Chapter 16

Chapter 16

The cat-faced old woman stared at Li Zhuiyuan in shock.

She couldn't believe the words she had just heard had come from the mouth of this child.

Her hands, which had been holding his shoulders, instinctively let go, and her body recoiled slightly.

At this moment, she even began to doubt:

Compared to him, why did she seem like such a messy, tantrum-throwing child?

Who, between them, was the real dead ghost?

He spoke with great confidence, very straightforwardly, and he didn't stop, he continued:

"For the one who is crippled, you need to focus on the crippled parts. I suggest the best is half-body paralysis. Given the conditions here, it's impossible to give him a wheelchair, and no one will specifically take the time to push him around for relaxation and boredom relief.

After paralysis, he can only lie in bed, curled up in a dirty mattress. Eating, drinking, and defecating all require care from others.

He must be able to speak, he must be able to cry out, and his hands must be able to pick up things to smash to vent.

Only this way can it be interesting to watch, with strong interactivity, and a rich sense of experience."

The cat-faced old woman nodded, her hands unconsciously smoothing the wrinkles in the boy's clothes that she had grabbed earlier. But her hands were dirty, making his clothes even dirtier, and she even felt a little hesitant because of it.

"For the one who is made sick, pay attention, it cannot be a terminal illness from the beginning.

It needs to be a stubborn disease that can repeatedly attack, can be controlled stage by stage with cost and effort, but is impossible to cure forever.

The degree of disease attack needs to be well controlled, not fatal, yet able to cause pain that makes people not want to live and suffer torment.

The frequency of the disease also needs to be well controlled. After each recovery, let him rest for a while, let him experience the preciousness of health.

But this interval cannot be too long, it cannot allow him to have a complete usable labor force cycle, and it cannot give him the opportunity to create value for his family.

This way, he himself and his family can fall into a vicious cycle of internal consumption amidst the repeated torment and treatment input of the disease, making it easier to stimulate family conflicts, tear off disguises, and expose the ugliness of human nature."

The cat-faced old woman silently retreated two more steps, her hands clasped in front of her, and asked:

"Is there... is there more?"

"Most importantly, the one who is driven crazy cannot be completely crazy. Being completely crazy is too cheap for her, it's equivalent to her being completely unaware, equivalent to giving her liberation, which has no meaning.

It needs to be that kind of indirect madness. For most of the day, she must be normal, only going crazy for a short while. But her madness must have a relatively strong attack.

I think her family will likely take forced control measures against her, similar to how she treated her mother.

She needs to be given enough sober time to scold, to wail, to curse, and to be hysterical.

She should repent, right? We don't need to understand or sympathize with her, but we can take her repentance as a source of happiness and fully enjoy it."

Having said this, Li Zhuiyuan nodded to himself:

"These are the important details for now. Do you have anything you want to add or suggest?"

Cat-faced old woman: "No... nothing."

"Actually, this plan originally had some risk. What if a truly filial descendant appeared among the descendants of those three people?

However, probably not. Just based on the fact that the old woman's grandsons and granddaughters all felt the old woman lived too long, draining their fortune and ruining their future.

With the quality of children like this, it should still make people feel at ease."

Cat-faced old woman: "Mm, at ease, very much at ease."

"Then what do you think of this plan?"

"Ah? Good, very good, extremely good. I will follow your instructions and do it this way."

At this time, Li Zhuiyuan saw black gas starting to rise from the cat-faced old woman's body, a bit like dry ice volatilizing on a stage.

"What's happening to your body?"

The rising black gas began to converge quickly.

"It's because this plan is too good, so good that just thinking about it... my resentment actually has a tendency to dissipate."

"Then can you still cling to me?"

"I can. My resentment is very heavy. I think, wait until those three people all walk to their deserved retribution, I can also be completely liberated."

"So, you've actually always been in a lot of pain?"

"Every moment, it's like being tormented in boiling oil, enduring cruel punishment.

If I didn't speak, if I didn't think, it might be much better. Unfortunately... I do. This kind of pain will also multiply several times."

"Really pitiful."

"No, not pitiful. Things like us... no, it's me.

It's already very difficult for something like me to exist, to be born.

Although every time I look up at the sky, I feel panic and fear, but I... I'm grateful to Him."

Li Zhuiyuan looked at the cat-faced old woman in front of him. Actually, he wasn't looking at the old woman, but at that black cat.

The old woman had worked hard to raise her three children and even helped them raise their grandchildren.

But in the end, the one who was truly grateful for the old woman's kindness, even willing to endure huge torment every day for the sake of avenging the old woman, was actually that ugly and disabled old cat that the old woman had taken in.

