Chapter 157

Chapter 153

Dream Ghost?

Li Zhuiyuan put down the brush in his hand, leaned back in his chair, turned his face to the right, and looked towards the bedroom balcony. Outside the window, the sunlight was bright.

Immediately after, he continued to look around, examining the furnishings in the room, and finally raised his head, gazing at the bedroom ceiling.

The moment he saw those two characters, he was thinking:

Is he in a dream right now?

Indeed, the young man also clearly knew that his reaction was a bit too much.

But he also understood that this opponent likely truly possessed such an ability.

Dream Ghost, this shouldn't be a name, but a title.

Wrong names happen, but nicknames are rarely wrong.

Even ordinary Corpse Demons (Shī Mó) in the dead fall (sǐ wá) have the ability to entice people, but Li Zhuiyuan believed that this and what he was about to face were two completely different concepts.

Being able to prefix it with a single "Dream" was enough to show its strangeness.

Next, he and his companions would probably frequently face such self-doubt: Am I in a dream?

Even now, Li Zhuiyuan temporarily couldn't determine the specific environment he was in.

There was no other way; the information he had about it was still too little, and being chosen by that hand to be strangled as a roadblock was originally a kind of strength validation. He couldn't be too cautious in his speculation.

However, he had an anchor point.

Because she couldn't be pulled into a dream, and very few entities dared to pull her into a dream.

But before going to confirm, he still had one thing to do.

That was, just like the last time before going to Zhangjiajie, to confirm once whether the river water would be stirred.

He didn't tell Liu Yumei about this matter. The confidence to actively take on this battle with such a huge difference in strength came from the rules of the river water.

With it, he could take this opportunity to counterattack and cut off that hand.

Without it, he could only change his strategy and choose to be passive.

Li Zhuiyuan's gaze fell on the painting he had almost finished.

Earlier, the "Evil Book" (Xié Shū) didn't let him continue painting, indicating that in the "Evil Book"'s view, after he finished painting, it had to catch fire, which itself was a sign.

But I don't want you to think; I want me to think.

Regarding a gamble that involved the entire team's safety, if he didn't burn a little, his heart wouldn't be at ease.

Li Zhuiyuan rolled up his sleeves, bit the tip of his tongue, took his tongue tip essence blood, and began to draw a curse from his forearm downwards, all the way to the back of his hand.

Then, with black dog blood, he drew patterns on the brush.

Finally, with mind and spirit united, he held the patterned brush with his cursed arm and continued to write on the "Evil Book".

The traces that couldn't appear before could now appear. The young man wanted to complete the image of the Dream Ghost on the book page.

And this time, even the "Evil Book" couldn't stop it.

【You...】

The "Evil Book" was probably extremely speechless, even hysterical.

It only needed a little blood sacrifice. Even if he just gave a little fingertip blood, for its current state, it would be an extremely precious supplement.

But he stubbornly used tongue tip essence blood to draw the curse, using more precious resources to break its block, unwilling to give it a drop.

He could clearly use a cheaper cost to get its help, but the young man would rather spend ten times the extra cost to force it into labor.

It understood.

Precisely because it understood, it was even more frustrated.

Since its birth, most of its successive masters had been played by it within the book's text. Very few could maintain a clear line of thought to seal and suppress it.

But having fallen into this young man's hands, it experienced a deep sense of powerlessness.

The young man's rationality was ice-cold, something it had never seen before.

He seemed to simply have no emotions for it to provoke and utilize.

Mutually loving and killing, mutually guarding and utilizing evil things could greatly satisfy the intoxicating enjoyment of some smart people.

But in Li Zhuiyuan's case, he felt that doing so was extremely stupid and self-clever.

Directly pinch the source: Absolutely no trading with it.

On this basis, whatever value could be squeezed out was zero-risk pure gain.

Not to mention before, just before getting this "Evil Book", because of its enticement, how many lives had died, and those two from the Mao family had plotted and killed their own father and son.

He wasn't copulating with evil things; he was... eliminating evil and guarding the way.

The painting was completed, the Dream Ghost was supplemented.

"Bang!"

Flames rose; this book burned again.

According to the degree of destruction from the last experience, this time it shouldn't be extinguished either. It was quite resistant. Not counting this time, it should burn at least two more times.

There was no wind, but the burning pages flipped wildly.

It seemed like a silent roar and shout:

Between you and me, who exactly is the real evil thing?

Li Zhuiyuan exhaled in his heart.

Confirmed, the river water could be stirred.

This move was equivalent to a fifty percent certainty.

This was an extremely unrigorous probability; it only proved that he had the qualification to mutually stab daggers with that behind-the-scenes hand.

After the flames extinguished, Li Zhuiyuan wrapped the "Evil Book" again, afraid of it getting broken, so this time he wrapped it carefully.

Not because he felt heartache for it, but hoping that this piece of charcoal could burn two more times and provide him with light.

