Chapter 65

Liu Ting walked into the pavilion with a smile; she was still wearing the same clothes as when she was at Li Sanjiang's house—simple, loose, and convenient for work. Those who didn't know better would have thought she was a kitchen maid from the club's back kitchen, wandering around out of ignorance of the rules.

"I heard people say that Xiao Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Yuan has come?"

Liu Liu Liu Liu Liu Yumei tilted her head slightly toward the southwest corner. Liu Ting followed her gaze and saw a boy and a girl sitting close together on a stone bench.

That spot, with the lotus pond on the left and a view overlooking the mountain city from above on the right, could be called an excellent place for enjoying the scenery.

The boy was speaking very enthusiastically about something.

The girl was turned sideways, her hands supporting her chin, her eyes sparkling as she watched him, listening intently.

Whenever the boy laughed, the girl would follow suit with the corners of her mouth upturned; when the boy reached an exciting part and unconsciously spread his hands, the girl would also gently sway her head in accompaniment.

In their daily life in the past, the boy gave Liu Ting the feeling of being cute and lively on the surface, but deep down, he possessed a maturity and steadiness inconsistent with his age. He would play with his peers, but a discerning eye could still spot a sense of detachment—a kind of tolerance that came from a higher position.

Now, he was actually sitting on a haystack like a little boy from the village, excitedly recounting: "I'll tell you a secret, you must not tell anyone else, I'm telling you, yesterday..."

As for her own A Li, she didn't look like her usual self at all. No, the truth was that before the boy came here, she remained cold and aloof, but once the boy arrived, she was like a normal, innocent little sister, always so curious and admiring of the stories told by the brother in the courtyard.

Liu Ting remarked with emotion: "Our A Li and Xiao Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Yuan are unexpectedly able to get along so well."

"Heh, they're just children, they're all like that."

Liu Ting only covered her mouth and chuckled lightly, not daring to deliberately pick a fight and ask: Which family's children could be like these two?

She was clear about the stubbornness in the old lady's heart, but that didn't prevent her from harboring a bit of a desire to see the fun, watching to see how long the old lady could keep up her tough act.

"When I came over earlier, I saw a woman making a scene in the front hall. It's Ding Ding Laoer's youngest son; he just left his legal wife and wants to elevate the pregnant woman from outside. Today counts as her officially entering the door to meet people."

Liu Liu Liu Liu Liu Yumei asked: "And he, Ding Ding Laoer, is actually willing to see her?"

"He wasn't willing at first, but he couldn't stand his youngest son's bitter pleading; he couldn't hold out, so he nodded."

"Then this Ding family probably doesn't have many good years left. When Ding Laoda was here, he could barely maintain some rules, but now that Ding Laoda is gone, this massive frame is likely not far from collapsing. Sigh, it's truly a joke; they can actually openly put the matter of favoring a concubine and destroying the wife on the table."

"Look at you saying that, the times are different after all."

"Yes, the times are different, but some principles do not change. You cannot enjoy the benefits of the old ways while shouting for the freedom of the new ways.

People, it doesn't matter much if their legs are long or short, but if the two legs want to walk in different directions, they are bound to stumble."

"Ding Ding Laoer gave me a hint, hoping you could do him the favor of drinking a bowl of tea offered by the juniors."

"Drink tea?"

Liu Liu Liu Liu Liu Yumei smiled, pointed at the boy and girl over there who had finished chatting and had already started playing chess in the air:

"Call the two children over; it's time for dinner."

Liu Ting turned around, stood at the edge of the pavilion, and shouted toward that side:

"Time for dinner!"

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan directly "threw his piece" to concede, then stood up holding the girl's hand.

Having been away from home for many days, in this call from Liu Yi, the boy seemed to hear the sound of homesickness.

Crossing the lotus pond and then following the winding path into an open-air stone gate, inside were various potted plants placed on stone platforms, all pruned and designed with exquisite charm; there must be someone specifically in charge of regular maintenance.

Along the way, Liu Yi was actively introducing things to Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan, as if they were touring a scenic spot.

Walking to the end, they saw two sets of steps, one leading up and one leading down. Ding Ding Laoer was leading a crowd of sons, walking down quickly from above.

His eldest brother originally had one son and one daughter, but both passed away before the old man, so the Ding family had long been supported by the second branch.

Ding Ding Laoer had five sons, born to three different mothers. The age gap between the wives was very large, which led to an even larger gap between the sons; Ding Ding Laoer's eldest grandson was two years older than his youngest son.

The closer they got to Liu Liu Liu Liu Liu Yumei, the brighter the smile on Ding Ding Laoer's Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Face became, almost to the point of being sycophantic, while at the same time, he bowed lower and lower.

"Young Lady."

This form of address was indeed not very appropriate for Liu Liu Liu Liu Liu Yumei's age.

But Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan heard it; the Ding family should have been part of the old Qin family's line.

It was like going to a couple's house; if you were close to the husband, you would call the wife 'sister-in-law', and if you were close to the wife, you would call the husband 'brother-in-law'.

"Young Lady has not been out for a long time; it's rare for you to make an appearance. I have brought the little ones of the family to pay their respects to you, Young Lady. Please come inside and take a seat, and let the little ones serve you tea, Young Lady."

