Chapter 452

Watching and watching, Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan tilted his head back, leaned against the rattan chair, and rubbed the space between his brows.

The young man could be considered well-read; even before he learned to walk, he had been crawling all over the various rubbings in Li Lan's study.

After arriving in Nantong, he had experienced everything from micro-carved secret manuals and impressionistic cultivation techniques to incomplete secret arts—even things like the Yin family's Twelve Dharma Gates, which required one to reverse-engineer them on their own.

Do not view them simply as books, but as information flows presented through regular symbols; once you do that, accepting and understanding them becomes much less difficult.

Those with a bit more difficulty involve fathoming the recorder's purpose; those with even higher difficulty are nothing more than empathizing with the recorder's state of mind at that time.

All changes stem from the same origin; the recorder left these records for those who would come after. As long as you can adjust yourself to be on the same frequency as they were then, you can digest this information quite smoothly.

But Liu Yi is an exception.

She truly did not intend for anyone else to see this ledger; she didn't even intend for herself to see it.

Liu Yi began keeping it as soon as she learned to write—no, very likely even earlier; she began keeping a tally of her grudges from the moment she could remember things.

Once she learned to write, she immediately wrote down the grudges she had been keeping in her mind, fearing that her memory might blur.

The long span of time, the changes in handwriting style, and the shifts in her state of mind are all presented here vividly and thoroughly.

The most headache-inducing part is:

Others have a bit of emotion in their writing, but Liu Yi has a bit of writing in her emotion.

When reading this ledger, it was as if many versions of Liu Yi from different ages and various moods were incessantly chattering and nagging in Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan's ears.

Precisely because the young man's reading habits were so deep, he felt dizzy and muddled at this moment, to the point where even he, a heart demon, felt like he was on the verge of suffering a cultivation deviation.

Lin Lin Lin Lin Lin Lin Lin Lin Shu You returned carrying a large bag of condiments and handed them to Liu Yi, feeling very embarrassed.

Because of his operational error, the entire family's lunch had been forced to be delayed.

A You apologized to Liu Yi, who waved her hand with a smile and said it was nothing, even taking the opportunity to help A You straighten his asymmetrical collar.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan, sitting on the second-floor terrace, witnessed this scene.

In fact, until he held his own initiation ceremony, from Liu Yi's perspective, her future had been dark and desperate.

Her childhood stage was the period of the decline of the Qin and Liu families; she witnessed the pressure under which the matriarch struggled to hold things together, experienced Qin Shu's failure in lighting the lamp to walk the river, and then watched A Li, whose condition was critical.

You truly cannot expect someone who believes there is no hope for revenge to record the affairs of their enemies in an organized manner.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan lowered his head again, picked up the ledger once more, and began to flip through it at a faster pace than before.

One page, two pages, three pages... it was so fast it was like the wind blowing through the pages.

He only noted the "pictures" and did not look at the text.

This kind of reading was more like "rubbing" the contents of the ledger into his own memory; when he needed it one day, he could backtrack through this memory and specifically examine the contents of that page in detail.

Even so, after flipping through the entire thick ledger, Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan was tired, and the wind was tired too.

Shaking his slightly sore wrists, Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan picked up the ledger and walked into the house.

A Li, who was carving a forehead ornament, glanced at the exhausted young man; this was the first time in her memory she had seen him read a book like this.

Not wanting the girl to worry, Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan explained:

"Liu Yi's emotional world is a bit too delicate."

A Li blinked, seemingly understanding what the young man meant.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan sat down at his desk, opened the drawer, and took out the "Wordless Book."

Flipping to the first page, inside the bedroom, the woman was lazily lying on the bed, her posture graceful, holding a bunch of grapes in her hand and feeding them into her mouth.

Perhaps she hadn't expected the young man to suddenly flip to her page at this time.

The image paused, and the woman immediately knelt upright with a solemn expression.

She wasn't foolish enough to think she could influence this young man with low-level seduction, especially since she didn't even have a physical body and relied on erotic books and pictures.

On the two sides of the mosquito net by the bed, there were four hooks, each hook being a small model of an evil spirit; these were the imprints of the four evil spirits that had previously been taken away to be fed.

There was no need to leave the prison empty; it would be quite troublesome if the young man had to flip to the sixth page the next time he used it.

She had thoughtfully cleared out the prisons on pages two through five; now, the "Wordless Book" only had images on the first page where she resided.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan pointed to the thick ledger and said to the woman in the painting:

"You look at this, you record it.

Categorize and organize them, and classify them according to the strength of the heritage as you understand and judge it.

In the future, wherever I go, if there are enemies nearby, you remind and inform me, and plan the route, guiding and navigating me there."

