Chapter 45

"What, my grandfather broke his leg!"

Runsheng was completely stunned. He had been picked up by Shan Shan Daye by the river. Although the two of them often lived a life of feast or famine, when they were short on food, they were short together, so their bond was sincere and deep.

Tan Wenbin's eyebrows jumped with excitement; he wished he could stand on one leg and spin a few ballet turns on the spot. He finally had a chance to see a dead-downer!

Li Zhuiyuan, however, felt a bit guilty. Calculating the time, it was just after he had gone to Xiting Town to play cards and win money; at that time, Shan Shan Daye had taken half of his money.

Sigh, sure enough, this dirty money is indeed hard to spend.

"What are you still standing there for!" Li Sanjiang shouted at Runsheng, "Hurry up and get the gear ready to go!"

"Oh, okay." Runsheng immediately went into the house to get his things. This time, not only was he going back to see his grandfather, but he also had to get the job done.

"Grandpa Li, I want to go too, take me with you."

Tan Wenbin wished he could hang himself on Li Sanjiang, fearing that he would be left behind this time.

"Fine, fine, fine, I'll take you."

Li Sanjiang agreed directly because the phone call had said that the dead-downer was floating and sinking in a stretch of the river. Several villagers had seen it, but when they really gathered people to look for it, they couldn't find it.

This kind of dead-downer isn't dangerous; it just takes effort to find. Taking an extra pair of hands is the right thing to do.

"Great-grandfather."

"What's the matter, Little Yuan Hou?"

"I want to go visit Shan Shan Daye."

"That's only right, let's go together."

Runsheng, anxious to return to see his grandfather, pedaled the tricycle very fast.

The three people sitting in the back were all holding onto the sides of the vehicle, feeling a bit cramped.

Because the middle area of the vehicle was occupied by three bundles of things, taking up too much space.

Li Sanjiang's gear, Li Zhuiyuan's gear, plus Runsheng's own gear—Runsheng had loaded it all.

"I say, Runsheng Hou, why did you bring so much stuff? We're going to fish out a dead-downer, not build a house for your family."

Runsheng didn't reply; he was riding too fast, and the wind was howling, so he couldn't hear the complaints from behind.

Li Sanjiang didn't bother wasting his breath either; he took out his Luo Pan from his bosom and began to calibrate it in all seriousness.

Li Zhuiyuan picked up the purple Luo Pan from the bag and also began to calibrate it. Since they were going to find a dead-downer, they definitely had to use this.

As for the one in his great-grandfather's hand, it couldn't find a dead-downer; its only use was to take everyone to the South Pole to find penguins.

Just as they arrived outside Shan Shan Daye's house, one could see from the half-collapsed wall that Shan Shan Daye was sitting in the courtyard alone, his plastered foot propped up on a stool to one side. He was holding a sweet potato in his hand, peeling it while eating, his dentures set aside.

Li Sanjiang got off the vehicle, and his voice was heard before he arrived.

"I say, Old Cannon, even if your teeth aren't good, you can't just go around drinking thin gruel!"

The sweet potato in Shan Shan Daye's hand fell to the ground. Knowing that the old thing knew about him falling into the manure pit, his old face turned red immediately. He hurriedly grabbed the crutch beside him, wanting to jump back into the house to close the door.

But because he was too hurried, he didn't balance well and instead fell directly to the ground.

By now, the footsteps behind him had already approached.

Shan Shan Daye was so angry that he pounded the ground hard with his fist, biting his lip tightly!

Li Sanjiang reached out to help him up, let him sit down, and then helped him pat the dirt off his body.

Shan Shan Daye said indignantly, "Who told you to come!"

Li Sanjiang ignored his mouthiness and laughed, "Old Cannon, when something happens, you still have to send someone to notify me. No matter what, we've been old partners for so many years. Seriously, don't just leave without a word; I'll be lonely."

These words were spoken with genuine feeling, and the expression on Shan Shan Daye's face softened:

"Sanjiang Hou..."

"Even if you're going to die, you can't die in a manure pit. If someone finds you early, that's fine, but if you really soak for a whole night, when I come to hold your funeral and sit for the rites, I'll have to endure the smell while changing your burial clothes. How filthy that would be!"

Shan Shan Daye: "..."

Li Sanjiang pulled out two cigarettes, put one in his own mouth, and stuffed the other into Shan Shan Daye's mouth, then glanced over and shouted:

"Zhuangzhuang."