The second-generation men all followed closely, standing in a row, their faces all wearing ingratiating smiles.

As for the female relatives, they all stayed on the steps above, also standing in a row. The others were dressed appropriately with their hands placed together in front of them, but the one at the very end had wavy hair and thick, gaudy makeup, holding a bag in her left hand and a string of beads hanging from her right.

She was like a "crane in a flock of chickens," but in Liu Liu Liu Liu Liu Yumei's eyes, these appropriate chickens were not good things either. They could teach but didn't, they could offer a hint but remained silent; it was obvious they wanted to make her look bad when meeting an outside guest.

Fighting in a private residence is normal, but putting the dirty laundry out to dry in public only shows that the rules of this household have already rotted through.

"No need, they are all crooked melons and cracked dates; there is nothing worth seeing."

These words truly gave no Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Face at all.

Many people present had their expressions change.

Ding Ding Laoer and his eldest son both revealed panic.

The other sons showed dissatisfaction, especially the youngest one, who even opened his mouth as if wanting to curse, but was pulled back by his eldest brother.

The Wo Sect standing above also had their chests heaving one after another. Relying on the distance, they started muttering in low voices. The one with wavy hair thought she had found a good opportunity to fit in with the sisters-in-law and immediately raised her voice:

"Yo, I was wondering which family's grand-aunt this was. Such a high-and-mighty air! Coming here, eating people's food and living in people's house, yet still acting so arrogant!"

"Thump!"

Ding Ding Laoer was so scared he knelt down.

The eldest son also knelt, just a bit slower; after all, he wasn't as practiced at kneeling as his old man.

Seeing this, the remaining sons were stunned for a moment, then followed suit one after another. Even the youngest son, who had previously appeared the most resentful, finally came to his senses and knelt down together.

The wavy-haired woman in the back who had just spoken opened her mouth, but couldn't make a sound. She realized she had poked a huge hornet's nest.

Ding Ding Laoer immediately said to his youngest son with hatred: "Tell that bitch, she is never to think of entering the door of my Ding family in this lifetime, and the child in her belly shouldn't think of having the surname Ding either!"

Hearing this, the youngest son didn't dare to retort.

Ding Ding Laoer raised his head again and looked up: "Young Lady, I..."

"I have no interest in your family's dirty business; you'd better go pay your respects to your brother."

Liu Liu Liu Liu Liu Yumei bypassed the crowd kneeling in front of her and walked down the steps. From beginning to end, she didn't even glance at the wavy-haired woman.

The summer cicadas were indeed chirping in an annoying way, but who had the energy to really flip through them to see which cicada was chirping?

Below, there was a relatively wide platform with several round tables set up in the front hall. A group of old people were sitting there, and each old person had someone standing behind them.

The closer the old person was to the main seat, the younger the person behind them was, clearly of the grandchild generation. Two of them sitting on either side of the empty seat actually had grandsons and granddaughters standing behind them, about the same age as A Li.

The further down the old people sat, the older the people they brought behind them tended to be; some were clearly of the son generation, and white hair had already appeared on their heads.

The ancestral homes of the Qin and Liu families were on the river, but if one were to calculate carefully, the mountain city was one of their original homes. The people here now were all former "friends and relatives" of the two families in the mountain city region.

As soon as Liu Liu Liu Liu Liu Yumei arrived, everyone stood up one after another, dropping their canes and pushing away the support of the young people behind them.

Some performed the old ritual with their right arm tilted forward, some performed the sect ritual with their thumbs raised, and some knelt directly just like Ding Ding Laoer did earlier. The various rituals represented their different past identities and positions in the Jianghu.

Even the forms of address were divided into two types:

"Greetings, Young Lady."

"Greetings, Eldest Miss."

Liu Liu Liu Liu Liu Yumei stood still and accepted their greetings.

Then she waved her hand and smiled: "What era is it now? Still doing these old-fashioned things; it's not in style anymore, it hasn't been in style for a long time."

Hearing this, everyone cooperated by showing smiles on their faces.

Some old people even deliberately looked back at the juniors they brought, with a feeling of showing off like children.

They hadn't used these old rituals for a long time either. Firstly, they were indeed not in style, and secondly, in their daily lives at home, they really couldn't run into anyone who would make them perform these rituals.

But after this bow, there really was a feeling of reminiscing about the past, as if they had all suddenly become decades younger.

The two old people who brought their little grandsons and granddaughters spoke up one after another: "Eldest Miss, these old bones of mine only feel useful when I'm paying my respects to you."

"Young Lady, when it comes to the art of flattery, I yield to this old dog."

"Hahahaha."

"Hahahaha."

Liu Liu Liu Liu Liu Yumei rested her left hand on A Li's shoulder, but leaned her body toward Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan, pointed at the two old men, and introduced:

"This one is called Zhen Zhen Mubai, and that one is called Su Su Wenluo."

Liu Liu Liu Liu Liu Yumei only introduced these two; clearly, the others were not qualified for her to introduce their names individually.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan smiled, bowed slightly: "Hello, Grandpa Zhen." Then bowed slightly again, "Hello, Grandpa Su." Finally, he faced all the old men and bowed deeply, "Hello, all you grandpas."

