy. Watching Runsheng there, drooling while waiting for the incense to finish burning, how great! As long as Runsheng was there, he would have an extra practical channel for his reading and studies.

After dinner, Li Zhuiyuan sent Qin Li back to the east room, then went to the cabinet drawer to get his flashlight and reinsert the batteries.

It was a rural habit to remove the batteries from the flashlight after use, supposedly to prevent power drain.

Li Zhuiyuan didn't plan to ask his great-grandfather to change the lightbulb in the basement for now; he felt that carrying a flashlight inside gave it a treasure-hunting atmosphere.

Following the flashlight beam, he arrived at the box he had opened for the first time. There were still quite a few books inside, and he planned to clear them out box by box.

With the flashlight in his left hand, he reached in with his right, like drawing a lottery ticket, fishing around inside until finally, Li Zhuiyuan touched two stacks of books.

These two stacks of books were very thick and had hard covers, similar to book jackets, which kept all the volumes of a set neatly together.

He took out the two stacks of books and placed them on the ground.

Each set had eight volumes, and none of them were too thick. There was no writing on the book jacket covers. Li Zhuiyuan first pulled one book out from each set and found that there was no writing on the covers of the books themselves either.

He could only open them to look at the content first. As the flashlight shone on them, Li Zhuiyuan was stunned for a moment.

It was handwritten, and the calligraphy was good—very beautiful small regular script—but the problem was that the font was too small, like ant legs, and both sides were densely packed...

So, although the books weren't thick, the content was terrifyingly rich.

To read these books, he was afraid he would have to find a magnifying glass.

He flipped through the other set, and it was actually the same font and just as small.

Could these two sets be by the same author?

Li Zhuiyuan held the flashlight and searched carefully. Finally, on the inside of the two jackets, he found two white adhesive strips with the names of the two sets of books written on them.

They were:

"Detailed Explanation of Physiognomy" and "Theory of Fate Deduction."

One was for physiognomy, and the other was for fortune-telling.

Li Zhuiyuan tapped the flashlight lightly, the light occasionally sweeping across his small, contemplative face.

"Hmm... it seems like they're useless?"

(End of chapter)