The woman nodded.

"I have recorded all of this in my mind; I will conduct spot checks."

The woman pressed her forehead to the ground.

Although the "Evil Book" had already demonstrated its loyalty through actual actions.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan also believed that at least at this stage, she was indeed loyal to him.

But the present does not represent the future; giving her too much authority now is just nourishing and encouraging her future corruption.

Once she realizes that she can influence your revenge route through slight changes and clever misdirection, it is hard for her not to try to harbor ulterior motives.

This was also the reason why Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan had preferred to endure his sore hands just now to finish flipping through the ledger.

The young man placed the "Wordless Book" on top of the ledger.

Next, the book began to eat the book.

The ledger didn't move, and the "Wordless Book" didn't move either, but in the dark, you could hear a "chewing" sound.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan stood up and walked over to A Li's side.

A Li pointed to a green gemstone and looked at the young man.

This was an accessory embedded in the girl's green training suit; she had taken it off, intending to sew it onto Lin Lin Lin Lin Lin Lin Lin Lin Shu You's forehead ornament.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan shook his head: "That's still a bit too flashy; it would be better to carve an oracle bone script character for 'lightning' on it."

The girl nodded.

However, since the green gemstone had already been taken off, there was no need to sew it back onto the clothes; in all likelihood, Grandma Liu had already finished making A Li's new training suit.

"A You broke the offering table of the Guan Old Old Old Jiang Shou, and those sculptures were also crushed and deformed. A Li, please go to the trouble of carving a new set for the Master Master Master Master Master Master Master Master Tongzi and the two generals of increase and decrease.

Embed this green gemstone onto the Master Master Master Master Master Master Master Master Tongzi."

Even if A You hadn't crushed them, that set of sculptures was due for a replacement; the main thing was that the Master Master Master Master Master Master Master Master Tongzi and the two generals of increase and decrease liked to manipulate the sculptures to secretly fight whenever they were bored, leaving damage on each other.

The girl signaled that she understood.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan stood by, using a small plane to shave some wood curls to help A Li prepare the raw materials for the sculptures she would make later.

After the sound of the book eating the book at the desk ended, the young man stood up and walked back.

The bedroom on the first page of the "Wordless Book" was a mess.

There were tear stains, slash marks, claw marks...

The woman was slumped on the ground, her hair disheveled, her eyes vacant.

It wasn't just Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan who had been tortured by this ledger; even the "Evil Book" had been no exception.

This was probably the realm of a master of using Gu.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan picked up his teacup to drink water, giving the woman some extra buffer time.

When the young man put the teacup down, the woman tidied up her image.

"Are there any enemies near Mount Ailao Mountain? It would be best if they match the strength of the Living People Valley."

On the bedroom floor tiles, a line of text appeared:

【Lu Family Manor】

Next, the woman combined Liu Yi's records with her own old knowledge to introduce this force to Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan.

Just as Shijiazhuang is not a manor, Lu Family Manor is not one either.

But the former is much larger than a manor, while the latter is much smaller.

Lu Family Manor has a sparse population; it doesn't even qualify as a village, and its scale has always been maintained at a pattern of four or five generations living under one roof.

Furthermore, Lu Family Manor does not send its disciples to light the lamp and walk the river in every generation.

Most of the time, its successors are active on land rather than on the river, but whenever there are records of them, it always highlights the strength of their successors.

Legend has it that the ancestors of the Lu family were raised by a divine Divine Divine Divine Deer in the mountains during their infancy; after growing up and entering the world, they set their surname as "Lu." The Lu family considers themselves to have the blood of the divine Divine Divine Divine Deer flowing through their bodies, and their family heritage also follows the path of martial artists.

Jianghu rumors are often distorted; one only needs to look at Zhao Yi's experience to know this.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan could see the contradictions in the things the Evil Book had organized for him.

Ancestors raised by a divine Divine Divine Divine Deer, descendants with divine Divine Divine Divine Deer blood flowing in them, and therefore skilled in martial arts.

Anyway, based on Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan's habitual analysis, the story easily becomes one where the ancestors of the Lu family killed the divine Divine Divine Divine Deer, ate its meat and drank its blood, obtained a special bloodline, and used this as a foundation to develop their own power and heritage.

The warmth in legendary stories is often used to cover up the true bloody coldness.

The Lu family could be recorded by Liu Yi because the previous generation of Lu Family Manor had a successor who lit the lamp, and he had also participated in that siege against Qin Shu.

Qin Shu did not remember the vast majority of the people who besieged him; those guys who could be solved with one or two punches would be completely shattered and unrecognizable before you could even see their faces clearly.