"Coming!"

Tan Wenbin took out a matchbox, struck a flame, and lit them for Li Sanjiang and Shan Shan Daye in turn.

"Old Cannon, come live at my place; come back after your injury heals."

"Not going. Just broke one leg, I can eat and drink on my own, it's no hindrance."

"Then let Runsheng come back to look after you?"

Shan Shan Daye mumbled for a while, then shook his head and said, "No need. Runsheng living at your place is quite good; he eats well and sleeps well, and he's become sturdier. The child has a good life, why should I hold him back?"

These words sounded very moving, but Li Sanjiang waved his hand and said, "Runsheng Hou, go into the house and check the rice jar and oil canister."

Runsheng ran into the house and soon ran out again, surprised, "Grandpa, did you really sell all the rice, flour, and oil that was bought for you last time?"

That stuff has to be scraped out of the jar and bought in small quantities. Just how desperate must one be to do this?

Shan Shan Daye blew out a smoke ring, hoping to use it to hide his embarrassed face:

"I don't know what was wrong with those two days; I kept playing big hands and kept losing. Losing and losing kept letting me see hope; it was simply evil."

"Heh, so you didn't let Runsheng come back because you were afraid that if he did, you wouldn't even have enough sweet potatoes to eat, right?"

Shan Shan Daye turned his face away and didn't speak.

"I say, you old cannon, at least you're a grandfather. Even if you don't leave anything for your grandson, don't be such a spendthrift. In a few years, when Runsheng Hou wants to find a partner, look at this broken house of yours—which girl would be willing to marry him?

Look at me again, how I'm saving up family assets for my Little Yuan Hou. I can't say much about the city, but in the countryside, within ten miles, wouldn't my Little Yuan Hou be able to pick whoever he wants?"

Shan Shan Daye suddenly grasped the main point and asked, "What's wrong? Little Yuan Hou can't return to the capital?"

Li Sanjiang's expression changed, and he took a hard drag of his cigarette.

"How did you manage that? You lost the child's capital household registration?"

"Shut up!"

"Don't tell me what to do either, I'll shut up. Otherwise, I'll have a good talk with you about the benefits of a household registration."

Li Zhuiyuan walked up to Shan Shan Daye and asked, "Shan Shan Daye, is your leg not serious?"

"Not serious, not serious, it'll be fine after some rest." Shan Shan Daye waved his hand somewhat embarrassedly.

He didn't know when he took the money last time; it was only later, when he returned to the card table, that he heard clearly. It turned out that the one playing the big cards was that little child, not the big child. His own Runsheng was just running errands, and the principal was Little Yuan Hou's, yet he had actually taken half the money.

But that money had already been lost, and he couldn't pay it back. Thinking about what he had done, he was truly ashamed.

"Runsheng Hou," Shan Shan Daye looked at Runsheng, "listen to Little Yuan Hou from now on."

Since he couldn't pay back the money, he could only compensate with a person.

Runsheng nodded and said, "Grandpa, I understand."

"Has he arrived? I say, has he arrived?" The local village head's voice came from outside; he was the one who had made the phone call earlier.

Shan Shan Daye still didn't know what was going on and asked, "What's wrong?"

Li Sanjiang said unpleasantly, "If it weren't for a dead-downer appearing here, we wouldn't even know your leg was broken."

"Then hurry up and get busy, get the job done."

"Hmm."

Li Sanjiang was just about to stand up when he heard his great-grandson say, "Great-grandfather, you just stay here and talk with Shan Shan Daye; Brother Runsheng can go."

Shan Shan Daye said worriedly, "Runsheng is still not steady, right?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "Shan Shan Daye, Runsheng wasn't steady before, but after following my great-grandfather, it's different. You'll see."

Shan Shan Daye curled his lips: "You, Little Yuan Hou."

Li Sanjiang was happy to hear this and patted his knees:

"Fine, let Runsheng Hou go find that dead-downer first. If there are any problems, come back and call me immediately."

Having successfully coaxed his great-grandfather into staying at home, Li Zhuiyuan immediately beckoned to Runsheng.

Runsheng understood, shouldered a set of corpse-fishing equipment, and threw Little Yuan's set to Tan Wenbin.

Then the three of them followed the village head to a stretch of the river. The river surface wasn't very wide, but both banks were forests, and the banks were overgrown with reeds, severely obstructing the view.

"This is the stretch. For the past few days, many people have come to tell me they saw a dead person floating on top. I've brought people here several times, but we couldn't find it. It's truly strange.