The old men responded enthusiastically one after another. While various praises were heard, they were all muttering in their hearts: Who is this boy?

They all knew that the girl next to him was the only remaining bloodline of the Qin and Liu families. Could this boy be a child-husband specially brought along and raised by the Young Lady (Eldest Miss)?

However, the old men present were all of an age that could compare with the turtles in the river; naturally, they could see the unhurried and dignified temperament exuded by this child.

It is easy to change clothes, but difficult to change temperament.

What can be taught and what is truly calm from the heart cannot be hidden from their eyes.

Actually, even Liu Liu Liu Liu Liu Yumei was quite surprised by the boy's reaction.

The reason she called the boy to come and greet people was also because A Li could not speak yet.

Liu Yi, standing behind, watched this scene silently. She really wanted to know how long her respected mistress could keep up her tough act.

This kind of meeting occasion is the handover of connections and the transmission of human sentiments.

How could this be the treatment that a future registered disciple could enjoy?

"I'm going to pay my respects to that old thing surnamed Ding."

Liu Liu Liu Liu Liu Yumei walked through the front hall toward the back hall, and the old men followed behind one after another.

The back hall was set up as a mourning hall. Because of Liu Liu Liu Liu Liu Yumei's arrival, it had been specially maintained and cleaned. Even though it had been over a month, it looked as if the funeral was just being held yesterday.

At this time, Ding Ding Laoer, leading his eldest son, ran quickly from the side corridor.

Ding Ding Laoer knelt on the prayer mat, preparing to return the greeting, and his eldest son personally took the incense and handed it over.

Combining the reactions of the various elders during the earlier greetings, Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan guessed that the Ding family likely belonged to the servant families of the Qin family in the early years.

Liu Liu Liu Liu Liu Yumei stayed at the Ding family home; that was entering a servant's house, and as a servant family, they naturally had to kneel to their master.

Although it was an old custom, there were still elders who acknowledged it.

Of course, the reason they acknowledged it was certainly not out of respect for "traditional customs."

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan could not help but feel some doubt; with the Qin and Liu families now withered to this extent, what else could make this group of elders continue to willingly lower their heads and pick up old customs?

Liu Liu Liu Liu Liu Yumei lit incense and inserted it into the incense burner.

She stepped back two paces and looked at the prayer mat in front of her.

Ding Ding Laoer immediately kowtowed and said, "Young Lady, you must not; my brother cannot bear your greeting."

Many elders behind him also spoke up to persuade her, saying this did not conform to the rules.

Liu Liu Liu Liu Liu Yumei did not insist on performing the greeting, but instead looked at Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan: "Marquis Xiao Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Yuan, it should have been A Li acting on my behalf, so please go to the trouble of acting for A Li."

"Ding Laoda was a real man back in the day; even I, your grandmother, have to hold him in high regard."

"Mm."

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan stepped forward and began to pay his respects.

To be honest, even if an old funeral expert like Li Sanjiang came, he would be far less professional than the boy in this set of procedures.

There was no helping it; one was a local custom practitioner, and the other was a seasoned researcher—the boy had not read so many books for nothing.

After the memorial service ended, Ding Ding Laoer began to return the greeting; he saw his left thumb raised, his right hand clenched and rising upward, then crossing and intersecting in front of his Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Face, and finally, both arms lowered.

This was the Gate Greeting.

Liu Liu Liu Liu Liu Yumei was just about to speak, saying that Marquis Xiao Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Yuan did not understand these things.

But she saw the boy's right little finger pointing downward, his left hand clenched and diving downward, then following up by bending his arms in front of his chest, performing the three-nod return greeting.

The crowd of elders around them all revealed looks of appreciation and reminiscence.

Liu Liu Liu Liu Liu Yumei immediately revealed a look of doubt; who taught him?

In fact, the *Qin Family Dragon-Observing Method* had it recorded in the opening chapter; this set of movements was the Qin family's internal greeting, but it originated from the earliest movements for observing wind, water, and weather, and in other trades, there were similar operations that did not use tools but used hand gestures combined with line-of-sight to measure distance and orientation.

Ding Ding Laoer performed the lower greeting, the python moving and swimming; Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan performed the upper greeting, the dragon guarding the gate.

The boy naturally knew that after he did it, he would be suspected by Liu Liu Liu Liu Liu Yumei; he did it on purpose, as he had already been admitted to Haihe University in advance, A Li was recovering better and better, and some things would sooner or later be laid out on the table.

He would definitely tell Liu Liu Liu Liu Liu Yumei about the advanced understanding and cognitive methods of the *Qin Family Dragon-Observing Method* and the *Liu Family Qi-Gazing Formula* in the future.

Ding Ding Laoer's Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Face was covered in tears; at least at this moment, he was not faking it, and it was indeed a true outpouring of emotion.

Because this scene reminded him of the time back then when he followed his own elder brother to pay respects to the several masters of the Qin family; he was still young then, and his brother was also in his prime.

A family head who was not good at managing the household and was easily swayed by his youngest son's emotional appeals was already a bit muddled, and deep down, such a person was mostly sentimental and sensitive.

At this time, Zhen Zhen Mubai and Su Su Wenluo, who were standing behind, looked at another elder at the same time; his surname was Sheng, and he had previously been seated at the end, originally a servant family of the Liu family.

