Chapter 95

"Respectfully with utmost sincerity, announcing to the rivers, lakes, and seas..."

When Liu Yumei's voice rang out, although Li Zhuiyuan was still standing in the room, his consciousness fell into a strange trance.

In his field of vision, the lamp with the golden dragon raising its head seemed to have suddenly come to life.

The golden dragon's body detached from the lamp, first twisting, then circling, the lamp wick like fire, spitting out breath.

It left the ground, flew in front of him, and then circled along.

It was as if something had been burned, but there was no burnt smell, only wisps of smoke and a faint crisp sound by his ears.

If one had to use a metaphor, it would be gauze.

A layer, covering under his feet, covering the road, covering the gauze of fate.

The gauze was thin and could let light through.

Just like more than a year ago, when Li Zhuiyuan first found the set of "Jianghu Strange Records" in his great-grandfather's basement.

Wei Zhengdao summarized and concluded all the dead-walkers he had seen and heard in his life in this book, which was an encyclopedia about dead-walkers.

This set of books was Li Zhuiyuan's enlightenment.

Since then, Li Zhuiyuan had planned the road he would take in the future.

Choose high school, choose university, math competition, early admission.

Including the relationship with Luo Gong, it was also to ensure that he could participate in large-scale water conservancy projects in the future.

Therefore, the road under his feet was only covered with a layer of shallow gauze.

But some things, even if there was only a little bit of light, the bottom was still surging with undercurrents.

He had indeed started walking the river long ago, but he didn't walk it clearly, didn't walk it cleanly, and didn't walk it refreshingly.

Opening the altar to walk the river and Liu Yumei's announcement were equivalent to helping him disperse this last layer of thin mist.

This was a river destined to be difficult to walk, full of difficulties and obstacles, and prone to capsizing at any time.

But it was here.

Compared to open-ended subjective questions, the young man preferred objective questions with limited conditions, no matter how complex and difficult the latter were.

Now, the questions were listed in front of him, just pick up the pen and do them.

After losing that little bit of confused bewilderment,

He only felt relaxed and comfortable all over.

Even that little golden dragon that was still flying around him, in Li Zhuiyuan's view, looked a bit cute, stupid and naive, like his own little black.

In reality, the lamp was still that lamp, the golden dragon was still hanging on the lamp, and the lamp wick flame flickered in its dragon mouth.

Most people in the room couldn't see the strange phenomenon Li Zhuiyuan was seeing at this moment.

In the eyes of Runsheng and the three of them, Li Zhuiyuan seemed to have relaxed all of a sudden.

They worshipped the Long Wang and also understood the meaning of the second lamp, but it was impossible for them to have a deeper understanding and experience.

Just now, they felt tension and anxiety in the reactions of Liu Yumei and the others, but after seeing their own Brother Xiaoyuan's current state, the three of them felt relieved.

No matter how serious things were, changing the perspective and state of mind could turn them into: Hey, what's the big deal.

All other emotions in Uncle Qin's eyes were driven away, leaving only emotion.

Thinking back to when he lit the second lamp, the mistress was still young.

Facing the rows of tablets on the offering table, facing the responsibility of revitalizing the Qin and Liu families, he gritted his teeth, his face solemn, and his heart was full of trepidation and panic.

But the same scene, plus the unexpected arrangement of opportunities, fell on the young man in front of him, presenting a kind of detachment.

This was not a disguise, because in this atmosphere, people capable of disguising... didn't exist to have the need to disguise.

When you see someone more excellent than yourself, you suddenly realize that your failure seems to be a kind of inevitability.

Auntie Liu's perception was more direct; she felt that Xiaoyuan seemed to have an extra layer of temperament, which made the young man who was already good-looking even better-looking.

In this way, the young man and girl were closer in temperament, and when they were together, they looked more harmonious.

Auntie Liu now urgently needed the sweetness in her mouth to offset the bitterness of the dessert Yin Meng cooked for her next.

Liu Yumei looked at Li Zhuiyuan and waved her hand lightly.

The young man didn't move, because he was still immersed in his emotions.

Uncle Qin walked out.

Auntie Liu wanted to take A Li's hand and take her away, but A Li didn't move, still looking at the young man.

She didn't like painting, she only liked painting Li Zhuiyuan, and she felt that the young man was very good-looking now, including the little golden dragon that was flying around him as a background.

