Chapter 24

The Shijia Bridge was right on the road. For safety, Li Zhuiyuan stood on the roadside under the bridge, looking south every now and then to see if the car had arrived, then glancing at Qin Shu, who stood by his side.

Seeing Li Zhuiyuan's gaze constantly landing on him, Qin Shu lowered his head and asked, "Is there something you want to ask?"

"Uncle, was the movie tonight good?"

"Mm, it was good. It's a pity, though; you and A-Li were sitting too far to the side, so you probably couldn't see very clearly."

"I saw it clearly, and it was good."

After that, Li Zhuiyuan stopped talking and no longer looked at the person beside him.

Qin Shu stood up straight. He had originally thought the boy would ask questions about that matter, but he didn't.

This child seemed to always know his boundaries, which was why it was easy for people to develop a fondness for him.

However, upon closer reflection, it seemed that every time he faced a critical need, he would break those boundaries without hesitation—just like last time and this time.

A black sedan slowed down as it reached the bridge. The window rolled down, and the driver poked her head out; she was a woman with a wavy perm:

"Hello, are you Li Zhuiyuan?"

"Yes, I am."

"Engineer Luo asked me to pick you up. Get in."

The car turned around and pulled over.

Li Zhuiyuan and Qin Shu got in, both sitting in the back seat.

To save time, the car drove very fast, so occasionally, to avoid bicycles and tricycles without lights, the driver had to jerk the steering wheel or slam on the brakes.

After sitting for a while, Li Zhuiyuan felt he couldn't take it anymore; he was carsick.

The situation was urgent, so he felt embarrassed to ask the driver to slow down. He could only try to turn the small handle on the door beside him, wanting to open the window a crack for some air.

He cranked and cranked, but the window didn't move; after a few more turns, the small handle came off the door in his hand.

Li Zhuiyuan could only put the handle back on, leaning his back against the seat with a sense of helplessness.

At this moment, Qin Shu leaned over, reached out, and pressed his palm against the window.

Accompanied by a harsh screeching sound, the window was forcibly pulled down.

Fresh air from outside blew in, and Li Zhuiyuan let out a sigh of relief.

However, he was still a bit worried that the driver might get angry, but the driver seemed focused on the road and didn't notice the change in the back.

Li Zhuiyuan tried turning the handle in the opposite direction and, finding he could still roll the window back up, finally felt at ease.

After helping open the window, Qin Shu closed his eyes to rest, looking as if he had fallen asleep.

Li Zhuiyuan also turned slightly to the side, resting his head against the seat back, wanting to take a nap.

But for some reason, when the car started moving, the rattling sound was surprisingly loud, especially since his ears were pressed against the seat in this position; he could actually hear the incessant whistling of the wind.

At first, Li Zhuiyuan thought it was because the window was open and the airflow was rushing in. He rolled the window back up a bit, leaving only a small gap.

But when he sat back in that same position, the whistling in his ears hadn't changed in the slightest.

Li Zhuiyuan couldn't help but wonder: How could this Japanese car be as thin as paper?

He curiously reached out and pressed against the back of the seat, and then, he pressed a dent into it, and it didn't even spring back.

Li Zhuiyuan sat up straight silently; he wouldn't sleep then, he would just hold out until the hospital.

He looked out the window. The township road didn't have streetlights yet, so it was pitch black outside and there was nothing to see, but every time they passed a town, he could see shops and slightly denser crowds of people.

It was just that the lights in these shops were so blinding.

In a daze, it felt as if the light outside wasn't shining in through the windows, but rather that the entire car was glowing.

But this wasn't the city center, and the evening shops in the town didn't have dense neon lights.

The car left the township road and drove into the urban area. The road conditions improved, but there were more cars on the road.

These cars seemed very unruly; cutting people off and changing lanes without signaling were everywhere, making the driver honk the horn incessantly while muttering curses.

It was authentic Nantong dialect; Li Zhuiyuan felt that even his grandfather, Li Weihan, didn't speak the local dialect as authentically as this person.

The journey was not easy, but finally, the building of the People's Hospital could be seen ahead.

Yet at this moment, Li Zhuiyuan noticed the driver was staring at him and Qin Shu through the rearview mirror. Upon noticing his gaze, the two even began to lock eyes through the mirror.