Why don't you look for it first? When you find it and need hands, come to the village to call me. I have some urgent matters to attend to."

Runsheng nodded: "Okay, Village Head, you go ahead."

The village head took out a cigarette and handed it to Runsheng, but Runsheng didn't want it. Little Yuan was too young, so in the end, Tan Wenbin took one and tucked it behind his ear.

After the village head left, Li Zhuiyuan held the Luo Pan and stood by the river.

The reason the village head left was probably because he didn't hold much hope of finding a floating corpse today. He should have organized people to search this stretch of the river before, but it was all in vain. Calling corpse-fishers was like treating a dead horse as if it were alive—at least he could give the villagers an explanation.

Tan Wenbin had completely entered the state and asked with a solemn face, "Brother Xiaoyuan, should Runsheng and I split up and walk along the river to take a look?"

"Brother Binbin, you go ahead, Brother Runsheng will follow me."

"Is it because my insight is stronger than his?"

"It's because Brother Runsheng isn't by my side, and I'm afraid of being in danger alone."

"Then... then I'll follow by your side to protect you too."

Li Zhuiyuan knew he was being a bit paranoid. No strange things had happened in the village, and those villagers who saw the dead-downer were able to leave safely, proving that the dead-downer was likely just an ordinary floating corpse.

But since Siyuan Village could have water burials from the Southern Liang period, he really didn't dare to be too confident now; it was better to be careful and cautious in his actions.

Carrying the Luo Pan, he walked slowly along the river. After walking for a long stretch, he didn't find any abnormalities in the Feng Shui atmosphere, and of course, he didn't find the dead-downer either.

Tan Wenbin asked, "Could it have floated to another basin?"

"It's possible," Li Zhuiyuan pointed to the water surface, "it's also possible there's a leak somewhere under the river that sucked the corpse down."

"There can be such a thing?"

"Like the plug at the bottom of a bathtub at home."

"Doesn't that mean you have to dive to find it? I say, you brought so much stuff, why didn't you think of getting a set of oxygen tanks?"

Runsheng: "These tools are specifically for that kind of dead-downer that moves."

"Oh, good stuff." Tan Wenbin patted the sack on his back.

Unknowingly, they had already walked to the bend of the river, where there was a newly built bridge ahead.

Li Zhuiyuan stopped. They had already walked through the entire basin described by the village head, yet they still had nothing to show for it.

Tan Wenbin poked Runsheng's arm and asked, "That, have you ever encountered a situation where you came to fish out a dead-downer but couldn't find it?"

"I have. I remember that at that time, my grandfather and great-grandfather would set up an offering table to perform rites to 'call the person,' letting it float up on its own."

Tan Wenbin, hearing this, leaned to Li Zhuiyuan's side and asked, "Brother Xiaoyuan, do you know how to do this?"

Li Zhuiyuan frowned slightly.

Tan Wenbin immediately said, "It's okay, it doesn't matter if you don't know. In my heart, you're still the most amazing, brother."

Li Zhuiyuan shook his head; he did know how.

In the books of Wei Zhengdao and the Qin and Liu families, many methods of "calling the person" were actually recorded.

But the problem was that his own great-grandfather and Shan Shan Daye might have just learned the form; if they succeeded, it was their profound skill, and if they failed, it was because the dead-downer was unusual—it was all about luck.

But he himself could truly choose a location and set up an offering based on the Feng Shui atmosphere to induce it; he really knew how.

But the more he really knew how, the less he dared to use it recklessly. Maybe this dead-downer had already floated away and wasn't here? Besides, there were quite a few graves nearby, and the situation in the river wasn't clear. If he really set up an offering, what if he didn't summon the dead-downer but instead summoned something inexplicable?

"Cross the bridge, let's walk back from that side."

Li Zhuiyuan got on the bridge. It was a cement slab bridge without railings, three cement slabs wide.

When they reached the middle of the bridge, Li Zhuiyuan suddenly felt the atmosphere around him change. Looking down, the Luo Pan needle also showed turbulence.

While silently reciting the "Liu Family Qi-Gazing Formula" in his heart, he turned around on the spot, then stopped, watching the needles in the large and small circles on the Luo Pan begin to calculate.

Runsheng stood by silently, and Tan Wenbin curiously stretched his neck to peek. He felt that the way Little Yuan held the Luo Pan and turned around just now was truly stylish. It was a pity he was a bit young; if he were older, relying on this demeanor and temperament, which small factory boss wouldn't invite him to come and turn around before opening?