Perhaps the biggest difference between humans and animals is that the human lower limit can be lower than an animal's.

"Just, are you sure that telling... pointing out these things to me like this, won't cause you any trouble?"

"Me? Me?" Li Zhuiyuan shook his head, "How could I possibly have trouble? I'm clearly doing good deeds."

"Doing good deeds?"

"Yes."

Li Zhuiyuan pointed at the Niu family siblings who were still kneeling inside the house and continued to explain:

"You, this dead ghost evil filth, want to kill them, but I saved their lives. Isn't this doing good deeds and accumulating virtue?"

The cat-faced old woman opened her mouth, revealing a mouth full of rotten teeth.

"It can... it can be explained like this?"

"Actually, I haven't even entered the door yet. I'm still reading basic books. I actually don't know if my explanation is exactly right or not. To know the result... I'll have to wait until I go back and continue reading the books.

I'm still young, and my grades in this area aren't very good. I need to study hard."

Cat-faced old woman: "You... still want to keep studying?"

"Mm, I need to."

"Thank you."

"No need to thank me. My advising you to do this also has my own selfish reasons.

My great-grandfather and the others came to the Niu family to hold a vegetarian feast. If these three people all died accidentally today, then the signboard my great-grandfather and the others rely on for a living would also be smashed.

My great-grandfather, he's really very good to me."

"Actually, your great-grandfather, he's already lifted a hand."

"What?"

Cat-faced old woman: "Don't worry, I know what to do."

Li Zhuiyuan showed a childlike pure smile: "Thank you, Grandma."

At this time, shouting voices came from a distance. It was his great-grandfather and the others who had found their way to this area.

Li Zhuiyuan waved to the cat-faced old woman, then walked towards the road.

"Xiao Yuan Hou! Xiao Yuan Hou! Where are you, Xiao Yuan Hou!"

Hearing the shouts of the distant figures, Li Zhuiyuan felt very comforted and enjoyed it very much. When he first came to his old home, he wasn't used to adding 'Hou' after his nickname.

But it was usually elders who called him this way. In this local dialect tone word, it carried the intimacy and affection of family elders towards him.

Professor Xu, who taught Chinese in the family courtyard, was from Guangdong. He had just said that with economic development and population mobility, dialects would gradually exit the stage of history.

Pan Zi, Lei Zi, Ying Zi and the others were now speaking Mandarin at school.

So, Li Zhuiyuan knew that as the elders gradually passed away, this one by one shouting of 'Xiao Yuan Hou', in the future, he would only be able to dig it out from the depths of his memory to savor.

"Great-grandfather! Great-grandfather!"

Li Zhuiyuan raised his hand and started to respond.

Li Sanjiang and Runsheng ran over, followed by Shan Deye and Liu Jinxia, as well as some villagers.

"Xiao Yuan Hou, are you alright?" Li Sanjiang touched Li Zhuiyuan from head to toe, confirming that his great-grandson hadn't lost an arm or a leg.

Runsheng's face was covered in sweat, and he smiled very happily.

They had both been holding onto Niu Fu and Niu Rui respectively earlier, but after a short while, they realized that what they were holding were two bundles of straw.

When they looked up again, Xiao Yuan Hou was nowhere to be seen, so they immediately came out anxiously to look for him.

Shan Deye was injured, but he felt he could still help a bit. Liu Jinxia originally didn't plan to come out, but she didn't dare stay in the shed alone either.

As for the villagers behind, many had come out voluntarily to help look for the child after hearing the shouts. More villagers were still gathering towards here from behind.

It must be said, the folk customs here were still very simple, but even good fruit trees couldn't avoid bearing some crooked fruit.

Some villagers had already started shouting that the Niu family people were missing. The families of the Niu family siblings, seeing that it had been so long since midnight and they hadn't returned, also started to go out to look for them.

"Great-grandfather, in there, inside the old house." Li Zhuiyuan, in Li Sanjiang's arms, pointed softly, making sure only his great-grandfather could hear.

Li Sanjiang nodded, pushed Li Zhuiyuan to Liu Jinxia's side, then raised a peach wood sword himself, his figure suddenly becoming much more imposing.

Li Zhuiyuan saw clearly, it was the one he had brought.

"Come, there are many of us, everyone follow me and rush in, beat the dead ghost, and save the people!"

Li Sanjiang led the rush to the old house. Runsheng followed suit without a word. Shan Deye stamped his foot and bit his lip, also following.

The villagers behind were a bit timid. They were willing to come out and help look for the child, but rushing a dead ghost, they were truly afraid of that kind of thing.

