Chapter 187

"Breakfast is ready!"

The dawn at Great-Grandfather's house was called out by Liu Yi.

Li Sanjiang picked up the bowl, shoveled a few mouthfuls of porridge with small pickles, swept his gaze toward Tan Wenbin, Runsheng, and Lin Shu You, and nodded silently.

The mules that hadn't been home for the past few days were all back in the pen today.

Count them, not bad, not one was lost.

After the meal, according to custom, Little Yuan Hou should accompany him for a walk to digest food.

However, Li Sanjiang actively pointed at Runsheng today and said:

"Runsheng Hou, come, you carry me to Sianzhen."

Runsheng was stunned; he had originally thought about going back to his old home in Xiting today to add a round of rice, flour, and oil for his grandfather.

After all, the last wave had passed for so long; logically speaking, it was almost time to receive the next wave of river water.

He had to settle his grandfather before going out; otherwise, his grandfather might really starve to death.

Previously, his grandfather was still young and his body could carry it, so starving a bit was fine, but now that he was old, he really couldn't bear hunger.

But since Great-Grandfather Li had spoken, Runsheng nodded and pushed out the tricycle at home.

Tan Wenbin put his hands on his hips, yawned beside him, and said to Runsheng, "I'll go for you."

"Hmm." Runsheng responded, rode the tricycle carrying Great-Grandfather Li, and went down the dam.

A while ago, Li Sanjiang had intended to go to Shigang Town to try his luck at the lottery, but because of the Wu family matter, it was delayed for several days, and he couldn't make it.

This lottery team often hits and runs; after all, the consumption capacity of a region in a short time is limited, and after two or three days, they have to change to another place to eat.

Now, it just happened to have moved to Sianzhen, which was not far from Siyuan Village, but not too close either.

Li Sanjiang was embarrassed to let the young people know he was going to try his luck at the lottery, fearing he would set a bad example; after thinking about it, only Runsheng Hou was the most suitable to follow.

After arriving at Sian, he would let Runsheng wait far away with incense, and he would sneak off to buy a lottery ticket, collect the prize, and come back.

Yes, Li Sanjiang had dreamed again last night that he had won the lottery; he didn't know how many times he had dreamed this in recent days.

This time, not for anything else, even just to interpret the dream, he had to go and try one.

Tan Wenbin lit a cigarette and said, "Then I'll go to Xiting."

Yin Meng: "I'll go with you."

"I can go alone; isn't it just buying some food and drink."

"I have experience; if you buy too much, he can take it to sell and get on the gambling table, which instead makes it easy for him to starve to death."

"Fine, then let's go together."

Tan Wenbin and Yin Meng went to Xiting together.

In the late morning, Shan Shan Daye was sitting in the courtyard, drinking morning wine.

There were no decent side dishes, just a plate of pickled radish, a dish of vinegar, a dish of soy sauce, and two small pebbles sucked smooth.

The wine he drank was also the cooking wine from the kitchen.

No way, Shan Shan Daye only had these seasonings in abundance right now.

"Yo, Shan Shan Daye, drinking?"

Tan Wenbin entered the courtyard very quickly, so fast that Shan Shan Daye didn't have time to clean up his side dishes.

The old man's face was a bit embarrassed; being seen by the younger generation in such a sorry state, he couldn't hold his face.

"Mengmeng, find me a clean little stone; I'll accompany Shan Shan Daye for two drinks."

"Stinky brat." Shan Shan Daye glared at Tan Wenbin angrily and asked, "Where is Runsheng?"

"Runsheng has something to do and can't come today; I'm just here on behalf of Runsheng."

Tan Wenbin said, took money out of his pocket, and handed it to Shan Shan Daye: "This is what Runsheng asked me to give you."

"Hey, good."

Shan Shan Daye took the money, like a soldier trapped on the front line who finally waited for supplies, and regained his high fighting spirit.

"That, Brother Bin, you guys sit at home now; eat at home at noon, I'll go buy you some vegetables."

"Fine, Shan Shan Daye, you go quickly."

Tan Wenbin certainly knew what Shan Shan Daye was in a hurry to do, and didn't stop him.

After Shan Shan Daye ran out of the courtyard happily, Yin Meng looked at Tan Wenbin and said helplessly: "You shouldn't have given him money directly."

"The old man is happy, that's fine; by the way, you go buy rice, flour, and oil."

"Then what are you going to do?"

"Go watch my Shan Shan Daye kill all sides."