Old Man Sheng wiped the sweat on his forehead unconsciously, then turned his head to look at the son beside him and pointed at him: "Go."

His son, whose hair was already half-white, walked out of the crowd at this moment and began to perform the Liu family Gate Greeting toward Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan noticed that Liu Liu Liu Liu Liu Yumei's eyes were already slightly narrowed; it was very clear that the old lady was angry.

When a lion is tested, no matter what reaction the lion makes, in the eyes of outsiders, the lion is already weak.

This is the jianghu: big fish eat small fish, small fish eat shrimp; even if they are respectful on the surface, there are still undercurrents surging privately.

Those two elders just wanted to test what exactly the position Liu Liu Liu Liu Liu Yumei had arranged for the boy was, which forced the Sheng family to step forward.

Liu Liu Liu Liu Liu Yumei turned her anger into a smile: "Marquis Xiao Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Yuan, what are you stunned for? Return the greeting."

Although she did not know where the boy learned the Qin family Gate Greeting, Liu Liu Liu Liu Liu Yumei believed that since he knew the Qin family's, there was no reason he would not know the Liu family's.

Seeing that Grandma Liu had spoken, Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan performed the upper-level greeting toward this white-haired man.

At the moment the greeting was finished, Zhen Zhen Mubai and Su Su Wenluo both subconsciously straightened their backs, and the remaining elders behind them also silently focused their spirits, re-examining this boy.

That was right; being able to perform the Gate Greetings of both the Qin and Liu families in public meant that the Young Lady (the eldest miss) intended for him to inherit the status of the Qin and Liu families in the future.

Ding Ding Laoer leaned over at this time and asked in a low voice: "Young Lady, may we take our seats?"

Liu Liu Liu Liu Liu Yumei nodded.

Everyone took their seats; the empty seat at the head of the table was naturally for Liu Liu Liu Liu Liu Yumei to sit in.

The older generation sat at two tables, and the younger generation sat at the other two.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan originally wanted to accompany A Li to eat alone, but he was signaled by Liu Yi to take a seat at the table, while she led A Li away.

For A Li's sake, Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan could only take the responsibility and sit up; he was also at the head of the table, with peers surnamed Zhen and Su on both sides, and the rest were all much older than the three of them.

The banquet was very lively, and the tables were very close to each other, with people talking to each other and listening to each other.

The older generation's table was indeed very artistic in their speech, while the younger generation here was imitating that art.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan could hear that they were deliberately fishing for information in a roundabout way, wanting to know more about him; the man and woman beside him were both affectionately calling him "Brother Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan" with every breath, but they were the most meticulous in their fishing.

These two were precocious; they thought they had grasped this boy of the same age, and after fishing out information, they could not help but curl the corners of their mouths, forcefully holding back from revealing a self-satisfied expression.

They asked about trivialities of life, and Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan generously spoke about the details of his past life.

As he spoke, the old guys at the next table were all pricking up their ears to listen.

But the more they listened, the more frightened they became, and their hearts even began to jump along with it.

Children speak without taboo; how could the details of life the boy spoke of be something an ordinary child in the capital could come into contact with?

Everyone could not help but harbor guesses in their hearts, exchanging glances to confirm what others were thinking: could it be that the Young Lady (the eldest miss) had really sought a marriage alliance with a big shot for her granddaughter?

Liu Liu Liu Liu Liu Yumei was actually also listening to the conversation at the next table; it was also her first time hearing so many details, but she knew just how smart the boy's brain was—perhaps the boy was deliberately playing with them, which was actually quite interesting.

After slowly drinking three cups of wine, Liu Liu Liu Liu Liu Yumei turned her wine glass upside down.

Her accompanying them for these three cups was already giving them great Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Face.

Turning the glass upside down meant something very clear: the wine had been enjoyed to the fullest, and the words had been spoken.

This could not help but make everyone present look at each other in dismay; before they came, they had actually each prepared a "gift list," all of which were divisions of their own family industries. If Liu Liu Liu Liu Liu Yumei wanted to prop up the status of the Qin and Liu families and return to the scene, they had to cut off a piece of flesh.

But Liu Liu Liu Liu Liu Yumei's attitude clearly meant she was not bringing up serious matters, which meant she had no intention of accepting gifts at all.

But even though they did not have to cut off flesh, the elders present all felt terrified because of this.

They did not believe Liu Liu Liu Liu Liu Yumei had come specifically to pay respects to Ding Laoda; after all, Ding Laoda had been buried for more than a month.

But if she wasn't here to set up a new stake... it was impossible that she specifically found a reason just to make a trip to the mountain city, right?

Liu Liu Liu Liu Liu Yumei stood up and called out: "Marquis Xiao Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Yuan."

"Coming, Grandma." Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan also stood up and followed.

As soon as the old and the young left the table, the elders bowed again one after another; Zhen Zhen Mubai and Su Su Wenluo, the two of them, simply knelt down and performed a section of knee-walking this time.

"We were just doing things according to the old methods; even if you are angry, please don't flip the table directly. 'Young Lady...'"

"'Eldest Miss...'"

Liu Liu Liu Liu Liu Yumei's cold gaze swept over, immediately stopping the words of all of them.

Following that, she pointed to the upside-down wine glass on the table.