Li Zhuiyuan stomped his feet. He didn't feel it when walking by the river earlier, but after getting on this bridge, he realized that the bridge's position was exactly at the "Dragon-Strangling Position."

Although the river was a small river, and this dragon was the smallest dragon imaginable, the pattern was complete.

Looking at the surrounding environment again, it was truly rare to see a bridge built at a river bend; they were usually in straight river sections.

However, even if it were a Dragon-Strangling Position, there was nothing special about it, let alone it being a baleful position.

But if he wanted to use it and deliberately turned this place into a baleful position...

Li Zhuiyuan lowered his head, looked at the cement slab under his feet, and said, "Brother Runsheng, go to the riverbank and look under the bridge, right where I'm standing."

"I'll go!"

Tan Wenbin put his things down and ran down the bridge quickly. When he reached the riverbank, he couldn't see clearly enough, so he actually walked into the river without a second thought.

Although this river was a small river, it was quite deep in the middle. If there were a leak or silt trap inside, it would be easy to suffocate an adult.

Runsheng squatted by the bridge and reminded, "Be careful, don't make us have to fish you out later."

"The mud under this river is so deep, I just got to the riverbank." Tan Wenbin probed forward cautiously. His current mindset was that since he had finally bought a ticket to enter the amusement park, he had to take the initiative to experience it to make the ticket price worth it.

Finally, he didn't dare to walk forward anymore. Although he was still quite far away, he could see under the bridge clearly. He looked up, his eyes widened, then he retreated a few steps and shouted to the people above:

"Brother Xiaoyuan, there are large iron nails nailed to the back of the bridge, right under your feet."

"Are there seven of them?"

"Ah?" Tan Wenbin took two more steps forward, maintaining his balance while looking up and counting, "Right, seven."

"Is it red around the nails?"

"Right, it's red, like it's been painted with red lacquer."

Sure enough.

The originally ordinary Dragon-Strangling Position, after being modified like this, directly turned into "Dragon Bloodletting."

Li Zhuiyuan turned around and looked at the river bend. The vitality of this basin flowed out here, while the baleful energy was intercepted, which was equivalent to using the natural environment here to create a Feng Shui formation.

But why didn't he notice any abnormalities when he walked all the way here earlier?

Li Zhuiyuan immediately thought of a possibility: the baleful energy was sucked away by the dead-downer!

With interception and suction, it became a dynamic cycle here.

No wonder some villagers saw the dead-downer and then it disappeared; it floated up when it sucked the baleful energy and sank after it finished sucking.

Therefore, this matter wasn't just about fishing out a floating corpse; someone was laying out a formation here to raise a corpse!

Li Zhuiyuan realized that putting himself on the evil side and using the results to reverse-engineer it seemed to have a really high success rate.

But he didn't feel much joy; instead, he felt a bit distressed. Why was it so easy for him to substitute himself into the opposing side?

Another thing was that this Feng Shui formation was laid out too pettily.

Using the words his great-grandfather often said at the dinner table: "No, you only poured this much, are you raising fish?"

If he were to lay it out, he could do more work in several places, at least introducing the baleful energy from outside to form a counter-strike; that would be truly catalyzing corpse-raising. Your current method can only be called corpse preservation.

"It seems the books you read aren't of very good quality."

Li Zhuiyuan reached out and patted his forehead: No, what on earth am I thinking?

No, this isn't his fault; it's Wei Zhengdao's fault.

Before, he just looked at the concepts in the books without much feeling. After he really started practicing, the feeling that something was wrong appeared. Wei Zhengdao's books were full of "righteous content"; he only taught you how to represent the righteous path to suppress and kill the undead.

But this guy's narrative style and content layout could be reverse-engineered in many places. Many righteous-sounding taboos and errors could be used from the other extreme if you reversed them.

This guy was clearly waving the flag of the righteous path to oppose the righteous path.

"Xiaoyuan, are you okay?" Runsheng asked with some concern.

"Brother Runsheng, I'm fine. This place was laid out by someone..."

"Wait for me, wait for me, wait until I get there to talk!"

Tan Wenbin shouted while running wildly with his hands raised, fearing he would miss this scene.

It was just that his shoes and pants had just gotten wet, and he tripped over his own feet while running fast. When he rushed in front of Li Zhuiyuan and Runsheng, he lost his balance directly.