This made Li Zhuiyuan very confused, because the driver's gaze didn't seem to have returned to the road ahead at all.

And he, however, could see through the front windshield that the car they were riding in had already entered the oncoming lane, and a truck was driving straight toward them.

"Watch out for the car!" Li Zhuiyuan shouted.

But the driver still didn't shift his gaze from the rearview mirror; not only did he not hit the brakes, he actually accelerated.

At this rate, they were about to collide directly with the truck.

Qin Shu opened his eyes. He lifted both feet and stomped down hard.

"Bang!"

Li Zhuiyuan's eyes widened; he saw Qin Shu's feet stomp right through the floor of the car!

Immediately after, Qin Shu reached out and grabbed the boy's neck; Li Zhuiyuan felt himself being lifted up.

This feeling was very strange, because you were sitting in a car, but when you were lifted up, it felt as if you and the car had separated in terms of motion, and the scene that followed defied the common sense of physics in his mind.

"Clatter, clatter..."

The car seats, the rear windshield, and the trunk all crashed through his body.

His body felt the force, a little painful, but not serious.

The next moment, Li Zhuiyuan found himself being carried by Qin Shu, appearing on the road. Ahead, the car that had just driven past was a small sedan with its rear seat pierced through.

The small sedan crashed into the truck with unstoppable momentum.

The expected sound of impact didn't occur; most of the small sedan simply disintegrated and scattered, while the remaining parts were run over by the truck.

All around, there were splattered bamboo strips, wooden strips, and scattered, flying colored paper.

This car was actually made of paper!

Qin Shu turned sideways, bringing Li Zhuiyuan onto the steps. The truck drove past them, and one could see the driver in the cab also rubbing his eyes hard, constantly looking at the rearview mirror.

He also seemed to feel that he had hit something earlier and was doubting whether he was hallucinating due to fatigue.

Qin Shu put Li Zhuiyuan down. Li Zhuiyuan took a deep breath and asked, "Uncle, what kind of car were we just riding in?"

"You've seen it before; there's one on the first floor at home."

"But..." Li Zhuiyuan looked around, then looked at the hospital building ahead again, "Have we really arrived at the People's Hospital?"

"We have."

Li Zhuiyuan subconsciously reached out to touch Qin Shu's arm; he couldn't tell whether the Qin Shu in front of him was real or fake—he hoped Qin Shu hadn't forgotten to hold the soy sauce bottle again this time.

Qin Shu pointed ahead: "The hospital entrance is right there. Aren't you going in?"

"But, have we really arrived?" Li Zhuiyuan still didn't understand.

"Why wouldn't we have?"

"How did you do it?"

Li Zhuiyuan frowned. He could understand paper figures turning into living people, he could understand the various bizarre things in dreams, and he could even understand that he had truly experienced a car made of paper.

But what he couldn't understand was that he had actually been able to sit in a paper car and travel from Siyuan Village to the city!

Qin Shu gently patted Li Zhuiyuan's shoulder and said, "She carried us here on her back."

"Ah?"

Qin Shu didn't seem to intend to explain further: "Go in. If you dawdle any longer, your big friend might die."

"Oh, right."

Li Zhuiyuan put his thoughts aside and walked into the hospital with Qin Shu. At this hour, they should go to the emergency room first to ask.

But on the steps below the building, Li Zhuiyuan saw the female driver from earlier, wearing the exact same clothes and wavy perm.

The woman was holding what looked like documents or test results, looking anxious, and would occasionally pull medical staff passing by to ask questions.

Most importantly, she didn't seem to recognize the two of them at all; even though they were so close to her, she had no reaction.

"Uncle, is she alive?"

"Mm."

Li Zhuiyuan walked up and asked, "Auntie, I'd like to ask, where is Xue Liangliang right now?"

"Little friend, who are you?"

"My name is Li Zhuiyuan. Director Luo asked me to come."

"Director Luo... The car I arranged only just left not long ago. Did you come here by yourselves?"

"Mm."

"Alright then, I'll take you up first."

The woman led Li Zhuiyuan and Qin Shu upstairs. During a brief exchange, Li Zhuiyuan learned that although Xue Liangliang had just finished emergency treatment, his current condition was very poor, and all his organs were at risk of failure.