When Liu Yi was treating the critically ill Qin Shu, there was a scar shaped like a Divine Divine Divine Deer antler on his back; the residual internal fire from it continued to burn Qin Shu's flesh and soul even after he returned home.

Liu Yi remembered every single wound inflicted upon Qin Shu clearly.

She had once cried and begged Liu Liu Liu Liu Liu Yumei to allow her to take revenge.

This Lu Family Manor was among them.

But Liu Liu Liu Liu Liu Yumei refused.

If it were a large sect or a big family, Liu Yi could watch from the shadows, using various methods of Gu and poison, not targeting the strong within the force but only attacking ordinary people on the periphery, which would be enough to make the other side furious yet helpless, living in fear.

But as it happened, Lu Family Manor had a sparse population, which was not suitable for Liu Yi's methods to be effective.

Furthermore, the reason the people of Lu Family Manor gave up the benefits of lighting the lamp and walking the river was that they could obtain other supplementary benefits on land; it could also be understood as a glove worn by some top forces working together.

Qin Shu lit the lamp to walk the river, and the successor of Lu Family Manor also lit the lamp; perhaps at that time, the layout had already begun.

Matters on the river belong to the river; this has been the tacit understanding and rule of the entire underworld for many years.

Unless you have decided to fight to the death, simply going to the door to provoke the Lu Family Manor can only be considered tearing off the mask completely, making the conflict public, and furthermore, it is you who actively broke the moral code and lost the rules.

The term "moral code" is merely toilet paper when you are at the height of your power; back then, when Liu Liu Qingcheng settled the river feud, she killed whenever it was necessary.

At that time, she was the contemporary Long Wang, and at that time, the Long Wang Liu was a proper Long Wang faction; everyone just felt that the appearance was a bit unsightly, but... that was about it.

Now that the family is in decline, there is no way to do that anymore; you even have to rely on this piece of paper to patch up the drafty doors and windows.

For so many years, Grandma Liu has been caught between the lines of "giving up and letting things go" and "maintaining the responsibility of this thin inheritance," her anger rising time and again, only to be forcibly suppressed each time, until finally, she could only curse at the ancestral spirit tablets.

It was she who blocked Liu Yi's revenge, yet she was the one who wanted revenge the most, far more radical than Liu Yi.

Therefore, after handing over the position of family head, Liu Liu Liu Liu Liu Yumei immediately proposed to herself to transport the evil spirits out of the ancestral residence, find a family to blow them up in, and perish together!

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan's fingertips traced over the three characters "Lu Family Manor."

Using this place as a starting point to officially raise his own banner and begin to make a name for himself is actually quite appropriate.

First, tear off their gloves, and by this method, tell them that the people of the Qin and Liu families have returned to the river, and the accounts from back then are about to be settled.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan took out his "Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan Secret Scroll," first writing down Living Person Valley, then writing down Lu Family Manor.

Living Person Valley is a small hell that the Emperor wants to eliminate; Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan believes that when he leads the waves there, the Emperor will certainly be willing to provide more convenience.

This point can be utilized; while "running errands" for the Emperor, he can also mix in some private business.

Next, it is time to dig the irrigation canal.

At this time, there is no need to rush into innovation; anyway, there are plenty of old methods that have been verified by practice, so start by applying them.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan began to draw lines, simplifying complex problems as much as possible.

The first step is to lead the next wave of river water toward Living Person Valley.

This step must be handled vaguely; it cannot be led too precisely, it cannot point directly to Living Person Valley, it is best to first reach Mount Mount Ailao, or even just reach Yuxi first.

Only in this way can he leave himself enough room for error.

The second step is to make a mistake.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan and Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Xiyuan are two opposite extreme cases.

The fact is, when walking the river, failing to discern the river's intent and circling on the periphery for a long time without being able to enter is actually a normal state.

Once he reaches Yuxi, he can make a mistake; first stop, and lead the fork of the river water toward Lu Family Manor.

After settling Lu Family Manor, he can then offer an apology: "Sorry, I made a mistake."

The third step is to turn back and deal with Living Person Valley.

This is the most ideal and direct route; when actual operations begin, various changes will inevitably occur, but as long as he firmly controls this general direction, he can harvest the desired results.

The most ideal state and change would probably be to divert the disaster, letting Lu Family Manor and Living Person Valley clash first, while he plays the role of the oriole behind.

However, this can only be guided according to the actual situation after he arrives at the scene, and cannot be done from the start with such wishful thinking.

Doing things is just like this: first choose the clumsiest method to walk the longest road, then carefully investigate whether the shortcuts encountered along the way are truly passable.