However, after all, there were many people. Even if they hesitated, they slowly followed.

But after Li Sanjiang and the other two rushed in, a series of ear-piercing cat calls and fighting sounds immediately came from inside the old house. During this, the screams and scolding of an old woman also seemed to be mixed in.

Some villagers heard it and recognized it as the voice of Old Lady Niu.

But wasn't Old Lady Niu already dead, and had been dead for half a year?

With this kind of battle formation, even the bravest villagers didn't dare to move forward. They could only stand in place and wait for the result.

Fortunately, the screaming gradually stopped. After a while, Li Sanjiang carrying one, and Runsheng carrying two, walked out from under the old locust tree in front of the dilapidated house.

"The people are saved!"

"My god, the Niu family people are really here!"

"The dead ghost has been collected!"

Li Sanjiang flung Niu Lian on his back, and with a "thud", Niu Lian fell directly onto the stone road.

Runsheng did the same, letting go of his arms. Niu Fu and Niu Rui slid to the ground and stabilized after rolling.

A crowd of villagers immediately gathered around to watch the spectacle, asking this and that. This was something to talk about after dawn, and even more so, it was an important experience to show off to people from outside the village and other places in the future. At that time, they could light a cigarette and pretend to be mysterious, saying:

"Hey, what you're saying is not a big deal. Let me tell you about something that happened in our village that year..."

These Niu family siblings had suddenly disappeared and then all appeared in the old house, and now they were still unconscious. This was clearly encountering something evil.

Everyone's gaze towards Li Sanjiang and the others was filled with admiration and respect, constantly offering flattering words. This was truly having great ability.

Shan Deye looked at Li Sanjiang, who was being praised by everyone standing in front, and felt his lips itching with dissatisfaction.

He had just followed them in. He saw a cat-faced old woman standing at the door of the old house. Li Sanjiang just held up his peach wood sword and waited for him and Runsheng to go first.

As a result, that cat-faced old woman didn't know what kind of madness possessed her, but she pounced directly towards Li Sanjiang and onto the peach wood sword in his hand, stabbing herself directly through.

Then there was a burst of ghost cries and wolf howls, cat calls and old woman calls, and finally... unexpectedly it just stopped!

At that time, Shan Deye himself wished he could slap himself twice to see if he was blind. Something that could confuse himself and others, something that made him learn how to imitate a dog urinating, a corpse demon... was it just exterminated like this?

Li Sanjiang himself was also a little surprised. He even reached out and flicked the peach wood sword in his hand once, sighing:

"It must be real peach wood. The quality from the state-owned furniture factory is indeed trustworthy."

...

"Make way, everyone make way!" Li Sanjiang pointed at the three people lying on the ground, "They've been haunted and haven't woken up yet. Everyone go to the nearby porcelain jar and scoop some golden liquid, heat it up, and feed it to them."

Actually, Li Sanjiang knew that Liu Xiazi was best at exorcism, but firstly, Liu Xiazi was injured and not in good condition, and secondly, he was clear in his heart what these three people were like. They deserved it.

At present, the villagers divided into two groups. One group was responsible for carrying the Niu family siblings back to the vegetarian feast shed, while the other group went to dig up the porcelain jar to prepare to heat the golden liquid. The latter group was obviously more excited and jubilant, walking with a spring in their step.

Inside the shed, it was suddenly packed. Some villagers who were still in deep sleep were also woken up by the commotion or by their neighbors shouting, and they all came to watch the excitement.

During the day, the vegetarian feast here was cold and desolate. In the latter half of the night, it became a surging crowd.

Shan Deye and Liu Jinxia sat on chairs, each being warmly cared for and inquired about by the villagers.

In the villagers' eyes, these two must have been injured during the fight with the dead ghost!

A sharp-eyed child saw Shan Deye's soaked pants and was scolded by his own adult, saying that this was because he was soaked by the dead ghost's body water after fighting with the dead ghost.

Another villager who passed by the grave came to spread the word, saying that Old Lady Niu's grave had been dug open, and there was no head inside.

This piece of news immediately pushed the discussion in the shed to a high tide, it was simply more lively than when they were showing outdoor movies.

The busiest person was still Li Sanjiang. He just continued to hold his peach wood sword high and waved it constantly, performing rituals.

His movements were not particularly standard or ethereal, nor were they coherent or elegant. Compared to the Daoist priests in the funeral procession team, the feeling was too different, but the villagers all knew that the funeral procession team's performances were all fake, while this old man had true ability in their eyes.

Li Sanjiang would chop here, then stab there, walking and stopping, stopping and walking, chanting some old words in his mouth.