In the ward, Luo Tingrui was standing beside Xue Liangliang's bed, looking at him with an anxious expression.

He really didn't know why, just because the boat rocked a little and he fell into the water, and was rescued immediately, it had turned into this situation.

At this moment, Xue Liangliang's face was pale, and he was still talking nonsense:

"No, no, no, I don't want to stay here. I won't be a live-in son-in-law, I won't be a live-in son-in-law."

Luo Tingrui adjusted his glasses; he didn't understand why Liangliang would have such a dream.

He hadn't even introduced his daughter to him yet, and he had no interest in recruiting a live-in son-in-law, so who was forcing him?

But who could force him?

Luo Tingrui knew about Xue Liangliang's affairs at school; this kid was quite good at making money, and he had no intention of staying at the school or in the local area, nor did he intend to enter a good public institution. He was single-mindedly preparing to go to the Daxinan to engage in construction after graduation.

To be honest, as an outstanding graduate of Haihe University, combined with the current job conditions and environment in the Southwest, if you were willing to go there, they would be grinning from ear to ear; there was no need to pull strings or find connections at all.

But as for the nonsense now, not understanding was one thing, but at least he could understand what Xue Liangliang had said earlier:

"Don't lock me up, don't hit me, don't strangle me, I feel so uncomfortable, I feel so uncomfortable, please, let me go, don't torture me anymore..."

At that time, Luo Tingrui even began to wonder if Xue Liangliang had experienced some inhumane torture in his childhood, leaving him with trauma.

The ward door was opened, and Li Zhuiyuan led Qin Shu in. Luo Tingrui nodded at Li Zhuiyuan, but his gaze landed heavily on Qin Shu.

Ignoring the little friend was normal; he was already guessing in his heart that the one who could help would be this middle-aged man.

The doctors had already stated they had done their best. Although he was still hooked up to monitoring equipment, they could only passively continue to observe. If his vital signs deteriorated further, the outcome would be hard to reverse.

Luo Tingrui was not a pedantic person. Thinking of Zhao Hequan, who was still lying in the hospital, and the things that had happened to Xue Liangliang before, he had reason to suspect that the matter caused by that statue was not over yet.

"You go out first."

"Yes, Director." The woman was sent out of the ward by Luo Tingrui.

Immediately after, Luo Tingrui pointed at himself and asked, "Do I need to go out?"

Qin Shu didn't answer, but walked straight to the other side of the bed, placed his hand on Xue Liangliang's forehead, and rubbed it gently.

Soon, cold sweat broke out on Xue Liangliang's face, and the amount of sweat was significant, immediately soaking the pillow.

Luo Tingrui picked up a towel, preparing to help wipe it, but as soon as he wiped it, he felt the sweat was unexpectedly greasy, like the lubricating oil used in a workshop.

How could human sweat be like this?

At this moment, Qin Shu clenched his fist and smashed it down toward Xue Liangliang's abdomen.

"Don't!" Luo Tingrui had no time to stop him.

"Bang!"

Li Zhuiyuan noticed that Qin Shu's fist didn't actually land on Xue Liangliang, but stopped beforehand, yet the quilt on Xue Liangliang still sank rapidly.

A shrill scream suddenly echoed throughout the ward.

Li Zhuiyuan immediately covered his ears, but it was to no avail; his eardrums hurt so much they were almost pierced, and his entire brain felt as if someone were smashing it incessantly with an iron hammer.

Luo Tingrui only faintly heard a strange sound just now, and then looked at Qin Shu in confusion. Finally, he looked at the boy huddled in the corner against the wall; he was confused about what was wrong with this boy.

And Qin Shu's gaze also shifted to Li Zhuiyuan.

A look of surprise appeared in Qin Shu's eyes, because he hadn't expected that Xiao Yuan's perception in this regard would be so sharp.

In his mind, Liu Yumei's instructions to him couldn't help but ring out: Only teach him martial arts.

Qin Shu swallowed his saliva:

For a child like this, should he really only teach him martial arts?

On Xue Liangliang's side, after being drained of sweat and "virtually smashed" with a punch, although he hadn't woken up yet, he looked much more relaxed.

Luo Tingrui finally felt relieved, closed his eyes, and let out a long sigh.

"Ah..."