If Runsheng hadn't been strong enough to reach out and grab him, everyone might have been knocked into the river by him.

"Hehehe, sorry, sorry." Tan Wenbin squatted down, squeezing his pants while saying, "Now you can say it."

"This bridge is a Feng Shui formation laid out by someone. That dead-downer shouldn't have been drowned by a passerby, but placed by him. He is using this small river here to raise a corpse."

"Raise a corpse?" Tan Wenbin opened his mouth, "Wow, that sounds really exciting."

Runsheng asked, "Then Xiaoyuan, what should we do?"

"There are two choices. One, I break his formation, and the dead-downer will float up. The other, go directly to his house."

Runsheng just wanted to ask how to find him, but he held back.

Binbin couldn't hold back and asked, "How to find him?"

Li Zhuiyuan pointed to the monument at the bridge pier: "The name of the person who donated money to build the bridge is written there."

Tan Wenbin touched his head: "Oh right, damn, why do I feel so stupid?"

Runsheng said "Hmm."

Building bridges and paving roads have been virtuous deeds since ancient times, especially in villages where government funding is insufficient. Many times, road and bridge projects have to solve part of the funding themselves. If the whole village shares it, that's fine, but if the bulk comes from a single donor, their name is usually carved on a monument.

Li Zhuiyuan came to the monument. Only one person's name was written on it, proving that this bridge was built with money from one person... Zhou Yong.

"Let's go ask the village head. This person should live in the village; it's impossible for him to throw a corpse here and go on a long trip himself."

"I know where he lives." Runsheng pointed in a direction, "His house is at the north corner of the village." Tan Wenbin: "Is his family very rich?"

Runsheng shook his head: "There aren't many families in the village living worse than ours, but his family is one of them."

Li Zhuiyuan pondered for a moment: "Then let's go to his house, lay it out and make it clear, so he doesn't throw another one after we fish this one up."

Tan Wenbin blinked and muttered in a low voice: "This is a corpse, not fish fry."

Runsheng said: "Xiaoyuan means that only dealing with the corpse without dealing with the living person might bring subsequent trouble."

Led by Runsheng, the three walked toward the north corner of the village.

On the way, Tan Wenbin asked: "That, should we call my dad over too?"

Runsheng: "Do you want your dad to know that you're not staying at Grandpa's house to study, but to fish out dead-downers?"

Tan Wenbin's voice suddenly lowered: "This is a murder case, isn't it? Shouldn't the police handle it?"

"Brother Binbin, this isn't necessarily a murder case. He is raising a corpse; you can understand it as using a Feng Shui pattern to preserve the corpse. If he killed someone, there's no reason to go through this trouble."

"Oh, I see, understood."

"Brother Runsheng, be prepared later. If there are any special circumstances, act directly to ensure our safety."

"Hmm, don't worry, Xiaoyuan, I know."

Liu Yumei, Uncle Qin, and the others all counted as "family," so this was Li Zhuiyuan's first time encountering a peer outside, and he was still a bit nervous.

Zhou Yong's house was even more broken than Shan Shan Daye's. Shan Shan Daye's house at least had a broken courtyard, but Zhou Yong's house didn't even have a fence, and they were actually living in a mud house.

At present, villagers in the countryside were all working hard to build two-story buildings. Those who didn't even have a brick-and-tile bungalow and still lived in mud houses were truly at the bottom of the village's living standards.

Tan Wenbin said in confusion: "A person like this fully funded the construction of a bridge?"

Runsheng said: "He used to be a worker at the Xingren Agricultural Machinery Factory. Later, his wife and children both got sick, so he couldn't go to work and stayed home to farm and take care of them."

Tan Wenbin: "Then are his wife and children still here?"

"They are still here. When I rode my bike past his door last time, I saw his wife and child sitting at the door sunning themselves."

As he spoke, Runsheng turned his head to look at Li Zhuiyuan: "It was last time when you were waiting for me at home, Xiaoyuan. When I went to the town market to buy rice and flour for Great-grandfather, I passed by in front of his house and saw them."

Li Zhuiyuan nodded.

The three walked onto a small terrace. On the terrace, there was a well covered with a large bamboo hat, kept quite clean—of course, also because there was really nothing there.

The house door was closed. Tan Wenbin licked his lips and stepped forward to push it, but it didn't open. He pushed again and heard the "ding-ding-dang-dang" sound of the door lock colliding inside.