After handling these, Li Zhuiyuan carried his backpack and left the bedroom.

He now had to go confirm whether he was in a dream.

Li Zhuiyuan first went to the convenience store and said to Lu Yi sitting behind the counter:

"Lu Yi bro."

Lu Yi immediately felt that kind of numbness in his back, as if sitting on a large piece of ice under his buttocks, and immediately stood up with a "thud".

"Ah, child prodigy bro, do you want to make a phone call?"

"Send pagers to all of them, return to school for an assembly."

"Okay!" Lu Yi immediately nodded, picked up the microphone, and began dialing the pager station.

After making the call, Lu Yi sat back down, then sat more and more awkwardly.

Then he silently took out some food and drinks from under the counter, set them up, and cut the half sausage as finely as possible, arranging it in a fancy style.

Finally, he took his own water cup as a temporary incense burner, lit three sticks of incense inside, and stood two small white candles. A simple small offering table was completed.

Various candles were also sold in the school store. After all, sometimes the school had power outages, although the school clearly prohibited using candles in the dormitory.

And sometimes there were also outdoor events where candles were used for making wishes.

As for incense, it was definitely not sold, but Lu Yi had discovered on the first day he came to work here that there was always incense at the counter, which was Runsheng's ration for himself.

Lu Yi bowed towards the small offering table:

"Red sausage ghost (hóng cháng guǐ), fellow villager ghost (lǎo xiāng guǐ), please bless, safe and sound."

At this time, a student from the same department as Lu Yi came to check out with some things. Seeing this scene, he curiously asked: "Hey, what are you doing?"

Lu Yi sat up straight, calculating the money while pretending to be helpless and said: "Alas, the boss required it, worshiping a God of Wealth."

Hearing this, the student reached out and touched a can of drink, probing: "Want a bottle of water, bro?"

Lu Yi shook his head.

"Why, ah? Anyway, the boss isn't here, just sneak one."

Lu Yi said unhappily: "You don't want to graduate; I still want to graduate."

"Ha, just kidding with you, why did you take it seriously?"

Li Zhuiyuan left the store and walked towards Grandma Liu's house.

Qin Shu was doing woodworking in the yard, probably making two more suitable qin (Chinese zither) tables for A Li.

Seeing Li Zhuiyuan come, Qin Shu smiled at the young man.

Li Zhuiyuan also smiled at him.

Qin Shu seemed to want to say something, but the young man walked directly into A Li's room, not giving him the opportunity to speak.

Qin Shu immediately understood the meaning, but he was more puzzled: So fast?

He still remembered the young man had eye problems and only woke up after lying down for a few days after coming back. Was the next wave already here?

Could it be that the river he walked back then was a fake river?

A Li was painting. When the young man walked in, she put down her brush.

Li Zhuiyuan came to the girl, proactively took her hand, and closed his eyes.

Although the girl was still unclear about what was happening, she also cooperated by closing her eyes.

Li Zhuiyuan came to that flat house. The familiar cracked memorial tablets now looked quite pleasing. If he suddenly saw them become brand new, it would only indicate a big problem.

Turned around, crossed the threshold.

Far away, there was still thick fog everywhere, but unfortunately, still no sound.

Previously, no sound was quite good. Now, the young man hoped they could make some noise.

He reached out and took out the white lantern hanging in the wall crack. Li Zhuiyuan proactively walked towards the thick fog. As he walked forward, the thick fog retreated backward. The silent suppression continued.

Not only was there no sound, but the fog was too thick to see the ghosts inside.

The young man sighed: Are you so timid now?

Unwilling to leave but not daring to, willing to stand out but not daring to, not even daring to actively make a sound and become the next target.

Opened his eyes, returned to reality, brows furrowed.

That group of things not coming out made it very difficult for the young man. He believed he was in reality now. The Dream Ghost, no matter how powerful, wouldn't... no, wouldn't include him without even fighting him first.

But he just wanted absolute peace of mind now. At this moment, he wanted to draw a mark as an absolute safe calibration point.

This was very important because his analysis and plan had to have sufficient safe support.

Otherwise, it was building his command post on the enemy's position, and all lines extending from it could not be consolidated from the root.

But after the fourth wave of Corpse Driver (Gǎn Shī) events, these things that couldn't be on the table were completely in a state of not being on the table at this time.

According to the normal rhythm, after a period of time, the sky would clear and the rain would stop, and someone in that group of things inside would feel they could, and pop out from the fog.

If it didn't pop out, the river water would also create opportunities for it, letting it flow out.

Now, it was not yet time; this time was not a true river wave.

The girl reached out and pressed the young man's forehead, as if to smooth the furrowed lines.

Her hand was a little cool, yet very soft, and very gentle when rubbing.

This was a meaningless action; it had no direct help in solving real difficulties.

But its value lay on another level, extremely precious.

Li Zhuiyuan's brows relaxed, and a smile appeared on his face as he looked at A Li.