The screaming finally stopped, but Li Zhuiyuan still felt a "buzzing" in his head.

He was about to get up while leaning against the wall, but as soon as he lifted his head a little, he saw in his line of sight, in the southwest corner of the ward, a pair of red embroidered shoes appeared. Above the embroidered shoes was a section of pale ankles, and further up, the hem of a red skirt.

Further up, Li Zhuiyuan didn't know, because he didn't dare to keep looking.

He had seen several people who had died, but none of them could give him such intense alertness and pressure.

She was not an object he could observe, not even secretly. If he continued to look at her, then a tragedy would happen to him immediately.

"Records of Jianghu Monsters" had recorded some powerful dead, and it once used such a description... To see is to be doomed.

It used "doomed" here, not "death," but sometimes "doomed" was more terrifying than death. With such an existence, even if a connection was established just through a gaze, disaster would instantly descend upon oneself.

Qin Shu noticed that Li Zhuiyuan, who was squatting on the ground, had changed his squatting direction.

He looked in the direction Li Zhuiyuan had looked earlier, and then looked at Li Zhuiyuan; his mouth felt a bit dry.

It wasn't because of the one currently standing in the corner of the ward.

But rather,

Xiao Yuan, you can actually even see her?

He knew A-Li could see, but what was the point of A-Li being able to see...

She completely sealed herself in her own world, almost completely isolated from the outside world.

But this little boy could talk, do things, and jump around!

Li Zhuiyuan heard footsteps; it was Qin Shu. He was moving, walking from the bedside to the corner behind him.

Qin Shu was going to find that woman.

The fact was indeed so. In Luo Tingrui's line of sight, he saw the middle-aged man walk to the corner, not saying a word, just standing there, as if facing the wall in repentance.

Luo Tingrui couldn't understand. Of course, he also knew that if he could understand such things, he wouldn't be in his current department.

And Xue Liangliang, whose condition had improved, was talking nonsense again:

"I don't live here, I don't want to stay here, I still have a career to do, I still have dreams to realize, you can't keep me here, I don't agree, I absolutely don't agree!"

Luo Tingrui was a bit confused; was it because Xue Liangliang's condition had improved, so his speech was more confident and tougher?

Li Zhuiyuan stood with his back to Qin Shu's direction, stood up, and slowly moved to the bedside, looking at Xue Liangliang.

He hadn't heard the previous two segments of nonsense, only this one. With insufficient key information, he was also in the dark.

However, his own current situation was also very twisted; on one hand, he felt very dangerous, and on the other, he felt quite safe because Qin Shu was there.

Luo Tingrui pointed at Qin Shu in the corner to Li Zhuiyuan. Li Zhuiyuan shook his head at him. Luo Tingrui understood and stood still.

Xue Liangliang didn't continue talking nonsense either, so the ward fell into a long, eerie silence.

Finally,

Qin Shu broke this atmosphere.

He walked back to the bedside, and then, in front of Li Zhuiyuan and Luo Tingrui, took off his undershirt and threw it onto the IV stand.

Immediately after, Qin Shu's index fingers began to constantly trace lines on his arms, shoulders, and chest.

Every time he drew, blue bruises of varying lengths and depths would appear.

Any one of them would make an ordinary person scream in pain, but Qin Shu looked as if he were applying paint to himself.

His expression was very calm, as if he were doing something simple and normal.

Luo Tingrui didn't understand what this man was doing. Li Zhuiyuan, upon discovering that the bruises on Qin Shu's left and right sides presented a sense of symmetry, understood: Qin Shu was drawing a talisman.

Fingers as the pen, body as the paper, and the paint was the wounds he had just inflicted on himself.

After finishing the drawing, Qin Shu walked to the hospital room door and opened it.

He looked once more at the corner where he had been standing earlier,

and said:

"I know what the Matriarch meant by having me come today; she just wanted me to tell the Bai family this: the Qin family is not yet extinct!"

Having said this, Qin Shu pressed his right thumb to the center of his forehead. When he pulled it away, it left a streak of blood, which also signified the completion of the final stroke of the talisman.

Suddenly, a wind rose in the hospital room.

The wind was not strong, it was very faint, yet very cold. Li Zhuiyuan shivered involuntarily, and Luo Tingrui, opposite him, did the same, hugging his arms.