"Lunchtime!"

"Hou, why is there an empty plate in this food box?"

Li Sanjiang held the empty plate and looked at Qin Shu in confusion.

Qin Shu: "Could it be prepared for spitting out bones?"

Hearing this, Li Sanjiang lowered his head and looked at the soil under his feet.

Sitting in the shed on the ground, everything is dirt; whatever you have, you can just spit it on the ground, why would you need a plate to hold it?

Besides, the meat dishes in the food box are braised tiger-skin meat with cabbage and shredded pork with green peppers; there is no fish or chicken, so what bones are there to spit?

Li Sanjiang held the empty plate up to his eyes and reached out to pinch a peanut skin from it:

"Is this... a peanut?"

Old Man Uncle Tian lowered his head, searched in the food box, and said, "The peanuts didn't fall down here."

Li Sanjiang looked at Qin Shu.

Qin Shu looked at Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Runsheng.

Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Runsheng: "Hmm?"

Old Man Uncle Tian: "Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Runsheng Hou, did you steal the peanuts and eat them?"

Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Runsheng: "Hmm!"

Old Man Uncle Tian smacked his lips a few times and scolded:

"Look at what you've done. Does your Li Ye lack a plate of peanuts for you? If you were greedy, couldn't you have just grabbed a handful at home, put them in your pocket, and eaten them slowly? These were brought for me and your Li Ye to drink with."

Li Sanjiang: "That's right, if there are peanuts, there should be wine. Where's the wine? Where's the wine!"

Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Runsheng: "I drank it!"

Li Sanjiang: "No wonder, I was wondering why there were two soy sauce bottles, and each one was half full."

The bowls and plates at home are in fixed quantities; whatever is taken out must be brought back, and the same goes for wine bottles. After drinking, they can be washed clean and used to hold other seasonings; anyway, families who know how to live will save them.

Old Man Uncle Tian feigned anger and said: "Good, Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Runsheng Hou, you're really something now. Not only did you steal food, but you also stole wine to drink, right? I think you really are..."

Li Sanjiang: "Alright, alright, if you ate it, you ate it, and if you drank it, you drank it. With a drunkard like you as a role model, isn't it normal for your Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Runsheng Hou to learn to drink?"

Old Man Uncle Tian: "Hey, so I'm the only one who loves to drink, right? What kind of example have you set at home?"

Li Sanjiang: "My Xiao Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Yuan Hou doesn't drink; he says drinking hurts the brain."

Old Man Uncle Tian: "Then my Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Runsheng Hou..."

Li Sanjiang: "Let him drink whatever he wants; it can't hurt much more anyway."

Old Man Uncle Tian: "Sigh, that's true too."

Li Sanjiang: "It's just that my scripture chanting in the afternoon will be so tasteless."

Sitting in the corner of the mourning hall, scripture book spread out in front, a few peanuts hidden in the pocket, a little wine poured into the tea cup on the side, one peanut per scripture passage, one sip of wine per half stick of incense—tsk, that's what you call carefree.

Old Man Uncle Tian: "I'll go chant for you; you go lead the burning of the paper."

Li Sanjiang: "That would be too embarrassing."

Old Man Uncle Tian: "You can't sit still without those two things; I'm afraid you'll fall asleep there. If the host family sees it, it won't look good."

Li Sanjiang: "Fine."

"Dong dong qiang, dong dong qiang!"

The funeral band began to warm up; everyone put on costumes and began to play the roles of monks and Daoist priests, holding the ceremony.

Old Man Uncle Tian entered the mourning hall and began to chant scriptures.

He chanted very loudly and very attentively, and he was chanting correctly too.

But limited by his personal image, sitting there just didn't have the same effect as Li Sanjiang.

There was no ice coffin in the mourning hall, and there was no body today either.

Funeral rites are not only held when someone has just died; besides the familiar first seventh day to fifth seventh day, anniversary memorials, and birthdays of the deceased, sometimes if you dream of a departed relative and feel it was a message in a dream, you can also hold one.

However, this kind is generally not held on a large scale; only close relatives and friends are invited, everyone gathers for a small event, the meal is very simple, there are no big dishes, it won't be sumptuous, and no gift money is collected; generally, just bringing a bundle of paper or buying some paper effigies to burn is enough.

Today, the host family dreamed of their old mother and thought about holding one for her.

It was originally a very small scale, at most two tables of relatives, just setting up a table, kowtowing, and finding an empty space to burn some paper.

The host family thought so too, but who knew that many people would come to participate, and all of them wanted to give gift money.

There was no choice; the shed had to be set up, the cook had to be invited, and the funeral band and the scripture chanters had to be quickly arranged.