After Tan Wenbin finished speaking, he ran out of the courtyard, caught up with Shan Shan Daye, and went to the gambling village with him.

Yin Meng went out to purchase rice, flour, and oil; this was also a technical job, and he had to calculate the amount.

When Yin Meng finished buying things and placed them, Shan Shan Daye came back dejectedly.

Yin Meng was a bit surprised: Lost so fast?

Tan Wenbin behind Shan Shan Daye had a smile on his face.

Yin Meng said: "Shan Shan Daye, things are all ready."

Shan Shan Daye smiled at Yin Meng with some difficulty, very embarrassed, and hid in the room.

Yin Meng walked to Tan Wenbin's side and asked: "Lost it all?"

Tan Wenbin: "Hmm, lost it all."

Yin Meng: "I know he always loses, but I didn't expect the efficiency to be so high."

Tan Wenbin: "He doesn't play blindly either; he folds small cards and doesn't steal chickens; it's just that every time he gets a big card, he gets raped."

"Raped?"

"It's just that someone at the gambling table happens to get a card slightly bigger than his; it's simply evil."

"Should quit gambling."

"Can't quit; playing cards and losing money is also quite good; if one day Shan Shan Daye suddenly shouts happily that he won money, that would be truly scary."

"What do you mean?"

"Not easy to explain."

Tan Wenbin had been beside Brother Yuan for a long time, and his reading and learning had never stopped; under the influence, he also understood some ways of fate and feng shui.

In front of Brother Yuan, it certainly wasn't enough to look at, but if he went into society to cheat those nouveau riche bosses, it was really more than enough.

Not to mention anything else, looking back now, just having a Runsheng in the family household register, and Shan Shan Daye still being able to live until now with a strong body, was already truly not easy.

"Since you know he will inevitably lose money, why give it to him? It would be better to take it to buy more clothes for him and Runsheng."

Tan Wenbin took out a stack of money from his pocket and handed it to Yin Meng: "Here, go buy clothes for Runsheng."

"How much cash did you bring when you went out today?"

"It's still the same one I gave Shan Shan Daye; I was at the gambling table with him, and the money he lost was basically won by me."

On the second-floor terrace, Li Zhuiyuan was reading, and A Li was sitting beside him accompanying him.

The youth felt that his previous prejudice against these health-preserving works was too heavy; in fact, upon careful reading, he could still discover the mysteries within.

The philosophy advocated by proper health-preserving books, although the methods and paths are different, in the general direction, all treat the human body as a great circulation to regulate.

In other words, it is to treat the human body itself as a piece of feng shui or a formation.

This is actually similar to the body-refining technique of the Qin family's Dragon-Watching Method; aren't the sixteen qi gates on Runsheng sixteen feng shui qi acupoints.

Li Zhuiyuan closed the book and began to ponder.

He was used to thoroughly understanding whatever book he read, and he was also used to deducing other techniques in the past.

It was the same for this health-preserving book.

But it still couldn't avoid a problem: physical development.

Whether it is health preservation, body refining, or martial arts, it is a kind of redevelopment of the human body.

Therefore, before adulthood, that is, before physical development is complete, any redevelopment carried out is killing the chicken to get the eggs.

This point, Liu Yumei and Qin Shu had long made clear; even the young clansmen of the Qin and Liu families in the past, during their adolescence, were constantly performing basic polishing and wouldn't do stupid things like overdrawing in advance.

Even Li Zhuiyuan couldn't break the situation with this, because he was ultimately still a "human."

No matter how mature your mind is, or how much you surpass your peers, your body always needs time to grow slowly.

But it wasn't a total loss; in fact, the gains were great.

By synthesizing the essence and tips of each book, the youth could tailor a physical conditioning plan for himself.

No need for miraculous pills, no need for heavenly treasures, not even medicinal baths, because he could wave his hand to change the feng shui pattern he was in, and at most, design a suitable formation for himself during his daily breathing exercises.

In this way, he could regulate his own qi and blood and guide his meridians.

Let himself step by step move toward the seedling of a martial arts genius.

He knew his own body best, and he was in his adolescent growth period, which was the golden stage for adjustment and shaping.

Those large families often have experienced elders to teach and guide young clansmen; Li Zhuiyuan self-adjusted and self-guided, and in terms of efficiency and effect, it was many times higher than the former.

He is an outlier.