This wind did not just rise in this hospital room; it rose across the entire floor, and even several floors above and below, all gathering here.

Li Zhuiyuan saw somewhat blurrily that quite a few shadows seemed to follow the wind and merge into Qin Shu's body, including a red shadow from this hospital room.

Is this... taking all those filthy things into his own body?

Qin Shu stood in place for a good while before taking a step, walking back to the bedside, reaching out to retrieve his vest, and putting it back on.

Li Zhuiyuan noticed that at first, Qin Shu's gait was somewhat stiff, and even his facial expressions seemed a bit dull, but after putting his clothes back on, he seemed to have recovered... or perhaps he had adapted.

And the lights in this hospital room also seemed to have become much brighter and clearer. In fact, it wasn't just here that changed; nearly half the building had become much brighter. Actually, sometimes the hospital lights at night appear relatively dim and foggy, not because of the lighting setup, but simply because in a place like a hospital, there are more of "certain things."

Moreover, the appearance of that female driver and the paper car earlier meant that that terrifying filthy thing had long since covered this hospital room, and even Luo Tingrui's actions were within its line of sight.

Qin Shu looked at Luo Tingrui: "I need to go to a place, and I need a car."

Luo Tingrui: "The car I sent to pick you up should still be downstairs at the hospital."

"Director Luo, that car is not there," Li Zhuiyuan said.

"Then how did you get here, and so quickly?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "We came by pedicab."

"Then... I'll go arrange a motorcycle. That, can you ride one?" Luo Tingrui looked at Qin Shu.

Qin Shu nodded: "I can."

"Alright, I'll have someone arrange it immediately." Luo Tingrui led Qin Shu out of the hospital room, called over that female comrade, gave instructions, and signaled that Qin Shu could follow her down to get the car.

When they went out, Li Zhuiyuan, who remained in the hospital room, heard Xue Liangliang's delirious talk:

"No, I won't marry you. There is no love between us. This is our first time meeting. I am not that casual about marriage. Don't dream!"

Li Zhuiyuan couldn't help but wonder if Brother Liangliang was acting out a Qiong Yao drama in his dreams?

Nowadays, the craze for Qiong Yao dramas had already emerged, and college students on campus were also among the audience. Li Zhuiyuan often saw older brothers and sisters on campus chatting about the dramas or holding novel copies in their hands.

At this moment, Qin Shu walked back to the hospital room door: "Xiaoyuan, let's go."

"Coming, Uncle."

Li Zhuiyuan followed Qin Shu downstairs, retrieved the motorcycle, started it, and twisted the handle; a roaring sound erupted.

Qin Shu drove very fast, weaving quickly through the city center before heading toward the suburbs.

Li Zhuiyuan sat in the back. Because he had no helmet, he could only press his face against Qin Shu's back to avoid the wind, his hands gripping Qin Shu's waist.

He felt very amazed; Qin Shu, who was still farming in the fields in the afternoon and staring at the red-clothed woman in the hospital room just a moment ago, was now speeding on a motorcycle.

Li Zhuiyuan felt the madness coming from this world.

At the same time, in the hospital room, Luo Tingrui heard Xue Liangliang's delirious talk again:

"No, returning once a month is impossible. My future work won't allow me to leave the construction site. That is the hard work of so many people condensed; I cannot be that irresponsible.

Half a year won't work either. For future major projects, the construction period won't be that short, and not even the slightest error can be made.

My future is not in Nantong, not in Jiangsu; I want to go to the Daxinan. That is my dream, my future.

So, don't dream. Really, I won't marry you, and don't think about binding me here."

Luo Tingrui took off his glasses, breathed on the lenses, and then wiped them with his clothes.

He was both moved and sad, yet also a bit amused: You brat, you've ended up in this ghostly state, and in your dreams, you're still thinking about building the Daxinan.

Putting his glasses back on, Luo Tingrui sighed.

Middle-aged people are always habitually dismissive of the halo of idealism in young people, believing it to be their naivety and immaturity, yet they rarely reflect: is it possible that the one who has fallen and lost their way is oneself?

"Liangliang, if you can get better this time, I will personally take you to the Southwest."

The car drove to the riverside. Li Zhuiyuan got off. After propping up the motorcycle, Qin Shu clapped his hands, his gaze fixed on the river surface, containing rich emotions.