He looked back at Li Zhuiyuan and Runsheng, shrugged, and said: "It seems we didn't come at the right time. People should be out; the door is locked from the inside."

Li Zhuiyuan looked at him and asked back: "Don't you find it strange that the door is locked from the inside?"

"What's strange about that? My house door is also locked from the inside... Oh, right, how can this be?"

Locking a wooden door in a village is different from the key locks in family apartment buildings.

"Brother Binbin, call again."

"Alright." Tan Wenbin patted the door while shouting, "Hey, is anyone home? Is anyone home?"

No one responded inside.

Runsheng sniffed his nose at this time and then spread his hands: "Binbin, be quiet for a moment."

Li Zhuiyuan, seeing this, immediately retreated a few steps.

He knew Runsheng's nose was the sharpest at smelling things.

"Xiaoyuan, there's a smell of corpse, very faint."

Tan Wenbin asked eagerly: "Is it a dead-downer?"

Runsheng shook his head: "Hard to say, the smell is too faint. It could also be something else emitting it."

Tan Wenbin guessed: "Could it be that after locking the door from the inside, someone committed suicide inside?"

Immediately, the two looked at Li Zhuiyuan together.

Li Zhuiyuan pointed to the window next to them: "Go in and take a look. If you find a corpse, report it to the police; if not, apologize and pay compensation."

Tan Wenbin walked to the wooden window and pulled it: "It's also locked."

Runsheng walked over, squeezed him aside, grabbed the edge of the window, and with a burst of effort, the whole window was removed.

Then, Runsheng squeezed his body in.

Tan Wenbin, seeing this, gritted his teeth and followed.

"Creak!"

The lock inside the wooden door was opened, and the door was pushed open. Runsheng stood behind the door.

"Xiaoyuan, the key was on the table, so I just opened the lock."

"Runsheng, what are you doing? If there really is a corpse here, you're destroying the scene. How are we going to explain it as witnesses?"

Li Zhuiyuan walked in from the front door and said: "It's fine, your dad will help us explain it."

"But this isn't my dad's jurisdiction."

"You were playing cards in the village, your dad took leave and came to the village in plain clothes to catch you, and then stumbled upon this house. He is the first witness."

Tan Wenbin swallowed his saliva: "Very reasonable."

The space in the house wasn't small, but the ground was full of small mud pits and hadn't been paved with bricks for hardening.

Moreover, many wooden beams were very low, and adults had to be careful not to bump their heads when walking in.

A very standard housing layout: the far east side was the kitchen with a stove, the middle was the hall with a long cabinet against the wall, and on the cabinet were offering tables and deity statues, while the far west side was the bedroom.

There were many things in the house, and many things that were clearly broken hadn't been thrown away, but everything was kept in perfect order.

Tan Wenbin and Runsheng went to the east end and west end respectively, while Li Zhuiyuan stood in the hall, looking at the deity statues hanging above.

On the far left was Guanyin Bodhisattva, on the far right was the Jade Emperor, and in the middle was Jesus.

One could understand hanging any deity statue in the village, and mixing Buddhism and Daoism was also very common; even Confucianism could be hung—for example, Great-grandfather hung Confucius at home.

But hanging Jesus here was somewhat incongruous; it clearly wasn't the same style or design as the two sides, and anyone with a discerning eye could see it was inappropriate.

Li Zhuiyuan walked to the cabinet and found that the incense burners in front of Guanyin Bodhisattva and the Jade Emperor hadn't been used for a long time, accumulating thick dust instead of incense ash.

On the contrary, the incense burner in front of Jesus was full of incense ash, which looked like it was used frequently.

However, does Jesus eat incense?

Li Zhuiyuan raised his hand, wanting to open the long cabinet. The design of this cabinet was very similar to a coffin; one could only see inside by lifting the lid on top.

Each section of the lid had a groove design, interlocking like a puzzle, and often needed to be opened section by section. It could store sundries and also grain.

But the raised hand was eventually lowered. To be safe, it was better to wait for Runsheng.

Runsheng and Tan Wenbin returned.

"No one in the bedroom."

"No one in the kitchen either."

Li Zhuiyuan asked: "Brother Runsheng, can you smell where the corpse odor is coming from?"

Runsheng shook his head: "After coming in, I can't tell anymore. There's this faint smell everywhere."

Tan Wenbin mocked: "You mean there's a corpse living and walking around in this house, so it left the smell everywhere? Don't be so ridiculous."

