Chapter 23

The woman from before was now standing inside the archway; the umbrella in her hand was gone, and she was holding that porcelain bottle with both hands.

And at this time, Xue Liang was surprised to discover that after arriving under this archway, not only had the pulling force of the water current disappeared, but even the terrifying sensation of suffocation from before was gone.

He immediately began to breathe in large gulps; however, he was only constantly performing this action, yet he couldn't achieve the expected effect.

His mouth and nose felt as if they were blocked; there was simply no fresh air coming in.

He suddenly realized that what had changed was only his sensation; what hadn't changed was the reality before his eyes.

He was still on the riverbed.

But, how on earth was this done?

He knew how to swim; when he was a child in his hometown in Anhui, he often played and swam in the water with his little friends, and after entering university, he would occasionally go with classmates to find a swimming pool to happily swim back and forth for several laps.

But he didn't think his swimming ability could really be good to such an outrageous degree; he had been underwater for so long that his limit for holding his breath had long since passed.

He touched under his ears; it was still his original skin, and no gills had grown out.

He even looked back behind him and further away; he suspected that he had drowned long ago, and the current him was just...

Xue Liang held his head tightly; he was forcing himself to calm down, but the methods he used to use that were very effective during exams and when looking at design plans had lost their effect at this moment.

His heart was still panicked, his body was still shivering, and his teeth were chattering non-stop.

He was very afraid, afraid of this environment on the riverbed, afraid of this archway, and also afraid of the woman standing inside the archway holding the porcelain bottle. He urgently wanted to escape from here, provided it was possible.

At this time, the woman moved; she began to walk inside.

Xue Liang didn't move; he didn't dare to walk into this archway, didn't dare to actively explore this small town.

However, after a distance opened up between the woman and him, that terrible sensation of suffocation appeared again.

Xue Liang had no choice but to stagger forward a few quick steps, and the sensation of suffocation disappeared again.

He understood; as long as he was too far away from that woman, that feeling would appear.

The woman continued walking in front, and Xue Liang could only follow, walking into the archway.

He had no choice; for someone who had just experienced desperate suffocation, going back to taste it again would be several times or even dozens of times the torment.

There was clearly no connection between the woman and him, but in the dark, it was as if there were a chain, with one end gripped in the woman's hand and the other looped around his own neck.

Behind the archway were more than thirty layers of downward steps.

Xue Liang couldn't help but feel a bit puzzled; logically speaking, unless a specific terrain environment made it necessary to build it this way, most ancient villages with archways wouldn't choose this layout that sinks as soon as you enter the main gate.

The ancients preferred to raise the terrain a bit, with the archway in front and also lower, and the terrain behind raised a bit higher, which could better set off the momentum.

But here, not only was it not raised, but it was also deliberately artificially repaired to be concave, and it was so deeply concave.

No wonder when looking here from the outside before, the buildings in the town had a strong sense of haziness, because half of them were actually obscured, leaving only the upper parts visible.

In addition, the design of the steps was also very strange. Generally, the edges at both ends are designed with flat, smooth surfaces, and the middle majority of the area consists of steps for people to walk up and down, but here, the center position was a huge smooth surface, and the steps for people to walk on were instead on both sides, which were not only very narrow and small, but also very steep.

When walking down, Xue Liang sometimes had to turn sideways; it seemed that the people who walked here all had bound feet.

After going down the steps and arriving at flat ground, what met his eyes was a stone-brick road that wasn't very spacious and even appeared somewhat cramped.

Moreover, these stone bricks weren't laid flat; they were all set upright, with the small-area end facing upward. Doing this would not only consume more bricks but would also increase the construction workload.

At the same time, because of the erosion of time, even the best ancient road surfaces would be uneven, and here, because of this strange brick-using design, it was impossible for you to find an empty space where your soles could land stably.

Every time he stepped down, only a small part of his sole could land firmly, and the remaining part was empty; you had to walk with extra caution, and if you weren't careful, it was easy to sprain your ankle and fall.

Fortunately, the woman in front holding the porcelain bottle wasn't walking too fast, and Xue Liang could still keep up.

After slightly adapting to this road condition, Xue Liang began to look at the residential houses on both sides.