Afterward, she held the boy's hand and walked outward.

The crowd of elders left behind all had expressions of terror and uncertainty; some were remorseful, some were groaning low, some were pointing at Ding Ding Laoer and scolding him for poor hospitality, and some were making veiled criticisms of Zhen Zhen Mubai and Su Su Wenluo.

The younger generation could only stand around and watch; for most of them, it was the first time seeing their own family head in such a miserable and pathetic state, as if offending that woman was like poking a hole in the sky above their heads.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan followed Liu Liu Liu Liu Liu Yumei as she walked; the other party did not seem to want to go straight back to the room, but was instead taking a stroll outside along the wooden railing by the cliff edge.

After a long time, Liu Liu Liu Liu Liu Yumei stopped her footsteps and looked out at the ten thousand lights of the mountain city below.

"Stinky brat, your performance today was not bad; you are a good frame that can be put out to maintain appearances."

"Because I have Grandma Liu to back me up."

In fact, when he was in the capital, although the relationship between Grandma Bei and Li Lan as mother-in-law and daughter-in-law was not good, Grandma Bei really liked him, and whenever she had the chance, she would take him out to see those old comrades-in-arms.

"Heh, how could I back you up? My own waist, Grandma's, has long since failed."

"But they are indeed very afraid of you."

"They are not afraid of me."

"Then are they afraid of the Qin family and the Liu family?"

"You've seen those spirit tablets in the east room, haven't you? The people are almost all dead, and only this orphan and widow, me, are left; where is there any Qin family or Liu family left?"

This was also the point that Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan was puzzled about; after finishing the *Qin Family Dragon-Observing Method* and the *Liu Family Qi-Gazing Formula*, Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan had no doubt that the Qin and Liu families of the past absolutely held a transcendent status on the river.

But now that the family members were gone, how could it be that as soon as an old grandmother who took her granddaughter to seek medical treatment and live in seclusion came out of the mountains, the former servant families and subordinates would all obediently bow their heads and worship again?

This was simply not reasonable.

Reality is not a wuxia novel; the reason kindness and righteousness are highly sought after and praised in the jianghu is also because this stuff is truly rare in the jianghu. Not taking advantage of your illness to take your life, and not swarming up to eat you dry and wipe you clean, could already be called "unparalleled benevolence and righteousness."

But as it happened, that group of people was truly afraid, and Grandma Liu also had quite a lot of confidence.

Liu Liu Liu Liu Liu Yumei reached out and gently stroked the boy's head, saying very calmly:

"Half of the spirit tablets in the east room were set up when they followed Fourth Master to fight the Japanese; the other half were set up when they crossed the Great River."

After eating a late-night snack with A Li, Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan was arranged to get into a car to return to the hotel.

The car drove along the riverside, and the boy looked through the car window at the river surface under the night sky; it was very gentle now.

He got out of the car at the entrance of the hotel lobby and was just about to walk inside when he saw Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Liangliang sitting by the flower bed.

"Marquis Xiao Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Yuan, you're back."

"Brother Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Liangliang, you are..."

"Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Runsheng and Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Binbin haven't come back after going out this afternoon; I can't get away, and I was afraid there would be no one when you came back. Now it's good; let's go out and look for them."

"Mm."

After all, they were two grown men, and with Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Runsheng there, there was no need to worry about them running into any accidents.

To say it was a search was, in reality, equivalent to taking a stroll.

Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Liangliang introduced his new job; he could stay in the mountain city for another two days, and then he would go to Wanzhou further down.

There was a project there currently in the exploration and site selection phase, and he had to go join the learning process; at the same time, Luo Luo Tingrui had also instructed him to take his junior fellow apprentice along.

When he first heard the title "junior fellow apprentice," Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan was still a bit unaccustomed to it, especially since Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Liangliang had even described him as Luo Gong's "closed-door disciple."

The boy knew this was a choice between two options: if he couldn't get used to having a "Master," then he would have to get used to the dull and tedious life of a university student.

Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Liangliang even teased him quite exaggeratedly: "Look at you, you can't even date in university."

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan countered with a question: "Could it be that your dating was done in university?"

Just like that, walking and chatting, they hadn't deliberately set out to find them, but they happened to run into Tan Tan Tan Tan Tan Tan Wenbin and Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Runsheng, who were returning together; both of them were very excited and happy.

Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Liangliang found a barbecue stall on the side of the road, ordered three bottles of beer and one bottle of soy milk, and the four of them ate and chatted; during this time, they learned exactly what Tan Tan Tan Tan Tan Tan Wenbin and Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Runsheng had been doing from the afternoon until now.

After the two left the hotel in the afternoon, they wandered around Guanyinqiao; although Nantong also had a downtown area, its population was far inferior to this side of the mountain city, and it was nowhere near as lively as it was here.

By the time the two were tired of wandering, it had turned dark; they ate some things at a roadside stall to pad their stomachs and asked the stall owner where there were good places to have fun nearby.

Then, following the stall owner's suggestion, the two arrived in front of a large building; from far away, they heard the sound of billiard balls colliding, and Tan Tan Tan Tan Tan Tan Wenbin proposed teaching Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Runsheng how to play billiards.

Entering the building, they saw the sign for the billiard hall—Midnight Impact.