"Brother Binbin, are you being like Ye Gong who loved dragons?"

"Ah?" Immediately, Tan Wenbin remembered why he came. The scene of a corpse walking and living here appeared in his mind, and he immediately felt cold and shivered.

"Brother Runsheng, open the lid and look inside."

"Alright."

Runsheng knew how to open this kind of lid latch, grabbing one side first, pushing it inward, and then lifting it.

Li Zhuiyuan stood on tiptoe to look inside and found that it was all bags of rice, with a slightly pungent smell, which should be from fumigation to prevent the rice from molding.

It seemed there was nothing in the hall, because this was the only long cabinet that could hide things here.

Li Zhuiyuan walked toward the kitchen, and Runsheng and Tan Wenbin followed.

The kitchen was a very standard rural earthen stove kitchen layout, with quite a bit of hay and firewood piled behind the stove.

Tan Wenbin pointed there and said: "I just checked there, there's nothing in the firewood."

Li Zhuiyuan lifted the lids of the water jar and rice jar in turn. The water jar was full of water, and the rice jar was full of rice.

Tan Wenbin added: "I just lifted these to look earlier, didn't find any problems, but no matter how poorly this family lives, the rice jar is fuller than Runsheng's family's."

Li Zhuiyuan retreated a few more steps, coming behind Runsheng and Tan Wenbin.

He pointed to the rice jar and said: "A family of three living here, using such a large rice jar, and filling it with rice."

Urban families go out to buy rice when it runs out. Rural families have stored grain, but they also store most of it and take a small portion to put in the kitchen rice jar for daily eating, and then take some more from the stored grain to put in when the rice jar is about to bottom out.

Runsheng looked at Tan Wenbin and then at the rice jar, meaning: Are you going or am I?

Tan Wenbin's body was shaking, but he nodded hard, walked to the rice jar, and reached out to rake the rice from the middle.

As he raked, Tan Wenbin suddenly let out a scream:

"Ah!!!"

Then he sat paralyzed on the ground, crawling backward with his hands and feet.

Li Zhuiyuan and Runsheng walked up to look. In the sunken area in the center of the rice jar, a clump of black hair appeared.

In the rice jar... there was a person!

No wonder Tan Wenbin was scared like this. Who wouldn't be scared by this scene?

Especially since you could even imagine the posture of this person curled up and sitting inside under the rice.

Li Zhuiyuan closed his eyes and opened them again quickly, calming his emotions, and said: "Brother Runsheng, confirm it again."

"Okay."

Runsheng didn't say a word, reached out to continue raking, and finally, the forehead under the hair appeared. It was indeed a person, a girl.

Continuing to rake, one could see the girl's eyes.

Her eyes were open.

The girl's eyes were completely filled with grains of rice.

Tan Wenbin just stood up, leaned over again, and after one look, retreated continuously in fear.

Li Zhuiyuan looked away. This time, he couldn't blame Binbin for being timid; even he couldn't stand these eyes.

"Xiaoyuan, there's no way to continue raking unless we scoop out the rice or try to lift her out."

"No need, just like this for now."

"Alright."

Li Zhuiyuan sniffed his nose. He smelled a cloying odor.

"Brother Runsheng, did you smell it?"

"Uh, no, it's still that faint corpse odor. Xiaoyuan, did you smell something?"

"Why do I smell a bit of fragrance?"

"Fragrance?"

Li Zhuiyuan shook his head and looked at the water jar. The water in this jar probably hadn't been changed for a long time, and coupled with the darkness in the house, the water wasn't clear but rather blackish.

"Brother Binbin."

Tan Wenbin shook his head frantically and shouted to Runsheng: "Brother Runsheng."

Runsheng didn't hesitate. He was wearing a tank top, so he didn't even need to roll up his sleeves; he directly stuck his whole arm into the water jar and began to stir and dig.

Finally, he pulled out his wet arm and shook it: "There's nothing inside."

Tan Wenbin suggested: "Then, shall we go out first?"

Runsheng glanced at him: "You were the one shouting to come, and you're the one scared to death after seeing it."

Tan Wenbin: "Isn't this the performance of a normal person?"

Li Zhuiyuan walked toward the bedroom, Runsheng followed, and Tan Wenbin looked at the eyes in the rice jar again...

Then he turned around immediately and chased after them with high steps.

There were two beds in the bedroom, one big and one small, both with blue mosquito nets, and straw mats spread on the beds.