The layout of the residential houses was very compact; overall, it was the architectural style of a Jiangnan water town, with white walls and gray tiles.

Between the entrance of every residential house and the road, there was a groove less than half a meter wide, and stone slabs were laid on top; this should be a drainage gutter.

Xue Liang couldn't understand what the significance of building drainage gutters on the riverbed was... unless this small town had entered the river later.

On the left side of every residential house entrance, there was a niche with a candle burning inside, emitting a ghostly green glow.

At first, the doors of these residential houses that met his eyes after entering were all closed, but soon, Xue Liang saw some that were open, with pitch-black darkness inside, making it impossible to see clearly.

An uncomfortable feeling also emerged in Xue Liang's mind; this feeling didn't come from internal fear and oppression, but originated from a kind of unreasonableness, especially after seeing these residential doors.

After pondering for a moment, he finally figured it out: it was because there were no thresholds under these doors.

Modern architecture naturally abandoned thresholds long ago, and people were used to seeing and using them that way, but the problem was that in traditional-style architecture, because doors were often designed to be very high and long, once there was no threshold, it would give people a very uncoordinated feeling.

It was too direct and also too eerie, like a monster opening its mouth, making you look at it with awe.

"Ah!"

While walking, suddenly, Xue Liang saw a person sitting inside a residential house on the right with an open door.

He was so scared that he took two steps back; this damn uneven ground made him lose his footing, and he slid to the ground, and the direction he sat paralyzed in happened to face that door.

Inside the door sat an old woman; her skin, perhaps because it had been soaked in water for too long, appeared very pale and also slightly swollen.

She was wearing a blue padded jacket, the color as bright as a burial shroud, only the design was more cumbersome.

Her head, neck, and hands were covered with all kinds of jewelry.

She just sat there, as if she had been sitting for a long time; fortunately, she had her eyes closed.

"Hoo... hoo..."

If her eyes were open, Xue Liang felt that in such an inadvertent moment, he might be scared into fainting directly.

Although the environment he was currently in and the woman leading the way in front were already very eerie, the unique design and shape of the residential houses combined with the people sitting inside could create another kind of horror with more impact in an already eerie atmosphere.

Xue Liang climbed up; the sensation of suffocation had signs of appearing again, so he immediately jogged forward for a distance, narrowing the distance between himself and that woman.

In his mind, there was still that old woman sitting inside the door; behind her, it was pitch black, and no furniture or furnishings could be seen.

This also made these compact residential houses with only two floors look very much like a grave belonging solely to her.

An open-style grave.

So, this wasn't a small town that was left empty and submerged by water.

Then, in those residential houses with closed doors that he saw when he came in, were there people too?

Those residential houses with open doors where no one was seen inside, could their owners... be on the second floor?

Thinking of this, Xue Liang subconsciously narrowed the distance between himself and that woman a little.

Although he was also afraid of this woman, once he thought that the residential houses on both sides were all graves and he was walking in the middle of a grave path, it seemed that this woman in front could make him adapt a bit better; at least, she would move.

As he walked, Xue Liang saw the second residential house with an open door and a person sitting inside.

This was a young girl wearing embroidered clothes, her hair bun set high, appearing very solemn. She sat there, hands folded on her knees, eyes closed, her lips exceptionally bright red.

After Xue Liang glanced at her, he immediately shuddered and moved his gaze away.

Then, he saw a woman sitting inside a door wearing a cheongsam; her waist was very thin, her sitting posture was very enchanting, her hands were placed at her sides, and there seemed to be a smile at the corners of her mouth.

It seemed as if she were silently beckoning you to walk inside and converse with her.

Xue Liang discovered that the deeper he walked, the more residential houses with open doors there were, and the greater the proportion of women sitting inside.

From seeing the first old woman until now, he had already seen more than a dozen women sitting inside doors.

They were of different age groups, and their clothing styles were also different, but they all dressed themselves very formally, very much like those elderly people in the countryside who prepared burial shrouds and coffins for themselves before they passed away, wanting to leave their most decent side for the funeral.

This was their... post-mortem appearance that they had carefully designed for themselves.

Because of soaking in water, their skin color was very white, white to an excessive degree.

But unlike the "giant appearance" formed after soaking in water for a long time, they generally didn't deform; at least, they retained their original state before death to a great extent.