These words were chanted very vaguely. In Li Zhuiyuan's ears, it sounded a bit like his great-grandfather listening to the radio putting on "Yang Family Generals" when he was sitting on the terrace cooling off in the evening.

Li Sanjiang had slept well, plus so many people around were paying attention and cheering, so he danced even more vigorously.

When a burst of stench came, Li Sanjiang decisively stopped:

"Good, the ghost aura has been removed, the demonic energy has been cleared, everyone can rest assured now. There will be no more trouble here in the future."

The crowd applauded and cheered together.

Li Sanjiang stood with the sword, smiling reservedly.

He himself knew that his previous set of actions was meaningless, but he wasn't collecting extra money. That didn't count as propagating feudal superstition for profit. It was purely to give the villagers peace of mind and a sense of emotional value.

The plastic buckets filled with golden liquid were brought over, steaming, still hot.

Many villagers nearby started to gag after smelling the smell, and some even threw up, but even so, no one wanted to avoid or leave the scene!

Especially those who were standing in the inner circle, where the smell was strongest, yet still held their noses and watched intently. Those in the outer circle kept jumping, afraid of missing the famous scene.

This can truly be said, smelling the stench, looking at the fragrance.

Li Sanjiang's own stomach was churning, yet he still had to force himself to instruct the villagers to feed it to them.

Several busybody villagers had long ago wrapped their noses with wet cloth strips. They first pried open the mouths of the Niu family siblings, and then used a large spoon from a pig trough to carefully feed it to them.

Their hands were not shaky at all, truly very steady. Not a drop of liquid fell, let alone overflowed;

It was like feeding hot water into a thermos, you could even hear a "drip la la la" sound.

The first one to be fed was Niu Fu, who woke up. He first lay on the ground and vomited.

He was followed by Niu Rui and Niu Lian.

Soon, the three siblings vomited together. Their own children also brought clean water for them to rinse their mouths.

The surrounding villagers smiled happily one by one and praised them. Although the taste didn't smell good, it was truly effective.

After the Niu family siblings finished vomiting, or rather, gradually adapted, they immediately cried and ran to Li Sanjiang, knelt down, and wailed their thanks while hugging Li Sanjiang's legs.

They had a little bit of memory of the time of the incident. They all saw their own old mother coming to claim their lives. If Li Sanjiang and the others hadn't held the vegetarian feast here today, they were afraid they would really be taken away by that heartless old mother.

This was crying for their own escape from death, so they cried especially genuinely. Niu Lian was even more articulate, praising Li Sanjiang as her parents of rebirth.

Her two brothers, like during the funeral service during the day, repeated their sister's words like a chorus.

Li Sanjiang consoled them while trying to push them away. Firstly, he disliked the pungent smell on their bodies now. Secondly, Li Sanjiang felt unlucky being their parents of rebirth. How was this thanks? They were clearly cursing him!

However, having the Niu family siblings wake up and speak in person was equivalent to adding another layer of halo to Li Sanjiang, as well as Shan Deye and Liu Jinxia, in the hearts of the villagers.

After this, it was likely that people from this village or neighboring villages who encountered trouble would all go to Si Yuan Village to find the Li family's corpse salvagers.

After a burst of crying and pulling, Li Sanjiang received the Niu family siblings' final payment.

Actually, the final payment wasn't much originally, because according to the rules of this kind of matter, most of it was given in advance. But this time the final payment was extra thick, truly not a small amount.

Look, these Niu family siblings were only stingy towards their own old mother. Towards their own lives and outsiders, they were quite generous.

Shan Deye pinched the sealed red envelope of benefits, his lips couldn't stop pressing, revealing the dark tooth holes.

But when he turned his head, he found that the one in Li Sanjiang's hand was much thicker than his, and he felt another burst of chest tightness. Every time it was like this, every time it was like this!

Liu Jinxia was still okay, not very happy, nor very sentimental. She just felt her face was still burning with pain, and she didn't know if her facial skin wasn't as thick as Shan Deye's, or if that boy named Runsheng was extra merciless towards her.

The Niu family siblings still wanted to recognize Li Sanjiang as their godfather, but Li Sanjiang refused without hesitation.

For this, Li Sanjiang even pulled out a set of fate theories, saying that he was born with a lone fierce fate, without sons or daughters, and was not suitable for accepting god relatives.

Liu Jinxia was familiar with this kind of talk. People from this profession, more or less, all had some business facade.

Before leaving, Li Sanjiang also specifically admonished and reminded the Niu family siblings in public:

"Anyone, whatever matter they do, there is one account, and the numbers are all hanging in heaven. This time I violated the rules to save you, which is already going against heaven.