The two opened a table, and as they played, they noticed people constantly entering the billiard hall and going up to the second floor; moreover, while playing, they could hear singing constantly coming from the stairs to the second floor.

Driven by curiosity, the two went up to take a look; there were tickets for sale at the entrance, not expensive, and after buying two tickets and going in, there were really a lot of people inside.

A large group of men and Wo Sect were dancing on the dance floor, not scattered, but everyone was holding their own dance partner, constantly squeezing into the crowd.

When a song ended, the lights would brighten for a moment, and those who didn't continue dancing would come out; then the men would pay the Wo Sect, the Wo Sect would stand on the outer circle, and the men would wander around searching, going to choose their desired dance partners.

When the next song started, the lights would go dark again.

Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Liangliang asked them if they had gone in to dance, and both of them shook their heads.

The two of them were thin-skinned and embarrassed, so they sat on the chairs by the wall for the whole time watching; during this, apart from the ticket money, their only consumption was ordering two cups of tea, and they even refilled two bottles of hot water at the bar.

After hearing this, Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Liangliang laughed until he bent over.

After chatting, everyone went back to the hotel to rest; over the next two days, Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Liangliang took them to visit many mountain city scenic spots, ate hot pot and rabbit meat, and even specifically went to ride the Yangtze River Cableway.

When the river water surged beneath his feet, Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan felt a kind of mystery and shock.

However, what the four felt was most pleasant over these two nights was still that every night after the unit got off work, Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Liangliang would go downstairs to the unit's office building, pull strings to borrow a car, and take everyone for a joyride in the mountain city downtown area.

While driving, Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Liangliang would stretch his hand out the window, pointing out future plans at every place they reached, saying what new bridge would be built here in the future, what kind of development would be carried out here, and how prosperous the mountain city would become in the future.

He must have read the government planning documents, but among the things he said, there was also quite a bit of his own "wishful thinking"; he truly regarded himself as the city's future designer, sharing his inner blueprint with his friends.

Whenever this happened, Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Liangliang seemed to have a very special charm; everyone would easily immerse themselves in his "perspective," the still objects before their eyes would fast-forward rapidly, one bridge after another would be erected, one road after another would be paved, one building after another would rise from the ground, and the entire city was "changing with each passing day" at a speed visible to the naked eye.

After finishing the drive, Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Liangliang would always fill the tank when returning the car to the unit.

Before leaving the mountain city, the four went to the Liberation Monument and ate another hot pot meal nearby.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan originally thought he didn't like spicy food, including Tan Tan Tan Tan Tan Tan Wenbin, but after eating it a few more times, he felt addicted; it seemed that the spiciness was just the appearance of mountain city hot pot, and its core was the fragrance.

The car to Wanzhou was also dispatched by the unit, and it was still Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Liangliang acting as the driver himself; the difference was that the fuel costs for this journey could be reimbursed.

After leaving the mountain city downtown area, the scenery along the way was extremely beautiful, but the road was a bit difficult to drive on, and the destination was not in the Wanzhou urban area, but further below Wanzhou; because it had rained last night, the wheels sank into a mud pit on the final stretch of road, but fortunately, Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Runsheng was there, pushing the car directly out so they could continue driving.

It was already late at night when they arrived at the workplace; although the conditions of the town guesthouse were relatively simple, the rooms were very spacious.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan pushed open the window, and directly below was the river; even if they liked building houses by the river in Nantong, those were all gentle little rivers, and there were none as rapid as this.

People who liked fishing could sit in the room, cast their rods, and wait for the fish to bite while drinking tea and listening to the radio.

After Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Liangliang went down and came back up, he said the meeting was still going on and asked if they wanted to go listen together; Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan naturally agreed and came with Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Liangliang to the conference hall located on the first floor of the guesthouse.

Here, the tables and walls were covered with blueprints, and a group of people were divided into two factions, arguing; they were arguing until their faces were red and their ears were hot, the tables were slapped several times, and one didn't know how much more red paint had fallen off the already mottled tabletops.

Midway, the leaders of both sides stopped tacitly, drinking water and eating things, but it looked like it hadn't ended yet; they still had to have another argument before they could go back to their rooms to sleep, otherwise, if this breath wasn't vented smoothly, they would feel remorse in their hearts when sleeping.

Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Liangliang didn't participate in the argument, just sitting on the side listening carefully.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan, on the other hand, felt curious about these blueprints and kept observing them.

Both sides finally argued to their heart's content and decided that each would produce a set of plans to be handed over to their superiors to make the final decision.

Early the next morning, the sound of a whistle rang out, followed by knocking on the doors, calling everyone to get up to continue to the field.

Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Liangliang had status, and although Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan hadn't enrolled yet, he also had half a status; as for Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Runsheng and Tan Tan Tan Tan Tan Tan Wenbin, the group also expressed their welcome, after all, who wouldn't like having two more strong laborers?

When setting off this time, in addition to equipment, they also brought tents and food.

The direction they were heading was undergoing road construction, and when they reached the area where the car could no longer proceed, everyone started carrying things and hiking.

It wasn't too far, but it wasn't too close either; mainly, this road wasn't easy to walk, requiring them to cross streams and ditches and climb several small hills.