Auntie Liu looked at Liu Yumei, and Liu Yumei nodded slightly.

The initiation and walking the river ceremonies were all over, and the next step was the elder's exhortation. A Li represented the Qin family today and could stay, although she wouldn't open her mouth to speak.

But Liu Yumei knew that for this stinky kid, one look from her granddaughter was better than her thousand words.

Runsheng and the three of them saw this and also went out.

In the room, only Liu Yumei, A Li, and Li Zhuiyuan were left.

Finally, that golden dragon left the area around his body and fell back onto the lamp.

In reality, the lamp flame went out.

In the eyes of normal people, this lamp was lit wonderfully and went out abruptly.

But in Li Zhuiyuan's view, this lamp flame had already burned a circle on his body, making him feel warm all over now.

He couldn't help but turn his head and look out the window; the thunder had stopped, but the wind and rain remained.

At this time, he really wanted to push open the window and let some wind and rain in, greedy for a moment of coolness.

"Creak..."

The window was pushed open by a hand, and the wind and rain came in.

A cool breeze blew, and the moisture brushed his face, and Li Zhuiyuan completely woke up.

At this moment, he discovered that everyone else had left.

Li Zhuiyuan turned around, looked at Liu Yumei standing by the window, and said apologetically: "I was distracted."

Liu Yumei appreciated the scenery of the dark clouds pressing on the city outside the window and smiled:

"Thinking about how you should swim before going down the river is a good thing; it's better than rushing in blindly like a young man."

Li Zhuiyuan heard the old lady's implication, but fortunately, Uncle Qin wasn't here right now.

"Grandma, there is a question, Auntie Liu told me before, now, I want to confirm it with you again."

"Speak."

"The impact on my family after I walk the river."

"You changed your surname and moved, which is considered breaking off relations with your family in the north; your household registration is under Li Sanjiang's name, which is considered a separation from your family in the south."

That is to say, in your narrow sense of family, there is only Li Sanjiang now.

Your great-grandfather has deep blessings; as long as he stays in his hometown and doesn't move, he can still eat and drink well.

Even if you want to go back and see him, you can do it at any time, just treat him like before. Don't go and make any big formations like changing luck, changing Qi, or extending life, and there won't be any problems.

The old guy is really lucky, sharing a household registration book with you, and even left his inheritance to you early, binding it so deeply.

This means that in the future when you walk the river, the merits accumulated by suppressing those evil spirits will also be shared with him.

Sitting at home, blessings come from heaven.

It's very normal for the old guy to live healthily for over a hundred years.

Li Zhuiyuan: "What about the relatives in the broad sense?"

"Relatives in the broad sense don't refer to your relatives in the north and south, but us, the Qin and Liu families."

"It is precisely because you entered the sect that it deepened the break with the north and south."

"Then if I walk the river smoothly..."

Liu Yumei said bluntly: "The Qin and Liu families will naturally benefit."

"... Then will A Li's illness get better?"

Liu Yumei: "Hasn't A Li's illness been getting better?"

"The condition is still there, it's just that A Li has overcome and gotten used to it more."

"It will get better." Liu Yumei looked at A Li and continued, "They are all defeated opponents from the past, filthy dregs, just aiming at the gap and coming up to bully our orphans and widows."

"What should I do?"

"You don't need to do anything deliberately, you just need to do what you should do, go and walk your river well. The stronger you are, the more the Qin and Liu families will revive, and those things that bully the soft and fear the hard will be scared away by themselves."

Li Zhuiyuan nodded.

Then, he stopped talking.

Fortunately, the sound of wind and rain mixed together, so it didn't seem dull.

Liu Yumei asked: "Why don't you continue?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "Because I've asked everything I wanted to ask."

Liu Yumei pointed to the tablets on the offering table: "A rotten ship still has three thousand nails, do you look down on them?"

"Grandma, I didn't mean that."

"Are you afraid of involving us?" Liu Yumei flicked her fingertips, and the window closed, and the room suddenly became quiet, "Ordinary families' juniors go out, elders know to prepare some travel expenses. Now, our Qin and Liu families have finally had someone walk the river again, as family members, we should lift him up."

"Grandma..."

"Grandma is old, but I have lived in luxury all my life, and I can still afford it;"

Your Uncle Qin and Auntie Liu, although they are useless elders, can at least carry things.

Moving to a new house, it's a bit small, but can't it also shelter from the wind and rain?