Next, you must do good things, sincerely do good, and work hard to accumulate virtue. If your heart is not sincere, and your mind is not pure, I'm afraid you will encounter some disaster not long after.

That's not something I can manage, I can only help this much."

This was actually just the official rhetoric of this industry, first collecting the current profit and reputation, and then clearly distinguishing their relationship with future matters.

But this set of words was recalled by the villagers not long after, and they again gave Li Sanjiang a thumbs up for his ability. Some people even shouted out the honorific "Old Immortal Li".

To the extent that later, when the Niu family siblings' families encountered problems again, they respectfully invited Li Sanjiang to come and "see the illness".

However, these are all stories for later, not to be mentioned for now.

In short, by the time the messy affairs were completely over, it was already past four o'clock in the morning.

Runsheng pushed out the cart, and Li Sanjiang, Shan Deye, and Liu Jinxia sat down one after another. Li Zhuiyuan originally thought of getting on too, but he heard the sound of a bicycle bell from behind. Turning his head, it was Uncle Qin.

"Great-grandfather, I'll ride with Uncle Qin."

"Go ahead, go ahead. Get back and rest early."

Li Zhuiyuan came to the front of the twenty-eight-inch bicycle. Uncle Qin picked him up with one hand and placed him on the front bar. Immediately, he pedaled for a while and got on the bike himself.

Feeling a bit sleepy, Li Zhuiyuan simply leaned against Uncle Qin's chest and dozed off.

Uncle Qin lowered his head and looked at the boy in his arms. He was a little surprised that he didn't ask if he had been in the field the whole time.

This left the explanation he had prepared unused.

By the time they returned to Si Yuan Village from Shi Gang, the edge of the sky was already showing the color of a fish's belly.

"Uncle, get some rest early."

"Mm, you also get some sleep early."

Li Zhuiyuan ran into the house, came to the second floor, and went straight to wash up.

Inside the east room bedroom, Qin Li, who had been sleeping, heard movement on the dam and sat up.

"Go to sleep. Don't go see him now. He just came back and is also tired. Let him rest well. If you go find him now, he still needs to spare his thoughts and energy for you.

It's okay once or twice, but if it's too many times, anyone will not stand it and will feel annoyed."

Qin Li looked at Liu Yumei, her gaze filled with doubt.

"Good child, Grandma is not deceiving you. If you want to have a long-lasting playmate, then when you two are together, you both need to feel comfortable and happy, understand?"

Qin Li lay back down.

"Right, don't rush into his room to wait for him tomorrow morning. Wait until he wakes up and then go. Best of all, let him come down to pick you up."

Qin Li's eyelashes began to flutter as she lay on the bed.

"Good, good, good. Wait until he wakes up and walks out of the bedroom door, then you can go up."

Qin Li closed her eyes and began to sleep.

Liu Yumei helped her granddaughter cover the quilt properly, then walked to the middle room, opened the door. Qin Li was standing at the doorway.

After coming in, Qin Li quietly recounted what had happened today. Liu Yumei nodded, and then Qin Li left.

"Ai..."

Liu Yumei turned sideways and looked at the memorial tablet worship area. She originally had a habit of chatting with the memorial tablets every day, but the emotion she had just brewed was interrupted by a burst of smell.

It was the duck egg with the cracked shell that was placed in the spirit hall. In this weather... it had already started to stink.

...

By the time Li Zhuiyuan finished washing, his great-grandfather and the others hadn't returned yet. He went into the bedroom and lay down on the bed to sleep.

When he woke up, it was almost noon.

He looked at the chair in the bedroom but didn't see that figure, feeling a little disappointed.

He didn't know what she was wearing today.

He got up, took a basin, and pushed open the door. She wasn't standing at the doorway either. Her figure wasn't on the stool for reading in the northeast corner either.

Li Zhuiyuan walked to the edge of the terrace and looked down.

The girl was wearing a set of chest-length jacket today, the top lining was red, and the lower skirt was goose yellow. Her hair was scattered softly on her shoulders. Compared to her usual dress-up, she looked more lively and playful.

She was still sitting inside the threshold, her embroidered shoes stepping on the threshold.

The girl sensed something, looked up, and looked towards the second floor.

"Steady, A Li!"

Qin Li stood up and walked towards the house.

Only Liu Yumei remained behind, sighing with her head covered.

Qin Li came to the front of Li Zhuiyuan on the second floor, her eyes looking at him.

"I came back late last night and overslept."

After explaining, Li Zhuiyuan started to wash up, then held Qin Li's hand and went downstairs. It was mealtime, and he was hungry.