Because those who have his ability are generally long-lived; let alone reaching old age, many have even become states that are neither human nor ghost, and even if they have a head full of ideas and thoughts, they cannot return to their youth to put them into practice.

After realizing this layer, Li Zhuiyuan even understood the Heavenly Dao a bit.

The youth reached out and gently patted his forehead.

Why do I understand it?

Empathizing with the Heavenly Dao is not as good as choosing an undeveloped auspicious acupoint for yourself early.

At this time, a familiar figure pushing a wooden wheelbarrow walked toward here; it was Wu Yougen, the only remaining second son of the Old Wu family.

He should be looking for Great-Grandfather; now that Great-Grandfather wasn't home, and Binbin wasn't either, then only Li Zhuiyuan could go downstairs to greet him.

Wu Yougen was here to send money.

He and his eldest brother didn't have much money in their hands originally, and many items for the funeral were owed.

Now that the family was divided and the property was clearly separated, it was time to pay the debt.

Perhaps because he was used to the deceit and stinginess of the relatives around him, he and his sister-in-law were incomparably grateful to Li Sanjiang, who was willing to lend a helping hand at a special moment.

Li Sanjiang's few days of ritual fees, funeral stools, bowls, paper figures, etc., were all owed here at Li Sanjiang's; if Li Sanjiang hadn't lifted this hand, the funeral might not have been held at all.

Wu Yougen held a piece of paper, calculating the expenses one by one, and the money was also handed to Li Zhuiyuan one by one.

After these fees were settled, Wu Yougen took out the gifts he brought from the wooden wheelbarrow, cigarettes and wine, all bought from the store; in the countryside, they belonged to the middle-to-high grade, not the daily chewing grain of the villagers.

Li Zhuiyuan: "These are not needed; take them back to return."

The youth knew that they had just divided the family and had also used the family division money to buy those two tile-roofed houses from the third and fourth sons' wives; in fact, the spare money in their hands was really not much.

Most of it fell on the houses, and rural homesteads were not convenient to buy and sell, which was "real estate" in the true sense.

Wu Yougen shook his head vigorously: "There is money; in the future, I will earn money, and it will be spent by me and sister-in-law; there is money."

Previously, Wu Yougen had parents and an eldest brother above him; every day he did whatever he was told, either following his eldest brother to do odd jobs or going to farm; as long as there was food to eat and clothes to wear, he didn't care about others.

In fact, he was a good hand at farming, and his masonry work was also done quite well; if it weren't for the fact that what he earned and what he planted had to be handed over to subsidize those two younger brothers' families, his life in the village could at least have been prosperous and flourishing.

Previously, he hadn't come into contact with it, but now he truly found that what he earned could fall into his own hands, and he found that life could be lived so comfortably.

"My Great-Grandfather is not home, but these things, even if my Great-Grandfather were home, he certainly wouldn't be willing to let me accept them; he helped you, not for these."

Wu Yougen looked embarrassed and said: "But sister-in-law ordered that these must be delivered."

Li Zhuiyuan suggested: "Send them in batches; when festivals come, walk around like relatives, send a little each time, and Great-Grandfather will be embarrassed not to accept."

"Good."

Wu Yougen felt this method was very good and agreed directly; then, he unloaded a square table from the wooden wheelbarrow.

"This is a gift for Great-Grandfather Li; it's settled, he likes it."

Li Zhuiyuan remembered this table.

When Great-Grandfather performed the ritual for the Wu family, he sat behind this table and chanted scriptures.

It should be that Great-Grandfather felt the height of this table was just right for him; supporting his elbows on the tabletop and resting his side face on his palm was just right for napping.

When eating the ritual meal, Great-Grandfather mentioned this matter with a smile, which was remembered by Wu Yougen and his sister-in-law.

Li Zhuiyuan swept a glance at this table; the table was a bit old, roughly estimated, it should be from the Qing Dynasty, had been painted a few times, and the table legs had been repaired a few times.

Not all old objects are antiques; excluding those with special historical stories, most antiques are things used by nobles of that era; objects used by commoners, no matter how long they are stored, are not worth money.

"Then I will accept the table."

"Fine, shall I put it inside for you?"

"No need, just put it on the dam first."

"Good."

The money was given, and the table was delivered, but Wu Yougen didn't intend to leave, instead hesitating to speak.

"Anything else?"

"Yes, I wanted to ask Great-Grandfather Li to calculate a horoscope."

Wu Yougen took out another piece of paper from his pocket, opened it, and inside were two bills.