If you encounter something you can't afford to offend or can't deal with, come back when you should, and invite someone when you should.

Once this door is closed, there are really not many things in the world that dare to knock and enter.

If you really go out and find a family, that family won't be able to bear it either.

A dead tiger still has prestige; our two families are not as good as before, but precisely because of this, they are more willing to give up."

A Li nodded.

Li Zhuiyuan had seen Liu Yumei's caution at the great-grandfather's house, so he naturally knew the weight of Liu Yumei's words just now better.

Unless he lights the lamp again and announces the end of walking the river.

Otherwise, if he encounters something outside and hides at home, the people who protect him will suffer the backlash of luck.

Not to mention who in the family will take the initiative to stand up for him, the side effects brought by this move will only be more intense, and it might really cost a life to stand up once.

It can be said that from the moment the second lamp was lit, his relationship with Liu Yumei and the others became the relationship between his great-grandfather and them in the past.

They can eat and live together, and live normally, but as long as it involves things in metaphysics, it will trigger negative effects.

"Grandma, you have seen it too. Although it was officially announced by you today, in fact, I have been walking in the dark long ago."

"My meaning is, how I walked before, I will continue to walk like that in the future."

"I have my own habits and my own rhythm."

"The old model is not necessarily the best, but it is the one I explored myself that suits me best."

"So,"

"Shall we keep everything as it is?"

"Xiaoyuan, you have your principles, but I also have my rules. You can't just talk about your own principles and completely ignore Grandma's rules."

"Grandma has lived very decently all her life, and I like this face."

"You have to let me catch a cold, cough and cough."

"So that after you succeed in walking the river in the future, when I go to see those old things again, I can pretend to be humble and say the beautiful words of 'actually I just picked up a Long Wang'."

"Since Grandma said so, then I will speak."

"Speak."

"You, Uncle Qin, and Auntie Liu, continue to teach Zhuangzhuang, Runsheng, and Yin Meng for a period of time."

"This doesn't count as opening your mouth; it's something promised to you long ago, and it was promised twice."

"The past is the past, now is now, the weight of different promises in different periods is completely different."

Before he walked the river, this didn't count as a thing, but now, it all has to be involved in causes and effects. Moreover, according to the results of his walking the river long ago, causes and effects have actually appeared.

For example, Uncle Qin came back with serious injuries, for example, Auntie Liu was almost poisoned to death today.

One of them wants to teach Runsheng martial arts, and one wants to teach Yin Meng poison techniques.

The old lady is fine, because she only teaches Binbin how to chat.

If a price must be paid...

Then in this world, the thing with the highest cost-effectiveness between payment and return is - learning.

Instead of letting Uncle Qin help him fight, it's better to let Runsheng learn to develop into Uncle Qin;

Instead of letting Auntie Liu help him treat and poison, it's better to let Yin Meng learn to develop into Auntie Liu.

Anyway, according to common sense experience, the wind and waves when just starting to walk the river are not too big, and his team still has room for error and development.

Liu Yumei asked: "What about yourself? What about me?"

Obviously, Liu Yumei also sensed that this backlash effect had already appeared.

But there is no way, the old lady who loves face all her life cannot allow only A Li and A Ting to bleed, she also has to hold a handkerchief and catch a mouthful, otherwise it won't be satisfying.

"Grandma, you make the decision, help me choose a set of basic books, the more basic the better."

"Grandma is actually... more able to carry than the two of them."

"I know, I believe it."

Li Zhuiyuan looked at the chair Liu Yumei originally sat on; the armrests on both sides had been crushed, and two small piles of fine wood chips were piled up on the ground.

This is not something that can be done just by having great strength.

"Then you should ask Grandma for something good, don't be polite, let Grandma bleed happily."

"However, I just lack the basics."

If the foundation is not solid, you will suffer in the future; this is a truth that school teachers often talk about.

Li Zhuiyuan suffered too much because of this in the past.

He is not too short of high-end cultivation techniques now; the most important thing is that he can continue to dig through these ancient books in the basement of his great-grandfather's house.

Great-grandfather purely treats those ancient books as waste that can't be sold for a price, and doesn't treat them as his own things at all.

This means that no matter how many sets of books he takes, it will have no backlash impact on his great-grandfather.

Liu Yumei closed her eyes, seemed to resign herself to fate, and said lightly:

"Alright."