It was like having too much vinegar, so they had to temporarily roll out more dumpling wrappers.

As soon as Li Sanjiang arrived, he discovered something wrong with this family.

This family is an ordinary one-story house, and they didn't build a second floor, but the surrounding dam was paved very broadly with cement.

It was said that the village happened to be building a cement road, one strip in front and one in back, so they just conveniently hardened the front and back of this house.

There was clearly a large well on the dam, but the faucet pipe had already been connected into the house; there was also a telephone inside, and a sign stood on it saying "Public Telephone Station"—it wasn't placed outside but kept inside, so even if one wanted to make it public, there was no way.

On the west side outside the house is the village clinic, just a few steps away; on the east side is a bus stop. The people in this village are quite blessed; they don't have to wait for the bus on the main road, as the bus will drive into the village itself to turn around.

Besides this, the layout inside was simple; the host was an old man, dressed plainly, and he was a very honest person. With so many guests coming, he couldn't provide tables for the funeral band and the scripture chanters, and he even lost money; he is a kind-hearted person.

"Let's go, time for the sacrifice!"

Li Sanjiang called out to Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Runsheng and Qin Shu, but suddenly a large group of people ran out; those who were supposed to hold flags held flags, those who were supposed to carry banners carried banners, and even the paper-effigy retainers and maids were fought over to be held.

This made it so that Qin Shu and Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Runsheng, who were supposed to do this work, couldn't find an opportunity to work, and the two could only follow behind.

Qin Shu looked at Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Runsheng, feeling a bit embarrassed.

Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Runsheng, however, didn't mind.

Taking the blame for the master is only right and proper.

On the way over, the master's probing of him went completely unnoticed by Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Runsheng, but he had a deep impression of the master drinking and eating peanuts.

Qin Shu reached out and put his arm around Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Runsheng's shoulder.

Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Runsheng turned his head and smiled.

The two followed behind the procession.

Upon arriving at the place, Li Sanjiang asked the host family to light the fire, then directed everyone to burn the paper and paper effigies.

While burning, Li Sanjiang also set up a sacrifice at the grave of the host family's mother.

The host family knelt down first to kowtow, said a few simple words to their mother, and then stood up, ending it.

If there were fewer people, they could have chatted more at their mother's grave, talking about their childhood and their present life.

But there were simply too many people on the scene, and with so many eyes staring, it was really embarrassing to show true feelings.

As soon as the host family stood up, the crowd behind swarmed forward, kneeling down in a rush.

The crying, the shouting, the kowtowing—it was truly moving and tear-jerking.

Anyone who didn't know better would have thought this was the funeral of an ancestor from some flourishing, prestigious family; the ancestor had been blessed with great fortune and many descendants, and the children and grandchildren below were so outstanding that they had produced this vast sea of filial sons and grandsons.

Moreover, this group of filial sons and grandsons were all doing quite well for themselves; this could be clearly seen from their attire and bearing, and they were certainly not the type to scrape a living from the soil.

When they knelt and kowtowed, their jackets shifted, and some even had mobile phones tucked into their waistbands or pockets.

Li Sanjiang had seen these mobile phones before; the children at home were now practically desperate to have one each, but those were all borrowed from Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Liangliang, who claimed they were a benefit provided by the public sector to facilitate communication.

If one really wanted to buy one, that brick-sized gadget cost a terrifying amount of money.

After the lively ceremony concluded, they returned to the dam-side area to continue the earlier festivities.

At dinner, the host specifically had the cook send the banquet dishes into the funeral service team's area first, before inviting Li Sanjiang and the others over to eat.

In truth, even more guests arrived in the evening, and the banquet dishes were far from enough; besides, since everyone had already received their payment at noon, they felt embarrassed to occupy seats at the banquet in the evening.

The old master of the house insisted on pulling everyone down to eat, saying that everyone had been busy all day and it wasn't easy, so they deserved a good meal; as for that group of people outside, they hadn't been invited in the first place, so if they didn't get to eat, that was just too bad.

After dinner, Li Sanjiang had to keep vigil, burning paper and chanting scriptures.

The old master of the house was polite; despite having paid for the service, he told Li Sanjiang that he could pack up and leave once it got late, without needing to stay up all night until dawn.

After saying this, the old master of the house said he was tired, returned to his room, closed the door, and went to sleep.

Once he closed his room, the crowd outside dispersed as well.

On the altar table in the mourning hall, in front of the portrait of the deceased old lady, things quickly became quiet.

Li Sanjiang had spent his whole life in the funeral business and had long understood this truth: the deceased rely on the living, and the elderly rely on their children.

