Chapter 271

"Brother Liangliang."

"Mm?"

"Is there any other place where the project has problems that needs to be looked at?"

"I only have... then I'll find more for you?"

"Forget it, no need."

"Then Xiaoyuan, you..."

"Brother Liangliang, can I consider this matter for a few days before giving a reply?"

"That's no problem; the old exploration team has withdrawn, and the new exploration team hasn't been formed yet. If you intend to go, I can add you directly to the list."

"Okay, then I'll consider it and then give you an answer."

"Xiaoyuan, I won't..."

"Brother Liangliang, this isn't your business; just do what you think you should do; project construction is the most important."

"Okay, I know."

Hanging up the phone.

Li Zhuiyuan bought some snacks at Zhang Shen's place and packed them into two bags.

The young man and the girl each carried a bag, and their free hands held each other.

They didn't turn back home, but followed the original plan to Big Beard's house.

Benben, who was originally holding the railing of the crib and laughing happily at the peach forest, sensed someone coming and immediately sat down facing the east, starting to count his fingers.

Li Zhuiyuan put the two bags of snacks into the crib.

Benben's mouth opened in surprise, forming an "O" shape.

He didn't know why the big brother was suddenly so good to him today and was feeding him.

It was mainly because Li Zhuiyuan didn't meet Hu Zi, Shitou, and the others on the road, and didn't want to carry them back.

Ordinary infants' diets were relatively light, and this kind of heavy-flavored snack shouldn't be given to them, but Benben was an exception; he could follow his parents down the lake to walk the river while still in swaddling clothes when he was very small, and now he could sleep soundly even when held by a dead-turned-alive; this little snack stimulation was just a drizzle for him.

Benben was very smart; after Li Zhuiyuan and A Li left the dam to go to the medicine garden, he began to use his little fleshy hands to try to tear the packaging bag.

He succeeded in tearing it, grabbed the snack, and put it into his mouth.

In an instant, Benben's face seemed to bloom with light.

But before he could take another piece, a hand reached into the crib and took all the opened and unopened snacks out. 【2

Benben looked up, watching Xiao Yingying who was standing in front of him.

He pouted his mouth, looking very aggrieved.

Xiao Yingying handed the milk bottle into Benben's mouth. Benben instinctively hugged the bottle with both hands, sucked a few times, then spat out the nipple, hugged the bottle, and sighed.

Xiao Yingying turned and went into the room to prepare the raw materials for the paper offerings.

After about half an hour, when Xiao Yingying came out again, she found Lihua and Xiong Shan, the couple, sitting by the crib.

Not only were the two feeding each other snacks, they were also feeding their son. Benben was also very happy, grabbing the railing and stomping his feet non-stop; the whole family was harmonious and happy.

After Xiao Yingying saw this scene, a touch of red gradually welled up in her eyes. Water droplets began to fall from the fingertips hanging at her sides, and the clothes she was wearing today were also soaked through.

Lihua, Xiong Shan, and Benben all sensed a strong aura of the dead.

The family of three all stopped chewing and looked at Xiao Yingying.

Lihua put down the snack bag, feeling a bit embarrassed, and said she was going to go wholesale some bamboo;

Xiong Shan wiped the chili oil from the corner of his mouth, let out an "oops," and said he forgot to tidy up the fish pond today.

The two adults quickly went their separate ways.

Even Benben immediately sat down honestly, picked up his milk bottle, and sucked hard.

Xiao Yingying felt as if she were the real mother, and those two just now were just step-parents who only knew how to blindly make the child happy and affectionate.

Controlling her emotions and letting her resentment dissipate, before Xiao Yingying went to change her clothes, she first walked to the crib and pointed at the snacks, asking:

"Who brought these to you?"

Benben stretched out his finger and firmly pointed in the direction Xiong Shan had just left.

Busy until near noon, Li Zhuiyuan and A Li finished their work, preparing to go home for lunch.

Old Man Tian followed along, and when they were almost home, he got into his wheelchair.

It was mainly because recovering too quickly all of a sudden would be hard to explain to Li Sanjiang; Old Man Tian planned to take it step by step.

After the meal, Li Zhuiyuan went upstairs to take a shower, while A Li was taken by Liu Yumei back to the east room to bathe.

In the afternoon, the sky began to get cloudy, and a light breeze blew up; this rain was about to fall but hadn't yet.

Li Zhuiyuan lay on the rattan chair, eyes closed, as if he were taking an afternoon nap.