This couldn't help but make Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan sigh; Wolf Mountain, which was treated like a treasure in Nantong, would just be a small highland marked with a string of numbers on a blueprint in the real mountainous area.

Upon arriving, they first set up camp, built a fire to boil some water, and then everyone ate biscuits with canned food.

Afterward, work began; Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan and the other two followed Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Liangliang to a hillside to start measuring.

The boy learned things very quickly, while Tan Tan Tan Tan Tan Tan Wenbin had a bit of a hard time, but he still performed very actively; after all, he was determined that he would also be in this profession in the future.

After dark, they closed the team and returned to camp; the deputy team leader in charge, Ma Ma Yiming, organized a data summary and temporary discussion meeting.

The second day was a repetition of yesterday; the four-person team was still sent to a point to measure data, and by noon, the four stopped temporarily, sitting by a large rock eating and resting.

Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Liangliang smiled and told Tan Tan Tan Tan Tan Tan Wenbin that it wasn't too late to change his mind now, and Tan Tan Tan Tan Tan Tan Wenbin immediately shook his head, reaffirming his determination.

"Our work is like this; whether it's the exploration and design phase or the construction phase, it's all dull repetition day after day. Only on the day the project is truly completed can one, like waking up from a dream, experience the romance that belongs uniquely to us."

In the afternoon, Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan, who had explored and learned for two half-days, performed another kind of romance for Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Liangliang.

He integrated the methods of Feng Shui observation into the measurement; after Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Liangliang continued to set up the equipment to calculate, he discovered that the error was actually within the allowable range, and for a moment, even he himself couldn't judge which set of data was more accurate.

It was just that, relying solely on the Feng Shui method to record data, Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Liangliang still felt uneasy in his heart; however, leaving this means unused made him seem a bit stupid. In the end, Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Liangliang still found a good method: first take Xiao Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Yuan's data, and then perform verification and cross-checking on it, which not only ensured the accuracy of the data but also saved a large amount of work.

It was just a pity that such a method was destined to be impossible to promote and could only be convenient for their own team to slack off; other teams were in other locations and couldn't help, so at dusk, Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Liangliang took the three of them down to the stream to catch fish.

The rest were cheerleaders, relying on Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Runsheng to dive into the deep area and then throw the fish up one by one.

The four of them processed the fish by the stream, returned to the camp before dark, set up a pot, and started boiling fish soup.

Teams returned one after another, and everyone smiled and gathered over; although the weather wasn't too cold yet, being able to eat a fresh and hot meal after a hard day's work was definitely a kind of enjoyment.

The soup was stewed milky white, with three large ladles hanging there for everyone to serve themselves.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan picked up his bowl, added a little extra pepper and a little vinegar, and then held the iron box, drinking it in small sips.

Time passed bit by bit, and it was almost time for everyone to return to their tents to sleep, but the atmosphere in the camp became restless because one team still hadn't returned by now.

Ma Ma Yiming had already gone to look for them personally but hadn't been able to find them; logically speaking, the location where the team had spread out wasn't far from the camp, and they were all equipped with lighting equipment, so even if some accident happened, if they turned on the lights and pointed them at the sky, the beam of light could be seen from far away.

There was no other way; Ma Ma Yiming could only mobilize everyone to go look for them together.

Crossing two streams, then passing through a ditch and climbing up, was the measurement task point of that team.

At this time, above and below the slope, there were flashlight beams and shouting everywhere, but this three-person team not only couldn't be found now, but even their equipment couldn't be found.

Ma Ma Yiming cursed: "Damn it, it's like seeing a ghost!"

If an accident happened in a dangerous environment, then it happened; at least everyone could have some preparation and construction in their hearts, but in this place, the highest risk factor was just spraining an ankle when climbing slopes or crossing streams.

How could these three living people just disappear like that?

Next, the survey team was divided into two groups, one group searching upstream along the slope toward the stream, and the other group searching downstream.

Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Liangliang's team was assigned to the upstream; after searching a distance upstream with other teams, they tacitly separated and communicated by light.

"Xiao Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Yuan, let me carry you," Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Runsheng said.

"No need, Brother Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Runsheng."

"Where on earth did these people go?" Tan Tan Tan Tan Tan Tan Wenbin was very puzzled. "Their measurement area isn't even as good as ours; we have deep water areas, but their stream is just enough to cover their ankles, and it's impossible for them to be washed away by water."

Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Runsheng asked: "Could there be wild beasts here?"

Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Liangliang shook his head: "Team Leader Ma specifically asked the locals beforehand; there are no wild beasts roaming nearby. Besides, even if it were a wild beast, it would be impossible to snatch away three adult men all at once; even if it chose to eat them on the spot, it would leave behind a large amount of traces."

At this moment, light signals came from the distance.

Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Liangliang waved his hand: "Let's go, let's go over there and take a look."

Nearby teams also gathered toward the light signals.

Upon arriving at the place, under a large rock, everyone found a hat and a hiking pole broken into two pieces, confirming they were things belonging to members of the missing team.

Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Liangliang held a flashlight and carefully probed, then he lay sideways into the large rock, placed his own hiking pole horizontally downward, and got it stuck between the ground and the edge of the rock.

He immediately shouted: "See if there are any traces over there, search carefully."

"Yes, found it, there's a white scratch."

After Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Liangliang checked and confirmed, he squatted down again, the flashlight shining on the small stones on the ground, and he even picked up several pieces and smelled both sides.

"Look further ahead, see if the small and medium stones on the ground have traces of being flipped over, look at the depth of the color and the concentration of the fishy smell."

Everyone immediately did as told.

Very quickly, many people reported that there were.

At this moment, everyone understood the meaning, imagining a similar scene: something had dragged a team member along the ground, and when passing here, this team member attempted to use the hiking pole to get stuck between the large rock and the ground, but that thing had great strength and actually snapped the hiking pole.

One person immediately asked: "What kind of person did this?"

Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Liangliang shook his head: "It wasn't a person; if it were a person, there would be no need to use brute force."

"What is this thing?" Someone else had a new discovery nearby; he picked up a smooth object the size of half a palm from the ground, and when the flashlight shone on it, it could transmit some light; it looked like glass, but the texture wasn't like it.

Everyone passed it around to look, but couldn't recognize what it was; when it was passed to Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan's hand, the boy put this thing under his nose and sniffed it, then handed it to Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Runsheng; Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Runsheng understood and also lowered his head to smell it.

"Xiao Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Yuan, there's a fishy smell of soil."

"Fishy smell of soil?" Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Liangliang frowned and looked at Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan: "Xiao Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Yuan, can you guess what this is?"

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan replied: "Could it be snake scales?"

This guess was a bit terrifying; if such a large piece was a snake scale, then how long and how big must that snake's body be?

Several people around let out sneers, only feeling that although this child had a good brain and could be admitted to university early, his imagination was still too rich.

Someone proposed that since they had found the lost things, they should continue to search forward; this proposal quickly received the approval of most people, and everyone followed this slope and continued to move upstream.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan reached out and tugged on Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Liangliang's sleeve: "Brother Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Liangliang, I don't think we should keep going forward. If we must go, we have to wait until dawn."

Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Liangliang sighed helplessly: "If we don't find them before dawn, we'll have to suspend operations and call the police, requesting the police and local government to mobilize nearby villagers to help search. Besides, those three just went missing; even if they encountered something, this is the golden window for search and rescue."

"Most importantly, Little Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Yuan, everyone here is a veteran, and my words don't carry much weight."

"How about this: Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Runsheng, Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Binbin, you and Little Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Yuan stay here or go back to the camp first. You aren't official members of the expedition team."

The implication was that he, Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Liangliang, still had to continue searching forward. This was also something that couldn't be helped; with colleagues missing, he had no reason not to attempt a rescue, even if... he knew there might be danger ahead.

"Sigh, let's go together. Tell everyone to use their flashlights to shine on the ground more, to see if we can spot any more reflections or find these kinds of scales."

"Mm, alright."

The group continued their search forward. The further up they went, the steeper the slope on the left became, and the deeper the water flow on the right grew. Everyone could only proceed along the flat river beach in the middle.

However, although they couldn't find any more similar scales, they discovered a shoe inside a small depression, with traces of fresh blood around it.

This was the first confirmation that someone among the missing team members was injured.

Someone at the front shouted: "There's a cave entrance here."

Everyone rushed over. Sure enough, on the left slope, there was a cave entrance two people high. When they shone their flashlights inside, they quickly hit a stone wall.

At first, they thought the cave was very shallow, but when someone shone their flashlight downward, they realized there was a large, pitch-black hollow in the middle of the cave.

Something seemed to be hanging from the sharp stone spikes on the edge of the black hole, but facing this unknown cave, everyone felt uneasy, and no one dared to be the first to go in and check.

Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Liangliang pushed past the people in front and entered the cave first. He carefully approached the edge of the pit and reached out to grab the object. It was a strip of cloth from a piece of clothing, likely from the chest area of a work uniform. It still had a name left on it, reading "Feng Zhigao," who was indeed one of the missing personnel.

When Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Liangliang brought this item out, everyone gathered together to examine it.

"So, the person is down there?"

"How could they have ended up there?"

"What kind of thing did this?"

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan didn't go forward to crowd around the cloth strip. Instead, he stood by the cave entrance, his ears twitching slightly. He heard a "whooshing" wind sound coming from the pit; clearly, the pit was very deep, and there was wind whistling inside.

Hm? No, there were other sounds. What was that rubbing sound?

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan lay down and pressed his ear against the ground.

Seeing this action from Little Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Yuan, Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Runsheng, Tan Tan Tan Tan Tan Tan Wenbin, and Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue Liangliang also quietly leaned in. They all knew the boy had excellent hearing.

At this moment, the group's positioning was: Cave entrance — Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan's group of four — the group of surveyors — the river.

The rubbing sound was becoming clearer and clearer. Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan listened while raising his eyes to look toward the pit in front, as if something was about to emerge at any moment.

Just as he was about to shout for everyone nearby to run away from the cave, he immediately realized something was wrong. This sound wasn't coming from the pit, but from the other side.

In the river, something was crawling toward them from the water. It was here!

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan immediately straightened up and looked at the group of surveyors who were still gathered on the river beach examining the clothing and discussing the situation. Above the heads of all of them...

Two large red lanterns suddenly lit up!

———

Everyone, check your accounts. If you have monthly tickets, cast them for the Dragon. Hugs to everyone!

(End of chapter)