The grandeur of a funeral depends on the Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Face of the living; the grandeur of an elder depends on the Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Face of their children.

This family was a living example.

Approaching ten o'clock at night, Li Sanjiang asked Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Runsheng to come over and burn paper for him while he went to the gravesite to collect things.

Arriving at the gravesite, he took out his cigarette case and was just about to light a cigarette when he saw the old master of the house lying by the grave, speaking in a low voice.

This was after he had closed the door and pretended to sleep, having climbed out the window to sneak away.

Hearing footsteps, the old master of the house sat up, and upon seeing it was Li Sanjiang, he lay back down.

Li Sanjiang handed the other man a cigarette, and the old man accepted it.

The old master of the house: "Old brother, I'm so tired today."

Li Sanjiang squatted down with a chuckle: "You are blessed."

The old master of the house: "Heh, in my early years I truly felt I was very blessed, so much so that I wanted to hold my head high, but these past few years, it's become more and more annoying."

Li Sanjiang: "Many people would envy you if they could."

The old master of the house: "That's why I say, it's not good for children to be too successful; it makes it so one can't live in peace."

Li Sanjiang: "Hahaha."

The old master of the house: "My child told me long ago that he wanted to take me away, but I don't want to leave this place. My own father and mother are buried here, the child's mother is buried here, and I was born and raised here since I was small; how could I bear to leave?"

Li Sanjiang: "Indeed, having lived here a lifetime, who would bear to move at the end?"

The old master of the house: "But now, I have to leave. If I continue to live here, there's no guarantee I won't become a burden to my child one day. You don't know that group of people; let me tell you the truth, old brother:

They are fucking shameless!"

Both old men laughed together.

The old master of the house: "I'm leaving tomorrow. My child is sending someone to pick me up. I have to go; I can't let my child make a mistake because of me being muddled."

Li Sanjiang: "Leaving is also quite good; you're going to enjoy life with your son."

The old master of the house: "Old brother, when I die, I still have to be buried back home. Over there is the child's mother's grave. When the time comes, I'll still have to ask you to preside over it. You do this work with dignity, and I am very satisfied."

Li Sanjiang: "You are younger than me, you know."

The old master of the house: "Our complexions are different; I certainly won't live longer than you, old brother."

Li Sanjiang: "Fine, fine, fine. One word: if I go after you, I guarantee I'll handle it for you with dignity."

The old master of the house took a piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to Li Sanjiang, with a string of phone numbers written on it.

"Old brother, take this. Others beg me for it, but I never give it, and it can't pass through my hands either."

Li Sanjiang took the paper: "Oh my, then you shouldn't give it to me."

The old master of the house: "Keep it. Keep it as a memento. If something really happens, call this number."

"What could possibly happen to me?" Li Sanjiang also took a piece of paper out of his pocket—it was cigarette box paper, also with a string of numbers written on it, which was Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan's. Li Sanjiang handed this cigarette box paper to the old master of the house.

The old master of the house took it and asked suspiciously: "If I have something happen, I should call this number?"

Li Sanjiang: "When I die, tell your child to call this number and ask if I'm dead yet."

The old master of the house: "Hahahahaha!"

Li Sanjiang was just there to clear the altar table, which had yellow wine and dried tofu on it.

Since the person in the grave had already enjoyed it, the two old men leaned against the grave mound and started drinking a little wine.

As they chatted, they eventually talked about the origin of today's funeral service.

The old master of the house: "My mother wasn't a local; her hometown was in Yunnan. When she was young, she wandered around, came here, followed my father, gave birth to me, and put down roots here. But while she was alive, she always talked about her hometown, saying she wanted to go home and take a look.

But back then, where would there have been the conditions for that?"

Li Sanjiang: "That's true. Yunnan is huge. Last time my Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan went to Lijiang, Yunnan, I looked for it on the map for a long time."

The old master of the house: "My mother only remembered that she was from Yuxi."

Li Sanjiang: "Yuxi? I know that; it's good to smoke."

The old master of the house: "My mother came to me in a dream and said that my father was arguing with her in the underworld. When they were alive, for my sake, she endured it and didn't hold it against my father.

Now that I haven't died yet and haven't gone to the underworld, and I'm not there, she doesn't indulge my father anymore; she ran away from home, wanting to return to her own maiden home.

My mother hadn't been on a long journey since she was a child. She said that halfway there, she ran out of travel money, so I thought I should quickly perform a sacrifice and burn more travel money for her to take down there.

Sigh, if only I could know exactly where my mother's old home is, I could take some soil from my mother's grave and go there to pay my respects."

Li Sanjiang: "Just ask your child to help you find it."