Downstairs was very lively. Li Sanjiang, Shan Deye, and Liu Jinxia were already drinking wine with a plate of peanuts and a bowl of fish head jelly.

Liu Jinxia and Shan Deye's injuries had been treated, and they also had medicine applied to their faces.

They didn't go to the clinic. In their line of work, they usually didn't go to the clinic, especially Liu Jinxia. Many people still came to her to "cure illnesses".

However, Liu Jinxia always had a sense of proportion in her actions, knowing her own limitations. Every time she had people drink the talisman water she had mixed with boiling water, sugar, and black sesame paste after they had been given to them, she would always require the family members to take the patient to the health center to continue seeing a doctor or continue taking medicine, making it clear that she was only cooperating with the doctor in a small way.

Li Zhuiyuan knew that the medicine applied to them must have been by Aunt Liu. Last time, Aunt Liu had applied medicine to his great-grandfather, and her skills were very good.

"Where's Brother Runsheng?"

"Runsheng, ah." Shan Deye let out a wine burp and was just about to speak when he saw Runsheng and Uncle Qin coming back from the fields together from outside.

Runsheng had gone to plant fields.

Looking at him carrying a hoe, barefoot and covered in sweat, Li Zhuiyuan suddenly felt a bit like he was eating idle food, although he indeed was.

"Eat, eat!"

Aunt Liu called everyone to eat.

Liu Yumei and her family were at one table, Li Sanjiang and his group were at another, Li Zhuiyuan and Qin Li sat at a small table, and... Runsheng sat alone at a table.

His table was in the most lonely corner. In front of him was placed a large rice basin, and inside the basin were the dishes poured from the big table. Above it was stuck a thick incense stick the size of an arm.

Runsheng smiled very contentedly, not knowing if it was for the food or the incense, or if, in his eyes, there was originally no difference.

So, it wasn't that everyone isolated him, but the big incense stick was so close that it made everyone's eyes sting, making it impossible to eat properly.

Li Sanjiang still joked to Shan Deye:

"Hey hey, look, look, Runsheng Hou's appetite is getting bigger and bigger. In the future when he eats, maybe he'll just directly burn tower incense!"

Shan Deye hummed twice and sullenly scooped porridge.

He now didn't want to eat thin porridge and couldn't eat dry rice either, because he had no teeth left.

After the meal, Li Zhuiyuan took Qin Li back to the old place on the second floor to read.

At this time, a three-wheeled vehicle came up the dam. Riding it was Li Juxiang, and sitting behind was Cui Cui.

"Mom."

"Grandma."

The mother and daughter ran to Liu Jinxia as soon as they came in, looking at Liu Jinxia like this and showing great concern.

Look, Liu Jinxia had come back here in the morning to treat her wounds and then took a nap. Afraid of worrying her family, she hadn't gone home first.

"Mom is fine now, fine. Grandma is good, why are you crying? Don't cry."

Liu Jinxia comforted her daughter and granddaughter.

Cui Cui wiped away her tears and stopped crying, but her gaze still wandered around.

"Go find your Brother Yuan Hou to play. He's upstairs." Liu Jinxia pointed upwards.

"Okay."

"Don't play for too long. We'll be taking your grandma home soon. You can come find Xiao Yuan Hou to play again in a couple of days."

"I know, Mom."

Cui Cui walked up the stairs and came to the second-floor terrace. She saw Brother Xiao Yuan and a girl in very beautiful clothes sitting together and reading.

She usually rarely went out to play in the village. Li Sanjiang's house was also a place villagers rarely went to when they had nothing to do, and Qin Li fundamentally didn't go out. So she had only heard a little from her grandma before, who said that there was a family of long-term workers living at Great-grandfather Sanjiang's place, bringing their old mother and daughter.

Today was Cui Cui's first time seeing Qin Li.

"Cui Cui, you've come."

Li Zhuiyuan stood up and greeted Cui Cui.

Qin Li also turned her body sideways. She didn't look at Cui Cui but continued to look at Li Zhuiyuan.

Cui Cui saw the girl's face, she covered her mouth, but still exclaimed:

"Wow, so good-looking, so pretty!"

She had only felt the clothes were good-looking before, the kind she saw on TV. Now that she saw the person, she was truly too good-looking.

Even hearing Cui Cui's praise, Qin Li still didn't look at her, because Cui Cui only worked hard and wasn't dirty.

Li Zhuiyuan walked to Cui Cui's front and introduced her: "Cui Cui, this is Qin Li, Grandma Liu's granddaughter."