This was something he had thought about before coming, and even the money for fortune-telling was prepared.

Li Zhuiyuan reached out to take the money and the paper; on the paper were the horoscopes of two people.

"Yours and your sister-in-law's?"

"Yes."

"Calculate if they match?"

"Must match." Wu Yougen said very firmly.

Li Zhuiyuan nodded, knowing his meaning; this was to forge.

Wu Yougen continued: "I asked sister-in-law, but sister-in-law refused, saying she didn't want to become my burden and was afraid of delaying me."

The blind date market has always been very realistic; everyone here will be marked with a corresponding price tag, sometimes more accurate than the agricultural trade market.

Wu Yougen is not young, but his body is good, he is honest, has skills, and his family members are all dead, with no parents-in-law above him.

With these conditions, wanting to find a virgin is impossible, but a pretty widow or a divorced woman with children is really popular.

As soon as the funeral was finished, people who were matchmakers came to ask Wu Yougen's meaning.

But Wu Yougen only had his sister-in-law in his heart.

On the day the funeral ended, he listened to the villagers' instigation.

He didn't have crooked thoughts about his sister-in-law before, and he didn't have them now, but he didn't want to see his sister-in-law alone and without reliance.

Now that the family was finally quiet, if he were to marry another wife and move into the house, he was afraid of returning to the life of mutual calculation and hooking hearts.

He spoke very straightforwardly to his sister-in-law, but his sister-in-law refused.

Calculating a horoscope is the simplest thing for Li Zhuiyuan; these two people's horoscopes don't clash.

As for the horoscope matching, that is a very small probability; not clashing is no problem; life is lived by people, not by horoscopes.

"Then when you go back, say Great-Grandfather has calculated it, and it matches very well; I will tell Great-Grandfather about this."

"Thank you, thank you."

Wu Yougen left satisfied, pushing the wooden wheelbarrow.

On the dam, Liu Yumei, who had been sitting there drinking tea, heard the conversation here from beginning to end.

She was a bit strange; when did this child suddenly become so patient, and recently he was always helping people deal with such matters between objects and couples.

In the past, this was something she didn't dare to think about; Liu Yumei knew Li Zhuiyuan was early-witted the first time she saw him, but the more early-witted a person is, the thinner their emotions are.

Li Zhuiyuan reached out a hand, lifted the square table, and moved it into the house.

Qin Shu happened to come back carrying a hoe at this time and saw this scene.

Martial artists are naturally more sensitive to strength; he couldn't help but look at Liu Yumei.

After hesitating for a long time, he walked over and asked in a low voice: "Mistress, have you taught Little Yuan martial arts?"

Liu Yumei put down the teacup, picked up a piece of crispy cake, sent it to her mouth, and took a bite: "I haven't."

"Then Little Yuan..."

"Little Yuan, this child, used to practice the breathing and basic skills you taught him every day, and it was only a few days ago that he started to perform a set of self-created scattered punches in the morning to activate his muscles and bones and adjust his qi and blood."

"But this strength..."

Liu Yumei said indifferently: "A Li, there is a gap between people."

Qin Shu: "..."

Liu Yumei smiled; for some reason, she was a bit happy.

The old lady stood up, stopped drinking tea, and went to the east room where a new batch of spirit tablets had just been added; she wanted to go and chatter with them, well, while the ancestors were still complete.

Qin Shu walked into the kitchen and poured a bowl of herbal tea to drink.

Liu Yi was cracking melon seeds, glanced at Qin Shu, and said: "You've also learned to flatter."

"Ah?"

"Forget it, you haven't learned this part." Liu Yi sighed, "It's me who thought too much."

"What do you mean."

"If you have nothing to do, go to Mistress more often and mention Little Yuan, take the initiative to compare yourself with Little Yuan; anyway, you are already used to it, so you might as well use this to make Mistress happy."

"I know, I will. Mistress is now liking Little Yuan more and more."

"A child like Little Yuan, as long as they aren't sick, will like him."

Liu Yi took the medicinal soup off the stove and sent it to the east room.

In the east room, Liu Yumei's voice chatting with the spirit tablets was coming out:

"I look at Little Yuan, this child, now, and I like him more and more."

Liu Yi deliberately pinched her voice and said: "Oh my, this recruitment of a son-in-law can only recruit that kind of honest one, and can't recruit that kind of dragon crossing the river; otherwise, the family foundation will be cheap for others."