The old master of the house: "For this matter? Wouldn't that be making a mistake? Not to mention I'm embarrassed to open my mouth, even if I did, the child wouldn't agree. He has his own mind."

"This child has had his own ideas since he was small; he can manage his own affairs well."

"He goes to school when he should, works when he should, and walks his own path step by step. His mother and I haven't had to worry about anything at all."

Li Sanjiang: "I have the same feeling."

The night grew late, and it was time.

The two old men cleared the altar table together and left the gravesite.

When they arrived home, the old master of the house pointed to the empty mourning hall and said:

"Old brother, next time we meet, I'll be the one lying there."

Li Sanjiang pointed to the table beside it: "Mm, and I'll be sitting there chanting scriptures."

The old master of the house: "Don't just sit there; eat some peanuts with a little wine, and smack your lips a few times so I can smell the flavor."

Li Sanjiang: "Done, done, done. When the time comes, I'll hide a roasted chicken and bring a plate of pig's head meat, enough to make you crave it so much you'll sit up from the coffin and ask me for some."

After parting ways, Li Sanjiang packed up his things and went back.

Grandpa Grandpa Hu Zi did not return to Xiting and would sleep at Li Sanjiang's house tonight.

Upon arriving home, he saw Lin Lin Lin Lin Lin Lin Lin Lin Shu You and Tan Tan Tan Tan Tan Tan Wenbin still watching television on the first floor.

Li Sanjiang: "Not asleep yet?"

Tan Tan Tan Tan Tan Tan Wenbin: "Yeah, we'll sleep once this movie is finished."

Li Sanjiang and Grandpa Grandpa Hu Zi went upstairs.

Grandpa Grandpa Hu Zi yawned: "Sleep, sleep, I'm exhausted."

Li Sanjiang kicked Grandpa Grandpa Hu Zi toward the shower room: "Go take a shower first, otherwise you'll be all stinky and fumigate me so I can't sleep!"

After forcing Grandpa Grandpa Hu Zi to go wash up, Li Sanjiang walked toward his own room and saw Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan still sitting outside on the rattan chair.

"Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan, it's so late, why aren't you asleep yet?"

"Great-grandfather, I took a nap this afternoon, so I can't sleep right now."

"Oh." Li Sanjiang squatted down beside him, smoking a cigarette while chatting with his great-grandson about what happened today.

He didn't feel it when he was alone, living his own life, but ever since he had a child by his side, he always wanted to save up the things he encountered during the day to talk to the child about.

Every time this happened, Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan would listen very earnestly; after all, besides this, there wasn't much he could do to repay his great-grandfather.

After Li Sanjiang finished speaking, he smiled and said:

"Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan, when you become successful one day and want to take your great-grandfather away, don't worry, I won't have a single word of objection!"

"The world is vast, but our Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan's affairs are the most important, haha!"

At this moment, Grandpa Grandpa Hu Zi, having finished his shower, walked over and asked:

"Li Sanjiang, did you give that slip of paper the host gave you to your Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan?"

Li Sanjiang didn't care: "Why would I give it to him?"

Grandpa Grandpa Hu Zi: "Has your brain gone soft? Didn't you see the scene today? That host's son must be an extraordinary person."

"Regardless of whether it was a whim or he left a memento because he's leaving home, this number was given to you. If your Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan ever runs into any trouble in the future, who knows, maybe one phone call would solve it."

"Haven't you seen it in plays? Things that are as big as the sky in the eyes of us common folk are just a wave of the hand to people up there."

Li Sanjiang: "My Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan has no need for that."

Grandpa Grandpa Hu Zi: "No, are you really not going to give it to him? What if you lose it while holding it in your hand? When the time comes, you won't even know where to look to make a call."

Li Sanjiang: "My Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan has plenty of people to call; it's just that he doesn't want to call them himself."

Grandpa Grandpa Hu Zi: "Heh, keep bragging!"

Li Sanjiang: "Who's bragging with you in the middle of the night? Go back to your room and sleep."

Master Shan returned to the room.

Li Sanjiang lit another cigarette.

He was not bragging.

Li Li Weihan had never met his own northern relative of the same generation, but he, Li Sanjiang, had.

Last time Little Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Yuan Hou took him on a trip to the capital, he had sat together with Little Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Yuan Hou's Northern Grandpa.

Li Sanjiang did not know exactly how old that Northern Grandpa was, but he could estimate it based on his own personal experience.

After all, back then, he had fled from the Northeast all the way through the pass and south, escaping to the banks of the Yangtze Jiang Shui; that Northern Grandpa had chased him from the Northeast all the way through the pass and south, pursuing him to the banks of the Yangtze Jiang Shui.