"Hello, I'm Cui Cui, Li Cui Cui."

Qin Li followed Li Zhuiyuan. Seeing Cui Cui actively approaching her, her eyelashes began to tremble.

Li Zhuiyuan held her hand, and she calmed down, but still didn't respond enthusiastically to Cui Cui.

Cui Cui felt a little awkward.

"Cui Cui, A Li is a shy person. She's not targeting you. She's like this towards everyone else."

"It's me!"

Cui Cui's face showed a smile again. Hearing that A Li didn't dislike her but disliked everyone, she felt very happy.

After all, other people in the village only disliked her, and A Li treated her the same as everyone else!

Li Zhuiyuan temporarily put away the books, took out snacks, and everyone started chatting.

Actually, it was just Li Zhuiyuan and Cui Cui chatting. Qin Li didn't speak.

And because Cui Cui was there, Li Zhuiyuan needed to always hold Qin Li's hand, otherwise she might become violent.

Cui Cui ate things while her gaze constantly moved between Brother Xiao Yuan and Sister Qin Li, mainly looking at Sister Qin Li, because she was truly too good-looking.

As for other thoughts, she didn't have any. She didn't even have that kind of possessiveness between little friends, like you must play with me and not with her, this kind of thing was fundamentally not in Cui Cui's heart.

She was very happy that she could get to know another friend today, especially when she heard Brother Xiao Yuan introduce that Qin Li had always been alone and had no friends in the past. She felt very sad. She felt that this pretty sister was much more miserable than herself.

Soon, the shouting voice of Li Juxiang came from downstairs. They were going home.

"Goodbye, Brother Xiao Yuan, goodbye, Sister A Li. I'll come back to play with you in a couple of days."

Li Zhuiyuan waved to Cui Cui, then took A Li's hand and also waved.

He could feel a slight resistance from A Li.

After Cui Cui left, Li Zhuiyuan lowered his head and looked at Qin Li in front of him, saying:

"I know you've already adapted to that kind of self-enclosed darkness, but I still suggest you try to walk out and feel the outside world once, and then make a decision after experiencing it, whether to go back again."

Qin Li didn't speak, only looked at Li Zhuiyuan seriously.

After experiencing that kind of inexplicable feeling attack several times recently, Li Zhuiyuan felt more and more that A Li now was very likely his future self.

No, looking at his mother's appearance now, his future self would only be more serious than A Li.

Next, it was time to quietly read.

With the accumulation of previous reading, plus the practical understanding of seeing dead ghosts twice in reality, now, when Li Zhuiyuan looked at "Jianghu Strange Records" again, it was completely the speed of flipping through comics.

Every article, every page, his gaze keenly captured keywords and special points to form memory cognition, and then he quickly flipped the page.

With suitable comparison and reference objects, other dead ghosts were just adding and subtracting on the foundation.

Li Zhuiyuan found the feeling of flipping through new textbooks in the past.

He quickly finished one volume, then moved on to the next.

Finally, just before Aunt Liu called for dinner, Li Zhuiyuan finished flipping through the forty-two volumes of "Jianghu Strange Records".

In the lower right corner of the last page of the last volume, there were several lines of small words:

[This book is what I obtained from traveling the world with my spirit, traversing rivers, streams, lakes, and marshes. Ordinary people read it only as strange tales and jokes, to add to their tea money; if they truly find it fascinating, it means their fate has many twists and turns.

Only, I wish my brother good luck from afar.

—Wei Zhengdao.]

Li Zhuiyuan leaned back in the rattan chair, placed one hand behind his head, and sighed in his heart:

The author of this book is truly an interesting person.

As for what the author said at the end, Li Zhuiyuan could understand. Ordinary people don't see dead ghosts, they only see them as ghost stories. If they truly see them... it might not just be bad luck.

At this time, Li Zhuiyuan felt a soft small hand reaching into the back of his head and linking with his fingertip. It was Qin Li.

Li Zhuiyuan smiled at her, then closed his eyes, preparing to take a nap for a while. After dinner, he could go to the basement and find new books.

Well, it seemed more comfortable without his hand as a pillow.

Qin Li looked seriously at the boy in front of her who had closed his eyes. From his hair, to his forehead, to his eyes, to his nose, to his mouth, then she moved her gaze back and began to count his eyelashes one by one.

At dinner time, Shan Deye said that he would have Runsheng push him to the town health center tomorrow to get dentures, and then push him home. He would let Runsheng come back to Li Sanjiang's place in a couple of days.

When there was a job, he would again ask someone to call Runsheng back to salvage the corpse.