What was even harder to understand was that dead people either got sick, were injured, or passed away naturally due to old age before they died; in short, their basic state wouldn't be too good.

But among them, even that oldest old woman still retained a kind of composure.

It was as if they weren't walking toward death when they were at the end of their rope, but had actively chosen to die when they still had the ability to live with composure.

To be honest, if it were really all kinds of tragic states of death, he, Xue Liang, would instead not be so afraid.

But it was precisely this kind of atmosphere—"I am deliberately dressed up well, sitting here for you to see, or watching you"—that put him under immense mental pressure.

In a trance, he would have a sense of loss of consciousness: was he observing them, or were they sitting in the house, observing him?

In his mental confusion, Xue Liang bumped into the woman's back.

The woman had stopped at some point.

With this bump, the woman didn't move, and Xue Liang fell backward onto the ground.

The woman didn't look back, but turned to the right, changed direction, and walked inside.

Here, a crossroads appeared, with two small land bridges on both sides; water didn't flow underneath, they were purely for decoration and feng shui purposes.

Xue Liang climbed up and could only follow the woman to turn.

Next... the doors of all the residential houses on both sides were open, and in every residential house, a woman was sitting.

"Ah..."

Xue Liang felt his mind was about to collapse. Although they all had their eyes closed, this dense "sense of being watched" that still existed made him incomparably painful and lost.

He could only choose the most ostrich-like way, following behind the woman, half-lowering his head, not looking at the sides.

Although he couldn't avoid scanning some of it with his peripheral vision, and although his heartbeat began to get faster and faster, he finally persisted.

A normal person, coming here, would probably go crazy, right?

If Xiaoyuan were here, he should behave differently from a normal person?

Forget it, Xiaoyuan had better not come here; I don't even know if I can get out alive, no, I'm not even sure if I can still be considered alive now?

Finally, the residential houses on both sides disappeared.

Xue Liang stroked his forehead, taking deep breaths; even if it was just a simple action, he now needed to relieve his internal pressure.

Then, he immediately caught up with the woman.

At this time, without the terrible gaze from both sides, he could finally lift his head to look ahead.

In front was a small open space, and an ancient, simple building that was clearly different from other residential houses stood there.

It should be the ancestral hall of Bai Family Town.

Xue Liang couldn't help but stop his steps: do I... need to go in?

Immediately, he walked forward; why am I hesitating? It's as if I have a choice.

"Creak..."

The pitch-black gate of the ancestral hall slowly opened by itself when the woman approached.

This ancestral hall still had no threshold, and after entering, there were still downward steps, and it was still a large smooth area in the middle, with only a little space on both sides for people to walk down.

After passing through a not-very-spacious square courtyard, the woman continued to walk inside.

When Xue Liang followed her, his gaze was attracted by the old well in the center; the well mouth wasn't facing upward, but was sunken downward, and even a piece of the area nearby was sunken downward.

This wasn't formed later; it was a design that was like this from the beginning.

Around the well wall were rows of rusted chains.

This couldn't help but make Xue Liang suspect whether it was to facilitate people above to go down to fetch water, or to facilitate people below... to climb up.

The core position of the ancestral hall had arrived.

The woman holding the bottle knelt down and didn't continue forward.

Xue Liang approached her, came to the side, and re-examined the woman.

Why would this young woman, who was clearly dressed in modern clothing and carried a worldly, weary air, appear here, and be so familiar with this place... as if she were returning home?

Then, for me now, should I continue to stay here with her, or should I walk inside and take a look?

With her as the center of a circle, I could have a range of activity, but I had been following behind her all along and didn't dare to walk in front.

But he still chose to continue standing beside the woman, going nowhere.

Only, gradually, the sensation of suffocation emerged again.

He began to feel uncomfortable and painful, his hands subconsciously gripping his own neck.

However, the woman was right here, kneeling diagonally in front of him; why did this feeling come again?

Xue Liang approached the woman a bit more, but the sensation of suffocation didn't disappear.

Was it useless?

He couldn't imagine that in such an eerie and oppressive place, he still had to continue to endure the torture of endless suffocation; what kind of bottomless torture was this?

"Er... ah..."