From the last time A Li proactively went out to buy Health Treasure for him, he could see that she was trying to respond.

Lu Yi, standing at the door, watched with relish through the door crack while eating dried mango.

This scene looked like a young boy and girl playing house.

But they weren't lamenting sorrow with forced new words. Although the two children were young, especially the young man, he was carrying and facing things that adults would be afraid and tremble at.

Well, the one doing woodworking in the yard just didn't make it through.

A Li saw that the young man's thinking had become clear again. This time, it was her turn to proactively hold the young man's hand and close her eyes.

Li Zhuiyuan didn't quite understand what she wanted to do, but he also closed his eyes.

Again, they returned to that flat house, once again facing the cracked memorial tablets on the offering table.

But this time, when the young man turned around, he saw the girl had already proactively crossed the threshold.

She stood there, facing the distant silent thick fog.

The girl placed both hands behind her back.

In the early days, facing them, the girl cried and ran away, finally discovering she really couldn't shake them off. In the day after day of torment, curses, and intimidation, she learned self-enclosure.

Actually, she was still very afraid now.

The shadows accumulated over the years weren't like a tumor on the hand that could be cut off and healed when the wound recovered. Instead, the "illness" had already infiltrated into her blood and soul.

To a certain extent, she could only continuously try to minimize the negative impact as much as possible. It was impossible to completely eradicate it because her life had already been affected by it and produced distortion.

The young man was actually the same. Even if he cured the disease, he couldn't return to the past and correct the abnormal childhood that Li Lan had given him.

The girl held her hands behind her back, fingers interlaced, kneading non-stop.

But, this was behind her.

Facing the thick fog, she raised her head.

There was wind outside. Her hair bun was still neat and steady, but some strands of hair were being blown.

Through her back, the young man saw her forced support and weakness at this time.

At the same time, he could also imagine the gradually standing up momentum in front of her, facing the thick fog.

There was no dramatic exaggeration of wind, clouds, and thunder, and no sudden enlightenment cutting off her old self and becoming full of spirit from then on. The girl had simply "dealt" with this group of things for too long. No one, as the first party, understood their temperament better than her.

In A Li's eyes, a faint disdain flowed out.

Her mouth corners slightly hooked up.

Coupled with her face raised slightly higher than before.

She was imitating the young man.

In her paintings, the young man often appeared like this. She liked the young man's kind of confidence and high spirits.

Now, although she only imitated a little bit, and it was still just a simple frame, and her hand behind her was already red from excessive grasping and rubbing.

But, it was already enough.

Her surname was Qin; she was the only bloodline of the Qin and Liu families in this generation.

She only needed to show even a little of this confidence, and it would be enough to make the things in the thick fog recall the fear of being strongly suppressed by the Dragon Kings (Lóng Wáng) of the Qin and Liu families during their respective eras.

Besides fear, it was more a kind of ashamed anger.

Their years of cursing and intimidation had actually not crushed the girl. Then, hadn't they each become laughable and pathetic clowns?

Instead, had they helped that only descendant successfully temper her state of mind?

They were truly, repaying resentment with virtue, willing to help others, ah.

No one took the lead first. Almost at the same time, the thick fog dissipated, ghosts cried and wolves howled, and more curses and intimidations came than before!

Li Zhuiyuan could determine that this was not a dream.

But he didn't expect A Li to do this.

Although A Li didn't know the full picture of the matter, she knew what the boy wanted.

The boy seemed to want them to make a sound, so she would let them clamor.

Even if this clamor was a kind of painful torment for her, she didn't care.

Originally, she only needed to sit numbly behind the threshold. Their intimidation of her had also gradually become a habit, and a kind of balance had even been reached between them.

But from today on, she proactively showed a new attitude. Even if it was just pretending, she proactively broke this balance.

This not only meant she would face stronger backlash, but also meant that when she no longer learned to be an ostrich ignoring them and chose to stand up again, it might attract those who originally disdained to make noise here, truly more terrible things to descend.

They, who had come before, would come to see her.

Every time, this level of appearance would make her endure for a long time.

They had no interest in a self-enclosed Qin Liu family bloodline, but when she finally stood up, they would have the demand and impulse to destroy her.

Li Zhuiyuan lifted his leg and stepped over the threshold again. He didn't ask A Li why she did such a silly thing.

When A Li first took down the ancestral memorial tablets and planed the wood shavings for him, he had also fished waves from A Li's dream. Between the two of them, there was no need for those outsider procedures.

Anyway, all problems would be solved later, nothing more than an earlier or later outbreak.

No matter how noisy these things were now, they would eventually be cleaned up and become dead silent. Those more terrible existences, even if they didn't come recently, would come to find him later when he walked the river and became famous.

Since it was a pot of water that was going to be boiled dry, it didn't matter if it boiled more fiercely temporarily.

However, when Li Zhuiyuan walked out, the momentum of those things that had been vigorously clamoring before immediately dropped.