Liu Yumei turned her head, tightened her face, looked at Liu Yi, and then she broke her own work first and smiled:

"Itchy again, slap your mouth."

Liu Yi put down the medicinal soup: "You drink the medicine first, and I will slap my mouth to relieve the bitterness for you."

Liu Yumei picked up the bowl, drank the medicine while looking at the new spirit tablets above, and asked: "Are the lacquer materials all the same color?"

"Yes, but the materials are different."

"Did you tell A Li? You have to introduce it to A Li, what materials these ancestors are made of respectively."

"This is not necessary; A Li is more proficient than us in this aspect."

"I am also strange; those zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting, I taught them when she was young, but in terms of forging, I am not proficient myself, and you are not proficient either, so who exactly taught her?"

"Little Yuan, that child, reads a lot, and A Li also watches beside him; she should have also read into some."

In the "Jianghu Records of Strange Tales," Wei Zhengdao introduced many talismans and utensils; although it was impossible to be extremely detailed, many were just touching the surface, but for smart people, having a pattern or an introduction was equivalent to pointing out the direction and solving the biggest difficulty.

Liu Yumei drank half a bowl of medicine in one breath and sighed:

"If A Li hadn't lost the protection of her ancestors' spirit tablets and suffered such a thing, she would also be an extremely smart child, not to mention Little Yuan. You say, when they grow up and get married in the future, what will the children they have be like?"

Liu Yi hesitated to speak.

Liu Yumei sighed again: "However, they don't seem to like children at all."

Liu Yi comforted: "After all, they aren't their own."

"Reasonable." Liu Yumei revealed a smile again, drank the remaining medicinal soup in one gulp, and then picked up the sugar cube that should have been eaten with the medicinal soup and handed it to Liu Yi, "You still have a sweet mouth, reward for you."

Liu Yi opened her mouth to take it, sipped the sugar, and said: "So, you have to take better care of your body; in case they really don't like children, even if they have them, they won't like them, and you will still have to help bring them."

"That's right, another bowl."

Lin Shu You was originally at Hu Zi's house, wanting to ask Xiong Shan to introduce him to other uses of the Chenzhou Talisman.

But after the experience of getting appendicitis last time, how would Xiong Shan dare to make his own decisions to help him figure this out.

In short, no matter how Lin Shu You pestered him, Xiong Shan remained unmoved.

Finally, there was no way, Lin Shu You could only help Xiao Yingying and Lihua do some paper-cutting at Hu Zi's house for a while, and then came back.

Runsheng, Tan Wenbin, and the others were all not there; Lin Shu You was a bit bored and sat on that square table.

It was indeed an old table that had been repaired and patched; just like an elderly person, sometimes it could hold on for a long time, but sometimes a little wind and grass could make its body fall apart.

Lin Shu You sat down, and only heard a "crack" sound from under him.

"Bang!"

The table was sat down by Lin Shu You.

Li Zhuiyuan was holding a pager and happened to go downstairs.

He had just received a page from Xue Liangliang and was preparing to go to Auntie Zhang's small shop to return the call.

"Brother Xiaoyuan..."

Lin Shu You stood up awkwardly and said:

"I will fix it."

"It doesn't matter if you can't fix it; split it and send it to the kitchen to burn as firewood."

Li Zhuiyuan didn't care; it was just a broken table.

The youth left home, walked to Auntie Zhang's small shop, and returned the call to Xue Liangliang.

The call was quickly connected:

"Xiaoyuan, are you still in Nantong?"

When reading the two words "Nantong," Brother Liangliang's tone was full of deep affection.

"Hmm."

"I thought you had already set out."

"I thought you calling me was to tell me where to set out."

Calculating the time, it was almost time to receive the next wave of waves.

When he received the page, he was still thinking about whether this was Brother Liangliang providing clues again.

"How could I set out; the selection has just begun, and I have a headache."

Currently, college students are very precious and have high comprehensive quality and ability, but even so, after staying with Xue Liangliang and Li Zhuiyuan's group for a long time, they felt that the people they were selecting now were a bit tasteless.

"Shouldn't you have arranged internships for them in advance?"

"Still early, it will be a few months."

"Oh."

It seems this time it wasn't Brother Liangliang providing clues for himself.

Xue Liangliang just called to chat.

For someone who runs around everywhere and is used to being busy, returning to campus to preside over work gives a feeling of a monkey being locked back in a cage.