When calling someone for help, what logic is there in calling an outsider instead of one's own grandfather?

"There are no cigarettes in the room."

At this moment, Master Shan pushed the door open and came out again, fished the cigarette case out of Li Sanjiang's pocket, and incidentally dropped the paper with the phone number written on it.

Master Shan was quick-eyed and nimble-handed; he picked up the paper, stuffed it into Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan's hand, and urged:

"Little Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Yuan Hou, keep it safe, keep it safe, it's useful!"

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan put the paper into his pocket and smiled: "Master Shan, if I can find the old home of that grandpa's mother, would it be even more useful?"

Master Shan pointed at Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan with the hand holding his cigarette and said to Li Sanjiang:

"Listen, listen! This is what a university student is; his brain is just sharp. Unlike you, I don't know what you've got in your head today!"

Li Sanjiang rolled his eyes at Master Shan.

Master Shan went a step further and recited the name and birth date of the object of today's ritual, who was the mother of the host family.

Li Sanjiang cursed Master Shan for having a seizure here.

Master Shan stiffened his neck and retorted: A person must have dreams!

After both old men returned to their rooms to rest, Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan spread the paper out under the moonlight, looked at the string of numbers on it, and said:

"I want to flatter and fawn, I want to chase power and influence, I want to seize the opportunity to climb up, I want to go to Yuxi."

The self-talk was finished.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan folded the paper well and put it away.

In the past, whenever he had to go out to travel the rivers, Great-Grandpa would touch a lottery ticket for him.

However, ever since someone died at the last lottery-touching scene, and the lottery organizer was exposed and arrested, lottery-touching activities had not been held in the nearby region for a long time.

Even if Great-Grandpa wanted to touch one now, there was nowhere to touch it.

But this time, Great-Grandpa had touched a big one for him.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan raised his hand and tapped his index finger in front of him.

A red dot remained before him.

The youth's fingertips circled around this red dot, drawing out red lines that formed a complex and meticulous Eight Trigrams plane.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan pushed his palm forward.

The plane caved in, misaligning into layers like a red spire; the tower body rotated continuously, solemn and mysterious.

The trip to Zhao Zhao Zhao Zhao Zhao Zhao Zhao Zhao Zhao Jie Zhao Zhao Zhao Zhao Zhao Zhao Zhao Zhao Zhao Jie Jian had caused a qualitative change in the youth's spiritual consciousness intensity; he could now play more tricks with his previous secret arts.

However, the youth raised his hand and clapped, dispersing the red tower body.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan sensed the obvious change in the intensity of this "lottery ticket."

Logically speaking, the difficulty of the next wave for him was not great, and it also contained the private task of avenging the Qin and Liu families, so theoretically, Great-Grandpa's fortune should not have inexplicably increased its exertion on this matter.

But some things can be gotten to the bottom of, while other things are meaningless if one insists on investigating them meticulously and getting to the truth.

Anyway, Great-Grandpa would never harm him.

On this basis, for him to go and calculate how much "money" Great-Grandpa's kindness to him was worth each time, and the reason for the fluctuation of each "sum of money," would truly be being full and having nothing to do, and would be a lousy thing to do.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan stood up; he, along with Tan Tan Tan Tan Tan Tan Wenbin and Lin Lin Lin Lin Lin Lin Lin Lin Shu You downstairs, had not slept, as they were waiting for Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Runsheng to return for a meeting.

Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Runsheng being here symbolized the meaning of unity, which was more important than Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Runsheng's brain.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan looked toward the east room.

"Snap!"

He snapped his fingers.

The east bedroom.

Liu Liu Liu Liu Liu Yumei sat on the bed, borrowing the moonlight to embroider a quilt.

Her granddaughter's clothes could be designed by her and then made by others; that was because she really didn't have enough time.

But these three quilts had to be embroidered by her own hands, stitch by stitch.

She thought of the scene that day when Li Sanjiang held up three fingers to her and said the dowry was "three quilts."

Liu Liu Liu Liu Liu Yumei did not continue to mind Li Sanjiang's "pettiness"; she stopped her needle, looked up, and gazed at the surrounding environment.

When she first brought A Li and A Ting to live here, it was just to sponge off a little of Li Sanjiang's fortune to treat her granddaughter's illness.

Who could have imagined that after living here, they would actually become in-laws.

The term "in-laws" was originally used exclusively for marriages between imperial relatives.

One prospers together, one suffers together.

A Li, who was sleeping beside her, opened her eyes and sat up.

Liu Liu Liu Liu Liu Yumei: "Something up?"

A Li nodded.

She was going to a meeting.