Unwilling to completely admit cowardice, yet truly feeling afraid, hoping for a leader to stand out, but absolutely not wanting to be that bird themselves.

The just dissipated thick fog silently rose again, like that bluffing guy, seeing the truly unprovoked person come out, forcibly holding back again.

In Li Zhuiyuan's heart, a new idea emerged.

This time, he wasn't only facing the Dream Ghost, but also that hand. He wanted to gain benefits not only from the success of the fifth wave, but also to make that hand pay a heavy price.

The strength disparity was too great; being steady and solid wouldn't yield the gains he wanted. Leading in one water didn't seem to be enough either. At least, he had to stir this water muddy.

Like this, the one who was more uncomfortable would absolutely not be on his side.

Some things he hadn't dared to do too much before because it was easy to bring more complex situations and greater difficulties to his side.

Now, it didn't matter.

Li Zhuiyuan didn't go to take out the white lantern from the door crack again. This seemed to give the ghosts in the thin fog a kind of psychological comfort.

But the young man spread his hand. Not taking the lantern didn't mean he couldn't fish them out. On the contrary, that lantern, along with their fear of him, was becoming less and less useful.

Li Zhuiyuan never naively thought that because Yin Meng was in his team, he and Yin Changsheng had a closer relationship.

After nearly two thousand years, if you thought Yin Changsheng truly "treated his descendants as his own," then you had to simultaneously believe that when you met someone with the same surname you'd never seen before on the road, you would immediately become "as close as brothers."

However, he was the contemporary sole master of Yin Changsheng's absolute art, equivalent to his inheritor; his contemporary sole bloodline also worshipped him as the Dragon King, and furthermore, he was in the state of walking the river.

Whether Yin Changsheng cared or not didn't actually matter much because he could shamelessly proactively take advantage of this layer of cause and effect.

The premise was,

You,

Yin Changsheng,

Are still alive!

Fengdu Twelve Decrees (Fēngdū Shí'èr Lìng) - Four Ghosts Lift Sedan (Sì Guǐ Tài Jiào).

The "Evil Book" burning was equivalent to a response from the river water, meaning he was able to turn the false wave arranged by others into a true wave flower.

What Li Zhuiyuan was doing now was, on this basis, forcibly detaining one more out.

The worst result was that he would have to face the Dream Ghost at the same time and also forcibly open a new wave, leading to him being attacked from two sides.

The best result was to let the true wave and the false wave collide together, mutually offsetting, impacting that hand's layout, and letting it also feel incredibly strange about the situation in front of it.

On the basis of the best result, there was actually a better layer, as good as casually buying a lottery ticket on the roadside and scratching out the yet-to-be-issued first prize car.

That was to let the true wave and the false wave thoroughly merge, letting the Dream Ghost formally enter and become his genuine and valuable fifth wave.

The young man was building a stage for the river water, giving the river water a more leisurely and free flow direction.

The gamble was that the river water extremely repelled this kind of external third-party interference. The gamble was that the river water hadn't had such a good opportunity for punishment before.

The river water only cared about the result; this was actually a kind of constraint on itself.

"Now, I'll untie you."

A wisp of black gas emerged from Li Zhuiyuan's palm, and subsequently, like a rope whip, it flung into the front, where the dense fog had not yet thoroughly restored.

Succeeded.

In A Li's dream, techniques couldn't be used because this wasn't real.

But there were always some things that could become that kind of exception.

Using the life experiences of the successive Dragon Kings of the Qin and Liu families as the question bank, and using Yin Changsheng's method to draw questions!

Li Zhuiyuan suspected that few successive walkers could reach his level of luxurious treatment.

However, these treatments didn't fall from the sky; he relied on his own ability to strive for them.

Moreover, playing so fancy and so big this time was very likely to make the questioner pay more attention to him and spend more thought on targeting him.

But, looking at the girl standing behind him, still trying to maintain her forced support, her body already trembling.

He felt that all of this didn't count for anything anymore.

When doing things, one should naturally be cautious and meticulous, looking ahead and behind, because one doesn't want to lose, not because one can't afford to lose.

When viewing scenery, one should stand tall.

One thing, one person, was being forcibly pulled out from the fog.

Only one.

It was both a bird and a person, constantly changing.

It was very tattered. When it changed into a person, it lowered its head and bowed its back, with faintly visible paint peeling off its body. When it turned into a bird, its eyes were deep and sharp, seemingly able to directly enter your mind, especially that sharp beak, as if it could peck at your inner heart.

It was a Form Spirit (Xíng Líng).

Form Spirits themselves did not exist; they were a kind of parasitic product. Strictly speaking, their mode of existence was very similar to that of the dead fall.

Dead fall was the existence in another form after a living person died. Form Spirit was another evolution of the body.

For example, ancient folk often built temples for some important figures and offered sacrifices. The incense inheritance continued, and with it as a body, another kind of spirit was born.