Li Zhuiyuan smiled: "Grandma, after Runsheng and the others have learned for this period of time, our future interaction mode will return to normal."

"As you wish."

Liu Yumei waved her hand, signaling him to leave quickly.

What appeared in her mind now was the scene of Li Sanjiang sitting in front of a small square stool, holding a pen and calculating university expenses for Li Zhuiyuan.

Sometimes, even if you have the conditions and the family background, not being able to give it out is also a kind of suffocation.

What's more suffocating is that Liu Yumei found that she had been empathizing with Li Sanjiang recently.

"Grandma, then I'll go first."

Li Zhuiyuan walked toward A Li.

The young man didn't like A Li's attire today, because it was too solemn and lacked a bit of innocence and playfulness. Fortunately, this kind of attire couldn't be worn many times in a lifetime.

A Li stood up and handed her hand to the young man.

The moment they held hands, Li Zhuiyuan seemed to hear ghosts crying and wolves howling in his ears.

It should be because he entered the Qin and Liu family sects and got the identity recognition, which made the relationship between him and A Li closer in law.

This was the first time Li Zhuiyuan knew that it wasn't just in the dark night while sleeping, but even in the clear daytime, those things were still entangling her.

No wonder the girl only liked to sit on the stool and look straight ahead; she was trying her best to shield herself from the surrounding interference.

This intimidation, fear, and curse didn't distinguish between day and night; it was like a maggot on the bone, always there.

A Li seemed to sense something, her eyelids closed slightly, wanting to cut off this connection so that the young man wouldn't be affected.

But Li Zhuiyuan held her hand and exerted a slight force, then his eyes condensed, and he went into the underworld directly.

The girl raised her head and looked at the young man, while the young man gently raised her hand:

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

Didn't tell me that even while playing chess, eating, and painting with me, the scene you were in was still like this.

The girl didn't speak.

The young man held her hand and walked out.

He pushed open the door; outside the door was a corridor; outside the door was a bloody muddy swamp.

They walked down the stairs; the stairs were covered with mats, which felt very soft and non-slip; the stairs were built of accumulated bones, and countless hands stretched out from inside, wanting to grab their ankles.

They arrived at the bottom floor; on the dining table, Auntie Liu had already set up lunch delicacies; the dining table was a large pot, and a huge tumor was boiling in the pot; the tumor had eyes, hands, and legs, and it kept rolling in the pot, and from its mouth, which looked exceptionally small compared to its body, it kept emitting dirty curses that were hard to listen to.

They arrived at the door of the house; outside the door was the courtyard of this three-story townhouse; opening the door, the wind and rain were raging outside; they arrived at the threshold of a simple and ancient bungalow; outside the threshold, there were various weird and terrifying existences that had put down their work, all looking toward this side, emitting miserable smiles.

Li Zhuiyuan was sick.

Li Lan said that they were monsters wearing human skin, because their innate rationality would extinguish emotions, treating even the closest people around them as stupid and disgusting lower-level existences.

If even people were looked at like this, then when looking at these things that weren't even people, how could there be any good impression?

Or rather,

A ten-year-old child who treated dead-walkers and evil spirits as toys to play with, how could he have any awe for these things in his bones?

The young man held the girl's hand and walked out of the door; the young man held the girl's hand and stepped over the threshold.

Li Zhuiyuan faced the wind and rain all around; Li Zhuiyuan looked around at the filthy evil spirits.

"Those who are sealed and can't come out, I will find you in the future, break your seals, and send you on your way with my own hands!"

"Those who are suppressed but not yet extinguished, I will go

For those who are already dead yet still enjoy the incense offerings of some family and thus manage to persist,

whoever it is that offers you tribute,

I will have their entire family wiped out in a bloodbath!

Don't think I'm just making empty threats,

if you don't believe me, let's peel back each other's human skin and see,

who exactly,

is the one less like a human!"

As the words fell,

the rainbow appeared as the rain cleared.

……

Liu Yumei stood by the window, watching the sunlight pierce through the clouds as the sky gradually cleared.

The tears she had held back for so long finally welled up and soaked her eyes.

But she still forced herself to hold on, not letting the tears actually drip down.

Because she knew that in this world, there was no one left who truly cared whether she cried or not.