A neatly folded quilt was placed on the big bed, and a blanket was placed on the small bed.

Under the straw mats of both beds, several layers of thick bedding were spread as mattresses, making them softer and more comfortable to sleep on.

Runsheng pointed to the space under the bed and the wardrobes and cabinets around: "Xiaoyuan, I've checked these places, there's nothing unusual."

Tan Wenbin pointed to the quilt and shouted: "The quilt, the quilt, why would you cover yourself with such a thick quilt in the middle of summer?"

Runsheng walked up, lifted the mosquito net, pulled the quilt over, and unfolded it. It was indeed just a thick quilt.

Tan Wenbin: "Uh..."

"Brother Runsheng, lift the straw mats of both beds."

"Okay."

Runsheng first lifted the straw mat of the small bed; underneath were several layers of cotton batting.

When Runsheng came to lift the straw mat of the big bed, Tan Wenbin went ahead, lifted the straw mat, and then continued to pinch a corner of the straw mat with one hand, his whole body on tiptoe, beginning to spin and tremble.

This was... spasming from fear.

Under the straw mat of the big bed, there was also thick cotton batting.

But in the middle of this cotton batting, a person was sandwiched—an adult woman. She was very thin.

Most of the woman's body was covered by cotton batting, with only her face, stomach, and feet exposed.

The woman was also wide-eyed, her eyes completely filled with cotton batting, looking somewhat swollen.

And the cotton batting at her eyes bulged upward, as if new cotton had grown out.

"Put it down, Brother Binbin."

"Okay."

Binbin let go of his hand, and the straw mat fell, covering the cotton batting and the woman inside again.

Immediately, Tan Wenbin walked toward Li Zhuiyuan. Li Zhuiyuan avoided him, so Tan Wenbin could only walk toward Runsheng, reaching out to hug him. He needed a hug now.

He was about to cry. Actually, tears were already welling up in the corners of his eyes.

He asked with a trembling voice choked with sobs: "Xiaoyuan, what should we do next?"

"Brother Binbin, don't be afraid."

"I'm not afraid..." Tan Wenbin took a deep breath stubbornly, but he was pushed away by Runsheng the next moment.

Losing his balance, he fell backward onto the straw mat of the big bed.

"Ah!"

Thinking of what was underneath, Tan Wenbin sprang up like a spring.

"I'm afraid, I'm afraid!"

Li Zhuiyuan patted Tan Wenbin's arm: "Don't be afraid anymore, Brother Binbin, let's go call your dad."

"Dad..."

To be honest, when the image of Tan Yunlong appeared in his mind, the fear in Tan Wenbin's heart really subsided quite a bit. Even if his dad were to take off his belt in front of him now, he would feel it was a scorching, warm, and intimate gesture.

Li Zhuiyuan walked out of the mud house first. Runsheng picked up the window that had been removed earlier, intending to install it back, but heard Tan Wenbin inside shouting to wait a moment.

Then, only a "click" was heard; he had locked the wooden door from the inside again.

Immediately after, he climbed out from the window himself and let Runsheng install the window back.

"Hehehe, Brother Xiaoyuan, I locked the door and also wiped the key and the lock, so Runsheng's fingerprints won't be left on it, which also saves us trouble."

Tan Wenbin felt that this move of his was very professional.

"When your dad comes, Runsheng can also open the lock. Besides, you didn't just wipe Runsheng's fingerprints; you wiped all the fingerprints on it."

"This..." Tan Wenbin realized he had done a useless, stupid thing.

"Let's go, let's go call your dad."

Logically speaking, someone should stay here to watch, but it wasn't appropriate for either of them to stay, so in the end, the three of them walked out together.

After walking for a long stretch, they heard someone shouting from behind: "Hey, Runsheng Hou! Runsheng Hou!"

The three looked back and saw the village head riding a bicycle on the road they had come from, waving at them from far away: "Runsheng Hou, did you fish it out? Did you fish it out?"

Runsheng raised his hand and shouted back: "Not yet!"

At this moment, in the sight of the three, the village head who was riding over suddenly made a gesture of turning to the left and raising his hand to greet someone, saying something and smiling.

Usually, this is a response used on the road to greet people in houses by the roadside.

And that position, that direction, was exactly Zhou Yong's house.

The three turned their heads together and looked at Zhou Yong's house.

Although it was a bit far,

they could still vaguely see a pair of mother and daughter sitting on the small terrace.

(End of chapter)