Li Zhuiyuan remembered Liu Yumei once saying that her ancestral home was on the river.

Throughout history, great rivers have always been the cradles of civilization.

The sand and soil on both banks are accumulated from countless joys and sorrows, and there are even more untold stories and mysteries that have settled at the bottom of this river over time.

It seems Brother Liangliang said the location of the Bai Family Town recorded in the local gazetteer was wrong... Li Zhuiyuan faced the direction of Chongming Island, roughly estimating the orientation and distance.

In his heart, a conjecture gradually rose:

Could the Bai Family Town really be at the bottom of the river right before our eyes?

Qin Shu began to take off his clothes. Unlike in the hospital where he only took off his vest, this time he took everything off, folded his clothes neatly and placed them on the bank, weighing them down with a pebble.

Next, Qin Shu first twisted his neck, then grabbed the areas under his left and right ears with both hands, and then tore with all his might.

Li Zhuiyuan heard the sound of flesh and skin tearing. Looking closely, he discovered that five long wounds had appeared under both of Qin Shu's ears.

While these wounds were oozing fresh blood, they were also constantly opening and closing.

They looked like... blood-colored fish gills.

Immediately after, Qin Shu began to stretch his body. With every movement, a series of crisp joint cracks came from within his body, accompanied by the tearing of certain flesh and skin.

Soon, many dense existences similar to stretch marks appeared on Qin Shu's body.

However, they were not on his stomach, but evenly distributed on his arms and legs.

After finishing a set of stretches, Qin Shu stopped, stood in place, and adjusted his breathing. The bloody wounds under his ears closed and opened with the frequency of his breathing.

Li Zhuiyuan felt that Qin Shu was somewhat different; his physique had undergone a very obvious change.

"Xiaoyuan."

"Yes."

"Watch things well on the bank."

"Alright, Uncle."

Qin Shu nodded, then bent down. Under the moonlight, he began to run.

He didn't run very fast, but his body movements were extremely coordinated. He ran to the riverbank, leaped, and after jumping into the river, he vanished instantly.

Like a fish returning to the river water.

Li Zhuiyuan looked at the river surface, which had returned to calm, and then looked at the clothes Qin Shu had left on the bank.

He raised his hand and gently patted his forehead. Only after the event had happened did he seem to truly react:

"He really... just went down like that?"

Li Zhuiyuan was standing at first. After standing for a while, his legs felt a bit sore and swollen, so he sat down.

Time passed continuously. Qin Shu had been down for a long time, and there was no movement on the river surface; he didn't even see any special bubbles.

But all he could do now was wait.

Li Zhuiyuan yawned. He looked toward the horizon; the night was like a piece of clothing that had been washed many times, the original deep color beginning to thin. Before long, it would turn white.

Shaking his head, Li Zhuiyuan forcibly dispelled his sleepiness. After wiping his eyes with the back of his hand, he stood up again and continued to gaze at the river surface.

This time, he saw movement.

In the center of the river, a figure seemed to have appeared and then vanished. Just as Li Zhuiyuan thought he might have seen things, he saw Qin Shu walking out of the river water by the bank.

His body was covered in shocking wounds, many of which appeared black and were oozing pus.

The most terrifying was the one on his chest, so deep and long that one could almost see the white bone inside.

Yet Qin Shu acted completely like nothing had happened. He squatted by the river and began to wash his body with the river water.

Li Zhuiyuan brought the clothes over. Upon getting closer, he saw many long fingernails and teeth still embedded in Qin Shu's wounds.

Seeing this, one could even imagine how that group of things had rushed onto him to tear and bite him frantically.

At the same time, Li Zhuiyuan noticed that Qin Shu's gaze carried obvious indignation.

Uncle is angry.

"Uncle, how is it?"

"Not great."

"Failed?"

"It was almost successful," Qin Shu said while reaching out to pull out a long fingernail himself.

"And then?" Li Zhuiyuan stood behind Qin Shu, reached out to grab a finger that had pierced into his back, and pulled it out with force. After being pulled out, the finger was actually still moving. Even though it was a part of a human body, it felt like a freshly cut piece of snake.