A Li sat on the rattan chair next to him, holding a medical classic in her hand. In the gaps between turning pages, the girl would glance at the boy beside her.

Li Zhuiyuan wasn't sleeping; he had arrived at the "home" deep within his own consciousness.

Just as he walked into the first floor, he saw his true self walking out from the basement, currently locking the door.

Li Zhuiyuan: "So you're not hiding it anymore?"

Entering the house was just a formality; when his true self sensed him coming in, he could appear in any room to wait for him.

True Self: "You've already guessed there's a problem inside, do I still need to hide it?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "But I don't know specifically what it is."

True Self: "It doesn't matter, because there will always be a next 'specific'."

Two boys who looked exactly the same walked upstairs side by side.

His true self pointed to the two rattan chairs placed on the balcony and asked: "Sit here?"

Li Zhuiyuan shook his head: "Let's go inside."

His true self didn't refuse and followed him into the room.

Li Zhuiyuan sat down by the bed, and his true self sat on the chair in front of the desk, turning the chair legs to face Li Zhuiyuan.

True Self: "You don't want to go to Fengdou."

Li Zhuiyuan: "I just feel it's a bit fast."

True Self: "The Great Emperor of Fengdu won't naively wait for you to successfully complete the River Walk and reach adulthood in martial arts before sending you an invitation."

Li Zhuiyuan: "I know."

True Self: "Since that wave of the Dream Ghost, the Great Emperor has wanted you to return to Fengdu; it's just that at the time, he borrowed the excuse of letting Yin Meng go home to pay respects to her ancestors.

Before the last wave went to Dujiangyan, the Great Emperor had already clearly pointed at you and started interfering with the progress of the waves.

This time, it counts as a complete showdown, a final decision."

His true self opened the drawer, took out a notebook as thick as a dictionary, and with a "thud," placed it on the desktop. His hand patted it; on the cover was written "River Walk Code of Conduct."

His true self had plenty of time; besides plotting future conspiracies, he would also summarize and sublimate techniques, formations, and feng shui, and his research into the Heavenly Dao was his top priority.

To a certain extent, a major reason why his true self was currently holding back from forcibly launching a struggle for control of the body was that if he were to "rebel" successfully now, it would inevitably destroy the tacit understanding between the current Heavenly Dao and Li Zhuiyuan, inviting even more powerful targeting and suppression.

True Self: "I have three methods I can provide you to change the current situation."

Li Zhuiyuan: "I think I'll refuse them all. No, I'll definitely refuse the first two; the third one, we can discuss."

True Self: "Then should I just say the third method?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "If you're going to say it, say them all."

True Self: "The first method: currently, only you have mastered the clues for the next wave, and your subordinates don't know. Then find a way to make Yin Meng die quickly in an accident, and then you self-seal your memories regarding the Twelve Decrees of Fengdu.

By doing this, weaken your causal relationship with the Great Emperor of Fengdu as much as possible, letting the river water struggle with the Great Emperor again like last time, changing the place you are to go for the next wave."

Li Zhuiyuan: "Heh."

True Self: "The second method: pass the Twelve Decrees of Fengdu completely to Zhao Yi. He is already smart and has supreme talent; with you actively breaking it down and teaching him, he will inevitably be able to learn it very quickly.

Then, combined with the matter of that pair of 'lazy dogs' last time and the established fact of the entire Jiujiang Zhao clan listening to the decree, push the karma onto Zhao Yi as much as possible, letting him become your scapegoat.

Look at the river water; when it makes a choice between the two of you, whether it wants to protect you or protect Zhao Yi, I believe that with the tacit understanding you have now formed with the Heavenly Dao, the river water will choose to push Zhao Yi toward Fengdu.

It will raise you a bit more, sharpening you, this blade, to be even sharper, to be used for even greater value later."

Li Zhuiyuan got off the bed, walked to the cabinet, took out a can of Jianlibao, opened it, and took a sip.

True Self: "Are you tempted?"

Li Zhuiyuan shook his head.

True Self: "You'll still refuse?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "Refuse."

True Self: "Why? You shouldn't regard Zhao Yi so highly. Could it be that you've really developed a ridiculous friendship through mutual sympathy?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "The one who has been walking the river has always been me, not you. Your calmness sometimes makes you unable to perceive those details that require emotions to run high."

True Self: "For example?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "For example, that group of people under the General's Tomb who voluntarily went to their deaths again—can you understand that?" True Self: "One can treat tragedy and the sense of sacrifice as a kind of anesthesia that can make the soul happy."