Xue Liang also knelt down, wailing in pain.

His consciousness became blurred time and time again at this moment, and returned to clarity time and time again; he hated this current clarity of mind, because this caused his spirit to be repeatedly whipped and tortured.

With a "thump," Xue Liang's body leaned forward and fell to the side.

Because there was no threshold, strictly speaking, half of his body entered the core of the ancestral hall.

And at this time, he suddenly discovered that the sensation of suffocation had weakened.

After a brief hesitation, he immediately moved his body inside a bit more, and the sensation of suffocation decreased again.

He understood; the woman holding the flower vase was no longer useful, the chain that had been leading him had broken, and the new chain was inside here!

He continued to crawl inside for a distance, until the sensation of suffocation completely disappeared, and he was finally able to stand up.

Looking back behind him, outside the gate it was pitch black, and only the woman holding the flower vase at the entrance could be vaguely seen.

Looking ahead at himself, it was a huge red coffin.

There was a frame under the coffin, lifting it high, so Xue Liang stood on tiptoe, and could only vaguely see a little yellow lining inside the coffin; he couldn't see further inside unless he climbed onto the coffin.

With a nervous mood, he slowly moved around the coffin, mentally preparing himself that something might pop out at any time.

However, until he had walked around the coffin, nothing terrible appeared.

The position directly facing the head of the coffin should have been an altar for spirit tablets, but there wasn't one here, only a grand armchair.

And on both sides of the coffin were blue-brick walls.

The ancestral hall in the center of Bai Family Town appeared too simple and cold, like a house that had been built and decorated but hadn't had time to be moved into yet.

Only, was it really like this?

In Xue Liang's mind, the women sitting in the residential houses he passed along the way emerged; if everyone died at home, then it seemed there really was no need to place spirit tablets in the ancestral hall.

Then, would there be a way out here?

Xue Liang didn't give up on saving himself; he vaguely felt that the way out should be in this ancestral hall.

Next, he gathered his courage, no longer just circling the coffin, and began to walk and grope along the three walls on a larger scale, circling a whole big loop.

He even used his hands to knock on these bricks to see if he could find a hollow secret door, and at the same time, when walking, his feet stomped on the ground with extra force to test if there were any tunnels.

It was a pity that he didn't find any.

The area here actually wasn't too large, and it was too empty, so empty that it was difficult to hide anything.

Then, what about overhead?

Xue Liang lifted his head to look upward; it was a very ordinary old-fashioned roof beam design, and he had no way to go up and grope unless he found some tools.

However, go to those residential houses to find tools?

Once he thought of those women sitting behind the residential doors, Xue Liang felt a chill down his back; if he had to bypass them and go into their houses to rummage... he would rather continue to stay here.

"Hmm?"

However, after finishing a big loop and arriving at the entrance, Xue Liang was surprised to discover that the woman who had originally been kneeling there holding the porcelain bottle was gone.

The porcelain bottle didn't know where it had gone either.

This sudden change made Xue Liang feel terror again; the woman he had been following all the way here was actually the "thing" he was most familiar with here.

Her disappearance was equivalent to placing him back into bewilderment and loneliness.

He wanted to go find that woman to see if she had changed to another position to kneel or had gone somewhere else, but when he was just preparing to walk toward the house door, even though he was still a distance away from the door, that sensation of suffocation actually appeared again!

But, before, he had just entered the inside of the door, and he didn't have this feeling.

Xue Liang took a deep breath of air that didn't exist, then gathered his strength and rushed to the door. The sensation of suffocation struck intensely again, and he endured this pain to arrive outside the house. Looking around, he didn't see the woman's figure; she had really disappeared, she was really not here anymore.

At the same time, the outermost ancestral hall gate he had entered through didn't know when it had closed.

And now, it was already his limit; he didn't even have the ability to run into the courtyard.

He could only run back quickly, his feet beginning to feel floaty, and he fell to the ground, his body like a shrimp being constantly squeezed dry of water.

Finally, he crawled to the side of the coffin again, the sensation of suffocation subsided, and he regained salvation.

But lifting his head to look at the bottom of the coffin above, he couldn't help but suspect: was this really salvation?

After recovering a little for a while, he climbed up and began to tentatively walk to the side.