After Li Zhuiyuan threw the finger on the ground, it continued to squirm toward the river water, the blood-red fingernail gleaming with an eerie luster.

"Smash it," Qin Shu said.

"Alright." Li Zhuiyuan picked up a stone and smashed it down with force. The finger deformed but was still squirming. After smashing it hard several times in a row, it finally rotted and stopped.

"Huhu..." Li Zhuiyuan panted; he was somewhat unwilling to look down at that pool of bloody mush again.

"Squish!"

Qin Shu pulled another finger out of his body and threw it in front of Li Zhuiyuan; the meaning was very simple.

Li Zhuiyuan could only raise the stone again and continue smashing.

If someone who woke up early passed by here and saw this scene from afar, they would likely think it was a heartwarming picture of a father and son.

Only after cleaning up the filthy things embedded in his body did Qin Shu pick up his clothes and put them on.

"Uncle, the wounds..."

"Go back and let your Auntie handle them."

"Oh." Li Zhuiyuan nodded and asked again, "Uncle, is the Bai Family Town really down there?"

"You actually know so much?"

"Brother Liangliang told me all of it."

"Hmm, it is down there."

"Then Uncle, was the place you just went to the Bai Family Town?"

"I went in. Originally, things were almost done, but..."

"But what happened?"

"You'll know when you return to the hospital. That big friend of yours is truly impressive; he's a ruthless character. Really, too ruthless."

Li Zhuiyuan could tell that Qin Shu was very angry because things hadn't gone according to his plan, and the person who caused this result seemed to be Xue Liangliang.

"Get on the bike."

"Uncle, can you still drive?"

"Then you drive?"

Li Zhuiyuan obediently got on the bike.

When the motorcycle reached a residential house in the suburbs, Qin Shu stopped the bike first, walked up to the dam, took a coat off the clothesline and draped it over himself, and then clipped the money onto the line.

He had too many wounds on his body; just wearing a vest couldn't cover them, and he probably wouldn't be able to enter the hospital.

The bike drove into the hospital, and Qin Shu stopped it.

When Li Zhuiyuan got off the bike, he asked: "Uncle, will the Bai Family Town continue to cause trouble in the future?"

Those Bai Family Ladies were simply like lingering ghosts; Li Zhuiyuan was truly afraid that another one would pop out after a while.

"They will be quiet for a very long time, because the greatest of the Bai Family Ladies has already spoken."

Actually, compared to the wounds on his body, the result of this Bai family matter made Qin Li feel even more of a headache.

His task was to slap the Bai family back, but just as this slap was halfway through, the remaining half couldn't be slapped no matter what.

He still had to think about how to explain it to Liu Yumei after returning.

"Qin Shu, Grandma Liu was just in a bad mood today, but now that a night has passed, I think Grandma Liu should be calm after a night's sleep."

Qin Li nodded. He felt the boy was very right, and he could also tell that the boy was comforting him. However, he had already begun to get used to this behavior from the boy.

"Let's go, Xiaoyuan, go up and see your friend, and then we'll go home."

"Alright."

Walking upstairs and returning to the hospital room, they happened to see Luo Tingrui coming out carrying a thermos: "You're back. Just in time, Liangliang woke up earlier, but he fell asleep again. You help me watch him for a moment; I'm going to get a bottle of hot water."

Li Zhuiyuan walked into the hospital room and saw that Xue Liangliang's equipment had been removed, and he was no longer in a coma, but in a deep sleep.

"Uncle, is he alright now?"

"He's in big trouble."

"What?"

"Ask him yourself when he wakes up. I'm going downstairs to buy some bandages." Qin Shu stood up and left the hospital room.

At this moment, Xue Liangliang, in his deep sleep, ground his teeth and started talking in his sleep:

"Two years? Two years won't work, at least three. I can only guarantee that I will come to see you once every three years."

Xue Liangliang hugged the quilt, turned over, and continued his sleep talk:

"We won't have children, will we?"

Hearing Xue Liangliang's words, shock appeared on Li Zhuiyuan's face. He seemed to have pieced together an incredible matter, but because it was too outrageous, it made him feel that he must have thought wrong.

At this moment, Xue Liangliang seemed to have woken up. He looked at Li Zhuiyuan standing by the bedside, and Li Zhuiyuan was also looking at him.