Li Sanjiang angrily slapped his chopsticks and cursed:

"So you're putting your family's mule in my house. When you want to use it, you lead it away, and when you're done using it, you put it back here to eat fodder?"

If it were just eating general fodder, fine, but this guy's appetite alone exceeded everyone else combined!

When Ting Hou cooked rice before, there was just a shallow pot of rice. When he was here, she needed to cook a separate pot for him.

Shan Deye sucked on his water pipe, glanced at Li Zhuiyuan who was eating with the pretty girl at the small table, and laughed: "I say, Sanjiang Hou, you're already this old. You always need someone to take over, right? You're not counting on Runsheng Hou, are you? Could you possibly be counting on this Xiao Yuan Hou?"

"You're farting!"

"Heh, I'm not farting, you listen to me first. I know you found Xiao Yuan Hou's grandfather to see you off in your old age. I believe Sanjiang Hou's judgment of people won't be wrong, but you're used to living a comfortable life your whole life. You won't have to truly lie in bed in old age, still needing to follow along and suffer hardships, or start selling your family property, right?

What if you sell all your family property and you still don't die, just drinking porridge and eating thin rice every day?

Yes, that Han Hou eats only half a mouth less than you, but you also see what kind of life that Han Hou is living now.

If you want to live a comfortable life in old age, it's not enough to just have someone sincerely serving you, you also need..."

Shan Deye rubbed two fingers together at Li Sanjiang,

"You also need to have income. Runsheng Hou can only eat a bit, but the work of salvaging corpses is all a good skill. This boy is much more capable than I am.

Besides, Sanjiang Hou, you're not short of this bit of grain anyway. You can just give him less vegetables and less meat, and just make sure there's enough rice!"

"What about the incense?"

At this time, Aunt Liu, who brought the soup, smiled and interjected: "I will make incense from earth. Not only will it be enough for him to eat, but we can also have another small business."

"Um..." Li Sanjiang rubbed his nose, suddenly feeling that this was quite good, but he turned and asked Shan Deye, "If Runsheng Hou comes to me, what about your old age? You old boy won't think of coming to me to live off me in your old age, will you?"

"Don't worry, this old man won't die a good death."

"What are you saying?"

"Words from my heart. This old man has seen through it. I don't have as good a fate as you, to be able to lie in bed and walk towards a good end."

"Nonsense. You can just have Runsheng Hou break your leg now, and you'll be lying in bed and going towards a good end, won't you?"

Shan Deye: "..."

After a series of scolding, chatting, pushing, and shirking, this matter was considered agreed upon.

Li Zhuiyuan was quite happy. Looking at Runsheng over there, who was drooling while waiting for the incense to burn out, it was so good! As long as Runsheng was here, he had another practical channel for reading and learning.

After the meal, Li Zhuiyuan sent Qin Li back to the east room, then went to the cabinet drawer to take out the flashlight and reload the batteries.

It was a rural habit to dismantle the batteries after using a flashlight, saying it was to prevent consuming electricity.

Li Zhuiyuan also didn't plan to ask his great-grandfather to change the light bulb in the basement for now. He felt that taking a flashlight in had a sense of treasure hunting atmosphere.

Following the flashlight's beam, he came to the first box he opened. There were still many books inside here. He planned to clear them one box at a time.

He put the flashlight in his left hand and reached in with his right hand, like drawing a lottery, fishing inside. Finally, Li Zhuiyuan touched two stacks of books.

These two stacks of books were very thick and had hard covers, similar book covers that neatly organized a set of books into volumes.

He took out the two stacks of books and placed them on the ground.

Each set had eight books, and each book was not too thick. There were no words on the book covers. Li Zhuiyuan first took out one book from each of the two sets and found that there were no words on the inside of the book covers either.

He could only open them and look at the content first. When the flashlight shone on them, Li Zhuiyuan was stunned.

It was handwritten, and the writing was good, very beautiful small regular script, but the problem was, this font was too small, like ant legs, and it was dense front and back...

So, although the books were not thick, the content was terribly rich.

To read this book, he was afraid he would need to find a magnifying glass.

He flipped through another set and unexpectedly found the same font and the same small size.

These two sets, they shouldn't be by the same author, should they?

Li Zhuiyuan carefully searched with the flashlight. Finally, on the inside of the two covers, he found two white stickers with the names of these two sets of books written on them, respectively:

"Detailed Explanation of Yin Yang Phase Learning" and "Theory of Fate Pattern Deduction".

One was for looking at faces, and one was for calculating fate.

Li Zhuiyuan lightly patted the flashlight, and the light occasionally swept over his small thinking face.

"Um... doesn't seem to have much use, does it?"

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