He discovered with terror that as long as he left the coffin for a distance, the sensation of suffocation would appear, and even more fiercely.

But before, he had been able to walk along the wall and had even touched those bricks with his hands.

This meant that his range of activity had been reduced again.

He came to the head of the coffin, and suddenly his eyes blurred; he seemed to see that on the grand armchair directly facing the head of the coffin, it was as if a person was sitting.

But when he looked closely again, that person was gone.

No, it wasn't that his eyes were blurred; other places might be like this, but here, absolutely not!

Xue Liang walked around the coffin again, and then with a dash, arrived at the head of the coffin position again.

This time, he saw it; someone was indeed sitting on the grand armchair, and that person... was himself!

Xue Liang clenched his fists; he felt he was about to go crazy. He couldn't understand why that guy who looked exactly like him would be sitting there?

If he was Xue Liang, then who was he?

He reached out to touch his own face and discovered that the tactile surface was no different from usual; after confirming that he was still himself, he looked up again and discovered that the grand armchair was empty again.

Although circling the coffin and running another lap would likely allow him to see the person on the grand armchair again, Xue Liang didn't have the courage to do it again.

At the same time, he couldn't do it again.

Because the sensation of suffocation appeared again, even though he was now supporting the coffin with one hand, that sensation of suffocation still struck.

It was shrinking; he was like someone standing in an invisible underwater bubble; this bubble had been moving before, and now, it was shrinking.

Once he lost its protection, he would never find a gap to breathe again.

Xue Liang began to press tightly against the coffin; he discovered that the closer his face was to the coffin, the weaker the sensation of suffocation was.

But gradually, he realized it wasn't enough; the sensation of suffocation was still constantly intensifying.

No, it couldn't, it couldn't be like this...

Xue Liang's feet began to step on the frame below, his hands clawing at the edge of the coffin, and he began to climb up.

After going up, he felt relaxed again; he had successfully escaped the pursuit of suffocation once more.

But when he lowered his head to look down, his gaze instantly froze, his mouth opened wide, his arms lost strength, and he fell down.

He saw it; in that coffin, a person was lying!

A woman wearing red clothes, with a red veil covering her head, and her hands placed on her lower abdomen!

The pain after falling was secondary; the most terrifying thing was being re-enveloped by the sensation of suffocation.

Before, Xue Liang could still run outside to check the woman's tracks, but now, it seemed that as soon as he left the safe range, he couldn't accept it at all.

If it was just suffocation before, then now, it was as if a pair of invisible and terrifyingly strong hands were forcefully choking your neck.

You were no longer just enduring the torment of suffocation, but also the intuitive pain of your neck being constantly choked and twisted.

Xue Liang immediately climbed up, his feet stepped on the frame again, his hands grabbed the edge of the coffin, and he pulled himself up.

Stimulated by the immense pain and torture, he overcame his internal fear, just to seek that moment of comfort.

Although this comfort would likely not last too long either.

He tried his best not to look at the woman lying in the coffin; he shifted his gaze, looking from top to bottom at the direction the head of the coffin was facing, and he saw it again: on the grand armchair, he had appeared again.

Only, the "him" on the chair was dressed differently from the current him; the other party was wearing a black jacket with a flowing luster, purple long pants on the lower body, a hat on his head, and a red flower hanging on his chest.

Very much like... the attire of a bridegroom in the past.

Especially that face that was exactly the same as his, which made Xue Liang so scared that tears were about to drip down.

At this moment, he felt that the "him" on the grand armchair was even more terrifying than the woman in the coffin.

So, he lowered his head to look at the woman.

When entering the town before, the women behind the residential doors were all sitting without exception, but this woman was lying down, and she was lying in the most core and central position of the ancestral hall.

At this time, the sensation of suffocation emerged again.

Xue Liang felt that he was like livestock being driven by a whip.

Although he already had a guess in his heart, he still poked his head up, left, and right to feel the change in the strength of the sensation of suffocation.

Finally, he discovered that his guess was correct: only toward the inside of the coffin could he be safe.

His hands were gripping the edge of the coffin tightly, doing his final internal struggle.

However, the sensation of suffocation that was constantly approaching and becoming more intense greatly shortened his hesitation time.