Form Spirits often had the same appearance as the body and even had some similar abilities as the body, but it was not the body. And it could often be good or bad. Some bodies full of righteousness would sometimes also nurture bloodthirsty and cruel Form Spirits.

Just like Runsheng liked to watch black gang films, where the black gangs did bad things yet still liked to collectively worship Guan Gong, this had a certain probability of nurturing evil Form Spirits, but in fact, it had absolutely no relation to the real Guan Er Ye.

Li Zhuiyuan laughed.

He knew the river water had exerted its power.

Because the one in front of him was Bo Qi's Form Spirit.

Bo Qi was originally a person from the Zhou Dynasty. His father was a powerful court official. He was hated by his stepmother and turned into a bird after death. His heart was like a mirror, and he could eat nightmares.

Ancient people had nightmares at night and would shout Bo Qi's name after waking up to ward off bad luck and calm their minds.

In the descriptions of the twelve divine beasts in ancient Nuo (傩) culture, Bo Qi's characteristic of feeding on dreams was also recorded.

So, was the Dream Ghost related to Bo Qi's Form Spirit?

When this Bo Qi Form Spirit was pulled in front of Li Zhuiyuan for careful observation, Li Zhuiyuan discovered that when it turned into a bird, there was a black sedan on its back. Although the sedan body was cracked, it still emitted an ancient and simple aura.

Some details were similar to when Yin Meng made coffins.

And when it turned into a person, its shoulder blade area was pierced by green chains, as if it had once been suppressed in this manner.

The former should be Yin Changsheng's doing. After all, Yin family descendants could freeload, but truly dealing with a Form Spirit of this level was too difficult for them.

The green chains with talisman paper were the Liu family's "Town Evil Lock" (Zhèn Xié Suǒ). The material was secondary; it mainly used the user's heart blood as a guide to excite the response of heaven and earth's qi. That was, using this lock as a medium to guide the feng shui pattern for suppression, and the user also had to pay a huge price for this.

It seemed that this Form Spirit was indeed quite old and very troublesome. It was first suppressed by Yin Changsheng. After escaping, it was again suppressed by the Liu family's Dragon King.

It should have been a ferocious and great evil, but was finally forcefully kicked into this ghostly appearance by two generations of talents. It only dared to hide in the fog to scare little girls, and dared not pop out in front of him.

Then its current condition should be extremely bad.

He just tried, not expecting to really detain an evil that had intersected with both Yin Changsheng and the Liu family.

This was the foundation, ah.

Li Zhuiyuan untied the technique. Since it had already been pulled out, stood in front of him, and been remembered by him, then it was meaningless even if it hid back into the fog. The river water would push it over by itself, regardless of whether it was willing.

But now, when Bo Qi turned into a person, he showed begging to Li Zhuiyuan. When he turned into a bird, he also let out mournful cries.

He was begging him to let him go, or did he have other requests?

Li Zhuiyuan didn't care.

The young man only remembered that it should have also been in this thick fog before, clamoring very happily.

Li Zhuiyuan turned around, holding A Li's hand, and brought her back into the house.

The girl was trembling, almost unable to support her body, only able to lean on him.

Crossing the threshold, back into the house, he looked again at the row of cracked memorial tablets on the offering table.

They were all spiritless. Liu Yumei was most dissatisfied with this point, and this indeed caused serious suffering to A Li.

But to be fair, as the inheritor of the Qin and Liu families, he did receive their protection, although it was invisible.

Just like now, he encountered the attempt to strangle him from the forces behind that hand. What truly supported him at this moment was still the foundation of the two families.

Previously, he helped A Li cure her illness out of emotion. Now, it was gradually also out of reason. In this world, there was no such good thing as getting benefits for nothing and not doing anything.

Perhaps, in the dark, they were also in this way, through him, to make up for the debt to A Li.

Before leaving this flat house, Li Zhuiyuan turned back again to look outside the threshold.

Since Bo Qi's Form Spirit was detained, the thick fog suddenly retreated further, and the depth of the thick fog almost became a painted white wall, and it was suddenly silent as a grave.

But Li Zhuiyuan was not looking at them; he was looking at the forces behind that hand.

You want to plot to strangle me in advance?

Okay,

This time, I will not only lead the river water down for you, but also give you a Fengdu Great Emperor (Fēngdū Dà Dì) as a gift!

You were the first to initiate this without provocation,

But I am now very curious,

How you will end up.

Opened his eyes, returned to reality.

A Li's body was limp, leaning against Li Zhuiyuan's chest, her body covered in sweat, hair sticking to her face.

She should have cried. When her body had no consciousness, she had an instinctive reaction, but after opening her eyes, she quickly suppressed her crying in front of him.

Lu Yi walked in at this time carrying a plate, on which were two hot white towels.

She had been standing outside before, eating mango non-stop.