Li Zhuiyuan accompanied him to chat for a while, waiting for his reveal.

After a long foreshadowing, the final goal finally came out.

"Xiaoyuan."

"Hmm."

"You ask Binbin to help me buy some seasonal clothes and send them over for me."

"Good."

"Thank Brother Bin for me; sorry to trouble him."

"Good."

Xue Liangliang mentioned Tan Wenbin twice in a row, meaning he didn't want Li Zhuiyuan to go.

Liangliang knew that his person was very afraid of Xiaoyuan.

After hanging up the phone, Li Zhuiyuan walked home.

Just as he got on the dam, he saw Lin Shu You walking over with half a table leg.

"Brother Xiaoyuan, there is an interlayer in this table leg."

Lin Shu You had originally tried to fix this table, but it was broken too thoroughly; fixing it was even more time-consuming and laborious than making two new tables.

He simply followed Brother Xiaoyuan's instructions and split the table to burn as firewood.

When splitting to this table leg, he found a small hollow inside, stuffed with a piece of yellow silk cloth, and wrapped with a piece of broken jade inside.

Li Zhuiyuan took the silk cloth, spread it out, and wrote five words on it:

【Treasure of the Wood Prince Mansion】

The whole silk cloth only had these five words; Li Zhuiyuan checked carefully, no interlayer, no special traces and pigments, no need to try wetting or roasting with fire.

This broken jade, according to the proportion, should be one-third of the original jade.

And it had special carvings on it; it shouldn't have been broken accidentally, but more like a tool specially made for divination guidance.

Lin Shu You: "Mu Prince Mansion?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "Hmm, you continue."

Sometimes partners can indeed provide some novel ideas.

Lin Shu You: "That Mu Prince Mansion in Yunnan?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "Hmm."

Lin Shu You: "The treasure of restoring the Ming Dynasty, Heaven and Earth Society?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "The Deer and the Cauldron?"

Lin Shu You: "Yes, that's it."

Li Zhuiyuan: "That Mu Prince Mansion has three water dots, but this wood here does not."

Lin Shu You: "Ah?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "But it is also Yunnan's; it should be that hereditary chieftain of Lijiang."

The youth began to ponder; can this be considered a kind of clue?

But if it is a clue, the distance is a bit far; Yunnan, ah.

And the way the clue was given was really direct enough; it was actually hidden in this table leg.

Li Zhuiyuan vaguely suspected, can this be considered his "lifting a hand" by the Heavenly Dao after his "justice cut" with Wei Zhengdao?

"If it is like this, then it shouldn't just give one clue; at the very least, it should come with three."

Lin Shu You heard this and said busily: "Brother Xiaoyuan, I will go and split the other three table legs to see!"

"Hmm, good."

Li Zhuiyuan nodded, took the silk cloth and broken jade, and went upstairs.

A Li was not sitting on the rattan chair on the terrace, so she must be painting in her room.

Pushing the door open and walking into the room, sure enough, A Li was standing at the painting table holding a brush to paint.

Seeing the youth enter, the girl smiled at him.

Li Zhuiyuan walked over, glanced at the painting, and then noticed that the artistic conception of the latest few strokes of the girl was a bit abrupt.

Ink painting pays attention to the unity of artistic conception, not that it cannot be paused during painting, but that the creator must hold the same mood every time they lift the brush during creation.

This kind of creative problem shouldn't appear on A Li, unless her mood was affected by some kind of influence.

Li Zhuiyuan didn't speak, just supported his hands on the painting table and continued to appreciate the painting.

He had told the girl that if she encountered anything, she must tell him, regardless of whether there was danger or not.

Between them, the more dangerous things are, the more interesting they are.

That kind of entanglement of "I know there is danger so I can't tell you" is something the youth doesn't like.

Worry when you should worry, cherish when you should cherish, and do what you should do even more.

The girl reached out a finger, placed it on the back of the youth's palm, and touched it lightly.

The youth turned his head and looked at her.

The girl spread her palm toward the youth, with light shining in her eyes.

"Something has come?"

The girl nodded.

Since the dream ghost incident, those things in A Li's dreams had been as obedient as they could be, retreating too much, making Li Zhuiyuan unable to detain them.

Li Zhuiyuan also knew that these things that couldn't be brought to the table would eventually become a thing of the past.

And now, something had actually made a comeback.

That was no longer the kind of thing from before; if it were still those things from the past, A Li would have been used to it long ago and wouldn't have disturbed her state of mind while painting.