He exerted force with his waist, one foot reached the edge of the coffin, and his hands reached downward to embrace the inner wall of the coffin.

His original intention was only to let his upper body reach in, keeping as much distance as possible from the woman inside.

Only he overestimated his current physical strength; when he finally flipped up, he had no strength to continue maintaining balance to perform the next action, and instead, losing control, his whole person fell into the coffin.

He hugged the woman's body; the woman's body was very cold and also very slippery.

But this slipperiness wasn't in the conventional sense; it was more like a jellyfish or some kind of secretion; in short, it made one feel extremely physiologically uncomfortable.

Just at this moment,

Xue Liang discovered with terror that the woman in front of him actually slowly lifted her head.

Accompanying her action,

The red veil that had originally covered her face,

Also slowly slid off.

"Hum!" "Hum!" "Hum!"

On the memorial archway of Bai Family Town, the white lanterns on that side suddenly turned red.

With that as the starting point, inside the entire town, all the candles in the niches at the entrances of the residential houses also turned from a ghostly green color to red, overflowing with a kind of celebration that was both eerie and sinister.

"Creak..."

"Creak..."

Those tightly closed residential doors were slowly pushed open from the inside at this moment.

And the women who had already had their doors open and were sitting inside slowly stood up.

Soon,

Women of different age groups and dressed in different eras walked out of their house doors one after another, stepping on the blue stone slabs on the drainage gutters, and arrived at the roadside.

They appeared from residential houses in various positions in the town, then lined up, moving slowly at the same speed.

The direction they gathered in was precisely the ancestral hall in the center of the town.

Although they all still had their eyes closed and no one opened their mouths, the rustling sounds constantly emerged in the town.

At first, it was still very weak and messy; gradually, the sound grew louder and gradually became orderly.

In the end, it merged into a neat sound, like a chorus of many people, resounding over Bai Family Town:

"The Heavenly Official bestows blessings, the Bai family recruits a son-in-law!"

"Hello, hello, I am Li Zhuiyuan."

"Hello, may I ask if you know Xue Liang?"

"I know him."

"I seem to have heard your voice; my surname is Luo. Have we met somewhere?"

"Are you Director Luo? I am the little friend who was with Brother Liangliang yesterday."

"Oh, so it's you."

"Director Luo, has something happened?"

"It's Liangliang who had an accident; when he was in a coma, he was muttering 'Xiaoyuan' and even recited this phone number."

"Brother Liangliang, what happened to him?"

"He fell into the water on a boat and is currently being resuscitated in the hospital; the doctor said his condition is very bad."

"Can I go see him?"

"Yes, I will send a car to pick you up immediately; give me a specific location."

"Shinan Town, Shi Family Bridge; we will wait for the car there."

"Okay."

After hanging up the phone, Li Zhuiyuan immediately raised his arm and discovered that the mark had long since disappeared completely and hadn't appeared again now.

So, what was going on with Brother Liangliang?

Could it be that the Lady of the Bai family was still holding a grudge and came back to take revenge on him?

But this shouldn't be; hadn't it already been broken?

Li Zhuiyuan took his pocket money out of his pocket and said to Zhang Shen: "Zhang Shen, I'll buy a pack of cigarettes for my great-grandfather and get some candy."

"Alright, I'll get it for you right now... here, just right."

"Thank you, Zhang Shen."

Li Zhuiyuan put the cigarettes and candy into his pocket and walked toward home with a grave expression.

He vaguely sensed that this matter should be related to the Lady of the Bai family and was definitely not a simple case of falling into the water and falling into a coma.

Otherwise, Brother Liangliang wouldn't be muttering his name and phone number while unconscious.

The most critical point was that if the matter wasn't eerie enough, Director Luo wouldn't send a car late at night to pick up a little friend like him; he must also be very anxious.

Returning to the dam, Liu Yi was cleaning up the bowls and chopsticks, and Qin Shu was chopping firewood; these were all chores delayed by watching the movie.

The light in the east room was on, but the door was closed; Liu Yumei and Ali should be inside the room. After watching the movie tonight, Liu Yumei's mental state was very bad.

Li Zhuiyuan walked up to Qin Shu and asked: "Qin Shu."

"Xiaoyuan, what's the matter?"