As a result, the more she ate, the more she felt something was wrong, but Xiao Yuan was in the state of walking the river after all. Without him speaking, she dared not rashly go in and intervene. What she could do was do a little logistic work that wouldn't contaminate cause and effect.

Lu Yi said very seriously: "Xiao Yuan, if you have anything, just say it."

Li Zhuiyuan shook his head and said: "Lu Yi, it's nothing."

Since he didn't plan to tell them from the beginning and intended to settle this matter with his own ability, now that the stage had been built by him, there was naturally even less need to say.

Li Zhuiyuan picked up a towel. Regardless of how hot it was, he unfolded it and helped A Li wipe her forehead.

When he was about to wipe her face, A Li reached out her hand, grabbed a towel, unfolded it, and helped the young man wipe.

Actually, Li Zhuiyuan didn't sweat much.

But a collector's pursuit was continuous progress. Now, the girl wanted to collect pairs.

Lu Yi: "A Li is going to take a bath."

A Li's gaze looked at the plate with two towels.

Lu Yi immediately said: "I won't take them away; I'll just leave them here."

A Li nodded, looked at the young man, then walked out of the room to bathe and change clothes.

Li Zhuiyuan looked at the time. In a dream, one is unaware of the passage of time. So much time had passed, they had probably returned. The young man carried his backpack and walked out.

Lu Yi carried the herbal medicine and came to the third-floor room with the memorial tablets.

Liu Yumei was standing by the window, her face solemn.

"Old lady, it's time to drink your medicine."

This time, without persuasion, Liu Yumei reached out to take the soup bowl, drank it all in one gulp, and after drinking, she didn't say she wanted a bowl of lotus seed soup to neutralize the bitterness in her mouth.

Lu Yi softly said: "Xiao Yuan seems to have encountered something."

Liu Yumei said straightforwardly: "They just returned from outside. Xiao Yuan's eyes have only been good for less than two days, so this time it shouldn't be about the ship. If it's not about the ship, and he didn't tell you or A Li, it means it's inconvenient for us to know."

Lu Yi: "So..."

"Xiao Yuan should have encountered the same thing A Li did back then."

Lu Yi pursed her lips: "Really damn, that group of guys."

Liu Yumei raised her hand, activating the formation in the room to isolate the sound. The following words, she didn't want A Li to hear.

But in the yard, Qin Shu, who was carving wood, subconsciously buried his head deeper.

Because he suddenly couldn't hear the movement in that room on the third floor, words he didn't want to hear. What words, he knew in his heart, so he felt very guilty.

Liu Yumei began: "Initially, A Li failed to walk the river. We can still see it as those former enemies behind the scenes, but this time, it's different.

A Li couldn't walk the river successfully, cutting off that sharp qi and tearing off the last layer of our two families' fig leaf.

Previously, the two families were prosperous, and there weren't many enemies. Even if there were major enmities, they could maintain relative restraint.

Now that we are in decline, even the former allies of the Qin and Liu families probably don't mind conveniently stepping on us. They don't hope to see us rise again successfully.

From an individual to a family, and then to a country, it's all the same.

When you are powerful, you are welcome everywhere. When you are weak, your eyes are full of enemies."

Lu Yi: "Then we..."

"Since he didn't say anything, then we shouldn't do anything more, so as not to hinder him.

Our home has few people now. I am only temporarily holding this position, but this home will definitely be governed again later, and there will be a family head."

Lu Yi: "Don't worry, A Li and I understand."

"I'm not reminding you of this. This doesn't need reminding either. His ship sails farther, and the rules will naturally slowly stand up. You two were raised by me. You're a bit stupid, but not fools.

Actually, the signs have already appeared now.

Even I can gradually not take the posture of an elder in front of him.

This child is supporting two broken ships to sail.

Sometimes I even think, if this child hadn't been pulled into the door by me, if he sailed alone, perhaps it would be more steady and better?

We can't give things, we can't take out benefits, how can we continue to pretend to be elders."

Liu Yumei turned her head to look at the row of memorial tablets on the offering table, and spat discontentedly:

"Pah, it's all your fault!"

...

Runsheng felt that the coffin nails Qin Shu hammered into his body earlier weren't as painful as accompanying Yin Meng to shop for clothes now.

Especially at this time, encountering a boss who could talk and was eloquent, Yin Meng chatted very happily with him.

Runsheng could already tell what would happen next.

One wanted to get closer to bargain well, the other wanted to get closer so you wouldn't bargain anymore. Their eyes met, and they were already prepared with swords and shields.

The boss, with a smile on his face, looked at Runsheng and Yin Meng, and said with deep emotion:

"Really good, you two. I also had a very good relationship with my girlfriend once, but unfortunately, I didn't make it back then. Years of feelings were defeated by reality, and we finally broke up because her family disagreed."

Runsheng: "Actually, it was her who disagreed."

The boss: "..."

At this instant, the boss suddenly felt that the originally sunny sky outside suddenly became gloomy. In the time it took to breathe, his heart began to leak air.