Therefore, the one that came this time was a big one.

It disdained to make noise with those small fry against a little girl, but it had grudges with the Qin and Liu families in history, and when the time was right, it would still choose to take revenge.

Relatively speaking, it could also be considered a kind of uprightness, but at the same time... it was also more dangerous.

Li Zhuiyuan reached out his hand, held the girl's fingers tightly, and closed his eyes.

Familiar flat house, familiar offering table, familiar cracked spirit tablets.

But this time, the colors at the cracks of these spirit tablets had changed, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet, every color was there.

Because in reality, the spirit tablets in the east room had been re-customized, and the girl had long figured out their materials, so she conveniently performed "material return" for the ancestors in her own consciousness.

It's just that, no matter how the colors changed, there was ultimately no spirit.

Li Zhuiyuan lowered his head; under his feet, there was a long figure.

This was not his shadow; he wasn't that tall.

At this moment, something was standing outside the threshold.

Except for the first Old Woman Yu, next, no evil spirit dared to stand so close and be so arrogant.

Li Zhuiyuan turned around and faced outside the door.

Outside the threshold, there was a chair, and a person was sitting on it.

This person was very tall; even in a sitting posture, he was still much taller than a normal male.

He wore a black long robe embroidered with various flying birds and beasts; it wasn't a python robe, nor was it an official uniform; it had strict regulations, yet there was no way to correspond it to the formal attire of any dynasty in Li Zhuiyuan's memory.

Generally, in this situation, it means this clothing specification system only circulates in a small range or within the family.

Just like the Qin and Liu families, they also have their own grade clothing for formal occasions.

He also had two sets given by Grandma Liu.

The other party lowered his head, as if looking down and sizing up.

His head position was pitch black; one could only perceive the gaze flowing out, but couldn't see the face clearly.

Li Zhuiyuan raised his head, captured the other party's gaze, and looked at him calmly.

For a long time, the black-robed person let out a sinister laugh.

Unlike the intimidation and curses of the evil spirits in the white mist before, this laughter also contained a touch of sighing.

It was as if it was a kind of helplessness after seeing the family of the former enemy reduced to needing a child to support the facade.

Even though Li Zhuiyuan could still "look" at him without losing the scene, in the eyes of the black-robed person, it was nothing more than a kind of stubbornness that the youth needed to support the door lintel.

The black-robed person's gaze moved away from the youth and swept toward the spirit tablets on the offering table behind.

On one of the spirit tablets, the gaze lingered for a long time.

It seemed to be recalling the years of confrontation with that Long Wang.

Li Zhuiyuan knew that if he followed his gaze feeling, he should be able to find the location of that Long Wang.

But he couldn't do that.

The other party skipped him and went to look at the elders behind him; it was an attitude of not taking you seriously at all; if you really followed him to look for the elders, it would be lowering your own status.

Everyone knew that the Qin and Liu families had declined, but what Liu Yumei had been supporting all these years was the breath of the Qin and Liu families.

Now, this responsibility fell on Li Zhuiyuan.

The youth said: "If you really want to worship, you can find the way and come, and kowtow in front of the spirit tablet."

The black-robed person's gaze fell on the youth again.

This time, there was no contempt, replaced by solemnity.

He reached his hand out from the sleeve.

Li Zhuiyuan noticed that his hand was very big and very long; after all, the other party had such an exaggerated height, which was normal.

It's just that the five fingernails on his fingers were all pitch black, emitting pure corpse energy.

This was not the breath of a dead-fall; the breath of a dead-fall would have a special dampness.

And this kind of corpse energy, Li Zhuiyuan had seen before; a long time ago, the Cat-Faced Old Lady came to the house to borrow tables, chairs, benches, pots, and bowls for a birthday banquet, and a zombie appeared from a dream and fought a great battle with her.

The black-robed person in front of him... is a zombie?

In the other party's palm, there was a piece of jade.

He himself had just obtained a piece of broken jade, which was exactly a part of it.

He saw the other party toss it in his palm, and the jade separated, falling to the ground and turning into three pieces.

He guessed correctly; this jade was indeed used for divination.

Although there were only three pieces, various deductions could be performed according to the angles after they landed, which could be said to have infinite changes.

This kind of way could be said to be one-pass-all-pass; it was nothing more than different rule forms, but the algorithm was consistent.

Li Zhuiyuan lowered his head and swept a glance, and saw that the divination of the other party was very auspicious.