Li Zhuiyuan: "That's fine, then you commit suicide now to fulfill me; you go enjoy the pleasure of tragedy and sacrifice."

True Self: "Your analogy is too stupid."

Li Zhuiyuan: "It's just that you can't empathize because you have no feelings.

Walking the river requires a breath of spirit. I can stand in my own position to play the game with the river water, adjusting and avoiding the waves for the sake of my own long-term planning.

But if I push the wave to someone else and shrink back myself, this breath of spirit will dissipate.

What is being pushed out isn't a disaster, but the opportunity to become a Long Wang.

I have no way to light the lamp a second time and admit defeat. Once I've come to the river, I can't retreat, and if I can't become a Long Wang, then what am I doing on the river? Rowing a boat and looking at the scenery?"

True Self: "You are too deeply bound by the Qin and Liu families; you shouldn't carry these burdens."

Li Zhuiyuan: "Saying this now has no meaning."

True Self: "If the first step is wrong, it's equivalent to all subsequent troubles being intensified."

Li Zhuiyuan: "First, I don't regret it; second, if I hadn't shown how I'm different from Wei Zhengdao, do you guess the Heavenly Dao would have reached this temporary tacit understanding with me, or would it have just killed me directly from the start?"

True Self: "This is you finding an excuse after the fact. It's also possible that you could have avoided the Heavenly Dao's influence on you by walking a more extreme path than Wei Zhengdao."

Li Zhuiyuan: "Arguing about this with you has no meaning."

Because his true self would only choose the way Wei Zhengdao did back then, but in the end, Wei Zhengdao actually regretted it.

True Self: "When you fell into becoming an inner demon, it was destined that I wouldn't be like him back then, regretting and doing that ridiculous suicide. I will only walk higher and further than him, to go see the real scenery."

Li Zhuiyuan didn't refute him, but took another sip of his drink and said: "It's time for the third one."

True Self: "Use great karma of the same level to hedge against great karma. Since the next wave is severely interfered with by the Great Emperor, if you don't want to go to Fengdu, you can go to another extreme.

For example, that big turtle deep in the East Sea, for example, the Goguryeo tomb in Ji'an.

You can even find the true location of the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's dojo by suppressing and replacing the entire Guanjiang Shou system, and play a game with the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva himself."

Li Zhuiyuan: "That would be worse than going to Fengdu. Going to Fengdu, life and death are in the Great Emperor's single thought; at least I can flip a coin.

Going to those few places, for the current me, is certain death."

True Self: "Neither you nor I like flipping coins, do we?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "Continue to expand on your third method; if you don't say it, I'm about to guess it."

True Self: "Actually, you already thought of it. You came to find me just to let me act as your absolute rational thinking to help you sort it out again."

Li Zhuiyuan: "I did think of it, but I haven't made the final decision yet."

True Self: "Going to those places mentioned above with your current strength is indeed without any possibility of survival. But according to this theory, one can apply the method downward.

Barely hedging with great karma that fluctuates around a level can also create a suitable boosting opportunity for the Heavenly Dao.

For example, find Wei Zhengdao's tomb.

In that wave of the Dream Ghost, Wei Zhengdao and the Great Emperor of Fengdu appeared at the same time; they are at least on the same level."

Li Zhuiyuan: "You know where his tomb is?"

True Self: "I don't. But isn't the one under the peach forest ready-made?"

Li Zhuiyuan gently shook the drink can in his hand.

True Self: "The one under the peach forest said that if possible, it is willing to be one of the last few waves on your River Walk path; just let it detonate in advance.

Use it as a sacrifice to help you avoid this wave of the Great Emperor."

Li Zhuiyuan: "That really is your style."

True Self: "Of course, there's also the most cost-effective one, and that is the Yu family. You set off for the Yu family's territory immediately and quickly get yourself involved in the Yu family's changes.

With the great karma of a proper Long Wang family, one can also touch the Great Emperor's karma."

Li Zhuiyuan: "I also thought of the Yu family."

True Self: "Hmm, after all, the Heavenly Dao has paved the way for the Yu family's destruction for so long. Not only are the top forces in the jianghu all watching, I'm afraid that when the time comes, the elites of this generation of River Walkers will also gather in that wave of the Yu family; it will inevitably be very lively."

Li Zhuiyuan picked up another can of Jianlibao and handed it to his true self: "Do you want to drink?"