"It's not that my family's soy sauce bottle fell over; would you reach out to help pick it up?"

Qin Shu: "..."

"It's the university student who stayed with us last night; he had an accident and is currently being resuscitated in the hospital.

I won't tell anyone about this, and I won't tell my great-grandfather, so, Qin Shu, can you help?"

Qin Shu touched his pocket and took out some money: "Xiaoyuan, is it to pay his medical expenses? Uncle has a little here; I'll ask your aunt for some more later, and then send it all to your friend."

"Okay... thank you, Qin Shu."

Li Zhuiyuan could only nod; it seemed he could only go wake up his great-grandfather and ask for his opinion.

However, his great-grandfather probably wouldn't have any way either, because that day his great-grandfather also showed fear of the Lady of the Bai family and chose to avoid her.

At this time, the east room door was opened from the inside.

Liu Yumei, who had already changed into pajamas, walked out with her hair draped; her eye sockets were still very red.

"Ali, you follow Xiaoyuan to the hospital to send the money."

"Okay, I understand."

Li Zhuiyuan looked at Liu Yumei with great surprise; he was just holding the idea of trying, and didn't expect Liu Yumei to nod so readily this time.

"Xiaoyuan, wait a moment, Uncle will go push the bicycle out."

"No need, Qin Shu, we'll go wait on the bridge south of the road at the entrance of the village; there will be a car coming to pick us up."

"Oh, that's good, then let's go; if we come back late and your great-grandfather wakes up, your Liu Yi will help you explain to him, don't worry."

"Hmm."

"Do you need to go get anything?"

"No need, we can go now."

Before leaving, Li Zhuiyuan bowed to Liu Yumei: "Thank you, Grandma."

Liu Yumei didn't respond and turned to enter the room.

After Li Zhuiyuan and Qin Shu left, Liu Yi walked in carrying a basin of hot water; after placing the hot water on the stand, she picked up a comb, walked to Liu Yumei's side, and helped her groom her hair.

The rings of time would ruthlessly crush everyone; last year, Liu Yumei's hair was only silver-gray, but now, only the surface layer was still this color; when the comb combed through, underneath it was all loose white hair.

As Liu Yi combed, she couldn't help but choke up a little.

"Why are you crying?"

"I'm not crying."

"Heh." Liu Yumei put back a spirit tablet she had wiped clean.

"I want to know why you agreed this time.

Even if Uncle Sanjiang doesn't know and it really has nothing to do with Uncle Sanjiang, Xiaoyuan, after all, also lives here, and he and Uncle Sanjiang are still relatives; what if..."

"Of course I know what if." Liu Yumei looked at the rows of spirit tablets in front of her. "But I'm in a bad mood today and don't want to worry about any 'what ifs' for the time being."

Liu Yi combed her hair silently and didn't continue the conversation.

Liu Yumei's voice suddenly rose: "Why, am I, this old woman, already so old that I don't even have the qualification to be willful once?"

"No, you have, you have!"

Liu Yumei stood up, reached out and pointed at those spirit tablets, her tone excited:

"This bunch of guys, back then they took their fleet and said they were going, and they went, without even giving a word of notice; the whole family, no, both families, all deliberately hid it from me!

Fine, one by one they were generous, and not a single one was left alive; when they left me, a lone orphan and widow, did they ever think of me?

They weren't even willing to leave a single bit of spirit, sacrificing everything, leaving me to look at these lifeless spirit tablets for decades, without even a person to talk to!

Why is it that only they can be willful, while I have to stay here cautiously all the time, fearing that a single mistake will cause a backlash of fortune?

This is unfair..."

As she spoke, tears flowed from Liu Yumei's eyes; one hand supported the altar, and the other hand covered her face.

Liu Yi felt heartbroken but didn't know how to comfort her.

A moment later,

Liu Yumei put down her hand, lifted her head again, looked at these spirit tablets, and smiled:

"Heh heh, see that? Did you see that? You're gone, and how long has it been? That group of white rats under the river dares to crawl ashore to disgust people."

Liu Yumei's expression became solemn, and her eyes became sharp:

"Then I will slap it back with one hand.

Let them remember,

On this river,

Who exactly is the one in charge!"

(End of chapter)