A hoarse voice came from the black-robed person's throat:

"My clan is about to ascend; please observe the ceremony."

As soon as the voice fell, the black-robed person's figure began to fade slowly.

At this time, the white clouds far in the sky, seeing that it seemed a big thing was about to stand out, seemed to feel that they were capable again; the clouds descended one after another, and the noise seemed to rise again.

But when Li Zhuiyuan's gaze swept toward the sky, the speed of the clouds descending slowed down, and the sound inside became small again.

Seeing this, the black-robed person let out that sinister laugh again.

The figure disappeared completely.

However, the three pieces of broken jade he used for divination earlier remained outside the threshold.

Is this jade an invitation?

However, there are three pieces.

Is it necessary for him to collect three pieces of jade to make a complete one?

Or is it that there were three pieces of broken jade originally, which will be given to three parties respectively?

Or is it... there are many invitees, and there are only three quotas to observe the ceremony, which must be fought for?

Li Zhuiyuan directly ruled out the first possibility; since the other party came here to invite, it wouldn't be necessary for him to do any collection work.

If the second possibility is true, it means that the questioner this time, like the Guizhou trip last time, is a cooperation question, only this time there are three teams working together to deal with it.

And if it is the third possibility, multi-party competition for admission qualifications, he is the first to get a piece of broken jade, which is not necessarily all good, because he may therefore become the target of other teams.

Walking the river, the final winner of each generation is the Long Wang.

Since it is a hundred boats competing, how could the river water not create opportunities for you to bump into each other and fight?

It is not only Miao territory that raises Gu; these past Long Wangs were all fought and competed for in the river water.

Li Zhuiyuan opened his eyes and returned to reality.

A Li looked at the youth; she knew this time was different from the past.

It wasn't that such existences hadn't appeared briefly in her dreams before, but they had never stayed for so long.

Li Zhuiyuan lowered his head, letting his forehead and the girl's forehead press together.

"Only in this way is it interesting, and good for leaving a painting, isn't it?"

The girl moved her forehead away, then touched it gently and tenderly again; she smiled.

"Little Yuan Hou, Little Yuan Hou, Great-Grandfather won the lottery, hahahaha, won the lottery!"

Great-Grandfather's excited voice came from downstairs.

Before winning the lottery, Great-Grandfather was sneaky.

After winning the lottery, Great-Grandfather was incomparably arrogant.

Riding Runsheng's tricycle, on the way back, encountering anyone he knew, Great-Grandfather had to pretend to be embarrassed and say it once:

"Sigh, just tried one, how did I win the lottery; he doesn't have any time to go out and travel."

When others were both envious and helped him analyze, Great-Grandfather would add another sentence:

"Can only let my Little Yuan Hou and the others go out and play; the children will certainly be happy."

Li Zhuiyuan walked downstairs.

Li Sanjiang happened to be holding the lottery ticket and getting off the tricycle.

"Little Yuan Hou, here, you can go to the capital to visit your North Grandfather and North Grandmother."

Love is exclusive, but love is also inclusive.

Li Sanjiang certainly hoped Little Yuan Hou could always belong only to himself, but he knew that if he wanted the child to develop better in the future, the help from the North Grandfather's family was indispensable.

That girl Li Lan, he had watched her strangely since she was small.

But Li Sanjiang didn't believe that the North Grandfather and Grandmother wouldn't love such a genius grandson.

Li Zhuiyuan took the lottery ticket, and the prize had been scratched on it—a luxury seven-day tour for a family of five.

However, there was a small section in front that hadn't been scratched; Li Zhuiyuan scratched it, and then said:

"Great-Grandfather..."

"Great-Grandfather won't go; you guys go and play; I will help you prepare some local specialties to send to your North Grandfather and Grandmother."

"It's not to the capital..."

"Oh my, Great-Grandfather has too many things to do here, can't walk away, have to make money; besides, you going to see your North Grandfather and Grandmother, it's inappropriate for Great-Grandfather to follow; they won't be happy."

Li Zhuiyuan had to spread out the lottery ticket, deliver it to Li Sanjiang, and say:

"Great-Grandfather, this ticket is not to the capital."

"Ah, how is it not; I also let Runsheng Hou look at it with me."

"There are two more words in front."

Li Sanjiang leaned his eyes over, looked carefully, and then read out very surprisingly:

"Yunnan luxury seven-day tour for a family of five?"

(End of chapter)