He suddenly felt very meaningless, very dispirited, very melancholic, very listless, because he found that he couldn't even refute.

Yin Meng shouted out an extremely low price.

"Sell or not? If you sell, I'll take this set of clothes and pants."

The boss waved his hand, indicating he would sell. He didn't want to speak now.

Yin Meng happily paid, put the clothes in the bag, and pulled Runsheng out of this store.

"Good job, Runsheng, you're the one who knows how to bargain. I bargain towards the label; you bargain towards the heart."

"Can we leave?" Runsheng asked, carrying the clothes bag.

"What's the hurry? It's not easy to get you out once. Let's buy next year's spring and summer clothes in advance too."

"I can't wear so many."

"Did you forget what Xiao Yuan bro told me? Since we have the conditions now, we won't be extravagant, but we don't need to suffer either."

Runsheng was silent.

Yin Meng found that using Xiao Yuan to pressure Runsheng was really very effective.

Runsheng no longer resisted, dragging his tired body, almost following Yin Meng forward, walking as if he were a Corpse Demon that had just crawled out of the water.

Just at this time, on the fifth-floor rooftop edge above the pedestrian street, there was a girl wearing a skirt pajama, her hands flat forward, numbly walking along the edge, like a sleepwalker.

Runsheng and Yin Meng looked at each other. That hand had fed the clue over.

...

"Director Tan, can you tell us in detail how you managed to recognize the suspect's identity at a glance during the routine inspection at the train station? Is it true, as they say outside, that you have photographic memory?"

The female reporter from the local TV station handed the microphone to Tan Yunlong.

Behind her, the cameraman was finding the angle, first focusing on a close-up of Tan Yunlong's face, then pulling back, ensuring that while Tan Yunlong was still in the shot, the banners and commendation certificates on the office wall were also included.

Tan Yunlong showed a serious yet composed smile and answered:

"I certainly don't have photographic memory. The actual reason is that my son studies at Haihe University in this city.

His grandfather and his maternal grandfather were both police officers, so he has dreamed of becoming a police officer since he was young."

"Director Tan, please allow me to interrupt and ask you. I believe this is also what the audience in front of the TV wants to ask: why did your son go to Haihe University and not a police academy?"

"He said that the country's security has his father to guard, and the country's construction needs him to undertake."

"I heard that your son once made a merit in an action to bust a human trafficking crime group?"

"Yes, that's right. He also received an award for it. I personally awarded him the certificate. Thank our director for giving me, this father, this opportunity."

"You have a very excellent son. You must also be an excellent good father."

"Thank you."

"Okay, please continue."

"Although my son didn't go to a police academy, he always has a heart to be a police officer, so in his leisure time, he will look at wanted orders. He also often discusses some cases with me, using publicly available file materials that don't involve confidentiality regulations.

Many times, his ideas can give me some enlightenment.

Just like this case, not long ago he took this wanted order and discussed with me where the suspect might be hiding. I also deepened my impression of the suspect in the photo. This is why I was able to recognize her at a glance on the train."

"Director Tan, I heard that the suspect was disguised at the time?"

"Yes, but the abnormal reaction of the abducted child in her hand made me take an extra look at her."

"This is your keen insight. I think this is not only an old criminal police officer's instinct, but also the return you gained from working day and night, even bringing work into your family, having the law in your heart, and being loyal to your duty!

I believe that with police like you, our Jinling..."

The interview ended.

The reporter and cameraman left Tan Yunlong's office. They still needed to go interview Tan Yunlong's subordinates and his leaders to hear their evaluations of Tan Yunlong.

This program was originally recorded for Tan Yunlong as a special topic on advanced figures. After editing, it would be broadcast on the local TV station and even sent to the provincial station.

Tan Yunlong sat down at his desk, picked up the already cold tea, drank two mouthfuls, then pulled open his collar and let out a breath.

Once, he was a famous troublemaker in the police team known for not following rules in solving cases, otherwise he wouldn't have been demoted to the township police station.

Who would have thought that one day, he would also get used to this kind of seriousness.

Actually, he sincerely wanted to decline those commendation meetings and program interviews. He felt they were very time-consuming.

Moreover, he felt a little guilty.

This guilt had continued from the moment that little boy proactively pushed open his office door at the Shigan Town (Shígǎn Zhèn) police station until now.

But the leaders persuaded him that he had to be a good role model to inspire the young comrades in the bureau and used the story of Zigong (Zǐgòng) redeeming people as an example.

The office door was pushed open, and Tan Wenbin walked in.

Tan Yunlong had to forcefully pull his collar again. The person he least wanted to see now was his own son. At his age, he actually had to blush in front of his son.

"Dad, when will the program be broadcast?"

"Whenever it broadcasts."

"Sigh, it doesn't matter anyway. Your mom will definitely guard the TV then, record the program, and then show it to your old father-in-law when we return home."