True Self: "This seems to be my thing."

Li Zhuiyuan: "The taste comes from my experience."

True Self: "I don't like drinking sweet things, and especially this kind of fake, meaningless sweetness."

Li Zhuiyuan: "By the same token, this is also the problem I'm thinking about. Getting involved in the Yu family directly and forcibly opening a new wave can indeed, with high probability, avoid this wave of Fengdu. This kind of thing, Zhao Yi did it more than once when he was desperately trying to pass waves in the past.

But, after this wave of the Yu family ends, what about the next wave?

The Great Emperor is still there, watching me, waiting for me.

Then for my next wave, what method should I use to avoid it?

Or are you saying that after I get through this wave of the Yu family, I can quickly increase my strength to reach a level where I can protect myself in front of the Great Emperor?"

True Self: "Impossible."

Li Zhuiyuan: "As long as my strength hasn't reached that level, then when facing the Great Emperor, I still have to gamble on His intentions."

His true self put away the thick "River Walk Code of Conduct," closed the drawer, and said:

"Gambling late is not as good as gambling early."

If the Great Emperor wants to kill, it's just the difference between dying one wave early or one wave late.

If the Great Emperor doesn't want to kill, then after passing this wave of Fengdu, going to the Yu family's wave later, the benefits that can be snatched will be even more.

The next moment,

Li Zhuiyuan and his true self said in unison:

"Go see the Great Emperor."

Immediately, Li Zhuiyuan tilted his head back, wanting to drink the remaining drink, but no matter how he drank, he couldn't finish it.

The boy gave up and turned the drink can upside down; the drink inside flowed out continuously like an open water faucet.

Li Zhuiyuan looked at his true self: "Interesting?"

True Self: "You were the one who made it uninteresting first, coming to find me with the answer."

Li Zhuiyuan threw the drink can onto the ground; the can was empty, and the liquid that had accumulated on the ground had also dried up.

Walking to the room door, Li Zhuiyuan stopped his footsteps and said with his back to his true self:

"Going to Fengdu, I'm still a bit uneasy in my heart, that's why I thought of coming to find you to chat."

"Boring."

Li Zhuiyuan left.

His true self also walked out of the room, went down the stairs, and returned to the basement.

On several rows of benches in the basement, it was filled to the brim.

The layout inside had already been greatly changed; in the middle circle sat people, while the surrounding walls were surrounded by a circle of high platforms, on which were placed pieces of unshaped clay figures.

Originally, this circle didn't exist; just as Li Zhuiyuan in reality had answered Xue Liangliang's call at Zhang Shen's small shop, his true self had come to the basement and added them.

Because he realized that in the future, what he needed to replace might not just be people.

"You all, it's best not to give me the opportunity to grow up."

"If the ocean could call back the love of the past, then let me wait a lifetime..."

On the return journey after the team-building, there was a burst of laughter; everyone in the car, facing the wind, sang songs to their heart's content.

Tan Wenbin had originally planned to go straight back to Nantong, but was refused by Zhao Yi.

He said that since Tan Wenbin had finally recovered, he should go spend more time with his partner; since they had experienced the farmhouse fun, they should go relive the beautiful campus days.

In reality, Zhao Yi was thinking for Lin Shu You's sake; after all, having just wiped out the Lu family, no matter what, he should let A You enjoy the admiring gaze in front of Chen Lin.

Tan Wenbin didn't express opposition. Seeing that they were almost at the Jin Ling region, he picked up the big brother phone, preparing to report to Brother Xiaoyuan.

Zhao Yi, sitting in the passenger seat, was rummaging through cassette tapes, picking the next fitting track.

A moment later, Tan Wenbin hung up the phone and turned off the car stereo; the car fell into silence.

Yin Meng, who had been singing with gusto, asked suspiciously: "What's wrong?"

Tan Wenbin: "Mengmeng, you can prepare to go home."

Yin Meng: "Aren't we on our way home right now... back to Fengdu?"

Tan Wenbin: "Hmm."

Yin Meng sat stunned in place, no longer throwing snacks into her mouth, but instead placing her thumb horizontally into her mouth, biting down hard with her teeth.

"Crack!"

Zhao Yi pushed the newly selected cassette tape in, then lit a cigarette, took a puff, and slowly exhaled. He reached his hand holding the cigarette out the car window, letting the wind outside the window blow his hair hard.

A desolate and melodious tune rose from inside the car,

It was "Erquan Yingyue."

(End of chapter)