In the past, when she was still the young lady of the Liu family, if she shed even a single tear, her father and brothers would be heartbroken and hover around her; that old thing would even shamelessly perform monkey tricks for her, completely disregarding his status as the young master of the Qin family, just to coax a smile out of her through her tears.

They are all gone.

Leaving only her behind, all alone.

She knew the people on the river still feared her, but what they feared was not the Long Wang Liu or Long Wang Qin of the past.

Even if they were polite on the surface, performing the proper bows and kowtows, in their hearts, they were likely already slandering her.

Mocking her as an old woman at the end of her days, stubbornly clinging to the plaques of two Long Wang families, just to prop up a shred of dignity she couldn't bear to discard.

But a plaque doesn't gain more majesty just by being polished brighter.

A plaque must be splashed with blood, wiping away the old blood with new.

Submission in appearance but not in heart is of no consequence.

Kneel down, then lift your head; what I want to see is the fear and panic in your eyes.

I, the dignified eldest young lady of the Liu family, never knew what the word "grievance" meant from the moment I was born until I married.

Yet over these past few decades, you have forced me to swallow so much of it.

Come and take a look, all of you,

at this grand gift I have sent you.

"This world of rivers and lakes,

ought to be rolling with blood, so that this young lady can vent her anger!"

……

The sky cleared and the rain stopped.

The wife of the old professor next door was cursing the heavens, as the lightning had fried her television set.

In this day and age, a television was a large and expensive item, and she even shouted out the model of the TV—it was a color TV, at that.

As she cursed, the old woman changed her tune and shouted:

"Why didn't you go and strike that Shi Yuqing dead instead!"

Shi Yuqing was a female student the old professor had taught in his younger years, and she had just gotten a divorce this year.

On Li Zhuiyuan's side, after everyone sat together for a peaceful lunch, they went back to doing whatever they had been doing in the morning.

A Li was painting in the study; she first drew the layout of the ritual room and also drew the others who had been present earlier.

She wanted to draw the boy last, much like other children of her age eating cake—finishing the bread first and saving the precious cream for the very last bite.

Li Zhuiyuan was watching her paint when he went out to pour some tea.

Usually, Liu Yi would thoughtfully bring the tea in, but Liu Yi couldn't do that now; that afternoon, she had just taught Yin Meng how to cook another dish, which had directly filled the entire ground floor with thick, choking smoke.

In the end, Liu Yumei scolded them and banished the two of them to the house they had previously lived in outside the school, telling them to conduct their teaching there.

Li Zhuiyuan discovered that Liu Yi's teaching method was very much tailored to the individual; she had actually integrated the principles of poison arts into her cooking insights, using the act of cooking to instruct Yin Meng.

This teaching efficiency would surely be astonishingly high.

But it also made Li Zhuiyuan secretly note that he must remind Runsheng never to let Yin Meng near everyone's kitchen in the future.

As for Runsheng, he was currently in great pain.

Qin Shu had taught him a set of fist techniques, and Runsheng was practicing them.

Li Zhuiyuan, while inside the house earlier, could hear the sounds of bone and muscle tearing as Runsheng practiced his punches.

When the boy came outside carrying a thermos, he saw that Runsheng was not only bleeding from his seven orifices but was also covered from head to toe in sweat mixed with blood.

"Keep practicing."

After Qin Shu gave the order, he took the initiative to walk toward Li Zhuiyuan and offered an explanation:

"I am correcting his past mistakes and laying the foundation anew."

"Mm."

Li Zhuiyuan knew that Qin Shu had misunderstood; he probably thought this training method made him feel it was somewhat cruel, thereby sympathizing with Runsheng's plight.

But in fact, Li Zhuiyuan not only didn't sympathize, he actually admired this kind of training effect that could be so intuitively demonstrated.

Qin Shu pointed at Runsheng, "When I was at Uncle Li's house, I already saw that this kid was no ordinary person; it's a pity that back then, I couldn't even teach you much."

"Uncle Qin, may I ask you something?"

"Xiaoyuan, you want to ask me how I failed my river-walking back then, right?"

"Yes."

"When the time comes, I will tell you. I'm not being coy, but I'm counting on you to help me take revenge on that bunch of bastards."

"No, Uncle Qin, you've misunderstood; I can't be bothered to take revenge for you." Li Zhuiyuan reached out and pointed at Runsheng: "You'd better count on him instead."

"Fine, I understand. I'll make him train until he's half-dead."

(End of chapter)