"Call him Grandpa Nan, what father-in-law?"

"No way, who called Shigan and can't search for our Jinling local station?"

"The provincial station will also broadcast it."

"Hahaha!"

"Smelly boy." Tan Yunlong couldn't hold back either and also laughed.

Tan Wenbin took out cigarettes from his pocket, lit one for his dad, and then lit one for himself.

Tan Yunlong: "Smoke less."

"Got it."

"I have quite a few packs there. Find time to go home and get them."

"Want some."

"Why are you speaking either in Sichuan dialect or Beijing dialect now?"

"Have to know a little. Later, there will be projects everywhere. Familiarize yourself with the construction environment in advance."

Tan Yunlong looked at the cigarette in his hand and asked: "Why are you smoking this brand suddenly?"

"Yunyun's dad, she took all her dad's hidden cigarettes and gave them to me. She said her dad smokes too much and it's bad for his health."

"Your mom did this before too."

"Hehe." Tan Wenbin flicked the cigarette ash, then reached out to pick up the file next to him and flip through it.

Tan Yunlong originally wanted to say this didn't conform to the rules, but then he thought, what if...

As long as the case could be solved, some rules weren't unbreakable.

"Dad, any new cases recently?"

"The one in your hand is."

"Oh, this is a wife-killing case? Isn't the evidence chain not very sufficient?"

"It's very sufficient, but as the suspect's husband, he always denies it."

"Denies what?"

"He said that after he quarreled with his wife, he left home to stay at a friend's house. He dreamed of his wife and knew it was a dream, so he vented his anger heavily on his wife in the dream.

But the fact is, the friend who sheltered him said he went out at night, and there are witnesses near his home who prove he returned home on the night of the case."

"Is this a mental illness?" Tan Wenbin pointed to his temple. "Trying to escape punishment?"

Tan Yunlong exhaled a smoke ring and said:

"That's exactly the problem. He insists he has no mental illness, thinks he's mentally normal, and keeps shouting that he just had a dream and didn't kill anyone in reality."

Tan Wenbin: "Dream killing people?"

...

Everyone received the pager, then returned to school as quickly as possible, and went back to the room in the basement of the store.

Li Zhuiyuan was actually the last to arrive. By the time he came, Tan Wenbin, Runsheng, and Yin Meng had all already written their clues in text form.

After all, they might need to stir the river water with script design later, so writing it down in text beforehand was convenient for later adaptation.

This was the benefit of the team having experience and being trained.

Li Zhuiyuan carefully and seriously looked at what they wrote while holding a pen and quickly writing down his investigation results. At the same time, he kept asking them questions to examine possible omitted details.

Multitasking was nothing for the young man. Every time he and A Li played blind chess, they opened at least three games simultaneously.

After writing his own, and reviewing the writings of Tan Wenbin and the two groups of Runsheng and Yin Meng, Li Zhuiyuan gave them his written notes to look at.

Among them, one person still hadn't handed in his written materials. He had returned the earliest, but was still writing feverishly.

Li Zhuiyuan walked to Lin Shuyou's side. A You's clothes were torn in several places, his pants were also torn, and his shoes had mud on them, but he wasn't injured.

Being able to get into university by himself, his basic writing ability should be good. Yin Meng's group had finished early, there was no reason for him to be so slow.

Li Zhuiyuan's gaze fell on Lin Shuyou's notebook.

This was a new notebook, and many pages were already filled. He actually wrote so much!

Li Zhuiyuan reached out and patted Lin Shuyou's shoulder, asking: "Are you writing a novel?"

"Ah..." Lin Shuyou scratched his head, "Just after going out early this morning, I encountered more things, and there were also more twists and turns, and many accidents happened, but fortunately I didn't disgrace the mission, I got the clue!"

Hearing this, Li Zhuiyuan nodded.

Looking at the small thick stack of paper already written, he felt a little pity for that behind-the-scenes hand.

Tan Wenbin and the two groups of Runsheng and Yin Meng obtained very simple and straightforward clues, but when it came to Lin Shuyou, things appeared extremely twisted and bizarre.

Perhaps that behind-the-scenes hand was also cursing: The Qin and Liu families have actually declined to this extent, sending such a fool.

Although, this was also arranged by Li Zhuiyuan deliberately.

Someone always had to be sent to entangle and consume the enemy's energy a bit.

Finally, Lin Shuyou finished writing. He rubbed his wrist painfully.

Li Zhuiyuan took what he had written, flipped through it, and said:

"Now, let's formally hold the meeting."

Everyone sat up straight.

Li Zhuiyuan continued: "Actually, I shouldn't have called you all back so quickly. These things could actually be communicated over the phone.

But I had to call you all back, even if it was just purely sitting together to exchange information materials, even if it was... just holding a meeting for the sake of holding a meeting.

Because,

I cannot guarantee,

Next time we hold a meeting, whether you sitting here will still be the real you."