After a while, Xue Liangliang withdrew his gaze, sat up, leaned his back against the hospital bed, his expression dull, as if he had just suffered a major blow.

Li Zhuiyuan picked up an orange from the bedside table and peeled it silently.

Finally, Xue Liangliang spoke. His tone was desolate, carrying a thick sense of melancholy and bleakness:

"Xiaoyuan, let me tell you a terrifying thing."

"Hmm, Brother, go ahead."

Li Zhuiyuan finished peeling the orange, took a piece of orange flesh, and sent it to Xue Liangliang's mouth. Xue Liangliang opened his mouth and ate it; immediately, a touch of bitterness was added to his previously incomparably sad expression.

Xue Liangliang kept his mouth open, unable to speak for a moment, because the emotion he had finally managed to brew was abruptly interrupted.

Just as he had readjusted and was about to speak, he saw Li Zhuiyuan send the second piece of orange flesh to his mouth.

"Xiaoyuan, you eat too."

"I won't, it's sour."

"Then you..." The second piece of orange flesh was sent into his mouth.

Tears flowed from Xue Liangliang's eyes. While chewing, he spoke with a trembling voice:

"Xiaoyuan, Brother is married."

"Congratulations."

Li Zhuiyuan picked up another piece of orange flesh and handed it over. This time Xue Liangliang didn't resist. He ate the orange, and whether it was because it was sour or a true outpouring of emotion, his tears covered his face.

"Your sister-in-law is actually quite a good person."

"As long as she's a good person, that's fine," Li Zhuiyuan echoed, nodding. "My grandfather told us that when looking for a partner, the main thing is to look at their character and personality. Other things, like how good-looking they are or whether they are dead or alive, are not important."

Xue Liangliang looked at Li Zhuiyuan with a bitter face, his mouth receiving another piece of orange flesh: "Your grandfather is quite open-minded."

"Hmm."

Li Zhuiyuan finally straightened out the logic at this moment: Qin Shu was responsible for fighting on the front line, while Xue Liangliang was responsible for negotiating at the table.

He and Qin Shu had rushed all the way from the village to the hospital and then to the riverside, applying pressure to it step by step, which allowed Xue Liangliang to get better and better bargaining chips, and the other side was also constantly making concessions.

Xue Liangliang himself was unaware of this point.

As a result, Qin Shu had almost reached its hometown, and it looked like the problem was about to be completely solved, but Xue Liangliang felt he had already obtained the best negotiation result, signed, and stamped it.

If he had just insisted a little longer, this marriage wouldn't have needed to happen.

It's no wonder Qin Shu was angry. He was fighting for his life in the front, and just as he was about to succeed, his own side had asked for peace first.

So Qin Shu left the hospital room to buy bandages. It's probably an excuse; he probably felt that if he continued to stay in the hospital room watching this person lying on the bed, he would want to punch him to death.

Li Zhuiyuan couldn't bear to tell Brother Liangliang this truth; it would be countless times more sour and bitter than the half orange left in his hand.

The wood is already carved into a boat, it's a done deal, so he should just persuade him to look on the bright side, ask about some happy things as much as possible, and let his heart loosen up a bit.

"Brother, did you need a bride price?"

"That wasn't needed."

"That's good, free love, new-style marriage."

"Actually, your sister-in-law even wanted to give me a bride price."

"Look, how good, others can't even envy that."

"But I firmly refused." Xue Liangliang held his neck high, like a proud little rooster.

"Hmm, my Brother Liangliang has the most backbone."

"That's right, I won't be a live-in son-in-law."

"Admirable."

"I've agreed with your sister-in-law, and she agreed too. I only need to come back to see her once every three years. Other times, I can go wherever I want, and do whatever I want."

"That's really good."

Li Zhuiyuan suddenly realized that his worry was superfluous. He is Xue Liangliang, a person with an incomparably strong heart. No matter how difficult things he encounters, he won't think of doing anything stupid; instead, he can complete self-adjustment very quickly.

Otherwise, you couldn't explain the inexplicably smug and show-off taste in these words. Others can find joy in bitterness and be strong enough, but Brother Liangliang can turn bitterness into sugar water.

"However, Xiaoyuan, I did take a step back."

"Oh?"

"I promised her that the second child will take her surname."

(End of chapter)